tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64892992134107018702024-03-05T03:13:38.650-08:00Suzanne Tyrpak--Who's Imagining All This?Vestal Virgin-Suspense in Ancient Rome; Hetaera-Suspense in Ancient Athens; Rosy: A Novel; Dating My Vibrator (and Other True Fiction); Ghost Plane and Other Disturbing TalesSuzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.comBlogger221125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-51713258869949628762016-06-09T07:48:00.000-07:002016-06-09T07:55:30.888-07:00A writer's journal: Turning to Mahatma Gandhi for Advice<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="background-color: white;">Live as if you were to die tomorrow; learn as if you were to live forever.</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="background-color: white;">The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="background-color: white;">Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When the challenges of life seem overwhelming, I turn to gratitude--and look for advice from those who are wiser than I. Writing is my respite. By expressing my experience through words, I find solace and sanctuary.</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">The hardest aspect life:</span></span><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> impermanence. Things are constantly changing, and we must adjust or lose our balance.</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">The best thing to remember when life gets you down:</span></span><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Things will change, and we will regain our balance.</span></b><br />
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Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-21531138462623072872014-12-25T06:49:00.000-08:002014-12-25T06:54:08.852-08:00Peace on Earth - Goodwill to All Beings<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-77070196918401454252014-12-07T22:24:00.000-08:002014-12-07T22:26:51.030-08:00Win a $500 Amazon Shopping Spree!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> for a BIG Holiday Giveaway!</span></h3>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">December 8 - 22</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://ow.ly/F6WrZ" target="_blank">Enter Here</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>my historical romantic suspense novels:</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004G093HQ" target="_blank">Vestal Virgin (Suspense in Ancient Rome)</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006KYE4ZM" target="_blank">Hetaera (Suspense in Ancient Athens)</a></b></span></div>
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Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-82650712335480540002014-11-22T09:13:00.000-08:002014-11-22T09:13:03.000-08:00Recap: Bouchercon 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bouchercon2014.com/attendees.php" target="_blank">Bouchercon</a>, the huge Mystery Writers' Conference took place in Long Beach, CA this year, and I had a blast catching up with people I hadn't seen in a while, like publisher/writer Tory Hartmann of <a href="https://www.sandhillreviewpress.com/" target="_blank">Sand Hill Review Press</a>, bestselling author, <a href="https://www.sandhillreviewpress.com/" target="_blank">Barry Eisler</a> (soooo handsome and a really nice guy), and my writing bud, <a href="http://www.blakecrouch.com/" target="_blank">Blake Crouch</a> (who has just signed huge deals with Random House and Sony). I volunteered to be the timekeeper for a panel that included Blake and author/producer <a href="http://www.leegoldberg.com/" target="_blank">Lee Goldberg</a> (currently writing with Janet Evanovich). Here's a pic:</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Panel with Blake and Lee</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also got to meet up with fellow authors that I only knew from online, including authors, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Helen-Smith/e/B001KE7ZJE/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_3" target="_blank">Helen Smith </a>, <a href="http://mlouisalocke.com/" target="_blank">M Louisa Locke</a>, and <a href="http://www.mruthmyers.com/" target="_blank">M Ruth Myers</a> (who received the Shamus award this year for best Indie Sleuth--she stood onstage with Sue Grafton). Really great meeting those ladies!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCBM3hnDGawpI6jhPLisYjPyZ4TRSM5rn_ghkplUj7zPOzbMDNRRTaUYmg4iqnqjzA_s8bdBrEGolPWg2vr-Z_bDdBfn2Quf5IQc3RLmit7-E0ieWy5o563OnfCOXVf5mFUDGugw4WWXAO/s1600/Bouchercon+2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCBM3hnDGawpI6jhPLisYjPyZ4TRSM5rn_ghkplUj7zPOzbMDNRRTaUYmg4iqnqjzA_s8bdBrEGolPWg2vr-Z_bDdBfn2Quf5IQc3RLmit7-E0ieWy5o563OnfCOXVf5mFUDGugw4WWXAO/s1600/Bouchercon+2014.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>M Louisa Locke, M Ruth Myers, Suzanne Tyrpak</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bouchercon is a terrific event for writers, fans, and others in the industry. Next year it will be held in <a href="http://www.bouchercon2015.org/" target="_blank">Raleigh, North Carolina</a> ... I'd love to see you there!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the way, one of next year's event coordinators is author/radio host, <a href="http://www.staceycochran.com/" target="_blank">Stacey Cochran</a> ... another great online friend I got to meet in person!</span></div>
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Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-4691439457548846722014-08-01T13:06:00.003-07:002014-08-01T13:06:57.467-07:00Ancient History News--Nero's coin<h2>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Roman Coin from 64-65 AD Found ...</span></h2>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">stumbling on this</span></h3>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A golden aureus, the equivalent of what a Roman soldier would be paid for a year of service, lying in the dirt as if it had been dropped yesterday. The coin was found by a volunteer archaeologist at a site in northern England called <a href="http://www.vindolanda.com/" target="_blank">Vindolanda</a>, once the location of a Roman fort. The face on the coin is the emperor Nero--known to have terrorized Rome, and in particular, early Christians. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzuHRvHj_YfSTtk6mjx8VCmRJurP8PsEHdKwXhCW6Zo_wCQHOoQCClX9H2mxgaLxEudROkjVQaIe-sZl5QR5pcL-7_99w9cCZ2WHtHbY-WDf8VhY01L9CqdW6gPOKWO7EiRH9j-M6cc5OW/s1600/download+(11).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzuHRvHj_YfSTtk6mjx8VCmRJurP8PsEHdKwXhCW6Zo_wCQHOoQCClX9H2mxgaLxEudROkjVQaIe-sZl5QR5pcL-7_99w9cCZ2WHtHbY-WDf8VhY01L9CqdW6gPOKWO7EiRH9j-M6cc5OW/s1600/download+(11).jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Vindolanda</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Read more about the story at <a href="http://news.discovery.com/history/archaeology/rare-emperor-nero-coin-found-in-england-140620.htm" target="_blank">Discovery News</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nero is plays a major role in my historical suspense novel, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004G093HQ" target="_blank">Vestal Virgin.</a></i></span></div>
Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-21210296456662852062014-06-16T22:12:00.002-07:002014-06-16T22:14:45.032-07:00The winner of Aphrodite is ...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;">Sarah Miles! My winner from the </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: magenta;">Summer Splash Blog Hop</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sarah has won a beautiful statue of the Goddess of Love, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphrodite" target="_blank">Aphrodite</a>, also known as Venus. The drawing was random, but there were some wonderful comments ... unfortunately, the comment area was having problems, so most people wrote to me. Thank you, lovely ladies, for sharing your thoughts with me. I'm sure Aphrodite is sending love to all of you.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are some of the comments. I won't include names, because some are quite personal:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>So, I wouldn't say that I *deserve* it, but maybe it would send some love my
way. I have health issues, which started up while I was dating my ex. I loved
him, figured we'd be together for a long time. A few months after I started
getting significantly worse, he ended the relationship. Never gave me a reason,
and from what I hear he's told others, he's made up one for them (as I know it's
not true). My assumption is that it's just difficult dating someone who is ill,
but he doesn't want to say that and sound like a bad person. I'm hesitant to
look into dating now that I'm free, as I don't want to get attached to someone
that's just going to get fed up with me. Could use a little help from the
lovely Venus/Aphrodite in finding someone that can look past how these chronic
issues have handicapped me. I'm not just a sick person, and I hate being boiled
down into that one little bucket. Plus, who doesn't love being in love? It's
missed.</i></span><br />
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<i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm sorry I had to email you my comment, but I couldn't get it to post. I
believe I should win the statue of the goddess because each of us should have a
piece of beauty in the room to brighten their lives and remind them of their
youth. Aphrodite/Venus is the perfect goddess to remind me of happier/healthier
times in my life as I struggle toward regaining some modicum of health. She
could stand watch and encourage me to regain control, while reminding me to
laugh and enjoy the sun. Her beauty can stand sentinel over my struggles and
remind me of the beauty I will miss if I don't go outside and enjoy the pool in
the the summer, the breeze in my face, the ground beneath my feet. All the
beauty of the earth is there, if only I remember to see it. Aphrodite, Goddess
of Love, can reignite the flame within my heart. </span></i><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Thank you for the chance to win Aphrodite "The Goddess of Erotic Love": In my
wiccan class we are studying different Goddesses and this would be great to have
for my Altar that I have created towards her for more Erotic love in my
life.<br /> I bet you didn't expect that one. lol</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once again, I so appreciate all of you who entered the contest. It was a lot of fun, and I plan to participate again next year. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Suzanne</span></div>
Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-45112968288666070292014-06-12T13:23:00.000-07:002014-06-14T19:25:20.949-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Summer Splash Blog Hop</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>June 13-16, 2014</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>hop around and win terrific prizes</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>from participating authors</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>in celebration of Venus and Aphrodite, the</b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> ancient </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Roman and Greek</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>goddess of love who causes so much heartache in my suspense novels </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004G093HQ" target="_blank">Vestal Virgin</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006KYE4ZM" target="_blank">Hetaera</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>I'm giving away </b></span><b style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">a </b><b style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">statue of the </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Goddess-Aphrodite-Mythology-Statue-Sculpture/dp/B000CBRBEK/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1402458529&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=statue+of+venus" target="_blank">goddess</a></b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Aphrodite (ancient Greece) aka Venus (ancient Rome)</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>to win the goddess of erotic love</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>(and secure eternal bliss)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: magenta;">please post a comment, or send an </span><a href="mailto:Suzanne.Tyrpak@gmail.com" style="color: magenta;" target="_blank">email</a><span style="color: magenta;">, telling me why you deserve her </span><span style="color: #a64d79;">(if you have a problem with posting a comment please send me an email--I need your email address anyway)</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"> <a href="http://xn--zan-dma/" target="_blank">Suzanne dot Tyrpak @gmail.com</a></span><span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;"> </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Get Extra Chances:</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Become a Blog Buddy = 1 entry</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Like My <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Tyrpak/144232238928903" target="_blank">FaceBook</a> Page = 1 entry</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Follow Me On Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/SuzanneTyrpak" target="_blank">@SuzanneTyrpak</a> = 1 entry</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Grand Prizes:</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Kindle Paperwhite</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>$50 Amazon Gift Certificate</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: magenta;"> 1) <a href="http://summersplashhop.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Register</a></span></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: magenta;"> 2) Hop Around</span></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: magenta;">3) Share</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Just .99 cents during the Blog Hop:</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004G093HQ" target="_blank">Vestal Virgin (suspense in ancient Rome): US Amazon</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006KYE4ZM" target="_blank"><br /></a></b></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006KYE4ZM" target="_blank">Hetaera (suspense in ancient Athens): US Amazon</a></b></span><br />
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Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-27016263641742443822014-06-03T06:40:00.000-07:002014-06-03T06:45:08.347-07:00World Building--A.R. Silverberry, guest post<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What do historical fiction, fantasy, and science fiction have in common? Whether it's ancient Rome, a land filled with gnomes and fairies, or a distant planet, the writer must create a believable world for readers.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A.R. Silverberry writes fantasy and has recently created and released a new world into the universe in his novel, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Stream-R-Silverberry-ebook/dp/B00JZ6PU3M/ref=sr_1_4" target="_blank">The Stream</a>. I asked A.R. to write a post about world building, and I hope you find the process as interesting as I do.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A.R. Silverberry</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>World Building</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every novel needs a world, a
ground on which the action unfolds. When I started working on <i>The Stream</i>, I thought creating that ground,
what authors call world building, would be a fairly simple process. I had a
five-year-old boy, Wend. I had boats. I had a waterway. I knew he would face
the hardships of nature, but it all seemed like it would flow like a fairy tale,
so how much detail did I need? I found out quickly just how much!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, I knew almost nothing
about boats and sailing. My knowledge of surviving in nature was just as scant.
