Hello my readers, today I present Author and Entertainer Chuck Kelly. 

Chuck Kelly was born in Dallas, Texas, raised in Anadarko, Oklahoma, traveled some, and moved to California where he became involved in several areas of the entertainment and writing professions. As a performer, Chuck played trombone with Glenn Miller (under direction of Ray McKinley), Dizzy Gillespie, and various jazz groups. He quit playing to become a group singer and sang with the Jones Boys (2 years), the Modernaires (5 years), and other vocal groups. After Chuck left the Modernaires he became a studio singer where he did many recordings, television shows, and motion picture sound tracks. Chuck was on The Red Skelton Show for 5 years, The Danny Kaye Show 2 years; and did several TV specials that included Don Knotts, Jim Nabors, Andy Griffith, Dick Van Dyke, Danny Thomas, Ronald Reagan, etc. He also sang on commercials for Wesson Oil, Shell, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Mattel Toys, etc. The motion picture voice tracks Chuck sang on include Sweet Charity, Hello Dolly, The Great Race, Peter Gunn, The Plainsman, Darling Lilly, Star, etc. Chuck’s singing career was in a period that was very special for group singers. They got to do it all. They sang TV and movie themes; were used as backup for other performers; backup for dancers to lip-sync their voices; and were used on camera as extras where they were transformed into every conceivable character and occupation known to man.

Chuck had always wanted to write and after 18 years of performing he became a writer. He wrote articles that appeared in the National Enquirer, International Musician, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian Institute, Playboy, Ebony, Eros, and Society of Singers Newsletter, etc. Chuck’s writing credits include over 500 published articles. He has interviewed several personalities, including Tex Beneke, Tony Bennett, the late Sherri Lewis, the late Henry Mancini, Peter Marshall, Tony Marshall, Tony Martin, Johnny Mathis, Jaye P. Morgan, Kay Starr, the late Joe Williams, etc.

Chuck was technical writer for, “The Alchemy of Intelligence,” published by Metamorphous Press; technical editor for “Pharmacology, Biology, and Clinical Applications of Androgens,” for Harbor-UCLA Medical Research Center, published by Wiley-Liss, and has worked as a technical writer and editor for several aerospace corporations including Hughes Aircraft Company, Northrop Corporation, Boeing, etc. He wrote the novelization from the screenplay “Supercock” about cock fighting in the Philippines that starred Nancy Kwan. Chuck has had two screenplays optioned.

His education includes a Master’s Degree in Communication and Organizational Theory from Sierra University. Chuck is also a Certified Hypnotherapist.

Memberships and honors include ASCAP, AFTRA, SAG, and Society of Singers Board of Directors, 1986-93. Chuck is listed in “Who’s Who in Entertainment,” “Who’s Who in America,” and “Who’s Who in the World.”

Chuck lives in Long Beach, California where he works as a writer and hypnotherapist. He is working on several projects that include a novel, screenplay, nonfiction book, and a children’s/young adult book series called “Legend of Otherland.”

Chuck’s books:

Evil Does Exist (The Legend of Otherland Book 1) 

Young Bunker Charles, prince of the mysterious and beautiful planet of Otherland, gets more than he bargains for when he witnesses a kidnapping. His pursuit draws him across onto the Dark side of his world. Battling foul weather, a faulty cobaplane and sea monsters, he must struggle to free his new friend Gittel from the Evil Pencinell and her minions, and return to his safe world.

Adventure Underground (The Legend of Otherland Book 2)

On the enchanted planet of Otherland, thirteen-year-old Bunker Charles is forced by a one-inch tall Flooglebopper to return with him to the center of Otherland in his cobamole. There he is required to defend the diminutive mining community’s precious mangolite from the one-foot tall Bargolians, who plan to steal the mangolite to light their underground city. Bunker’s friend Gittel is captured by the High Priest of Bargolia while attempting to rescue him and forced to to fight against him in their defence. Can Bunker use diplomacy to reconcile the two sides and rescue Gittel?

Adventure in Space (The Legend of Otherland Book 3)

Young Bunker Charles and his friend Gittel are accidental stowaways on the test flight of Bunker’s father’s new space ship.  They are drawn against their will to the planet Acron, which is run by the mysterious four-eyed graymanoids, who covet the triptonite from which inventor Steven Charles’ prototype spaceship is made.  He is captured and forced to work to provide them with the formula. Bunker and Gittel escape.  Can they overcome the mind control which keeps the planet’s kidnapped population enslaved, and free Steven and their new friends?

Adventure in the Secret City (The Legend of Otherland Book 4)  

Young Bunker Charles’ first day at the Learning Center on the enchanted planet of Otherland goes awry when his father’s flying zoomer is ‘borrowed’ by a fellow pupil. Bunker and his friend Gittel give chase. In the legendary Secret City, they discover that all is not what it seems amongst snow-capped mountains, and before they can return home, they must battle to save their friends, new and old.

