Meet Nicodemus Dartmouth

I don't know who to blame: Blogger for not allowing me to post pictures, (although I've done it before) or my lack in keeping up with Blogspot's changes. Either way, this dull explanation is sitting in for the picture of author Phyliss Miranda and the hot cover of her latest book. You can see the pictures that I'm unable to copy at Phyliss Miranda's website: phylissmiranda.com. But first, learn what my guest blogger has to say about her character, Nicodemus Dartmouth.   --  Bernice Simpson

Meet Nicodemus Dartmouth

by

Phyliss Miranda

I’m honored to introduce you to Nicodemus Dartmouth, my hero, in my September 5^th eKensington release The Tycoon and the Texan.

Before we begin with the interview, I’d like to give you the background on both how I selected the plot and Nick’s last name. I truly believe it was a gift from above.

My husband and I have friends who we've know for over forty years and vacationed with since their boys and our girls were young. 

In 2002, my DH and I were on our way to meet them in Florida when we received a call, thank goodness for cell phones, that Harry had emergency heart surgery. He was in a coma, and the future was uncertain.  We immediately turned our car north and headed for Dartmouth Medical Center where he laid critically ill for weeks.  We were determined not to leave until he and Pat were safely home under their own roof.  And, that we did. 

One day while sitting in the waiting room, my attention was drawn to a show on TV, you know the ones up in the corner of the room you have to crane your neck to see and can barely hear, that pertained to a foundation’s auction of bachelors for charity. That seeded the idea for a story about a strong, multi-millionaire who ends up buying an ugly duckling at his own foundation’s charity ball. Of course, she had to be from Texas, and his name had to be as strong and willful as my character, so Nicodemus Dartmouth was born.

Now nearly ten years and many vacations together later, my story The Tycoon and the Texan came out recently and needless to say, I dedicated it to our dearest friends.  

Let’s get on with learning more about Nicodamus Dartmouth. I’m gonna let him tell you about himself first, and then he’ll answer questions if you care to post them.

I don’t really like being referred to as a tycoon because I see myself as just another hardworking man in his 30’s. I have to admit being a product of a wealthy, widowed mother, who I don’t always see eye-to-eye with, did have its benefits. I worked my fingers to the bone to establish one of the largest construction firms on the west coast, while being CEO of Mother’s charity ... the Elliott-Dartmouth foundation.  I own a Double A baseball farm team and love to workout with my players.  Mother is pretty well appalled when I show up at the office with bloody road rash showing threw a tear in my baseball pants.  By the way, Josie, the Foundation Director and mother hen, thinks I belong in the dog pound. I have one supporter in the organization, well most of the time, and that’s McCall Johnson, who used to be my secretary at the construction company until I transferred her over to the foundation when I found myself crawling up twenty stores of red iron thinking about her.

Now back to the charity auction that Phyliss mentioned. Mother thought it was a grand idea to auction off bachelorettes, while I told her from the start is was a bad, really bad idea.  She called me into the office to go over the final arrangements, including the table decorations.  I need to be out at the construction company offices arranging for a shipment of material we don’t need to be shipped to Habitat for Humanity, but no I’m standing here looking at a bunch of flowers stuffed in a vase. I won’t even tell you what I think about them because Mother sure didn't approve of my description.

The auction was a nightmare, just as I had predicted, although it raised a lot of money for the foundation ... a good bit coming from me.

The jinks I apparently put on the event began when one of the bachelorettes called in sick and our resident Texan McCall Johnson was forced to step in. In an unexpected turn of events, and I have to admit a bit of jealousy on my part to boot, I ended up paying what McCall called “a vulgar” amount for a week long date with her.

That began our adventures ... seven days to Texas.

I wanted so badly to show her that our lives weren't that much different, but at every turn, I hit a roadblock.  From nearly cutting my finger off trying to prepare dinner on my private boat for her to seeing a ghost on Harris Grade coming out of Lompoc, California, something got in my way of showing her that I don’t get everything I want, although she thinks I do.