And the trick to writing is that the world, whether it’s a mythic world, such
as that of <i>The Stream,</i> or the real
world, such as found in thrillers, romances, or historical novels, in fact, any
novel<i>, must </i>feel real. You must feel
certain it exists, somewhere. You want to live there. Or not. (Who would want
to live in the world of Katniss Everdeen?) If it doesn’t feel real, the reader
is thrown out of the story. Worse, the characters won’t feel real. No matter
how convincingly they’re portrayed, if they’re prancing around on a set with
painted sheets, the book will feel shallow, unsatisfying, and unbelievable. There’s
a good chance the book might get thrown across the room or deleted from the
e-reader faster than you can say Kindle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here’s a short list of some
of the things I needed to learn and integrate into the novel: the flora and
fauna of the riparian wilderness; the technology available to the primitive
people occupying the stream; knife making, basketry; boatbuilding; the myths,
legends, rituals, and beliefs of the culture; and the mainstays of their diet
and how it was prepared. Plus, if I haven’t visited an actual location for a
scene I’m writing, I try to find a photo reference. Fortunately, I was within
walking distance of a beautiful stream, which I was able to study during every
conceivable weather condition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having established the
details of the world, the next order of business was to establish its laws; how
it worked. Defenseless and alone, Wend needed a world that would test him and
the others he encountered, a world that was both harsh and beautiful, that
distilled and concentrated the existential dilemmas of life. I needed the
reader to quickly learn and accept the laws of this world. There’s a rule I
learned from novelist Elizabeth George: if you want the reader to get
something, you have to repeat it at least nine times through out the novel.
Once you’ve established how things work, you must be consistent. If you violate
how the world works, you’ve killed the magic, that fragile glue that binds the
story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here’s a brief bit of prose I
wrote to establish the world of the stream. I love the prose, but I ended up
not using it because I found others ways to convey what I wanted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">If Wend had
stopped to think about it, he would have realized that his family, searching
for fruit, nuts, and roots, never ventured far from either shore, that
travelers never sailed upstream to tell tales of what lay ahead. Except for
tacking and voyages of a few miles, his family never ventured upstream either.
When he’d asked his father why, he was told, “It’s a law.” Wend must have
looked blank because his father told him to jump as high as he could. Wend
jumped, and after his feet landed on the ground his father said, “Now jump as
high as the top of the mast.” Wend had laughed, but declared that no one could
do that. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“Why not?” his
father asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“We come down
first,” Wend replied.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“It’s a law,”
said his father. “And it’s a law that we go that way.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">His father
pointed downstream.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">If Wend had
thought of these things, he would have understood that everyone was tethered to
the stream and could only go in one direction. People stopped from time to
time, working at abandoned foundries to smelt metal for anchors, chains, and
knives, cutting trees to build or repair boats, living in villages, taking over
deserted houses like creatures that move into another animal’s shell. They
never stayed long, always returning to their boats, always going with the
current, always traveling downstream.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> A final note. From the above sample, you can
see that the world I created isn’t just a fantasy world formed from random
elements. The world is integrally bound up with the story’s theme, plot, and
characters. Sauron and Gandalf can only exist in Middle Earth. The Red Queen
and Madhatter can only exist in Wonderland. Wend could only exist in the world
of the Stream.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhei4Yl8rbItoB3sZiruu6-ZeV5jR-Atr0B_r-I0YKEBgeEJR8PobyQ26F9XScVAcL-qrL-VvrfasI-yyQA1r-x3pzjB9Qz3mHSTJvUGIvXBIRy05gG2GkD1CzhEKjH1c9HCuk7sL-YNXjk/s1600/Stream+Small+Cover+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhei4Yl8rbItoB3sZiruu6-ZeV5jR-Atr0B_r-I0YKEBgeEJR8PobyQ26F9XScVAcL-qrL-VvrfasI-yyQA1r-x3pzjB9Qz3mHSTJvUGIvXBIRy05gG2GkD1CzhEKjH1c9HCuk7sL-YNXjk/s1600/Stream+Small+Cover+2.jpg" height="320" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Synopsis
of <i>The Stream:<o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="letter-spacing: 1pt;">What if your world was six miles wide and endlessly
long?</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 1pt;">After a devastating
storm kills his parents, five-year-old Wend awakens to the strange world of the
Stream. He discovers he can only travel downstream, and dangers lurk at every
turn: deadly rapids<i>,</i> ruthless pirates, a mysterious pavilion that lures
him into intoxicating fantasies, and rumor of a giant waterfall at the edge of
the world. Defenseless, alone, with only courage and his will to survive, Wend
begins his quest to become a man. Will tragic loss trap him in a shadow world,
or will he enter the Stream, with all its passion and peril?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 1pt;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Part coming-of-age
tale, part adventure, part spiritual journey, <i>The Stream</i> is a fable
about life, impermanence, and the gifts found in each moment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Purchase
<i>The Stream:<o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ebook:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Stream-R-Silverberry-ebook/dp/B00JZ6PU3M/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1398713680&sr=1-1&keywords=the+stream">Amazon</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-stream-a-r-silverberry/1119365497?ean=2940149550630">Barnes and
Noble</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">iTunes: Coming Soon!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Softback:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Stream-A-R-Silverberry/dp/0984103724/ref=tmm_pap_title_0">Amazon</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Follow
A. R. Silverberry:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.arsilverberry.com/">Website</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="file://localhost/ps/::www.facebook.com:pages:A-R-Silverberry:122991764395051%3Fref=search">Facebook</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://twitter.com/arsilverberry">Twitter</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><b>About A. R. Silverberry:</b></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A.
R. Silverberry writes fiction for adults and children. His novel, WYNDANO’S
CLOAK, won multiple awards, including the Benjamin Franklin Award gold medal
for Juvenile/Young Adult Fiction.
