I’d like to welcome B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree R.D. Vallier today. The highlight of R.D. Vallier’s award-winning career was when her 6th grade teacher threatened to call CPS over a story about a runaway and a magic wolf. She avoided government capture, but continued creating dark tales in secret. Now she’s living the cliché as a storyteller in the remote wilderness, handcrafting an off-grid homestead with straw and mud and whatever she scrounges from the landfill. She holds degrees in wildlife management and hard knocks, only feels at home on the road, and believes humanity illuminates the most brilliantly during darkness.
Tell me how you discovered indieBRAG?
I noticed books which had done well in the various writing contests I was researching had earned indieBRAG Medallions. I looked into indieBRAG, and was happy with what I discovered—an organization which seemed to honestly care about both authors and readers. I liked the concept and agreed with their vision, so I submitted Darkshine!
How did you get into writing in the Paranormal genre?
I adore both paranormal and reality, and my brain tends to naturally mesh the two. I find myself questioning and making up stories about what I see around me. What really goes on inside that storage unit building? Is that graffiti just graffiti, or is it some sort of code? What’s hidden in plain sight? I love bringing an element of magic to the mundane, and believe the fantasy genres in general have tremendous capability to explore humanity.
Please tell me about your award winning book, Darkshine?
Darkshine is a dark urban fantasy/paranormal. The main character, Miriam, has a mundane, adult life, and no social or family connections outside of her emotionally abusive husband. Her whole life she has been treated differently, but it isn’t until a chickadee speaks to her that she begins to understand she is a lost changeling. Two fae–who are complete opposites of each other–try to convince her where her true home is, and each insists the other is lying to destroy her. Miriam goes on a whirlwind adventure, both physically and emotionally, to discover who she is and where she belongs, while staying ahead of her enraged husband who is desperate to keep her silent about truths which can damage his political campaign. Along the way, Miriam needs to confront the preconceptions of dark and light, good and evil, and hopefully choose the answer which will deliver the home she’s always yearned for, instead of her demise.
Yes. Dark Ember, book 2 in the series, is currently in the editing and beta reader stage. It should be released soon, but I don’t have a date yet.
Tell me a little about Miriam. What are her strengths and weaknesses?
Miriam is a changeling and an intentionally mixed bag, especially early in the story. I often see stories where changelings learn what they are at a young age. I wanted to see what would happen to a changeling discovering who they were after having a spouse, a job, a mortgage, an adult life (and what type of life that would be).
Miriam never excelled in anything, has low self-esteem due to emotional abuse, and is someone who people treat as a chore to deal with. I wanted to write an “average” character who suffered social ostracism, and who had never experienced much good in life. But I also wanted a character where the reader had to question whether her background was a weakness which hindered her (as she always believed), or a strength to build upon and draw conviction. Thus, her weaknesses are also her strengths, melded together, which I feel is closer to reality. As people, our failings and shortcomings, while they do hold us back in some ways, often drive us forward in others. I often see books where the characters have specific weaknesses or strengths, and those aspects are written throughout the book as solely weaknesses or strengths. I sought to break that concept of static attributes, and instead strove to create an amalgam where each was both simultaneously. Where a beaten down woman can stand up, fight back, falter and still strive to overcome where others would give up, all drawing upon the myriad of experiences which brought her to this point. Thus, her strengths are found in accepting her weaknesses, fighting the internal voices of those who insist she could never amount to anything and that she is an unlovable failure. Her strengths are found in discovering that her shortcomings do not need to hold her down, she can move forward despite pain and fear, and her weaknesses only overpower her while she allows it.
Did you face any challenges writing this story?
Darkshine is what I called “my throw away novel.” I went into it giving myself permission to break a lot of rules (well, what I then considered rules, anyway), to explore ideas and themes I had, and to see what would develop. As Darkshine started morphing into a novel instead of a writing exercise, I had to keep preventing myself from writing the story I thought I should tell, and keep on telling the story I wanted to know. I fought a lot of internal programming, and in doing so found my style and voice and a story I love. It is a challenge I will forever be grateful for.
In addition, I explored a lot of my own past suffering to capture the tone I wanted for various scenes, making myself relive the memories over and over. To this day I have trouble reading some scenes in Darkshine because it calls up those personal memories I used. But in the end, I love the result, which makes me feel gratitude for those past grievances. This is as uncomfortable as it is freeing, and a continuous emotional challenge.
