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Introducing Jenzy Montague and learn about her children’s books.

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Interview With An Author – Jenzy Montague

 

Jennifer Noahs Book

 

Tell us about where are you from?

Everywhere, LOL I was born in Missouri. I call Colorado my spiritual home. I loved it there and would move back in an instant. I’ve lived in California, Montclair, New Jersey, and now Virginia. I love mountains and college towns. Virginia gives me both. Even though I live an hour from Charlottesville, Virginia, I consider that home too. I’m a history nut so much history to glean from this area!

What do you do when you’re not writing?

Tag team with my daughter and hubby in homeschooling my three precious grandbabies! If not a nose in a textbook, I’m sewing and working with my crafts. I love to get outside and dig in the soil with my gardening. My youngest grandchild loves mother earthing with me.

When did you start writing stories?

I wrote stories when I was a child. I got serious as an adult but put it on hold so I could enjoy my biggest achievement, mothering my daughter. I would always jot down notes about stories that were in my head for years. I was a single mom. I had to be the breadwinner. I worked in a corporate world until I met my hubby.

Since the pandemic, I found myself having time to re-visit my thoughts of getting serious in my writing. It was my daughter Nikki that kept me on track making it happen.

It also was the pandemic that made me realize I needed to write a children’s story about Covid-19 from a child’s point of view. Watching the concerned looks on my grandbabies’ faces, I just had to do something. Noah just popped in my head. Even his name conveys our surviving the pandemic. It is the new norm. Perhaps even a new beginning. With all the stories that were already in my head, it took a pandemic to shake me loose.

What or who inspired you to write stories?

Children. Even when I was one myself, I was compassionate about little people’s feelings, their thought patterns. I wanted to be heard and it would come out on paper.

What is your favourite genre to write and why?

Children’s literature at present. However, I have some notes that I plan to dabble in someday.

What is your favourite genre to read?

If I do not have my nose in a children’s book reading to my littles, I am reading the school curriculum for lesson planning. However, during my downtime, I love historical, paranormal, and fantasy stories.

Who is your favorite Author and why?

Nicole Strycharz. She is a multi-genre writer and I just get lost in her books!

There are other amazing authors I love too. There is Daisy St. James and Lisa K Miller. They both write paranormal romance. Reading these talented women’s works is like a vacation away from the real world for me!

What was the first story you ever wrote?

LOL As a child there was Humpless, the Humpless Camel. I dare say I was very little. In reality, it was Cynthia’s Thankful Halloween.

What happened to it? Did you save it or trash it, and why?

My amazing illustrator, Mara Reitsma, has joined forces with me to publish Cynthia’s Thankful Halloween. Mara turns my world of characters into the exact picture I have in my head. It is like we are of one mind.

My little character Cynthia has been a part of me for years. All I did was tell Mara, and she got me. Then there is you, Claire. You have the talent to frame it to perfection. I am happy to say Cynthia will be a reality hopefully in time for 2021 Halloween. As for Humpless, well, he is still in the file. LOL.

Are there any sub-genres that you would consider pairing together?

Not sure just yet. Possibilities way back in my mind at this time.

Do you have more fun writing the scenes, or creating the characters?

Creating the characters because for me they create the scenes.

You’re an Indie Author, so tell us, why go Indie? Why choose to self publish?

Why not? There is a world of amazingly talented authors out there but cannot reach the goal or luxury of being published. Hats off to the authors who have been traditionally published. After all, they are and have been our inspiration. I choose to support my pen and paper with the Indie world because the drive is for our work to get out there and be read. Without both traditional published and self-published, we would not have such a world of choices to choose from. Makes the reading world so rich!

Tell us how you work. From pen and paper, to your fingers dancing across the keys, do you find yourself cozy and warm with a cup of tea and a blazing fire? Or do you hide in your dungeon, slaving away on your latest masterpiece; the words of wisdom flowing from your fingers as the story is born? Tell us how you write?

