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Corfu, Greece
Liana Metal lives in Greece, on the island of Corfu. She is an EFL teacher(MAEd -Applied Linguistics), book reviewer and freelance writer. Liana is also an artist. Her drawings/paintings can be found both online at www.aggelia-online.gr and at several shops in Corfu town. To contact the artist visit http://LianaMetal.tripod.com or her blog at http://LianasKerkyra.blogspot.com Η Ηλιάνα Μεταλληνού διδάσκει Αγγλικά στην Κέρκυρα, γράφει άρθρα και ιστορίες για έντυπες και ηλεκτρονικές εκδόσεις σε όλο τον κόσμο και ζωγραφίζει. Μπορείτε να την επισκεφθείτε στην ηλεκτρονική διεύθυνση http://toasprosaligari.blogspot.com και http://www.coffeetimecorfu.com

Storytime

Storytime
A book for kids/ 3 stories in English

Saturday, August 15, 2009

One Lovely Blog Award


I've been greatly honored to receive One Lovely Blog Award from a special friend and writer, who is also herself a very worthy recipient of the award: Helena Harper

Helena is a fellow modern languages teacher who has also been interested in writing; she has written from short, fantasy stories for children to poetry for adults. She is a unique poet and a fellow VBT-Writers on the Move member.

Helena uses an original way to express her feelings via poetry, and her book 'It's a Teacher's Life...!' illustrates her life as a teacher vividly and successfully. Her second book, 'Family and More - Enemies or Friends?' is also an interesting collection of poetry. You can find extensive extracts from both collections on her website www.helenaharper.com.

Helena also writes unique, personalized poems for any occasion or situation, for anyone who wishes. Website http://sayitwithapoem.bttradespace.com


It is now my pleasure to pass on this award. These are the rules for those individuals I choose. They are simple:
1) Accept the award, and don’t forget to post a link back to the awarding person.
2) Pass the award on.

3) Notify the award winners.


There are two persons I would like to pass this award on to, who have inspired me in different ways:

Harry Gilleland


Mary Ann Melton



Harry Gilleland is an excellent poet and author , former faculty member in the Dept. of Microbiology and Immunolgy at LSU Health Science Center, School of Medicine in Shreveport. Harry was the first to host me in the VBT-Writers on the Move and was very encouraging and kind despite my mistakes! (Thank you!) "Poetic Musings of an Old, Fat Man" is Harry's third book. It contains an assortment of his poetry. It has both rhyming storoems (story-poems) and free-verse poems. Harry is definitely a person that deserves to get this award!


Mary Ann Melton is a fantastic photographer I got to know via Tweeter and from Henry Melton's site. She runs a wonderful blog filled with her photos from nature. She gets inspired by the beauty in the world around her and this aspect has made me to appreciate her sense for beauty and harmony. I have hosted Mary Ann in my blog quite recently.

Both these persons are unique in their own way. Enjoy their blog!

Monday, August 10, 2009

Viewpoint

Stephen Tremp would like us to join in, so here's the link to his blog

http://stephentremp .blogspot. com <http://stephentremp .blogspot. com


Thanks for visiting!

Liana

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Meet Joel Huan


Interview with Joel Huan, the author of Over Mount Fuji


Tell us about yourself first.


I'm a graduate with a commerce degree, but find novel writing far more creative and exciting. I began

seeking out knowledge just the same as novelist John Gardner said, ‘Fiction seeks out truth.’


When did you start writing?


Well, that was about ten or eleven years ago. I started to moonlight when I was working full time as an accountant for the hotel industry. But accounting work is boring . . .


What genres have you written?


sort of science fiction but with a literary hint. Perhaps you might not be aware of a strange sound in the South Pacific call the bloop. I am a research writer, and I have being rather intrigued by this mysterious phenomenon, but I write this mystery in fiction.

Is Over Mount Fuji your first book?


for fiction, yes.


Tell us about your book. What is it about?


The book is sort of science fiction, but extrapolates a very unique reason for a researched phenomena of deep ocean earthquakes, ship disappearances, volcanic eruptions, and the mysterious bloop sound in the South Pacific Ocean. You might like to watch the video below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M3Rpy3tv50&feature=related

What inspired you to write this book?


A long story. We had all thought that knowledge could only be learned from textbooks or from other works of texts, and nothing from fiction. But then again, we had unknowingly set our minds squarely in the box. We need to break into the unthinkable. Sometimes it requires only a small effort; sometimes some sheer imaginations beyond the ordinary are needed.

