Let Go and Let God

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

Australian singer Olivia Newton John released Let Go and Let God on her twenty-second studio album, Grace and Gratitude, in 2006. The song has been described as “meditative mood music”…an apt description for a song that has benefited several cancer charities. The hauntingly beautiful music and lyrics resonate with me at the soul level. It’s my go-to song whenever I need to uplift my spirits.



Movie Review: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Disturbing. Thought-provoking. Unsettling.

But, most of all, riveting.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen as I watched Frances McDormand embrace the role of Mildred Hayes. It is not surprising that she has already captured several Best Actress awards and is a strong contender for an Oscar.

Angry and frustrated after seven months of waiting for the local police to apprehend the man who raped, murdered, and burned her daughter, Mildred rents a trio of billboards with the following provocative messages:

RAPED WHILE DYING
STILL NO ARRESTS?
HOW COME, CHIEF WILLOUGHBY?

But calling out Chief Willoughby (Woody Harrelson) for his incompetence does not endear Mildred to the residents of Ebbing, a fictitious, small town in Missouri. For starters, the Chief is a devoted father and husband in the final stages of pancreatic cancer. When he reminds Mildred of his illness, she responds: “They (billboards) won’t be as effective when you croak.” In spite of her callousness, Mildred does have a grudging respect for the Chief.

Mildred’s relationship with Officer Dixon (Sam Rockwell), a racist and violent Mama’s boy, is fraught with tension. Easily provoked and goaded by his mother, Dixon doesn’t hesitate to take the law into his own hands. Rockwell’s outstanding performance has already earned him two supporting actor awards.

Mildred’s quest for justice takes several startling twists and turns as the narrative progresses. Significant facts are revealed during arguments with her son and ex-husband, leading us to question Mildred’s motives. Fighting back and fighting harder—regardless of how violent or crazed—dominates the second half of the movie.

In short, there are no true heroes or true villains or clear-cut lessons in this dark comic drama that has garnered seven Oscar nominations.


All About Japanese Robots

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome Wild Rose Press author Linda Nightingale. Today, Linda introduces Japanese robots and shares her latest audiobook releases, Love for Sale and Morgan D’Arcy: A Vampyre Rhapsody.

Here’s Linda!

This may seem to fly off the pages of science fiction, but it’s a hot new research field and making rapid progress.

At the Toshiba booth at the Consumer Electronics show, Chihira Aico, a life-sized robot in a pink party dress with pearls, stood like a mannequin, perfectly still—at first. Suddenly, the android began to gesture wildly.

“I can be a news reader, consultant or cheerleader!” She threw her arms up and squealed, “I can get excited!”

Chihira is a new concept for a life-like android. Her creators intend to make her seem even more expressive when interacting with humans. By adding additional motors to her joints, engineers are refining her movements to make them appear fluid while programmers work on her language processing, improving her communications skills and responsiveness. The ultimate goal is for the robot to read human behaviors and emotions, then mimic them, thereby appearing human herself.

This complicated piece of hardware has over 40 motors in her joints to coordinate her body’s movements. Fifteen tiny air pumps on her fact control the blinking of her eyes and the opening of her mouth as she speaks. Toshiba developed Chihira under the direction of Hitoshi Tokuda, the project leader. Osaka University performed the muscle research, building on previous work on prosthetic limbs.

On-lookers thought Chihira was creepy. What do you think?

A hi-tech hotel in Japan, Nagasaki prefecture’s Henn-na Hotel, opening in July will employ ten robots at the check-in counter as receptionists. If you think these humanoid androids are creepy, you might think twice about visiting this hotel. They can establish eye contact and respond to body language.

When I wrote Love For Sale, my sci-fi romance from The Wild Rose Press, I didn’t know about the Japanese life-like robots. In fact, Love for Sale was inspired by Tanith Lee’s immortal Silver Metal Lover. I don’t find robots creepy but extremely interesting. I’d love to interact with a human-like android.

