New review featuring 'The Flower City Chronicles' By Karen Faris
@karenafaris Grumbles The Novel Book One: Take a Pill @karenafaris What It Takes By ...
Monday, 7 July 2014
Saturday, 14 June 2014
AllisonSarah: Cyber Launch Party of Grumbles Take Another Pill B...
AllisonSarah: Cyber Launch Party of Grumbles Take Another Pill B...: It is with great pleasure that I share with you this exciting news The Fabulous Karen Faris’s ‘Take Another Pill’ has be...
Cyber Launch Party of Grumbles Take Another Pill By Karen Faris
You have all been invited by Royal appointment to the virtual launch party of Karen Faris's second book in the Grumbles Series 'Take Another Pill' it's time to pull on your best party frock and lets sync our IPod's then pop open the bubbly and slice the cake ready for the games to begin.
Have you
ever had that aching feeling in your tummy that something bad is about to
happen?
If so
then maybe you are a secret agent in that making and you should grab a copy of
the ‘Agent training manual’ failing that then I strongly suggest you read
Grumbles book two ‘Take Another Pill’
Pettie
Grumbles and the adorable little Toga continue on their mission to save the
world from the heinous weatherman.
‘Take
Another Pill’ is packed with all the action and excitement of book one of the
Grumbles series ‘Take A Pill’ without losing any of the comedy value or
the climate change message that this Remarkable lady has to offer.
The trip
to Montreal is filled with amazing wonders as Pettie Grumbles comes across such
futuristic marvels such as men ‘Hosting’ babies, Mad cows diseases and of
course antibiotic dog slaver.
You can’t
help but smile and laugh out loud at Pettie as you are pulled into this rather
scary future earth that has been mutated by climate change as she juggles
Secret agent business and her agony aunt column along with fighting the growing
maternal urge to protect Toga and his dog Emma.
Petite
soon starts to realise that Toga has become the centre of the Evil Weatherman’s
kidnap mission. But with very little to go on will she be able to uncover
the boy’s true identity before it’s too late?
Join
Pettie and Toga on their journey and meet some truly marvellous characters such
as Captain Dragwood, Jacqui, Trollman and Renata.
If you
haven’t done so already I would seriously add this series of books to your
summer reading list. Easy to read this series is gripping and filled with
humour with each page turn. Go on treat yourself.
Friday, 30 May 2014
So I happened to stumble across this amazing lady one day as I was strolling around the vast grounds of Twitter.
I was just kicking up stones and twiddling my thumbs as I mulled over my next move with Loved and Lost, when this lovely lady stopped to say hi and offered her expertise.
Anyways one thing led to another and I was given the honor to read and review her work, and I absolutely love every page turn of ‘Grumbles Take a Pill’ so I simply had to find out more about what makes this very talented lady tick.
To add Grumbles to your summer reading list, follow this link
Grumbles Amazon
Tell us all about Karen Faris.
There’s not much to tell. I’m a pretty ordinary woman with a family and a dog trying to forget the big city and survive living in the suburban wilderness of Upstate New York. Actually, I’m just joking. Rochester is a great place.
I’ve had a pre-internet, kind of old-fashioned writer’s life of doing many different jobs (many of them would make you cry too) while trying to carve out time to write.
I love to bake and to explore the foods of different cultures and I’m one of those people who gets excited by ideas. Also, I’m a big believer that every single child, regardless of circumstance, deserves a decent education and that everyone’s voice counts.
How do you spend your spare time? (When you're not working on amazing master pieces)
Are you sure you have the right author? Wow, thank you so much. I’m so glad you had a good time with the story.