Currently, Darkshine is available as an e-book at all major retailers. I just took it off Kindle Unlimited, and I’m unsure when or if it will return in the future. As a paperback, Darkshine is available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Most private bookstores will order it in as well.
I’m currently working on Dark Cinders, book 3 in the Darkshine series. I’ve always seen the story as a trilogy, so I hope this will be the final book, but there is a possibility it will be split into two books.
I’ve always considered myself a storyteller in various forms. My early focus was on comic book story and illustration, but I eventually discovered my ideas were too in-depth for this medium, and I couldn’t explore the inner journey as much as I wanted. I then shifted my focus, learning how to write novels instead. And here I am!
Is there a message you would like to give your readers?
Darkshine can be read as a fun adventure, but can also be dissected as a fictitious analogy of cultural and sociopolitical viewpoints, and life under different governing bodies throughout history, through which the main characters gain their own independence and honesty. This is all crafted into the background to remain unobtrusive and out of sight for the reader who simply wants to be whisked away to a dark fairytale, and who doesn’t want to think about politics or governments or whatnot. (Books where such details are in-your-face have always turned me off.) Foremost, I wrote the book to be an entertaining fantasy. Yet it is also written to have deeper substance, and for those who want more, it is there. I’ve had numerous readers tell me they were surprised with what they initially missed, and that they enjoyed a “different” story the second time through.
We are delighted that Stephanie has chosen to interview R.D. Vallier who is the author of, DARKSHONE, our medallion honoree at indieBRAG. To be awarded a B.R.A.G. Medallion ®, a book must receive unanimous approval by a group of our readers. It is a daunting hurdle and it serves to reaffirm that a book such as, DARKSHINE, merits the investment of a reader’s time and money.
A retired couple, Gerry and Stella, travel to Amsterdam for a holiday to refresh the senses, do some sightseeing, and generally take stock of their lives. Their relationship seems easy, familiar—but over its course we discover the deep uncertainties between them. Gerry, once an architect, is forgetful and set in his ways. Stella is tired of his lifestyle and angry at his constant undermining of her religious faith. Things are not helped by memories that resurface of a troubled time in their native Ireland. As their vacation comes to an end, we understand how far apart they are—and can only watch as they struggle to save themselves.
Bernard MacLaverty is a master storyteller, and this is the essential MacLaverty novel: compassionate observation, elegant writing, and a heartrending story. It is also a profound examination of human love and how we live together—a chamber piece of resonance and power.
I LOVE this book cover! Everything about it draws me in and I am looking forward to reading the story.
This month’s wish-list is a powerful one in my opinion. We will never forget the sacrifices our military made and still makes so we might be saved from oppression and for many other reasons. War is ugly, brutal and often times heatless one…Needless to say, it also saves lives and governments from falling into the wrong hands.
This list involves war at sea and this collection of books is one I want to have for my library. Be sure to check out other wish-list from my fellow book bloggers below!
“The only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril,” wrote Winston Churchill in his monumental history of World War Two. Churchill’s fears were well-placed-the casualty rate in the Atlantic was higher than in any other theater of the entire war. The enemy was always and constantly there and waiting, lying just over the horizon or lurking beneath the waves. In many ways, the Atlantic shipping lanes, where U-boats preyed on American ships, were the true front of the war.
England’s very survival depended on assistance from the United States, much of which was transported across the ocean by boat. The shipping lanes thus became the main target of German naval operations between 1940 and 1945. The Battle of the Atlantic and the men who fought it were therefore crucial to both sides. Had Germany succeeded in cutting off the supply of American ships, England might not have held out. Yet had Churchill siphoned reinforcements to the naval effort earlier, thousands of lives might have been preserved. The battle consisted of not one but hundreds of battles, ranging from hours to days in duration, and forcing both sides into constant innovation and nightmarish second-guessing, trying desperately to gain the advantage of every encounter. Any changes to the events of this series of battles, and the outcome of the war-as well as the future of Europe and the world-would have been dramatically different.
