I’ve picked up some of the best writing tips (and bigger bill for gadgets) from David Hewson.
Category: Uncategorized
1 Rm Riv Vu, NYC Wildlife Edition
Love the ingenuity of urban wildlife…
New York City’s wildlife sometimes hit the real estate jackpot. Yes, while many humans can no longer afford to live in Manhattan, the birds and raccoons are doing just fine. Many even enjoy sunset views like this one over the Hudson River.
Some animals prefer traditional pre-war living environments in which to raise their families.
Others enjoy a more modern situation. Some sparrows prefer the bustle of Mondrian-inspired scaffolding. (Sadly, the birds are not visible in this photo.)
Others find that modern materials can be used to create a cozy, neighborly feel.
And for the lucky elite, luxury urban dwellings abound. The beautifully detailed statues adorning the entry way to the Synod House at St John the Divine provide temporary housing for generations of house sparrows.
Look for the nests.
And for private living with sweeping city views, the red-tailed hawks of St. John’s have it made.
All kicks off at 2:10!
I could try to explain this…but I suggest you just watch it instead:
That was fun.
Random Holiday Photo Slideshow
I guess this is the modern equivalent of being tortured by your Great Aunt’s holiday snaps 😨
Bloom Day July 2012
The garden is looking pretty hard done by at the moment. Mostly the result of near relentless rain over the last six or more weeks. Plants are looking battered and flattened, so there are only a few that are flowering sufficiently well to share.
Anyway, first up; Hydrangea.
This bush was in the garden when we first moved in, and it sits against the wall to our neighbours property. If you didn’t know it was there it would be easy to miss, even when it’s in flower.
Followed by Pelargonium.
Add a Moon Daisy or two for good measure.
Plenty of Nasturtiums in flower now.
Fuchsias too…
And not forgetting of course, Roses:
Finally our black Hollyhock continues to flower. A few years ago we grew some from seed, and now they have self-seeded and peppered the garden with their vibrant dark blooms.
Here’s hoping that next month is a little drier and there is even more in bloom.
Bloomday June 2012
Bloomday June 2012, a set on Flickr.
Author Interview: Peter Leonard, author of All He Saw Was The Girl
Today I welcome a very special guest to the blog, author Peter Leonard. I’ve recently reviewed his new book, All He Saw Was The Girl, and Peter very kindly agreed to answer a few questions. So without further ado:
Peter, thank you for agreeing to come onto my electronic scrapbook and answer a few questions about your latest book All He Saw Was the Girl. I’ll cut straight to the chase:
I’ve reviewed two of your books now for Partners In Crime Tours; Voices of the Dead, and All He Saw Was the Girl. They are both quite different. Were they easy to write so differently, and do you have a favourite between them?
My favourite between the two books is probably Voices, it’s a better story. Neither book was easy to write, both required a lot of research, Voices requiring the most for obvious reasons.
You’ve set your books in many different locations. Did you research the locations first hand purposely for the books, or did you use some other method?
All He Saw was inspired by living in Rome as a student at Loyola University. The opening chapter is based on a true story. With nine days to go till the end of my year abroad, I went out with a group of friends, got quite inebriated, and stole a taxi. I was arrested and spent a week in Rebibbia prison before going to trial and being released. Attached is a piece I wrote about the experience for the Guardian.
Voices was inspired by three things: I had a serious relationship with a Jewish girl for several years, I visited Dachau concentration camp, and I read an article in the New York Times about a foreign diplomat who killed a college student while driving drunk. The diplomat got off on immunity.
In All He Saw Was the Girl, there are two storylines running; both contain a very specific male and female character that could be the ‘He’ and the ‘Girl’, did you have either in mind when you came up with the title or was it quite deliberate to have those two “characters” common to both stories?
The original title was: As The Romans Do, which I submitted, and my editor said, can you give us something with a little more attitude. So I thought of titles for a few days, and thought about the scene where McCabe is sitting at an outside café in Piazza del Popolo, and he sees the girl walking toward him like a scene in a movie: All He S aw Was The Girl.
Fortunately, my editor loved it.
When I read All He Saw Was the Girl, I kept thinking that there was a movie to be made from the book. Any plans in that direction, and if so who would you choose to play McCabe, Angela, Ray, Sharon and Joey?
A British company has made an offer for the film rights. I’ve accepted, and I’m waiting for the contract from my agent, Charles Buchan at the Wylie Agency.