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He
lives in California, where the majestic coastline, trees, and mountains inspire
his writing. <i>THE STREAM</i> is his second novel.</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-8342738758403885492014-05-30T08:25:00.001-07:002014-05-30T10:27:58.437-07:005 Questions for Laura Jennings--Narrator of Hetaera on Audible<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.25px;">I'm delighted to announce that <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006KYE4ZM" target="_blank"><i>Hetaera (suspense in ancient Athens)</i></a> is now available on <a href="http://www.audible.com.au/pd/Fiction/Hetaera-Suspense-in-Ancient-Athens-Audiobook/B00JMO9L2I" target="_blank">Audible</a> (as well as on Kindle and in trade paperback). <i>Hetaera</i>, is book one of the <i>Agathon's Daughter Trilogy. </i>(I'm working on book two, <i>Priestess, </i>but life and other writing projects have sidetracked me.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25px;">Narrator, Laura Jennings, has done a wonderful job narrating the book--not an easy project with all the ancient Greek references. Laura just got back from Europe (the lucky so-and-so) and she had a wonderful time exploring ancient sites in the UK. No wonder she relates so well to Hetaera! She stopped by my blog and agreed to answer 5 Questions.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Laura Jennings</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.25px;">Laura mentions that she has a degree in creative writing, but I just found out (when I googled her) that Laura is not only a wonderful narrator, but also a writer! Her short stories appear in literary magazines </span></span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25px;">including The Literary Lantern, Gulf Coast Magazine, and SCIFI-LITFI ezine.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25px;">Okay, let's get on with my questions.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25px;"><b>Suzanne:</b> Laura, you did a wonderful job narrating Hetaera--not easy, since there are lots of strange names and words. What did you find most challenging?</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25px;"><b>Laura: </b></span><span style="text-indent: -17pt;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Regarding
strange names and words, Hetaera was not that bad actually. All the specific
names of things were easy to find and I found several sites that gave phonetic
pronunciations to Greek words and surnames. You provided me with two excellent
internet sites. There are a lot of sources on the internet citing classical Greek literature so there was plenty of information. That made the book even
more interesting for me than it already was. Through researching pronunciations
I learned quite a bit about Greek history that really put your novel into
context. The biggest problem in terms of pronunciation is the one I have with
every book. That one word you think you have been pronouncing right all your
life - you really aren't. </span></span><br />
<span style="text-indent: -17pt;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="text-indent: -17pt;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Suzanne: </b>Yes! I noticed some of your pronunciations are different than I expected, but when I checked them out they're accurate.</span></span><br />
<span style="text-indent: -17pt;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="text-indent: -17pt;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I see, from your list of book on Audible, that you've narrated at least forty books. How did you become involved in narrating books on Audible?</span></span><br />
<span style="text-indent: -17pt;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Laura: </b>All roads lead to Audible if you want to narrate audiobooks. I believe
most big publishing houses with audiobook divisions work with Audible as well
as companies that work specifically with audio narration like Tantor or
Blackstone or ACX. As for my personal journey, I did a few commercials in the
beginning but did not find it very satisfying. I have always loved to read and
loved literature in general so moving to narrating audiobooks seemed like a
natural transition. My voice coach said he had had good luck with ACX and so
that is where most of my work has been. I have been very fortunate to get
contracts for good books, like Hetaera.</span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><br style="letter-spacing: -0.25px;" /><b>Suzanne: </b>Thanks, Laura. What's the most fun aspect of narrating a <span style="letter-spacing: -0.25px;">book? And the biggest frustration?</span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.25px;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 17.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 17.0pt; text-indent: -17.0pt;">
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Laura: </b>The most fun
aspect of narrating an audiobook is absolutely falling into another world</span></span></div>
<div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 17.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 17.0pt; text-indent: -17.0pt;">
<span style="color: purple; text-indent: -17pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and </span></span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -17pt;">making it come alive. To be immersed in a story is one of the best things in
life.</span></div>
<div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 17.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 17.0pt; text-indent: -17.0pt;">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -17pt;">I think it's </span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -17pt;">great fun to take a story and make it as three dimensional
as is possible without </span></div>
<div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 17.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 17.0pt; text-indent: -17.0pt;">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -17pt;">cinematography. The biggest frustration is when you want
your mouth to work and it doesn’t.</span></div>
<div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 17.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 17.0pt; text-indent: -17.0pt;">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -17pt;">Sometimes it just isn’t going to be a good
recording day. On those days all the green apple </span></div>
<div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 17.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 17.0pt; text-indent: -17.0pt;">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -17pt;">slices and hydration in the
world doesn’t help. As Murphy’s law would have it, this usually</span></div>
<div class="FreeForm" style="margin-left: 17.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 17.0pt; text-indent: -17.0pt;">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -17pt;">happens during
a big push to get something out the door on time. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Suzanne: </b>Green apples for hydration ... that's interesting. Talking for such long periods of</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">time </span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -17pt;">must be rough on your voice. You mentioned a voice coach; do you consider yourself</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -17pt;">an actor?</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.25px;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Laura:</span></b> <span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That is a very good question. I am not sure I do. My
family is originally from the south <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">where there is a grand tradition of story telling. It is
really and art form in and of itself. So I <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">suppose I consider myself a storyteller. I have done a bit
of stage acting but I have an MBA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in </span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -17pt;">Creative Writing and so the written word in the form of
novels and short stories is where </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -17pt;">most </span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -17pt;">of my experience lies. I find the differences in reading a
story and listening to a story</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">fascinating. If you wrote a story out the way you would tell
it orally you would hardly </span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">recognize it </span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -17pt;">compared to its written form.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.25px;"><b>Suzanne: </b>Southern writers sure can tell a great yarn! (My mama came from Tennessee, so even though I grew up in New York, maybe I inherited some of that southern tale-spinning. But I digress. See Laura, give me a moment and I'm talking about myself! One more question. If you could time-travel to the past or future where would you land?</span></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.25px;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Laura: </b>That is a tough question for a woman. History, as you know, has
not been kind to our sex. So if I travelled back in time would I really be
privy to the things I would want to see? I probably would want to go to the
future. And since I only have Star Trek as a point of reference I would want to
visit a future time where warp speed is possible. Being in Brussels in the
blink of an eye? Bliss! Fresh croissants or signing of the constitution .....
definitely toss up.<span lang="en-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Suzanne: </b>Yum! Fresh croissants and cafe au lait for me! I know what you mean about time travel for women ... a lot of times were not so great. No wonder you write science fiction. </span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks so much for stopping by, Laura.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="FreeForm">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you enjoy historical suspense, check out <a href="http://www.audible.com.au/pd/Fiction/Hetaera-Suspense-in-Ancient-Athens-Audiobook/B00JMO9L2I" target="_blank">Hetaera--suspense in ancient Athens on Audible</a>. <b>Your first month is FREE</b>. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.25px;"><a href="https://mobile.audible.com/search.htm?type=search&cache=1&narrator=Laura+Jennings" target="_blank">List of books Laura has narrated</a></span></span></div>
Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-40476261998950607622014-04-02T17:10:00.000-07:002014-04-02T17:10:00.083-07:00Rosy: A Novel is now on Audible--and I asked narrator Christy Lynn 5 Questions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's difficult to express how exciting it is to listen to my story, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rosy-Novel-Suzanne-Tyrpak-ebook/dp/B00A5X23W0/ref=sr_1_2">Rosy: a novel</a>, brought to life by narrator Christy Lynn. She did a wonderful job with all the characters--male and female. I hope you give it a listen. Listen to a sample at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rosy-A-Novel/dp/B00IK5IGSA/ref=tmm_aud_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1396482560&sr=1-2" target="_blank">Audible</a>. If you're new to Audible, you can get the book for FREE.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Christy was recently one of thirty narrators chosen by Audible/ACX to attend a talent event! She is really terrific. Contact Christy Lynn at <a href="http://www.clvo.net/" target="_blank">Christy Lynn Voice Overs</a> </span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, Christy has been kind enough to answer 5 Questions:</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr">
<div style="font-family: calibri; font-size: 12pt;">
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<span style="color: #741b47;">1) Christy, you’re not only a wonderful
narrator, you’re great at creating different voices. How do you come up with a
voice? </span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
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<div dir="ltr">
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<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a40096;">Thanks so much! Well,
to come up with a voice for a character I usually think about how they might
look, walk, carry themselves. If they maybe have a tick or some habit to them.
I watch a ton of tv shows so a lot of times I'll be watching a show and I'll
notice something about how a character sounds, then I'll use that for maybe a
character in a book that I"m having trouble coming up with a voice
for.</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #741b47;">2) That's so interesting. I wonder what it's like to watch a movie with you! How did you get involved with Audible?</span> </div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
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<div dir="ltr">
<div style="font-family: calibri; font-size: 12pt;">
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<span style="color: #741b47;">
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a40096;">A friend of mine also a VO
talent, told me about ACX. I had no idea it existed! When I heard it was
Audible and Amazon together I thought - well this is gonna be
awesome!</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #741b47;">3) Yes. Amazon is definitely ahead of the pack. I imagine, as we continue getting busier, more people will be listening to stories. How do you view the experience of listening
to a story versus reading?</span> </div>
</div>
</div>
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<div style="font-family: calibri; font-size: 12pt;">
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a40096;">For me there are good aspects of reading a book and listening to
one. Listening to one is definitely better if you need to be
mobile.</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #741b47;">4) Listening is great for older people too. My mom and dad listen to a lot of books--but I haven't told them about Rosy ... too personal! Does your acting career include other
mediums like stage or screen?</span> </div>
</div>
</div>
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</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr">
<div style="font-family: calibri; font-size: 12pt;">
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a40096;">I was a total theatre geek in high school, lol. I was in so many
community shows outside of school that my high school voted me Thesbian of the
Year! I also studied at SUNY Purchase in NY for two years, it's kinda like the
college version of the high school from the show Fame.</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #741b47;">5) SUNY Purchase is a great school for theater! No wonder you really <i>got </i>Rosy! In your experience, what makes a great
character?</span> </div>
</div>
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<div dir="ltr">
<div style="font-family: calibri; font-size: 12pt;">