As for my spare time, they say that when writers aren’t writing, they are thinking about writing. That’s pretty much me. I read of course and wish for more holiday time so that I can read more. I even read all the flyers and junk mail. I read what my ten year olds recommends (Out Of My Mind by Sharon Draper was one of his good picks). I read menus. Those I love to read because in my spare time I eat. Come to think of it, if I’m not thinking about writing, I’m thinking about eating. Do we get snacks? Um I may just have a bag of Jelly Tots in my bag…one moment
On a more serious note, at the moment, I’m taking an ASL (American Sign Language) class. The language is very emotive and the culture fascinating. Like learning any new language, ultimately, it teaches you about trying to communicate through language and that words are symbols. Oh, no! I feel some of my old Lit Crit classes trying to sneak into the conversation. Sh! Be very quiet. Let’s put on our cloaking device and move to the next topic.
Tell us about Grumbles
I wrote Grumbles before climate change exploded into the news. It’s intended as a comedic romp in the near future and a satire on modern existence on just about every level, political, social, environmental. It’s also filled with wordplay and silly moments, kind of like a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy--my apologies to the wonderful Douglas Adams by even invoking his name.
How did Grumbles Take a Pill come about?
Grumbles had a long slow evolution and I was fortunate enough to have a first reader whose patience was infinite. When I started it, it wasn’t even a comedy! I’m always the last to know anything about my own work.
It began as a serious romance. It migrated to satire because I was putty in the hands of a joke. And word play? Please, Telmemydoom! I’m all over that like a dog on a couch. I just love words and layering them and giving scenes different textures and motifs from Shakespeare to fairy tales to pop culture to music and anything else that flits across my brain. The other way to look at that is I have a short attention span and like a cat, I’m always looking at the moving parts.
Another component of Grumbles evolution was that at the time, I was serving on a municipal conservation board with very bright, informed people who taught me about a lot of things I’d never even heard of, things like cyanobacteria, invasive species, how storm water management works (or doesn’t), why things do or do not get done. At times, in our everyday lives, there is just so much of the grand human comedy at play that it takes over and invades your spirit. I think that’s what happened to me when I wrote Grumbles.
Was it difficult to research a futuristic project?
You know, I never considered it a futuristic project in that sense. It grew out of issues we were discussing at our Conservation Board meetings. And the internet has made research so much easier for everything. Like later on in book three of Grumbles, Pettie is in Montreal, Canada, a wonderful city. I went to university there. But over time, I have forgotten street names etc. and now, now you just hop on-line, zoom around and look things up. I hope that never changes.
I loved how all the things we take for granted suddenly became dangerous weapons of mass destruction such as ‘Cabbage Bombs’ how did that come about? Do you have a secret Cabbage phobia?
Just the opposite in fact! I love cabbage. Kim chi, cole slaw, sauerkraut, you name it, I love it. I think I was making my own kim chi at that point in time and well, it is a stinky process.
Would you say Petite is like you in any way?
Actually I think I’m more like Q and how the world she knew disappeared. The world I grew up in, that one’s gone. Between technology and geopolitical events. Just the fact that my child is educated in a place where they have “security” and lock the doors makes me wonder what we’re teaching our children and where we’re headed.
I think where I resemble Pettie is that we both complain a lot however I prefer to say it is merely speaking out and calling attention to issues. Just talk to me for two minutes and I’m likely to get going on something. Water, the environment, politics, education. Oh that last one is a dangerous one for me because they’re “reforming” the schools here. Quick run for it while you still can!
Did you have a secret yearning to become a Secret Agent? (I know I’d like to have been oh what fun)
Yeah, I know right? Who didn’t want to be a secret agent? I think being a writer is a pretty close second.
Did you always plan to make Grumbles a series.
In fact, I did not. This is one of those lessons in how writing books and selling books aren’t the same thing. Grumbles was written as one book. The story doesn’t end until book three. When I was sending it out and it was being rejected over and over and over again, I kept hearing the same thing and that “thing” was that it was too long so I split it into three parts. And voila, after only four or five or maybe more years, here we are. The economics of the marketplace changed dramatically during the lifetime of Grumbles.
When will Grumbles 'Take Another Pill' be released?Sometime within the next month, I believe and then Book Three, “How Many Pills Did You Take,” will be released shortly after so keep your eyes open and you can always check the website http://grumblesthenovel.com for further information or follow me on twitter either @GrumblesNovel or @karenafaris.