Jonathan Dimbleby’s, The Battle of the Atlantic offers a detailed and immersive account of this campaign, placing it within the context of the war as a whole. Dimbleby delves into the politics on both sides of the Atlantic, revealing the role of Bletchley Park and the complex and dynamic relationship between America and England. He uses contemporary diaries and letters from leaders and sailors to chilling effect, evoking the lives and experiences of those who fought the longest battle of World War Two. This is the definitive account of the Battle of the Atlantic.
As bombs pound Malta to dust, Father Salvatore–a simple priest, or kappillan, serving the poor–finds himself caught in the drama of World War Two. In the fragile safety of catacombs revealed by the explosions, he tends to the flood of homeless, starving, and frightened people seeking shelter, giving messages of inspiration and hope. His story, and that of the island, unfold in superbly graphic images of six days during the siege.
One of America s preeminent military historians, James D. Hornfischer has written his most expansive and ambitious book to date. Drawing on new primary sources and personal accounts by Americans and Japanese alike, here is a thrilling narrative of the climactic end stage of the Pacific War, focusing on the U.S. invasion of the Mariana Islands in June 1944 and the momentous events that it triggered.
With its thunderous assault into Japan s inner defensive perimeter, America crossed the threshold of total war. From the seaborne invasion of Saipan to the stunning aerial battles of the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot, to the largest banzai attack of the war and the strategic bombing effort that led to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Marianas became the fulcrum of the drive to compel Tokyo to surrender with consequences that forever changed modern war.
These unprecedented operations saw the first large-scale use of Navy Underwater Demolition Teams; a revolution in the fleet s ability to sustain cross-hemispheric expeditionary warfare; the struggle of American troops facing not only a suicidal enemy garrison but desperate Japanese civilians; and the rise of the U.S. Navy as the greatest of grand fleets. From the Marianas, B-29 Superfortresses would finally unleash nuclear fire on an enemy resolved to fight to the end.
Ian W. Toll’s dramatic narrative encompasses both the high command and the “sailor’s-eye” view from the lower deck. Relying predominantly on eyewitness accounts and primary sources, Pacific Crucible also spotlights recent scholarship that has revised our understanding of the conflict, including the Japanese decision to provoke a war that few in the country’s highest circles thought they could win. The result is a page-turning history that does justice to the breadth and depth of a tremendous subject.
The Novel that Inspired the Now-Classic Film, The Caine Mutiny and the Hit Broadway Play, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial Herman Wouk’s boldly dramatic, brilliantly entertaining novel of life-and mutiny-on a Navy warship in the Pacific theater was immediately embraced, upon its original publication in 1951, as one of the first serious works of American fiction to grapple with the moral complexities and the human consequences of World War II. In the intervening half century, The Caine Mutiny has become a perennial favorite of readers young and old, has sold millions of copies throughout the world, and has achieved the status of a modern classic.
I’d like to welcome Award Winning Author C.S. O’Kelly today. Born to a loving mother with little money, but an abundance of imagination she shared with C. S. during long walks, bike rides before helmets, and nightly readings from mountains of books. Stories of giants and elves, mythical beasts and powerful maidens filled the world of C. S. from the earliest of memories.
After finishing graduate school, C. S. O’Kelly sold off all five possessions, purchased a 1974 Ford 19-foot motorhome and went north. After ten years in SE Alaska, C. S. landed in warmer climes on a small ranch in Northern California where crafting stories and story worlds seemed as natural as raising organic free range chickens (named after Stars Wars characters) for eggs only.
Hello, C.S.! How did you discover indieBRAG?
First off it’s a pleasure meeting you, Stephanie and thank you for giving another independent author a medium to highlight their work. indieBRAG was highly recommended to me by our talented editing team and has a great reputation in the indie publishing realm.
Please tell me about your children’s book, The Adventures of Gracie & MonkeyBear.
It’s ‘Book 1’ in a picture book series about a friendship between a young girl, Gracie and her dog, MonkeyBear. Through the power of imagination and kindness, they travel to adventurous, far off places, helping those in need along the way.
Tell me a little about the relationship between Gracie & MonkeyBear.
They are the best of friends and the closest of family. Gracie is a bold and fearless adventurer while MonkeyBear is a brilliant scientist and inventor. Each is a different side of the same coin and when together… anything is possible!
What is an example of the adventure they take by finding portals to new worlds?