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a40096;">Good question!
Well hard to say exactly, but for me I think a great character is one who does
something out of character. A mob boss adopting a cat from a shelter or
something like that. Something that makes the reader/listener go "Wow, didn't
see That coming!"</span></div>
</div>
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</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
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<div style="font-family: calibri; font-size: 12pt;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTNnucbLuTFejKWx2rCxoGzwtgu0YzWA2IR8mMF0Zaj9pdx4W2CFi-37cI-SKFoG4Z46AP1G3ulBk3OcgZR9Dctl0xmhgn_DfD8Ga_Vq8iuMHNlbH2BhFxq0oKyfXN90lCG5rhesIWhIE4/s1600/Christy+Lynn.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTNnucbLuTFejKWx2rCxoGzwtgu0YzWA2IR8mMF0Zaj9pdx4W2CFi-37cI-SKFoG4Z46AP1G3ulBk3OcgZR9Dctl0xmhgn_DfD8Ga_Vq8iuMHNlbH2BhFxq0oKyfXN90lCG5rhesIWhIE4/s1600/Christy+Lynn.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #741b47;">Christy Lynn ...or her cat?</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</div>
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</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the only photo Christy Lynn would allow me to post ... </span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">no surprise that she likes mobsters who save cats!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-44200512656552773312014-03-17T16:33:00.000-07:002014-03-17T16:33:25.662-07:00News for Ancient Egypt<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>News for the Ancient World</b></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">March 17,2014</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two stories related to ancient Egypt:</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stolen Egyptian artifacts were seized by Homeland Security in New York on March 16, according to <a href="http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/96810/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/In-pictures-Stolen-Egyptian-artefacts-recovered-fr.aspx">Ahramonline</a>. The artifacts are now on their way back to Egypt. The artifacts are from different periods and include: a mummy mask, part of a painted wooden sarcophagus, and Middle Kingdom wooden boats.</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQnQWEKXdrFwok8eWQhT1mm42Teo3XkuCt4wuVun7lqPSMnoB9ImcBoNHlPGYdRCF9XnN8ujoi5EL4aR92SwyvVvVOzuUKyhpHbP2Q3nU9l5KAAoM6KX0gpn4GXSWIcuxXeRj8qco__sIZ/s1600/2014-635305803702405315-240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQnQWEKXdrFwok8eWQhT1mm42Teo3XkuCt4wuVun7lqPSMnoB9ImcBoNHlPGYdRCF9XnN8ujoi5EL4aR92SwyvVvVOzuUKyhpHbP2Q3nU9l5KAAoM6KX0gpn4GXSWIcuxXeRj8qco__sIZ/s1600/2014-635305803702405315-240.jpg" height="190" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.333333015441895px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Egyptian Wooden Boat<br /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg_q3bokXPteTcYw2A1v0vvIsc2EMJf40mqOwey6oP_N1vR4adeqNE1BBLz0GAW6cDaKTurkRzjdc8_KoledYAjloL2-8AcrUYc77XjZLsiloOwD9QkCUIJ07UisCI5QYWR5Yw-_G2AApV/s1600/2014-635305805996936565-693.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg_q3bokXPteTcYw2A1v0vvIsc2EMJf40mqOwey6oP_N1vR4adeqNE1BBLz0GAW6cDaKTurkRzjdc8_KoledYAjloL2-8AcrUYc77XjZLsiloOwD9QkCUIJ07UisCI5QYWR5Yw-_G2AApV/s1600/2014-635305805996936565-693.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The discovery of the skeletons of six cats (four of them kittens) in an Egyptian cemetery makes scientists believe that cats may have been domesticated 2,000 years earlier than first thought--according an article from <a href="http://www.livescience.com/44108-ancient-egyptian-kitten-burials.html">Live Science</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-3026092695234504832014-03-07T10:23:00.001-08:002014-03-16T14:25:09.652-07:00Author Zané Sachs--5 Question Interview<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://zanesachs-goingdown.blogspot.com/p/contact-zane-sachs.html" target="_blank">Zané Sachs</a> stopped by today. She's created a new blog: </span></span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://zanesachs-goingdown.blogspot.com/" style="color: magenta; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; line-height: 150%;" target="_blank">Zané Sachs-Going Down</a><span style="color: purple;"><b style="font-style: italic; line-height: 150%;">, </b><span style="line-height: 150%;">in anticipation of the release of her new book, </span><i style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://zanesachs-goingdown.blogspot.com/p/more-insanity-my-books.html?zx=2a9773e4a6737f7d" target="_blank">Sadie the Sadist.</a> </i><span style="line-height: 150%;">The blog features <a href="http://zanesachs-goingdown.blogspot.com/p/forensic-news.html" target="_blank">forensic information</a>, <a href="http://zanesachs-goingdown.blogspot.com/p/abnormal-psychology.html" target="_blank">abnormal psychology</a>, and Sadie's (questionable) <a href="http://zanesachs-goingdown.blogspot.com/p/sadies-deadly-recipes.html" target="_blank">recipes</a>.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">The interview didn't go as planned. Frankly, Z</span></span></span></span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 24px;">ané Sachs is the strangest author I've ever met.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><b>5 Questions:</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><b>Suzanne:</b> Hi </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Zané. Why are you wearing that apron?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Zané:</b> </span><span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi. I've been in the kitchen--testing Sadie's recipes. Is that your first question?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Suzanne: </b>Not really...what's that red stuff on your apron?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Zané</b>: </span><span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ketchup. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Suzanne: </b>Really? It looks like blood.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Zané: </b>Is that your second question or your third?</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Suzanne: </b>What inspired you to write <b><i>Sadie the Sadist? </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Zané: </b>Working in the corporate world. Specifically, a supermarket. Any day now, we're going to be replaced by robots. Seriously. While I was working, Sadie appeared--a full-blown character. She started whispering stuff to me, and I transcribed what she said.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Suzanne: </b>Will you give us an example?</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Zané: </b>"Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill."</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Suzanne: </b>Kill who?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="color: purple;">Zané: </b><span style="color: purple;">Just about everyone. </span><span style="color: purple;">That's your sixth question! You can read a chapter called </span><span style="color: magenta;"><a href="http://zanesachs-goingdown.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">SEX IN THE BATHROOM</a> </span><span style="color: purple;">on</span></span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> my blog. Here's a snippet:</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sex in the Bathroom<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over the past few days a lot has changed at the supermarket.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The check stands have been moved so the contractors they hired
for the remodel can redo the floor, plus they’ve rearranged the aisles again.
Bandages are no longer next to macaroni; you’ll find them on Aisle 6 across
from Oatmeal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s this new guy in Deli. He’s about my age, not a kid,
but not an old man either. His glasses make him look intelligent and I like his
legs. They’re muscular and tan. I know, because he wears shorts to work. (We’re
allowed to wear black, knee-length shorts from Memorial to Labor Day.) I met him
on the freight elevator. I was bringing down the trash cart, after emptying all
the garbage cans, when Ranger rolled in a U-boat of roasted chickens destined
for the dumpster. His name is Richard, but everybody calls him Ranger. He
helped me load my garbage into the compactor—the bags from the trash cans outside
the store are especially heavy—and, in return, I gave him a BJ in the employee
bathroom. It’s unisex, down in the basement, and the door locks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now the poor schmoe is in love with me. Women sense these
things, and we lefties are intuitive. He’s obsessed. I feel his eyeballs on my
butt whenever I walk past.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But blowing Ranger is not the big thing (no pun intended). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The big thing is: </span><b><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Justus
is dead, and I’m not sure if I killed him.</span><o:p></o:p></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Release date: April or May 2014</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: purple;">Visit </span><span style="color: purple; line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">Zané's blog, </span><b><i><a href="http://zanesachs-goingdown.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: magenta;"><span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">Zané</span><span style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"> Sachs-Going Down</span></span></a></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: purple;">Follow </span><span style="line-height: 36px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple;">Zané on </span><span style="color: magenta;"><a href="https://twitter.com/ZaneSachs" target="_blank"><span style="color: magenta;">Twitter</span></a> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: purple;">Like </span><span style="line-height: 36px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple;">Zané's </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ZaneSachs" target="_blank"><span style="color: magenta;">Facebook Page</span></a></span></span></div>
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Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-15904508558868931462014-03-04T09:26:00.001-08:002014-03-04T09:26:06.124-08:00News for the Ancient World<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Today I added a new page to my blog: </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">Ancient News. </i>Here you'll find postings regarding the latest archaeological findings, events, films, and exhibits--about the ancient world. Thanks for time traveling with me.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">March 4, 2014</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week I rushed out to see the new film, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeii_(2014_film)" target="_blank">Pompeii</a>, in 3D. They did great research, and I felt like I'd been thrust back through time to the fateful last day when the volcano exploded. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Watch the trailer:</b></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/eoVNF1Zus7Q?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday, Pompeii made the news in real time. The walls of the ancient city are crumbling due to rain. Read <a href="http://news.discovery.com/history/archaeology/pompeii-wall-crumbles-under-rain-and-red-tape-140303.htm" target="_blank">this</a> article and learn some interesting facts. For example: Pompeii restaurants served giraffe. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Other ancient news of interest:</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An ancient gladiator school has been discovered in Austria. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZU7tTjOhS6Xa9Aa6r4C2yQs_3K2UE_rqcfmt2cwqmAlADeXkDCb6c7In6Z3WrUoThO-EMThnrwMGKPhDO3TIpa9EeFhw0iZSIFTbfpGQj1AAy0Ae-UdEZic3i1-4Pjyc5JH2KJoruNmyK/s1600/gladiator-school-670.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZU7tTjOhS6Xa9Aa6r4C2yQs_3K2UE_rqcfmt2cwqmAlADeXkDCb6c7In6Z3WrUoThO-EMThnrwMGKPhDO3TIpa9EeFhw0iZSIFTbfpGQj1AAy0Ae-UdEZic3i1-4Pjyc5JH2KJoruNmyK/s1600/gladiator-school-670.jpg" height="210" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The unearthed complex includes cell blocks, a training area, and bath complex. Read more about it <a href="http://news.discovery.com/history/archaeology/ancient-gladiator-school-found-in-austria-140227.htm" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The archaeologists constructed a 3D model of the school, and created <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2VhCBAqwcw" target="_blank">this video</a>.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-23251583109773701552014-01-18T12:20:00.000-08:002014-01-18T12:20:58.043-08:00Continuing Ed at Oxford University--A Writer's Journal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For a long time I've dreamed of attending <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/" target="_blank">Oxford University</a> and studying Classics. Geeky, but true. In college I majored in Classic Theater and Ancient Religion, and I studied ancient Greek theater with an Oxford scholar. Plus I love the<b> <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/morse/" target="_blank">Inspector Morse</a></b> mystery series on PBS, including all the spin-offs like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endeavour_(TV_series)" target="_blank"><b>Endeavour</b></a>.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oxford University, England</td></tr>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The trouble is I live in Colorado.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the other morning, I woke up thinking: if I could do anything I'd study at Oxford University in England. For fun, I Googled Oxford, and was delighted to discover a list of <a href="http://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/online/index.php" target="_blank">online courses.</a> I found one on <a href="http://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/details.php?id=V400-93&Category=100" target="_blank">Greek Mythology</a>--perfect, because I'm doing research for <b>Priestess</b>, Book Two of my <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hetaera--Suspense-Ancient-Athens-Agathons-Daughter-ebook/dp/B006KYE4ZM/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1382451740&sr=1-2&keywords=hetaera" target="_blank">Agathon's Daughter</a> </b>trilogy, and I like to reference Greek mythology. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Stephen-Kershaw/e/B004GBNCSQ/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1390075538&sr=1-2-ent" target="_blank">Stephen Kershaw</a> will be teaching the course, and he's written (and coauthored) a number of books on Classical topics. </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Brief-Guide-Greek-Myth-History/dp/B008SLU2A6/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1390076168&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=kershow+greek+myths" target="_blank">Amazon</a></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm sooooo excited!</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Geeky, huh?</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The point is, lots of colleges and universities are offering amazing courses online. Some of them are even free. So, if you're curious about some area of study, check it out. I'd love to connect with you in my Oxford chat room and talk about Persephone, Oedipus, Medea...all those crazy ancient Greeks. </span><br />