LOL, I am usually working side by side with my daughter, Nicole. Our desks are next to each other, with a bookshelf in the middle. Both computers are ticking away with yes, a cup of tea or, most likely, coffee in the early morning. If it is further on in the day, most likely there are children running back and forth screaming at each other or calling Mom, Grandma…Not sure to this day how we do it, but we do. Chaos keeps you on your toes or, for us, our minds working our fingers on the keyboard.

Social Media Links

Noah’s Book Link: http://mybook.to/iamasuperherobyjenzym

Website: https://gaiasgirl101.wixsite.com/jenzy-myworldbooks

FB Page: https://m.facebook.com/MyWorldBooksbyJenzy/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/JenzyMontague/e/B095J8CZ53/

 

Author Bio 

Jenzy, a graduate of the Institute of Children’s Literature, has lived in many parts of the United States throughout her life but settled in Virginia with her family.

She homeschooled her daughter and aided many moms with their journey in homeschooling. She assisted with and tutored children of special needs in phonics, reading, and math.

Now, grandma to three precocious grandbabies. She joins her daughter in homeschooling them.

Jenzy’s been telling stories from childhood to grandmotherhood.

She prefers being in a cubby with pen and paper, capturing the thoughts of children. She shares that hearth of imagination with her daughter, who is also a writer. The only other place to be, she says, is enjoying her brood of three in their little classroom where she teaches!

EXCERPT FROM NOAH

I Am a Superhero A Kid’s Thoughts on Covid-19:
Available Now

Now, Mommy is my schoolteacher and school is at home. We have to stay home ‘cause there’s a sickness that hurts people. I keep forgetting the name of the sickness, so Mommy has to remind me it’s called Covid-19. I don’t like that name, so I just forget it! We have so many rules now.

We have to social distance from people. We have to stay six feet apart. That’s like as long as my dad lying down on the floor. The sickness can jump that far! Everyone wears masks. I don’t like not seeing faces, only eyes. Are they smiling or are they sad? I sing happy birthday every time I wash my hands, and it takes forever!

NEW RELEASE

Cynthia’s Thankful Halloween:
Releasing Soon

A windy start for October, just perfect for Halloween, thought Cynthia. She was the new member of the haunted house on the hill, at the edge of town. Even in the ghost world, a little ghost needs a family, and this house came with one. It wasn’t easy being a ten-year-old little ghost who just moved in and getting a new family too.

Just a few weeks ‘till Halloween. She must practice being scary. The moon would be full this year on Halloween, and her name meant moon. She had to be the best fright ever!

The Importance of Book Covers

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I do wish the days of coloured hardbacks would return and get rid of the silly paperback covers which have to be so brilliant to get anyone to buy your book. I didn’t need an image on a cover to read a good book. I read the blurb/synopsis at the library or bookstore and …well read the book.

Now it’s all graphic design and it has to be a certain type for each book to be a winner and get sales. I hate this and I’ll tell you why.  I personally don’t want to see naked male chests on my book covers. It’s not me. The reader should be reading the story because of the enticing synopsis on the back.  

A lovely person gave me the link to Amazons top 100 books for a certain genre…it also linked into the top 100 FREE Books and since I was experimenting, I decided to do with five of the FREE books to see what I thought.  I downloaded on the cover alone. Then read the synopsis…and then the story. OMG!!

Why would an author pay out hundreds for the perfect book cover and not an editor or interior book designer? All five stories had issues. One was all over the place with first-person mixed with third person, etc. Another had what looked like huge chunks left out or not written in the first place, a third one was a bear shifter story, it was cool, fun and funny and by the time I got to the end I realised the Main Character had not shifted once in the story. Sex scenes in another were much to be desired.

Now to my own books. My book covers aren’t great, they are ok and I do update and change them as well, especially if I have the money to spare. However, I do try and get the editing sorted and the interior design…I’m pedantic about interiors. It has to be as perfect as I can get it and it’s my day time job to do this. I love formatting.

