A Busy June Ahead For Me!

I had a wonderful time with Charmaine Hammond on her amazing Blogtalk radio show; Your Book As a Business.  We talked about my own show Chatting With Sherri and why I do it.  We also chatted about my writing, including my novels Murder Inc. and Fantasy Time Inc.  and my e-magazine Sherri’s Jewel Box and the beauty within it. One of the more interesting parts of the interview was our discussion of all my ideas for marketing. She was very kind and said they were all very inventive.  Please listen to it at;  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/your-book-as-a-business/2013/05/29/guest-sherri-rabinowi   

Ala Oprah I decided to have my own on-line book club called; Sherri’s On Line Book Club. Since I know it well and I will lead the talk I would like the first book to be Fantasy Time Inc on June 30th at 1130am. Then I will ask my author friends who would like to lead the next talk with one of their books and so forth, and so forth. Does it sound like fun? On Facebook;  https://www.facebook.com/events/474453272631513/ on Goodreads; http://www.goodreads.com/event/show/892000-sherri-s-on-line-book-club

I had a wonderful time with my guests Lynne and Valerie Constantine who chatted about their  novel; Circle Dance. It was important to pass on to their children the traditions and experiences unique to them as second generation Greek Americans and this book was the outcome of their quest. Circle Dance is a story of a prosperous Greek American family, sisters Nicole and Theodora have achieved the perfect balance between the old world rich in Greek tradition and the freedom of life in America.  http://tobtr.com/s/4767787.

My guests this Tuesday will be Thomas S. Smith and James Darrell Williams  to chat about their book; Which One Am I?: A Memoir about Multiple Personalities and Deep Southern Secrets.  It should be a fascinating chat;  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rithebard/2013/06/04/chatting-with-sherri …

On June  22nd I will be attending the San Diego Book Awards 2013 which will give me a great chance to meet other writers and to sell my books. I am very excited by the opportunity.   Here are the details;  6-7 pm: hors d’oeuvres buffet, 7-9 pm: ceremony, 9-10 pm: dessert and door prizes Before and after the ceremony, authors will be displaying and selling their books.  Tickets: $29 per person, you can contact them at; www.sdbookawards.com

After hearing so much about the new movie of The Great Gatsby I decided to re-read it. I always loved the book and realized it had been a very long time since I read it. My review of The Great Gatsby; http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/317254491

The  new issue of Sherri’s Jewel Box is out! It’s  called Spring and Hope. I felt during this time of tragedy and unrest we need to have something with hope and beauty in it.  The talented artists; Nathalie Leseine, Hannah Pazderka and Debbie Solan of  The Fusionglass Company here in San Diego.  It will be a new and exciting issue. A chance to feel happy and renewed; http://sherrisjewelbox.weebly.com/

I started a new meet up in my area called The La Mesa Creative Types; I decided that I would like to invent a creative circle to encourage and help each other to promote our talents. My first meet up is this Sunday.  I thought it would be a great way to make friends in the area and to encourage talent. http://www.meetup.com/La-Mesa-Creative-Types/  

New events and challenges ahead

I have new events and challenges ahead! I am really excited about it. There are several other things I am working on but this is a great start! I am very excited that it in just five days I will be interviewed by the wonderful Charmaine Hammond on her amazing Blogtalk radio show; Your Book As a Business.  I will be on the show on  May 29, 2013 at 1:30 pm PST. We will talk about my own show Chatting With Sherri and why I do it. We will also chat about  my own writing including my novels Murder Inc. and Fantasy Time Inc. The link to the show is: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/your-book-as-a-business/2013/05/29/guest-sherri-rabinowi   

I started a new meet up in my area called The La Mesa Creative Types; I decided that I would like to invent a creative circle to encourage and help each other to promote our talents. My first meet up is in June, I thought it would be a great way to make friends in the area and to encourage talent. http://www.meetup.com/La-Mesa-Creative-Types/  

I will also be attending the San Diego Book Awards 2013 which will give me a great chance to meet other writers and to sell my books. I am very excited by the opportunity. It will be on Saturday, 22 June 2013.  Here are the details;  6-7 pm: hors d’oeuvres buffet, 7-9 pm: ceremony, 9-10 pm: dessert and door prizes
Before and after the ceremony, authors will be displaying and selling their books.  Tickets: $29 per person, you can contact them at; www.sdbookawards.com

I had a lot of fun with Harriet Schultz chatting about  her novels; LEGACY OF THE HIGHLANDS and A LEGACY OF REVENGE. She spent almost 30 years as a journalist first at Harper’s and TIME magazines, then Stanford University and, finally, as a reporter at a small newspaper where her work was honored with an award from the New England Press Association. please listen in to our wonderful chat; http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rithebard/2013/05/21/chatting-with-sherri 