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Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-48448932775261827862013-12-23T10:01:00.003-08:002014-03-16T14:35:51.496-07:00Picking a Pseudonym...Suzanne Tyrpak aka Zané Sachs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After reading my new book,<a href="http://zanesachs-goingdown.blogspot.com/p/more-insanity-my-books.html"> </a><i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://zanesachs-goingdown.blogspot.com/p/more-insanity-my-books.html">Sadie the Sadist</a>, </i>beta readers tell me I need to publish under a pseudonym.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why? </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because the book is shockingly different from my historical fiction--and I don't want readers to keel over from heart attacks. Also, the book's setting is similar to my hometown and Sadie works at a supermarket that resembles my current workplace...and I don't want to b fired. Like Sadie, I need the insurance.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So...how to come up with a pseudonym. Believe it or not, there's actually a site that <a href="http://www.namegenerator.biz/pseudonym-generator.php" target="_blank">generates pseudonyms.</a> Most are bizarre, in my opinion. For example, just now I generated: Arni Risdon, Marleen Goffman, and Maxy Zajac. Granted, I haven't heard those names before...but I wanted a name that has some relationship to me.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A long time ago, when I was acting in New York, I considered using the name Suzanna Sachs, because a well known actress had my name, Suzanne Peters. When I married, I took my husband's last name and became Suzanne Tyrpak--a good name for an author, I was told, because it's unusual and fits easily on a cover. Now, in search of yet another name, I turned back to Sachs.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But Suzanne Sachs sounds a bit too proper for <i style="font-weight: bold;">Sadie the Sadist. </i>A good friend of mine calls me Zany, so I thought of Zany Tyrpak or Zany Sachs. He suggested Zane Sachs, and I added an accent for: <b><a href="http://zanesachs-goingdown.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Zané Sachs</a>, </b>sounds like...</span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hahahahaha. P</span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">erfect for Sadie. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a cool post about <a href="http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/stories/8-famous-authors-who-used-secret-pseudonyms" target="_blank">8 Famous Authors Who Use SECRET Pseudonyms.</a> They include (famous name in bold):</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Agatha Christie aka Mary Westmacott</span></td></tr>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Agatha Christie</b>: Mary Westmacott</span></span><br />
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Benjamin Franklin</b>: Mrs. Silence Dogood</span></span></span><br />
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>C.S. Lewis</b>: Clive Hamilton and N.W. Clerk</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Isaac Asimov</b>: Paul French</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>J.K. Rowling</b>: Robert Galbraith</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Michael Crichton</b>: John Lange, Jeffery Hudson and Michael Douglas</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<b style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Stephen King</b><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">: Richard Bachman</span><br />
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Washington Irving</b>: Jonathan Oldstyle, Diedrich Knickerbocker and Geoffrey Crayon</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd love to hear comments about <i>your </i>pseudonym, or pseudonyms of other writers.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-13137249627245240092013-12-02T08:16:00.004-08:002013-12-02T08:16:54.588-08:00Historical Fiction Sale<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://hfebooks.com/about-hfac/" target="_blank">Historical Fiction Authors Cooperative</a> </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(HFAC) is an international group of authors offering readers a selection of high-quality historical fiction e-books from many different time periods. Sign up to receive interesting articles and news from our authors.</span></span><div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This holiday season many HFAC authors are offering<b> FREE ebooks</b> when you purchase beautiful print editions of the books through Amazon's Matchbook program. This is a great opportunity to buy books as gifts and receive an electronic version at no charge. </span></span></div>
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<a href="http://hfebooks.com/historical-fiction-for-the-holidays-print-and-ebook-bundles/" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></a></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://hfebooks.com/historical-fiction-for-the-holidays-print-and-ebook-bundles/" target="_blank"><b>Check out books from popular authors:</b></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Ancient World</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Elizabeth Storrs</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rebecca Lochlann</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Suzanne Tyrpak</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Martha Marks</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Medieval</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">N. Gemini Sasson</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sarah Woodbury</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I.J. Parker</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Early Modern World</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Suzanne Alleyn</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Karin Perkins</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Suzanne Adair</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">V.R. Christensen</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meg North</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">David Gaughran</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">M. Louisa Locke</span></div>
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Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-47423312184156742182013-11-24T10:55:00.002-08:002013-11-24T10:55:31.187-08:00Explore Your Superpowers Through Historical Fiction.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Humans have always loved the idea of superpowers. The desire to fly has been around for a long time and is explored in the story of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icarus" target="_blank">Icarus</a>, who flew too close to the sun.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE581DW2P3z7XUlAj7IxVuMjzYviri7piXvLYcSyL52ZgqsYU5_GYqie9iMik-F3WOOlc0mEhl7F8fivrJmRE00xD2yLhxTFeIY_zkTanB_Y2JJQdWHy_U1nOphLyHDd_Yt0XW-O4CFWnV/s1600/Herbert_Draper_-_The_Lament_for_Icarus_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE581DW2P3z7XUlAj7IxVuMjzYviri7piXvLYcSyL52ZgqsYU5_GYqie9iMik-F3WOOlc0mEhl7F8fivrJmRE00xD2yLhxTFeIY_zkTanB_Y2JJQdWHy_U1nOphLyHDd_Yt0XW-O4CFWnV/s1600/Herbert_Draper_-_The_Lament_for_Icarus_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" height="320" width="270" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If I could have one superpower I would choose the ability to time travel. If I could choose a secondary power I would be invisible. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why?</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because I'm interested in the way people think and act, and I'm curious to explore how we've evolved over time--if we really have. These superpowers would allow me to drop into private conversations, hang-out behind the scenes, notice how ordinary people lived and eavesdrop on the powerful. I don't care much about wars and politics--events that have been documented. I'm interested in every day life and the roles women have played throughout history. That's why I enjoy writing historical fiction. And that's why most of my characters are not famous, documented people, but characters who grow out of possible situations. I also enjoy a tight story, so I lean to suspense. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I found history in school dull, because it focused on war and politics. I got into history through acting. Part of exploring a role involves learning about time and place. For example, playing the Duchess in <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Duchess_of_Malfi" target="_blank">The Duchess of Malfi </a> </i>by John Webster (writing in the 1600s), I needed to explore life during the Renaissance. This made the world of the play come alive for me.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I became interested in ancient Greece when I read plays by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ancient_Greek_playwrights" target="_blank">Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles.</a> One of my favorite characters is Electra.Electra convinced her brother, Orestes, to seek revenge for the murder of their father. The play made me think about father-daughter relationships in ancient times, infidelity, the role women played. beliefs about the afterlife, religious beliefs. The Greek plays made mythology and the ancient world come alive for me. I became interested in philosophy and was amazed to discover that the thinkers of that time (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and many others) still wield great influence on how western society views the world. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfJnFBGWx0dmdPsGkvpiDooA2wW0wkLQdiVz7FaMAqa0CVXqjC0RKf0_xLE2IKhZUc3wlzKwBUQqQzh3laHWGz2srLzgaQXZpRp-mhId_B55E_QCcPDNtUpLhprZiWVESxJxN89w580kig/s1600/Electra_and_Orestes_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_14994.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfJnFBGWx0dmdPsGkvpiDooA2wW0wkLQdiVz7FaMAqa0CVXqjC0RKf0_xLE2IKhZUc3wlzKwBUQqQzh3laHWGz2srLzgaQXZpRp-mhId_B55E_QCcPDNtUpLhprZiWVESxJxN89w580kig/s1600/Electra_and_Orestes_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_14994.png" height="218" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taking on a role is a form of time travel--you submerge yourself in a different time and place, ask yourself questions like: what did I have for breakfast today, how do I style my hair, what are the social norms, how am I breaking them--because, of course, the most interesting characters always come up against the boundaries of society. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Writing historical novels takes this process a step further. As I writer, I get to play all of the characters. I rest my brain (or torture it) in the minds of kings, queens, slaves, prostitutes, serfs, merchants, sailors--anyone I choose. If that's not superpower, what is?</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I invite you to play with time travel. Ask yourself, what would I be eating if I were in ancient Rome? What steps would I have to go through to take a bath in the 1700s (or would I bother)? How would I walk if this were Imperial China and my feet were bound and broken for the sake of beauty? What would be the remedy for arthritis, monthly cramps, a brain tumor (whatever you might suffer from) if I lived in ancient Egypt? England in the 1200s? (Ancient Egyptian medicine was far more advanced, by the way.) It's a fun game! And it's made me appreciate many things about my current, high tech life.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How do you play out your superpowers?</span><br />
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Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-62555404982211097102013-11-12T06:40:00.000-08:002013-11-12T06:40:22.968-08:00What is Historical Fiction? Guest Post: JJ Toner<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today I'm pleased to welcome author JJ Toner. I met JJ through <a href="http://hfebooks.com/" target="_blank">HFAC</a>, Historical Fiction Authors Cooperative. It's a great place to visit if you enjoy all types of historical fiction. Historical fiction is a broad category encompassing fictionalized history, romance set in specific time periods, mysteries, suspense.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today, JJ poses the question: What exactly <i>is </i>historical fiction? I know he'd love to hear from you, so please leave a comment.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>What is Historical Fiction?</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have written 2 historical
fiction books and Im nearly finished editing a third, and yet Im not at all
sure how to define the genre. The book Im reading at the moment, <u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Executioners-Heir-Eighteenth-Century-France-ebook/dp/B00EXPZQBG/" target="_blank">The Executioners Heir</a></u> by Susanne Alleyn is firmly rooted in French history
leading up to the Revolution. At the front of the book Ms Alleyn provides a list
of characters, and only a few minor characters a street urchin and some
servants are fictional; all the others are real historical figures. H/F =
80/20
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN_vOa4Re-1MVArGiK9eVwFCF2ryhwF7IP8VmGdTQ-8gyfB9AlPF5JYJcS4OWJXXKhVEkf1816onzYh61qWpgeiKlbqhytwwL4Ya0CFc7E1eq1gLj3fX1YLJt4xFr3udezj1rnO_cNktdA/s1600/51wQUQcyFZL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN_vOa4Re-1MVArGiK9eVwFCF2ryhwF7IP8VmGdTQ-8gyfB9AlPF5JYJcS4OWJXXKhVEkf1816onzYh61qWpgeiKlbqhytwwL4Ya0CFc7E1eq1gLj3fX1YLJt4xFr3udezj1rnO_cNktdA/s1600/51wQUQcyFZL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the other hand, <u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Maids-Misfortune-Victorian-Francisco-Mystery-ebook/dp/B002Z13UGS/" target="_blank">Mary Louisa Lockes mysterie</a>s</u> set in late 19th century San Fransisco, are
populated entirely by fictional characters. Her research of the period and the
location are impeccable, of course, giving the reader a fully-rounded historical
fiction experience. H/F = 40/60</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFJvGp7oLi_zybgWHLVB82AsQupNHrvXceM13_uJA6iCFvVLwbQmd75WxvLFx7Nr8xdIj6bvtXQ4yEhMLZtxbpK9wCMDsfU-hzlnkumnzcFp_RgDnYrV3N0rtnMNfYBkdFxY_a22MDRbA4/s1600/51b3vyWNYiL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFJvGp7oLi_zybgWHLVB82AsQupNHrvXceM13_uJA6iCFvVLwbQmd75WxvLFx7Nr8xdIj6bvtXQ4yEhMLZtxbpK9wCMDsfU-hzlnkumnzcFp_RgDnYrV3N0rtnMNfYBkdFxY_a22MDRbA4/s1600/51b3vyWNYiL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Clearly, there is a