I wonder if Ryan Gosling could play McCabe? For the beautiful Italian girl, a younger-looking India de Beaufort. I see Naomi Watts as Sharon, but dressed down. As for Joey, I see a new emerging Italian heavy-good opportunity for someone who wants to steal the show.
What are you working on at the moment, and when can we expect to see it on our bookshelves?
I’m working on a novel based on my time hanging out with Detroit Police Homicide a year ago. I’ve reprised O’Clair from my second novel, Trust Me, in the lead role.
Book Review: All He Saw Was The Girl by Peter Leonard
Synopsis:
Rome:
McCabe and Chip, two American exchange students, are about to become embroiled with a violent street gang, a beautiful Italian girl, and a flawed kidnapping plan.
Detroit:
Sharon Vanelli’s affair with Joey Palermo, a Mafia enforcer, is about to be discovered by her husband, Ray, a secret service agent.
Brilliantly plotted and shot through with wry humor, ALL HE SAW WAS THE GIRL sees these two narratives collide in the backstreets of Italy’s oldest city.
About The Author:
Peter Leonard’s debut novel, QUIVER was published to international acclaim in 2008, and was followed by TRUST ME in 2009, and VOICES OF THE DEAD in 2012.
Purchase from: Amazon, Barnes & Noble
Excerpt:
Sharon was thinking, who was this guy lived in a five-thousand-square-foot house – not that his taste was any good – on Lake St. Clair, had nothing but leisure time or so it seemed?
He called her four, five times a day, said, “How you doing?”
And Sharon would say, “Same as I was when you called fifteen minutes ago.”
“Baby, I miss you. Tell them you’re sick, we’ll go to the casino.” Or he’d be at the track or a Tigers day game, he’d say, “I gotta see you. Take the afternoon off, I’ll send a car.”
She’d been going out with him for three weeks and it was getting serious. They’d meet at noon, check into a hotel a couple times a week and spend two hours in bed, screwing and drinking champagne. It was something, best sex she’d ever had in her life. He did things to her nobody had ever done before. She’d say, where’d you learn that? And he’d say, you inspire me, beautiful. The only bad thing, he called her Sharona, or my Sharona. Everything else was great so she let it go.
They’d take his boat out on Lake St. Clair and she’d sunbathe topless. Something she’d never done in her life and never imagined herself doing. She felt invigorated, liberated. He always told her she looked good, complimented her outfit. Showered her with gifts, bought her clothes and jewelry. She felt like a teenager again. They’d meet and talk and touch each other and kiss. She was happy for the first time in years. She had to be careful. Ray, the next time he came home, might notice something and get suspicious.Why’re you so happy? she could hear him saying – like there was something wrong with it.
But this relationship with Joey also made her nervous. Things were happening too fast. She was falling for him and she barely knew him, and she was married.
My Review
A few months ago I had the pleasure to read “Voices of the Dead” by Peter Leonard. I said at the time I would be tracking down some of the authors other books, but I didn’t realise that I would be reviewing another one from Partners In Crime Tours quite so soon. I simply couldn’t resist the request for the review, but then I did wonder if it could be quite as good as Voices of the Dead. Simply put … I was not disappointed.
I couldn’t put “All He Saw Was the Girl”, down and read it in a day. Peter Leonard is a master storyteller, in “All He Saw Was the Girl”; he has developed two complicated and intricate plots, and woven a story of Mafioso, US Secret Service, kidnap and love into one extraordinary book.
The setting of Italy works incredibly well and is an excellent backdrop to the story. In reality the story doesn’t need that backdrop, it could have been set anywhere; but Italy just works, and brings the scenes to life.
All of the characters, and there are quite a few, are believable and it was great to see how the two storylines drew together towards the end of the book, without ever quite connecting completely. This was very well written, and not the obvious way to bring things together which was nice; I like a bit of unpredictability and to be proved wrong once in a while, when I think I know how things are going to end.
As I read I couldn’t help but feel that there is a movie of this book now waiting to be made. Whether that is intentional or not, it would certainly make a good film, all the elements are there.
Whilst I love a series read, I also like to find authors who are capable of producing a different book each time. I think in the case of Peter Leonard the latter is true. Although they fit within the crime/thriller genre, the two I have read to date are completely different. They have the authors quite distinctive voice, but the story premise couldn’t be more different.
