Mr. Chuckles stumbles upon Sue Lobo while stirring the Wizard's Cauldron

The Wizard speaks:

I have no idea how I met the brilliant Sue Lobo. 

I think it was through the Independent Paperback Scrapbook/Catalogue back in 2012. Whatever the reason, she's been a consistent fixture in my online life and it's been an honour and privilege. 

Each day, Sue puts up a highly popular, original poem on Facebook (details below) and she is developing a big following as poetry (the art, the discipline) continues to grow as a medium. 

She's the author of two superb books and both proudly reside on my bookshelf. 

Sue, as  Wizardwatchers know I have said before, is classically trained. Educated in colonial Africa, you would spend a long long time locating a grammatical error in her work and it never ceases to amaze me how good the English teaching was out there in comparison to large parts of the home country - her memoir, "Lollipops of Dust" is, perhaps, the most correctly written book I have ever read. 

Currently resident in Spain, I contacted Sue on the Wizphone as she sipped a glass of wine somewhere among the olive groves of the Iberian Peninsula. Here's what she had to say.

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Mr. Chuckles has his paws on The Evolution Trilogy by Vanessa Wester whilst stirring the Wizard's Cauldron

The Wizard speaks

WARNING - This is an EXCLUSIVE!!!!  "It has only had one edit and the book is nowhere near completion yet… "

Read the extract and more about Vanessa at:

http://greenwizard62.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/evolution-trilogy-author-vanessa-wester.html

 

 

Mr. Chuckles is Steampunking around The Wizard's Cauldron with author Rae Gee

The Wizard speaks:


Noted author, avant garde thinker, aircraft fancier and fan-favourite Steampunk writer, Rae Gee, a great friend of mine, and of Wizardwatchers since the very beginning, has just released her fourth book and the third book in her terrific "Rise" series

Read more at:

http://greenwizard62.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/steampunk-scribbler-rae-gee-spoons-and.html

Mr. Chuckles stopped by the Wizard's Cauldron, checking out The Bookshop on the Corner

The Wizard Speaks:
Sarah Smith had an addiction — she was addicted to romance novels. The meet-cute, the passion, the drama and the gorgeous men! Now this wouldn’t have been such an issue if she hadn’t been the owner of the only bookshop in Ashford, Connecticut.
Ever since her close friend Lil, from the Gingerbread Café, had become engaged she had been yearning for a little love to turn up in her life. Except Sarah knew a good man was hard to find — especially in a tiny town like Ashford. 

That was until New York journalist, Ridge Warner, stepped into her bookshop…


Love could be just around the corner for Sarah, but will she be able to truly believe that happy-ever-after can happen in real-life too?

Click on the link to read more:
http://greenwizard62.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/rebecca-raisin-launches-bookshop-on.html

Mr. Chuckles peeks in on UK proofreader Julia Gibbs around the Wizard's Cauldron

The Wizard speaks:

Once a corporate raider, Julia Gibbs, like a superhero ( a Catwoman, a Huntress, a Dazzler), has a secret identity - Julia Proofreader, a name you will all be familiar with on your Twitter and Facebook feeds. 

Last week, we looked at the work of a copy editor. This week, we can finally find out what a professional proofreader does. 

She's fun, entertaining, upbeat and has a beautifully clear style of writing.  After witnessing this clarity of prose, I am bitterly regretting not asking her how she would cope with the vernacular-strewn work of, say, Irvine Welsh or his compatriot, James Kelman, but I am sure Julia will be back again - around the Cauldron - to tell us. 

I picked up the Wizphone and contacted her as she ploughed her way through a 900 page manuscript entitled Crinkle, Crinkle, Little Bag:Potato Crisp Packaging Since The Age of Victoria. 

Click on the link to read more:
http://greenwizard62.blogspot.com/2014/03/top-uk-proofreader-julia-gibbs-around.html

Mr. Chuckles pops by the Wizard's Cauldron, checking out Indie Scribe Magazine and author TS. Gwilliam

The Wizard says:

Hiking to the South Pole in flip flops and a hula shirt is probably easier than trying to make it in Indie, but there are advantages and bonuses. One is when your posse - in this case, author -K-Trina Meador, a big mate of mine on The Wizard's Court - discovers something great, something exciting. Vis a vis Indie Scribe Magazine, created and edited by Manchester's Teresa (TS) Gwilliam. Featuring an Indie novelist and a poet each month, Indie Scribe Magazine had a circulation of two thousand last month, which is not bad in an age where munchie-afflicted gnats have deeper concentration spans than people. 

