My Venture Into My Characters

Hi, All:

Last night(which was the 25th of October, 2007), my local library held their authors day event.

Unfortunately, we were competing against the Boston Red Sox and the World Series. As a result there were less than twenty people at the event. When it was my turn to get up and speak about my books I thought I'd do something different than telling the audience all about me. I explained to them that rather than talking about my books I would like to introduce them to my characters.

At first, I don't think they understood what I was going to do until my characters starting telling them who they were and how they came to be. Since we were limited to the amount of time we had, I could only introduce the characters from the Legacy Series. It went over big. I received a huge applause and people came over to me after and thought it was a marvelous idea, and they were interested in learning more about the characters and the books. I only sold a few copies, but people did take my flyers and then rushed off to get home to see the ballgame. After all this is RedSox Nation. Can't compete against that.

Elena

The New Reader's Station Anthology- Journeys of a Lifetime

The new Readers' Station Anthology will be coming out soon, if not sooner both in print and as an ebook from Write Words, Inc., ebooksonthe.net and from Cambridge Books. The title of the book is: Journeys of a Lifetime, An Anthology by Members of the Readers' Station. The authors contibuting to this anthology are:

Elena Dorothy Bowman, Bryn Colvin, Nikki Leigh, Dorice Nelson, Nora Peterson, Ginger Simpson, Donna Sundblad, Angela Verdenius, and Anne Whitfield.

There is an interesting combination of fiction in many genres and unusual non fiction titles. There's a little bit of something for everyone. The following are reviews that were already posted on this anthology:

Reviews: Journeys of a Lifetime

I read with delight this collection of stories and poems that speaks to the heart of each author’s journey through life. Each person views life through the eyes of her own experience and from that perspective creates fiction that brings the human experience into focus, providing insight that can be gained no other way. Below I provide a quick peek into each piece.

One Summer’s Day, by Elena Dorothy Bowman

This is a delightful snapshot of life lived in a less complicated time (and I quote) “…when times were hard and … the poor didn’t know they were poor…”

Model Number 1007, by Elena Dorothy Bowman

All humans’ carry with them deep-seated fears that surface in dreams, especially as children. A computer intent upon doing away with humans has to be high on the list of scary things.

The Waiting Room Princess, by Bryn Colvin

This author has a unique way with words and touches a deep need in all of us—to be seen and understood for who we really are.

Bread Making, by Bryn Colvin

I found this piece fascinating. This author has collected bits and pieces of folklore about the making and eating of bread over the centuries, and the significance people have attached to it.

Networking - It Can Help Your Promotional Work, by Shri Henkel

This short piece is packed with ideas on promoting oneself as well as one’s work. Networking with other people is the key to working smarter instead of harder.

Acceptance, by Nikki Leigh

The age-old struggle between generations plays out on the pages of this story. All of us want acceptance and to know that those we love recognize and appreciate us for the individuals that we are.

Nearing Noon, by Nikki Leigh

This short story written around the unpredictability of weather on the ocean delivers a nice twist at the end. You’ll enjoy this one.

Behavior Most Unlawful, by Dorice Nelson

The first piece in this grouping provides the reader with an insightful glimpse of the character, Bruic, and his return to his homeland on the Island of Gael, from which he was kidnapped many years earlier. The next piece leads the reader into chapter one of Lost Son of Ireland, where Bruic is now a trusted companion to warrior king Olaf the White.

Shank’s Mare, by Dorice Nelson

This story takes place between the prologue and chapter one of Saratoga Summer 1863. The cast of characters includes the five O’Malley brothers who have returned from brawling in the village. The two elder brothers reap the worst of their father’s wrath for their shenanigans and suffer the worst punishment.

Flying Lessons, by Nora Peterson

This nonfiction piece presents sound advice about learning to invest in the stock market. Her admonition to learn the lingo and go through pre-flight training before heading for the skies is good information for planning one’s financial future.

Tooth-Fairy Wisdom, by Ginger Simpson

This whimsical tale depicts how a tooth fairy earns her wings. Delightful!

