Thanksgiving Dinner at Wendy’s House--From the Cutting Room Floor, a Scene from GO NO SEN

“Is she here yet?”

“No, Mom. That was just Dad on the porch.”

“Has he got the hot tub running? Remind him, Wendy, Okay?”

She slouched off into the backyard. Her parents loved that hot tub. They thought of it as some sort of family ritual. For Wendy it was just one more way for her mom to embarrass her about her body. A sort of belated hippie, she wanted her daughter not to have any hang-ups about sex.

Blog Award !!!!

I was musing on the Thanksgiving Day festivities about to commence chez moi, when I happened to turn on my computer and discover that I had received a Blog Award. Whoa!

You can imagine how thrilled I am about this. My dogs are howling in the background at the news. I was recognized by fellow author Spencer Brokaw, who was in turn recognized by fellow author Emerald Barnes, who was in turn recognized by D. J. Lutz, etc. Okay, so it's sort of a chain letter, but without all the manipulative mysticism, and with some genuinely good sentiments towards others

Meet Alle Wells, Author of Lame Excuses

I first met Alle Wells several months ago on an online author's forum, and I was so impressed by her wit and wisdom that I had to read her novel, Lame Excuses, right away. It's a wonderful reflection on people, food and life, a truly unique literary effort. You can find it now on Amazon and Smashwords. Also, she will be interviewed January 5th at 5:00 PST by Monica Brinkman on the Blogtalkradio cast of "The Author Speaks."

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself. What else do you do besides writing?

I’m a history buff and live in a quaint historic district near one of the oldest established towns in North Carolina. I am the mother of three wonderful daughters in their twenties. Now that my daughters are on their own, I have a lot of time on my hands. I have been an avid reader all my life, many times to the point of being reclusive. I feel complete with a book (or iPad) in my hand and a story in my head. I enjoy a simple vegan lifestyle, cooking, gardening, bird watching and practicing Kundalini yoga.

2. How did you first get into writing?

I started writing a diary when I was ten years old. My mother found the diary and that ended my writing career for a while. I continued to write poetry as a teenager and served as high school correspondent for my hometown newspaper. After my children started school, I worked in development for non-profit organizations, writing appeal letters and publishing quarterly newsletters. Most recently, given the additional time in my life and the opportunity to self-publish, I decided to pursue writing as a second career.

Ch. 3, Girl Punches Out (Sen No Sen)

Chapter 3

The Doctor’s Office

Emily couldn’t remember ever seeing a doctor before. She had always been healthy as a child, so perhaps there was never a need. She telephoned her mother who couldn’t remember the name of the family doctor. The connection wasn’t very good. She thought about it for a moment, and then tried to change the subject.

“Are you not feeling well, Chi-chan?”

“I’m fine, mom. I just think I should have a checkup every once in a while. Don’t you?”

“Of course you should, sweetheart. But is this really the time?”

“Well, I’ll need to have a physical if I decide to go to the Academy.”

Ch. 2, Girl Punches Out (Sen No Sen)

Chapter 2

Coming Home

“What’s the source?”

“The Aussie’s man in the Sixth Bureau. This is eyes only, understood?”

Don’t worry. I’ve got nothing in the works. Has Burzynski seen it?”

“No, and let’s keep it that way for as long as possible. If their contact gets burned it’ll come right back to us.”

“And Meacham?”

“He hasn’t seen it yet, but he will soon. We can’t keep it buried indefinitely.”

“Let me know when he finds it.” The line went dead.

Ch. 1 Girl Punches Out (Sen No Sen)

Chapter 1

Sparring

   

Billy Codrow peered over his gloves at Marty Gibson. He waited for the feint. He thought it would  come from his right hand. Marty’s left foot moved. Billy was all nervous energy. A front kick! He stepped back and blocked the kick across Marty’s body. He moved to follow through with a sweep of the right leg, but the kick was the feint. Marty used the energy of the block to start a spin. As he came around he swung the back of his fist into Billy’s right ear. The force of the blow crumpled him.

“What the hell was that,” Danny Rincon yelled in protest.

“What’s your problem, Marty,” Billy moaned from the floor.

“I want the next match,” Danny said in a vengeful tone. He was a bit bigger than Billy, stronger too. But Marty was much bigger than either of them. They were all on the football team, but he was on the defensive line and they were only backs.

Sensei stepped in and growled. “Sit down.”

Emily was watching from the side through the whole match. Marty and his buddy, Jeff Schenk, joined the dojo last week. It was a special promotion: first two weeks free. They seemed wrong, somehow insincere. They already had some skills, especially Marty. But they had roughed up everyone they were paired with, apologizing each time for their seeming lack of control. It was getting to be quite annoying. The monthly sparring party was supposed to be rather more convivial. But for Danny this was the last straw.

Meet Emma Woodcock, Author of Darklands

Emma Woodcock's new novel, Darklands, "draws on fairy tale folklore as well as ideas of parallel universes to imagine a world similar to our own, but in which technology is viewed as outlandish and miraculous, while people routinely use magic to do everyday things." You can read more about Darklands on Emma's blog. You can get Darklands at Amazon or Amazon.UK. And you can follow her on Facebook too.

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself. What else do you do besides writing?

All I ever wanted to do was write books, but the need to make a living kept getting in the way. I have variously worked as a potter, librarian, and most recently web designer. By living on twigs and acorns, I have managed to survive working only part time for the past three years, so that I could finally have time to write that book. Everyone tutted, shook their heads and sucked their teeth – and when the economy immediately nose-dived, their misgivings seemed justified. But it was the best decision I ever made. Even if my career as an author comes to nothing, I am so glad that I've given it a proper chance.

Interview with Michael Cardano, Friend to Emily Kane’s Family

What can you tell us about yourself? That’s usually the best place to start.

I think you’ll find I’m not that interesting. I’m just a bureaucrat who’s been in and out of government service. Most of the time, I’ve worked with the State Department in one capacity or another. Right now I work out of a think tank where I specialize in forecasts about Southeast Asian economies. It’s pretty dull stuff on the whole.

Is that what you were doing in the Philippines twenty years ago?

Oh, you know about that. [Pauses] Well, I was working out of the embassy in Manila in those days. I mainly worked on the Trade desk, assisting with import/export contracts, foreign investment, that sort of thing.

Did you have any contact with someone named Meacham in Manila?

Ahhh. So you’ve done some homework. Ordinarily I would stonewall you about Meacham…, like I was worried about national security. But I don’t think that matters anymore. What do you want to know?