Is the Grumbles series your first published work?
It is. I took the scenic route to publication, it seems.
However I do have a short fiction piece up on Amazon through Kindle Direct called The Flower City Chronicles. Again, the setting is in the near future. It’s a story about a man who’s been kicked out of town. He leads a drifter’s life until he’s summoned back to town to exact a certain kind of revenge. It’s dark and brooding and a story of voice more than anything.
Darkness aside, there’s a funny story to getting this up on Amazon. I’m well-known as a dweeb when it comes to technology and navigating it. I was so concerned about the formatting and how to make the title page and all that other stuff that writers have to do when they’re self publishing a work that I somehow managed to put out the title without my name on it. It’s also under the author name K A Faris. Check it out. Tell me what you think. I have a few more stories in this flavour but just haven’t had time to put them up.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Flower-City-Chronicles-Make-ebook/dp/B00IPUL94S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400762393&sr=8-1&keywords=flower+city+chronicles
Hoooooo I will be down loading this um in about 30 seconds!
What are you currently working on?
I just finished the first draft of my next novel. I’m so excited about it—mostly because I haven’t reread it yet. That should cool my jets but until then, it’s much more of a traditional mainstream story, a high romance with characters struggling with questions of what it means to be loved and to love. In the background, are the wages of a hot, hostile world. In this world, the temperature is scorching and the winds bone dry. Tiny shards of plastic and seashell have become airborne so people have to protect themselves from essentially plastic dust storms. They’ve also been cut off from most of civilization and battling certain kinds of lawlessness. Well, that’s what I think it’s about. Can we talk again after the rewrite?
What are you currently reading and what's next on your list?
Currently I’m reading Joelle Charbonneau’s The Testing. It’s a science fiction YA novel and a good one. I’ve also just started reading Julia Suzuki’s The Land of Dragor. And a certain manuscript of one amazing writer named Allison Christie is up after that. Loved and Lost was so good! I can’t wait for people to be able to read your story.
Well what I can I say, thank you for your time Karen and for your kind words at the end there and to think it only cost me a bag of Jelly Tots
Friday, 28 March 2014
The day I got the news that I was going to have to retire with immediate effect my best friend and soul mate I felt as though my world had fallen apart. Heartbroken simply does not describe the feelings that crashed through me. 
19 years on and we have been through so much, we have competed in countless cross-country and show jumping classes, hacked to other towns and back, even been swimming in the sea, but nothing can compare to the mental peace he has often brought to me. Without so much as a spoken word he has supported me through every issue and stumbling block I have faced. Answering my pleas with a nudge a whinny or just a warm stare has been enough to bring me harmony.
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Monarch even taught my daughter to ride and to love all things horse.
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So it is now my turn to give him a special retirement, filled with nice lead rein walks, treats and long lazy days in the sun, whilst he watches me from afar and fills me with guilt as I ride our temporary youngster Ferris. After we was given the news of Monarch’s heart condition the Yard owner offered a little rescue pony to my daughter. Again Ferris was a funny looking creature with eyes that looked a little wild and frightened. We took him on with the full knowledge that this boy was a problem pony but with the determination that I would work with him until he is suitable for a child to ride. This is my new challenge, and what a challenge it is, but I’m sure in the long run all the blood sweat and tears that I’m shedding will be worth it the first time my daughter takes him into a show or when the day come and Ferris finds his Forever home (again that day will break my heart but he’s simply too small for us to keep)
Saturday, 11 January 2014
Interview with Luke Murphy the author of Dead Mans Hand
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A little while ago on Twitter I was contacted by the Author of Dead Man’s Hand Luke Murphy.
So I down loaded his book and I was immediately sucked in to down load your copy click on the link http://ow.ly/hd4Xv
Luke asked me if I did guest post on my blog page. Why the hell not I thought to myself and so as a result of that I would like to introduce you all to Luke Murphy.