Gracie & MonkeyBear hear a mother whale calling for help from their wading pool in the backyard. MonkeyBear designs a submarine out of odds & ends lying around and together, they build the sub and launch it into the wading pool and are off to help the whale.
Watching my Niece playing with my Bernese Mountain Dog, Seamus (nickname: MonkeyBear) in the backyard. She was only 5 at the time, but would ‘put a bubble’ over his head as if he were carrying on a conversation with her. She has a boundless imagination and MonkeyBear adores her. I grabbed a notepad and sketched out the first few scenes of what became, Book 1 of The Adventures of Gracie & MonkeyBear series.
I worked with youth programs all through college in the summers and whenever I was working with the younger kids, they clamored for ‘storytelling’ time, so I spent many hours reading the best picture books from all the greats. Many years later, I stumbled upon works by Illustrator, Jordy Farrell; I knew it was time to give Gracie & MonkeyBear life. Book 1: Summer is our teams’ first book.
The wondrous, Arial Light took my loosely bound concept of creating a cover similar to those of the early adventure novels by Jack London and Jules Verne. Arial created a cover that harkens back to the daring times of the past when the potential of adventure seemed on every horizon.
Amazon, Barnes and Noble, ask for it at their local bookstore, Signed Author Special Edition from the Gracie & MonkeyBear website.
We are delighted that Stephanie has chosen to interview C.S. O’Kelly who is the author of, Gracie & MonkeyBear, our medallion honoree at indieBRAG. To be awarded a B.R.A.G. Medallion ®, a book must receive unanimous approval by a group of our readers. It is a daunting hurdle and it serves to reaffirm that a book such as, Gracie & MonkeyBear, merits the investment of a reader’s time and money.
Award Winning Author Clare Flynn writes a collection of nine short-stories. She shares with her readers’ tales of the past to the modern day. It is not often I review short-stories, so I was delighted to agree to this project. I enjoy how Clare cleverly weaves these intriguing short tales. I’d have to say the first two stories and the story about two people’s trip to The Great Exhibition of 1851 are my favorite and I would love for her to expand of the character’s lives with a possible novel or maybe further short stories. One can only hope. What brings even more value to two of the stories in this collection is Flynn’s family history-or based on I should say. You get a glimpse into her family and find charming, heart-felt and extraordinary people.
In the last two chapters, Flynn shares with us the first two chapters of her upcoming novel, The Chalky Sea. My review for that powerful story will come soon.
Overall I have rated this collection of art four stars while giving a few of them a three-star rating. The overall presentation of the book was superbly done starting with the book cover and title. I hope to see more short-stories like this from the author and look forward to reading The Chalky Sea!
You can download A Fine Pair of Shoes by Clare Flynn HERE now through June 30th.
Independent-minded Sibylla Spencer feels trapped in nineteenth-century London, where her strong will and progressive views have rendered her unmarriageable. Still single at twenty-three, she is treated like a child and feels stifled in her controlling father’s house.
But Benjamin’s lust for money and influence draws him into dark dealings, pulling him ever further from Sibylla and their two young sons. When he’s arrested on horrible charges, the fate of Sibylla’s family rests on her shoulders, as she must decide whether she’ll leave him to his fate or help him fight for his life.
I find this book cover, striking. I love the colors and the backdrop-if you will-and how the woman’s eyes draw you into her world. I am also intrigued with the title and premise. I will be reading this book very soon.
I’d like to welcome B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree Vicky Adin today. Vicky is captivated by the 19th Century pioneers who undertook hazardous journeys to find a better life in New Zealand. The women especially, needed strength of mind as well as body to survive, let alone flourish in a strange, new land. As a genealogist in love with history, these immigrants and their ancestors drive her stories.
Vicky lives in Auckland, New Zealand. She holds a Master degree with Honours in English and Education. Three words sum up her passion in life: family, history and language. She has combined her skills to write poignant novels that weave family and history together, inspired by real people, with real experiences in a way that makes the past come alive.
When not writing you will find her reading historical novels, family sagas and contemporary women’s stories, caravanning or cruising with her husband, or spending time with her children and grandchildren. She also likes walking and gardening.
I first heard about IndieBRAG through author Linda Gillard as several of her books have won this award. I was impressed with her books, so I went searching to find the criteria hoping that my novels might qualify. I was delighted to find they did.
Please tell me about your book, The Girl from County Clare.
