Hello everyone. If you haven't guessed by now I have a passion for words and have eleven books published...all thanks to 'lulu', much hard work and sleepless nights. My eldest daughter has flown the nest and is married to a man who doesn't mind his mother-in-law though my son is still fluffing his feathers. My middle child is off on a mysterious adventure, the like of which I can only guess...and tried to do so in my first book, Gone. I love to read and am looking for ways to double time so to indulge in the mysterious and wonderful and delicious and strange...my favourite kind of story. Writing is my passion, though I enjoy creating handcrafted cards, jewellery making, scrapbooking and dabbling in encaustic art whenever I can. Oh yes, I used to teach or mark exam papers but now concentrate on writing and enjoying my new life, which materialised, as if by a miracle. Though still dislike all those necessary domestic chores that would, for me, be included in the Rings of Hell! That's it. Thank you to anyone who reads my books...enjoy the flight!
Links:
Interview with Julie:
1. What subject did you teach before you became a writer?
I taught English, Information Technology mainly.
2. What is your least favorite domestic chore?
Anything domestic!
3. In A Murderer's Heart, you have this almost uncanny ability to see into the human psyche, did you spend hours doing research? interviewing people?
I've always been fascinated by how the mind works and over the years I've learned /experienced many things. I don't spend hours researching, as most of it is in my brain /instinctive, but if I need to research a particular area, the Internet makes it easier.
4. Your fantasy books are so different from your suspense books, do you do different things when you are writing different genres? listen to different music, write in a different room?
My favourite genre for writing is fantasy, because I can use my imagination and don't have to stick to any rules. I love making up anything about everything, it's fun and there are no limits. I do like the challenge of trying other genres /mixing them too. I write in silence, whatever the story, but the ideas flow from wherever I am, especially in dreams.
5. What is encaustic art?
Encaustic Art is using an iron with wax to create pictures. It's great fun and no picture is ever the same. There are many techniques that can be used with different parts of the iron and it's a fabulous medium for 3D and fantasy art. I used one of my pictures for my recent book (psychological thriller /fantasy) Lost Shadows.
6. What author or authors have influenced your writing the most.
My favourite authors are Dean Koontz and Stephen King because I like the mystery that surrounds them. Whether or not they influence me I'm not sure, as everything influences /inspires me.
Books:
Andi has always been anxious about her weight and like many women, thinks that unless she is thin, she has no value. Follow her 'misadventures' and see if this is true or will she find there are more important things that makes a person who and what they are?Twelve-year-old Jack knows they shouldn’t go but is unable to persuade his parents not to take the planned trip to the Lake District. Something was going to happen but what? The weird feelings he had were always so fuzzy and they didn’t always make sense. Maybe it was just because he’d have to spend time with his pampered cousin, Rosie? Anyway, it was nearly Christmas and what could go wrong with just staying in some cabin in the woods? He was being stupid…all he had to do was ignore the way his belly churned and his head pounded. He might be wrong after all
Nobody expects to lose a child but when it happens what can we do? In the sea of grief that seizes the soul how can we swim against the tide? But when that loss is compounded in each minute of every day, what do we do then? Slings and Arrows is a story about the consequences of a moment, a moment, which separates a mother and daughter in ways impossible to imagine. It charts their parallel lives, each suffering, one knowing, one not. It is brutally honest; an account filled with bewilderment, guilt, anger and pain yet it also holds the key to hope. That whatever happens, the bonds of love can never be broken
Anne Blake, psychiatrist, is good at her job and believes that even the most sick at heart can be cured...or at least saved enough that they can lead a better life. But maybe she's wrong? Maybe within a murderer's heart, evil lurks and nothing can be done except to save yourself?
A two year old girl's heart stops and she dies but is brought back too late, her memories wiped, character vanished. One question haunts her mother's anguished mind: Where had her daughter gone? This story is one answer to that question. Inspired by truth.
