MY BOYFRIEND IS WHAT?!!

B. J. Myrick reads a favorite scene from “Cry Wolf,” a short story by Hazel Hart. This story is part of a collection of short horror fiction, Edge of Nowhere, by Myrick and Hart and is available as a Kindle e-book and as a paperback at lulu.com. Download a free ebook of Edge of Nowhere at amazon during March 18^th, 19^th, and 20^th, 2012.

Darkside of the Rainbow will also be available to download free March 20^th.

 

Thanks to vintagefeedsacks for the use of their images.

PATCHWORK FAMILY SEEKS HOME

B.D. Tharp reads from Patchwork Family, the sequel to her award-winning novel, Feisty Family Values. Watch the video below and learn why this intimate scene was difficult to write and  what happened to cause this novel about life, love, and family bonds to be searching for a publishing home.

ABOUT THE STORY

 PATCHWORK FAMILY  By B. D. Tharp

It’s been a year since Annabelle’s daughter died and she gained custody of her three grandchildren. The stress of the demands and changes to her life begin to affect her health. To make matters worse, Annabelle receives a call from the children’s dad, who disappeared a decade ago. As a result of the stressful conversation, Annabelle has a heart attack, which leaves her cousin Regina as areluctant caregiver to both Annabelle and the children.

The children’s father, who has been in jail, wants another chance with his children. Annabelle, Regina, and the kids struggle to let go of the past and take a chance on the future, no matter how uncertain it may be.

Regina considers the risks of a second marriage, while Annabelle, who has been dependent on her cousin for the roof over their heads, looks for a way to be financially independent at age sixty-seven.

Patchwork Family shows that the heart of a family is not always about genetics. It’s about family members and friends being there for each other, appreciating what you have, charting your own course and believing you are worthy of love.

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Check below for Bonnie’s secret about Patchwork Family.

Bonnie Tharp was without an agent when she sold Feisty Family Values to Five Star, a Division of Gale/Cengage. The novel was published as a part of Five Star’s Expressions line. Five Star has since discontinued the Expressions line and no longer published women’s fiction, so Patchwork Family, the sequel to award-winning Feisty Family Values, is now looking for both an agent and a new publisher.

Special thanks to vintage feedsacks for the use of her images.

FEISTY WOMAN RESCUES CAT

In this Keyhole Conversations video, Bonnie Tharp reads a favorite scene from her novel, “Feisty Family Values” that centers around a three-legged cat. Her book, available as a hardback or e-book, can be found at amazon.com.   View the video below to listen.

Read below for Bonnie’s research secrets on “Feisty Family Values” and some facts that may surprise you.

Fun Facts relating to Feisty Women & Families:

• Coffee is a great communication stimulator (not to mention a physical one.)
• There are 38 million women Baby Boomers in the US (count me in!)
• Seventy-five percent of US families are categorized as Non-Traditional (the key word here is “families”, regardless of the form they take, they are a unit of people loving and supporting one another, and that is GOOD.)
• Food & talk unites and strengthens families at meal time (Yes!).
• 2.4 Million Grandparents have responsibility for grandchildren (G-parents ROCK!)
• Pets improve family health. More than half the US households have a pet in the family. (Let’s hear a YAY for our critters!)
• Reading is a great stress reliever (Oh, yes.)
• More than 80% of women in the US experience a 5year+ survival rate from breast cancer. (Awesome News)
• There are 6 million cases of elder abuse each year. (This has to stop!)
• Thirty percent of abused and neglected children will later continue the cycle. (Break the cycle, NOW!)

If you’re wondering what all this has to do with FEISTY FAMILY VALUES then pick up a copy and enjoy the ride.

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Myth or fact: Do cats really have nine lives? Find the answer here.

Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re here.

Where do Readers Go to Get the Best Quality Fiction and Nonfiction from Writers Who Dare to be Independent? Visit Readers Matrix.

FIDDLING WITH BONES

In this Keyhole Conversations video, Conrad Jestmore reads a scene from his mystery novel, River of Murder, in which PI Jimmy ‘OReilly and university professor and bone specialist Laura Bascome find a missing finger bone in a most unusual place. Read below for more secrets on River of Murder and some facts about bones. His book can be found here.

SECRETS OF THE BONES

BONE-IFIED  FACTS

“Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones, dem bones gonna walk around.”

Traditional spiritual song , based on Ezekiel, who prophesied in the Valley of Dry Bones, that the bones would come alive.

Bones do come alive, because they

• survive the process of decay
• provide living evidence
• can verify age, sex, ancestry, stature, weight
• can show manner of death: homicide, suicide, accidental, natural, unknown
• can show cause: injury, disease, combination
• can verify time of death

There are 206 bones in the adult human body.

There are 27 bones in the human hand.

A phalanx is a military formation. It is also a finger bone.

A proximal phalanx has multiple usages. Not all of them human. Not all of them alive.

Find the bones. Find the killer.

SPIDERS AND THRUMMING AND STRANGE BODY CHANGES, OH MY!

Starting today, KEYHOLE CONVERSATIONS will feature a new six-week series on authors reading a favorite scene from their book.

Our first award-winning writer,  Hazel Hart, is an author of many talents who has  five published books to her credit. She has selected a scene from Dark Side of the Rainbow, a chilling collection of  short stories she co-authored with B. J. Myrick.

The story, Lady in the Dark, is about a woman  who searches for answers to the strange changes within her body after an attack by a gigantic five-foot spider and uncovers covert government research gone wrong.

View the video below and step into the world of dark fiction . . . if you dare!

SECRETS ABOUT SPIDERS YOU NEVER WANTED TO KNOW

    1.   Most spiders are very near sighted.

    2.  Spider babies come from eggs. The female lays up   to 300 eggs that are encased in a silk sac. Young spiders can regenerate a lost leg.  Adults can’t.

   3.   Spiders make a new web each day because the old one gets dirty. They roll the old web into a ball and eat it.

4.  A jumping spider can jump up to twenty-five times its own body length.

5.  Mating is dangerous for the male spider, who performs ritualistic dancing to hypnotize the female before fertilization to avoid being eaten by her.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SPIDERS BY VISITING THE WEBSITES OF WIKIPEDIA, TRIBE, AND LANDCARE RESEARCH .

CREDITS:  spider photo iStock #0000017