Although Brigid loves her home and family, she is torn. If she stays, she is another mouth to feed in a land plagued by starvation and poverty. If she leaves, she will never see any of them again. Heartbroken, Brigid boards the ship that will take her to a new life in Australia.
Brigid must learn to conquer her fears and overcome the stigma of being a servant, a female and Irish if she is to fulfill her dream. A new start in New Zealand offers hope – until the day the man who seeks her downfall finds her.
This story is loosely based on the true story of my husband’s maternal great-grandmother. I’m a genealogist and while researching her history I realised she had a fantastic story to tell. First, there was the long journey by one of the first steam/sail ships to Australia. On board, she meets new people and learns a lot about how they behave. She endures shipboard life, survives the storms and arrives in Brisbane stronger for the experience. Then she learns about life in Queensland and what people expected in a harsh new landscape, followed by a move to New Zealand where life is more egalitarian and forgiving.
I had to get inventive and give Brigid a useful occupation which provided both opportunity and hope. In real life, she was a domestic servant with little excitement in her every day routines, but the basic facts of her story and the actual events that happened during that time form the background to this novel.
What is one challenges of bigotry that Brigid faces?
Being poor, Irish and Catholic were all marks against girls in the 19th century. Proving yourself as good as the next and better than some took determination and spirit, all of which Brigid had in bucket loads.
In an endeaour to populate Queensland faster, The Domestic Servant scheme was introduced and many young poor Irish took the opportunity to escape starvation and search for a new life. It wasn’t always better.
Having a skill set Brigid apart, and Irish lace is famous for its intricacies and beauty.
Brigid’s skill as a lace-maker attracts the attention in the first place. Everyone wants a piece of lace that is made just for them, but her innate good nature is what draws people to her overall. Her ability to relate to people and her moral inner strength and determination means people lean on her. She never lets them down.
What inspired you to write a story during the 19th Century?
That period is significant in history because New Zealand is such a young country. Settlers didn’t start arriving until the 1840’s and by the 1850’s the European population still only stood at around 28000. After the Land Wars with the Maori in the 1860’s immigrants began to arrive in their thousands. The period between 1880 and the turn of the century was, in essence, the birth of a new nation. There are hundreds of fascinating stories of those times that are worth sharing.
What made you choose New Zealand where she sets up a home.
Because it’s true, but she didn’t live in Auckland. She lived in the Taranaki region – and because I live in New Zealand. This country is stunningly beautiful with an absorbing evolution. The people who came here came of their own free will in search of a better life. They worked hard, and developed a ‘can do’ attitude long before such a thing was heard of or became popular. They made do with what they had and developed something from nothing and by doing that often became world leaders in new ideas. I believe that history should be kept alive.
What is some of the research that went into writing this story?
I spend a lot of time reading old newspapers. They provide an incredible insight into what happened, what people thought about those events and how they coped when things didn’t go according to plan. They would be my number one source, although I do use the Archives, online resources and the library when I want to back up my knowledge. My family history research also tells me a lot about how people lived. Old photos show what the houses and people looked like and what they wore, and the country is filled with amateur historians willing to share their knowledge.
How long did it take to write this book and what was your process?
It takes me about a year to write a book, although many of the original ideas have been festering for a long while. Again, family history research brings up occupations most people know little about – an artist’s model, an author, Brigid is a lace-maker. My only male protagonist is a soldier who becomes a pacifist. In my current novel, Gwenna, she is a sugar boiler. I usually have to explain what a sugar boiler is. She makes sweets and creates a confectionery business.
I gather some facts that include a few unusual twists and turns and start to write. As I write, I research that what I’m describing is relevant and available at that time. I read the newspapers and include events that happened around that time which my characters could have been involved in – and if they weren’t involved, they would have known about it. I build a real life based on real events around the bones of real people. The love, they laugh, they cry, they grieve and they leave something of themselves behind at the end of every story.
We are delighted that Stephanie has chosen to interview Vicky Adin who is the author of, The Girl from County Clare, our medallion honoree at indieBRAG. To be awarded a B.R.A.G. Medallion ®, a book must receive unanimous approval by a group of our readers. It is a daunting hurdle and it serves to reaffirm that a book such as, The Girl from County Clare, merits the investment of a reader’s time and money.