Greetings! I have decided to release the cover of “Timothy the Christmas Mouse” in 4 parts. Okay, I know I am teasing all my viewers…but it is just a fun way for me to do it. I hope you all tune in for each post until the final cover release in 4 days. :-) Thanks for playing along! Book release coming soon…
-Virginia
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Ten zany birds have a tree party, until one by one they find other things to do. It’s a zany countdown – which bird will stick around?
What a cute book…and great, introduction to my special guest. Today my friend and author, Sherry Ellis has been gracious enough to take time out of her super-busy schedule to stop by my blog as, guest author. Sherry Ellis has always been an inspiration to me as she is an amazing woman, not only is she a freelance writer and award-winning author, she is a mom and a professional musician.
Her books include, That Baby Woke Me Up, AGAIN, That Mama is a Grouch, and Ten Zany Birds.
She is also a professional musician who plays and teaches violin, viola, and piano. Sherry lives with her husband and two children in Atlanta, Georgia.
You can learn more about Sherry Ellis on her website, www.sherryellis.org
Ten Zany Birds
Description: Ten zany birds have a party in a tree, singing and dancing. Five have stripes, three have spots, and one has purple polka dots. They’re all having fun, but one by one, they become distracted.
One is frightened by a loud plane. One gets hungry. One wants to race and another needs a bath. Only one stays to sing in the tree, but who will it be?
Ten Zany Birds is a fun, beautifully illustrated picture book. As parents and teachers read, children are introduced to counting and basic subtraction skills. Whenever a bird leaves, the number of striped, spotted, and polka-dotted birds changes, teaching the application of simple classification rules.
Whimsical and entertaining, Sherry Ellis’s tale of ten silly, distractible little birds is an excellent choice for both prereader storybook time and early readers.
Let’s get on with our interview:
What inspired you to write, Ten Zany Birds? My daughter received a birthday party invitation a few years ago. On the front of the card was a picture of some crazy little birds. They ignited my imagination. I had been contemplating writing a counting book, and I thought little birds would be perfect for it.
How is Ten Zany Birds different from other counting books? When I wrote Ten Zany Birds, I wanted to create a book that not only taught kids about numbers and counting, but also about colors, classifying, and basic subtraction. Ten Zany Birds does that. Each of the birds is a different color. Some have stripes. Some have spots. One has purple polka dots. As each bird becomes distracted and leaves, the number of spotted and striped birds in each group changes. It teaches children to pay attention to these details. The simple rhyming text is also good for early readers.
The water color illustrations are so colorful and whimsical. Can you tell us about the illustrator? Charu Jain is the illustrator. She is a very talented lady who lives in India. I met her through a children’s writer and illustrator social media site called, JacketFlap. I looked at samples of her work and noticed that not only were they excellent, but she also seemed to really enjoy drawing birds. That was important for a book with lots of birds! She had also mentioned that it was her dream to illustrate a children’s book. I contacted her, and the rest is history. I think children will really enjoy the colorful world she created. They’ll like the little spider and snail characters she included on each page, too.
Do you have any other projects you are working on? Yes. My agent has another picture book manuscript I wrote called, Don’t Feed the Elephant! He’s looking for a publisher. He also has the manuscripts for my children’s chapter book series. The first book is called, Bubba & Squirt and The Big Dig to China. I’m currently revising some of the manuscripts in that series. The premise of the series is that two kids, Bubba and Squirt, travel through a hole that goes through the Earth and takes them to different countries. There they have adventures, while learning about the language, history, and culture of the country. I have other ideas for picture books, and even a novel. They should keep me writing for a long time!
Where can readers purchase your book(s)? They can be found on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sherry-Ellis/e/B002BLHFN6/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ten-zany-birds-sherry-ellis/1121951429?ean=9781497404588
and Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/547690
Where can readers connect with you? I’m on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sherry-Ellis-388897186076/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/513sherrye
and Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4818957.Sherry_Ellis
They can also connect with me on my blog: http://sherryellis.blogspot.com
And at my website: www.sherryellis.org
Thank you for having me as a guest!
You are welcome, Sherry. As always you are an inspiration. I wish you the best with your new book Ten Zany Birds, it is an adorable book. I also look forward to your future writing projects!
