Author: Marcia Meara

#ShareAReviewDay Tuesday – “The Scarlet Ribbon” by Anita Dawes

/ Marcia Meara / 21 Comments

And now for our afternoon treat! Anita Dawes is sharing a review of her book The Scarlet Ribbon. I know you’ll enjoy reading this one, so please help me make Anita feel right at home here on The Write Stuff, and then share this post far and wide. We want to get these reviews in front of as many new readers as possible, and the key lies with you folks. Thanks so much!

REVIEW:

Kevin Cooper
5.0 out of 5 starsThought Provoking
15 April 2019
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

I took my time reading this work because I found it very thought provoking.

On several occasions I was transported back in time to when a previous partner and I visited a friend who was in a coma for several weeks before her husband gave the go ahead to have the life support terminated.

On other occasions I found myself drifting back to when my son was in a coma as a result of a hit and run, and again to his months of recovery as he learned to walk again.

And again to my own experiences of astral travel. This story takes astral travel to a whole new level.

Despite my own deviance, I still found the story most engrossing. I was looking for something different to read and while providing me just that, this story did not disappoint.

In addition to its wonderful book cover, The Scarlet Ribbon is original and well-written with thought-provoking ideology.

(We were thrilled to receive this review from Kevin Cooper!) Continue reading →

#ShareAReviewDay Tuesday – “Amanda on the Danube” by Darlene Foster

/ Marcia Meara / 21 Comments

It’s Tuesday once more and time for #ShareAReviewDay here on The Write Stuff. Please help me welcome Darlene Foster this morning, who will be sharing a review of her book Amanda on the Danube. (Have you noticed what a well-traveled little girl Amanda is? Lucky her!) Hope you enjoy this one and will pass it along far and wide. Thanks!

REVIEW:

Robbie Cheadle
5.0 out of 5 stars A great adventure in a very interesting setting
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Michael and I read this book together and we both enjoyed it immensely. It is my favourite of the three Amanda books we have read to date and we will definitely be reading more.

Amanda and her good friend, Leah, are on a boat cruise along the Danube and very much enjoying the good food and fascinating villages and towns that they stop at when they become embroiled in a new mystery. A young boy who plays the violin most beautifully asks Amanda to please take his violin on the boat with her and meet him in Vienna. Amanda agrees to the request and quickly comes to realise that the talented boy is not the only one who wants the violin. There are a few people, both on the cruise and elsewhere, that are determined to lay their hands on this instrument.

I really like Darlene Foster’s books as they have an interesting and face paced story but they also include a huge amount of fascinating information about the specific country in which each specific novel is set. We both learned a lot about the towns and villages in Germany, Austria and Hungary and the traditional foods, entertainment and some famous places of interest. There is a lot of research that goes into each of these books.

We rated this book five out of five stars.

Continue reading →

Author Inspiration and This Week’s Writing Links

/ Marcia Meara / 2 Comments

Time for another great weekly update from Staci Troilo. Super quote this week, and lots of wonderful links for you to check out and pass along. Thanks! And a special thanks to Staci for making it easier for me to keep up. 😀 ❤

Staci Troilo's avatarStaci Troilo

Ciao, amici! The three-day weekend has me all turned around. I’m not sure why, since I worked through the holiday, but I’m muddled all the same. Days off, whether I take them or not, always make the rest of the week hard for me. I never know what day it is, and my plans all fall apart.

Enough about that, though. A bunch of weird stuff happened this week. Family things. Weather things. (I’m seriously considering building an ark.) Work things. At first, I thought I’d incorporate some of these oddities into my WIP (or a future work) because they were just so bizarre, they needed to be shared. Then I realized it was pointless. No one would believe some of this stuff. Which brings me to these wise words by Tom Clancy:

The difference between fiction and reality?
Fiction has to make sense.

And isn’t that that truth? Just…

View original post 424 more words

#ShareAReviewDay Tuesday – The Cruel Romance by Marina Osipova

/ Marcia Meara / 20 Comments

This afternoon, we are welcoming Marina Osipova to #ShareAReviewDay here on The Write Stuff. Marina is sharing a review of her book The Cruel Romance, and I know you’re going to enjoy reading about this one. Remember to share on your favorite social media, too. We’ll do the same for you when it’s your turn to be featured. Thanks!

REVIEW:

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent!
September 4, 2018
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

Have you ever read a book that was so good that you wished there was a movie about it? This is exactly what happened to me after I finished “The Cruel Romance.” The setting was so authentic, the characters so vivid and real, and the atmosphere so haunting and emotionally-charged that I couldn’t help but moan, “I wish I saw this on the big screen” from time to time! The story is set in the Eastern front, where too few historical fiction authors dare to go, unfortunately. Just this fact makes this excellent novel stand out among many of its WW2 peers. But to me, it was the characters that made me fall in love with the plot – real, authentic, multi-dimensional, with all of their doubts, hopes, sufferings, and their will to go on despite it all. The ending was perfect and left me with a warm, fuzzy feeling after all the devastation that the characters had to go through. Meticulously researched and beautifully presented, “The Cruel Romance” will keep you captivated till the very last page is turned. Highly recommended to all fans of the genre Continue reading →

#ShareAReviewDay Tuesday – “While the Bombs Fell” by Robbie Cheadle & Elsie Hancy Eaton

/ Marcia Meara / 52 Comments

This morning, I have the pleasure of welcoming Robbie Cheadle to The Write Stuff. Robbie is sharing a review from her book While the Bombs Fell, and I know you’ll enjoy checking it out. Please remember to share far and wide, so lots of new readers will find this one! Thanks!