It took me the full seven days, plus some while visiting her Granny’s ranch in Texas, but I finally succeeded at showing the independent, spirited, uprooted Texan that our lives aren't as different as it might seem, only to find that we are more alike than I ever dreamed ... including our secrets.

I hope you’ll go buy The Tycoon and the Texan by native Texan, Phyliss Miranda, so you can learn more about me and Miss McCall Johnson.  By the way, if I have my way, she won’t be a Miss much longer.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Phyliss Miranda is the author of six historical western romance anthologies and her contemporary romance The Tycoon and the Texan is scheduled to be released on September 5, 2013, with her second eBook The Troubled Texan due out early 2014. Phyliss is the 2007 recipient of Panhandle Professional Writers’ Writer of the Year award. She enjoys sharing her love for the new frontier, particularly the Texas Panhandle, the Civil War, quilting, and antiques; and still believes in the Code of the Old West.
 

Visit her at phylissmiranda.com

  

Two Thousand-Plus Awards and Still Counting

“Welcome to the world of rhyming poetry.” The greeting that invites the readers to browse through www.poetmariannelogan.com features a picture of an animated waterfall. Listen to the water splash when you read her eloquent poem placed beneath it.

Like sequined strands of shimmered cashmere shawl,

Cascading drops of silvered waterfall

Cast rippling waves that wind through crystal stream

To spread like wistful wishes in a dream.

A popular speaker at writers’ workshops, Marianne McNeil Logan has won over two thousand contest awards. Although I’ve never heard her introduced as poet and artist, Marianne’s original illustrations adorn several of her chapbooks I purchased from her.

Her collection, Moments in Mourning, brings soothing words to the desolate who grieve for a loved one who is terminally ill or has recently passed. But along with lyrical sentiments, cries of grief and anger at the unexpected stages that must be endured erupt from the pages with complete honesty.

If certain pages of her website show slight neglect, it is because much of Marianne’s time is now spent caring for her second husband, Claude, who is under Hospice Home Care.

My preferences lean to Marianne’s descriptions of our awesome world, written with beautiful words that both paint pictures and ring with music, especially when they are read aloud. When her publisher announced the press release for Sounds of the Seasons, I deemed it a good time to trumpet Marianne McNeil Logan’s accomplishments.

She also has Celebrations for Sonneteers on Kindle, which won three national prizes: Crossroads National Poetry Book Contest, Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc. “Pegasus” award for a Book of Poetry, and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.

Experienced poets will understand why the book stands as a reason to celebrate the sonnet and to applaud Marianne’s expertise as a sonneteer. The book shows fifteen different sonnet patterns, explaining formats and rhyme schemes. Marianne said, “it is ideal for poetry chapters interested in learning new patterns, and for poets wanting to learn more about sonnets, a very special part of poetry.”

Below is the press release for Sounds of the Seasons. Marianne feels it will be her favorite book. Many of the most descriptive poems are of her beloved Black Hills and the Texas Panhandle.

Press Release

SOUNDS OF THE SEASONS

Rhyming Poems for

Nature Lovers

The newest Kindle eBook by

Marianne McNeil Logan

from Path Publishing — for only $2.99!

If you don’t have a Kindle, you can download it free onto

your computer from Amazon.com.

The book’s INTRODUCTION: I love nature poems, and was delighted when Alex Stewart of New Horizon Poets invited me to be one of the four poets to be published in their annual publication  Timeless Shores . I hope you’ll like the other favorites I’ve picked out to go along with those in Sounds of the Seasons, my part of their book. I also love humor, so I picked a couple of special memories of what my twin sister and our younger sis did when we were kids. Then, too, I love sonnets, as you know, and there are several beautifully descriptive nature sonnets. I’ve also included haiku, cinquains, and triolets, which I hope you’ll like, too.

All of my longer poems are in rhyme, which seems to be a disappearing gift in our free verse, fast-moving world of today. I like to sprinkle lots of picturesque images and alliteration through my work. Hope you find some “ah-hahs!” that you enjoy, too.

