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writerchristophfischer

Monthly Archives: March 2020

Laughter is good medicine — snorts are even better. #FreeBook

26 Thursday Mar 2020

Posted by Christoph Fischer in Uncategorized

≈ 8 Comments

Free laughs by the wonderful Teagan R. Geneviene

Teagan's Books

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Pigs Road Moon unsplash compositeDeme & Honeybell, image by Teagan

Laughter, they say, is the best medicine.  So, wouldn’t be even better when something makes you snort?

I write all sorts of stories.  I’ve been told that I do some genre mash-ups.  However, there’s one thing you can count on with my stories — whimsy.  In the universe of Atonement, Tennessee, maybe in any of my story-verses, the most whimsical volume is The Glowing Pigs — Snort Stories of Atonement, Tennessee.  

Pigs collection cover bannerIt’s been hard for me to keep my spirits up during this pandemic.  I know I’m certainly not the only one.  Everybody could use a little “snort.”  So, this Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday only, the Kindle version of this collection of short stories is free! 

Dyanna Wyndesong gave the collection this wonderful review.  It made spirits soar for Deme and Honeybell — and especially…

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FREE on March 24 and $.99 on March 25-26 “Politicians, Potholes and Pralines” by Colleen Mooney

24 Tuesday Mar 2020

Posted by Christoph Fischer in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

I’m delighted to support a special promotion for Colleen Mooney, a writer colleague I have a lot of time for:
FREE on March 24 and $.99 on March 25-26, 2020 on Amazon

Politicians, Potholes and Pralines by Colleen Mooney

Amazon US Link 

https://www.amazon.com/Politicians-Potholes-Pralines-Orleans-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B07MWDNZFY/

Amazon UK link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Politicians-Potholes-Pralines-Orleans-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B07MWDNZFY/

Blurb

No good deed goes unpunished as they say.  In Brandy Alexander’s case, no good deed goes without finding a body and a crime to solve.  After work she joins her friend, Whit, to celebrate his Judge of the Year nomination. When she goes to return his jacket he left in the bar she finds herself smack in the middle of a crime scene.  The doors to his home and security gates are wide open, his dog is nowhere to be found, the safe is empty, an ex-wife standing is standing at  the top of the stairs and the Judge is facedown in a pool of blood. Loves, loyalties, friendships and lives are all at stake – and the clues might be gone with the dogs.

Colleen Mooney
Sisters in Crime; New Orleans    Chapter President 2017-2018
USA TODAY & Wall Street Journal Best Selling Author
The New Orleans Go Cup Chronicles
RESCUED BY A KISS Book 1
DEAD And BREAKFAST Book 2
DRIVE THRU MURDER Book 3
DEATH BY RUM BALLS Book 4
DOG GONE AND DEAD Book 5

POLITICIANS, POTHOLES & PRALINES Book 6

FIREWORKS, FORENSICS & FELONIES Book 7

Connect with Colleen:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8548635.Colleen_Mooney

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pg/ColleenMooneyAuthor/posts/?ref=page_internal

Twitter:      https://twitter.com/mooney_colleen

BookBub:    https://www.bookbub.com/profile/colleen-mooney

Website:    www.colleenmooney.com
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Colleen-Mooney/e/B00N9I5DMK/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

Colleen Mooney

About Colleen Mooney

Colleen Mooney is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal Best Selling Author.

Born and raised in New Orleans. she started going to parades and watched them from sitting on my Dad’s shoulders before she could walk. She’s been in Girl Scout parades, high school parades, St. Patrick’s parades, Mardi Gras parades, on dance teams in parades and just about any loosely organized group who deemed it necessary to parade. Colleen says, “I just can’t help myself. I love parades.”

She attended Loyola of the South in New Orleans so she wouldn’t be far from a parade.

Colleen spent 20+ years working for and retired from AT&T. She has worked and lived in New York City, Madison, New Jersey, Atlanta, Georgia and Birmingham, Alabama returning home for the big parade every year–Mardi Gras.
clm.photo .jpeg copy

Colleen says, “Before Katrina, I moved away and back three times, four if you count rebuilding the same house at the same address after Katrina flooded my home. I did miss a couple of parades that year.

I’m an avid sailor and Scuba diver for many years, and made lasting friendships from sailing and dive trips. I love travel and if the opportunity presents itself, I’m there. Except for a brief stint where I had to own and learn how to ride a motorcycle, I’ve been a water baby. When I am not enjoying fun with friends in all New Orleans has to offer- sailing and racing with friends on Lake Pontchartrain, Mardi Gras, parties and festivals- I head to Florida.