A recent Pew report entitled, “A.I., Robotics, and the Future of Jobs,” suggests that while it might be some time before we see a robot takeover of our workforce, we’ll be having sex with them sooner than we think. Hum. Interesting. Would you find a sentient being programmed to love you disturbing?

Love For Sale is about Christian and March. March is a disenchanted dreamer. Christian is her dream man, but…inside he’s all circuits and wires while outside he is perfectly human and programmed to love her unconditionally.

Love for Sale and Morgan D’Arcy: A Vampyre Rhapsody have been released as audio books. Both are read by a woman with a lovely British accent and are enchanting to listen to.

Audible Samples/Buy Links

Love for Sale | Morgan D’Arcy: A Vampyre Rhapsody

Bio

Born in South Carolina, Linda has lived in England, Canada, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Atlanta and Houston. She’s seen a lot of this country from the windshield of a truck pulling a horse trailer, having bred, trained and showed Andalusian horses for many years.

Linda has won several writing awards, including the Georgia Romance Writers Magnolia Award and the SARA Merritt. She retired from a career as a retired legal assistant, just joined the Houston BMW Club, and the stars in her crown—two wonderful sons. In a former life, she must have had to walk everywhere because today she is into transportation with fine taste in expensive horses and hot cars! She likes to dress up and host formal dinner parties.

Where to find Linda…

Twitter | Facebook | Website | Blog | Goodreads | Pinterest | Amazon

Note: Visit and look around Linda’s website. There’s a free continuing vampire story. On her blog, you’ll find interesting guests and prizes.

Giveaway

Leave a comment below – You could win a sterling silver Texas charm.


The M.D. Writer-Mom

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome doctor and award-winning mystery author Melissa Yuan-Innes aka Melissa Yi to the Second Act series. Today, Melissa shares her multi-act life and the Hope Sze Medical Mystery Series.

Here’s Melissa!

So far, I’m spinning three different careers simultaneously. I’m an emergency physician, which is my most stressful, high-stakes job. I’m a writer who professionally published her first short story and poem in medical school. And I, personally, wouldn’t feel complete without my children.

Medicine takes up the most real estate in my life. I was a perpetual student for a quarter century, memorizing facts, waking up at all hours of the night, and eventually making life and death decisions.

When I finally finished training in emergency medicine, I felt uneasy. I’d been shackled to a schedule, rotating from specialty to specialty and hospital to hospital, and now I could literally practice anywhere in the world, as long as I got the proper licensing and my husband agreed to it.

I told my friends, “It’s like the Simpsons episode where Homer goes up in space and smashes the terrarium, and as the ants go flying off in zero gravity, they’re chittering, ‘Freedom! Horrible, horrible freedom!’” Watch here.

In my heart, though, I knew what I wanted to do. The same thing I’d wanted to do since I was five years old. I wanted to write.

For that, I needed time and energy. Since 24 hour shifts are not conducive to creativity, I had to limit my emergency shifts.

I said to my husband, “Now that I’ve graduated, I can finally make money. That’s what everyone else is doing. Is it crazy that I want to write?”

Matt is an engineer who takes emotions out of the equation. He basically said, “You went to school for so many years so that you can afford to write.” He has offered to support me if I want to write, but I never really considered it. I wanted to be my own patron of the arts, able to support myself, my family, and my writing.

It means that I’m a relatively impoverished doctor. One of my friends made fun of me because she made more in six months than I did in a year. I wish I were a more productive writer. And my kids constantly complain that I don’t spend enough time with them, and were quite piteous as they waved goodbye to me yesterday, as I drove through the ice to my evening shift.

On the other hand, I am happy. I can and did run last Saturday’s night shift—and CBC Books selected Human Remains (https://windtreepress.com/portfolio/human-remains/), my latest medical thriller, as their top mystery pick for their holiday gift guide (http://www.cbc.ca/books/10-books-for-those-mad-for-mysteries-on-your-list-1.4442631).

Where to find Melissa…

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon

Sign up for Melissa’s newsletter here and get a free novella starring Dr. Hope Sze.

