Welcome Rohit Prasad, Author, Banker, and Caricaturist

 

Hello everyone. It's a little late for the next guest but though February was a short month it was packed with things to do.  And March has also been filled.  With three other people I participated in a poetry reading set to music. If you are a poet you should try having a pianist play while you read.  

But I am very happy to present to you my guest author for this month: Rohit Prasad. I met him through a mutual friend and immediately thought he should be on this blog. After you learn about him you will be very happy I introduced you.

Here is the interview we had:

Where were you born and where do you live now?

I was born in Bareilly, a small town in India where my maternal grandparents lived.

I now live in Manhattan.

I can see why you might move if you are in international banking. 

 

Besides writing, do you have any other occupation? Do you have any hobbies?

I have been an international banker for the last 29 years.

I love reading books, drawing caricatures and watching sports. 

Who or what influenced you to begin writing?

I am a voracious reader and a regular traveller. These experiences have heavily influenced my writing.

 

What inspired you to write your first book?

I always knew I had stories inside me. Once the idea of the book popped up in my mind, I knew I had to put it on paper. 

Please tell us a little bit about this book: The Pilgrim: Inferno Redux.

Roy Aron goes on a journey, physically and mentally, on the fateful day of 9/11. He descends the bowels of hell, following in the footsteps of Dante Alighieri, as he witnesses the nine sins. He comes upon intriguing sagas showcasing the sins’ corroding powers. The reader accompanies him through the heart of darkness, lives through the transformational incidents, and emerges in the sunshine of hope.

 

What made you decide to write your second book, Mood Swings?

After I wrote about the nine sins, my mind started thinking about the reasons why man sins. It led me to the realization that we are prisoners of our emotions. So, I felt I needed to write about emotions and the decisions that they make us take.

 

I am interested to know how you got into drawing caricatures. Have you put any in your books?

I have been drawing since I was small. I gravitated towards caricatures and cartoons on politics and sports as an avenue to comment on current affairs. I have included sketches depicting imaginary beings personifying the nine sins in The Pilgrim: Inferno Redux.

How are you planning to promote your second book? I know you have already had an online book launch. Did you have an in person one too?

I have conducted book reading sessions in New York and New Jersey.

 

Where can our readers find you? 

https://cynicseyeview.wordpress.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Moods-Swings-Rohit-Prasad/dp/9391813925 

Finally, my last question I ask of every guest. Are you a plotter or a pantser? In other words, do you just write or do you outline before you write?

I always think of my storylines and make notes on my iPhone. Once I have most of the points covered, I sit down to type out my book.

And now you have provided us with some excerpts from your book. Here they are:

From short stories in Mood Swings:

From Story #9:

It was a short drive from her hotel. They reached an unassuming single-floor building whitewashed in white and light green. On entering through the iron gates, they come across a courtyard and a prayer hall to the right. They found a large empty hall with three decorated tombs in the middle of it. The walls were decorated with sepia-tinted photographs and framed Urdu poetry in exquisite calligraphy.

It was strange to see an Islamic establishment in such a broadly Buddhist nation.

Arjun commented, with an undertone of disappointment, “I am neither overwhelmed nor underwhelmed. Just about whelmed. You are losing your touch, Super Star.”

Joyita admonished him with her best impersonation of Q, “Patience, 007, patience. Now pay attention. I will say this only once. Do you even know what this is and where we are?”

Arjun shrugged his shoulders.

She explained, as if to a child, “This is the tomb of Bahadur Shah Zafar.”

He was taken aback, “Like The Bahadur Shah Zafar. THE last Mughal emperor.”

She nodded, happy at having pulled out a rabbit from the hat.

Still not sure about what he had heard, he asked, “But what the heck is he doing all the way here in Yangon?”

She settled in for the backstory, “When in 1838, he ascended to the throne, while his title of Emperor was very grand, his power was actually quite limited to mostly Delhi and neighboring territories. But after the 1857 Sepoy Revolt..”

He interjected, “The First War of Independence, please.”

Chastened a little bit at herself for using the Western title instead of the preferred Indian version, she carried on, “After The First War of Independence, the British considered Bahadur Shah Zafar a potential rallying point for the freedom struggle and banished him to Rangoon in 1858. 

Do you know, in his exile, he wasn’t even allowed a pen and paper to write fearing that he would secretly use them to pass on messages to his supporters in India?”