difference between these two books. The first, I would call Fictionalized
History, the second, perhaps Mysteries set in a Historical Context.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/White-Princess-Cousins-War-ebook/dp/B00A285OOW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1384266717&sr=1-1&keywords=philippa+gregory" target="_blank">Phillipa Gregorys</a> books
are all about real life people, kings and queens of history. Her books, though
fiction, must be considered perilously close to pure history. I would class
these books Fictionalized History. H/F = 90/10</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDMXEVWrC8n4VJj_1eFKSG10NLAO__DPu-pgRQ8Q92e47mBICxYGK1ZWBf6G5-lhz31JZkCxy6wWsKCdSRyRWxd9L828N4MFq6Bmi049eGv7YO7uIWMEIaf6HZXW1R4dXOe9UfXhwd6T57/s1600/51lZJ2dvTBL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-63,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDMXEVWrC8n4VJj_1eFKSG10NLAO__DPu-pgRQ8Q92e47mBICxYGK1ZWBf6G5-lhz31JZkCxy6wWsKCdSRyRWxd9L828N4MFq6Bmi049eGv7YO7uIWMEIaf6HZXW1R4dXOe9UfXhwd6T57/s1600/51lZJ2dvTBL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-63,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My own book, <u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B1JE3B6/?tag=httpwwwjjtone-20" target="_blank">The Black Orchestra</a></u>, is set in Berlin during World War 2. I have followed the progress
of the war from 1939-1942 with care, weaving the fictional story into the fabric
of the historical record, and there are one or two historical characters
included in the story, notably, Hans Oster and Reinhard Heydrich. I think the
term Historical Fiction fits my book well. H/F = 45/55</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4H2Wq4OSe4DPRi3zkROKCpTbYHI6-9ODMomw0KWnG7d8AC_uR777-VKE96otaHZaHYh0GDm0ntuKUEVeQx28bHcg_sL5WgKPm_I1MxmLC7yociWciLP25Z4YazF7e27k0PgQK2hDAZPGS/s1600/51I8Wc5J8EL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4H2Wq4OSe4DPRi3zkROKCpTbYHI6-9ODMomw0KWnG7d8AC_uR777-VKE96otaHZaHYh0GDm0ntuKUEVeQx28bHcg_sL5WgKPm_I1MxmLC7yociWciLP25Z4YazF7e27k0PgQK2hDAZPGS/s1600/51I8Wc5J8EL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Consider <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fatherland-Robert-Harris/dp/0061006629" target="_blank">Fatherland</a> by Robert Harris. In this book every minute detail of life in Nazi Germany
has been
meticulously researched, and yet the book is based on an alternative (fictional)
version of history, where Germany has won the war. Still it qualifies as
Historical Fiction in my view. H/F = 30/70</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzI5h99F3rlKW7lzoE5FC8cwC2kxf1N0a1aF-28FP4u20GYglTbVCuIXvT1eT-M4zL_CfOrSpSvop9j7sgYfYR4oddEpN1zAOIs7TrUttdp0uX4lSo7ID6wX9qQ7d-2I3ugqOCs7kXsb9/s1600/41ljjkACPOL._SY344_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzI5h99F3rlKW7lzoE5FC8cwC2kxf1N0a1aF-28FP4u20GYglTbVCuIXvT1eT-M4zL_CfOrSpSvop9j7sgYfYR4oddEpN1zAOIs7TrUttdp0uX4lSo7ID6wX9qQ7d-2I3ugqOCs7kXsb9/s1600/41ljjkACPOL._SY344_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" height="320" width="196" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Man-Without-Breath-Bernie-Gunther-ebook/dp/B00AI5APIY/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1384266555&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=Philip+Kerr%C2%92s+Bernie+Gunther" target="_blank">Philip Kerrs Bernie Gunther</a> novels are set firmly in and around Germany before, during and after the
war. The books feature a number of historical characters and yet are fictional
through and through. H/F = 25/75</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPBrW-REAo8xcSsTvUkKGGEk6XKHNYpf7Qm1qapAudu0-xRCa-iyEGNyw1h_L58DkJc7m04oeEpR0hNv8m-d6-xoPIDnUX2PwZVyf4UoiXjGX-5pJ7xB_1u6FytI_Gu8yVotMTpdfCv8xY/s1600/41YducRjMLL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPBrW-REAo8xcSsTvUkKGGEk6XKHNYpf7Qm1qapAudu0-xRCa-iyEGNyw1h_L58DkJc7m04oeEpR0hNv8m-d6-xoPIDnUX2PwZVyf4UoiXjGX-5pJ7xB_1u6FytI_Gu8yVotMTpdfCv8xY/s1600/41YducRjMLL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Karen Perkins wonderful
book, <u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Thores-Cross-ebook/dp/B00D1YP1GK/" target="_blank">Thores-Cross</a></u> contains two intertwined stories of the north of
England, one a contemporary story, the other a haunting tale of social history
from the 18th century. No real life characters are featured. Indisputably
Historical Fiction, this one, with strong paranormal elements. H/F =
50/50</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My new book, The Wings of
the Eagle, is set in 1943 Germany, but Im not confident that I could call it
Historical Fiction. Its more of an action adventure story with the Second World
War as a backdrop. H/F = 10/90</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps we should
categorize Historical Fiction on a sliding scale (as above) depending on the
historical content versus the fictional.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/JJ-Toner/e/B0054R962C/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1384266011&sr=1-2-ent" target="_blank">JJ Toner</a></b> was discovered under a cabbage patch in Ireland with a pen in his hand.
He finally started writing again in 1996, after half a lifetime of
procrastination. Not that he was ever short of good excuses. For 35 years he
worked with computers as a petroleum geophysicist, with medical and veterinarian
scientists, accountants, engineers, and in a variety of industries, from health
care through manufacturing to shipping. His work took him all over Europe and
USA, and yet he somehow found the time to marry, built a home, father three
kids, and get his golf handicap down to a respectable figure. A Maths graduate,
he has been a full-time writer since 2007. He lives in Ireland with his wife and
his youngest son. So far, JJ has self-published a book of short stories and
three thrillers. The latest of these, The Black Orchestra, is set in Germany
during the early years of the Second World War.</span></div>
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Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-79173167988309991412013-11-03T08:06:00.001-08:002014-03-09T22:50:28.234-07:005 Questions for The Fussy Librarian<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 24px;">March 6, 2014</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://sadiethesadist.blogspot.com/p/contact-me.html" target="_blank">Zané Sachs</a> stopped by today. She's created a new blog: </span></span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://sadiethesadist.blogspot.com/" style="color: magenta; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;" target="_blank">Zané Sachs-Going Down</a><span style="color: purple;"><b style="font-style: italic; line-height: 24px;">, </b><span style="line-height: 24px;">in anticipation of the release of her new book, </span><i style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;"><a href="http://sadiethesadist.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html" target="_blank">Sadie the Sadist.</a> </i><span style="line-height: 24px;">The blog features <a href="http://sadiethesadist.blogspot.com/p/forensic-news.html" target="_blank">forensic information</a>, <a href="http://sadiethesadist.blogspot.com/p/criminal-minds.html" target="_blank">abnormal psychology</a>, and Sadie's (questionable) <a href="http://sadiethesadist.blogspot.com/p/sadies-favorite-recipes.html" target="_blank">recipes</a>.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;"><span style="line-height: 24px;">The interview didn't go as planned. Frankly, Z</span></span></span></span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 24px;">ané Sachs is the strangest author I've ever met.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><b>5 Questions:</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><b>Suzanne:</b> Hi </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Zané. Why are you wearing that apron?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Zané:</b> </span><span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi. I've been in the kitchen--testing Sadie's recipes. Is that your first question?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Suzanne: </b>Not really...what's that red stuff on your apron?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Zané</b>: </span><span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ketchup. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Suzanne: </b>Really? It looks like blood.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Zané: </b>Is that your second question or your third?</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Suzanne: </b>What inspired you to write <b><i>Sadie the Sadist? </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Zané: </b>Working in the corporate world. Specifically, a supermarket. Any day now, we're going to be replaced by robots. Seriously. While I was working, Sadie appeared--a full-blown character. She started whispering stuff to me, and I transcribed what she said.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Suzanne: </b>Will you give us an example?</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Zané: </b>"Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill."</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Suzanne: </b>Kill who?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="color: purple;">Zané: </b><span style="color: purple;">Just about everyone. </span><span style="color: purple;">That's your sixth question! You can read a chapter called </span><span style="color: magenta;"><a href="http://sadiethesadist.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">SEX IN THE BATHROOM</a> </span><span style="color: purple;">on</span></span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> my blog. Here's a snippet:</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 32px;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sex in the Bathroom<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over the past few days a lot has changed at the supermarket.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The check stands have been moved so the contractors they hired for the remodel can redo the floor, plus they’ve rearranged the aisles again. Bandages are no longer next to macaroni; you’ll find them on Aisle 6 across from Oatmeal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s this new guy in Deli. He’s about my age, not a kid, but not an old man either. His glasses make him look intelligent and I like his legs. They’re muscular and tan. I know, because he wears shorts to work. (We’re allowed to wear black, knee-length shorts from Memorial to Labor Day.) I met him on the freight elevator. I was bringing down the trash cart, after emptying all the garbage cans, when Ranger rolled in a U-boat of roasted chickens destined for the dumpster. His name is Richard, but everybody calls him Ranger. He helped me load my garbage into the compactor—the bags from the trash cans outside the store are especially heavy—and, in return, I gave him a BJ in the employee bathroom. It’s unisex, down in the basement, and the door locks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now the poor schmoe is in love with me. Women sense these things, and we lefties are intuitive. He’s obsessed. I feel his eyeballs on my butt whenever I walk past.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But blowing Ranger is not the big thing (no pun intended).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The big thing is: </span><b><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Justus is dead, and I’m not sure if I killed him.</span><o:p></o:p></b><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdB78z2PgQPqJguVbFwth0DFFVPtDiwVQcHzVt5GRZX_aRVAbV2ILXM0uLMRHh3PIuiKWPbJQnc0C2TltxtmnMDSjBBOtTbW04RIfTFrEha9jJgbZciKarW9M_RgJ62CqT01fCG-GXucq/s1600/Sadie+Cover+final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdB78z2PgQPqJguVbFwth0DFFVPtDiwVQcHzVt5GRZX_aRVAbV2ILXM0uLMRHh3PIuiKWPbJQnc0C2TltxtmnMDSjBBOtTbW04RIfTFrEha9jJgbZciKarW9M_RgJ62CqT01fCG-GXucq/s1600/Sadie+Cover+final.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.333333015441895px;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Release date: April or May 2014</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: purple;">Visit </span><span style="color: purple; line-height: 36px; text-align: center;">Zané's blog, </span><b><i><a href="http://bit.ly/1cxzToi" target="_blank"><span style="color: magenta;"><span style="line-height: 36px; text-align: center;">Zané</span><span style="line-height: 36px; text-align: center;"> Sachs-Going Down</span></span></a></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: purple;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: purple;">Follow </span><span style="line-height: 36px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple;">Zané on </span><span style="color: magenta;"><a href="https://twitter.com/ZaneSachs" target="_blank"><span style="color: magenta;">Twitter</span></a> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: purple;">Like </span><span style="line-height: 36px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple;">Zané's </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ZaneSachs" target="_blank"><span style="color: magenta;">Facebook Page</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a chilly Sunday morning here in Colorado. The usually blue sky is overcast, and only a few yellow leaves cling to the tree outside my window...great weather for reading. With thousands of books available, it's great to know I have instant access to my own librarian. <a href="http://www.thefussylibrarian.com/" target="_blank"><b>The Fussy Librarian</b></a> helps me select the perfect book for my mood--and she'll help you too. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinUwhG3aKRhIXPyvwN_ATvlSscU3_84r0IJPR0hS6LAO8L-CaadYCKYw_R2892h9Kgtk8xtROCtntxf-HWtQoSfZc6V7VUaaY9q98zXW0hG6t1bDVCauRotc_fAIQRBSHhquCfn7wi_ptx/s1600/fussylibrarian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinUwhG3aKRhIXPyvwN_ATvlSscU3_84r0IJPR0hS6LAO8L-CaadYCKYw_R2892h9Kgtk8xtROCtntxf-HWtQoSfZc6V7VUaaY9q98zXW0hG6t1bDVCauRotc_fAIQRBSHhquCfn7wi_ptx/s1600/fussylibrarian.jpg" height="320" width="282" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> My historical novel, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hetaera--Suspense-Ancient-Athens-Agathons-Daughter-ebook/dp/B006KYE4ZM/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1382451740&sr=1-2&keywords=hetaera" target="_blank"><b>Hetaera--suspense in ancient Athens</b></a>, will be featured on the Fussy Librarian tomorrow, November 4th. I've put the book on sale for a week through <b>Amazon's new Kindle Countdown Deal, </b>so you can pick up a copy for just .99 cents (list price $3.99).</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jeffrey Bruner, who works closely with the librarian, was kind enough to answer <b>5 Questions</b>:</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1) Please explain the service The Fussy
Librarian provides to readers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We provide a daily, personalized ebook recommendation service to readers.