Take for example, in the field of science fiction. A science fiction writer would need to accumulate vast amount of knowledge in order to write another work of science fiction. The writer must be able to think hard through the various problems to make his or her fiction cohesive to work. Heinlein was one of the greats of hard science fiction; he wanted to be scientifically accurate. And Destination Moon seems a serious attempt to present a realistic version of how we might reach the moon, filmed nearly a decade before any human being could achieve orbit.

For sure we wouldn’t be able to know all the technical details, or how precisely things will come to pass. As Arthur Clark claimed, “No one can predict the future,” but he couldn’t resist drawing up timelines for what he called “possible futures.” Yes, about all the possibilities out there. Of course most fiction writers would never be compared to Arthur C. Clark or Heinlein, but then again, fiction writing is elaborate, tedious and complex, but the general consensus is the same: that fiction explores the minds, explode our imagination and open a range of possibilities that cannot be expressed in textbooks.

It is precisely this reason that Over Mount Fuji is written.

Who is the publisher of your book?


Youwriteon -- It is a new upstart publisher based in London, and is partially financed by the British Arts Council.


Where is it on sale?


both in Amazon and Barnesandnoble


What are the major challenges that you have faced in your career?


finding time to work and then write whenever I am free. While members of my accounting profession would be taking more courses and networking to further their careers, I was alone working on my writing.

Has the Internet helped you in your writing career?

How?


Well, some of my research were done via the internet, but most information were not there. I still need to research the libraries and crack my head and imagination to create a scenario that is suitable to the theme and ideas I wish to expound.


What do you advise new writers to do?


Be aware that novel writing doesn't pay, and you must be able to enjoy long hours alone. Often I rose up in the middle of the night to jot down a few points before going back to sleep. So be willing and able to sacrifice before jumping into it.


Thank you!

Monday, August 3, 2009

Gayle Trent -part 2


Today, you will learn more about Gayle's book. Here is her Press Release information:


MURDER TAKES THE CAKE, BY GAYLE TRENT


• In Gayle Trent’s latest mystery Murder Takes the Cake (ISBN: 978-0-9802453-6-3, available October 1, 2008), when the meanest gossip in Brea Ridge dies mysteriously, suspicions turn to cake decorator Daphne Martin. But all Daphne did was deliver a spice cake with cream cheese frosting--and find Yodel's body. Now Daphne's got to help solve the murder and clear her good name. Problem is, her Virginia hometown is brimming with people who had good reason to kill Yodel, and Daphne's whole family is among them.

• Murder Takes The Cake tells the story of Daphne Martin, a forty-year-old divorcee who returns to her fictional hometown of Brea Ridge, Virginia to start her life over. She has left behind an ex-husband who is in prison for an attempt on Daphne's life, a dingy apartment and a stale career. She has started fresh in a new home with a new career, Daphne's Delectable Cakes, a cake-decorating company Daphne runs out of her home. She is thrilled to be living closer to her beloved niece and nephew, although being close to other family members brings up lifelong resentments and more than a couple complications. Daphne is also reunited with childhood friend, Ben Jacobs, a full-fledged HAG (hot, available guy). Then Daphne finds her first client dead.

• "Gayle whips up a sweetly satisfying mystery that'll have you licking your lips for more!" – Christine Verstraete, Searching for A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery

• “Murder Takes The Cake has all the right ingredients for a delicious read.” – Ellen Crosby, The Bordeaux Betrayal


PUBLISHER:
BELL BRIDGE BOOKS
Deborah Smith, Dir. Mktg.
Phone: 706-864-3306
E-mail: debbsmith@aol.com
Website: http://www.bellbridgebooks.com

AUTHOR: GAYLE TRENT
Phone: 276.645.0301
E-mail: gd830@hotmail.com
Website: http://www.gayletrent.com


Purchasing Information: Books bought from Bell Bridge Books will be personalized. They can be purchased through the website at http://www.bellbridgebooks.com. The Amazon page is http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Takes-Cake-Gayle-Trent/dp/0980245362/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237845598&sr=8-1 ; Amazon reviews are available at this page.


Additional Reviews:

http://medialiteracy.suite101.com/article.cfm/book_review_of_murder_takes_the_cake

http://www.literaryfeline.com/2008/11/reviewl-murder-takes-cake-by-gayle.html

http://genregoroundreviews.blogspot.com/2009/01/murder-takes-cake-gayle-trent.html

http://iyamvixenbooks.blogspot.com/2008/09/murder-takes-cake-daphne-matin-mystery.html

http://www.bellebooks.com/BellBridge/books/MurderTakestheCake.asp
(also, check out the book trailer at Bell Bridge’s site)

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Thank you Gayle for all the information you've given us, and Good Luck with your next book!