As for the stories. Well most people I know who have read them, usually say ‘I want more’ or ‘When’s the next book out’ or even ‘You’re going to continue…’  I’m good with dialogue and I try to not be too boring with the background. 

What I’m really asking is, would you prefer to buy a book with a fab cover and a wonky story or…read the synopsis and get a good story with a not so good cover?

 

Proud to Announce – Jane Risdon and her New Release

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Undercover: Crime Stories by Jane Risdon

Our latest client, Jane Risdon has just released her latest book of short stories with Plaisted Publishing House (Author Assist).

It is a wonderful collection of old and new stories, murder, mystery, detective and much more. She has some amazing reviews, our favourite is from Roger A Price author of Nemesis and Vengeance

Undercover – Crime Shorts; is a wonderfully satisfying anthology of seven short stories which transcend above the crime fiction genre providing a ripping yarn irrespective of the reader’s crime fiction preference. Jane Risdon has cleverly stitched together a mix of tales to suit all fans of the genre.

The book cover was made by our contractor, Award-Winning Digital Artist, Mara Reitsma of  Covered by the Rose

 

SYNOPSIS

Under one cover for the first time a collection of crime shorts from Jane Risdon with more twists and turns than Spaghetti Junction – a must for those who enjoy gripping yarns.

The paperback can be found on Lulu:

Paperback

The ebook of your choice can be found at:

eBooks

About the Author

Jane Risdon began writing five years ago having had a successful career in the International Music Industry which has taken her all over the world working with everything from Rock, Thrash Metal, and R&B/Pop to Chinese Opera. Her work has taken her to North America, Europe, and Singapore: even to Taiwan. She’s been involved in Television, Radio, and the Movies around the world.

Travelling extensively and living overseas she draws upon her life experiences when writing Crime/Mystery novels, short stories in all genres – including humour, and she has dabbled in flash fiction. 

Some of these experiences have found their way into her short stories about the Music Business, and she is presently working on a novel which will bring a lot of her crazier ‘rock ‘n roll’ experiences into one tome. 

Her main focus remains crime, however, and she is working on a series of novels called ‘Ms. Birdsong Investigates’ centered around a glamorous ex MI5 Officer forced into early retirement, who is trying to keep a low profile in a rural village in Oxfordshire. Her past experiences come to the fore when she finds herself investigating murder. Soon she finds herself back on old territory with Russian Mafia, Ukrainian People Traffickers, and an old flame to deal with.

In addition to being a regular blogger with a considerable following, she has an author page on Facebook with many dedicated followers there as well. You can find her at @Jane Risdon on Facebook and @Jane_Risdon on Twitter.

She continues to work on Ms. Birdsong Investigates as well as several other novels including The White Haired Man set in Bollywood and based on true events.

Jane is a keen photographer and enjoys the countryside and visiting old buildings and historical locations and often uses photos as visual notes for her writing. She loves history and archaeology and is loves anything to do with science and astronomy.

With a background (early on in her career) in the Diplomatic Service in Whitehall, London, followed by a long career in International music, Jane has a wealth of experience and a huge pool from which to craft her stories.

Bubba Tails in LIVE

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Bubba Tails from the Puppy Nursery at The Seeing Eye Written by Patty L. Fletcher Told by, King Campbell Lee – The Seeing Eye Dog AKA Bubba

Spring and Summer 2017

In this magical and love filled tail, King Campbell AKA Bubba travels to the puppy nursery at The Seeing Eye to help ready a group of puppies who are just about to embark on the fabulous journey of learning to become Seeing Eye dogs. Just as he is about to finish his tail, a wee pup becomes very frightened of all that lies ahead, and one frightfully stormy night she runs away! Will King Campbell hear the urgent call from the puppy nursery in time? Will they find her and save her so she can fulfill her destiny?

