STORYTELLING QUOTES OF GREAT WRITERS

(from guest blogger Lucy Adams) 

We easily notice the changes new technologies bring into our world. But do we think about their origin? Obviously, we don’t.  But so do writers – true idea generators who faster than others feel the nature of impending changes…Among the many writers who left a rich legacy, there are many of those who gave us a new vision.

The history knows a lot of great writers who formulated new ideas and eventually created an intellectual and – perhaps even more important – an emotional support of the future. The mighty of this world see challenges and opportunities in ordinary things; they often expose already existed but unnoticed before problems, point out smoldering conflicts, help us to understand the new challenges of the time and give us new hopes.

MGS MEETS MGS - INTERVIEW WITH BEST SELLING AUTHOR MARIA GRAZIA SWAN + GIVEAWAY

Hello and happy Sunday, everyone! Are you ready to meet my new cyber friend?  She's brilliant  and talented.  We curiously share quite a bit, starting from the same name, the same initials and the same nationality. She lives in Arizona and is a successful writer as well as  blogger. Her English is much, much better than mine. But she insists on flattering me ... Well, more in the interview. Read, enjoy and take your chances to win Maria Grazia Swan's latest release, Ashes of Autumn. (see rafflecopter form below)  

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Hello MGS! How curious it is we share the same name, Maria Grazia, and even the same initials, MGS! Pretty awkward we found each other out because people mixed us up on facebook. Now we’ve virtually discovered each other, what else do you think we share? I think we’ll know after this chit chat. So … Welcome and thanks for accepting my invitation!

We both speak Italian and English. My maiden name is Tognolo. Swan is the last name of my former husband. But, honestly, Swan is such an easy name to remember and so easy to spell and pronounce, so I kept it.

DISCOVER HEALING IN THE SEARCH FOR TRUTH - AN INTERVIEW WITH ELISABETH GIFFORD, AUTHOR OF 'THE SEA HOUSE'

About the book 

What happens when you bring the truth of who you are and where you’ve been into the light? In her impressive debut novel, The Sea House (St. Martin’s Press/April 15, 2014/ISBN: 978-1250043344/$25.99), author Elisabeth Gifford introduces readers to characters who are forced to dig up the pain and secrets of their past in order to let the fresh air of faith and grace purify and heal the broken places in their heart.

Gifford was inspired to write The Sea House after coming across a letter in The Times archives from 1809, in which a Scottish schoolmaster claimed to have spotted a mermaid. Weaving the ancient Gaelic myth of the selkies into her story, she has created a sweeping tale of hope and redemption that is an ode to the healing readers can find when they acknowledge the truth about themselves.

Your new release, The Sea House, is a fascinating historical mystery that was born out of a letter you found from an old edition of The Times. Can you tell us about the letter?

The Sea House is based on a real letter written to The Times newspaper in 1809 by a Scottish schoolmaster, reporting a mermaid sighting. There were lots of mermaid sightings up to 200 years ago around Scotland and even a recorded mermaid funeral in the islands. There were also persistent legends of selkies, seals who could take off their sealskins on land to become human. I thought these were simply old fairy tales from a more credulous time, but it may be that these sightings and legends were connected to something very real. For thousands of years the native Sea Sami used to kayak down to Scotland from Norway using Eskimo technology. Their sealskin kayaks would become waterlogged after a few hours and lie just below the sea surface looking like a wavering tail. On land, they removed their sealskin jackets and became human — just as described in the legend of the selkies. Some must have married locals and stayed on the islands, giving rise to certain families such as the MacOdrums, who were said to have come from the seal people.

IS A PARENT'S JOB EVER REALLY DONE? AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR DEBORAH RANEY ABOUT HER "HOME TO CHICORY LANE"

Home to Chicory Lane 

Deborah Raney writes a story that examines how the love of our family can help us weather life's storms. The first book in the new Chicory Inn series introduces us to Audrey Whitman, a mother who has launched all of her children into life and now looks forward to fulfilling some of her own dreams during her empty-nest years. However, not all of her children are ready to stay out of the nest quite yet.

Raney has beautifully captured the tenderness - and turmoil - of family life in her new release. It was easy for her to do. "We have four grown children and five grandchildren . . . so far!" Raney says."So, as you can imagine, family is extremely important to us. We're both close to our families, and all of the good, the bad, the ugly, the wonderful of being part of a family, went into this series."

Readers of Home to Chicory Lane will meet all of the Whitmans, including Audrey and her husband, Grant, who are turning their beloved family home into a bed and breakfast. As Audrey works toward opening weekend, she is more than a little anxious, even as she joyfully anticipates her family and friends gathering from across the country to help celebrate the occasion.

