Guest Interview: Rita Lee Chapman

If you came for Fashionista Friday scroll on down, but why not enjoy this post first?

Hello, and welcome to my blog. My special guest today is a lady from down under, that is from Australia. Rita, thanks so much for stopping by.

1.Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your work?

I’m an Australian author and wrote my first book, a romantic travel mystery entitled Missing in Egypt, when I retired.  My second book, Winston – A Horse’s Tale is for horse lovers from teenagers upwards.  It is told my Winston himself and describes his life in Australia, as well as the stories of other horses he meets along life’s way.

I am now finalising my next book, Dangerous Associations, which is a crime mystery, so a different genre again.  When I’m not writing I enjoy playing tennis, swimming, walking and reading.  I have to walk quite a lot to make up for the amount of chocolate I eat!

2.Besides your own work, who are your favorite authors in the genre your genre?

I read a wide range of books, but I particularly love Bryce Courtenay, Colleen McCullough and Kate Morton, Australian authors, as well as Mary Higgins-Clark, Elizabeth Elgin, Jeffrey Archer to name a few - and I enjoy autobiographies too.

3.What advice if any can you give to aspiring authors?

Do it!  Now that you can self-publish your work won’t lie forgotten in a drawer.  Also, edit, edit, edit because it is so easy to miss something.

4.We'd love to read an excerpt from your work.

Thank you. This if from Missing in Egypt, which also comes in a Large Print edition:

There in the doorway was the most gorgeous girl I had ever seen!  She was obviously Egyptian, with long black hair, huge black eyelashes and olive skin.  The sun caught her profile and her face was bathed in the most extraordinary golden light.  It seemed as if there was nothing else in the world at that moment other than her as everything else around ceased to exist.  Her lips, full and sensual, moved enticingly as she addressed a small group in front of her.  I let my eyes fall to her body and noticed the way her simple black dress clung to her curves.  I moved towards her to listen to her voice.  She appeared to be a tour operator and was speaking in very clear English.  Her voice was almost musical and she turned towards me as I approached. Huge, almost black, eyes met mine for a moment and I was locked in her gaze.  Till that moment I had not believed in love at first sight but from that first glance I wanted to be with this woman more than I had ever wanted anything in my life.
I felt a need and a desire that I had never known before.  I wanted to possess her and protect her at the same time. Surely this was my destiny – my reason for being pulled back to Egypt!

5.Wonderful excerpt. Please share your links with us so we can find you on the web.

My website is: www.ritaleechapman.com.  I have a different guest author on my website each week, so  if any authors are interested in being interviewed, please contact me through this website.

Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5834608.Rita_Lee_Chapman

Facebook: https://www.rita.chapman@facebook.com

Missing in Egypt is available at:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Missing-in-Egypt-ebook/dp/B007JOUIIE/

Amazon Large Print edition: http://www.amazon.com/Missing-Egypt-Rita-Lee-Chapman/dp/149121872X/

Smashwords:  http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/263417

Winston – A Horse’s Tale is available at:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G9QOZGE

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/372140

Book Review: Love At First Sight

Vincent Zandri’s new story is about the devastating effects of war on people on both sides of a conflict.  Zandri’s hero Nick is an American soldier who has been stricken with what his doctors think is hysterical blindness brought on by things he had to do as a soldier.  When all their treatments prove ineffective, the army sends for his fiancée Margo.

The scenes between Margo and Nick are excruciating and charged with emotion.  They reveal the stress and strain the characters are under and graphically illustrate the changes in their relationship brought about by Nick’s blindness.  I especially liked Margo whose reactions seemed very real and genuine to me.  I also thought the pacing was good.  The story built inexorably toward the conclusion which said a lot about Nick and Margo’s future.

The book doesn’t have any spelling or grammar errors to distract from the story, and all of the details seemed authentic to me.

There’s nothing new in Zandri’s premise, but I loved his rendering of the topic.  Nick is a man with a conscience who in punishing himself is also punishing Margo, truly showing the extent of war’s reach and the mountains the two must climb to reach a happy ending.

If you've read Zandri before, be aware that this is not his usual style of writing.    No crime fiction, but a good read anyway.