Arjun was astounded at the new things he was learning every day on this trip.

She added, “Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor, died in 1862 miles away from his home and his subjects. Do you know the irony of it? I had read somewhere that, after losing the Third Anglo-Burma War in 1885, King Thibaw Min, the last Burmese monarch, and his family were exiled to a remote corner of India where they remained till his death.”

Arjun was just standing there with his mouth open. 

“Well, this is quite a change from the pagodas!” he said aloud after closing his gaping yaw. 

Joyita explained further, “The Britishers were determined not to make them  martyrs. So they buried Bahadur Shah Zafar in an unmarked grave here to make sure his supporters would have nowhere to mourn.”

“Then how was he found?”

“Quite by chance, it seems. In 1991, during construction work in this prayer hall, the laborers came across these graves. Upon excavation, they found skeletal remains of Bahadur Shah Zafar wrapped in a silk shroud. 

Realizing the importance of the discovery, the local community supported by the Myanmar government and the Indian government restored the graves.”

Arjun was left devoid of words by the moving story.

He thought out aloud, “Such is fate. In one moment, you are the king of the world. Literally the Shah Jahan. And the next, you are dying alone miles away from your loved ones, buried in an unmarked grave, unmourned in a far away land.”

Joyita, “Makes you appreciate history. Understand from the past. Prepare for the future.”

Arjun stressed, “For me, I think it makes you appreciate the present. Make the most of today, as we don’t know what the future will bring.

Carpe Diem. Seize the day. Get out of the rat race. Stop and smell the roses. Discover something new…

…Fall in love with someone.”

He said the last sentence looking intently at her. 

He then grabbed hold of her hand and guided her gently out of the building. Once outside, he pulled her close and kissed her with passion. She also seized the day, and him, and kissed back with feeling.

They went back to her hotel and had brunch together, but did not let go of each other’s hands or break eye contact. 

From Story #3 Mood Swings:

Susan whipped around, like a whirling dervish, every morning between 6am to 8am. Today was no different. It was that small window in the day when she had to get the two men in her life out of her life, literally. 

The day started a bit earlier for her as she needed some caffeine in her to clear the cobwebs of sleep. By the time she had brewed her second cup, her husband of 22 years, Drew, attempted to get out of bed after an unsuccessful fight with the alarm clock and his duvet. This was a battle he tended to win only on the weekends. He muttered nonsensical admonitions at the preening alarm clock and lumbered to their bathroom to kickstart his engine. 

Two cups of coffee, sundry strips of bacon and a buttered piece of toast added fuel to his simmering engine. He rumbled through his breakfast, keeping one eye on the newspaper headlines while the other checked the clock on the mantle every five seconds. He had an unhealthy relationship with the clocks in the house. 

Drew was the typical middle-aged man, with half a balding head and a healthy beer belly. As a standing party joke, he would pat his few hair, caress his protruding stomach and murmur mirthfully, “Recession. And inflation. Can’t get away from them.”

Though Drew always wore his uniform of a suit, a white shirt, a striped tie and Oxfords every working day, as he did today, on weekends he loved wearing jeans and printed T-shirts with funny quotes on them, such as “Oh! The element of surprise” and “Not all heroes wear capes. Some wear T-shirts.” He got a kick when people saw them and giggled. He had half a mind last week to tell a young lady, who was intently gazing at his T-shirt, “Hey, my eyes are up here.” He wasn’t sure whether he wore those T-shirts to show that he was funny beyond his dad jokes or due to his deep seated need for validation.

He could not miss his train today as he had an important meeting in his office first thing in the morning. He kept multitasking when he heard the first signs of activity from his son’s bedroom.

Normally, their son, Colin, had to be dragged kicking and screaming from his bed. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree. The morning routine consisted of Susan shouting in Colin’s direction every few minutes to check if he was awake and had not fallen asleep in the middle of brushing or putting on his pants. Colin took great joy and satisfaction in snatching the tiniest moments of sleep wherever he could squeeze it in.

Today seemed different. 

Colin, fresh eyes and bushy tailed, came bounding down the stairs two steps at a time. He was fired up and ready to go. He did not want to waste precious moments today on mundane matters such as sleep or breakfast. He had much to do today and miles to go.

Susan and Drew stared at this unrecognizable avatar of their son. 

Susan exclaimed, “Who are you and what have you done with our son?”