Joanne here!

Melissa, thank you for sharing your intriguing journey. I’m impressed by your work ethic and the number of books you have written. Best of luck in the future!

Intrigued by the author’s back story, I decided to read Code Blues, the first book in the Hope Sze Medical Mystery series. Captivated from the start, I found myself enmeshed in a medical drama that kept me up two nights in a row. From Ms. Yi’s vivid descriptions, I could easily imagine the dilapidated Montreal hospital and the conflicted characters, who struggle with boundaries and relationships. The murder of a beloved doctor sets in motion a riveting narrative that takes many unexpected twists and turns. I continually second-guessed myself as I attempted to identify the murderer in this well-plotted, character-driven novel.

A Three-Step Remedy from Warren Buffett

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

In his latest book, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, author Daniel H. Pink devotes an entire chapter to Midpoints. At the end of the chapter, he shares several strategies and anecdotes from well-known high achievers. I was impressed by this advice from Warren Buffett:

One day Mr. Buffett was talking with his private pilot, who was frustrated that he hadn’t achieved all he’d hoped. Mr. Buffett prescribed the following three-step remedy.

First, he said, write down your top twenty-five goals for the rest of your life.

Second, look at the list and circle your top five goals, those that are unquestionably your highest priority. That will give you two lists–one with your top five goals, the other with the next twenty.

Third, immediately start planning how to achieve those top five goals. And the other twenty? Get rid of them. Avoid them at all costs. Don’t even look at them until you’ve achieved the top five, which might take a long time.

Doing a few important things well is far more likely to propel you out of the slump than a dozen half-finished projects.


Movie Review: The Post

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

This thrilling drama, directed by Steven Spielberg, features The Washington Post and its role in exposing the Pentagon Papers, a massive cover-up of government secrets that spanned three decades and four U.S. presidents.

Meryl Streep embraces her role as Katharine Graham, the first female publisher of a major American newspaper. Surrounded by a sea of imposing men, the widowed socialite appears uncertain and uncomfortable as she struggles to assert herself. In the midst of negotiations to take the family newspaper public, she is reluctant to create waves or upset any of her political friends, among them Defense Secretary, Robert McNamara (Bruce Greenwood ).

Tom Hanks plays Ben Bradlee, the ambitious executive editor determined to raise The Post’s national profile. In the summer of 1971, he gets the opportunity to test his journalistic chops and go head-to-head with the New York Times. After the Nixon administration bans the Times from continuing with the leaking of the Pentagon Papers, Bradlee decides to challenge the White House’s unconstitutional efforts. But first, he must persuade Graham.

Torn between Bradlee, her circle of advisors, and political friends, Graham grapples with this decision but eventually takes a stand. I could feel goosebumps rising as her posture straightened and her voice assumed a stronger timbre. One of my favorite scenes: After the Supreme Court decision, Katherine Graham proudly walks past an admiring group of younger women.

A classic underdog tale enhanced by the Oscar-worthy performances of Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks.


Spotlight on Catherine Castle

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome award-winning author Catherine Castle. Today, Catherine shares her writing journey and latest releases, Bidding on the Bouquet and Trying Out for Love.

Here’s Catherine!

Books have always been in my blood. One of my earliest memories is of reading a Little Golden Book—the story of Cinderella. Somewhere in the archives of my parents’ photographs there is a picture of me, holding the book upside down, as I pretend to read the story. When I actually learned to read, a trip to the library yielded not one book to come home with me, but an armload that was nearly bigger than myself.

The transition from reading to writing was a natural one—a hobby (or dare I say skill?) that was encouraged by my mother who praised everything I wrote. Some of my early endeavors included horror short stories entitled Witch Mountain and Bloody Buttons, a sci-fi story about aliens (I can’t remember the name of this particular piece), which I illustrated myself. And I can’t forget the loads of awful poetry I penned as a heartsick teen. I’ve since improved greatly on the poetry scale.