Where to find Chuck online:

Author’s Den
Synergebooks
Facebook
Crimson Cloak Publishing

My Interview with Chuck Kelly

I am happy to introduce Mr. Chuck Kelly.

DQ: Your biography reads like a Who’s Who of the entertainment world. Oh wait, you’re in Who’s Who in Entertainment. 😉 I’m happy to interview you today for my readers. I visited your Facebook page and found posts regarding space exploration and science. Is your interest in science and space part of research for your writing or have you always been interested in them?

CK: I have always been interested in science. I used to read Popular Science magazines. The only science course I took was in high school. My stories are pure imagination on how I interpret science and the universe.

DQ: Your entertainment career is fascinating. So many great legends of TV, Screen, and stage have passed on. You knew a lot of them, worked with them. I am sure you have some good stories to tell. At some future date, will you write a memoir of that time in your life?

CK: I was lucky to have known a lot of the entertainers. As a studio singer, I worked with them on each TV show, or recording. I do have a lot of stories to tell, and yes, I am putting together notes now for a book about my experiences in life.

DQ: Like C.S. Lewis, your career seems firmly embedded in the adult world, yet Lewis wrote one of the world’s most beloved series of children’s books. What inspired you to write a children’s series?

CK: When I was in the fourth grade, Mrs. McMillian asked for those in class who would like to tell a story, to stand in front of the class and tell their story. My friends egged me on to make up a story and tell it, so I did. I used the people in the classroom as characters and we all began a wonderful adventure. Each day the kids in the class wanted me to continue the story, so I did. The time allotted for the storyteller was fifteen minutes. This quickly became thirty minutes each day after lunch. This continued all year. The next year Mrs. McMillian (who said she loved my stories) told the fifth grade teacher of my story telling talent and I continued the adventure stories for another year, all through the fifth grade. This developed my imagination greatly and I never forgot the experiences. When I read the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries, I told myself that I could maintain the same kind of suspense and excitement that these books had by writing my own series of books.

But first I had to follow my talent in music, so instead of majoring in writing in college, I took music. I did fulfill my dream of playing with the big bands when I went with the Glenn Miller Orchestra under direction of Ray McKinley, and then I joined the greatest, the Dizzy Gillespie big band.

My career in music wasn’t over yet. I still had to pursue my singing talents and became a group singer. I joined the Jones Boys and we did an album for Liberty called “Sittin’ on Top of the World”. The Jones Boys joined Betty Hutton in her nightclub act and we stayed with her for two years doing some TV and recording.

My biggest break as a singer came when I auditioned for the tenor part with the Modernaires. I got the job and stayed with them for five years. During that time we averaged one national TV appearance a month for the five years. One of those appearances was with the Bell Telephone Hour, which we did in New York. PBS has since taken that 6+ minute spot and they use it in their quarterly/yearly promotion for PBS. The spot features the Glenn Miller singers, Ray Eberle, Tex Beneke, and the Modernaires with Paula Kelly.

After five years with the Mods, I came home to work the studios. I was on the Red Skelton Show for five and a half years, Danny Kaye for two seasons, and did several recordings. I did commercials, movies (Hello Dolly, Star, Sweet Charity, The Great Race, etc.) I had a great run in the studios and knew it was time to get on with what I really wanted to do: write. After several years of magazine writing, technical writing and working as a freelance, I began the series “Legend of Otherland”. The stories sprang forth, just like they did back in the fourth grade.

Through the greatest publisher in the business, Carly McCracken, the books came alive as paperback books. I have written four books in the series, “Evil Does Exist”, “Adventure Underground”, “Adventure in Space”, and “Adventure in the Secret City”, all available through Crimson Cloak Publishing.

DQ: I find,  as a reader, that authors with a lot of life experience tend to write deeper, richer stories. Tell me how all your varied life experiences have helped with your current writing career.

For me, my imagination is my greatest asset. True, I’ve had many experiences that will be written down someday, if that is what is meant to be, and these life experiences only add to fuel the imagination. Life is wonderful. I take the good and the bad, realizing that nothing lasts forever. Everything that happens, does so for a reason. I savor every ‘now’ moment and look forward to many more.

DQ: Which of your books is your favorite one and why?

CK: The first book Evil Does Exist brings back memories of my enthusiasm for the story. But my passion for writing the series continued throughout all four books. So, I don’t have a favorite. Writing each one was a series of ‘now’ moments that I cherish.

DQ: What would you like your readers to take with them from your books?

Enjoy the stories and adventures. I hope that I can inspire each reader to use his/her own thoughts and create something different and spectacular! Imagination is in everyone. All we have to do is to tap into that wonderful gift and it’s ours!

Thank you Ducky.