Susan reached out to touch Colin’s forehead to check for his temperature, pretending as if he was ill. 

Colin brushed off her hand and spoke in an irritated tone, the default state of any teenager with its parents, “Mom, really?”

She could feel his nervous energy jump off him. She put her hand on his shoulder and slowly guided him to the dining table, “At least have something to eat before we go.”

Colin was in no mood for any morning nourishment and was antsy to go.

Susan admonished him, “It is not even 7am. The school does not open for another hour. What will you do at school so early?”

Colin had a couple of witty reposts, but thought better of them. He grabbed a buttered toast and started stuffing his face.

“Slow down, slow down,” warned his father. 

He was as amazed by his son’s transformation as his wife. But he had other matters on his mind. The clock on the mantle fired the starter’s gun and he had to be off. He kissed his wife’s cheek and his son’s head and was out of the backdoor before either could shout their goodbyes to him. 

They heard the car start and rumble out of the driveway. He was up, up and away, joining the ranks of a thousand other gnomes, off to slave in the goldmines of New York.

Wow, both of these excerpts make me want to read the whole story. This is a book filled with these kinds of short stories about different emotions. 

Thank you so much, Rohit Prasad for being my guest on this blog. I have really enjoyed getting to learn more about you and your writing.

I wanted to let everyone know about this wonderful magazine: Wildfire Magazine. I have become a staff writer and have an article in it this month as well as a poem. The magazine is beautiful and filled with excellent writing. Check it out here:

Until the next time, which will be April 8, 2025, when my guest will be Leigh Grant,  author and illustrator, who has written two outstanding historical fiction novels. I hope you enjoy the month of March. It is Women's History Month, and I want to end this blog with the poem I wrote about being a woman:

Being a Woman

We as women are too close to ourselves

to see anything but the flaws and scars

But women are beautiful in every way

We are the ones who power the world

With our strength and perseverance

to continue to strive when men might falter

We go on in the face of adversity

And we make sure our children

Are given the best life they can have

Yet many women suffer from not being enough

They are always wanting to have more or do more

Women are the backbone of society

We nurture and protect our loved ones

And in times of crisis it is a woman

who shows up with the chicken soup and love

To make sure her friend or loved one is okay

We are the makers of dreams for our men

And so many of us do not get to have our own

As we pave the way each day for everyone else

We sweep our dreams to the side

Until we have the time and sometimes never fulfill them

But many now do follow their dreams

Regardless of time or ability to focus

They write their books and excel in their subject

And they lead the way in both local and national government

Women are the strength of a nation

We are the ones who worry about the little things

And we face whatever comes our way with grace most of the time

Sometimes we hide the abuse and suffering 

Since we have to continue with our lives

Some live in this silence for an entire lifetime

Never letting others know their pain

Biting their tongues to keep from letting you know

Women are mothers, daughters, grandmothers, wives, widows, mayors, governors, Congressional representatives, Senators, and now Vice-Presidents and in some countries leaders.

We are at the forefront of everything including music, TV, and movies.

Women are firefighters, teachers, doctors, lawyers, engineers, construction workers, architects 

Women are a strong force, and we are over one half of the population

Yet men continue to hold the lead

Like the king of England now sits in that position

Men want the world to think they run it

But look closely and you will see a woman is there behind them

When our last President gave his speech he gave it to his wife

who was beaming down upon him

the strength to say the words he had to say

Women are there for their husbands, sons and daughters

And we will continue to be there

For our goal is to make sure our loved ones

Are safe and happy in this very chaotic world.

Copyright 2025

by Barbara Ehrentreu. All rights reserved.

Welcome Fibby Bob Kinney (Fibzay)!

 I had planned to write a new blog post once a month but life got in the way. So it is the next year and we are well into it. I won't mention the political situation but we are all trying to make sense of it and live our lives with the best possible experiences we can. The list for guest authors on this blog is very full so I need to keep posting once a month.  Thank you to any readers who have come here expecting new posts. This one is going to make up for it. 

My guest author today is both a poet and a comedian. He is one of those people with whom you can spend hours talking about almost anything. I hope you enjoy meeting him. Here is the interview and please check out all of his amazing books. 

Welcome Fibby Bob Kinney or as you are now calling yourself Fibzay.

Where were you born and where do you live now?

