tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2720769313339190732024-03-14T01:07:32.252+09:00Tostada Speaks -- A blog about writing, the writer's life, and other writing-related subjectsWelcome to Tostada Speaks Blog.
I'm an avid reader and author, with a wide range of interests. Guest bloggers, most from fellow Taylor Street Publishing authors, will be here from time to time as well.
Stop by, look around, read what we have, and by all means, leave your comments for us.
My author's website is www.geogepolleyauthor.com, which also has its own blog. George Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.comBlogger174125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-42940366170064491332012-09-15T18:34:00.000+09:002012-09-15T18:34:12.005+09:00Guest Post by Author Lily Byrne
Lily Byrne is the author of a number of fine novels written under her pen name Lily Byrne, and her real name Catherine Chisnall. This post is about her latest, and why she wrote it. It's a sequel to "Ragnar the Murderer", which is set in 10th century Britain. I like her writing. I think you'll enjoy her post.
“Why I wrote an M/M romance”
I am just an ordinary married mum George Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-41416810178327232572012-09-12T07:44:00.000+09:002012-09-12T07:44:11.145+09:00From time to time Tostada Speaks changes directions, and this is one of them. From this day forward, this is a blog for writers to post about what they do, why, how, and other subjects about writing, the writing life, their books and their works in progress.
This is a painting my mother did back in the mid 1920s when she was in her twenties. She was an artist, I'm a writer. Sometimes this George Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-59646392681531872762012-06-10T19:24:00.000+09:002012-06-10T19:25:55.255+09:00Moving on with my writing goals
Looking into the Distance
Shiretoko National Park, Hokkaido, Japan
I've had a good time doing book reviews on Tostada Speaks over the past couple of years, and dong commentary before that. But my primary purpose as a writer is to write books. So, as of this date, Tostada Speaks is closed. I simply must focus my energy on the books I am writing and plan to write.
Right now I'm working onGeorge Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-49493262778806350022012-05-20T09:05:00.000+09:002012-05-20T09:06:59.299+09:00An unforgettable page-turner of a crime novel
When I read Rags Daniels Lallapaloosa I knew that this man is a major new crime and thriller writer. Having just finished his newest novel, Foxy Lady, I know he is.
Corrupt politicians, meddling bureaucrats, financial shenanigans, murder, rape and plenty of intrigue; add a beautiful young woman named Lady Carolyne Dryden who runs the family’s London policy auction house, and D.I. George Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-33593742274123563532012-05-13T08:32:00.000+09:002012-05-13T08:37:10.453+09:00A magical tale of intrigue, danger, magic and young love
The House of Sapphire Magic: Breaking Glass, the second novel in John Booth’s Magic Series, focuses on an evil project of Max Drexel, a powerful business tycoon. On the surface, the project looks respectable; after all, it is presented to the public as an orphanage for children who have no relatives who could care for them. Under the surface, the project is much more sinister: the George Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-40634757397409383682012-04-29T08:29:00.000+09:002012-04-29T08:50:43.786+09:00Two from the capable pen of Kate Rigby
What happens when a beloved eldest daughter drowns in a boating accident and her sister feels at fault and left out by both parents because they are so torn apart by grief? In this case, she runs away and lives with people who live in the fringes of society, about as far away from her parents world of wealth and privilege as one can imagine. Far Cry From The Turquoise Room is a story that George Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-65691211903409840842012-04-22T08:33:00.000+09:002012-04-22T08:38:51.653+09:00A valuable companion to take along on the adventure of life
Reading Quantum Meditations is an adventure and, like everyone knows, adventures take patience and time to bring their rewards each step of the way.
The best way to read this book is to sit down with it and take your time to savor each poem as you would a fine meal that is served in multiple courses, each one delivered when the one you’ve been enjoying has been savored and it is George Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-542683287274198762012-04-09T07:20:00.000+09:002012-04-09T07:20:08.796+09:00An engaging and unforgettable novel of love in a time of violence
“Duende” is a Spanish word that refers to the deeper, more earthy notes and sounds of life where all is not light. Set in Spain (mainly in Barcelona and Madrid) in the years between World War One and the Spanish Civil War of 1936, duende is a prominent presence in the novel as Spain devolves into increasing social discord and violence. Yet the novel isn’t only about that; it is also about oneGeorge Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-45731226143183604362012-04-08T08:33:00.000+09:002012-04-08T08:39:18.533+09:00A spellbinding memoir of escape from tyranny and death.
