Books To Read

My Love Affair with Manhattan

By Joanie Strulowitz

How did you start writing?

I joke that my first serious venture into writing was at age four, when I wrote a love letter to a little boy named Timmy. Writing and the arts have always been such an intrinsic part of who I am and how I think that, as I say on my website, “If I were ever stranded alone on a desert island, I would write on cave walls with a rock, sing to the moon, and dance by the thunder of the waves.” What makes this book different than your others? Rather than being full-length chapters, these vignettes are like snapshots—and together they tell the story. Like potato chips, we can have one at a time during moments on the subway—waiting in line—or maybe, like one darling reader who said she saved my book for bedtime, so she could curl up with a few vignettes before turning out the lights. What is the most interesting thing to happen during your writing career? I love this question, as it feels like looking through a kaleidoscope at the past, present, and future. To me, writing is the journey, the process, and the truly incredible people (like you, Jade and Wilnona) who inspire me, cheer me on, and journey with me through life and the pages. It’s about facing fears, digging deeper, and endlessly shaping until, finally, the books and “people” are ready to live and breathe on their own. How did you choose the title? It evolved from the first line of the book: “I’m having a love affair with Manhattan. And it started before I was born.” Also, while this is a memoir of sorts, the City is the protagonist—so saying “vignettes” felt like it honored her. Can you tell us a little about the book?

As I say in the book, “If you want someone who’ll toss chronological data to the winds, and show you how the footprint of the City

My Love Affair with manhattan (cont.) is just an illusion, while the reality is streets that unfurl like magic carpets ? Then throw on your coziest jeans, grab some floor pillows, and together we can pretend that I’ve invited you here for stories, over candlelight and chopsticks. And I’ll interrupt myself with “Ohhh” and “Ahhh” to share the Manhattan I know, and to show you how, for me, she has always been all things romantic and mystical.” The world is in an interesting place right now; how do you feel your book fits into society right now? I’ve always looked at life through both a largely emotive viewpoint, and through the arts. And always strive to help take the hard edge off of life, with my writing. When I had to postpone visiting New York because of travel restrictions due to the pandemic, I wanted to wrap my arms around her, and around New Yorkers everywhere. So I did the next best thing—I wrapped my words around all instead, by publishing this book. Since then, so many people (even many who have been there only briefly) have told me that they, too, have always had a love affair with Manhattan. And thanked me for taking them along with me! What was the hardest part of writing for this project? I’ll never be tech-oriented, so the fear of indie publishing was hugely daunting. One day, after finally deciding, “I’m doing it—now!” an unexpected email popped in from a consultant who had helped me with projects years earlier, when I lived in NYC. “Awesome Ally” Machate/The Writer’s Ally—has been a true feather on my path, and I have only wonderful things to say about her. Where can people buy your book?

My Love Affair with Manhattan (Vignettes of a Life in the City) is available as an eBook on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/ B08VCRL67N What will you be up to next? I’m in the process of completing a YA fantasy novel that will be coming out in December, 2022. I’d never written in that genre before— so when the seventeen-year-old male protagonist suddenly took over my pen one day and started speaking—I was completely and totally amazed! Later I realized that he and his world had been living inside me for seven or eight years. Now they’re so real to me that I started to buy a small antique food scale—then burst out laughing—because it was for my protagonist to give to his girlfriend!

Dead Mall

By S. G. Tasz

1) How did you start writing? Like many writers, I began writing as a child but didn’t really make it a focus until high school when I was encouraged to write a oneact play for a community theater in my home town.

After that was received well I continued to write for the stage all through college, even gaining a BA in English and Theater Arts to focus on that work. Over time my writing has changed to include other forms such as screenplays, short fiction, and novels. 2) What Makes this book different from your others?

Since A Midwinter Nightmare is the fifth book in the Dead Mall series, the most obvious answer is that it is telling more of the story that has not yet been told. On a more personal note, this is the first time I’ve written anything that could be considered in any way a romance, Of course there are still monster battles and such in this book, but it does spend a lot more time on the inner lives of the main characters and what is happening in their hearts than previous installments. 3) What is the most interesting thing to happen during your writing career? Hmm...it wasn’t really one watershed event, but I think the most unexpected thing that’s happened is how outgoing I’ve become. Nothing used to scare me more than making small talk with strangers--when I attended my first writer’s conference I nearly had a panic attack, to say nothing of what I went through before my first pitch session with an agent. But over time it got easier and much less scary, to the point where I’ve been able to walk up to known authors of whom I’m a fan and start conversations with them. It’s a secret benefit I never expected, but one that serves me in all areas of my life, not just writing. 4) How did you choose the title? It was pretty easy actually. I knew I was going to do a haunted romance and that it would involve something of a spoof on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The title just flowed from there.

Dead Mall (ConT.)

5) Can you tell us a little about the book? As I said, A Midwinter Nightmare is the fifth book in the ongoing Dead Mall series, which follows high schooler Cari on her adventures with the night staff of the local mall as they fight monsters trying to escape from hell. In this installment, she is back at school after the death of her mother.

The winter dance is coming up and, though she and her best friend/fellow monster hunter Rex recently kissed, he’s agreed to go with someone else. Unfortunately that’s not the end of her troubles when the dance is invaded by an evil force that needs to be eliminated before it turns a dream event into a nightmare. 6) The world is in an interesting place right now, how do you feel your book fits into society right now? This is a tricky question to answer. I used to try to write books with big social commentary, and though Dead Mall does have some of that, I’ve realized over the years that writing a highly socially relevant book takes a combination of lucky timing and being something of a psychic, neither of which are my strong points. I just hope that the books I write have a character or two that the reader can relate to and that they enjoy spending time with for the length of a book (or series). 7) What was the hardest part of writing for this project? Unlike the other four books in the series, which take place over about a week, this book jumps forward in time by a month, so it was very hard to determine how much the reader needed to know about what the characters were up to during the interim. I ended up writing a lot of exposition and cutting most of it, which is pretty much the only way I know how to do this kind of thing--add way too much and then pull back. It’s not the most efficient thing, but it works for me. 8) Where can people buy your book? You can buy both the ebook and paperback on Amazon, and the ebook is available in a number of other places as well (Nook, Apple Books, etc). The Shop on my website (www. sgtasz.com/shop) is the best place to get the most up-to-date links. 9) What will you be up to next? Right now my place is to write and release Dead Mall Six and Seven in 2022, which together will serve as a breakpoint/potential end to the series.I love working in the Dead Mall universe, but it’s time to move on to something else for a while. In addition to a couple of paranormal/urban fantasy novels I’ve had on the back burner, I’m also working on a sci-fi serial via Kindle Vella that I’ll likely release in a novelized format at some point as well (look for Spaceplane Jane on Vella now, which new episodes coming in late 2021). I have also just started offering editing and development series via my imprint The Uglycat Press, so there’s a lot to keep me busy in the months and years ahead!

Exclusive New Book: Our Little Black Book

By WRen Ivy

Our Little Black Book” explores and devles into the colors growth and life really paint. Mercy greys with baby blues. Poems that reveal what hides behind the eyes, and pour out what hides in the heart.

I wanted to make something women could truly relate to, something that shows we are heard…despite our differences…sadly many of us share similar event and life experiences.

This book recounts my experience with growth, maturing, and navigating the world as a Woman.

May you always know that “Our Little black book will no longer remain a secret.