I was born in a little town in Pennsylvania on a farm and we didn’t have any hot water. We lived just with all the vegetables and animals and chickens. We had dogs and  pigs. We didn’t have any plumbing in the house. It was a very rural background where I grew up, Practically in the dark ages and that’s then. Now I live in Florida in a nice house with my wife of 51 years. So it’s been quite a journey from the beginning to where I live right now. So that’s kind of my beginning and where I live now.

I think it's amazing that you were able to change your life so completely.

Do you have an occupation besides writing? Do you have any hobbies?

Yes, I do have a hobby. I am an avid player of video games. I’m one of the oldest players on Destiny video game, which I’ve been playing for ten years, and I’ve got many write ups. If you go to Google and look at the 81 year-old gamer write up on Reddit.

My friends, please go and read this amazing post including the story he wrote about the game here:

Who or what influenced you to stop doing stand-up and writing comedy to writing poetry?

I continued doing comedy actually until 2011.I lasted that long, but it came to a point. I didn’t go on the road anymore. I just didn’t wanna put in the late hours. I was ready to retire and just write poetry and since 2011 I’ve written twenty-five books. So I live happily here in Florida and play with my flowers in the garden. I have written 500 poems to them and I take my walk during the day and just relax play video games, watch television and write poetry and stories books and stuff. 

I'll bet you have exceptionally beautiful flowers from all that poetry.

I am fascinated by your history of being in the Village in the 60’s. Did you ever meet any famous comedians like Lenny Bruce or meet Bob Dylan? 

Yes, I did know a lot of celebrities. Let’s see when I go back to my early days I knew Milton Berle. I was at the Friars club. I met Henny Youngman, and when I met him I was wearing a checkered jacket. The first thing he said was it’s a great jacket.  Did the whole team get one? So that was my first meeting with Henny Youngman. When I was in college back in the old days, I had a rare interview with Thomas Edison’s son Theodore Edison, who lived in Edison  Edison, New Jersey. And the first thing I asked him, “So your father invented electricity.”  He said, “Yeah?” Who else did I know? JD Salinger very rare I got his autograph and I got nice stories about JD. When I was at The Comedy Store I knew Richard Pryor, and I knew Robin Williams very well.  I knew Jerry Seinfeld when he first started and Larry David and Paul Reiser. So I knew like a lot of celebrities before they were celebrities and a lot of them came out of my interviews when I was the emcee at The Comic Strip in  New York from 1976 to 1979. Gilbert Godfrey I never thought he would make it but look what happened to him and Larry David of course, became one of the most influential Producers in Hollywood so that’s just a little bit of what I did and who I knew and it does go on like I said I was a comic’s comic, so I knew a lot of of the guys even though I didn’t get to be famous just like Georgie Star, who was Lenny Bruce’s best buddy I knew him good. He was a great comic, but he never got famous because he was hit and miss. Sometimes he would be great other times, when it really counted on the additions he would not do well. Kind of like what I did. I’d be great at times, but when it came to the auditions for the big time with Johnny Carson and those I just kind of I don’t know what happened but it just didn’t work out for me anyway. So that’s just a little bit.

Wow, what a history to have met all of these people before they became famous. 

You were a host of two TV shows, one in Los Angeles and one in New York. Did anything unusual ever happen on these shows?

I did my shows in California with school children and they were local TV shows. They went well. I got very good reports on them and then in New York. I did shows with comics, and I brought them on and I  was a professor punster in a mythical college, where the comics would come on and they would talk about their jokes and it was good. It was just a lot of fun shows and nothing came out of them. No big people were on there. It was local shows. They were well received.

Please describe a typical day of writing for our readers.

The way that I write is I write from inspiration. I will get an idea and will sit down and the words will flow so I usually can write a poem probably in about somewhere between ten and twenty minutes At night I’ll get up if I get an idea and write it down then. And my short story is the same thing. I’ll take a couple days to do those, but I’ll just come from inner ideas or things that I see and get an idea about it and then I write it down and make a story out of it so it’s pretty much inspirational.

What made you decide to put out a book of poetry and then go on to write so many more including coloring books?

I had a lot of poems that I wrote and I kept publishing them. I published coloring books because I wanted to color my illustrations myself. I like to color so what I did is, I did all the illustrations from statues pictures of statues sketches of sketchers and then I put them in my two books my two coloring books so I’ve got a lot of pictures under the color and I had a real good time doing it and I’m sure the people bought the books. I got a few people who I saw who said, yeah we loved it and we love the coloring so they’re out there and both of those are coffee table they’re like 8 1/2 x 12  they’re really nice both of them.