Tell us about your book the Dead Man’s Hand.
Dead Man’s Hand takes readers inside the head of Calvin Watters, a sadistically violent African-American Las Vegas debt-collector, who was once a rising football star, now a murder suspect on the run.
Back cover text for DEAD MAN'S HAND:
What happens when the deck is stacked against you…
From NFL rising-star prospect to wanted fugitive, Calvin Watters is a sadistic African-American Las Vegas debt-collector framed by a murderer who, like the Vegas Police, finds him to be the perfect fall-guy.
…and the cards don't fall your way?
When the brutal slaying of a prominent casino owner is followed by the murder of a well-known bookie, Detective Dale Dayton is thrown into the middle of a highly political case and leads the largest homicide investigation in Vegas in the last twelve years.
What if you're dealt a Dead Man's Hand?
Against his superiors and better judgment, Dayton is willing to give Calvin one last chance. To redeem himself, Calvin must prove his innocence by finding the real killer, while avoiding the LVMPD, as well as protect the woman he loves from a professional assassin hired to silence them.
Why did you choose this subject to write about, is it something that you have knowledge in? (Not murder or collecting but if you do then please tell) I was thinking more about the police work side of the story?
I never thought much about writing when I was growing up.
But I was always an avid reader, which I owe to my mother. She was a librarian, and although I lost her when I was young, I will always remember a stack on Danielle Steele books on her bedside table, and a lot of books lying around the house at my disposal.
My first chapter books were the Hardy Boys titles, so they are the reason I love mysteries. As an adult, some of my favorite authors are Harlan Coben, Michael Connelly and Greg Iles, so naturally I write what I love to read – mystery/suspense novels. DEAD MAN`S HAND has been compared to James Patterson books, which to me is an honour. Maybe in style (short chapters, a quick read), as I have read many of his books.
Did you base your characters on people that you know or are they just fictional?
Many people have asked if I can make any real connections to the main character in my novel. The answer, as for my connection…no, I have never been involved in a homicide investigation, LOL. The plot is completely fictional. Although I am not a 6’5”, 220 pound African-American, I’ve used much of my athletic background when creating my protagonist Calvin Watters. Watters past as an athlete, and his emotional rollercoaster brought on by injuries were drawn from my experiences. His mother died of cancer when he was young, as mine was. There are certainly elements of myself in Calvin, but overall, this is a work of fiction. I did not base the characters or plot on any real people or events. Any familiarities are strictly coincidence.
As far as characterization goes, Dead Man’s Hand’s protagonist Calvin Watters faces racial prejudice with calmness similar to that of Walter Mosley’s character Easy Rawlins. But Watters’ past as an athlete and enforcer will remind other readers of (Jack) Reacher of the Lee Childs series. The Stuart Woods novel Choke, about a tennis player who, like Watters, suffered greatly from a dramatic loss that was a failure of his psyche, is also an inspiration for Dead Man’s Hand.
When thinking about creating the main character for my story, I wanted someone “REAL”. Someone readers could relate to. Although it is a work of fiction, my goal was to create a character who readers could make a real connection with.
Physically, keeping in mind Watters’ past as an NCAA football standout and his current occupation as a Vegas debt-collector, I thought “intimidating”, and put together a mix of characteristics that make Watters appear scary (dreadlocks and patchy facial hair), but also able to blend in with those of the social elite. Although he is in astounding physical condition, handsome and well-toned, he does have a physical disability that limits his capabilities.
He’s proud, confident bordering on cocky, mean and tough, but I also gave him a softer side that readers, especially women, will be more comfortable rooting for. After his humiliating downfall he is stuck at the bottom for a while, but trying hard to work his way back up.
He has weaknesses and he has made poor choices. He has regrets, but Watters has the opportunity to redeem himself. Not everyone gets a second chance in life, and he realizes how fortunate he is.
Calvin Watters is definitely worth rooting for.