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Image Copyright Ingrid Hall
Do you have a fascination with death and afterlife? If so, then this anthology is definitely for you and best of all it will be FREE. Published from July 2015, it includes an ecclectic and diverse mix of short stories, poems, fictions and essays related to the possibly slightly ghoulish subject of ‘death! Sooner or later it comes to us all and just like ‘love’ and ‘war’ it is a topic that can stimulate the most creative and thought-provoking written pieces.
Thank you, Ingrid Hall for inviting me to join the other contributors in the making of this book. I appreciate your effort!
This is a rather lengthy interview, so grab your coffee or a cool and refreshing beverage; as this post is worth reading on… I accidently met Joe through my virtual brother, Dennis Higgins. Dennis is a time travel author and he started writing about time travel books and movies on his blog. He did a post on a 1980 movie called My Mother Was Never a Kid. Joe Cosentino visited his blog post as did I, and this is how an author guest post on my blog with Joe was born. You see, Joe was an actor in the movie that Dennis was blogging about.
Joe Cosentino’s Jana Lane mystery series (beginning with PAPER DOLL) is about an ex-child star uncovering secrets about her past. Joe Cosentino’s favorite ex-child star is Hayley Mills. Who is yours and why? Post a comment. I will select the one that wets my appetite the most and forward your name and email address to Joe Cosentino who will email you a PDF of PAPER DOLL (Jana Lane mystery book 1).
Joe Cosentino is the author of An Infatuation (Dreamspinner Press), Paper Doll, the first Jana Lane mystery (Whiskey Creek Press), Drama Queen, the first Nicky and Noah mystery (Lethe Press-releasing this summer), and The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (Eldridge Plays and Musicals). He has appeared in principal acting roles in film, television, and theatre, opposite stars such as Bruce Willis, Rosie O’Donnell, Nathan Lane, Holland Taylor, and Jason Robards. His one-act plays, Infatuation and Neighbor, were performed in New York City. He wrote The Perils of Pauline educational film (Prentice Hall Publishers).
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Joe is currently Head of the Department/Professor at a college in upstate New York, and is happily married. His upcoming novels are Porcelain Doll (the second Jana Lane mystery) and Drama Muscle (the second Nicky and Noah mystery).
Web site: http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JoeCosentinoauthor Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeCosen Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4071647 Joe_Cosentino Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00KRPXJP6
PAPER DOLL (Jana Lane mystery 1) 
by JOE COSENTINO
A mystery/romance novel from Whiskey Creek Press e-book $3.99 purchase links: Whiskey Creek Press: a A mystery/romance novel from Whiskey Creek Press e-book $3.99 purchase links: Whiskey Creek Press: http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1292 Amazon: http://amzn.to/1xGDOJZ
Book description:
Jana Lane was America’s most famous child star until she was attacked on the studio lot at eighteen years old. Now she’s a thirty-eight-year-old beauty and mother of two living in a mansion in picturesque Hudson Valley, New York. Jana’s flashbacks from her past turn into murder attempts in her present. Forced to summon up the lost courage she had as a child, Jana visits the California movie studio she once called home. This sends her on a whirlwind of visits with former and current movie studio personnel. It also leads to a romance with the son of her old producer – Rocco Cavoto – the devilishly handsome filmmaker who is planning Jana’s comeback both professionally and personally. Can Jana uncover a web of secrets about everyone she loves, including the person who destroyed her past and threatens to snuff out her future?
Pg 2 Excerpt from AN INFATUATION by Joe Cosentino …
Pg 3 Excerpt from PAPER DOLL (Jana Lane mystery book 1):
Pg 4 Hummus Recipe by Joe Cosentino
Joe Cosentino the Actor
ABC TV …
Q & A with Joe Cosentino
Eight-and-a-half, but only two have been published so far. The other seven should be published soon, but not soon enough for me. I can’t wait! PAPER DOLL (the first Jana Lane mystery/romance novel) is published by Whiskey Creek Press/Start Publishing. PORCELAIN DOLL (finished) and SATIN DOLL (which I am writing now) should follow. AN INFATUATION (an MM Bittersweet Dreams romance novella based on a one-act play I wrote) is published by Dreamspinner Press. A SHOOTING STAR and A HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS should follow. The first Nicky and Noah MM comedy/romance/mystery novel, DRAMA QUEEN, will be released by Lethe Press this summer. DRAMA MUSCLE and DRAMA CRUISE should follow. My mother said to me, “Don’t you have anything better to do than write all those books?” I wonder if Shakespeare’s mother said that? Hah.
