Colorado Mandala | rithebard

Tag Archives: Colorado Mandala

June 14, 2013 · 9:39 pm

Interviews! I Love To Do Interviews!

I love doing interviews, it is really interesting and you get to see what really makes people tick. You get to peek behind the mask that we all wear in our day-to-day lives. It is really to borrow a word from my favorite Vulcan, Fascinating.

Tomorrow I will be having a special edition of Chatting With Sherri! I am very excited to interview the wonderful bard, author, screenwriter writer Melissa Good . Melissa shot to fame with in the Xenaverse with her series Tropical Storm. We will talk about fan fiction, her series and its newest addition Moving Target. We will also discuss her brand new book; Partners, This special expanded edition will include a chance to speak directly with our guest during the last 15 minutes of the show. Please ready your questions! http://tobtr.com/s/4856513

On Tuesday we will have Tasha Donahue who is a food editor, travel writer and syndicated columnist on family issues. She also hosted and produced a seven-part television series on food, wine and lifestyles. To check out her work please go to her website; www.MeetMeUnderTheEiffelTower.wordpress.com . She will be chatting about her book; Meet Me Under The Eiffel Tower; Her Adventures Living in Paris and The Importance of Regaining and Retaining Balance in Life. It is a book about coming into your own, please listen to us chat on Tuesday at 1030am PST; http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rithebard/2013/06/18/chatting-with-sherri

I really enjoyed my chat with Gary Beck this week, we talked about theater and books. It was a lot of fun. Of course we also discussed his book Extreme Change. Extreme Change is about a strong woman determined to help her family survive the horrors of the homeless system. Please listen to the recording of the show at; http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rithebard/2013/06/11/chatting-with-sherri

My kitty Xena was at my computer writing her blog this week. It has been a while but she has been very busy. Please enjoy her hard work; I Am The Mighty Bug Hunter! http://wp.me/p2Ljyb-G via @wordpressdotcom

I love classic movies and classic stars so as I watched these two movies I was deeply affected. So I had to of course run to my computer and write these happy blogs 🙂 Please check out my movie blogs; The Wonderful Short Film Hollywood My Home Town http://wp.me/p2MXCg-1l as well as The Magic Was Always There! http://wp.me/p2MXCg-1h . Please tell me what you think 🙂

It is coming soon in only a few weeks I will be having my own on-line book club called; Sherri’s On Line Book Club. I am looking forward to having a fun and lively chat about Fantasy Time Inc. Please read the book by June 30th that way we can chat about it, this will always be a nice talk. No mean, harsh talk will be accepted. I am not talking about just my novel but all novels in the book club. This is readers group for a friendly and fun exchange. Please drop by on Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/events/474453272631513/ and on Goodreads; http://www.goodreads.com/event/show/892000-sherri-s-on-line-book-club

Well my showcase is coming along nicely. I have some wonderful artists of all types that will take part. As you know I am calling it Creative Artists Showcase; I called it that so artists of all types can take part. It will be on Sunday, July 28, 2013 at 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM at the Fusion Glass Co. This will be a great time for all of us. We will showcase all our wonderful creative projects. Art, Books, Performing Arts, Music, Food…This is a chance to show what we can do and have a great place to do it. So come one, come all to our first showcase! http://www.meetup.com/La-Mesa-Creative-Types/events/123334742/?a=ra1_te

A fellow author Chris Salisbury has started an interesting new venture. It’s called Book Fanatix; Get FREE stuff by using social media to discover, talk, and buy books. Authors are rewarded too for the more they do. Let the book revolution begin! Please check it out, here’s the link igg.me/at/getfreestuff

My special guest on my blog this week is author Brian Francis Heffron, He has a written a new book called; Colorado Mandala. Welcome Brian!

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

My Mom ordered the Dr. Suess books in a series when I was in first grade and I remember waiting at the door for the post man to bring each new book. Go, Dog, Go! was I think the first one I read all by myself and I loved it then, and I love it now. The repetition and silliness were wonderful and the dogs all running around made me very happy!

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

I read Literary Fiction and classic books from the past mostly. Also, as a poet, I also read a tremendous amount of poetry. My favorite authors are Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, and Mark Twain.

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

I do remember that when I got my first copy of Winnie the Pooh, that was the moment I decided I wanted to be a writer. In fact, I cut out paper the same size as A.E. Milne’s Book and copied, word-for-word every syllable of Winnie the Pooh onto my own paper in my childish scrawl. Then I stapled it all together and I remember that eventually the stapler would not go through all the pages, and so I had to staple it to the last few pages and it kust turned into quite a mess…But still…I took it to my sweet Mother and told her I was now ready to publish my first book. Darling soft creature that she was, she let me down easy, explaining very slowly that in order to publish my own book, I had to write every word in it all by myself. This did not phase me at all, in fact, and I immediately began writing down my own stories.—And the truth is I have never stopped

I think that would have to be On The Road by Jack Kerouac. It hit me like a semi-truck and I was never the same. It was like a guide to growing up without the fetters of societal norms oppressing you and keeping you “Normal”. It was written in such a way that you actually went on the journey with Neal and the other characters. I soon hit the road myself and hitchhiked all over America, inspired by that book to meet new people, learn new things, and see new parts of the country.

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

I seem to respond to the 1800s. I love and collect art and the art of that period is the art that most inspires me. Painters like JMW Turner and Thomas Moran were geniuses at representational art. Modern Art leaves me cold as I find it inaccessible and therefore not art.

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

I have built an office with two sets of French Doors along its back wall which, when all four doors are open, makes it seem like I am actually writing outdoors. The movement of the air and the sound of the birds soothes me and help me to focus and concentrate. I love my office and my home. They are a strong comfort zone for me.

Do you prefer one genre to another?

I prefer Literary Fiction, but am currently exploring the myriad new genres that have emerged in the last decade. There are so many new approaches to storytelling!

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

I love books and collect antique books of art, but I also can see the future and how the digital revolution is so inevitable. Brian’s rule is that: “If something can be delivered to the customer digitally, then eventually it will only be delivered to the customer digitally.”

Can you tell us about what your working on now?

My new book is an irish family history set against the turmoil of the Irish Revolutionary period from 1900 to 1980. My ancestors were integral to the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916 and were part of the early revolutionary forces that fought Britain to a standstill and finally sent them home.