How to purchase this nature-lovers book: Go to Amazon.com home page. On the left click on “Books.” Then click on “Kindle Books.” Type in the name of the book (or copy and paste) and click on the title or “Kindle Edition.”  

A well-known rhyming poet, Marianne has won over 2,000 poetry contest awards! Three of her chapbooks have garnered five national awards, two receiving Pulitzer Prize nominations. To find out more about her many chapbooks, visit her website, which shows the prices and awards at www.poetmariannelogan.com, e-mail mmmltx@nts-online.net, or write to 2700 S. Roosevelt, Amarillo Texas 79103. Add $1.50 for postage for the first book and 90 cents for each additional; Texans need to add sales tax of 8.25 percent.

To contact the publisher: Path Publishing, 4302 SW 51^st #121, Amarillo, Texas 79109-6159; 877-PATH-877 (1-877-7284-877) or (806) 322-7007 — call before 6 PM Central Time; Path@PathPublishing.com.

Sonja Gross: a tribute to her mother

“Normally I love roller coasters,” Sonja begins in her latest blog http://hoppinthoughts.blogspot.com, but in comparing her life to a roller coaster, she says she is ready for less twists and turns than she has experienced this past year.

Sonja Gross on a roller coaster? Yes, but she referred more to her exhilaration than the sudden dives after climbs to ever higher peaks. This week two events mark the beginning of her most recent climb: Sonja was named as a 2012 Woman to Watch by Texas Business Women of Amarillo, and today as Amarillo’s Community Relations Coordinator, she begins a new job.

Sonja, who credits her mother for the recognition and success she has earned, gave me permission to share part of her mother’s story in my blog. The following is from Sonja’s speech, The Wind beneath My Wings.   

"The reason my mother is “The Wind Beneath My Wings” from a career standpoint, has a lot to do with my father. In 1976, my dad left a career as a truck driver in Iowa and moved the family to Atlanta, Georgia where he was promised a management job with Harper Brush Company. I was only 7 years old and I remember my mom selling most of the family belongings in a yard sale. So, when we got to Georgia, we didn’t have much—I remember sleeping on mattresses laid out on the floor.

'A full framed bed wasn’t the only thing we didn’t have. That job my dad was promised didn’t turn out as expected. As a result, my dad, along with a lot of help from my mother, stated Commercial Broom Supply, a janitorial service and supply company. They really struggled at first, but with everyone pitching in, especially my mom, they somehow made it work. My mom handled the bookwork duties, made mops using a dangerous machine with sharp wires and even sold brooms on the sidewalks in downtown Atlanta.

'When the computer age really took over the workplace in the early 80’s, my mom bought an IBM PC Junior against my dad’s will and taught herself everything about it. She learned how to design an accounting program for the company and later learned the ins and outs of QuickBooks. She did all of this and more on top of cleaning buildings at night, apartments during the day and raising a family, to boot.

'Those are just some of the reasons my mother is “The Wind Beneath My Wings.” The number one reason my mom is “The Wind Beneath My Wings,” though, is that she taught me how to work. She taught me that, like her, I could learn how to do so many things on my own—be self-sufficient. She instilled in me a work ethic, a sense of self-worth and a great sense of humor.

'For those reasons, and more, I will be eternally grateful to my mother as she is 'The Wind Beneath My Wings.'”

Learn more about Sonja on her blog: http://hoppinthoughts.blogspot.com

Below (on the left) is Sonja’s mother with Sonja’s older brother and sister making mops.

Write Your Story

She’s a quiet, gentle person—a single mom who puts in overtime to pay for extras, like a trip to visit her married daughter.

Since school days, she has written poetry and short stories, but never her story.

The settings in her story include a houseboat and a private island. How's this for exuberant moments? A swim—with a dolphin—in the Mediterranean. Speaking of activities further north, she mentions drinking hot chocolate in the Austrian mountains.

This Amarillo writer, whose shyness belies the adventures, financial reversals, and family drama she’s experienced, casually asked if her life could make an interesting story.