I am an ardent animal lover and direct volunteer breed rescue work as Schnauzer Rescue of Louisiana. I love to write and I write about what I know and love! You can take the girl out of New Orleans, but you can’t take the New Orleans out of the girl!”

Six books have been released in her series: Politicians, Potholes and Pralines is Book 6, Dog Gone and Dead is Book 5, Death By Rum Balls is Book 4, Drive Thru Murder is Book 3, Dead & Breakfast is Book 2 and Rescued By a Kiss is the first. Her second book in the series THE NEW ORLEANS GO CUP CHRONICLES placed in two categories in the 2014 SOLA Chapter of RWA’s Dixie Kane contest for Short/Long Series for Contemporary fiction and for Single Title Contemporary fiction. Book 7, Fireworks, Forensics and Felonies is due to release in September of 2019.

Feel free to get in touch with Colleen by visiting her website at http://www.ColleenMooney.com

Guest Spot : Judith Arnopp

20 Friday Mar 2020

Posted by Christoph Fischer in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

I couldn’t resist to ‘steal’ this post from the wonderful Helen Hollick and her Discovering Diamonds blog

This is a re-blog from https://discoveringdiamonds.blogspot.com/2020/03/mid-week-guest-spot-judith-arnopp.html

Mid-Week Guest Spot : Judith Arnopp

Judith Arnopp is the author of twelve historical fiction novels written from the perspective of historical women from all walks of life, prostitutes to Tudor queens. Her non-fiction articles feature in various historical anthologies, magazines and historical blogs. She also gives talks on history and writing historical fiction.

Judith says:

My books feature people from history: well-known figures like Anne Boleyn, Katherine Parr, Margaret Beaufort, Elizabeth of York, or aspects of Tudor history that are not often covered in fiction. I find all manner of Tudor women fascinating. The Winchester Goose is told from the perspective of a prostitute from Southwark while Sisters of Arden tells the story of three nuns who are turned out of their priory during the dissolution of the monasteries and  join the pilgrimage of grace.

All my novels encompass the problems women faced during this time; the oppression, the childbirth, and far too often, the loss of those children. In most cases, the challenges they faced were every bit as dangerous as the battlefield.

I’ve always been intrigued by the Tudor court. It is not so much the fancy clothing or jewels or the fabulous palaces but the psyche of the key members of Henry’s family. I attempt to answer the questions I’ve always asked myself: What made Henry VIII the way he was? Why has Margaret Beaufort such a bad reputation? Who was Perkin Warbeck? Why does Elizabeth of York take such a back seat?

I explore the Tudor world from the perspective of these main players. Seeing things in this way has brought me to some interesting conclusions.

Perspective fascinates me; the same person can be different things to different people. For instance, the character and motives of Margaret Beaufort alters depending on the stance of the author. Those who favour York see little good in her at all, and those who follow Lancaster cast her as a saint. In reality, she is more likely to have been somewhere in between – just as we all are.

I like to present as balanced a picture as I can. In A Song of Sixpence viewed from Elizabeth of York’s eyes, Margaret initially seems to be quite a negative person. There is usually some sort of tension between a new bride and her mother-in-law, and Margaret did hold a lot of influence and didn’t hesitate to interfere in the marriage. This could have been from the best of motives but I am quite sure Elizabeth would not have seen it like that. As the story progresses and they come to know each other better the two women are reconciled and become friends. In my series, The Beaufort Chronicle, in which Margaret narrates her own tale I’ve given her the opportunity to relate the extraordinary life she led. In The Heretic Wind, I do a similar thing for Mary Tudor, offering her the chance to vindicate her actions and shake off the inappropriate title of ‘Bloody Mary’. I haven’t tried to whitewash her though, but by allowing her to justify her decisions she emerges as more troubled than ‘bloody’.

One of the things I like most about writing historical fiction is the research. My house is full of books, medieval music, and  portraits (prints of course). I like to study the historiography of my subject to consider how he/she has been perceived by different generations. Part of my job is to visit the relevant castles, palaces, towns and even gardens that form the backdrop of the world I am conjuring. I have also adopted some medieval hobbies so I can understand how women of the era passed their time. I do (rather bad) medieval style embroidery; I make and dress up in Tudor clothes to see how they feel; how long it takes to put them on and how easy they are to rip off – ha ha!

I watch documentaries, dramas (the good and the bad), read contemporary poetry, plays etc. Research is never-ending but I love it. Only a tiny portion of the things I learn actually make it into the book but I put it to good use in my blogs, articles or talks and lectures.