What she doesn't expect is her youngest daughter, the newly-married Landyn, to arrive with a U-Haul, clearly intending to stay more than just a few days. Questions flood Audrey's mind: What happened in New York that sent Landyn running home? Where was Landyn's husband, Chase? It appears the Chicory Inn will be getting off to a bit of a rocky start.

IN WAR THE WORDS OF A POET CAN SAVE LIVES, IN LIFE THE WORDS OF A POET CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE: MEETING ERRI DE LUCA

"... in war the words of a poet can save lives ...

in war the orphans and those without a book have no refuge"  

Erri De Luca's original first name was Henry, an homage to his grandmother, who had American nationality, but defined by him as an "accident". He eventually decided "to change" few letters by Italianizing his name as Erri. 
Meeting Erri De Luca at the library in my town a few days ago was something unexpectedly important.
Do you know when you have the impression that a person speaking to an audience is instead speaking to you, just to you, that those words are meant for you?
Strange enough, especially because I couldn't see his face (see picture, I'm sitting on the right). But that is what I felt sitting behind,  right behind him, behind that table on which the widely popular and highly appreciated Italian author was informally sitting while talking to us. I was at his back and could watch his shoulders slightly bent forward, his slim figure in a comfortable blue suit, moving to the rhythm of his placid voice and turning left, then right, to direct the blue-eyed piercing stare to each and every one facing him.

MEET SIMON LEWIS, WRITER.

I’m very pleased to introduce my guest today: British novelist and screenwriter, Simon Lewis. I’m reading his novel GO these days and it is such a gripping thriller! My review of the book is coming soon, meanwhile, meet its brilliant author, please.

Simon Lewis was born in Wales in 1971 and GO is his first novel (1999), a travel thriller about backpackers, which he wrote  in a village in the Himalayas. It has been translated into German, Italian, Turkish and Swedish so far.

His second novel, BAD TRAFFIC (2008), is a crime thriller about people smugglers, featuring jaded Chinese cop, Inspector Jian. The book has been published in the UK and the US and translated into German, French, Swedish, Italian, Japanese and Turkish. In 2009 it was nominated for the LA Times Book of the Year Award and for the French SNCF prize for crime fiction.

His third travel thriller, BORDER RUN, was published in April 2012 in the US and the UK.

 As a screenwriter, Simon has worked for Potboiler Films, Cloud 8 and Channel 4 and has 3 movies with incredible International casts  in post-  or in production in 2014!  Read the interview, welcome Simon Lewis  at FLY HIGH and discover more about him and his work.

ROOK BLOG TOUR - INTERVIEW WITH STELLA MAC DONALD & GIVEAWAY

Hello and welcome to my corner of the blogosphere, Stella.  Congratulations on your amazing book, Rook, and thanks for accepting to answer my questions. Since I used to dream of becoming a writer myself, my first  one will be: Have you always wanted to become a writer? When did you start writing?

Yes and no.  I always wrote, but never planned to be a writer.  It seemed to big, too hard.  I thought I should do more traditional jobs, like be a doctor or something – even went pre-med for awhile.  But, ultimately, writing keeps me sane, and I love it, so that’s what I’m going to do.

What did you like to read as a child or a teenager?  

I loved Christopher Pike, and moved on pretty young to Dean Koontz.  I read grown up books for a long time before returning to YA.

What do you like most of being a writer?  

Most of the time you don’t get to control anything major about your life.  Add to that being so busy that you don’t have a chance to really discover yourself.  Writing, I get to pick everything that happens to everyone, as well as the reasons why. When I wax the most philosophical, it doesn’t take long before I realize I’m really just talking about myself.  I learn tons about myself that way.

THE CHRISTMAS TRAIN BLOG TOUR + GIVEAWAY

Tour Schedule

  The Christmas Train

In this children’s picture book, President Thomas S. Monson recounts a Christmas memory from his childhood. As a boy, he yearned for an electric train. To his delight, on Christmas morning he got exactly that a train that operated through the miracle of electricity. Then he noticed a second train that his mother had purchased for the boy down the street whose family was struggling. Although it was only a wind-up train, it had an beautiful oil tanker car, which little Tommy wanted for his own. Soon after, Tommy s mother invited him to accompany her to the neighbor s home to deliver the gift. Young Mark was thrilled with his new train and, of course, didn t notice the missing train car. However, a remorseful Tommy did. What happened next will bring the spirit of Christmas into every heart and home. Illustrated by renowned artist Dan Burr, The Christmas Train is sure to be a classic Christmas story and a beautiful addition to every Christmas library.

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