What’s Your Passion?

Written by Ruth Hartman

Everyone has a passion. And I’m not talking about your significant other, here. Everyone has something they’re passionate about. Art, writing, biking, sewing, saving the whales. You get the idea. Well, mine is cats.

Yes, cats.

My whole life, I’ve loved them. Every picture of me as a little kid shows me holding or trying to hold at least one cat. Grey, white, black, calico, it never mattered. If there was a cat in the vicinity, I wanted it. All these years later, nothing has really changed. You should see my house. Yes, I guess you could call it a cathouse, in a way. I have cat pictures, figurines, potholders, magnets, wall decorations, you name it. There’s a cat calendar on the wall in the dental office where I work. Lucky for me, my boss is a cat person, too. I even have some stuffed animals around my house that are cats. Okay, more than some. A lot. My husband gets me stuffed cats instead of flowers for my birthday and anniversary. Hey, at least the stuffed animals won’t be wilted in three or four days! So you see, cats truly are my passion.

We have two fat, spoiled cats, Maxwell and Roxy, who live with us inside. They sit on our laps when we read or are using our computers. They follow us around. Everywhere. It can be a tiny bit disconcerting to step out of the shower and have both cats sitting there, staring. It makes me a little self-conscious wondering what they think of me. A couple of times, I’d even swear they giggled. Now that sure makes a girl rethink her diet.

Several wild ones live in our shed. I put out food for them, and often set a live-trap to catch them. I’ve lost count of how many I’ve hauled into the vet’s office to be neutered or spayed. We live out in the country, and people find it amusing to dump their cats and kittens here. My husband thinks people have just heard about the crazy cat lady at the end of the road, and dump them by her shed. Well, yeah, okay.

My newest book release, “Better Than Catnip” is about a woman who runs a stray cat shelter. Hmmm. I’m sensing a theme here. She cares for, feeds, live-traps, and has neutered any and all cats who cross her path. This story is also a romance. Roxy, the heroine, meets Max, the hero. (Yes, they’re named after my cats. I just couldn’t resist!) Max’s son Derek must work at the shelter for community service after he gets in a fight at school. The main problem? Derek is terrified of cats.

Max and Roxy try to get to know each other better, but it’s hard when the man’s son is deathly afraid of anything feline, you know? How will they resolve their problem? Will they be able to help Derek over his fear, so they can be together?

Check out “Better Than Catnip” to answer those questions.

Behind the Scenes: Lizzie and the Guernsey Gang

An island occupied by Nazis makes life hazardous,

but for an adventurous nine-year-old girl
bent on escape, it could be deadly.

Lizzie and the Guernsey Gang might be a children's novel, but it has adults gushing with enthusiasm, as well. Steeped in WWII history, Lizzie's story is based on the life of my friend, Ruth Davies, who lived through the German occupation of Guernsey Island. Her life was an adventure before it had hardly begun, and it's those adventures I share with today's child, through the Channel Islands Resistance series.
To make things more fun, and to help kids keep the facts straight, Ruth and I have taken it upon ourselves to enlighten readers as to which parts of the book are real and which are make-believe.

We're traveling through the book chapter by chapter, chatting about her memories and bringing the past to life.

Before we jump into chapter one, here's a little about the book:

Lizzie Browning loves nothing more than her tiny, island-home of Guernsey, but when German bombs drop on her crystal beach, her peaceful world is shattered. For months, the big war on the continent has been nothing more than stories in the paper, but as the enemy takes over Guernsey, the war rushes to her doorstep. For Lizzie, younger brother Andre, and cousin James, the time to escape is now, and they know just how to do it.

Phillip Seifert, the odd boy from down the street, has all the markings of a genuine Nazi-lover. Lizzie knows better than to trust him, but he somehow manages to weasel his way into James’ good graces. Phillip joins the gang in their audacious escape plan, and Lizzie can do little more than pray he doesn’t get them all shot. But Lizzie soon learns that God doesn’t always answer prayers in the way she expects. He might actually plan for them to live under Nazi rule…forever.

Beware! If you haven't read the book yet, there might be spoilers. You can solve that problem by purchasing your copy of Lizzie and the Guernsey Gang today.

Amazon Paperback

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Ruth, tell us about your younger the brother, the one six year-old Andre Browning is modeled after. What's his real name? Do you have any other brothers and sisters? And what sort of relationship did you have with them?
I have two younger brothers; Les (Leslie) is the one nearer Andre’s age. My baby brother – Clarence (Clar) is 4-1/2 years younger than I, he is the one who had the mass of blonde curls. We were very close as brothers and sister, I always remember having my baby brother with me everywhere I went (wonder if I was the baby sitter??). I can remember lots about the things we did and games we played. When the 3 of us got into one bed, I told them bedtime stories, I feel quite ashamed because they were not bedtime Bible stories but Hans Christian Anderson. Every night they would ask for Hansel and Gretel, and the wicked witch who was going to eat them, my voice matching that of a really wicked witch. They liked the frights, at least – that is my story.

Did you have a cousin like James that you liked to play with?
There were several cousins who lived within minutes of our house, the two boys Paul (James in the book), and Ken were very friendly with my two brothers. Ken is still alive and Les still visits him about once a month. Ken’s Dad, my uncle, was killed during the war, 6 children in the family who never really knew their Dad. There were/are other cousins, but these were the ones we were with every day, went to the same school too, always on the beach together after school.