 

Join my guests Lynne and Valerie Constantine who wrote the novel; Circle Dance to pass on to their children the traditions and experiences unique to them as second generation Greek Americans. Circle Dance is a story of a prosperous Greek American family, sisters Nicole and Theodora have achieved the perfect balance between the old world rich in Greek tradition and the freedom of life in America. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rithebard/2013/05/28/chatting-with-sherri

 

 

I am working on the  new issue of Sherri’s Jewel Box as we speak. It is going to be called Spring and Hope. I felt during this time of tragedy and unrest we need to have something with hope and beauty in it.  We will have talented artist like; Nathalie Leseine, Hannah Pazderka and the talented people at The Fusion Glass Company here in San Diego. I was inspired to create this issue after all the tragedy our country has been through of late.  It will be a new and exciting issue. A chance to feel happy and renewed.  Here is the link to the current issue to whet your appetite; http://sherrisjewelbox.weebly.com/ 

And this is really special and exciting to me, a friend and a fellow writer asked me to write an endorsement for his book. It is the first time I have had such an honor. So my endorsement will be seen in Reza Mashayekhi’s touching book; From Iran to America about moving to the US, his love for our country,his own love story  and his difficult transition.

 

 

 

Till Next Time…

Reviewing With Kindness

One of the things I really enjoy about Goodreads beside getting to know other readers and writers are the reviews.  I enjoy reading reviews and writing them. I just prefer to be honest but kind.  Reviewing with kindness. I don’t think having the ability to review another writer is an excuse to rip someone to shreds. I understand that you might find fault with another persons writing and I appreciate constructive criticism but tearing someone apart personally is beyond me. So you will not find that in my reviews, even the books I am not crazy about I am fair about. I just write that it is not my cup of tea but not that it is a waste of paper or some other charming statement. I have had that review on Amazon and I can tell you as a writer that hurts. I know that my writing is not perfect but to say that is just mean. To read my reviews please follow this link;   http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4214079-sherri-rabinowitz?shelf=read

I also would like to address the general meanness on the net. This has nothing to do with me but just the general population. I can’t even read comments anymore. I will read an interview or a news story and people are just cruel not only about the article but to each other.  It happens on Facebook too, I have read a comment a famous person writes on Facebook and the followers will start to tear into each other. The person will ask that they stop doing that and sometimes they have to go so far as to remove the link, just because you’re sitting alone in your room writing on your computer does not give you the entitlement to be so wicked. I simply can’t understand it and won’t take part in it. I have had people try to do that with me but I will simply leave the discussion.  To quote a saying from the 80’s; Just Say No… To Cruelty.

Please join our guest Harriet Schultz to talk about her novels; LEGACY OF THE HIGHLANDS and A LEGACY OF REVENGE  which are very popular. She spent almost 30 years as a journalist first at Harper’s and TIME magazines, then Stanford University and, finally, as a reporter at a small newspaper where her work was honored with an award from the New England Press Association. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rithebard/2013/05/21/chatting-with-sherri

My guest Tuesday was Tom Ufert author of the memoir; Adversity Builds Character.  We had a wonderful discussion of how Tom overcame adversity to advocate for others with passion and kindness.  Please listen to this wonderful chat at;  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rithebard/2013/05/14/chatting-with-sherri  Tom has been very supportive and I am very excited to have him on the show. He recently took part in my Sherri’s Second Blog Book Fair  http://wp.me/p2LjpY-98 

It is just two weeks till my interview with the wonderful Charmaine Hammond on her amazing Blogtalk radio show; Your Book As a Business.  I will be on the show on  May 29, 2013 at 1:30 pm PST. We will talk about my own show Chatting With Sherri and why I do it. We will also chat about  my own writing. The link to the show is: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/your-book-as-a-business/2013/05/29/guest-sherri-rabinowi

 

 

I love classic movies and I just had to get it off my chest about remakes. The classic The Thin Man series should be enjoyed as it is. There was a charm in it that even the talented Johnny Depp can’t touch. Please read my views in No One Else Can Do Justice To The Thin Man Series http://wp.me/p2MXCg-19  via @wordpressdotcom

 

 

 

We will have a new issue of Sherri’s Jewel Box very soon. We will have talented artist like; Nathalie Leseine, Hannah Pazderka and the talented people at The Fusion Glass Company here in San Diego. My issue this month will be all about the spring and hope it brings. I was inspired to create after all the tragedy our country has been through of late.  It will be a new and exciting issue.  Here is the link to the current issue to whet your appetite; http://sherrisjewelbox.weebly.com/

 

 

 

Till Next Time…

Distractions…To my Life and in the World

I have been working very diligently on a new short story, I finally finished editing and I sent it off to get it double checked. You can see some of my short stories here; http://xenafiction.net/Ri/Ri.cfm .  I also finished another two chapters in my novel and a whole section of my memoir. I am determined there will be no place to nick-pick on my next publications so I am working really hard to make them as smooth as I can. I have been working on two articles and my other blogs.  You will be able to check out everything when they are done on my website; http://www.rithebard.com/default.html. 