Another recommended read from Peter Leonard, and now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to find something else by Mr Leonard to read.
My Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars – I Loved It.
Book Spotlight – Executive Action & Executive Treason by Gary Grossman
About Gary:
Gary Grossman is an Emmy Award-winning network television producer, a print and television journalist, and novelist. He has produced more than 9,000 television shows for 40 broadcast and cable networks including primetime specials, reality and competition series and live event telecasts.
Grossman’s producing credits include “America’s Funniest Home Videos” (ABC), “American Detective” (ABC), the immensely successful global syndicated series “Entertainment Tonight,” “The Television Academy Hall of Fame” (FOX), “Day’s End” (ABC), “Heroes for the Planet” (National Geographic Channel), “The Turnaround” (CNN), and “Wanna Bet?” (CBS) based on the long-running German ZDF series “Wettan Dass?”
He received the prestigious National Governor’s Emmy for his documentary special “Healing the Hate” (USA Network) and an Emmy for “Wolfgang Puck” (Food Network). His special “Beyond the Da Vinci Code” (History Channel) earned two national Emmy nominations, making a total of 14 Emmy nominations to date. Other producing credits include the documentary reality series “I-Witness Video” (NBC News), the entertainment special “Happy Birthday Bugs” (CBS), “American Chronicles” (FOX) with filmmaker David Lynch, and live prime time events for Fox, CBS, Fox News, CNBC, and PBS, among other networks.
Gary Grossman has been a principal in Weller/Grossman Productions, a leading independent television production company based in Los Angeles. He helped formulate, program and launch television cable networks including HGTV, Fit TV, National Geographic Channel, and The Africa Channel. His most recent collaboration is with development of ATLXTV, a sports-tier network set to premiere in 2012. In addition, he is a partner in World Media Strategies, a new International branded entertainment marketing content company that produces television specials and series for travel destinations, corporate clients and government entities including Ford, Time Magazine and Puerto Rico.
Grossman is also author of two celebrated “political reality thrillers” now available as eBooks, EXECUTIVE ACTIONS and EXECUTIVE TREASON (Diversion Books, NYC) and two acclaimed non-fiction books covering pop culture and television history – SUPERMAN: SERIAL TO CEREAL and SATURDAY MORNING TV.
Grossman taught journalism, film and television at Emerson College, Boston University, and USC and has guest lectured at colleges and universities around the United States. He is a member of the Board of Trustees at Emerson College in Boston and he serves on the Boston University Metropolitan College Advisory Board. He is a member of the International Thriller Writers Association.
Gary Grossman lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Helene. They have three children.
Website: www.garygrossman.com
Executive Actions:
Synopsis: An assassin takes aim at a Presidential candidate during a primary stump speech. The instant he pulls the trigger, the outcome of the election is irrevocably changed. But Democrat Teddy Lodge, an upcoming media sweetheart, isn’t killed. His wife is. As a result, Lodge emerges as the man to beat and the greatest threat to the incumbent President, Morgan Taylor. Under a specific directive from the President, Special Service Agent Scott Roarke delves into the case and begins to unravel a deadly plot that incubated for more than 30 y
ears; designed to alter America’s allegiances in the Middle East. From the very first page, Presidential Objective culls events from today’s headlines intersecting with a scenario that’s shockingly real: An insidious plot hatched in the old days of the Soviet Union continues to grow to fruition in the hands of a power hungry Middle East heir to the throne. At its core, a sleeper is awakened to take a prominent role in American Life. Presidential Option is a tense political thriller; an election year page-turner, where both the Presidency and the Constitution are at stake.
Available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble
Executive Treason:
Synopsis: The secret terrorist organization that came within a heartbeat of installing its agent as President of the United States in Executive Actions is back with a new—and deadlier—plot to destabilize the U.S. government. It all begins with what appears to be a simple mugging and murder of a female White House staffer. Secret Service agent Scott Roarke discovers the truth: that the murder was committed by his secret nemesis, the mysterious assassin who had managed to always stay one step ahead of him during the presidential campaign. This time Roarke has found clues about the assassin’s past that give him the tools he needs to hunt the hunter, but the clues can only go so far. Roarke needs all his skill, and a huge amount of luck as well, if he’s going to catch his quarry.
Available from: Amazon, Barnes & Noble
Electronic Scrapbook 