REVIEW:

5.0 out of 5 stars A heart-warming tale

7 April 2019
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Growing up in rural Suffolk during World War Two, Elsie and her family live their lives amid the rumble of German bomber planes and the whine of air-raid sirens. But daily life must continue, and the children and their parents make the most of restricted amenities during wartime.

Along with Elsie Hancy Eaton (whose life inspired the book), Robbie Cheadle has produced an interesting and heart-warming tale about a wartime family and the ups and downs of everyday life as they strive to cope with the constant threat of invasion. The stories reflect the highlights and occasional tragedies that face the family during the war years, as well as the many ingenious ways they find to deal with the limitations of rationing and lack of income. The book includes family photographs from the time and lists several authentic World War Two recipes, such as Potato Pastry and Lord Woolton Pie.

A delightful way for children to learn about wartime Britain.

Continue reading →

How Scared Should You Be Of Duplicate Content?

/ Marcia Meara / 5 Comments

A very interesting post from Nicholas Rossis today on an issue I never really understood. Apparently I’m not the only one confused by the subject of duplicate content, and I’m very glad for the clarification. Check it out! And remember to pass it along so others can learn more, as well, thanks! And thank you, Nicholas for once again teaching me something new. 🙂

Nicholas C. Rossis's avatarNicholas C. Rossis

Duplicated content | From the blog of Nicholas C. Rossis, author of science fiction, the Pearseus epic fantasy series and children's bookThis is a slightly technical post but it’s close to my heart as it answers a question I often hear. Longtime readers of this blog will know that, since 2016, I have been posting all of my content simultaneously on both my main website, nicholasrossis.me, and my WordPress blog, nicholasrossis.wordpress.com (for the reasons which led me to this decision, see here).

This has led me to trouble in the past with some of my guest posters, who dislike the idea that their posts are duplicated on both places at once. The reason is that old SEO boogeyman, duplicate content.

The topic is full of anecdotes, myths, urban legends, and folklore passed down from marketer to marketer over the years. And like any story or tale, it gets taller and more exaggerated as it’s told.

“Google will lower your rank if you post content already published elsewhere,” some say.

View original post 1,039 more words

Central Florida’s Fantastic Owls

/ Marcia Meara / 24 Comments

It’s been a crazy busy week, with lots going on, as usual, but today, I’m off for some fun! Yeah, I had to put a LOT of work hours into the slide presentation I’ll be doing, but  when I see so many smiling faces in the audience (some new, some old friends), it’s immediately worth every minute.

This is #11 in my Central Florida’s Fabulous Wildlife series, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of them. If you’re in the area, come on by. It’s FREE, no reservations required. 

Where: Enterprise Museum, 360 Main St, Enterprise, FL (286-259-5900)
When: Today, 1:00pm to 3:00pm 
Why: Because–FUN! (And a chance to learn how to identify the owls that call Florida home. )

Hope to see you there!

I’m BACK! (I think.)

/ Marcia Meara / 22 Comments

At the risk of jinxing myself, just want to let everyone know my computer is up and running again. So far. It seems the cable company was doing some work/upgrading in the neighborhood yesterday, which is probably a good thing. (It could have been a “perfectly fine” thing, had I known and been prepared for it, but that’s another story.)

At any rate, everything is working well this morning and hopefully will continue to do so throughout the day. Week. Month. Year. For all time! 😀 I am having to do a fairly large email dump, as I can’t hope to catch up with everything that came in, but I’ll try to snag the critical stuff. And please forgive me if I miss responding to some comments here and there on the blog. 

Overall, though, this day is starting out much better than yesterday, and I’d like to think it will continue to go relatively smoothly. (I tend to hyperventilate and tear at my hair when computer issues crop up. If it happens again any time soon, I could end up blue in the face and bald! 😉 )

Thanks for your patience and understanding. Things happen. Life goes on. 

Having Internet Connection Issues

/ Marcia Meara / 32 Comments

Factor15.5Me, Except skinnier. And without the silver hair.
But otherwise, ME.
😀

Been losing my connection, including WiFi, off and on all morning. I’m hoping this just means Spectrum is working in the neighborhood somewhere. But should I disappear for a day or two, the reason would be computer woes. Hopefully, this will be sorted before the day is done. I’m LOST without my computer and the ability to get online. Wish me luck! 😀