MOST EXCELLENT WORLDWIDE BOOK BLOG TOUR #5: Meet author MICHELLE MEDHAT

Meet author MICHELLE MEDHAT

10/12/2015

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Author Name:  Michelle Medhat

Book Titles:
Connected: The Call
Connected: The Shift
Connected: The Call and The Shift (Author’s Cut)

Genre and Sub-Genre: Spy, sci-fi, love story, thriller, political, fantasy
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Book Content Rating:  Adult (18+) Based on language, violence, sexual content.

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Author Bio Michelle Medhat, BA (Hons) FRSA FIoD FIKE MCIM
Michelle Medhat has had an exciting career that spans over 26 years in technology, science, education and marketing. Currently, Michelle is Director of Operations and Strategic Development at NEF: The Innovation Institute, an educational charity and professional institute that she co-founded with her husband Professor Sam Medhat in 2004. The Institute has donated millions of pounds to the science, engineering and technology education sector, and has helped to improve the lives of over 500,000 people.

In her time, she has headed up an e-learning company, an events and media company and a management consultancy. She has even created (from scratch) an educational institutional overseas (in Dubai) with her husband based on the UK educational system. Over the years, Michelle has worked with clients from BBC, Channel 4, EDF Energy, GSK, Walkers, Whitbread, and the NHS. Michelle has always tried to stay ahead of her time.

​A case in point being, back in 1995 she orchestrated the first international conference in the UK on multimedia communications (MediaComm) when the Internet was at its infancy. Backed by leading media and press organisations (BBC, ITN, The Independent, Times Higher) and technology companies (IBM, BT, Philips), the event introduced the public then to an unknown technology called ‘entertainment on demand’.

MOST EXCELLENT WORLDWIDE BOOK TOUR #2

#2: Welcome author CLAIRE STIBBE

9/14/2015

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Author Name:  Claire Stibbe

Book Title:  The 9th Hour

Genre and Sub-Genre:  Crime, Psychological Thriller, mystery

Book Content Rating PG13

Author BioOriginally from England, Claire lived in Hong Kong for three years before eventually finding a second home in New Mexico, USA. Her genres include Historical Fiction and Crime.

She has written two historical fiction novels, Chasing Pharaohs and The Fowler's Snare, both set in ancient Egypt during the 18th Dynasty. She has just completed a psychological thriller, The 9th Hour, the first of a detective series set in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and published by Crooked Cat Publishers in November 2015. She is currently working on the second in the series which will be published early 2016. She has also written short stories for Breakwater Harbor Books, a publisher of anthologies. The collection won Best Anthology of 2014 in the Independent Book Awards hosted by eFestival of Words.

THE MOST EXCELLENT WORLDWIDE BOOK BLOG TOUR

Trip#1 with SUZI ALBRACHT

Author Name:  Suzi Albracht
Book Title:  Death Most Wicked
Genre and Sub-Genre: Horror, Thriller
Book Content Rating:  Adult (18+)  Language and Violence

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Author Bio: I love to write horror thrillers with intense personal relationships between characters. I started reading earlier in life than most of my friends and spent many hours hidden in closets and under beds, sneaking in just another ten minutes of whatever book I was reading. As soon as I was old enough, my mother would send me to the library to pick up books for her. This delighted me because it opened up a whole new world of books not available in school. 

I read everything I could get my hands on but was drawn to sci-fi, horror and thrillers. As I matured, I would say my main influences became Stephen King, Dean Koontz and William Faulkner. My writing definitely reflects those influences. I can honestly say my twitter bio describes me to a T - Write, scare myself, turn all the lights on, write some more. Take a break, play pool, kick butt/get butt kicked, go write more horror, double lock door.

Seasonal

Over the past fifteen or so years I have been regularly forced out into my garden. When I say its a big one, I'm not boasting.

Okay, that isn't it but...

I could say that on occasion, when I've been out there to mow, it has brought tears to my eyes.  Nope, not because I ran over the electric wire.  I found a temporary solution to that problem, again nope, its nothing to do with cows, goats or sheep.  Which still leaves several other options, but that isn't what this post is about.