Two Screwdrivers, by Donna Sundblad

This artfully crafted tale is set in the past. A child makes a simple request for two screwdrivers, which becomes the bridge that connects a son and a father upon his return home from the war.

Zombie Hospital, by Angela Verdenius

Read this story, with a twist of irony at the end, and you will never again view hospitals quite the same as you used to. This tale gives the reader a view of a perfectly normal person in a perfectly normal setting, then it takes you deep into the scariest recesses of the mind.

Perceptions, by Angela Verdenius

A preconceived notion can manifest itself in many ways. We of form a quick opinion about a person, which can prove to be in error if we take the time to really understand that person. This delightful story gives much food for thought.

Fire, by Angela Vedenius

One only understands fire and what it can steal away after looking the monster in the eye. The message of this piece is “preparedness.”

India Dreaming, by Anne Whitfield

The purpose for which the Taj Mahal was built is reflected in this beautiful story of one man’s adoring of the woman he loves, and declaring that love in the shadow of that magnificent building.

Nadene Carter

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Journeys of a Lifetime
By: Members of the Readers Station
Cambridge Books
August, 2007

There is magic in books.

I firmly believe this. When I was a child, I could open the covers of a book and travel anywhere: Egypt, the Prairies, distant lands. I could go anywhere, travel anywhere, by the simple act of opening a book and reading the words presented to me.

Apparently, the lovely ladies at The Readers Station think so too. Elena Dorothy Bowman, Bryn Colvin, Nikki Leigh, Dorice Nelson, Nora Peterson, Ginger Simpson, Donna Sunbald, Angela Verdenius and Anne Whitfield have compiled an anthology of fiction, poetry and non-fiction pieces all with the theme of journeying or travelling. And what a trip it is!

Normally I'm not too fond of anthologies. The theme that links everything together is usually very lose and there are always a few good stories leaving the rest to wallow in their mediocrity.

That is not the case with Journeys of a Lifetime. Each wonderful piece is introduced with a Travel Log written by the pieces author who is your tour guide. You're given a destination, what you'll see along the way, what to pack and the local customs. This keeps the travel theme nicely centralized and helps introduce the story in a fun way.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading but I was enchanted by each and every piece. Though the stories and articles are all by different authors, everything flowed so beautifully that I was done the anthology in two days and left thirsting for more. Though I loved every piece and it would take me several pages to write about each one, here are two that stood out for me.

The Waiting Room Princess by Bryn Colvin. This story was so simplistic yet so incredibly beautiful. Waiting for a train late at night, Tom is approached by the train stations lone cleaning woman. Blind, Tom cannot see her but he can hear her voice; it's exotic and like a fresh breeze. Tom is bitter because of his blindness and Eve, the cleaning woman, is cursed by beauty.

Tom lost his sight in a chemical accident and Eve's beauty is responsible for the death of many people; when they look upon her beauty, they die. Can a bitter blind man and a woman whose beauty kills heal each other?

Acceptance by Nikki Leigh. I loved every word of this piece. Kennalyn Jones is waiting for something. Watching the mailbox with anticipation, today she receives what she has been waiting for: a letter from Harvard Law School. Ecstatic, she runs to tell her father Captain Bart who is not as happy as Kennalyn about the news.

Frightened of living alone, his wife having died and his other daughter gone, Bart is not happy at all about Kennalyn's acceptance. Will Kennalyn follow her dream and go to Harvard or will she let her love for her stubborn father keep her where she does not want to be?

What makes Journeys of a Lifetime different from other anthologies is that each authors love for their subject's shines through. Their words really have the power to help you travel to far off lands, to wonderful situations. It really is a book you will want to read and re-read again. Or even enjoy it one story, one journey, at a time.

Journeys of a Lifetime is an absolute gem and a feast of literature. There is something for everyone here, even the most picky of readers. I was spellbound as I travelled with the wonderful women of The Readers Station and I didn't want my trip to end.

I know that I will be forever spellbound by Journey's of a Lifetime and will keep taking each of the journeys in the book over and over again.

Jamieson Wolf


****

That's it for now.

Have a wonderful day.

