Stephanie's Studio

I know a lot of literary folk, novelists and readers visit this site, so today I want to share a book review. This review is of "Shadows of a Tuscan Moon" by Sandra Carrington-Smith and Giovanni Logli. I have been following Sandra's work since her first wonderful nonfiction book " Housekeeping for the Soul ." Book Review I just finished Shadows of a Tuscan Moon , sadly. I say sadly because the author Sandra Carrington-Smith, creates such a real world, filled with mysterious twists and turns, spoken through believable characters, and I did not want the novel to end. To be sure, this is not easy reading. Its story focuses around domestic violence of every kind and its brutal, sometimes fatal consequences. Carrington-Smith is a masterful storyteller. She is gifted with the ability to imbue her novels with supernatural and magical elements grounded in everyday realities. This story is in turns poignant, sad, horrific and romantic. It flows effortless...

I met Chrys Fey a few years back, online, through the A to Z Challenge. We found out through our posts and frequent comments on each other's blogs, we have I lot in common. We are both vegetarians for example, are published authors of multiple books, and share a strong interest in alternative spirituality. Since that time of finding such important common ground, we've stayed in touch and support one another's work.  I am a strong believer in developing and maintaining community: blogging community, spiritual community, local community, writing and art community, and yes, online community. In that spirit, I want to share with my readers some tantalizing tidbits about "Seismic Crimes," her first novel. Fey has written many eBook Novellas, some of which I've read and enjoyed. She has a way of drawing the reader in, and then through her copious research and flair for dramatic twists and turns, she holds your attention with intriguing, and well-paced storyt...

When I first became a blogger it was difficult to know if I had readers and visitors coming to my blog. I’d post and be met by the sounds of crickets. Then, I branched out into the world of the blogosphere, a world I  didn't  know really existed. From my ventures, I met a lot of interesting bloggers.  I've  started following and commenting on numerous blogs, for you see, prior to my outings, I too was out among the crickets. Lurking about but seldom saying anything. A fellow blogger  I've  met through my journeys around the blogosphere is Melissa Maygrove . She had the brilliant idea to have a Follow Fest , where we share about who we are, what we do and most importantly, how you can connect with us further. It is my intention through joining Follow Fest, that I’ll connect with many more readers and people interested enough in what I do to want to learn more by following. So, here goes my entry for the fest. Name:   St...