Thursday, February 28, 2013

Storytime for new releases on radio show.

 


Come and join me as I read and talk about 2 new releases on Stories From Unknown Authors. I will read the picture book What Would You Do If You Were Left At The Zoo? I will also be talking about the newest book in the Joe-Joe Nut Series, The Secret of the Missing Arch. Books can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, as well as on my website at www.reneeahand.com




Summary:

The elementary school at Acorn Valley holds an art fundraiser to help local animals whose homes were lost due to natural disasters. Four famous local artists--Claude Monet Mongoose, Georgia O'Giraffe, Vincent Van Goat and Pablo Picasso Peacock--have generously donated their weather-themed paintings for a charity auction. But a monkey wrench is thrown into the proceedings when distinguished Gila monster Dr. Ced E. Meant discovers, in a presentation at the Metropolitan Museum before the event, that his invaluable research has been stolen! His findings are so important that they cannot be leaked to the world at large! Meanwhile, more mysterious and fishy things are going on at the art auction, which Detectives Nut and Bill are determined to unravel. Geared for older children (and appealing enough for adults), this third entry in the series once again paints a delightful world of animal protagonists--teachers, scientists, etc.--using colorful illustrations with the lively black-and-white cartoons of Karwoski. Each of the animals--garbed like humans--has personality to spare, and they make amusing references to bills, hooves and tails. A genuinely crafty, complex mystery (including secret panels, art theft and characters who aren't as they appear) combines seamlessly with info about weather and art.





Summary:

Sheldon is excited to visit the zoo with his mama and learn about all the great animals that live there. But when the zoo begins to fill with people and mama tells him to stay close so he won't get lost, Sheldon begins to wonder what it would be like to be left behind at the zoo and work there all day. As the pair explores, Sheldon tries to decide which animal he would study. Which one will he choose?






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Monday, February 25, 2013

Interview with Roger Woodbury for The Mists of Adriana

Come and join me as I talk with author Roger Woodbury for his novel The Mists of Adriana on Stories From Unknown Authors http://blogtalkradio.com/storiesfromunknownauthors @ 1:30pm EST.


  • Paperback: 252 pages
  • Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (October 24, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1480177156
  • ISBN-13: 978-1480177154



  • Summary:

    This is a mystery/thriller set on the coast of Maine. The principal character/narrator is a man entering his middle years. An army officer in Vietnam, upon returning form his first tour he learned his wife had died unexpectedly. His response was to go back to Vietnam where he tried to get dead for the next two years. Finally, he was sent home by a commanding officer who felt he had more worth alive than dying a mourning death.

    He "retired" to a small house on the Maine coast where he became a writer and photographer. His principal enjoyment comes from early morning drives around Mt. Desert Island, home to Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor. It is on one of these early morning drives that he stops to help a fellow motorist stranded with car trouble. It is then he meets the semi-mysterious Adriana Barrows.

    An early summer/early autumn relationship begins to develop as he learns more and more about Adriana's past. And soon he learns again one of the lessons he learned in combat in Vietnam: when things seem too good to be true, they often are. To be sure, Adriana is a strong, independent woman. A linguist with a background in the war on drugs and a fascination for him that he never expected to find.


    Biography:

    Perhaps it is the romantic fool inside me, but I prefer to write my longer stories in the first person. I seem to want to feel the emotion and the excitement of what is happening and I see it all clearly, occasionally dreaming the sequences. I remember a conversation I had with a group of other writers one time and the universal feeling in that group was that first person accounts were far too, well, "personal" and they all seemed to want to be hidden from the views of their readers by telling the stories from far above. I would like to think that my writing in the first person lets the reader come into the story with me, riding along on the wave's crest at the moment and will have a better experience in my books.

    Whichever voice I use, my interest is in telling stories that present real people dealing with issues that may be far beyond what they anticipate as possible. Some characters will have specific training that enables them to accomplish certain types of things under certain conditions. Some characters will have no training that will enable them to deal with the circumstances they encounter and they will have to use their basic strengths of character and perhaps prior experience and education to overcome obstacles unexpected. I don't like magic or "magic thinking" because in my experience those things lead to enormously difficult and rough passages later on, so hopefully each one of the protagonists in my writing will meet each challenge with real skills and achieve real and hopefully, valuable results that will be enjoyable to read about. Truth is always stranger than fiction but when truth and fiction merge, the interaction makes for a great and enjoyable reading experience. And real people always make the most interesting prey as well as predators.




    http://www.amazon.com/Mists-Adriana-Roger-M-Woodbury/dp/1480177156/ref=la_B009I4FZNQ_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361792222&sr=1-1