As a kid I played make believe constantly. “Let’s put on a show!” was my motto. Thankfully my parents and teachers indulged me (rather than committed me-hah). Eventually I became an actor working opposite stars like Bruce Willis (A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM in regional theatre), Nathan Lane (ROAR OF THE GREASPAINT in dinner theatre), Rosie O’Donnell (AT&T Industrial), Holland Taylor (ABC-TV movie MY MOTHER WAS NEVER A KID), and Jason Robards (Commercial Credit Computer commercial). Morphing into writing plays and now novels seemed like the perfect progression. I use my knowledge of show business to tell shocking, riveting, and entertaining stories.
I never get writer’s block. There are stories in my head constantly. My challenge is figuring out which ones to write. Like many writers, I keep a pad and pencil on my night table and wake up constantly to write down ideas. Sometimes they are terrific ideas. Other times they make no sense. I can’t figure out where they come from.
Write every day. I love reading and writing stories with engaging characters who I want to spend time with. I recommend letting your characters talk to one another and seeing what happens. I prefer mystery suspense novels that drop lots of clues leading to the murderer. I also recommend incorporating many other characters with secrets into the story. A writer should create an entire world of suspense above and beyond “who done it.” When a reader finishes a book, he/she should be satisfied that the various parts equaled the whole, rather than the author pulling an ending out of the hat.
Many readers have compared PAPER DOLL to an Agatha Christie or a Mary Higgins Clark novel. They’ve compared AN INFATUATION to Armistead Maupin. I am incredibly flattered and hold on to those comparisons dearly!
The only sound I like to hear when writing are the voices in my head, and boy do they have a lot to say.
A number of reviewers and readers mentioned my writing is theatrical and cinematic. They love the humor, mystery, romance, drama, surprises, and plot twist and turns. I think that comes from my background in acting, writing plays, and directing plays, as well as teaching acting. AN INFATUATION began as a one-act play. I believe my novels would make terrific films. So come on, producers, make me an offer I can’t refuse!
I absolutely love hearing from readers. I’ve received so many beautiful and touching emails from readers who say reading AN INFATUATION changed their lives and they will always cherish it. I’ve also received quite a number of messages from both men and women who are begging for the next Jana Lane mystery. I love hearing that! So in addition to my web site, I am quite active on Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter.
I’m a hummus fanatic. I’m also a fan of healthy and simply prepared food. So here’s my hummus recipe. Blend in a blender 2 cups of drained canned chickpeas, 6 tbsp of fresh-squeezed lemon juice, 1/3 cup of sesame tahini, 1 tsp. of plum paste, 2 cloves of cooked garlic, 1 tsp. of liquid amino acid/unsalted soy sauce. After blending for 1 minute, top with toasted sesame seeds and toasted seaweed bits. Serve with organic unsalted vegetable chips.
10. Do you have a next work in progress? Tell us about it.
In the first Jana Lane mystery novel (PAPER DOLL), ex-child star Jana Lane learns amazing secrets about everyone from her past, including who killed two people. She also embarks on a forbidden romance. In the second Jana Lane mystery novel (PORCELAN DOLL), Jana makes a comeback film while embarking on yet another romance, and uncovering the murderer of two individuals on the film. I am currently writing the third (SATIN DOLL), where Jana travels to Washington, DC for business and personal reasons. Of course she solves two murders there as well. Each Jana Lane mystery has lots of juicy secrets that are revealed and a shocking ending. Enjoy! And let me know what you think!
How to Bake a Chocolate Soufflé by Carly Ellen Kramer is a food fiction novel. And I thought it would be a perfect fit having Carly as a guest author since I am a foodie. Also, because I love all recipes especially old heirloom recipes.
Thank you, Carly, for stopping by and sharing information about your book. Also for giving away a signed copy of your book to one of our commenters.
Good Luck! A winner will be chosen from all those who comment, the week of March 18th.
