Prophecy of Vithan by Charlene Leatherman -G

When I started my Monday Mini-review and Interview, I never expected to have so much fun. I've read some wonderful books, met some intriguing women, and had a wonderful time sharing my thoughts about those books with you, my readers. Today, my guest author is Charlene Leatherman, a fascinating woman that I'm so happy and proud to say is a fellow author. She was gracious enough to answer my nosy questions, so we'll plunge in and get to know her.

1)If you could start over with your writing career, what if anything would you change?
Probably start submitting for publication earlier. I wrote consistently but never had the courage to submit. I requested guidelines from everyone, but never submitted. Also, If I can add a note – to new authors. Be Brave – have faith in yourself – learn your craft – submit.

2) What was the best piece of advice you received regarding the life of a writer?
The best advice is also the advice that I have the hardest time taking. The advice is this: Make your writing one of your priorities. If you let everything else in your life take priority, you will never find time to write. It is very easy to let writing take a back seat.

3) If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be?
I think I would really like to meet Boudicca the Warrior Queen of the Iceni. She is the real life embodiment and the person the character Xena was based on. She lived in Roman controlled England. She was the daughter of a chief and when her tribe was attacked and decimated, she was raped and left for dead. She took over as Chieftess of her tribe and led her people in war against the Romans.

4) If you could meet any fictional character, who would it be?
I think I would like to meet Conan of the series written by Robert E. Howard. Not the Arnold Schwarzenegger version. The version written in Howard’s books.

5) What do you want to be when you grow up? Oh, let’s see, I want to be a semi-retired secretary living in Desert Center….no, wait that is what I am. Okay, so what do I want to be when I grow up? I think I want to be a shuttle pilot in another galaxy who visits worlds and people and has lots of adventures with lots of really hunky space dudes.

6) In the next century, what do you hope people will remember you for?
I would hope that people would read my futuristic stuff like they read Jules Verne and say “Wow, she predicted such and such.” Of course, if they still buy my novels in the next century I think I will do a little dance of joy in heaven.
On the other hand, if I am remembered as great great great grandmother Charlene that will be enough.

Prophecy of Vithan by Charlene Leatherman from Cerridwen Press– G

Having grown up in a Baptist home, I was leery of anything with prophecy in the title. But the other night I started Prophecy of Vithan a little after nine. My dog goes out for “last call” at midnight so I figured I would get started on the book and finish up the next day. After all, you seize the chance to read whenever you can.

After a while, when I stopped to take care of an urgent call of nature, I glanced at the clock. Three a.m.! Needless to say, I reluctantly put away the book and finished it the next day. But you may safely judge that it wasn’t in the least like a dusty old prophecy. Charlene has assembled a wonderful, intriguing cast of characters and an intricate tale to capture the imagination.

Morgan, Len, and the rest catch you up in their twisting, turning struggles to defeat the bad guys, rescue the good guys, and live to tell about it. Just when you think you know everything, have figured it all out, there’s another turn or twist and you find yourself in a new surreal landscape with a new set of difficulties.

It’s been a while since I’ve met such an inventive, likeable cast of characters in one book. And the plot is so intricate and multi-layered that you race through the pages, anxious to see how Charlene will tie it all together! No, I’m not going to tell you any of the story. That would be a spoiler and I’m not fond of spoilers. I’ll just say that you need to run right out and get your copy of Prophecy of Vithan from Cerridwen Press. The warrior woman, Morgan, and her man, Len, are not to be missed!

Anny

For those following the Blog saga, today is Kelly's turn and she's once again turned the story on it's side. As Amarinda would say, have a squiz at http://www.kkirch.blogspot.com/

Do I know you?

"I want to know you so completely I finish your sentences."--Prophecy of Vithan by Charlene Leatherman. For more on the Prophecy of Vithan, tune in tomorrow when Charlene is my guest author and my mini-review is Prophecy of Vithan.

I suppose I'm dating myself, but years ago there used to be a television show called the Newlywed Game. The entire premise centered around how well the couple knew each other. I'm foggy on the details, but I believe they had to be married less than a year. The emcee would ask questions. The contestants had to guess how their spouse would answer the questions. Needless to say, they didn't often guess correctly. Except, of course, when the question was about how often he wanted sex. Duh. They never seemed to get that one wrong. Newlyweds, right?

I swear I'm not being sexist when I say that the ladies guessed correctly more often than the men. My observation was that when one of the men really "knew" his wife well, that couple won. What I found interesting was that the questions were very simple, mostly requiring awareness.

"What will your wife say is her favorite color?" One guy said pink.

His wife smacked him with her little cardboard placard. "Pink? Pink? Is there anything pink in the entire apartment? What color are the towels in the bathroom? What color are the sheets? Pink? No!"

"Ooooh!" You could see the light bulb go off. "Purple?"

The interesting thing is that it isn't only newlyweds who don't know their partners, best friends, children, parents. Do you know what either of your parents really wanted to be when they grew up? Do you know what secret dreams they had for their lives? What about your children? Do you know their favorite colors?

How about that best friend--the one you confide everything to--what's her or his secret fear? What's her secret dream? What's her favorite ice cream flavor?

If you needed to know, could you say what kind of medications your spouse is taking? And how often? What was his secret dream for his future when you met? How has that changed over the years? Boxers or briefs? Or a combination?

What about her? Silk or cotton? Or lace? Does she like her tea hot or cold? Milk or lemon? Eggs over easy or scrambled? What did she want to be when she grew up? How close is she to achieving her dreams?

None of the answers are hard. Really. All they require is genuine interest instead of the self absorption so common today. If there is one thing that technology has changed in relationships, I think that it is the paradoxical lack of communication between friends, lovers, parents, and children. The very things touted to enhance communication have increased isolation.

They can be used to get to know those close to us. My children are spread across the USA. I use the internet and telephone to keep in touch. But if I'm not careful, it's the shallow stuff that gets communicated. How are you? What are you doing? How are the kids?

If things of substance are going to be discussed, someone has to start that conversation. And most likely, it won't be the other guy. Do you really know what your spouse's spiritual beliefs are? Or do you assume he/she believes the same things you do because you go to the same church? Do you agree on important issues like politics, religion, child rearing? Do you know what the other thinks about hot button issues like war, abortion, insurance...?

I challenge you today find out one new thing about each person that touches you, be it child, friend, parent, or significant other. Now there's a phrase for you. How can they be significant if you don't know them? Anyway, I digress. Hmmm. One new thing about every single person you value. Get back to me with what you found out.

Anny

PS: Today is our day off from the Crazy Blog Serial. Make sure you check out the new episodes each day. Monday and Thursday at http://www.kkirch.blogspot.com Kelly Kirch
Tuesday and Friday at http://www.amarindajones.blogspot.com Amarinda Jones
Wednesday and Saturday at http://www.annycook.blogspot.com or http://blog.myspace.com/annycook That's ME!