When people read your poetry, what do you want them to find in it?

When people read my poetry, especially my fairytales it’s so nice to know that the kids are getting beautiful pictures and a very positive moral for children. So I have spoken to families they said the kids loved it and the morals are very positive and I wrote this so that they’re looking at old fairy tales with a more modern view. Thank you.

What would you say are the themes of your poems? 

I try to do a lot of poems about words about the value of words. I do a lot of poems about nature and flowers and poems about fairytales so the point is to show how important it is that we make our world as positive as we can so that’s why I don’t have any negative poems. All of my poems are positive.

That is a wonderful way to look at the world. I can't say that about my own work. It always goes with the emotion I am feeling. I do try to end with a positive note, though.

Are you working on a new book to be published? Please tell our readers about it.

I in the process of working on one of them is going to be a sci-fi book of all things. My first attempt is going to be called "The Coffee Zombies" where you know people would drink too much coffee and become zombies. It's a good thing. horror but nobody gets killed. Nobody gets you know there’s no zombie they just become addicted to coffee and then everybody drinks all the coffee in the world and you can’t find coffee anymore. It’s kind of liket he second biggest drink in the world. The first drink is water.  So I’m saying that people can’t find anymore coffee. That's the basis of that, and then I got a new fairytale book coming out as well. So those books are in the works right now.

How can we find your work? 

All of my books are on Amazon.com and then Kindle. All you have to do is put my name in the search box just put in Fibby Bob Kinney, and they will all pop up. They can also go to Google and put my name on Google and my bio and my books will pop up there. So those are the easiest way to find my work

Finally, this is the question I always ask all my guests. Are you a plotter or a pantser? In other words, do you outline or do you just write?

Finally, about plot or do I outline or do I just write. Actually I do both. I mostly just write but once in a while, I will sit down if I have something important that I really know that has to be correct I will be a plotter, and then I will write it. So it depends on the moment depends on the subject about it, but I think both are equal. But I’m primarily it comes from my mind. Thank you so much and I hope that answers your questions. Thank you,

Now, my friends Fibzay has given me some of his work to display on the blog. I hope you enjoy reading his poetry and his stories.

Romancing the Pen

“The greatest romantic poet is the one that is in love with their pen: it is their pen that they place all their love, all their hope, all their dreams...in the unity of a wish - that it will give back to them; fame and fortune”...

The poet, male or female, has a spouse in their pen. It is a marriage made between human being and the extension of their thoughts.

So personal is the individual thought. It lives in the mind of the person who has brought it into being.

The mind as both mother and father gives birth to thought at the speed of light.

As I write these words my mind is delivering them directly from my brain.

The mind is an endless nursery that brings words into imagery.

As the maker of my mind I stand here  in living thought and direct all thought on the subject at hand into an endless chain of words.

They travel down my arm as an army in disciplined form and mount the vessel of my pen.

My pen as a sailing ship. The paper or visible screen of my smart device becomes a vast ocean to navigate. The pen has several disguises: a writing instrument, a stylus; even the thumbs of the writer can become the pen when it texts words upon the device held in its hand, or, all the fingers become the pen on the computer keyboard.

The point is, the mind gives birth, the hand is the gangway, the pen is the visible instrument as the ship , the paper or virtual screen is the ocean that the words must sail into reality.

The pen, in what ever form, is the writers lover. He or she must romance their pen. They seduce it so it willfully as it does their bidding.

I write these words upon the visible screen of my smart phone. The stylus I use is long and sleek with a bouncing tip. It taps the words in a paced rhythm upon the blank screen that brings them to life.

As if by magic with each tap, a letter appears in a permanent form. It shines upon the screen. The writer that uses this form to bring words to life develops a cadence. One similar to a marching band. Measured steps as if in an invisible drum beat keeps the rhythm in synchronized pace.

The words form phrases and turn into sentences. The punctuation as a drill instructor keeps the words in a manageable ordered march.

The sentences build into verse or paragraph and the marching band plays its tunes to the grandstand mind of the reader.

If the images do their job and make the reader feel the emotions that the piece intended then the writer as the high stepping band major has done their job.

I am the band leader of this marching article on the use of my pen as my baton.