Any particular reason for setting the book in Vegas?
I’ve always dreamed big, and set high goals for myself. When I decided that I would write a novel with the goal of publication, I didn’t want to just write a book to have it read by friends and family. I wanted to write a novel that would be accepted worldwide, and be available for people everywhere. I wanted something that would be desired by people all over the world. That means I needed a setting in my book that interested people and they wanted to read about.
So that meant, for the setting, I needed a major market in the United States. Major American cities that have become popular in books are Los Angeles, Washington, Chicago, New York, etc.
I chose Las Vegas, or as some people might call it, Sin City. Everyone is interested in this fast-paced, party-all-night lifestyle and city that is party-central.
I didn’t just choose this city on a whim. I had visited Las Vegas in 2000 with a buddy of mine and I instantly feel in love with the city. Las Vegas was the perfect backdrop for this story, glitz and glamour as well as an untapped underground.
Everyone knows about the bright lights big city that is Vegas, but for as much as we read and see about that side of Vegas, we seldom here about the other, darker side of LV.
I also have to admit that that my wife was pretty happy that I had chosen Las Vegas as my setting, since she joined me in my research trip (wink, wink). Nothing like being able to write-off a trip to Las Vegas (lol).
Where do you start with your research when writing a story that involves the services such as the Police/Army and also the world of casino ownership and gambling?
First thing I need to say is that Dead Man’s Hand is a work of fiction, so at times I exercised my creative liberties.
There is not a single moment in time when the idea for DEAD MAN’S HAND came to be, but circumstances over the years that led to this story: my hockey injuries, frequent visits to Las Vegas, my love of football, crime books and movies.
Dead Man’s Hand became real from mixing these events, taking advantage of experts in their field, and adding my wild imagination. The internet also provides a wealth of information, available at our fingertips with a click of the mouse.
What I learned most from my trip to LV is what is found outside of the “Strip”. Not all of Las Vegas glitters, and there are parts of the city just like everywhere else in North America. This is the part of the city that I wrote about—things you haven’t heard about in other books.
So I was fortunate enough to visit Las Vegas and do some real, on-site research for street names, hotels, casinos, venues, etc. All of my personal contact with people such as members of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department was done via the Internet/email/phone.
When I had completed the first draft of my novel and sent it to my agent for her revision notes, I had a very long phone conversation with her. Because this was my first novel, and the first time I had worked with an agent, I didn’t know about things like how is copyright infringements dealt with in fiction writing.
So, because most of this book is based on real places in Vegas, I had to make up names to protect myself. You will probably recognize the descriptions of certain hotels and casinos or restaurants in my novel, but those venues have had name changes just to be safe.
For people like myself that have no idea about gambling is the Myth in the story about the dead man’s hand true?
From what I know, it’s the truth.
According to Wikipedia, “The dead man's hand is a two-pair poker hand, namely ‘aces and eights’. This card combination gets its name from a legend that it was the five-card-draw hand held by Wild Bill Hickok, when he was murdered on August 2, 1876, in Saloon No. 10 at Deadwood, South Dakota.”
Are you working on a sequel?
Not at the moment. I’m currently working on my second novel, another crime-thriller, following the career of rookie, female LAPD detective Charlene Taylor.
I would love to write another book. Right now, I have a full time job (teaching), a part-time tutoring job, and three small children (all girls, YIKES!!).
I don`t have much time to write, but when I get a chance, I do all I can. It could take some time, but eventually I would love to write a series of novels featuring Calvin Watters. But I will not limit my novels to Calvin Watters, as I would like to write a variety of novels, all in the crime-thriller genres.
What are you reading at the moment?
I met author Rick Mofina at a writing conference in Ottawa a few years ago and he was kind enough to give me a blurb for my novel, Dead Man’s Hand. I am currently reading Rick’s novel, The Burning Edge.
What has been the most influential book on your life? The one that captured you and shaped you in the writer that you are today ?