DQ: Thank you Chuck. For my readers, the links to Chuck’s books are here in this interview or you can follow the links in the Spotlight post. Chuck’s story is fascinating and I’m happy he chose to share a little of it with us.

Hi Sanna,

Before we start your interview, I want to tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed Shining Ones: Legacy of the Sidhe. I know a little of the mythology and it was fun to follow how you incorporated it into your modern story.

Ducky: In another interview, you said you write Young Adult novels. I did not get the sense that Shining Ones was for that age group specifically. What makes you, the author, classify it as Young Adult?

Sanna: I think YA involves discovery—particularly self-discovery—and the fact that life decisions are yet to be made. Tessa begins her journey steeped in the beliefs she learned as a child. After new experiences, she questions those Rules, begins to think for herself. It’s a mental Coming of Age.

All my books (two more out soon, I hope) take place during a short period of time: a pivotal moment. I think this fits with Young Adult, too. You won’t see me writing whole lifespans or multi-generational sagas; I’m too impatient!

Now, I do defy convention by mixing adults, younger adults and teens. Most YA stories eliminate anyone who might be considered an authority figure, but I think there’s a place for adults, particularly when travel is involved. In the U.K., for instance, no one under age eighteen can drive. A character list made up entirely of teens would have a lot of train travel and hiking to do. There would be issues, too, about lodging, money, even being under-aged kids on their own. Adults have their uses.

Ducky: Your location detail was very good. Have you traveled to all the places you mentioned in Shining Ones? If yes, what was your favorite place to visit?

Sanna: I visited Ireland, Wales, England and Scotland, but not all the areas in the story. To write the book, I researched every step of the journey from posted pictures and travelers’ accounts. Lots of map work involved, too. I have been to ancient places in other parts of Europe, so the sense of awe they inspire is part of my personal experience.

Ducky: I was shocked to learn you are from the Midwest, USA. Your knowledge of the ancient places of Ireland, Wales and Britain made me believe you were from there. What sparked your interest in the Tuatha Dé Danann and the legends of the Sidhe?

Sanna: As a graduate student, I studied the nineteenth-century art movement called the Celtic Revival. Artists in Ireland and the U.K. drew their inspiration from Irish legends. I loved reading those stories, thinking they were pure fiction. As I wrote the book, I began to see them as history, embellished perhaps over the 700+ generations they were told and retold before being set down in writing. Clearly, the stories were more than fireside entertainment. They formed the basis of the Irish culture and have impact even today.

Ducky: Shining Ones deals with traditions, legacies, family, and enmities. What do you hope your reader takes to heart about your book?

Sanna: Experience creates understanding. Before going to Ireland, Tessa sees the world in black and white: Dananns=good, Formorians=bad, mortals=danger. She realizes that mortals like Maggie are essential to her people’s future, that Formorians aren’t crazed psychos but people with a different ethical code, that Dananns may have their dark side, too. Most bigotry derives from lack of personal experience—too narrow a worldview.

Ducky: Share with us what you like to read. What authors have written books that just capture your imagination?

Sanna: I discovered a contemporary fantasy called Half Magic when I was a child. Loved, loved, loved the concept of magic in the ordinary world. When I exhausted my library’s supply of what I call magic realism (there are a lot of definitions), I went on to mythology, SFF, paranormals and mystery. Most recently, I’ve been reading other writers who touch on Irish myth: Shannon Barnsley, A.M.H. Johnson, Pat McDermott, and Christy Nicholas. In the mystery genre, I’ve enjoyed Elizabeth Horton-Newton, Brian O’Hare and Georgann Prochaska.

Ducky: Tell us about your processes. Do you have rituals? How about specific steps? How do you go about writing your books?

Sanna: My background in business communications taught me how to produce materials on demand. (“You want your paycheck? Write!”) Never met a Muse, but I’ve met many deadlines. When I start a new project, I outline the basics of what each chapter should achieve. Of course, the story takes on more dimension as it fills in, sometimes going in an unexpected direction, but always working toward the ending. To stay in the spirit of the story, I listen to music—one album played over and over. This works even after a lot of time has passed. Just play the music, and I’m back in those characters, that world again.

Ducky: Shining Ones is a mixture of practical and fanciful. The characters are going through some insanely wild adventures, yet they solve them and stay safe through the basic skills that any “non-magical” person might have, such as martial arts. How did you reconcile the mundane with the magical in your story?

Sanna: Dananns have Talents, not magic. Each person has one inborn ability. Tessa can change shape, but she can’t turn invisible or heal or see the future. In this way, Dananns are like everyone else. Sports stars, for instance, don’t wake up each morning dazed and thrilled by their own abilities. They’re used to being who they are; they take their skills in stride. I love writing about the ordinariness of extraordinary lives.