My latest novel is The Heretic Wind; the story of Mary Tudor, Queen of England and it has been very well-received so far. I was intending to take a break from writing this year. Sometimes I feel really wrung out with the work but, less than a month since THW was published, and I am already plotting the next one which will be set during the time of Catherine of Aragon. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever run out of inspiration but Henry keeps me well supplied with stories.

Judith Arnopp

Judith’s books are available on Kindle, paperback and some are on Audible. For more information:

Webpage: www.judithmarnopp.com

Author page: author.to/juditharnoppbooks

Blog: http://juditharnoppnovelist.blogspot.co.uk/


Click HERE to find  Judith on Discovering Diamonds

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and you would like to participate in our 

 Guest Spot

click HERE for details

Guest author: N. A. Granger ~ Torrent…a #writephoto story and news of The Last Pilgrim

17 Tuesday Mar 2020

Posted by Christoph Fischer in Uncategorized

≈ 5 Comments

I was lucky enough to meet N A Granger at a blogger’s bash in London. A sound academic, a fascinating and lovely woman. Looking forward to this!

Sue Vincent's Daily Echo

Eliza finally had to stop their mad flight, putting her arms around her little brother, both of them panting for breath.

When Indians had attacked their home in Kentucke, near Harrod’s Town, her parents dropped her and her four year old brother Elias heard into a deep dug-out space beneath the cabin. The Indians hadn’t found her, perhaps because of the bed placed over the floor, but she nearly suffocated Elias when he started to whimper. The noise of ransacking luckily covered his crying, and she heard a struggle, accompanied by her mother’s screams. After that, there were footsteps overhead, pacing here and there. Then silence, except for the noise of the flames consuming the house. They struggled to breathe, as the smoke filtered down, and Eliza covered her brother’s body with hers to keep him from burning. Her back stung where her dress had charred.

They remained in the…

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#Bookreview – Deborah A. Bowman and Christoph Fischer

12 Thursday Mar 2020

Posted by Christoph Fischer in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

via #Bookreview – Deborah A. Bowman and Christoph Fischer

I never get tired of this review

 

This book was a wonderful insight into the world of alternative healing and the conflict between holistic medicine and Western medicine.  Maria Miller, aka Erika Whittaker, seeks out a previously famous healer, Arpan, after being diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Maria has already undergone chemotherapy, which has failed her, and, with a remaining life expectancy of only a few weeks, she has nothing to lose by investing her faith in Arpan. Arpan retired from healing twenty years previously and has been leading a life of austere solitude ever since. When he meets Maria, however, she is able to convince him to help her and he agrees to treat her.

Over the course of her treatment, Maria learns to face the internal fears and  emotional shortcomings that Arpan believes have lead to her cancer. The descriptions of the various treatments is very detailed and convincing and I really grew to like Arpan for his goodness and forgiving nature. I became very fond of Maria too as you view the intense healing process through her eyes and almost suffer with her.

As the book progresses, the reason why Maria changed her name prior to seeking Arpan help unfolds, together with Arpan’s reasons for retiring and dropping out of the public eye so many years previously.

I found The Healer to be a fast paced and well written book with a number of twists and surprises. The ending really surprised me.

I rated this book five out of five stars.

“Girl, Woman, Other” by Bernardine Evaristo #review

11 Wednesday Mar 2020

Posted by Christoph Fischer in Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Image result for girl woman other by bernardine evaristoI was keen to read the winner of the Booker Prize. “Girl, Woman, Other…”  is an ambitious book, a collection of women’s stories, spanning a variety of race, sexual orientation and identification. From poor to rich, from a Nigerian woman ending up as widow in London, where she never wanted to go in the first place, to her daughter, a woman banker in London, an old bitter teacher – black lesbians, gender fluid characters – this is as wide a range as you can imagine. Some of these stories interlink, sometimes unexpectedly at odd moments, but mainly it felt also like a collection of short stories to me.

Given  my personal preference for ethnic and foreign stories, those with links to other countries seemed most interesting. Heartbreaking moments, tough circumstances and amazing new perspectives are on offer.

I admittedly didn’t care for all the stories or characters, and I’m sure I was never meant to. The book was enjoyable, well written and constructed and I’m sure that many women will identify with the topics, from male dominance in the banking world, tough love from well meaning teachers, the conflict in families between immigrants and their assimilating offspring.

I pondered long what the title was all about without being totally sure; and how the book ended up winning the Booker prize in always fierce competition.
I certainly enjoyed the book and would recommend it, but it also left me a little wanting for more.

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