Summer Reading List

-
When I was writing my first book,Pale as the Moon (published 1999 by Coastal Carolina Press) I had a vision of who would read it. In my mind I saw a little girl at the beach. She was sitting in one of those Adirondack chairs on the deck of a beach cottage over-looking the ocean. That was because the book is set on the Outer Banks of the NC coast. Pale as the Moon is a good beach read, even some adults have confessed to reading it.

This is the season for beach-reading! I haven’t published a new book in a couple of years, but I’d like to introduce you to some friends who have released books this summer.

My friend RJ (Bob) McCarthy has just released the third book in his Tony Quarry Carolina Mystery series – Quarry Steps To. The story is set in the rural community of Sligoville where factory closures have left the residents jobless and filled with resentment. Some have turned to criminal activity including drugs.

In protecting a retired teacher from teenage vandals, Quarry then has to deal with their enraged parents. The turn toward criminality has been partially held in check by Tink Sputter, their self-anointed preacher with an Old Testament sense of justice. In turn, Sputter’s efforts are more than leveled by the vengeful Fireman Lowbridge whose weapon of choice is arson. Quarry faces the dilemma of his life – to use karate in a circumstance other than to defend himself or to help someone else, a key element of his morality. Quarry Steps To delivers an action-packed and enjoyable read. If you’ve read McCarthy’s previous books in his series, you will be reacquainted with characters you’ve met before and grown to love. I really like Russ, an over-sized Golden Retriever, who plays an important role in the action.



KF (Kay) Whatley just released her first novel, Making Corrections, this month. Kay is owner/editor of The Grey Area News, so she is a seasoned writer of non-fiction and has also had published some short stories.

https://www.amazon.com/Making-Corrections-K-F-Whatley/dp/198067471X/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8In Making Corrections the main character, Carrie, didn’t believe in time travel, but she’d do anything to go back in time to when Mig was still alive – when he was still standing at her side doing yard work, running the newspaper, sleeping beside her every night.

And, so she called Mr. Braggin, expert in time travel, a strange character who taught her more than how to go back in time. This book is a love story which asks the question, “If you could go back in time and change some sad events, would you also be ready to deal with the consequences?” I recommend this heart-warming book as a pleasant and thought provoking read.



https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Turns-Kim-Beall/dp/1625267894/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8Another friend, Kim Beall, also has just published her first novel, SevenTurns. This book also crosses genres: fantasy/sifi/romance. Seven Turns is the story of recently divorced Callaghan McCarthy whose income from her best-selling book, a ghost story, is running out. So, has her inspiration for writing. In an effort to create a sequel she is bound for a ghostly bed and breakfast in a small Southern town, recommended by a new internet friend who promised she would once again find her muse within its walls. She learns there are more than ghosts residing at Vale House and finding her way around is almost as difficult as finding her way through life. As I read Seven Turns I had the feeling it was much more than an entertaining tale, but a metaphor for being lost and not knowing which way to turn after a great loss as in divorce or death of a loved one.
All three of these books are available on Amazon in print and ebook form. Take them to the beach with you – or read them from your favorite cozy reading spot. Be sure to review it on Amazon. Those reviews are like gold to an author!





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Wasn't Really into Politics

-
Image
  I really wasn't into politics for most of my life. What I remember about politics was that Mama believed in voting for the man, not the party. Growing up almost everyone in my hometown were registered Democrat because there was some reason that had to do with voting in the primaries. I don’t know why to this day. But, in my idealistic 18-year-old brain I thought there should be a balance, so I registered Republican. And voted for Nixon! I worked at the poles and embroidered an elephant on my bell-bottomed blue jeans. Daddy defended Nixon through the whole Watergate thing, so I did too. I had no clue what it was all about. I don’t remember Mama voicing an opinion. She didn’t believe in arguing politics. It was forbidden at the dinner table. Fast forward past my young adult self. My husband was a union member and a shop-steward. He helped campaign for Kennedy. Our garage held stacks of yard signs and bumper stickers. He preached that the Democrats were for the working man. I di
Read more

I Wish I'd Asked Grandma

-
“I wish I’d asked Grandma while she was still here about the time . . ..” How many of us have said those very words? How many of us can’t remember the details of old stories once told out on the front porch after supper on a summer’s evening? Maybe we were young when the stories were being told and didn’t think we’d one day wish we’d listened more carefully. Wish we’d taken the time to write them down. I am preparing to facilitate a weeklong writing workshop titled Front Porch Stories . In this workshop we will be preserving those old stories we used to hear the grownups tell out on the front porch after supper. Before TV and computers folks told stories for entertainment. On a summer’s night after supper we sat out on the screened in front porch to catch a cool breeze and let supper settle before bedtime. We sipped iced tea or lemonade and talked. The little children played in the yard, chasing and catching lightning bugs. But even the children finally came to rest and lis
Read more

When the Lights go Out

-
Image
It is hurricane season, which heightens the chances of going without out power for a while. I learned there are lots of things we don’t really need to survive. Well, I already knew it from countless camping trips my husband and I took with the kids when they were little and we were poor. First of all flashlights will get you to the bathroom without stubbing your toes. And you can read by flashlight, find the potato chips and check to make sure the kids didn’t sneak out in the middle of the night. Second, cooking on the grill or over a wood fire is fun – for three days then it’s a pain in the tail because the kids get tired of gathering deadfall. Third, a five-gallon bucket and a toilet plunger will make a pretty good washing machine, and then there is the solar powered dryer, aka the clothesline. There are plenty of things you can do for fun besides watch TV or hanging out on social media: board games, read, walk, play out doors, sew, paint and draw, arts and crafts
Read more