Not only had Adam lost his parents in a car crash, but he’d also forgotten who he was. Pamela is haunted by the patient who was murdered by her father. Barbara and Mike have mysterious secrets. Harry seeks solace at the bottom of a glass. And why is Mildred so afraid? While Helen’s mind gathers dust, Lizzie mourns the loss of her, and her husband. Both Penny and Jane are frantic to find their daughters, if in different ways. Rick wonders what to do about his family. And who is William? Most are strangers, all are haunted by darkness – does this unite them, or is it something they must do that will free them? Will they find what is lost?
Jorja always knew she was different. But it wasn’t until she discovered her telekinetic ability that she realised just how different she was. Living with her frail mother and an obsessive, cruel and hated aunt, Jorja grapples with the truth of her being. As her story is revealed, other powers are uncovered – not least that she can see other people’s souls in the colours that surround them – and we are led into a surprising and shocking world of fantasy, forcing doubt as to the sanity of the heroine. We follow Jorja’s life, delving into her loves, hates and fears though cannot help but delight in the woman she becomes, despite the question which hangs mysteriously in the air. It will be up to the reader to decide if Mageia and its diverse inhabitants are indeed real or only the illusionary world created by a disturbed mind, due, not only to grief but also to her persecution by her aunt and the defective qualities of a barbarous doctor. Although the story is resolved, questions will remain.
I couldn’t resist putting together all those little ideas that have popped into my mind then out onto paper as the years have flown. Most have fallen by the wayside into the bin of ‘of my’ but some stayed and here they are. These pieces have also tested my abilities and certainly stretched my brain towards a variety of genres, styles and ways of looking at the world and the people in it. From comedy to a touch of horror, romance, fantasy and fun to solemn, and maybe some things in between – I’ve had a go. Hope you like this collection – how could I help but indulge; like that first piece of dark chocolate and sip of rich, steaming coffee, while snuggling with my soul mate on a freezing winter’s night? Enjoy
What would you do if you were called to another world…a world filled with seemingly impossible things? Faced with this choice, Davie, Ben, Anne, Chrissie and Billy embark upon a mysterious quest, finding themselves transported to the spectacular and extraordinary world of Avalon, whereupon they are catapulted into one of the uncountable heptagonal pieces that make up the magical sphere of the Orb of Caprice…namely, The Star Realm. Follow the exploits of the five and champion their long, arduous yet amazing journey. But a question remains…will Time be on their side? This story is for anyone with a head overflowing with dreams, a heart filled with a yearning for adventure and a soul buoyant in magic
The children are once again called by the Time Keeper of Avalon and find themselves within the Orb of Caprice, this time joined by Daisy, Billy’s unsuspecting grandmother, where, together, they must find the Key of Light, if all their worlds are to be saved before DarkStar gains control. The corrupted land of the Dark Reaches is full of mysterious and forbidding creatures, testing friendships and resolve as they battle through this fragmented world in an effort to complete their quest. Faced with these dangers, they have the added worry about what may have happened to Kimeranet, who has disappeared without a trace. As the puzzle unravels, not least about Kimeranet’s past, a further mystery develops, as the travellers discover part of the Legend of the Kraal, and meet Kaarvok ... but should they trust him? And can they remain united as they struggle through this newly found world? Follow this next adventure and see if they can again successfully fight to save their friend and home.
Secrets Of The Ice is the last of the epic journey for Davie, Ben, Chrissie, Billy, Anne and Daisy. It sees them battle against unrelenting odds within the Dominion of Ice, where they must find the thirteen pieces of the Mystical Pyramid before Lokian can use it to unleash DarkStar and so to bring Elsewhere under its thrall. There is something they do not realise, however, something that goes back further than the creation of Avalon, but will the secrets be unravelled in time and be enough to show them what they must do and what sacrifices must be made? Delve into the mystery and find out if they can do it. The Avalon Trilogy
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