“Kiss the Girls” by James Patterson was the first adult crime-book I ever read, and I fell in love with the genres. I read a lot of James Patterson in the late 90’s. Probably my favorite crime book to date is “The Poet” by Michael Connelly. But my favorite thriller is “The Quiet Game” by Greg Iles.
When writing what do you struggle with the most?
Nowadays, for me, the most difficult thing about writing has nothing to do with actual writing (ideas, flow, writer`s block, etc.), but it`s finding the time.
Between teaching and tutoring, with three small children and a wife at home, finding the time to sit down at a computer and have serious, quality writing time is almost impossible.
But I love my girls and spending quality time with them is a great feeling. I wouldn’t give up my games of ring-around-the-rosie and duck-duck-goose for anything in the world. It just puts writing my next novel behind a bit.
What set up do you need to write? (music, snacks, silence)
I started writing when I was young and playing professional hockey. A couple of hours a day on the ice and in the gym and then the day was mine. I also suffered a serious eye injury and couldn`t play, so I had a lot more time on my hands. Now that I`m older, with a family and full time job, makes it a lot harder to find the time to write.
These days I don`t have a schedule or routine. Right now, I`m too busy playing ring-around-the-rosie and duck-duck-goose to write.
But when I do write, I find that I am most productive in the morning, and I always have to have a mug of steaming tea in front of me.
Before I even sit down at a computer, I have hand-written notes of ideas for my book. This could be anything from plot, scenes, setting, characters, etc.
Once I sit down, I just write. No editing, no looking back, I just let it flow. Unless I`m certain, no title until after I`m done. As I write, I keep notes by hand on the timeline.
When my first draft is complete, I go through it twice, once for the creative editing process and the next for flow, repetition, etc. Then I have my former English professor read it over and she gives me her thoughts. I edit it myself again. Then I send it to my agent for her thoughts, then I edit it again myself. Only once my agent and I feel ready do we send it to publishers.
Other than a great author who is Luke Murphy?
Ask me again in 10-12 years when my girls are teenagers. LOL.
I live in Shawville, Quebec with my wife, three daughters and pug.
I played six years of professional hockey before retiring in 2006. Since then, I’ve held a number of jobs, from sports columnist to radio journalist, before earning my Bachelor of Education degree (Magna Cum Laude). I’m a full time elementary teacher and part time tutor.
My debut novel, Dead Man`s Hand, was released by Imajin Books on October 20, 2012.
I’m a true hometown boy. I moved back to the town I grew up in and bought my dad’s house, where I’m now raising my family. I’m teaching in the elementary school I attended and most of my friends and family are still in town.
My kids are in the same groups I was in, play the same sports I played, and are experiencing the same things I did as a kid.
I couldn’t be happier than I am right now…unless I became a bestselling author of course.
Friday, 8 November 2013
The time has come for my Son to take to the boxing ring it’s soon to be his fist fight of the new season.
You would think that after having suffered this sport for the last 4 years of his life I would have grown use to the nerves that I feel when watching my baby climb into a ring to fight another boy.
I have been asked before by other mothers how I can just sit there and watch my son fight and not jump into the ring and split it up. Believe me it’s so very hard. Every emotion possible runs through my body, tears sting my eyes but don’t fall due to cold fear, my heart beats so fast that I think I am about to have a panic attach, I shake uncontrollably as I fight to keep the rising sickness at bay. I love that boy and cant stand to watch him get hit, you have to remember that that other fighter is out to actually knock him out, his opponent would love nothing more than to see him laid on the canvas out cold.
As awful as that sounds that is the reality of the sport. Although it is horrendous I would not miss it for the world because win or lose put all of the other emotions aside and the overwhelming feeling is admiration.
The amount of hard work and dedication that a boxer puts into preparing himself to fight in its self is admirable. The children at my son’s gym train six days a week, as well as road work (jogging) and the constant weight watching.
Love it or hate it you have to respect the hard work.
I however will still be watching him through my fingers as he walks to the ring.
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