The use of Tail instead of Tale for story and Magik instead of Magic is intended for these short stories. A great play on words from King Campbell

Buy Link

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0765BWDJF

Author Bio

About me and my crew

I’m a 49-year-old single mother with a beautiful daughter, of whom I am very proud. I have a great son-in-law and five beautiful grandchildren. Three girls, and two boys. I hope to be able to write more about them later on.

I own and handle a Black Labrador from The Seeing Eye™ named Campbell Lee—a.k.a. Bubba Lee or King Campbell, to give just a couple of his nicknames.

 

Where I was born

I was born in Kingsport, Tenn., where I also grew up.

About my blindness

I was born one and a half months premature. My blindness was caused by my being given too much oxygen in the incubator. I was partially sighted until 1991, at which time I lost my sight due to an infection after cataract surgery and high eye pressure. I used a cane for 31 years before making the change to a guide dog.

Where I live and work

Currently, I live and work in Kingsport, Tenn.

I used to work for CONTACT-CONCERN of Northeast Tennessee, Inc. I left that position in order to spend time with family and pursue my writing full time.

Why I write.

I wrote Campbell’s Rambles: How a Seeing Eye Dog Retrieved My Life to tell the story of how going to The Seeing Eye™ and getting Campbell, learning to love, handle, and work him, then coming home and adding him to my life, gave me true freedom.

I tell of how changing from being a 31-year cane user to being a guide dog handler taught me things about myself I had never known before. I tell of the wonderment I experienced when I finally took that chance.

A major goal of mine is to help others who find themselves in domestic violence situations. I also want to help others learn more about mental illnesses and how different situations and environments can drastically affect those with such challenges.

I tell how training affected me physically as a result of the fibromyalgia I deal with, along with the side effects of the medications I take.

I focus on bipolar disorder, on how it can go horribly wrong and cause a person to behave in ways they normally would not.

Another thing I have attempted to show is how, in certain institutional settings, attachments can develop—and how those attachments can become unhealthy for all concerned if they are not handled correctly.

Most simply, I want others to know more about me.

In Bubba Tails From the Puppy Nursery At The Seeing Eye, it is King Campbell Super Seeing Eye Dog A.K.A Bubba’s turn to tell his tale.

While helping to ready a group of pups to go and meet their puppy raiser families, so they too, might one-day become Seeing Eye dogs, he tells of what it was like for him, to grow up and become a Seeing Eye dog.

 

My hobbies

My hobbies include reading, writing, music, and standup comedy. I also like nature walks, light hiking, tent camping, and fishing. No, I am not afraid to bait a hook.

Music I enjoy

My favorite types of music are classic rock, rhythm and blues, and classic country, as well as some present-day country music. I also like meditation music.

My favorite books and authors

I enjoy fantasy, science fiction, and books about the supernatural. I love the books by Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and many more. My favorite books include Stephen King’s Dark Tower series, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, and J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series.

My spiritual faith

I am a spiritual walker. I claim no particular faith, either Christian or pagan. I simply know that there is God and Goddess, or Mother Father God, as some call her/him. I lean toward the natural approach, or Druidism (Druidry), as it promotes harmony and respect for all beings, including the environment. I am also very interested in herbs and their healing properties. I recently enrolled in a course that will allow me to earn a certificate in the field of working with herbs.