I hope this little parade of words has given you enjoyment...if so, I salute you, and thank you for being part of this event that happened on the visual tablet that you are viewing it on...Fibzay 

(Fibby Bob Kinney (c) 1/23/2

Ode to my Inner Child

Although I have never seen him,

Nor talked or Joked with him,

Or, even grabbed a glimpse of him;

I am still his partner in bond.

At night, when  I am washed clean,

And lay myself down to rest,

Upon my feathered  bed;

Perchance to sleep, in wondering trance.

I long for the wishing moment,

When my lids begin to cloak.

My brain set adrift,

My thoughts to heaven's door.

Oh, the wonder of divine sleep.

Its crown, the coming dream,

Of things past and done,

With might and strength of ease.

All values soar into a heavenly realm,

When the brain is at its rest.

It is then the Angel scribe is at its best;

My guardian appears in thoughts to be.

My Angel, the counterpart of me!

He covers my soul in a  blanket of care.

I breathe upon my pillow, in rest.

My stretched body heaped upon the soft sheets.

My Angel, upon me in his protection;

Like a field of butterflies, and I,

The man , whose thoughts are true,

My dreams fill the darkness with life.

What wonder is this dream...

That every night continues its tale?

What is in my vast imagination, that

Unfolds upon the painting to be?

What great mysteries does he possess?

My Angel of thoughts, to have the power,

Over me, to make me weep in joy;

To throw my thoughts to a fever pitch.

There is nothing in this world,

With all its gold and jewels combined,

that could comfort me in time of need,

As my Angel that responds to me.

He is there at night in my bedchamber.

To guide me, without condition or effort,

But to blend with my soul and make me whole;

Without need or reprise for reward.

In a daydream, when I am lost in thought

He  is always there with me.

In the good and in the grief,

His love is real and unrestricted,

Whatever comes to pass, I know: that I am true to myself 

I will do my poetic gift to the best of my ability…Fibzay 

“I  shared this poem with You”...

(Fibby Bob Kinney  (c) 1/23/25

Fibby Bob Kinney Bio:

Although I did attend college with a Liberal Arts degree most of my knowledge is self acquired; as in my life I have followed my dreams to my destiny. I started my career as a poet in Greenwich Village,  U.S.A.

I became a stand-up comedian and went on to be the first Emcee at the World famous "Comic Strip" night club in New York City. I had a successful career as an entertainer: I was the host of my own children's show,"The Word Painter" in L.A. California. 

In NYC I was host of a  local cable show called, “ Professor Punster” it was a fun show where I interviewed comedic guests and we told stories with puns and funny innuendos.

I continued in my career as a comedy writer and entertainer. Now I am a poet and author of 25 books in print.

My first book, "Love's Little Liberties" and 24 others are available at Amazon, on Kindle, and other outlets.

My strength is in the Genre of poetry and story telling. I make many of my original fables and fairy-tales available on the poetry forums of today. As poetry is the backbone of literature and its high standards are paramount to my goals…Fibzay ( Fibby Bob Kinney; author-storyteller) 1/23/25

I love the picture with the lion!

You can find all of Fibby Bob Kinney's books on Amazon and Kindle. 
He has co-authored with Susan Joyner Stumpf as well as many other poets. This is no ordinary poet.When you speak with him, he only wants to keep telling you stories. I am honored to have had you, Fibby Bob Kinney as a guest on this blog. 

My next guest author will be here on February 28, 2025. I think it is going to take some time to learn everything about our present guest. This blog will be up for the entire time until I change it for the next guest. Do not hesitate to let your friends know about this fabulous poet, author, and comedian. Thank you for being my guest on the blog Fibzay, as you like to be called. It was a pleasure.

Until the next time, I hope all of you are staying warm, trying not to be too angry, and having some fun. Please leave a comment and don't worry if you don't see it right away. I have had to monitor the comments. 

Happy Valentine's Day and President's Day.

Welcome Back Award Winning Guest Author Cheryl Carpinello

My friends, summer is almost over and I hope you have enjoyed reading about the amazing Renee Drummond Brown. She will probably be back on here again to talk more about her prolific career. Please remember you can comment if you want on any of these blogs. And also, if you are on Goodreads it is synced on there but has a different title: Rising from the Ashes. 

Now I am bringing you another guest author, who has also written a great many books.  She was a guest here in 2014. Her name is Cheryl Carpinello and I know you will enjoy reading about her. Here is her interview with me.

