I’m not sure if Andy Upchurch is an author, a sailor, a musician, a carpenter or a pirate. I know he built a house, played music with at least one rock n’ roll legend, Chuck Berry, sailed in the open sea, performs with a band, Andy and the Dreamsicles and fantisized of finding buried treasure as he cleared the jungle that would one day be his home. I learned all this by reading his first book, The Oleanders of San Leon, a book purportedly written about building a house.

One thing that will become absolute truth to the reader is that he is a magnificent story-teller. When I heard that the book is about building a house, my eyes glazed over and I thought; how can I tell him I’m not interested in reading a “how to” book. Instead, I listened to his presentation at a local library and gambled on buying a copy.

It met my simple standard! I read a few pages and couldn’t put it down. The Oleanders of San Leon is a story about a man and his adventures, told as entertainingly as Mark Twain told us about Tom and Huck.

So why do I say I’m not sure if he’s an author? It’s not because he’s not talented! It’s because I’ve visited with him since reading his book, and to date, he’s evasive about whether another one is in his future. So, if you decide to read The Oleanders of San Leon and you like it, which I’m sure of, may I suggest that you encourage him to get busy! We need to hear more from a guy with such story-telling talent.

Check him out at http://theoleandersofsanleon.com/#  where you can see photos of his home, known as, you guessed it, The Oleanders of San Leon. 
 

Rene’ Palmer Armstrong’s husband asked her what she would like for her birthday. With the answer she gave him, began a new writing career for Rene’.

Two years later she had published her first book and was busy creating hand-crafted pendants from a special kind of glass created by the space program for use as a heat shield back in the 1960’.  Rene’ is currently working on a second book, this one for children.

Rene’s first book is titled Wings and a Ring. The story of how she came to write this book is nearly as interesting as the book itself.  Her husband played a big part in the idea to write the book. It seems that he enjoys looking through garage sales, junk and antique stores and any other place where potentially interesting items have been discarded. One day he brought a box home that, among other things, contained a stack of old letters. The box set abandoned in their garage for a couple of years.

This week I want to introduce my readers to an author whose work includes a variety of genres. She is a very talented writer who will soon release her first novel that I predict it will be a great success.

Gloria Hander Lyons has written motivational and humorous short-stories, a book on self-publishing for authors, cook books, party books, wedding planning books, and home decoration books for starters. A half-dozen of her stories have been accepted and published in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series of short-stories. Gloria taught self-publishing classes at a local community college in the adult learning program. Check out her books on her website at http://www.gloriahanderlyons.com/.  She also owns Blue Sage Press, the publishing company that she publishes books through.

Murder with a Touch of Spice is the title of her new novel, due to be released very soon. It’s a mystery story with a touch of humor. I had the privilege of reading the manuscript recently and it met my standard for a really good book. From the moment I read the first paragraph, I didn’t want to put it down. Keep an eye out for this one!

I intend to post another story about Gloria once her novel is released, but in the meantime, I must tell you one other thing about my friend. She is one of the two most inspiring persons I have ever met. (The other is my daughter, Kathy.) Gloria is very ill…well, I think I’ll let her tell you, with an excerpt from her blog.

“After being diagnosed in January, 2013, with breast cancer that had metastasized to my bones, and given a prognosis of two years, I made a bucket list of fun activities, and travel destinations so I could squeeze the most joy I could out of every single day. I created this blog to share the laughter, love and wonder of those adventures with my beloved friends and family.” – Gloria Hander Lyons

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Today that author is Tom Rizzo. Tom is a former news reporter, having plied his trade in both radio and television, before moving to the Associated Press (AP) where he worked as a correspondent. He lived in Great Britain for several years, after growing up in central Ohio. He now calls Texas home. He’s acquired the cowboy boots and a Stetson, but more importantly, he’s practicing saying “ya’ll” when speaking to a group about his writing. I think he’s a keeper!

Tom’s first novel, Last Stand at Bitter Creek is a historical novel set in the time period just as the American Civil War is ending. My simple standard for judging a novel’s value is, “do I have trouble putting it down once I begin reading?” I read Last Stand at Bitter Creek in two sittings!  He keeps the reader’s interest. All of his Amazon reviews have been five stars and some of the words used to describe his writing have been “authentic dialogue”, “solid, historical novel”, “fascinating plot”, and “great characters”.

I have it on good authority that Tom is currently working on a crime novel.  If it is as good as his first effort, we’ll have plenty of good reads from him in the future.

Check him out at http://www.tomrizzo.com/about-the-books/where you can purchase Last Stand at Bitter Creek.  Oh yeah, be sure to watch his video trailer about the book too.

He’s a cop who became a writer. But that’s not what he planned. After serving a hitch in the U.S. Marine Corp, he returned home, married to his high school sweetheart. Finishing his education was the priority. Majoring in English, he obtained a B.A. by the time he was twenty-three. Wambaugh intended to become an English teacher. Instead, he became an ‘accidental cop’.