To say I have been distracted of late would be an understatement. So much has been going on in the world and in my own life that it makes it very hard to concentrate on my own work. I do my own stuff everyday but I do end up getting sucked into the news a lot, of late. It is not shocking when it comes to the horrors that have been happening lately. No one is immune unless they have their head stuck in the sand or they just don’t care about anyone other then their own lives. I am not like that, I care so I watch. Also I have had  few hiccups in my own life. The latest was painful at the time but it is a bit comical now, I sprained my ankle and don’t know how I did it. Then I was healing nicely and banged my toe against the wall. Which hurt like hell and I had to start the healing process all over again. This has distracted me not only about my writing but I have not gone to the gym or really left the apartment except to take out the trash. This weekend I am finally healed so I am able to go out and about to new adventures this weekend. Thank heaven.  🙂

My guest this  coming week will be Tom Ufert author of the memoir; Adversity Builds Character.  “Fearing arrest or an accident I was anxious to return to my parked car and head home. The next moment would change my life forever.”  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rithebard/2013/05/14/chatting-with-sherri  Tom has been very supportive and I am very excited to have him on the show. He recently took part in my Sherri’s Second Blog Book Fair  http://wp.me/p2LjpY-98 where not only could you find his book but he took part in my autograph party and  the Q&A.  So I think it will be great fun not only for me but for all my friends and readers to get to know this kind, bright and talented man!

Are you searching for your American dream? My guest on Tuesday was Educator Sandra Bornstein; author of “May This Be The Best Year of Your Live”; thought she had hers in Colorado. She told the wonderful tale about her life in India and how she had to get over her culture shock and learn to appreciate and even love her new surrounding in India   http://tobtr.com/s/4667063.  She has a lot more info on her book on her website;  www.sandrabornstein.com and her book can found at; http://www.amazon.com/This-Best-Year-Your-Life/dp/1478198052

 

I am really excited to talk to Charmaine Hammond on her amazing Blogtalk radio show; Your Book As a Business.  I will be on the show on  May 29, 2013 at 1:30 pm PST. We will talk about my own show Chatting With Sherri and why I do it. We will also chat about  my own writing. The link to the show is: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/your-book-as-a-business/2013/05/29/guest-sherri-rabinowi

We will have a new issue of Sherri’s Jewel Box very soon. It will be a new and exciting issue. With great new interviews and beautiful pieces. I will have new articles with new contributors and new features.I think you will find it exciting. So this is your last chance to see the beauty of this issue called; Love Is All Around! It is about love and the Myth of love.  For both history  lovers, Jewel Lovers, and the lovers of design this is the issue for you. Here is the link; http://sherrisjewelbox.weebly.com/

Till Next Time…

All Kinds of Interviews…

I am so excited to let you know that Charmaine Hammond the host of the wonderful blog talk radio show; Your Book As a Business  has asked me to be on her show. So please tune in on  May 29, 2013 at 1:30 pm PST. I will talk about Chatting With Sherri and my own writing.The link to your show is: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/your-book-as-a-business/2013/05/29/guest-sherri-rabinowitz

My Sherri’s Second Blog Book Fair was on Sunday we  had a great mix of books. All kinds, for all tastes.  It is still up for your pleasure. Please buy a wonderful book to entertain you here;   http://wp.me/p2LjpY-98

My show next week is with Educator Sandra Bornstein; author of “May This Be The Best Year of Your Life”. She thought she had hers in Colorado. But when the perfect storm transported her to the other side of the world, it was her beliefs and education that redefined her comfort zone and helped her find her true north. Please tune in on this Tuesday; http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rithebard/2013/05/07/chatting-with-sherri

I had such a great time  in my chat with  director Chip Chalmers! We had such a chat, we talked about MASH, Star Trek Next Generation and all the wonderful actors he  worked with.  He talked about directing these famous shows and how you go about preparing for a directing job. And so much more, so please listen;  http://tobtr.com/s/4632093

We will have a new issue of Sherri’s Jewel Box very soon. It will be a new and exciting issue. With great interviews and beautiful pieces. So this is your last chance to see the beauty of this issue called; Love Is All Around! It is about love and the Myth of love.  For both history  lovers, Jewel Lovers, and the lovers of design this is the issue for you. Here is the link; http://sherrisjewelbox.weebly.com/

This week our author interview is with Wade Garret and his upcoming book; Genesis!

