Tag Archives: Fiction

The stockings were hung…

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

The stockings were hung…

stockings… by the chimney with care…

waiting for the arrival of the man with flair

not to mention his long, curly white hair

stockingsShh… he’s arrived, sat on a barrel as his chair

Sneak in and see what what he has, if your dare

But remember, t’is the season to share…

And now my poem is over (thankfully, you say)

But before I bid my final adieu, if I may…

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Merry Christmas everyone!

**********

 Wishing you all the merriest of Christmases. May all your wishes have come true.

What did you get in your Christmas stocking? Were you naughty or nice? Treats or a lump of coal?

 

I’m in Texas with fellow 4RV Publishing author, Janet K Brown

Fellow 4RV Publishing author Janet K Brown hosts me today over at her blog.

I met Janet last year at the Kansas Book Festival where we both had novels making their debut.

Suggested tweet:

Authorly chat with @4RV author @janetkbrowntx http://ow.ly/gL9mr @RobertsoKing talks about her publication journey and heritage.

Author Interview with Jack Durish

Durish-46-4x5Celtic Connexions welcomes US author Jack Durish. He’s got a lot on his plate these days, so without further ado, I’ve put him in the hot seat to allow him to get back home as soon as possible.

What is the one book you want us to read (title, genre, and availability)?

7470956Rebels on the Mountain: Historical Fiction available in all ebook formats on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iTunes.

What is your one sentence synopsis?

A childhood crush evolves into romance when Nick Andrews, a U.S. Army spy, reconnects with Lucia Comas, an American-educated mulata, in Cuba while he is there to unravel the diplomatic mess created by Fidel Castro’s revolution.

Who are the main characters and who would you like to see portray them in a movie?

Fictional
Nick Andrews: A U.S. Army Ranger and Korean War Veteran who has made a career of reconnaissance patrols behind the Iron Curtain – possibly portrayed by Stephen Amell.

Lucia Comas: An American-educated, island-born mulata, daughter of the second wife of don Carlos Comas, a Cuba sugar plantation owner, and love interest of Nick Andrews – possibly portrayed by Christina Milian.

Emma Regan: An American socialite whose husband, a retired pediatrician operates a free clinic on the sugar plantation she inherited, and sister to the don Carlos Comas’ second wife Sigourney Weaver.

Real
Fidel Castro: The charismatic leader of the revolution that overthrew the Cuban dictator, Fulgencio Batista – possibly portrayed by Jsu Garcia.

Che Guevara: The Argentinian doctor who became one of Castro’s most notorious lieutenants and his executioner following Fidel’s rise to power – possibly portrayed by Guillermo Diaz.

Ernest Hemingway: Nobel Prize winning author and Havana resident who mingled freely in the halls of power in Havana and purportedly supported Castro’s revolution – possibly portrayed by William Hurt.

Tell us about the story without revealing too much.

Nick Andrews uses the cover of a pleasure trip with friends, the Regans – a retired doctor and his socialite wife who own an estate in Cuba – to infiltrate the island from its halls of power in Havana to the rebel camp in the mountains at the eastern end of the island. Unexpectedly, he rekindles a childhood crush with the island-born niece of the Regans, and makes friends with a loyal Fidelista rebel. Romance, rum, rumba, and revolution layer themselves into a thrilling tale of intrigue, action, and suspense.

What inspired you to write this book and how long did it take?

I was slated to pilot a vessel from Galveston Bay to the Chesapeake, with a stop in Havana, when I was a young sailor, but the trip was canceled due to several factors including the fall of the Batista government in Cuba. I suppose that I never let go of the disappointment of missing that adventure. Thus, I followed events in Cuba closely and studied the history of the island and its people during the intervening fifty years. I spent another two years cataloging and studying my research, and another year and a half to write and edit the manuscript.

What other books have you written?

Dream Pirates – Fiction for young readers with impaired reading skills and new English speakers
WordPerfect: Creative Applications – Technical manual
Infantry School: A Soldier’s Journal – Personal memoir
Vietnam: A Soldier’s Journal – Personal memoir
Trifles: Literary Dessert – A collection of short stories to be published soon.

Which authors inspired you, your style?

Many including…
Ernest Hemingway: Voice
Mark Twain: Irony
Charles Dickens: Memorable characters

Where can we learn more about you and your books?

www.jackdurish.com contains my personal blog as well as my biography, a synopsis of all my books and links to them, and recommended websites for anyone interested in reading.

How can we follow you? Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc.

Twitter: @jackdrsm
Google+: Jack Durish

Is there anything else you would like us to know?

I am currently working on my second novel featuring Nick Andrews as a young soldier in the Korean War. Also, I have been posting to my blog a series of articles built from my research into Cuba with special emphasis on the love-hate relationship between the island and the United States. Most expect a change in US-Cuban relations when Fidel Castro dies, and Americans will begin looking forward to visiting this Caribbean paradise which has been off limits for so many years.

Thanks for stopping in, Jack, and sharing your story with us.

 

The stockings were hung…

fireplace with candles… by the chimney with care…

waiting for the arrival of the man with flair

not to mention his long, curly white hair

champagne santaShh… he’s arrived, sat on a barrel as his chair

Sneak in and see what what he has, if your dare

But remember, t’is the season to share…

And now my poem is over (thankfully, you say)

But before I bid my final adieu, if I may…

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Merry Christmas everyone!

 

I’m over at YA Author, Suzy Turner’s blog today…

Christmas Eve and I’ve flown to Portugal to meet up with YA and fellow Famous Five Plus author, Suzy Turner. Why not pop over to Suzy’s blog and see what we’re talking about?

But don’t lag about or you’ll miss the interview and won’t be home in time for Santa to come.

If you’re feeling so inclined, here are a couple of tweets:

YA author @suzy_turner talks to debut YA author @RobertsoKing over at http://ow.ly/ggVlB Drop on by. #FFP #lahe

Debut YA author @RobertsoKing stops by to chat with @suzy_turner http://ow.ly/ggVsd to talk about writing and other things #lahe #FFP

Today is the 200th anniversary of Grimm’s Fairy Tales

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Remember those fantastic stories we grew up with? Listening to our parents read them to us and then when we were old enough to read, reading them ourselves?

Snow White

Hansel and Gretel

Rapunzel

Cinderella

Rumplestiltskin

Snow White and Rose Red

There were many others but these were among my favourites as a child. What were yours?