Hugs, -Virginia
About the book
Forget what your English professor told you – life stories are not written in college.
Madeleine LaBlange, Annie Anderson, and Audrey Navarro shared formative years as roommates at Chicago’s Catholic haven for women, the historic Abbott College. If only they could have predicted the collisions between their carefully crafted life plans and the realities they discover beyond campus…
Madeleine harbors dreams of becoming a concert pianist while Dr. Reynold Fenwick, her mercurial graduate school mentor, harbors fantasies of Madeleine. Will pursuing her dreams be worth the cost? Will an evening in Budapest change her life forever?
Annie plans to build a perfect family with her perfect husband in the cutthroat news media industry, until an abrupt tragedy shakes the foundations of her marriage. What happens when she feels pulled between the two men she loves most, her husband and her father?
Audrey leaves her religious, restrictive parents behind and aims for Chicago’s downtown skyline, dating recklessly and staring down each grueling workday one Chicago Dog at a time. Will an island respite lure her away from her corporate future? When she finds herself in the arms of an unexpected lover, will she have the courage to stand up for her own evolving sense of self?
Follow the journeys of these remarkable women, and cheer them on as they navigate life, love, and chocolate soufflé.
Includes over a dozen decadent new recipes from Crowded Earth Kitchen!
Recipe 
Mrs. Baptiste’s Chocolate Soufflé
Grease four single-serving ramekins with real butter and dust with sugar. Set aside.
Set a metal mixing bowl over the top of a pot containing one inch of softly boiling water. The bottom of the mixing bowl should not touch the water in the pot. In the mixing bowl, melt ½ cup of dark chocolate chips. Stir well. Add three room temperature egg yolks and ½ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract to the bowl and mix well. The mixture will harden a bit – don’t worry, this is normal.
In a separate mixing bowl, exorcise six egg whites – beat the Devil out of them! As you beat the egg whites, add ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar and 1/3 cup of white sugar, a little at a time. When the egg white mixture forms stiff peaks, fold into chocolate mixture. Be careful not to mix the air right out of the egg whites!
Pour soufflé mixture into prepared ramekins and bake in a preheated, 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
Excerpt
“After a bit of English – to – French improvisation, I realized that Mrs. Baptiste
didn’t tell me to ‘exercise’ the egg whites. She told me to ‘exorcise’ the egg
whites, or ‘beat the Devil’ out of them!” Laughter ensued. “On my second attempt,
that is exactly what I did. I beat those egg whites until I thought my arm was going
to disconnect at the shoulder. If anyone would have seen me toiling away in my tiny,
ill equipped kitchen, I’m sure they would have laughed out loud. I worked up a
sweat. I honestly thought I pulled a bicep. But do you know what? That soufflé was
fantastic!” Several women in the audience began to laugh.
“The reason I’m sharing this story is because dreams are like that.”
“You can hold onto a dream, go after it with a halfway decent effort, and end up
with a fairly respectable result. Heck, that’s what most people do – ‘exercise.’ But
what if your dream is so big you can barely hold it in your arms? What if your dream
is so fantastic that it seems almost implausible? What if ‘a fairly respectable
result’ isn’t good enough? Well, then you take your Abbott College education, you
take the ambition and the values to which Dean Riley referred, and you go after your
dream like the Devil itself is on your heels! ‘Exorcise!’” The room erupted
“That brings me to my next point, the one nobody really wants to talk about.
Sometimes, the monster under the bed is real.”
~How to Bake a Chocolate Soufflé, page 5
~~~
Author Biography:
Carly Ellen is a food traveler and writer who loves incorporating delicious recipes into her stories. She is happily entangled in a long-standing, unashamed love affair with Europe, whose narrow roads and great cathedrals never fail to keep her Train stations, corner bistros, and old museums serve as her collective Carly Ellen has a minor obsession with French boulangeries, and is sublimely happy with a fresh baguette and cup of espresso in any cobblestoned square. How to Bake a Chocolate Soufflé is her first novel.
Author Links:
Amazon (Paperback and Kindle):
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Carly+Ellen+Kramer
Crowded Earth Kitchen: (Author Signed Copies): www.crowdedearthkitchen.com
Goodreads (Ratings, Reviews, and Author Information):
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8597207.Carly_Ellen_Kramer