My first romance, written as a teenage girl, was about me and the television star crush of my life—Johnny Crawford, of The Rifleman television series fame. Naturally, it had a HEA, and a floorplan of the mansion where we lived HEA in Hollywood, California. I like to think my romance novels have greatly improved as well.

Then I met the real true love of my life. Somewhere along the way from our high school sweetheart stage to married couple, we discovered we made not on a great couple, but great writing partners and we began to write plays for our church. Along the way to book publication I spent 10 years as a freelance writer for our weekly hometown newspaper, writing everything from news articles to fashion features. I also freelanced for a Christian publisher writing curriculum and articles for children’s Sunday School papers.

Today, my husband and I are still co-authoring, but I’m a solo author as well, penning sweet and inspirational romances. My debut novel, The Nun and the Narc, from Soul Mate Publishing was an ACFW Genesis Finalist, a 2014 EPIC finalist, and the winner of the 2014 Beverly Hills Book Award and the 2014 RONE Award, as well as placing in several other contests. This year’s releases are A Groom for Mama, a sweet romantic comedy from Soul Mate Publishing, and my December release, Bidding on the Bouquet, from Forget Me Not Romances, an inspirational contemporary romance.

Most recently, Bidding on the Bouquet has been included in the boxed set Trying Out For Love, from Forget Me Not Romances, along with books from five other authors. The sweet romances, with an inspirational element, found in this set were inspired by a bridezilla news article one of the authors read and passed on to a writing loop we all belong to. The story of the bridezilla, who made her bridesmaids bid at an auction for the “privilege” of being in her wedding, struck a creative chord in a number of the authors who read the article, who then took up the challenge to write a book using this story starter. And we all had some very interesting twists on the original story.


Trying Out For Love Blurb

Six women bid on weddings, either as bridesmaids, wedding planners, or photographers. What ensues is a delightful romp through unexpected romance for all involved. Would you audition for love?

Includes:

The Wedding Barter – Alice K. Arenz
Bidding on the Bouquet – Catherine Castle
The Matchmaking Wedding Planner – Bonnie Engstrom
Mercy Me – Pamela Ferguson
The Bridesmaid Got Waylaid – Kassy Paris
Exposing Love – Christina Rich

Here’s a peek at my book Bidding on the Bouquet found as a single novel and in the boxed set Trying Out For Love.

Giving her coworker’s shoulder a friendly bump, Marietta replied, “You’re a true friend. Speaking of money, you’ll never guess what came in the mail today.”

“A lottery win check?”

“I wish. I don’t have the money to buy a ticket, and you can’t win if you don’t play.”

“I give up. What came?”

“An invitation to bid on a bridesmaid spot in Chrissy Vandermere’s wedding.”

Tinsy stopped mid-dip in the spaghetti. The pasta rolled over the edge of the plate into the steam table container. “The Chrissy Vandermere?”

“You know her?”

“Know of her. Her father owns half the buildings on Broadway.” Tinsy scooped the pasta onto the plate and passed it to Marietta. “Where have you been, girl? Hiding in a cave somewhere? Chrissy’s upcoming wedding is all over the news.”

“I don’t watch the news. I’m too busy studying. Besides, the awful stuff going on keeps me awake if I get those images in my head.”

“How do you know Chrissy?” Tinsy glanced out at the motley group of people eating dinner. “You two certainly don’t travel in the same social circles.”

“From school, I think. If the Chrissy I know is the same Chrissy who sent the invitation, I guess she remembered me from a study class we had together.”

“She comes from classy folks. Rich socialites. That’s a pretty big deal to get an invite.”

“You sound like those slick magazines that fawn over the rich and famous.” Marietta handed the last person in line his plate, then studied the woman beside her. Tinsy was a practical, down-to-earth, solid woman. God-fearing even. “I’d have never expected fan-girling from you.”