What was the first book you remember loving? Do you still own it?

The first book would have to be Mega Man 2 from the Worlds of Power Collection. Then Dracula, the cover just pulled me in. Sadly, I don’t own either and thinking about it now, I’m not sure why. I do own the first book I read in the first series I ever got hooked on, which is when I really got into reading: Redwall, by Brian Jacques. I’ve read and thumbed through the series so much so several of the books should be replaced with new ones. They won’t though. I love them.

What kind of books do you like to read? Do those books have an effect on your own writing?

I mainly read Science Fiction and Fantasy. More-often-then-naught, it’s the books blurring the lines between. I also read history—old textbooks and the bargains you find walking into most chain bookstores, also some gathered essays and philosophy. I mostly read for fun or to see what’s out in my medium, so I don’t dive into many really deep books anymore.  A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn was the last and because I do most of my reading at work during my lunch hour, well, it took me forever to finish it.

Yes. Everything affects my writing. As it should. Even if I’m reading something for fun, w/e it is, it’s also research. Like if there’s something I’ve been trying to write but can’t seem to keep on paper. Well, eventually I find w/e or get inspired by w/e and it helps me push through.

Do you remember what is the first book that touched you deeply?

The first books I remember reading were also the first to really touch me. However, those aside, it was Dune! Hands down. The scale. The dimensions and layers to the universe. The complexity of the characters. Not so much the politics though, I’m kinda already a political enthusiast. Then, as I got deeper into Dune, the core story is what set me on the path for my own book. Reading the series, I realized I wanted to tell my own version of a messianic character. His hero’s journey.

Is there an era of writing that affects you? 1920, 1800’s so forth?

As a writer, yes. The Now Era. I like blended books without fear. Comics are great for this. I also like things mixed up on purpose. I like different interpretations of history, scientific advancement, religion and so on. I’ve never been one to exclusively read, say, American Western, stories from the Renaissance or books revolving around the Dark Ages.

As a reader, no, well, for the most part no.
A specific era gives me no bonus joy, nor does it give the words greater lenience. Just make it enjoyable. It doesn’t need to be 100% for me to like it. However, as much as I like the Now Era because of the nearly limitless content. I’m not a fan of any straight-up modern stories. It’s odd. Example: I love the Jason Bourne movies. Love them! Wouldn’t read the books. Don’t care. Make it a movie and I’m there though. Now, if you put Bourne in some kinda Science Fiction/Fantasy world, yea, I’d read it all day. The twist as a reader for me isn’t setting or time, it’s beyond the normal.

Where do you like to write? Is there a favorite nook or corner?

I write in my Batcave, otherwise known as my office. The reason is I do a lot of walking—talking to myself—when I’m writing. I do push ups, pull-ups to clear my head. I curse at my computer if I’m pissed off. Maybe I bolt from the shower with an amazing idea that has to be punched into the keyboard. Could you see me doing some of these things in a coffee shop?

Do you prefer one genre to another?

Well, I prefer Fantasy and Science Fiction to everything else.

If we’re talking between those two…no. As I said, I like blended stories. I mean, is Dracula a Horror, a Fantasy or a Romance? Well, that’s all in how it’s written; but I like books to be all that and more. Now, this isn’t to say I don’t love books that are considered pure Fantasy or Science Fiction—the staples we’ve all read. I just don’t prefer one over the other.

Do you like the feel of a book in your hands or do prefer an electronic devises?

Got to have paper in my hands. I don’t even own a cell phone. How crazy is that? Maybe someday I’ll read from a ipad or a iphone, but till that day comes, I think I’ll always love the feel, weight, smell of a book. Now, for all those pad, phone loving readers, I still love you. No hard feelings I hope?

Can you tell us about what your working on now?

Well, Genesis will be published later this year, likely around August—follow me at wjgarret.blogspot.com or Facebook to get all the details. I’m working to get the word out every way you can imagine. Talking with you has been a big help. Cheers! I’m also working on the sequel, which I hope to have ready to submit by the end of this year or the start of next year. Outside of writing, I’ve got a lot that’s keeping me busy. I’m going to be a dad. My first child! Don’t ask me the sex though, my wife wants to keep it a secret. It’s all very exciting.

Till next time…