  Where were you born and where do you live now?

I’m a Colorado native and would never live anywhere else.

  Besides writing do you have any other occupation or hobbies?

I’m a retired high school English teacher. Our grandkids and kids keep us busy with activities and baseball games. I’m also a retired airline employee and so we travel! We’ve been to Egypt, the UK, Iceland, Ireland, and Mexico. We also go to college football games each fall.  I enjoy reading although my selection is eclectic. I gravitate toward books about the ancient world, some published before BCE! I also enjoy some fantasy, adventure stories, and ancient quests. 

 Who or what influenced you to begin writing?

As a teacher, I encountered students who loved to read, who just didn’t read, who didn’t like to read, and who even refused to read. All of these students, especially the non-readers, charted my writing journey. Although I dabbled in writing for many years, it wasn’t until I retired from teaching that I started writing seriously. Hence: Tales & Legends for Reluctant Readers & others.

Why did you decide to write about legends and medieval times?

The ancient stories and plays sparked an interest in my toughest non-readers. They found that they could relate to the characters and to the situations the characters found themselves in. As for the medieval, I had kids who wouldn’t be caught in a library, actually researching and finding stories about King Arthur and his knights!

Please describe a typical day of writing for you.

Wow! This is a tough one, Barbara. I’ve never had a typical day of writing. The only common factor in my writing is that when I’m not physically writing, the story is running through my brain. This past year has proven difficult on many levels. Currently doing a running storyline in my head.

How can children benefit from reading your books compared to other kinds of books?

It is my hope that when young people pick up my book(s), it will ignite a spark of interest that will lead them to read more, to learn more about and value themselves, and build an understanding of the world they live in.

How would you teach reading using your books?

I never taught reading. I guided students to see themselves in the characters and to relate that “fictional” world to their own. Even a play as old as “Antigone” showed students that standing up for what is right is not easy, but still needs to be done.

When you write your books do you use people from your life for your characters? How does this affect them?

For my characters, I use numerous traits from my 20+ years of working with young people. This is how I make my characters talk to my readers. I’ve seen first-hand the loves, frustrations, fears, heartaches, joy, and the many other emotions that young people exhibit. I draw from these to develop my characters. 

However...I also draw upon myself, my emotions, and experiences to develop characters.

Do you think traveling as you do affects your writing? In what way?

I love traveling. It’s exciting to visit different countries and encountering various cultures and people. Naturally this makes its way into my writings. In some it’s the setting such as Egypt, Wales, and Iceland in my Arthurian Legend, my Egyptian Tales, and my newest series Feathers of the Phoenix. In others, it’s the infusion of characteristics of cultures and people as in Sons of the Sphinx, and Tutankhamen Speaks. 

Please describe a little bit about your books. 

My Guinevere Trilogy presents a young Guinevere as she struggles with the future laid out for her. The King’s Ransom is an adventure of friendship and fears. My Arthurian Legend stories incorporate the cornerstones of the Legend: Courage, Friendship, Honor, and Loyalty.

Sons of the Sphinx and Tutankhamen Speaks show another side to the Boy King that reveals his human side.

My new series Feathers of the Phoenix brings together ancient mythology and modern Biblical characters in a race to raise the island of Atlantis.

My Grandma/Grandpa Tales is a 3-book series introducing beginning/emerging readers and others to different reading skills using nature.

How did you get the idea for these books?

Guinevere was literally inspired by my students! Every single year, I kid you not, when I asked what my students knew about King Arthur, they talked about Arthur, the knights of the round table, the Holy Grail, and more. When I asked what they knew about Guinevere, each year I received this answer: she married Arthur, cheated on him, and was the downfall of Camelot! Knew I had to correct that view with a 13-year-old Guinevere.

My Egyptian Tales come from my love of ancient Egypt and were inspired by our 3-week visit there.

Feathers of the Phoenix come from my love of Greek mythology.

My Grandma/Grandpa’s Tales are to help beginners, emerging, and others with reading difficulties to hopefully begin to develop a love for reading.

How do you prepare for your classroom visits? 

I’m basically always prepared. I have my materials all set aside and just need to pack and drive! I do mostly elementary/middle school visits. My Illuminated Medieval Poetry is fun for boys and girls.

What are the values you hope to teach children from your books?