Tinsy shrugged. “We all got our dreams. You want a high-powered marketing job. Me, I like those fancy clothes the rich wear. I can’t afford more than a knock-off from the Double Discount Barn, but I’d sure like to dress in expensive outfits. Don’t hurt to dream.” She stared Marietta directly in the eyes. “So, what you gonna do with the invite?”

“I threw it in the trash.”

“What!” Tinsy squealed. “Why’d you do that?”

“I don’t have money to bid on a bridesmaid spot. Even if I did, and I won, I’d have to buy a dress, spend time doing stupid bridesmaid things when I should be studying, and probably be forced to cater to Chrissy’s every whim. She was a bit of a diva in school. Considering she thinks women are going to bid to be in her wedding, I doubt that’s changed much. It’s stupid.”

“It’s a chance of a lifetime,” Tinsy insisted. “How often do you think you’ll get the chance to hobnob with the likes of the Vandermeres?”

“If this is my Chrissy, I’ve hobnobbed with her already. I didn’t find it thrilling.”

From January 9 through February 19 the authors of the boxed set Trying Out For Love are each giving away one free ecopy of their novels that are included in the set. Additionally, one ecopy of the boxed set Trying Out For Love will also be offered as a giveaway on Catherine Castle’s blog during that time frame. To be entered to win, click on the Rafflecopter box in the Tuesday Wedding Tales blog series featuring any of the six authors and follow the instructions. Winners will be announced February 20.

About the Author

Catherine Castle is a multi-award-winning author who loves writing, reading, traveling, singing, watching movies, and the theatre. In the winter she quilts and has a lot of UFOs (unfinished objects) in her sewing case. In the summer her favorite place is in her garden. She’s a passionate gardener who won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club.

Her debut inspiration romantic suspense, The Nun and the Narc, from Soul Mate Publishing was an ACFW Genesis Finalist, a 2014 EPIC finalist, and the winner of the 2014 Beverly Hills Book Award and the 2014 RONE Award. A Groom for Mama, is a sweet romantic comedy from Soul Mate Publishing. Her latest release, Bidding on the Bouquet, from Forget Me Not Romances, is an inspirational contemporary romance, and is included in the boxed set Trying Out For Love. Her books are available on Amazon.

Where to find Catherine…

Website | Blog | Amazon | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | Stitches Thru Time

Buy Links

Bidding on the Bouquet | Trying Out for Love | A Groom for Mama | The Nun and the Narc

Spotlight on R. E. Mullins

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome The Wild Rose Press author R.E. Mullins. Today, R. E. will share her writing journey and the Amber Hearts Series.

Here’s R. E. Mullins!

For fools’ rush in where angels fear to tread.
(English poet Alexander Pope’s An essay on criticism, 1709)

I’m not known for doing things the easy way. It’s not that I intentionally plan on making things difficult for myself – it’s just the way things usually turn out. Like the proverbial fool I heedlessly jump into projects without a clue as to what I’m getting into.

That’s exactly what happened when the first germs of a story started niggling at my brain. Without any appreciable concept as to what writing a novel entailed, I sat down at my computer and opened a little used program called Word. Easy? Not so much. The only thing I really had going for me was the fact I’ve always been an avid reader. So, at least, I knew what I looked for in a book. And, for me, reading is a chance to escape into new worlds and to be entertained.

I considered the romance novels I inhaled as sitcoms in paper form—or, nowadays, Kindle formatted. Nothing too heavy. Remember the old Calgon bath salt commercial, “Take me away?” That’s what I looked for when perusing book blurbs.

I began writing, It’s A Wonderful Undead Life (I think it was 2004 or 2005). While at work during the day, I turned over plots and characters in my mind. Newly divorced, after tucking my seven-year-old into bed each night, I wrote. And wrote. Deleted and wrote some more. Almost a year later I had a 96,000 or so word document on my hands with no idea what to do with it.

After some encouragement from my children and a few friends, I submitted it to the Wild Rose Press. I chose them as they were highly rated in Editors and Predators. They were also willing to look at unsolicited manuscripts. Still, nothing could have surprised me more than when one of their editors contacted me. She said the story had good bones, she liked the characters, and wanted to contract it.