In fact, my blog does say 'a writer's musings' and I have to stick to it.

I had decided to write about having been published in India for the 7th time and how fantastic it was when I heard.  Actually the feeling of euphoria hasn't diminished one iota since the first time in October last year.  That is probably why I continue to submit.  I find it amusing that my resultant 'high' always has me searching to get a similar fix from other publications, and then I do nothing.

C'est la vie.

During the last few weeks, along with writing for Indian Short Fiction magazine, ISF I've also managed to publish my novella, Devil's Crochet (which has already had its first 5* review), discovered how to turn another of my books into a paperback, and started the draft to a sequel.  There's been other writing related stuff going on too but they can go into my 'blogs for the future' treasure chest.  And that sentence is written with fingers crossed; there is no such wonderful container.  Everything is haphazardly left in 'safe' places and never seen again.

200 Word Challenge

2014 was a year of challenges. I was published for the first time in India in ISF magazine, a little story I called Internet Cafe.  I went to India in November for the first time since coming here as a child and met the family, and we did some touring.  Incredible experience, especially meeting the family.  No, that isn't them.

In the Autumn I started editing a novel that was way overdue.  Plus I ventured into flash fiction.  I wanted to see how few words I, who likes to use a dozen words when less than half that would suffice, could be happy capturing a story in.  Starting with 500+ I kept tightening until I'd got down to 300.  From there my determinism kicked in.  It resulted in a collection which I called She Dreamed Of Flash Fiction.  All the stories were 200 words each.

This cynic discovered she loves writing flash fiction.  Below is one of the more experimental ones about popcorn.  It requires a deep breath.

Popcorn Maker

Writing incessantly day in and out to earn her pennies to feed the family, to keep the roof over their heads, because the bills came in higher than the estimates said, the only way she could keep going was to plug in the last remaining electric appliance that continued working, and it was her loyal, faithful popcorn maker, for which she gave thanks every day, despite the fact the corn had to remain flavourless as the ingredients to make it similar to commercial products were beyond her budget, so she had grown accustomed – as was wont to happen – though her taste buds still remembered and yearned for tastier times as the machine buzzed and whirled, then spat out its insides into the cone shaped white plastic, from where a few self-delusional, still escaped and jumped, bouncing from the worktop to the chair and then the floor, it mattered not, until one true escapee, had to have its moment and because it believed it was different and non-conformist, but not a leader, tried a different tactic by leaping out and high and straight, catching her in the eye, resulting in the Popcorn Maker being labelled non viable and taken away immediately.

The End

To Eat Or Not To Eat?

I've just slipped away from a great virtual launch party, Mr Seumas Gallacher's, (where there is lots of food and drink), to be really good and do something not quite as virtual, but hopefully virtuous, as this.  My over-due blog.

As I'm a writer who loves to write stories, and invariably, almost always, from home, how can it (eating), be avoided?

I don't mean the usual type of sustenance sort of eating:

Or even the type where you're observing the rules:

Sciatica Your Honour...

Hand on heart my failure to blog, in part, has been due to sciatica.  I may have had it before, but clearly it must have been so horrendous, (wonderful word), that I erased it from my memory.  We all know about backache.  It's my very special friend (going to refer to it here as Jack) but it's a bugger (forgive my French).  I've known Jack for years.  I can even sense when Jack is nearby and contemplating not just visiting, but staying for a period.

Jack and I first met when I worked in Sheffield.  I hadn't quite liked the layout of my office.  After waiting (can't remember how many days went past) for male colleagues to help move a couple of items, I grew impatient and decided what the heck, blow health and safety.  Actually, I'm not sure it had as big an image in those days hence I've not headed it with capital letters.  Certainly don't remember the solicitors persistent advertisements that we're inundated with currently.

So I rearranged the office and was ecstatic.  Definitely easily pleased.

Not long after...

Doctor's orders...

The floor.

Spending time on ones back is not funny.  Especially when alone all day with no-one to bring sustenance.  Watching television wasn't possible, and this was prior to eReaders, (not that long ago thank you).  Some books don't look heavy at all.  But there is only so long that a paperback can be held in that position without getting some version of RSI.