Suffolk Beach

Before the Germans came, what did the beach mean to you? How close was it to your house and how often did you play there?
Before the Germans came, beach was our second home, we went swimming every day, in fact, we hardly came out of the water, we were fortunate to live just a few minutes’ walk away. What we did then would not be allowed today, because we were all diving off the rocks, diving off the sea wall when the tide was in, and our mothers were home and dads were at work, not one of us drowned, there were always older people on the beaches and that was considered a sufficient safety measure. More often than not our Mom would have to come to get us off the beach; we had no watches and were quite oblivious of the time. Sadly this didn’t last long, I can’t remember exactly when they mined all the beaches and coastline, In my estimation that was the most cruel thing the Germans did – no swimming for almost 5 years (and no soap), don’t think absence of soap bothered us too much at that age.

London, 2009

What did you think of the possibility of being sent away to England?
When we heard about evacuating the Island in May 1940, most of us were very excited at the prospect of going to the UK, none of us realised that our parents may not be travelling with us, no men were leaving the Island, so definitely no fathers or elder brothers (over 16). Quite a few mothers did travel but were separated from their children almost immediately. I had visions of staying with an Aunt, Uncle and cousin in London, not realising that London was a more dangerous place to be. I think arrangements had been made for us to stay with my Grandparents near the Malvern Hills in Worcestershire, I had been there once before just 9 or 10 months previous, which was my first time out of the Island. At the time of the evacuation nobody ever mentioned the likelihood of German occupation, I think the main reason was the difficulty which could arise in obtaining food and other essential supplies, seeing the Islands were so close to France and the enemy at that time was also very close to France. The thought of bombing raids was the furthest thing from most minds.

Author April W Gardner lives in Georgia with her computer nerd Air Force husband, ten year-old bookworm son, and eight year-old art-loving daughter. The Gardners enjoy watching nature shows, visiting national parks, and eating popcorn and chocolate every Friday during family night. April writes her Lizzie stories for God, her precious children, and every other kiddo who loves a good adventure. She is also the author of the Creek Country Saga, an inspirational historical romance series for moms.

Behind the Scenes: Pure. Magic.

Written by S.G. Rogers

True artists evoke emotional and sometimes spiritual responses, seemingly with little effort. Have you ever been lifted up and transported elsewhere by Shakespeare, Michelangelo, or Mozart? Do Baryshnikov, Michael Flatley or the Celtic Women send your soul soaring? The genius of Tolkien, J.K. Rowling and Dickens never ceases to amaze me. What these artists perform is pure magic. On the planet of Yden, they probably would have been wizards.

In The Last Great Wizard of Yden, sixteen-year-old Jon Hansen is one such artist. On Earth he’s an artistic prodigy but when he discovers he can work magic on Yden, it comes as a shock. After he’s captured by Warlord Mandral and thrown into the dungeon with Nomad Princess Kira, he learns his talent has a more magical quality than ever before.

Excerpt:

Kira’s head bent low and her shoulders shook from the chill…or perhaps from sorrow. After a few moments, Jon swung his knapsack off his back and searched inside until he found his sketchbook. “How about I draw you something, okay?”

He stood in the shaft of light from the window as he sketched. When he was done, he knelt in the straw next to Kira. “Look. It's a butterfly.”

Kira raised her head as she pretended polite interest.

“My sister likes my drawings,” he said, thrusting the sketchbook into her hands. “I thought it might take your mind off your trouble.”

Suddenly embarrassed, he began to flip the popping fluff balls with the toe of his boot. It was kind of like Hacky Sack with a twist, and he'd always been pretty good with a Hacky Sack.

“You're a wizard,” Kira said in a hushed tone.

Jon bounced a rodent from one foot to the other. “Nah, it's not so hard once you've got the hang of it—”

The rodent hit the ground as a butterfly floated past Jon’s face, circled the dungeon cell, and landed on Kira's outstretched hand.

“Beautiful,” she said.

The delicate creature was gorgeous with its neon electric blue-and-yellow coloring lighting the darkness exactly the way Jon had imagined.

“Did I do that?” he wondered out loud.

Perplexed, he watched the butterfly take off toward the window grate in a bid for freedom. He glanced down at his sketchbook. It lay open on the dungeon floor, blank. “That’s the second time something I've drawn has come to life.”

Kira cleared straw from a section of dungeon floor, exciting a small series of explosions among the rodents. She pointed to the stone slab. “Do it again!”

Perhaps magic—or artistry—is in the eye of the beholder. Whenever I see it, however, I’m amazed.

Do it again.

~ S.G. Rogers

****

Price: $2.99

Buy it HERE.

For his sixteenth birthday, all Jon wanted were the keys to the family car. Instead, he got a lousy magic ring…

Artistic prodigy Jon Hansen yearns to fit in, but when he stumbles onto a supernatural kidnapping, his life changes forever. Unfortunately, his search for answers uncovers a magical secret—one that makes Jon a danger to everyone around him.

The Wolf Clan wizard Efysian has been draining the magic from Yden. On a quest for eternal power, he’s willing to kill to feed his addiction. To harness the ultimate source of energy, he travels to Earth. This time, however, he has a persistent witness to his crime.

Can Jon survive long enough to outwit the most evil wizard the magical world has ever known? Or will Efysian add the young wizard to his gruesome collection of trophies?

The Last Great Wizard of Yden is an iBookBuzz.com book of the month nominee! To vote, please go to http://www.ibookbuzz.com/Vote-for-Next-Book.html before March 14.