All I had to do, she said, was re-write the entire thing using the third person POV. She also wanted me to alternate between the female and male perspective. I found this utterly overwhelming. Not only would it be a massive undertaking—all I could think was, I’ve just gotten divorced so what did I know about the male mindset. Lack of self confidence had me putting the manuscript in a box and tucking it under the bed.

It wasn’t until late 2010 that I came across it again and contacted the editor. She remembered me, the plot to my book and was still interested. With her encouragement, and constant hand-holding, I slowly re-wrote the story using third person POV.

It’s A Wonderful Undead Life was finally published in 2012.

Hmm, I thought. My vampire, Gabe Blautsauger has three siblings…and their stories need to be told. Heedlessly, I again rushed into writing a series. Not once did I stop to consider how difficult it would be to juggle characters and keep timelines straight.

Still the Blautsaugers of Amber Heights Series was born.

Vampire In The Scrying Glass featuring Rafe Blautsauger was released in 2014.

A Vampire To Be Reckoned With is Metta Blautsauger’s story. It came out in 2016.

And, finally, Michaela Blautsauger’s novel, Cold Hearted Vampire was published in 2017.

By this time, I was on a roll. In 2017, I also released two novellas: Diaper Duty Vampire and Back To Hell.

Diaper Duty Vampire features a few of the Blautsaugers as secondary characters as it bridges the gap between The Blautsaugers of Amber Heights Series and Vampires of Amber Heights Series.

Back To Hell, however, is a departure from my vampires in Amber Heights. Written for Kindle Worlds, it is loosely based on the world found in Vampire Girl by Karpov Kincade. This novella tells the story of Eli Grayheart, vampire demon, lesser Lord of Inferna who was banished to the mortal realm. For a decade, he has been reduced to working the night shift for human employers and little pay. As he desperately seeks a way back to his homeland, he has been busy plotting his revenge. The pink Fae, known as Keeda Weranseer is going to regret the part she played in his exile.

Buy Links

Amazon | The Wild Rose Press

Keep up with what R.E.Mullins is working on and read a free Christmas story on her website. https://www.remullins.com

Leave me a comment to get your name put in a hat. The winner will get a tee-shirt (M – 3X) featuring my book covers on the front and my logo on the lower back.



Inspired by the Real Rocky Story

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

In mid January, it’s very easy to start feeling down and less productive. Whenever that happens, I turn to several real-life stories that inspire and motivate me to get back on track. Here’s one of my favorites:

In 1974, Sylvester Stallone was a broke, discouraged actor and screenwriter. While attending a boxing match, he became inspired by a “nobody” boxer who “went the distance” with the great Mohammed Ali.

Stallone rushed home and, in a three-day burst of creative output, produced the first draft of the screenplay entitled Rocky.

Down to his last $106, Stallone submitted his screenplay to his agent. A studio offered $20,000 with either Ryan O’Neal or Burt Reynolds playing the lead character. Stallone was excited by the offer but wanted to play the lead himself. He offered to act for free. He was told, “That’s not the way it works in Hollywood.” Stallone turned down the offer though he desperately needed the money.

Then they offered him $80,000 on the condition that he wouldn’t play the lead. He turned them down again.

They told him that Robert Redford was interested, in which case they’d pay him $200,000. He turned them down once more.

They upped their offer to $300,000 for his script. He told them he didn’t want to go through his whole life wondering “What if?”

They offered him $330,000. He told them he’d rather not see the movie made if he couldn’t play the lead.

They finally agreed to let him play the lead. He was paid $20,000 for the script plus $340 per week minimum actor’s scale. After expenses, agent fees, and taxes, he netted about $6,000 instead of $330,000.

In 1976, Stallone was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actor. The movie Rocky won three Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Film Editing. The Rocky series has since grossed almost $1 billion, making Sylvester Stallone an international movie star!

Source: The One Minute Millionaire by Mark Victor Hansen and Robert G. Allen (2002)