Vestal Virgin recieved 5 stars from Amazon's #1 Reviewer

Harriet Klausner, Amazon's #1 Reviewer, just gave Vestal Virgin a five star review on Amazon!


(#1 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME) This review is from: Vestal Virgin: Suspense in Ancient Rome (Paperback)

In ancient Rome, Vestal Virgins are selected when a girl is a preadolescent. At the temple they pledge to remain a virgin for the next three decades to properly serve the Gods. However, Vestal Virgins have rights other women do not as they own land and money. Most remain at the temple when their time as deity servants end because at forty they have no place else to go and know no other life.

Emperor Nero claims he is a god who can do anything he wants. Nero executes Marcus for treasonous acts including allegedly an assassination plot against the ruler in spite of his father being a senator. Nero summoned the traitor's sister Elissa Rubria Honoria a Vestal Virgin to watch the execution. Despondent and irate, she vows vengeance. She loses her faith when her sister Flavia is violated and friends who she trusted turn out to be enemies who betray her.

Occurring during the reign of Nero (circa AD 63-64), the Vestal Virgin is a strong ancient Roman tale with a deep look at the pagan religions and the political scenario of a lunatic sitting on the throne. However, it is Elissa the Vestal Virgin who holds the story line together with her vendetta. Historical fiction readers will relish this powerful thriller that brings vividly to the armchair audience first century Rome.
Harriet Klausner

Sleeping in Airports--My Life as a Zombie

I spend a lot of time in airports. In fact, I work for an airline. Airports are a great place to study people, especially at night. My flight, last night, was supposed to leave Denver at 12:50am, but it was delayed an hour. Consequently, the plane didn't leave until 2am. Strange things happen when people travel at that hour. Some people try to maintain dignity, others simply lose it--most of us were near to zombies. Personally, I inflated my pillow and stretched out on the floor. But, I've slept in a lot of airports.

LGA

ORD

Once, I spent two nights in the Maui airport. I've slept in DIA, SFO, ORD, Frankfort, Cairo... airports at night are kind of creepy. Especially after the last flight has left.

I'm writing a short story about zombies and airports.

Getting up at 3am, working at 4am--there's a reason it's called graveyard. Even the deer seem half asleep as they step in front of my car, when I drive to work, as if they're ready to commit suicide. Everything is zombified.

You Are An Inspiration Award

A big thank to my fellow author and Goodreads maven, A.F. Stewart who has graciously bestowed upon this blog The Inspiration Award 

Here are the rules :

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded this to you. 
2. Link posts by you and ten fellow bloggers you find inspirational. 
3. Forward the award to those ten fellow bloggers.

The following ten blogs are full of hard-working and imaginative people who definitely earn an award of inspiration:

1) Victorine Lieske An inspiration to all Indie Authors--she hit the New York Times bestseller list on her own power, with her romantic suspense novel, Not What She Seems, and she's always open to offering advice to fellow writers. 

2) The Frugal eReader Elizabeth Trugeon Brown's great site for readers and writers. Subscribe to her blog here.

3) Two Ends of the Pen Debrah L. Martin and David W. Small's blog--featuring books and articles by writers for readers. A great place to hang out. Check out their Scifi Adventure  The Quest for Nobility.

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4) A Moose Walked Into a Bar Sit down comedy by Barbara Silkstone, L.C. Evans and Karen Cantwell

5) Kipp Poe's Blog Interviews with authors. Kipp was the first person to welcome me into blog interviews. Check out his books, including Closing My Eyes Helps Me To See Clearly

6) Noah K. Mullette's blog In depth interviews with writers. Check out Noah's books, including Luminous and Ominous

7) Sibel Hodge--Romantic Comedy and Mystery I love Sibel's Coffee Time author interviews, and she posts some great recipes! Check out her books on Amazon

8) Sarah Woodbury Author of Historical fiction. Sarah posts interesting articles about Wales, women in history, and useful information for writers. Check out her author page on Amazon

9) Stimulated Outlook Book Reviews by Alice Yeh. Reviews from an avid reader! (The REAL Alice Yeh.)

10) Syria Says Where Indie authors strut their stuff! Reviews, interviews, information. 

Vestal Virgin--a tale of suspense and early Christians.

Paul of Tarsus was in Rome during the year that my novel., Vestal Virgin, is set: A.D. 63. Paul of Tarsus is a character is the story--and Elissa, a Vestal Virgin, is drawn to his teachings. Learn more about the early Christians and the Greek gods in Vestal Virgin.

Thea Atkinson-Flash Fiction: An August Day in Pompeii

     For the month of April, fellow author, Thea Atkinson is streaking through 30 blogs and flashing us a piece of fiction. Please read the story she brings to us today, An August Day in Pompeii.  