Elena

Elena Dorothy Bowman
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Journey to the Rim of Space and Beyond
http://elenadb.home.comcast.net
http://www.myspace.com/elenabowmanauthor
http://elenadorothybowmansbooks.blogspot.com/
e-mail: elenadb@comcast.net

Resurrenting the Champ

HI, All:

I entered a contest on Gather re: Resurrecting the Champ. And I chose my father as my Champ:

My Father! I loved going to the movies and I loved to read as much as my Father did. Inspired by my Father, I have been writing off and on since way back when it only cost a dime to go to the Saturday Matinee, or any other time I could scrape up the price of a ticket. And in most cases when the ending was not to my liking, I felt compelled to go home and rewrite it.
When we were young, my four brothers and I would listen to my Father reading stories to us every night after we were ready for bed. These wonderful memories took place mostly during the winter months. The summer months were devoted to the one or more of the beaches that were an all day excursion with our parents on the week-ends. During the week my brothers and I would walk to the local beaches and get in trouble on our own.
When bed-time was drawing near, my Father would start a fire in the fireplace and when we were ready he'd have us sit on the floor all around him while he sat on a big stuffed chair. Once settled he would take a book off the library shelf (yes, we had a room that had book shelves inbedded in all the walls and they were always stacked with books). We never knew which book he would take down, so it was always a mystery until he started reading.
I remember him sitting on his stuffed chair, watching our faces as he began to read the first chapter in Jules Verne's novel, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. He would read to a point that left us hanging and wanting more. But he always stopped when the hour was up. By that time, the warmth from the crackling fire had done its magic; drowsiness had taken its toll and we were desperately trying to stay awake so he would read more. But the time was up and no amount of pleading would change his mind. Reluctantly, we'd leave the room with all the books in it and go to bed with visions of the story in our heads wondering what was going to happen next. The following night the ritual would continue as we waited for the next installment in our venture under the sea in Captain Nemo's fantastic submarine, The Nautilus.
And as the years passed swiftly by the many books off that library shelf took my brothers and I to many places we would never have visited without Dad's stories. I decided to try my own hand at writing and quickly discovered I enjoyed writing stories…putting words down on paper gave me a sense of accomplishment…but I never did anything with it. When I wrote my first novel it was just for the pleasure of it. It wasn't long after that writing became an obsession with me and I have been writing for publication ever since.

End of story

I can still see my father sitting in his chair waiting for us with a smile on his face to begin reading. We didn't have much growing up, but we had a Dad who loved to take us to exotic places through the pages of a book.

Elena

Adam's Point from Romantic Junkies

Hi, Everyone!

Received a great review from Romantic Junkies this week...4.5 blue ribbons. It won't be posted on their website until September, but here's an excerpt of it.

After reading GATEKEEPER’S REALM I was fascinated with the characters and the vivid imagery that enthralled me throughout the storyline. I’m thrilled to say that Elena Dorothy Bowman's continuation of the story in ADAM’S POINT contains all the same traits that have made the LEGACY series a thrilling read. I loved the men’s alpha attitude and determination to protect the women and had to laugh at the women’s ‘not without us’ attitude. While the sinister apparition kept me guessing at what stunt it would pull next I was really hopeful to ‘meet’ Jacob and learn just how he could help satisfy the wraith. I do have to confess while I was quite sure there would be a happy ending for the couples, I wasn’t anticipating the emotions which I experienced at the end of the story - sorry I can’t say more because it’d give too much away.

I would recommend reading all three of the books in the LEGACY series - HOUSE ON THE BLUFF, GATEKEEPER’S REALM and ADAM’S POINT in order to fully experience the wonders carefully hidden and guarded in this fascinating house/Inn.

Title: Legacy Series: Adam's Point
Category: Paranormal
Reviewer: Chrissy Dionne
Reviewer Email: RJchrissydionne@yahoo.com

New Contract-The Imposter

Hi, All!