You select from 30 genres, answer a few questions about your preferences
regarding profanity, violence and sexual situations, and the computer does all
the rest. All of our books cost $5.99 or less -- many are 99 cents or free.
<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />2) How is this different than other
services?</span><br />The Fussy Librarian is the first -- and only -- service to
factor content preferences into the database that generates the personalized
email. It makes a huge difference in the books you get in the email.
<br /><br />There's a lot of different types of mysteries, for example. With us, you
can guarantee you only learn about cozy mysteries that don't have sex, violence
or profanity if that's what you want. But if those things don't bother you,
you'll hear about a wider selection of novels. The content filters make it
easier to readers to try new authors with confidence that they won't get to
chapter four and find something that really turns them off.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">3) How has the ebook revolution changed
reading and book buying habits?</span><br />For one thing, an ebook never has to
go out of print. Ever! Think about the implications of that. Your choices are no
longer limited to what's available on the shelf of your bookstore and that alone
has enormous implications for American culture. Ebooks also dramatically lower
the cost of publishing for authors and it frees them to write what they want.
<br /><br />As for book buying habits, the only downside is the negative pressure
ebooks have put on book prices. Americans have been getting so much for free in
the digital era -- news, music, video -- that I think a lot of readers expect
their books to be free, too. Those people need to put food on their tables,
though. They're not living off of trust funds. I'm not arguing for going back to
the $18.95 novel, but we do need to condition readers to accept $2.99, $3.99 and
$4.99 as reasonable prices for something that might take an author a year or
more to write.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">4) With all the instant media available,
why do you think people continue to read books?</span>There's nothing more
powerful than your imagination. I think books tap into that in a way that movies
or television can never do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5) Why are novels
important?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">People love a good story and a good novel takes your imagination to places
and times that would otherwise be impossible. When you start to read a book,
you're giving the author permission to start telling you a story ... and there's
just something magical about that.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>About Jeffrey: </b></span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jeffrey Bruner has been a film and theater critic and currently works as an
editor for <a href="http://www.gannett.com/section/WHOWEARE06" target="_blank">Gannett,</a> the nation's largest newspaper company. Under the pen name<b>
<a href="http://alexadena.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Alex Adena,</a></b> he has written one novella, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Signs-Wonders-Annie-adventures-ebook/dp/B005FFTMTU/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1383493868&sr=1-2&keywords=signs+and+wonders" target="_blank"><b>Signs and Wonders</b></a>, and one novel, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Grace-Annie-Adventures-ebook/dp/B00CKYMRG4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1383493946&sr=1-1&keywords=finding+grace" target="_blank"><b>Finding Grace</b></a>. He lives in Des Moines, Iowa, with his wonderful wife,
Stephanie, one goofy mutt and four bossy cats.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks for stopping by my blog, Jeffrey. You're providing a wonderful service for readers and writers. I know you've received over a thousand books this past week. I'm sure you'll be receiving thousands more, and that's a lot of books to sort through. Thank you for your hard work!</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sign up for <b>The Fussy Librarian </b>newsletter <a href="http://www.thefussylibrarian.com/" target="_blank">here.</a></span></div>
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Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-79567331116191512932013-11-01T19:02:00.000-07:002013-11-01T19:02:00.775-07:00Vestal Virgin on Kindle Countdown November 2-9<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kindle Direct Publishing has a new feature: Kindle Countdown, and I've enrolled <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vestal-Virgin-Suspense-Ancient-Rome-ebook/dp/B004G093HQ" target="_blank">Vestal Virgin--suspense in ancient Rome</a> for a week beginning Saturday, November 2. So, if you don't have a copy yet, it will be .99 cents tomorrow. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The price will keep increasing until the end of the sale on November 9. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's an experiment, and I'm interested to see how it goes.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Check it out!</span><br />
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Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-10781953327464543362013-07-27T08:57:00.000-07:002013-07-27T08:59:14.827-07:00Wordcrafters Writers Conference in Eugene Promises to be One of the Best (I asked 5 Questions)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had the good fortune to meet my friend and mentor, <a href="http://www.elizabethengstrom.com/" target="_blank">Elizabeth Engstrom</a>, years ago when she was coordinating the writers' retreat at the Maui Writers Conference (now defunct)--a dream-come-true conference and retreat that was held in Maui, Hawaii. The conference featured amazing, NY Times Bestselling writers as speakers and teachers: <a href="http://www.terrybrooks.net/" target="_blank">Terry Brooks</a>, <a href="http://www.elizabethgeorgeonline.com/" target="_blank">Elizabeth George</a>, <a href="http://www.susanwiggs.com/" target="_blank">Susan Wiggs</a>, and many others.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Guess what?</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They're back!</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the <a href="http://wordcraftersineugene.org/" target="_blank">Wordcrafters Writers Conference</a> in Eugene, Oregon--March 7, 8, 9, 2014 (There's a writing retreat the week before, but sign up fast, because space is very limited.)</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you can, I urge you to attend. I'm sure this will be one of the best writing conferences on the planet, and the retreat will be amazing. Find out more <a href="http://wordcraftersineugene.org/" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I heard about the conference, I felt compelled to ask Liz 5 Questions. Here's our exchange:</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wow. The lineup for the Wordcrafters Writers Conference in Eugene is
impressive! Terry Brooks, Elizabeth George, Susan Wiggs. And I love that you and
Susan are offering a preconference writing retreat for twenty lucky writers.
This reminds me of the magical Maui Conference—no longer in existence—an event I
attended many times. </span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Truthfully, I have a lot questions for you, but I’ll limit it to 5:</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>1)</strong> <strong>Please tell me about Wordcrafters—when and how
did it form?</strong> </span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First of all, Wordcrafters is more than a conference. We intend to pull
together many literary events in the community, from poetry slams to summer teen
writing camps, community-wide book club, to special presentations by authors,
editors and agents. Wordcrafters is all about the craft of writing. Everything
we do is geared toward improving the craft, with the Conference being the
centerpiece. There will be no promotional programming at the conference: no
agents, editors, pitch sessions, social media, self-publishing, etc. at all. In
2014, the focus is on fiction. </span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So to answer your question, the idea of a writer's conference in Eugene has
surfaced many times, but suddenly a core of people came together in that
synergistic way that sometimes happens, and boom, Wordcrafters in Eugene was
born. This group formed an enthusiastic and talented board of directors, crafted
a mission statement, and we were off and running. Our first general interest
meeting was in November, 2012. Now we have nonprofit tax status, the tireless
Patricia Marshall as our Executive Director, Daryll Lynne Evans as our Volunteer
Coordinator, and a wonderful lineup of events, both pre- and post-conference.
