Today I'm welcoming yet another new to me author, Barbara Venkataraman who is promoting her latest release Death By Didgerdoo. Below you'll find her guest post titled "My Imaginary Friends". She's also graciously sponsoring a giveaway for two lucky entrants. The top prize is for an audio book of Death By Didgerdoo and the second place prize is one e-book of the same title. Details are below.
- File Size: 2602 KB
- Print Length: 111 pages
- Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00GVJ4WOY
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
- Lending: Enabled
Barbara has offered
Top Prize of one Audio
and Second Prize- one e-book
to two lucky entrants
US ONLY
To Enter use the Rafflecopter
form below
Thanks Barbara
Good Luck!!
Books in the Jamie Quinn series
MY IMAGINARY FRIENDS
As
far as life experiences go, mine are not that exciting. I've never climbed
Mount Everest or learned to scuba dive; I've never hiked the Appalachian Trail
or stared down a tiger. I've never had my heart broken or made an enemy (that I
know of); I've never been in a fistfight or a screaming match; I can't even
hold a grudge (I've tried, but I'm so easily distracted...)
Um,
where was I? Oh, yeah, leading an ordinary, unexciting life. So, what makes me
think that I have something to write about? How can I possibly write a novel
about someone else's adventures when I've had so few of my own? This is where
an imagination would come in handy--and I wish I knew where to buy one. The
truth is that we writers spend a lot of time working alone, trying to fend off
our inner critics; s it any wonder we’re plagued with self-doubt? But, we all
share the same fear: Can I pull this off? Can I speak in the voice of a ten
year old child, or a nuclear scientist, or an alien from another dimension, and
not be laughed out of town?
Being
a writer takes a leap of faith and the support of your inner circle. It takes a
thick skin to withstand the barbs of the impossible-to-please crowd. And, more
than anything, it takes a love of the craft, the joy you find in your
characters who are very real to you. When Charles Dickens was writing
"The Old Curiosity Shop," a friend stopped by to find him sobbing at
his desk with an inkpot smashed against the wall. The friend hurried over to
ask what was wrong. Brokenhearted, Dickens replied, "Little Nell
died!" I admit it, I cried for Little Nell, too.
It
is the flawed and broken characters in literature, like Anna Karenina, or
Madame Bovary, or the obsessive Captain Ahab, and the doomed Othello, who help
us define our world-view. Their struggles become our struggles and we love them
because of their flaws, not despite them.
Which
brings me to my characters. Writing the Jamie Quinn mystery series has been
challenging, but fun, because I truly love my characters: the reluctant
attorney, Jamie Quinn, who keeps finding herself in the middle of murder
investigations; her best friend, Grace, who is both smart and funny; her
eco-hero boyfriend; Kip, and the drunk but well-meaning P.I., Duke Broussard.
Although my characters insist on talking to me at the most inconvenient times
(usually in the middle of the night), and not always coherently, I have no
trouble forgiving them. And on those days when I am struggling with self-doubt,
I just think about Jane Austen and Emily Dickinson, two women who rarely
traveled, had no adventures, no mortal enemies, and only a small circle of
friends, yet they found plenty to write about. Then I smile and get back to
work.
Barbara Venkataraman
is an attorney and mediator specializing in family law and debt collection.
She is the author of
"The Fight for Magicallus," a children's fantasy; a humorous short
story entitled, "If You'd Just Listened to Me in the First Place";
and two books of humorous essays: "I'm Not Talking about You, Of
Course" and "A Trip to the Hardware Store & Other
Calamities," which are part of the "Quirky Essays for Quirky
People" series. Both books of humorous essays won the prestigious
"Indie Book of the Day" award.
Her latest works are
"Death by Didgeridoo," first in the Jamie Quinn series, "The
Case of the Killer Divorce," the second Jamie Quinn mystery, and, just out,
"Peril in the Park," the latest in the popular Jamie Quinn series.
Coming soon, "Engaged in Danger"--the next Jamie Quinn mystery!
Connect with Barbara- Blog
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Today's GoneReading Items are:
T-Shirts for Kids
Click HERE for the buy page
remember the DEBROCKS10
coupon code expires 11-15
a Rafflecopter giveaway
T-Shirts for Kids
Click HERE for the buy page
remember the DEBROCKS10
coupon code expires 11-15
Thanks for the opportunity to share my books and do a giveaway, Deb! I can't wait to pick the winners. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou're quite welcome Barbara!
DeleteFun guest post! Imagination while writing is always a bonus I am sure. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Kindlemom :)
DeleteJamie sounds great, and I am not a writer but books have taken me all over the world and allowed me to experience so many things
ReplyDeleteThanks Kim :)
Deletenot yet
ReplyDeleteGood Luck
Delete