Sylvia Massara
Biography
Sylvia Massara is a multi-genre novelist based in Sydney, Australia, who dabbles in wacky love affairs, drama and murder (or all three) over coffee. Sylvia has been writing since her early teens and her work consists of screenplays and novels.
As with most authors, Sylvia draws on her varied experience from having worked in the field of human resources across a number of industries including the glamorous world of international hotels.
In the romance genre, Sylvia reveals a soft spot for older female protagonists who are on the cusp of 40 and beyond. One of her novels, The Other Boyfriend, is loosely based on her own life experience whilst she lived in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Her other romance novel, Like Casablanca, is a romantic comedy about internet dating.
On a more serious note, Sylvia wrote a very touching contemporary fiction drama, The Soul Bearers, which explores issues of child abuse, repressed sexuality, AIDS and gay rights; a story inspired by real life events and filled with hope and inspiration when overcoming fear, loss, and betrayal. At present, the novel is under consideration for adaptation into a feature film.
An avid fan of classic black and white Hollywood movies of the 40s including film noir, Sylvia has recently embarked on a contemporary mystery series whose protagonist is an older, spunky and smartarse female of 48, who works in the international world of hotels. The theme is comedic, sprinkled with a little bit of style from the film noir era; the stories are fast-paced and set in the modern day world. The first two novels in the series are Playing With The Bad Boys and The Gay Mardi Gras Murders.
Where to find Sylvia Massara online
Where to buy in print
videos
Sylvia interviews Mark Coker, CEO of Smashwords!
Author and avid supporter of "indie" authors, Sylvia Massara, recently caught up with Mark Coker, CEO of Smashwords, during his mini-world tour. This video is her interview with him on The Lit Chick Show - filmed on location in Sydney, Australia.
Sylvia would like to take this opportunity to thank Mark Coker for his time and his passion for supporting "indie" authors through the wonderful medium of digital publishing. Thank you, Mark; and thank you, Smashwords!
Books
Sylvia Massara’s tag cloud
Smashwords book reviews by Sylvia Massara
- Sleight Malice
on Jan. 11, 2011
As usual, the Queen of Suspense takes the reader through a labyrinth of situations and clues where the reader thinks "Yes, yes, I know who's done it!", but we're often wrong. When Vicki is ready, and not a minute before, she eventually leads the reader to a culminating and unexpected ending.
Like Vicki's other book "Thin Blood", I thoroughly enjoyed reading Sleight Malice. The story gripped me from the start and then I couldn't put it down--even when I was supposed to be working on other things. LOL.
I will soon embark upon another suspense adventure with Vicki's "Brittle Shadows" and already I know it's going to make an excellent read.
- Thin Blood
on Jan. 11, 2011
I really enjoyed how the author built the suspense in her story. At first I thought the story was going to be a simple one, with the first few characters introduced and the general plotline, but as I got more into the story, other characters came out of the woodwork and there were a couple of very good twists--especially the one at the end.
Normally, I don't read contemporary suspense novels, especially because some of them get too graphic (eg. Kathy Reichs, Patricia Cornwell, James Patterson, etc), so what I liked about Vicki Tyley's book was that she didn't have to resort to the use of gross and graphic scenes in order to grab my attention. She managed to maintain the suspense right through, simply by weaving her story in a way that kept me wanting to find out more and kept me guessing--and this, in my opinion, is the mark of a true suspense writer. Anyone can write about blood and gore, but not everyone can write a good suspense story without being too graphic. Vicki did and this is why I liked her novel. I will be reading Vicki's other books - she's got me hooked now ;-) I call her "The Queen of Suspense"!
- Brittle Shadows
on March 05, 2011
With a beginning like the one in this book, you know straight away that you're going to keep turning the virtual pages on your e-reader!
I loved the many contrasts in the story that kept me guessing through a labyrinth of characters and situations to try and work out who did it. But as usual, I got it wrong and Vicki kept me guessing right to the last scene.
