Good Deeds Week 29th December – 4th January 2014

Welcome to New Year week of my Good Deeds weekly challenge. My own challenge to do one Good Deed a day based on the book by Judith O’Reilly called “A Year of Doing Good”

Find your own copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Whoop, Whoop! This week we step across to 2014, what a wonderful year this is going to be. My year long challenge doesn’t stop here because I began on 16th April, the day I began reading Judith’s book. Judith will be our guest today  (Sunday 5th January) in a second post, I’m so excited that she agreed to give up a piece of her valuable time to talk to us on the blog.

So what have I been up to this week?

December 29th – Cooked a lovely roast dinner for my parents as we didn’t see them on Christmas Day. The January issue of Fleet Life was delivered this morning, so I was able to write a second post today and let authors know about their books. This months books were “No Strings Attached” by Lily Bishop, “The Initiate” by Sue Vincent and Stuart France, “Ghost in the Machine” by Ed James, “Passion United” by Phillip Miles and “Summer’s Passing” by Randy Mixter. You can check out my post here http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-4mz or go to the online version at www.fleetlife.org.uk, click on the online directory and find Rosie’s Good Reads on page 48.

Good Deeds received; Mum really appreciated not cooking or doing the washing up and it was lovely to spend some relaxing time with them.

December 30th – We have a friend of my son over today, the boys have some school work to complete together and I’m providing lunch. Launched my Rosie’s Good Read Collections – Historical books today. Good Deeds received; Had some lovely comments and support for my post today, thanks folks it makes it all worthwhile. Here is a link to the post http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-39v

December 31st – At work today I spent extra time doing a job today which makes out lives easier and one that I could have left, but didn’t. Came home and visited lots of my wonderful friends on WordPress. It’s so busy that my like buttons haven’t been loading on people’s sites, so I shall endeavour to go back later to support you all. My yearly WordPress stats were a delight to read and I’ve sent off some personal thanks to followers and contributors to my site who have helped make my year such a success. Special mention to Stephanie Hurt , Harula at Words That Serve and Marin Thomas plus all my guest and fellow authors and writers who have given their precious time and words to my blog.

Good deeds received; The postman delivered a copy of “Please Call Me Derek” by Mac Black which I can’t wait to start reading, and author Julia Hughes offered me a copy of her recently published book “The Griffin’s Boy.” These should start my next year of reading off to a flying start. In 2013 I read 154 books in my Goodreads challenge.

January 1st – HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all, and it’s off to a flying start. 3 people contacted me today asking for book reviews. I have finished reading my first book of 2014 and have just sent the review off to the author before I post on Goodreads and Amazon. I have set my Goodreads book challenge at 120 books at the moment, if I’m near to smashing it before the end of the year then I’ll increase the target. Good Deeds received: Have had lots of lovely comments and support from fellow bloggers and readers of my New Year post. If you missed it here is the link. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-4mZ

January 2nd – Started off with a Good Deed Received; Author Julia Hughes who recently sent me her latest book to read, this morning sent me another book on behalf of  Sean and Daniel Campbell. The best bit was that she reminded me about a great website for authors and writers called Words Unlimited where they have book promotions and author posts, they get about 600 views per day so why not check them out, please mention my name if you do decide to make contact with them, thanks.

Good Deeds; Have finished my second book already this year and posted my review on Goodreads and Amazon. A Haunting tale from Randy Mixter called “A Girl of the Paper Sky”

January 3rd – Strong winds and driving rain have been bending our neighbour’s tree over the fence until it hits our roof, so today we helped out our neighbour who has been too ill to tackle the tree. With her permission we cut back the tree finding a split in its lower trunk which could have meant it toppled over in the next windy storm. It was sad to cut the tree, but it was becoming too big for it’s small patch and a danger to our house. Good Deeds received;  My brother-in-law took the tree away at no cost to anyone.

January 4th – I have finished my third book of the year and written a review for author Mac Black of his book “Please Call me Derek”. This will appear on the blog later in January and Mac has agreed to be a guest author as well. We’re working on the interview at the moment. That’s all for this week, don’t forget to check out Judith’s guest post.

January Fleet Life – Rosie’s Good Reads

The January Issue of Fleet Life just dropped through my door, so here it is with this months authors and their books.

The online version will be up shortly at www.fleetlife.org.uk. Then you can click on the online directory and find the reviews on Page 48.

This month featured books are;

“No Strings Attached” by Lily Bishop Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

“The Initiate” by Sue Vincent and Stuart France Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

“Ghost in the Machine” by Ed James Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com free on kindle at time of going to press.

“Passion United” by Phil Miles Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

“Summer’s Passing” by Randy Mixter Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

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Guest Author Randy Mixter

Today our guest is Randy Mixter, he has written several books and I came across Randy when I read and reviewed  “Summer’s Passing” click here for a reminder of the review. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-2SQ

Let’s find out more about Randy;

1) Where is your home town?

I grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. I now live outside of Annapolis, Maryland with my wife, Veronica, and our five cats.

2) How long have you been writing?

I began writing as a teenager, poetry and short stories mostly. I went on to write movie reviews and articles for a local newspaper. My first published novel was The Boys Of Northwood, an autobiography in short stories about life as a teenager in Baltimore. Since then I’ve written and published seven additional books, with more on the way.

3) You went to Vietnam as a member of the military police, tell us about your book “Letters from Long Binh”

While I was in Vietnam, I wrote letters to my girlfriend (now my wife) on an almost daily basis. When I returned home, I discovered she had kept every one of them. A couple of years ago I had the idea of incorporating some of those letters home into a book that reflected my daily experiences as a military policeman in a faraway and dangerous land. Letters From Long Binh was the result. I believe the novel accurately represents my year in Vietnam with selected incidents remembered, and forever preserved, in words.

4) You have at least 11 books available for purchase on Amazon in a variety of styles; short stories, memories, novels, which do you enjoy writing most?

I enjoy writing fiction novels and short stories. Each one is an adventure that I undertake with the characters of my stories. Quite honestly, most of my books begin with a simple plot idea and expand from there. I like to create unique characters and send them off to strange places where mystery and intrigue hide behind each shadow. In other words, I let my characters do my work for me. I’ll put them in certain situations and let them work their way out.

5) Tell us about the detective series featuring FBI agent Jack Stanton.

I introduced Jake Stanton to the world in my novel Swan Loch. In that book he was a secondary character, but I liked him so much I decided to give him more to do. I wrote Sorcerer based on his exploits with an eccentric magician and a device that allowed time travel. I also put him on the trail of a serial killer in the short story, Red Moon. Next up for Jake, A Gunman’s Destiny, about a master criminal and his personal vendetta against the FBI agent.

6) “Summer’s Passing” has a mix of two stories, one from the past which twists with the present, have you considered a sequel to tell us more of the character’s stories?

I recently published a sequel of sorts to the story in the novel involving Rachel Cain and the adventurer, Morgan Reid. The novel, Scarlet And Gold, concerns their adventures at land and sea during a time of the pirate wars long ago. The book is the first of a planned trilogy. The second chapter, Coronado’s Treasure, will be released in early 2014.

7) Several of your books relate to the 1960’s, tell us briefly what going up in that time period in America meant to you.

The years of my youth were spent in the community of Northwood which had everything a young man could want; a woods nearby, ball-fields, shopping centers, and alleys to play in. The 1960s were  magical  years of innocence and mystery, where adventure was as close as the summer morning outside the door of your home. I have always believed I could not have grown up in a better time and place.

8) Would you say that you have passed your memories down to the next generations in some of your work? Which of your books in particular relate to this?

I would like to think that the books I write now will be my legacy for many years to come, passed down by family member who many years from now might say, my great great grandfather was a writer and this is one of his books. I think The Boys Of Northwood  will be remembered because the book relates to a specific time and lifestyle that no longer exists. I’d like to think that Letters From Long Binh would also have meaning in the years ahead when, hopefully, war is but a distant memory.

9) Do you self publish your work? What are your experiences with getting your work to an audience? Is it changing rapidly?

Although I have had some of my earlier works published, I felt that self-publishing was the best way to present my books to my readers. I now have complete control over the book’s content, cover art, etc. I enjoy promoting and advertising my stories. I make certain that all my works the best they can be, and are properly proofread and edited before they are published. I owe my readers that much.

10) What are you working on at the moment? Do you have an expected publication date?

At the present time I am working on a novella entitled A Girl Of The Paper Sky. It is about a young girl and her ability to visit a dreamworld where there is much beauty, and possibly a dangerous malevolent evil. I hope to have the story published later this year. Then its on to the sequels of Scarlet And Gold and Sorcerer, with others to follow. No rest for the weary, but I love every second of it.

Summer’s Passing; Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com

Goodreads Author

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com

https://twitter.com/Northwooder1

Thank you Randy, it’s been a pleasure meeting you.

Summer’s Passing by Randy Mixter (Nov 7th)

Summer’s Passing by Randy Mixter

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A young man spends his summer in a beach hut so that he can write a book, but soon his life changes when he rescues a girl from a car crash. A second story is told about a girl from the past and both stories follow similarities and coincidences. A sinister evil trails both girls and the author weaves a great storyline between the two. I loved the idea of a youthful summer spent on the beach and a romance to follow. The mysterious second story had so many unanswered questions, it was a lovely temptation. I’m undecided if I wanted to know more or if the story ending was conclusive, it ended as summer ended, I think there is room for a sequel.
Find a copy here from Amazon.

View all my reviews on Goodreads.