This was an interesting and informative interview. Thank you for your time Sanna and I hope to see many more of your novels out there soon.

4 Ducks  

Sanna Hines took me on a rollicking ride, through the fabric of reality. In Legacy of the Sidhe, I met many of the legends of the Tuatha de Danann. They may be virtual demi-gods, but they are also very human. From America to Ireland and even a short stop in Wales to touch on the Arthurian legends, Tessa, Sam, Cory and Maggie seek to complete a quest to save not just their friends, but the entire Danann race.

What I liked best about this book is the way the author wove so many of the stories and legends of the Sidhe into a tapestry that told the story but didn’t get too busy with details. Many of the old legends from Ireland were only passed down orally for much of their history and in Gaelic no less. I’ve read a few of them, including when I was in Ireland and they are a wee bit confusing to my American mind. Sanna Hines did a lot of research for this book and it is evident. She describes Lady Grian and Lady Áine in the way of the old stories, but most of the other Sidhe were more recognizable and less confusing. I enjoy the story more as each new legendary figure was revealed and the main characters learned how to solve the riddles of the quest and of the people assisting them.

It was a little anticlimactic in the end and left me wishing there had been more detail about what happened to everyone. However, that is how all the good books end. They leave you wanting more. Good job Sanna Hines on a fun story.

Welcome to Ducky’s Quill. I’m taking the plunge into blogging with my reviews of books I have read. Along with some of the reviews I will be doing Interviews and Author Spotlights. Without further ado, please give a warm welcome to indie author Sanna Hines.

Sanna Hines

Sanna Hines is fascinated with the question, “What IF?” What if I were in danger? Would I face it with bravery and resourcefulness—or give in to fear? What if I could live forever, but my loved ones could not? What lies waiting to be discovered behind the veil of ordinary existence?

Journalism, art history and business studies led Sanna to a career in marketing communications. In 2004, she turned to fiction. Her first two books, Stealth Moves and Shining Ones: Legacy of the Sidhe, were published in 2015.

She holds a master’s degree in art history and two black belts in Tae Kwon Do. Sanna and her family live near Chicago.

As mentioned above, Sanna has two books available now. I have read Shining Ones: Legacy of the Sidhe and you can find my review here and Sanna’s Interview here.

Shining Ones: Legacy of the Sidhe

Ever feel you’re different from other people?

For police officer Tessa Holly, it’s not a feeling; it’s a fact. She can change her body any way she chooses. She will never grow sick or old.

Born a descendant of Ireland’s magical Tuatha dé Danann (Clan of Danu), Tessa expects to follow her clan’s Rules in all things–friendships, career, even marriage.

But when her brother and a human girl are seized by enemies bent on stealing Danann longevity, the Rules don’t help. To rescue the captives, Tessa must rely on a man no one trusts as her guide through cairns, castles and cathedrals of Ireland and Britain in search of her people’s greatest treasures.

Along the way, she discovers a power greater than all others. If she uses it, she could save—or destroy—her people.

To purchase: Shining Ones: Legacy of the Sidhe

https://www.amazon.com/Shining-Ones-Legacy-Sanna-Hines-ebook/dp/B018EJ8EJ2

http://www.amazon.com/Shining-Ones-Legacy-Sanna-Hines/dp/1478761806/

Stealth Moves

Three daring, daylight kidnappings stun Boston. When Beacon Hill preppie Liv Smallwood sees an extraordinary classmate taken, she can’t wait for police to find her friend. Liv launches a social media campaign to intrigue the kidnapper and draw all of Boston into the search. Even this is not enough.

Two obstacles stand in her way: bodyguard and kidnapper. Holly Glasscock, new college grad and cop wannabe, wins the role of Liv’s bodyguard with bold moves of her own. Convinced the job will propel her into a law enforcement career, Holly soon learns “to protect and to serve” She soon learns “to protect and to serve” takes more than education and martial arts skills. She’ll need wit, courage, and heart to keep Liv from the man called “Stealth,” a man tormented by the death of his twin brother, Brandon.

One person with two souls, Stealth will do anything to appease Brandon, even risk a final, desperate capture.

To purchase: Stealth Moves

http://www.amazon.com/Stealth-Moves-Sanna-Hines/dp/1478756047/

https://www.amazon.com/Stealth-Moves-Sanna-Hines-ebook/dp/B00ZXYFEZY

Places where you can connect with Sanna:

Website http://sannahines.wix.com/sanna-hines-worlds
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sanna.hines.author/
Twitter https://twitter.com/SannaHines1
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14050716.Sanna_Hines
Amazon author http://www.amazon.com/Sanna-Hines/e/B011HCBJPE/
Kirkus Reviews https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sanna-hines/shining-ones/
WordPress Blog https://sannahines.wordpress.com/
Blogger https://sidheworld.blogspot.com
Google+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/115977961974094249362/posts