What a question! Yes, my sweet, unpretentious friend, start writing now. You'll have the support of Amarillo's writing community. Some of us, now called "seniors," want to be around to help with your book launch, too. 

And to all the "maybe I could..." writers out there. Simply start. Write about a memorable experience. If your story has heart, an online or local writing group will help you fine tune your prose. If you can't find a group, contact me. 

And if you are a reader who can offer encouragement for my friend, or other would-be writers, please share them. 

(c) 2012 Bernice W. Simpson

Congratulations, Travis Erwin

Normally I'd profile an author, and then write about his book. Last week, I did it backwards because I learned on Facebook that Travis Erwin, busy working on a video, was obviously not available for an interview. That done (classification: work), he produced another video about a week later. Classification? Well, .... It is funny, and you can view it through Facebook.

And his book, The Feedstore Chronicles? You can still buy it. Launched just over three months ago, Dee Burks of Tag Publishing told me it's already turning a profit. That's quite a feat for an almost unknown author whose slightly fictionalized memoir is published by a small press located in the Texas Panhandle.

Dee credits the book's success to Travis' outstanding promotional activities. The wall-to-wall people at his signing party could certainly attest to that. But it takes more than promotion to motivate people to attend an event. And it takes more than being a really nice person (which he is) to sell multiple copies of a book. Travis Erwin writes with style.

It began when he was a youngster. A single parent, with limited budget, his mother took her sons to the library. "It was our recreation," said Travis, and they'd take home armloads of books to read. With all those stories providing models, he learned to entertain his friends with tales of his own. Logic tells you they were funny, because he became known as the story teller among his friends, and when hanging out, they pushed him for more.

More... nurtured by reading the works of acclaimed humorists such as Christopher Moore and Carl Hiasson, and prompted by his ability to find humor in everyday situations, Travis pours out more. Find it on his blog, One Word, One Rung, One Day, his web page, Traviserwin.com, and a number of sites the blog and website are linked to.

Marketing anecdotes could fill another book, said Travis. Dee Burks pestered Travis for publishing rights to the coming-of-age stories he had strung into a book. He finally agreed after New York houses turned it down as too regional. Won't it be fun to see The Chronicles go into a second printing? What would the big city folks think if they knew the book is selling throughout United States, plus New Zealand and Canada. The Chronicles even placed first on one of Canada's best- seller lists for a day. Not bad, when much of Canada has never heard of the Texas Panhandle.  

And it's ironic how big business can't think regional, so they send work off to China. Kudos to Tag Publishing for producing an American made product. A United States artist (88 years old) designed the cover and a company in Tennessee printed the book..

What's next for Travis? The Chronicles is no flash in the pan. He has works in progress. In an interview with blogger Wendy Russ last June, Travis said "... my wife and boys inspire me. They believe I can do the impossible so I keep battling along trying to prove them right."

(c) 2012 Bernice W. Simpson

Simply Fun: A Sitcom in Print

Most folks in the writing community around Amarillo, Texas know Travis Erwin wrote The Feedstore Chronicles. And if they’ve read comments about his book, they’ve heard it is entertaining. It isn’t merely entertaining; it delivers at least a smile per page, and provides enough laughter to eliminate enervation caused by a difficult workday.

If you are offended by language you’d hear in a bar—oh, you’ve never been in a bar? –then don’t read it. If you’d like a lighthearted book that illustrates not merely good, but great writing, get the book.

Its cover hints at comedy, but belies the fact that a true word crafter produced The Chronicals…., with prose worthy of the book’s price and time spent reading it.

Characters in The Feedstore Chronicles are too lifelike to be entirely fictionalized, but too much fun to be anything but. And fresh metaphors enliven scenes: “I thieved the position from Hunter Thomas as blatantly as a pickpocket lifts your wallet.”

Serious readers will appreciate techniques Mr. Erwin uses to provide transitions and back stories. They’ll savor an expert’s use of vocabulary and skill in creating dialog. They’ll notice how deftly the author weaves events into his story.

Readers of all stripes will simply relish a coming of age story—a sitcom in print.

© 2012, Bernice W. Simpson