I am willing to bet that most people know very little about the Ukraine and its history beyond the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster and perhaps the Ukraine's independence when the Soviet Union unraveled. Fewer still may know about Stalin’s brutal campaign to starve the Ukrainian people into submission in the years before World War II. That is the world into which Andy Szpuk’s father, George Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-55443043529097965542012-03-29T09:01:00.000+09:002012-03-29T09:01:27.979+09:00Humanity in the dark and in the light
When I read a publisher’s description about their books, I take it with a grain of salt. After all, the publisher is doing what they should be doing, which is promoting their book, so when I read Night Publishing’s promotional blurb, I shrugged it off. And then I read the book. Here is what Night Publishing has to say about it:
“Once in every while a unique vision emerges without George Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-52298166143048086672012-03-16T08:05:00.000+09:002012-03-16T08:05:40.824+09:00A wonderful collection of stories by a masterful storyteller
I enjoy reading short stories, and Heikki Hietala’s “Filtered Light” is one of the best collections I have read in a long time. One of the things I find so magical about this author is his ability to tell a story, tell it well, and tell it in a way that the story and its characters linger. A wise old Sami shaman, an elderly priest in an English village during the 2nd world war, a George Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-47482799574562170502012-03-10T08:08:00.001+09:002012-03-10T08:08:18.153+09:00A hauntingly unforgettable story of tragedy and love
J. Eric Laing’s debut novel, Cicada is a remarkable story of love, hardship, guilt and racial tension in America’s deep south. It is a page-turner from the opening scene all the way to the end. In the opening scene, farmer John Sayre sits in his truck with the barrel of a gun in his mouth. Should he kill himself or shouldn’t he? The scene is so cinematic that I could taste the oil and George Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-5328568612711680742012-03-07T07:18:00.001+09:002012-03-07T07:18:36.481+09:00A magical thriller
One reviewer writes that The Prodigal’s Foole is “X-men plus Harry Potter for adults”, which I think is pretty accurate. Instead of Potter, we have Symon Bryson, Father Bill, the twins Eden and Eve, Symon’s friend Aaron, a native American shaman named Janice, Father Peter, and Monsignor Charles DuBarry as the good guys, Symon’s old nemesis Cardinal Maguire as questionable, and a host of George Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-12542801529737414282012-02-26T09:42:00.000+09:002012-02-26T09:42:46.772+09:00An intriguing and spellbinding war story
In 1975, the Soviet Union and Communist China lay aside their differences and form an alliance. Their goal: to take over all of Europe and England. By early summer, 1980, “the combined Communist forces are poised for the initial assault.” From there, the action begins, and it is full-scale war, with all the explosiveness, viciousness and suspense that one expects, especially after an active George Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-48365281973260717632012-02-26T08:47:00.000+09:002012-02-26T08:47:24.429+09:00"Milkshake" -- a surprising, spellbinding international thriller
On the face of it, “Milkshake” looks like a bucolic novel set in a pleasant rural countryside with dairy farms and tidy villages. But that it definitely isn’t.
The year is 2002, the story opens with David and Katherine Turner waiting to board their flight from England to New Zealand, where they have decided to emigrate to get away from the traumas related to the events George Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-28035969141875367982012-02-19T08:36:00.000+09:002012-02-19T08:37:55.937+09:00One of the funniest books I've read in a long time
Suzanne Adams’ “Line ‘Em Up!” is a wonderfully comedic novel about a group of Country-Western line dancing-crazed people in England. The characters -- Bill and Gina, Betty and Jack and their daughter Claudine, and all the others -- are right out of a good British sitcom, and Suzanne Adams exploits their foibles and trip-ups like a pro. I’ve seldom laughed so much or so heartily at the George Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-59227820741603706492012-02-13T15:56:00.003+09:002012-02-13T15:56:42.380+09:00Write on Wednesdays
Teaser #1 for this week, "Line 'Em Up", by Suzanne Adams.