     And be sure to follow the links at the end of the story to see who Thea flashed yesterday and who she will flash tomorrow. Feel free to leave a comment to let me know if you enjoyed the streak, and you are welcome to tweet it or share it on Facebook.

An August Day in Pompeii

     Herculaneum is only a day's ride from here, and yet I don't visit. My father refuses me entry into the home I grew up in. He says I could have been an artist in my own right, laid tiles of obsidian for pupils, marble pebbles for the glint in Bacchus' eye. I could have been something—but for the unfortunate happenstance of being born a girl.

     Instead I ply the art of the flesh, and he thinks it has no value that in ten years, 10 months, 10 days, the beauty I weave will have no meaning. But he had false hopes anyway. What woman could be accepted in the art he values? None. Mosaic making is for men, while we ladies merely act as muse or mother--sometimes whore. Never artist. And so I dance and dress in gold, my face painted to mirror Venus, my legs strong as Diana's, ready to wrap themselves around torsos and hips. My mind as quick as Minerva's. And it's an art to be certain, to allow a soldier weary of dusty roads and battle to forget for moment he is a man, and think for a spell that he is a god in company of a goddess.

     It is an art to be sure, but not one as fine as my father's. He paints the gods, pieces them together from the stones they forged, while I merely become a god, if only for a while.

     But Father's right in a way, I suppose, his tiled floors and mosaic walls will undoubtedly outlast time, while I, humble daughter of an artistan, will be gone in a moment, my dust mingling with the earth and disappearing forever.

For more stories visit:

Jarret Rush--April 15

Seb (Murder Mystery) April 17









And be sure to check out Thea's books: psychological and historical fiction

Countdown to the top 100 in Kindle US for Blake Crouch's thriller RUN

RUN  a thriller by Blake Crouch is getting close to the top 100 on Kindle! So buy a copy and make it happen for Blake!

For fans of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Thomas Harris, picture this: a landscape of American genocide...

5 D A Y S A G O
A rash of bizarre murders swept the country…
Senseless. Brutal. Seemingly unconnected.
A cop walked into a nursing home and unloaded his weapons on elderly and staff alike.
A mass of school shootings.
Prison riots of unprecedented brutality.
Mind-boggling acts of violence in every state.

4 D A Y S A G O
The murders increased ten-fold…

3 D A Y S A G O
The President addressed the nation and begged for calm and peace…

2 D A Y S A G O
The killers began to mobilize…

Y E S T E R D A Y
All the power went out…

T O N I G H T
They’re reading the names of those to be killed on the Emergency Broadcast System. You are listening over the battery-powered radio on your kitchen table, and they’ve just read yours.

Your name is Jack Colclough. You have a wife, a daughter, and a young son. You live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. People are coming to your house to kill you and your family. You don’t know why, but you don’t have time to think about that any more.

You only have time to….

R U N

Holes in History--license for imagination

Deb Martin of Two Ends of the Pen invited me to post on her blog today. The topic is writing historical fiction. For me, holes in history are an invitation to imagination. Please check out the post!

Writing as Therapy--Terry Brooks says: Don't! (But sometimes I do)

I guest posted on Katrina Parker Williams' blog today, about writing as therapy, how dating causes the need for therapy, and how indie publishing has saved many writers from spending hundreds of dollars on therapy!

Check out my post here.

And, isn't this a great photo of my friend and classmate, Eldon Thompson, and our fantastic teacher, Terry Brooks?

Katrina Parker Williams--Steps for Organizing a Literary Contest

Today, I invited author and educator, Katrina Parker Williams to post about how to organize a literary contest. Katrina's been running a contest for the past three years. Read her post here.

And please check out her collection of short stories, Trouble Down South and Other Stories.

Sold 1,150 plus books in March--it's possible

Just last month, when I sold 450 books, I wouldn't have believed that I'd sell over 1,000 books in March. And many of those books--especially Dating My Vibrator (and other true fiction) were sold in the UK. At one point the book was #211 in UK Kindle:

• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #211 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
• #1 in Books > Romance > Short Stories
• #1 in Books > Fiction > Women Writers & Fiction > Short Stories
• #2 in Books > Biography > Social & Health Issues > Divorce

I'm not writing this to brag (well maybe a little), but because I want to share how explosive the ebook market has become. People are doubling and tripling sales each month. And, like many others, I'm a complete unknown--at least as far as New York publishing is concerned.

My other news: Vestal Virgin--suspense set in ancient Rome is now available in trade-paperback. I don't think it's linked up yet on Amazon, but I'll let you know when it is. The book is absolutely gorgeous, thank to Jeroen ten Berge's design and Terry Roy's formatting.