I am a writer of contemporary, romantic, gothic/fantasy and historical fiction with a focus on alternative pairings. As if that wasn't enough, I also write poetry, song lyrics and have a screenplay and tv pilot in the works (which would explain why I don't have the time to re-string my guitar, let alone do any editing gigs).
I was born in England but have called Toronto, Canada home for a long time. My favorite things to do are write, read, sing, fiddle around on the guitar, scrabble about in my garden, sunbathe, and generally avoid work. ;)
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
The Tapestry Room by Mrs. Molesworth
What Katy Did and What Katy Did Next by Susan Coolidge
From My Adolescence:
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein
Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault
Carmilla by Sheridan le Fanu
From My Adulthood:
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
This Cold Heaven by Gretel Erlich
The Way the Crow Flies by Annemarie McDonald
Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian
Plus: anything by Virginia Woolf or Anton Chekov.
What I'm Reading Now:
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.
What's on my List:
Blindness by Jose Saramago
Seeing by Jose Saramago
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Sword & Sorcery: The Lost Son by Mychael Black
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Favorite Bookstores on land or cyberspace
Torquere Press
Glimmer Train Press
The Danforth Review
Abebooks
The World's Biggest Bookstore
What the Dickens
Ways to Wisdom
My first Chaser is up and available for purchase! This will be a story in four parts. Part One is out today! Here is the official blurb and link:
Moment of Truth 1: To Serve and Protect by AJ Wilde
Dan Mason is the perfect cop: clean-cut, conservative, responsible to a
fault. The last person he wants as a partner is Gary Carson, with his purple
hair, piercings and devil-may-care attitude. From a drunken display at a
Canada Day party to an heiress girlfriend, Dan learns to endure his
partner's… Continue
Hey guys. Some of you may be aware of a new community created by a group of writers, entitled Liminal Ink. I have posted the first chapter of a new story, Sea of Glass, over there and I plan to post each new chapter as I complete it, probably monthly, for general (free) consumption. Please take a jog over to Liminal Ink (link provided below) and see what we're all about -- we also have a website which you can link to from the LJ. Feedback on my story as it develops is always welcome. As well, I… Continue
Are you into highwaymen? You know: tight pants, thigh-high boots, thundering steeds, swords at dawn, death for breakfast? If so, you'll love my latest release from Torquere Press. Part of their famed Arcana imprint, Shadow Road: Page of Swords is out now. You can buy it here:
Greetings, all! I'm delighted to announce the upcoming new release from Torquere Press. The second instalment in my ongoing series, Soul Journeys, will be available from November 17. The title of Soul Journeys 2 is Auf Wiedersehen, Mon Amour and follows once again the adventures of NYPD officer Rick Rathburn as he undergoes another past life regression.
Hi A.J. Nice to meet you here on BookPlace. I see that you have musical talents. I have piano and choir background, but just took up the violin this year. Have a great day!
Yes Ilove walking through the woods, I fine tranquility abounds and gives me the time to reflect and become creative.Silence may be golden but being out within the magnitude of this beauty ...it's priceless...
babs
I am so not ready for Christmas. I just realized I don't have much time either. One good thing is the DH is off Friday and possibly all next week, so I can give him a few chores to do, which may help some. I'm counting on him to put stamps and labels on the Christmas cards, and do a few things around the house to straighten it out some. Unfortunately, I'm the organizer in the family, so I can't expect too much on the getting-the- house ready front. That's pathetic, since I'm not very organized. (g)
Anyway, I hope to get the house into decent shape before Christmas, when I do my annual meal for the family. There's also that Christmas list to get together. Time is ticking away.
What about you? Are you ready for Christmas? Or do you celebrate another Holiday? If so, are you ready?
One of the main reasons for writing "Cynthia's Attic" came from my failure - failure to appreciate my ancestors. Our family stories are probably no more or less interesting than most, and I went out of my way to avoid remembering most of them or asking questions about my grandparents lives.
For instance. Did I bother to ask my grandfather what it was like playing in the first night football game in America?
Or did I try to find out just which relative "supposedly" sold a city block on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles for $20,000? Guaranteed, I would not be sitting here writing a blog had that particular relative held on to the property.
Then there's the story, "Cynthia's Attic: Curse of the Bayou," of my great-great grandfather, Augustus Boilliat who disappeared in 1860 while taking a load of produce down the Mississippi River to New Orleans? Oh, sure I've read different accounts about what happened to him, but lost forever are the stories his grandson (my grandfather) could've told me about facts he'd heard from my great-great grandmother, Marie Julia, about her husband's disappearance.
I remember a few accounts told by my dad about his adventures as a teenage cave guide at one of the largest caves in the Southern Indiana area, Wyandotte, but I only have to guess at some of the adventures he must've had.
That's why I'm writing adventures I wanted my ancestors to have; adventures I can enjoy with them through the eyes and voice of my character, Gus.
The idea for Cynthia's Attic: The Magician's Castle came from detailed genealogy research done by my cousin, Betty. Long before the Internet, she traveled to Switzerland to search for documents that would tie our great-grandmother, Harriet Kistler, to Peter Kistler the First, President of the Republic of Bern, 1470-1480. I've tried to honor the Kistler family in the fourth adventure in Cynthia's Attic.
Thanks, Morgan, for having me as a guest!
Mary Cunningham
Mary Cunningham is the author of the award-winning 'Tween fantasy/mystery series, Cynthia’s Attic. She is proud to announce the release of book four, "The Magician's Castle," Dec 1, 2009. Her children's mystery series was inspired by a recurring dream about a mysterious attic. After realizing that the dream took place in the home of her childhood friend, Cynthia, the dreams stopped and the writing began.
She is also co-writer of the humor-filled, women's lifestyle book, "Women Only Over Fifty (WOOF)," along with published stories, "Ghost Light" and "Christmas Daisy," A Cynthia's Attic short story.
To celebrate the release of "The Magician's Castle," (Quake/Echelon Press, DEC 1, 2009), a winner will be chosen on each blog stop to receive a copy of the "Cynthia's Attic" short story, "Christmas With Daisy!" So, be sure to make a comment!
Monday, I'm over at my group blog, http://makeminemystery.blogspot.com/, where I'm blogging about the mystery of the missing checks. Come on over and find out what it's all about.
I'm firming up some dates for speaking engagements in 2010. One's tentatively set for March 28, at 1:30 at the Niles Public Library, another probably in mid May at the Schaumburg Township District Library.
Also, coming up is a radio interview at WJJQ again on May 7, at 9:35 a.m. before my booksigning May 8 at Cover to Cover Books in Tomahawk, WI.
I've heard that some people are more afraid of public speaking than of dying. Surprisingly, I find it easier each time I do it. As long as I have my cheat sheet with me to glance down at once in a while for security and I like what I'm talking about, I'm okay.
What about you? Do you like to talk or would you rather not?
Once, Connor believed that his ability to see the future would grant him everything. Instead, it landed him in a prison of his own making. Connor gains wealth and prestige, but with every vision, his own sight dims. Moira curses herself for failing…
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Thanks for the invite - it's great to meet you!
Congratulations on your current book and on your upcoming release!
Best,
~Mary
I love your phrase "pimping my book". Can I steal that?
I am looking for scripts right now, for low budget films (our speciality).
babs
Jon Baxley
Admin: Authors From MySpace
Welcome to Book Place.
I hope you have a great time and much success!
Morgan Mandel
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