Links

http://www.campbellsworld.wordpress.com

https://www.amazon.com/Patty-L.-Fletcher

https://www.facebook.com/Bubba-Tails-196761360863975/

https://www.facebook.com/tellittotheworld/

http://www.twitter.com/bubbalee04

Campbells Rambles  

Campbells Corner: The Comfort Zone  

Patty & Pals  

Bob Cat and Friends    

Legal Notes THE SEEING EYE® and SEEING EYE® are registered trademarks of The Seeing Eye, Inc.See: www.SeeingEye.org

patty.volunteer1@gmail.com  or plaistedpublishinghouse@gmail.com

Meet the wonderful Poppy Mann

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I was always an avid reader as a child and began to make up stories of my own and wrote them for my own enjoyment.  I also had an interest in fashion and after leaving school, became an apprentice fashion designer in Melbourne going on to design for one of the top Australian fashion houses. This career finally brought me to New Zealand, designing for a company here in Wellington where I eventually met my future husband, a serving army officer. After accompanying him on several overseas postings we finally settled in Rotorua where we opened three restaurants using my training as a chef in Paris and a switch in careers working in the emerging food industry.

It was many years later that I wrote my first full length novel based on a newspaper article that I had read in a French newspaper. I submitted it to Harpers/Collins who replied immediately expressing an interest in it, but finally didn’t publish it. I still like the story and intend to self publish it soon.

I tend to write romantic mysteries, more along the lines of Danielle Steel and Nicola Thorne. I concentrate on the story line and try to keep things moving to keep the reader interested.

I have three more books rattling around in my head that need to be put into print but would feature The Night Of The Moonflower as my favourite at present. It was written over a period of several years as life intervened and was based on a lot of my own experiences living in Indonesia. However it is a work of fiction. I have almost completed writing the sequel after being implored to keep the enigmatic anti hero Jan Van Hendryks  in print.

I do plot, but the characters seem to take over and change my best laid plans occasionally.  I always write in the 3rd person, but may one day  I will write in the 1st person to write my book of family memoirs. I try to edit as I write, but do seek professional help for final edit. I write for people who like a good story with a few twists here and there, a bit of mystery and of course a conflicted romance! This book is a great read!

I am now self publishing with professional help. I will promote my books on my Poppy Mann Facebook website and my books will be available on Amazon. You will also find Poppy’s book here with other new releases. 

Favourite authors? So many excellent writers  in all genres today. Isabelle Allende, Deborah Challinor, Rani Manicka, Mary Lovell, Lisa See, Fanny Flagg, Julia Stewart, Anne Rule, Peter James. Jeffrey Archer, Lynwood Barclay etc.etc.

As I read at least three full length books a week, fiction and non fiction, the list goes on with new  favourites being added to the list.

I am a member Of the Romance Writers of New Zealand and have great respect and admiration for the writing talents and friendship of my fellow members. We have some great story tellers here that deserve to be read world wide.

You can fine out more about this wonderful author HERE

Jigsaw and the Fan by Stewart Bint

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There is always a new book out. However, it is even more exciting when the author is also releasing a short story in our Ghostly Writes Anthology.  Here’s to you Stewart Bint and you most excellent stories and novels.  Be warned…They can be very scary.

 

How much trouble can one disgruntled ghost really cause?

Stewart Bint’s latest novel has been published as a paperback and ebook by Dragon Moon Press.

The Jigsaw And The Fan is described as social satire.

Albert Carter has died, and finds himself in the spirit world, to get sorted out at St Christopher’s gates. Having been a successful shop steward picketing the management of Jebson’s Glue Factory on behalf of his colleagues, he feels confident his final destination is Heaven, with the rest of the decent, honest working class.

However, on arrival at St Christopher’s Doomsday Ministry, an inspectors’ strike means all spirits in transit have to be temporarily repatriated to Earth as ghosts, until the dispute is settled.

Albert’s ghostly assignment is his worst nightmare: a wealthy Lord’s manor which operates on the hard-earned wages of his own class.

Immediately on arrival, he decides to ruin the capitalist family, and begins his unlawful haunting as the Ghost of Marlston Manor. Watching him from the heavens is a host of guardian angels, elders, overlords and scribes – all scrambling to undo the havoc that Albert is blunderingly creating in his short stint as a ghost.

The final straw comes as Albert riles up a ‘fright’ of ghosts to collude and protest their sentences on Earth – and Albert finally faces St Christopher.