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<strong><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2) What inspired you to put together this
conference?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have missed being part of the conference inner workings since the demise
of the Maui Writer's Conference. We did not want to compete with the San
Francisco Writer's Conference nor the Willamette Writer's Conference, as they do
what they do so well. So we created a very specific survey, which was sent far
and wide, to find out what people wanted in a writing conference, and we
designed the curriculum accordingly. We didn't want to reinvent the wheel, we
just wanted to tweak it. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3) What can attendees expect to experience and come away
with?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the things that was clear in our survey was that the attendees
wanted a professional to look at their work. So in addition to the incredible
lineup of speakers and presenters, we will have the Craft Lab, where every
attendee will have an opportunity to sit one-on-one with one of the presenters
to discuss their project. We'll have a couple of interesting social events to
promote a little writer-to-writer networking. 2014 is the 50th anniversary of
the publication of Ken Kesey's <em>Sometimes A Great Notion</em>, and as Ken and
the whole Kesey family is an integral part of our local literary heritage, we
will have some events to honor that milestone in his career. </span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My vision for this conference is that everybody will get back to the love
of crafting good stories. With all the emphasis these days on marketing and
publishing and promotion, we hope to be a little oasis where it's all about the
writing. Good writing. </span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4) You are an amazing writer and teacher; what is the best advice
you can offer aspiring writers?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's so nice of you to say. I guess my advice is to write every day, and
don't expect that everything you write is worthy of being published. We have to
practice our craft before we can become professionals. But with dedication to
learning the craft, and persistence in seeing your projects to completion, your
best work can be out there for the world to appreciate, and it will be something
you can be proud of.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5) Who has been the greatest influence on your writing, and
why?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I grew up reading Robert Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, Rod Serling, Edgar Allan
Poe, Robert Silverberg, Theodore Sturgeon, Shirley Jackson, H.G. Wells, Edgar
Rice Burroughs, and even Ian Fleming. I read voraciously, everything I could
get my hands on, and these early forays into great literature of our time had a
profound effect on me. I always knew that I would write, and when I had enough
life experience to have something to say, out poured a body of work that is
clearly an homage to my early literary heroes. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks Liz. And thanks for organizing the retreat and conference. I'm sure it will be wonderful. I hope to attend!</span></div>
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Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-63902057233834124512013-07-02T11:29:00.000-07:002013-07-02T11:41:00.666-07:00Back from Turkey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiumL5LaxSTCll5iUeSIm3RtPvUtkudOs2ARBcYMG64JfaD4iVrDoiPtcFxDBJo8XFhLxYpJInL9PqSFz8bxhtRL9CdOy4QppAFmSR0e_1tQ7pLsMAdL5-7ARqdS960ZCMxlOsH_NV94y6k/s1600/spice+market.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiumL5LaxSTCll5iUeSIm3RtPvUtkudOs2ARBcYMG64JfaD4iVrDoiPtcFxDBJo8XFhLxYpJInL9PqSFz8bxhtRL9CdOy4QppAFmSR0e_1tQ7pLsMAdL5-7ARqdS960ZCMxlOsH_NV94y6k/s1600/spice+market.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Spice Market</td></tr>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I returned from Turkey right before all the unrest. While there, I experienced an amazing country filled with history and seemingly endless resources. My trip began in Istanbul, a cosmopolitan city reminiscent of New York, London, Paris--with an eastern twist: the spires of mosques rising from the skyline, unexpected bazaars tucked into alleyways, palaces and art, great little outdoor cafes where you might enjoy a cup of tea or smoke a hookah.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are a few of my photos:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmhxP_it9TZLlWe0TEnvWZRLip_j_icf-osRduGKVp5Q9Ku18v33GaJJMWhC3NEc6dfAYaQvRLHEK9ci5gXD3qLp1yJITyMnNDj66Kj4n-CkdE2fR7YL2857o0lpcrltWrlXTKA_8JTscs/s1600/istanbul.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmhxP_it9TZLlWe0TEnvWZRLip_j_icf-osRduGKVp5Q9Ku18v33GaJJMWhC3NEc6dfAYaQvRLHEK9ci5gXD3qLp1yJITyMnNDj66Kj4n-CkdE2fR7YL2857o0lpcrltWrlXTKA_8JTscs/s1600/istanbul.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Istanbul</td></tr>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Istanbul is a city that spans two continents: Europe and Asia. It's possible to walk across a bridge from one continent to the other.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXPm0SsptH6xySMmy3KxX8NyuiilXICQRxnarGckCg5Gd17nwRjtqJZrEa3IBE7nE-OTEgJqAB4EVJTxGhXR9Drds-0NVkkHzJEuCAha2_QPmAXmUzaPjRPOLf7PSdU3HtFR_oq0Adpopc/s1600/asia+to+europt.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXPm0SsptH6xySMmy3KxX8NyuiilXICQRxnarGckCg5Gd17nwRjtqJZrEa3IBE7nE-OTEgJqAB4EVJTxGhXR9Drds-0NVkkHzJEuCAha2_QPmAXmUzaPjRPOLf7PSdU3HtFR_oq0Adpopc/s1600/asia+to+europt.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crossing from Asia to Europe<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRoLxV1o-L-kdoE0FR2sl3WTNuZLjuOLMq0GOx2Jz8z_UwyhBF3Wp5hc5FuGhyphenhyphenUzF-CH9h7Yt2tQ-mz8pJlNbk0i4HWEDACUZhgcTnqjvQLPXlrup-SRy7wnWLB5P1HeXVh6NerGhdH01Q/s1600/grand+bazaar+ceiling.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRoLxV1o-L-kdoE0FR2sl3WTNuZLjuOLMq0GOx2Jz8z_UwyhBF3Wp5hc5FuGhyphenhyphenUzF-CH9h7Yt2tQ-mz8pJlNbk0i4HWEDACUZhgcTnqjvQLPXlrup-SRy7wnWLB5P1HeXVh6NerGhdH01Q/s1600/grand+bazaar+ceiling.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ceiling in the Grand Bazaar<br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;">Rich merchants would band together at caravan stops</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">on the silk road--and find protection from outlaws like</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Ali Baba and his thieves.</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Spice Market and the Grand Bazaar are amazing marketplaces. Haggling is a must--especially at the Grand Bazaar. I did most of my shopping outside of Istanbul, because I felt overwhelmed by the intensity of bargaining in the big city.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where the camels stayed<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caves of early Christians<br />
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<br />Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-27126745835810553372013-03-31T19:50:00.001-07:002013-03-31T19:52:13.454-07:00A Writer's Journal--On the Road to Istanbul<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've worked in the airline industry since late 1999. On March 25, I finally qualified for lifetime flight benefits, so I retired from the airlines and--before I begin new endeavors--I'm going to do some traveling. First to New York, then on to Istanbul.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wouldn't be surprised if this adventure stirs new stories. Not only will I visit Istanbul, the heart of the Byzantine Empire, but I'll be traveling to the legendary site of the ancient city of Troy, the land Homer wrote about in the <i>Iliad </i>and the<i> Odyssey. </i></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Troy</td></tr>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll also be visiting the ancient Roman City of Ephesus...</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0pBFyI0c9e4D2FPvoC1KKLtWSs8u8hHpkU0UfCMbw044c8Fgx91p0OTtmJcLVahyphenhyphenjh87ZqCN-uA9MHAn_Fazlc_kDUU1uAQZKAoU2kZeji5pU-ucql273Ysu9zvRBLVwS4ym3z9S0cDlk/s1600/ephesus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0pBFyI0c9e4D2FPvoC1KKLtWSs8u8hHpkU0UfCMbw044c8Fgx91p0OTtmJcLVahyphenhyphenjh87ZqCN-uA9MHAn_Fazlc_kDUU1uAQZKAoU2kZeji5pU-ucql273Ysu9zvRBLVwS4ym3z9S0cDlk/s1600/ephesus.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artist's rendition of Ephesus</td></tr>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> where it's said the Virgin Mary died in this stone house that still stands there:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary's House<br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can already feel the history, and I can't wait to see the caves in Cappadocia where early Christians lived, and where their frescoes still exist. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cappadocia</td></tr>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hope to post photos and thoughts on my blog, but internet access may be limited. So here's a video of the tour I'm taking with Gate1 Travel. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shalom...happy Easter, Oester, Spring.</span><br />
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Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-15456167946045664992013-03-30T21:44:00.000-07:002013-03-30T21:44:07.248-07:005 Stars for Rosy from Big Al's Books & Pals<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQodITHCGA4RjU8u6YzXOTYU6YTikRjxdiO003_ME3cJ3Uhqv4tv3xlF94bWyEC9op-8MAGa23C8pYJVK_72jUMmG7pPtchQ6DnvBNI93QTrS6q-WIJcawxmdEsMTEq15e23WvnhT9Oikk/s1600/Alblog+Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQodITHCGA4RjU8u6YzXOTYU6YTikRjxdiO003_ME3cJ3Uhqv4tv3xlF94bWyEC9op-8MAGa23C8pYJVK_72jUMmG7pPtchQ6DnvBNI93QTrS6q-WIJcawxmdEsMTEq15e23WvnhT9Oikk/s1600/Alblog+Banner.jpg" height="119" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The <a href="http://www.authorsguild.org/advocacy/turow-on-amazongoodreads-this-is-how-modern-monopolies-can-be-built/" target="_blank">banter</a> about Amazon's acquisition of Goodreads propelled me to that site this evening, and there I found a fabulous review for my recent release,<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rosy-A-Novel-ebook/dp/B00A5X23W0/ref=sr_1_1" target="_blank">Rosy: A Novel</a> from Big Al of <a href="http://booksandpals.blogspot.com/2013/03/rosy-suzanne-tyrpak.html" target="_blank">Big Al's Books and Pals.</a> The review really made my day, especially since Al really "got" the importance of the music to the story. Every chapter is named (and linked) to a song from the 1970's--check out <a href="http://ghostplanestory.blogspot.com/p/rosy.html" target="_blank">Rosy's Playlist</a> on this blog to hear them all.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, thanks Al, for taking the time to read and review my book. You rock! </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay, I'm gonna brag now, and republish the review:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At its heart, <i>Rosy</i> is a tense tale of how one easy decision can set us down a path that is hard to reverse. Rosy is easy to like and I quickly became invested in seeing her meet and overcome the challenges she faced. It’s a great coming-of-age story with widespread appeal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, for this child of the seventies, the setting made this story even more enjoyable. Tyrpak captured the attitude and climate of the decade perfectly. A nice little touch were the chapter headings, each a song title or a snippet of lyric that summarized the chapter while evoking some musical nostalgia. As a music geek, a link to the song on Amazon made me happy, as </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was able to quickly answer the question “who sung that” when I was stumped. Those who read the book on a suitable device should even be able to stop for a short musical interlude between chapters while listening to a sample of each song.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rating: ***** Five stars</span></b>Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6489299213410701870.post-90253363474786630422013-02-27T21:35:00.002-08:002013-02-27T21:35:35.667-08:00Gail Harris--an inspiration<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm extremely proud to know Gail Harris. She's an inspiration to me and countless other people. Gail doesn't know the meaning of <i>can't. </i>She's a visionary, a warrior with heart, and a humanitarian. Please check out this video:</span><br />
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Suzanne Tyrpakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06235961429684482177noreply@blogger.com0