Also a writer and poet, I picked up the Wizphone and caught Teresa experimenting with her version of Lancashire's finest export, Hot Pot. Here's what she had to say about the world of writing and magazines....

 

Click on the link to read more

 

http://greenwizard62.blogspot.com/2014/03/indie-scribe-magazine-editor-ts.html

Mr. Chuckles stopped by The Wizard's Cauldron to check out rom-coms

The Great Wizard: Tell us about your work. In what genre do you write and why?
Katie Oliver:  Although publishers of necessity put genre labels on books – chick lit, romantic comedy, paranormal, etc. – I think of my writing as women’s fiction (although men like my books, too). But if I had to assign a genre, I’d say they’re rom-coms. I love the give-and-take between two characters who are attracted to each other even when (especially when!) they know they shouldn’t be - or when they initially can’t stand each other.  And I love witty banter.  I think my love of romantic comedy goes back to the screwball comedies of the thirties – Nick and Nora Charles, Topper, Fred and Ginger, etc. 

Read more:

http://greenwizard62.blogspot.com/2013/12/romcoms-newest-author-katie.html

Romcom's newest author Katie Oliver...around the Cauldron

The Wizard Says:

I'd like to welcome Katie Oliver around the Cauldron today. 

Living in Washington and something of an Anglophile, I met Katie through a spontaneous retweet on that frenetic pimpmobile, Twitter. She's excellent company and well worth following. 

@katieoliver01

Her first book is out next week and I have a feeling its going to be a success. 

From her sweeping, tree-house enshadowed abode somewhere near Colonial Downs, I interrupted Katie on a shopping trip for big hats and nattered with her over the Wizphone. 

Here's what she had to say.  Well worth reading.
Read more:
Romcom's newest author Katie Oliver...around the Cauldron

Mr. Chuckles stops by The Wizard's Cauldron to find out more about chocoholic Mysti Parker, author of Hearts in Exile

The Wizard Says:


So. Who is Mysti Parker?

Let’s see: wife, mom of three, writer, event specialist (fancy term for “demo lady”), reader, blogger, chocoholic and partaker in nice red wines. 

 

Read more - click on the link

 

http://greenwizard62.blogspot.com/2013/12/mysti-parker-fantasy-romanticistaround.html

Mr. Chuckles stops by the Wizard's Cauldron for some writing tips!

The Great Wizard Speaks:
Friday, 29 November 2013

Writing Dialogue, by Matt "School of the Ages" Posner

This week, guest fantasy author and teen mentor Matt Posner, a good friend of the Cauldron, takes over the blog to talk about dialogue. For those of you unfamiliar with Matt, here's Ngaire's original interview. Matt, take it away...

Ngaire's original Interview with Matt Posner...around the Cauldron

 

Click on the link to read the entire interview:

http://greenwizard62.blogspot.com/2013/11/writing-dialogue-by-matt-school-of-ages.html

 

Mr. Chuckles stops by the Wizard's Cauldron, checking up on Georgina Young-Ellis, the time-traveling Tsarina

The Wizard says:

This week, we are treated to the wit and humour of  Georgina Young-Ellis, a writer of...well, you'll see.  Her grand and elegant looking books have attracted rave reviews in the States, but she doesn't appear to be as well known over here, which is surprising considering the topics she writes on.  With Christmas on it's way, gift-buyers seeking an out-of-the ordinary present could do a lot worse than buy one of Georgina's sumptuously covered paperbacks. Characterised by crisp, no fuss diction and crystal clear prose, Georgina knows her way around a keyboard and her blogs too are an excellent read. Reaching for the Wizphone, I interrupted her while she was poring over the fragile scriptures, tomes and mildewed parchments which are the engine room of her historical labours. (By candlelight, I liked to imagine!) Here's what she had to say...

 

 

http://greenwizard62.blogspot.com/2013/10/this-week-we-are-treated-to-wit-and.html