The only values my books teach are for readers to trust and believe in themselves as my characters learn to do.

Besides this do you have any other online or in person events planned? What are they?

I have a couple of on-line interviews I’m working on. One is for the All Author website. I just did an interview for Voyage Magazine in the Spring. 

I have a full in-person schedule for the Fall.

Sept. 21: Aurora Mini-Con (auroragov.org)

Oct. 5: Littleton Craft Fair (littletoncraftfair.org)

Oct. 19-20: Molly McGee – Longmont

Oct 25: Boo-rific – Foothills Rec. Center

Nov. 1-2: Sons of Italy Craft Fair

Nov. 8-10: Grandmother’s House – Parker

Nov. 16-17: Molly McGee – Longmont

Nov. 22-24: Colorado Country Xmas – Denver

Dec. 7 & 14; Book Nook Book Bash - Georgetown

Are you planning to publish another book soon? If so, what is it and when will it be available?

Yes. I’m hoping to finish up The Norse Star this fall. It’s Book 2 in the Feathers of the Phoenix series.

Please tell us where we can find you. 

My on-line store: https://cheryl-carpinello.square.site

Website:  http://www.cherylcarpinello.com

Writing Blog:    http://carpinelloswritingpages.blogspot.com/

Publishinng: https://www.silverquillpublishing.com/

Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/cheryl.carpinello1

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ccarpine1/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2924554.Cheryl_Carpinello

Bookbub:  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cheryl-carpinello

Finally, my last question which is one I ask all of my guests. Are you a plotter or a pantser? In other words, do you outline or do you just write?

I’m a pantser. When I sit down to write, the story is already in my head. I learned years ago to ‘write into the dark’ and I love it.

I am a pantser too and my characters talk to me too. Only mine are more of this century. LOL

Cheryl Carpinello Bio  

Tales and Legends appeals to readers of all ages, particularly those who have struggled with reading. Through my 25 years of teaching experience with diverse readers, I’ve found that stories from the Ancient Worlds and Arthurian Legend draw in readers of all abilities.

My Grandma/Grandpa’s Tales help young readers build reading skills through nature tales.

My husband and I are both retired high school teachers and we love to travel. We attend a college football game around the US each year, and we travel abroad for fun and my books. We’ve been to Egypt, the UK, Iceland, Mexico & the Caribbean. Besides teaching for 20+ years, I also worked nights for a major US airline. Reward: Lifetime Travel Benefits! Love it!!

I'm a lover of mythology, myths, legends, & tales from the ancient/medieval worlds. All of these have transcended time & space into our world today. The myths & legends don't fade away; they are just repackaged for a new audience.  As a high school English teacher, I continually challenged my students to find connections between today & times long gone by. Some took more digging than others, but the connections are always there

Now, I write Arthurian Legend for young readers and teens. These stories exhibit what I consider to be cornerstones of that Legend: Courage, Honor, Loyalty, & Friendship. My tales from Egypt & my new series Feathers of the Phoenix meld the ancient/medieval worlds with today. The Atlantean Horse (Book 1 of Feathers of the Phoenix) also brings the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse out of the Bible & into the modern world. My Grandma/Grandpa’s Tales, short illustrated stories, help the youngest readers build their reading skills. At the 2nd grade reading level, these stories are suitable for readers aged 4 and up.

I love doing classroom visits where students create their own Medieval Illuminated Poetry. So much fun! Even the boys have a great time creating their poems. I also do full-day Medieval Workshops where kids explore Medieval titoimes with a variety of activities.

It does sound like fun to do that with kids. As a teacher I know that activities like this are better for learning than any books. And your books are sure to be both fun and educational. I hope everyone will check out your website and see all the awards you have won for your books.

Thank you, Barbara, for this opportunity to appear on your blog.

It is my pleasure to have you on my blog again. I went back and saw you were a guest author way back in 2014. I hope you won't take ten more years to come back.

Until the next time, this blog will be on here until October 16, 2024.  I hope some of you have checked out my newly published book, If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor.  It's YA but older people like it too. This book will bring you back to high school.

The next guest author on here will be Fibby Bob Kinney. He is a poet and author.

The Jewish Holidays usually come up around now but this year they are in October. Fall is in the air and it's hard to believe summer is almost gone. Summer is my favorite season, since I was born in the middle of it. But I do like Fall or Autumn too for the colors of the leaves. Please leave a comment here for our guest author.