Every night upon retiring, Bill would lock the key ring with its many charges in his bedside drawer. This, in turn, he locked and double-checked to be quite sure it was secure before he placed the drawer key under his pillow. A spare key for that was always locked in his bureau drawer and a spare for that key was lodged with his George Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-30379452225396121892012-02-12T10:02:00.000+09:002012-02-12T10:02:52.127+09:00A ghostly tale of mystery, intrigue, murder and eccentric royals.
If you enjoy ghost stories, you will enjoy this one by Tim Roux, a masterfully told tale about a reluctant psychic named Paul Lambert, a ghost named Alice, assorted other ghosts, and a chateau inhabited by an eccentric British Earl (the Earl of Affligem), his family, a mob of hangers-on and the chateaux’s original royal family, who do not enjoy the crowd and all their noise at all. AndGeorge Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-51054280530648589132012-02-11T08:47:00.003+09:002012-02-12T09:33:21.643+09:00A gem of a movie, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
When I first read Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo a couple of years or so ago, one of the first thoughts I had was what a great movie it would make. All the right ingredients were there: Fast-paced thriller, family drama, a deeply scarred young woman (Lisbeth Salander), a brilliant and flawed investigative reporter (Mikael Blomkvist). But what really intrigued me was George Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-61573690183198527182012-02-05T08:28:00.005+09:002012-02-05T08:29:53.785+09:00Israel, 'an outpost of civilization against barbarism'
"The description of Israel as 'the only democracy in the Middle East' has been received wisdom in the Wes for decades. The idea of Israel as 'one of us', a home for Western values in a region of religious extremism and political instability, is voiced and understood by politicians, journalists, analysts,and the general public... [T]he conception of Israel's status as regionally anomalous George Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-3255244887361395242012-01-28T16:40:00.001+09:002012-01-28T16:40:44.984+09:00Irish tales by a master storyteller from Northern Ireland
If you’ve never been to Ireland or Northern Ireland, once you read these 12 tales by Northern Irish writer Gerry McCullough, you will want to go. In fact, you will likely want to go to Donegal, find a pub and wait for a seanachie (Irish storyteller) to begin spinning his tales.
“Whenever I can,” the narrator begins, “I like to spend a week, or even a long weekend, i Ardnakil, the George Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-71101839477727175242012-01-26T18:47:00.000+09:002012-01-26T19:05:21.092+09:00A powerful new book about the tsunami disaster in Japan in March, 2011
Keiko Takahashi: Beyond the Vast Wasteland: 24 Poems and Photographs of life after the Great Earthquake of East Japan. Tokyo, Sampoh Publishing Co;, Ltd, 2011. English translation by William L. Brooks, adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University. Photographs by Kei Ogata and Hidesato Iwamura.
My wife and I became aware that something big was happening on March 11, 2011 when tremors George Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-44821589341070179272012-01-22T12:51:00.000+09:002012-01-22T12:54:45.368+09:00One of the most tragic fairy tales in modern fiction
Kathleen McKenna is a writer who grabs me with the first paragraph and won’t let me go until I’ve finished her tale. And this tale was, for me, very difficult to read.
A sad, tragic story of a young woman who is born into unbelievable riches, was “the apple of her father’s eye” in the same way his football team was: As long as she is presentable and didn’t embarrass the family name, she George Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-85986221271702707052012-01-17T06:22:00.001+09:002012-01-17T06:24:11.290+09:00Two must have books on sexual abuse and recovery
Two remarkable books by a very remarkable woman named Stacey Danson. I recommend these without qualification to anyone who has been sexually abused, know anyone who has, works with sexually abused children, street kids or people who used to live on the streets as kids.
Stacey Danson is, to put it quite simply, a very remarkable woman. A victim of horrible sexual abuse at the handsGeorge Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-272076931333919073.post-46432867630736634972012-01-17T05:19:00.000+09:002012-01-17T05:19:09.995+09:00A heartfelt, compassionate memoir by a champion overcomer
From age five until age eleven, when she beat up her mother and ran away and lived on the streets of Sydney, Australia for five years, Stacy Danson endured the most grotesque kind of child abuse at the hands of her mother there is. That story was told in her remarkable book Empty Chairs. Faint Echoes of Laughter tells the rest of the story. Heartfelt, tough and compassionate like she is, itGeorge Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12698749017590766281noreply@blogger.com0