So it’s pure satire, from start to finish, looking at various levels of conflict.

And, as we all know, conflict of some sort is at the heart of almost every story.

The conflict in The Jigsaw And The Fan comes in many guises:  Albert v. the management of Jebson’s Glue factory; Albert v. Lord Maxwell Filchester Barrington-Pottesherbert; Wallace v. Mozelbeek; and the inspectors v. St Christopher. 

Stewart Bint explains that the original idea for the book stemmed from his days working for BBC Radio, reading the news and presenting current affairs programmes during the time of the bitter miners strike in the UK.

“I wanted to tell a story about the futility of such disputes, looking especially at how both sides are as bad as each other. Never having been involved personally in anything like that miners strike…just interviewing miners, their families, and the police regularly…I knew I could never capture the raw emotion that would be needed to make a hard-hitting book a success.

“So I chose to satirise the miners strike in this way, without actually mentioning it once in the book.”

Stewart Bint biography

In a nutshell:

International novelist published by Dragon Moon Press. Journalist/magazine columnist. Active awareness campaigner for mental health and sepsis. Named on the 2016 list of “Inspirational Mental Health Advocates that are changing the world.”

Previous roles include radio presenter, newsreader and phone-in host.

Married to Sue, with two grown-up children, Chris and Charlotte, and a charismatic budgie called Alfie

Lives in Leicestershire, UK. Usually goes barefoot.

Novels: The Jigsaw And The Fan; Timeshaft; In Shadows Waiting;

Novellas: Malfunction; Ashday’s Child.

Short story collection: Thunderlands.

Non fiction: Up Close And Personal

Anthologies: Awethology Dark; December Awethology Light; Blood Moon & Ghostly Writes

Stewart Bint now puts a little bit of flesh on the bones:

“I’m just an ageing hippy who goes barefoot almost all the time and likes to entertain people through stories. My books aren’t great art and they’re not great literature, but my readers tell me they’re entertaining, so that’s good enough for me.

“I was born in the dim and distant past (under extreme torture I have been known to admit to 1956). I have worked both for the BBC and commercial radio as a newsreader, current affairs presenter and ‘phone-in host. Now I’m a novelist, magazine columnist, and Public Relations writer. 

Family life – I’m married with two grown-up children, and an extremely charismatic budgie called Alfie.

I was written by the writing bug when I was seven in 1963, through watching the original series of what has been my favourite television series ever since: Doctor Who. Even at that young age I was enraptured by the storylines which can take place at any time in the past and future, and absolutely anywhere in the universe and beyond.  I started creating my own worlds and characters, writing my stories in little blue notebooks until my parents bought me a portable typewriter for my 9th birthday.

And those make-believe worlds became invaluable after my Dad died when I was 11. I retreated more and more into those places where I was in control of my characters’ fate, knowing that whatever happened to them during the story I would make sure they were okay in the end. My worlds were certainly better thn the real one at that time.

In my twenties it was my ambition to become a published novelist by the time I was 30. Hhmmm, I was 26 years too late with that…achieving it when I was 56 in 2012. I’d kept on writing fiction as a hobby, but it was only on holiday, bobbing up and down with a friend in the Caribbean Sea when he said I ought to seriously try and get published.

So I dusted down an old manuscript, gave it a thorough working over and submitted it. Now, with three novels, two novellas, a collection of short stories, a compilation of my early magazine columns, and a contributor to several short story anthologies, I’m mighty glad I took his advice. 

Links:

Website:  http://stewartbintauthor.weebly.com/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/authorsjb

Facebook (personal page): https://www.facebook.com/stewart.bint

Facebook (author page):  https://www.facebook.com/StewartBintAuthor/

Amazon UK:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stewart-Bint/e/B00D18IARS

Amazon USA: https://www.amazon.com/Stewart-Bint/e/B00D18IARS

Congratulations on your latest book Stewart Bint.