I have a new contract, my ninth, with my publisher, Write Words, Inc., for my contemporary novella entitled The Imposter, which will be released soon. It is different than what I normally write, but thought you might be interested in an excerpt to the book:

Excerpt - The Imposter

It all began with a newspaper article in a major local paper. According to the article, a woman sold a book she had written as "property" to a movie producer, and as a result, a new nighttime television series was born. The series, fifteenth in the ratings, had been running successfully for several years. Naturally, this made Mrs., although she preferred to be called Ms., our local novelist, a heroine of sorts and, as she portrayed herself, a willing contact in the arts.
Two local women, having read this article and believing in its validity, were hoping for an avenue to open up for their talents through a mutual contact, since they were both involved with writing and producing a musical stage play. A phone call to this "successful Hollywood Writer" resulted in a meeting at which time she promised to be their "contact". With the addition of their artist friend, the imposter led them down a twisted path of well-placed lies and acts of deception This clever imposter had beguiled professionals and novices alike at their own disciplines.


ElenaBooks, Out of the Author's Mouth, PUmpUpYour Books Promotion, Novels, online book promotion, Reviews, romance, space, Virtual Book Tour, author publicity, Gatekeeper'sRealm, The Imposter,

Virtual Book Tour

Today was the first day of my virtual book tour. Don't know how it's going to turn out, but the people, who are conducting this tour, PumpUpYourBooks, are doing a great job getting interviews for the tour. What I am hoping for is that people who drop by will find my book interesting enough to want to read it, and the first and third books as well.

Have to get back to the blog I'm at today. Will post again later. Thank you!

Elena

Characters

Hi, I decided to try to introduce two of the characters in my books. Don't know how this will work out, but would appreciate your thoughts on this. Thank you:

My name is Alexandra McKay. I am a character in the science fiction novels, by Elena Dorothy Bowman entitled the Sarah's Landing Series. I first arrived on the scene in her first book, The Contact. I was minding my own business looking out at the ocean when Joshua Morgan, the astronaut scrapped from the ill-fated flight of Earth's first Star Ship to deep space, happened by. He was on a mission. A mission to Sarah's Landing, but he decided to stop for a moment and take in the depth and breadth of the Atlantic Ocean. He didn't see me at first, I guess because the ocean fascinated him so. But I couldn't take my eyes off him, and I believe my staring at him made the back of his neck tingle. Anyway I like to think so, because that's when he turned around and saw me standing there watching his every move. He spoke, sort of, not much of a conversation. Just the usual, nice day, isn't it? Wasn't the scenery beautiful, you know stuff like that. I was late and I had to leave, so I waved goodbye and told him I'd see him in Sarah's Landing. You should have seen the look on his face. He couldn't believe I knew where he was going, but you see, I did. We did meet later in Sarah's Landing, and I wasn't sure he remembered me, but he surprised me…he was hoping we'd meet again, yet, his words faltered, it was as if he couldn't speak…only for the moment. At the time neither of us knew where this would all lead. But our lives were destined to be entwined. How, well, we can go into that later. At the moment, I just wanted you to know that I exist, and that Joshua Morgan exists and that Sarah's Landing will always have a place in our hearts. And if you want to know where this all leads, you'll have to read the books. Bye for now,

Alexandra McKay

My name is Joshua Morgan, I'm one of the lead characters in Elena Dorothy Bowman's novels, The Sarah's Landing Series. I was a part of the Space Command and scheduled to be on Earth's first space exploration flight. But, as luck would have it, I was stricken with a viral infection hours before launch. Someone else went in my place, a young, nervous, accident prone, absent-minded junior member of the team we called Allen. Allen was the one who came up with the advanced propulsion system capable of traveling light years in seconds, how or why, no one ever knew. But if I had been on that ill-fated flight I never would have met Alexandra McKay, the love of my life. Well, not at first, but she did make me forget what I was in Sarah's Landing for. She knew I was in love with her before I did. She tried to warn me, not to do anything foolish, to leave the building, to find another place to live, but to my regret, I didn't listen. I mean she said she had psychic abilities. She could see things I couldn't see, and that I was in danger. I found that a bit difficult to swallow, so I just let her rant, and ignored her premonition. When she went off with her friends on a trip to New York was when the full brunt of her predictions came to fruition. How or why? You'll have to read the books.

Joshua Morgan