There were some real surprises and twists along the way that made me even more determined to try and outwit the main character and beat her to solving the mystery. However, the author is too clever for this and through her skillful twists and turns she led me to an unexpected ending. Great story, and one that I highly recommend!
Sylvia Massara
www.sylviamassara.com
- Enemies and Playmates
on April 02, 2011
This is the first time I’ve read a suspense/ romance and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. Being a novelist myself, I thought how I would tackle this kind of genre if I were to write a suspense/romance. Personally, I would find it rather challenging to weave the suspense side of the story with the romance side and keep them flowing with a fine balance. I have to say that Darcia Helle has achieved this in an excellent manner. She has weaved her story with the characters in a subtle manner. So much so that I started to feel just how the characters felt, their likes/dislikes, their fears and their joys. One thing that jumped out at me was Darcia’s wonderful talent for developing her characters, especially the main protagonists. She doesn’t rush in and tell us all about them, instead she slowly shows us through their actions something new about them. I must say that this was done so well that I take my hat off to Darcia. It’s not easy trying to keep so many characters in your head (or even on paper) with their little quirks, habits, etc, and maintain continuity and consistency in a story, and also ensure the plot keeps moving. Darcia obviously has this gift and she delivers her story masterfully, even down to the little details that many of us never think about.
I loved the story, and the plot just kept getting better and better, until the story culminated into a spiral of suspense action that made me unable to put down the book—or I should say, I just couldn’t shut off my e-book reader! I can’t wait to read Darcia’s other novels now :-)
Sylvia Massara
Novelist
www.sylviamassara.com
- Second Chances
on April 21, 2011
I read this book when it came out on Amazon, but I am also writing the review here:
Second Chances is what I would term a paranormal suspense with a touch of romance. This is a genre that is new to me; at least since I read Anne Rice's vampire series years ago. But I'm not comparing the two as there are no vampires in this story. Second Chances is a story of good versus evil. What comes to the fore, however, are the qualities of forgiveness and love. In this story, the two main characters take totally different paths in life--one goes down the road of good; the other becomes evil. Now most of us would take the stance that the evil one "gets what he deserves", but in this story we see that love is ever expanding and that not only can it overcome evil, but it can actually transform evil into something that is pure love. In the end, what I took away from this riveting story is that there really is no evil in the universe--there is only love. We all travel down paths of our own making; some of these paths might be good while others might be negative or evil, but in the end there is no condition (whether physical or spiritual) that cannot be transformed by love.
This wonderful story comes with a strong message that while subtle, cannot be dismissed. The story holds the reader spellbound with its tale of paranormal events, evil deeds, suspense, friendship and romance. At the end of the day, however, the message comes through loud and clear. Everything is love; everything can be transformed by love. In Second Chances, I was enthralled, held in suspense and even enchanted, in the end I came away feeling inspired and opening my heart to the fact that love truly does conquer all.
- Justice For Emily
on Sep. 21, 2011
This story has many elements: romance, humour, visits from a loved one who passed on, and the paranormal aspects that the heroine is blessed with and what protects her and makes her the strong and beautiful person she is. But the one aspect that jumped out at me and touched me deeply was the cold brutality that domestic abuse and violence invoked in the storyline. Straight away, my heart cried out for "justice"; justice for the character, Emily, and justice for all women in real life who are subjected to ANY type of abuse, whether it be physical, psychological, verbal or all three.
There is a strong message in this story that cannot be ignored, and that is that evil exists in many forms; but through the love of those who care, justice and healing is possible. Certainly, a chilling read from the "abuse" perspective, but an enjoyable read as a whole. Thank you, Sandy; you have tackled a very difficult issue and dealt with it beautifully.
- Mini Skirts and Laughter Lines
on Nov. 15, 2011
Being an author myself, I don't get much time to read; but recently, during a move, I did my back in and was bed-ridden for a few days. I was driving myself insane, not having much to do, so I decided to read Carol's book.
Just so you know, I'm getting closer to 50 myself (Oh, my God!); just went through a horrible divorce; an illness; lost my home; lost heaps of money on legal fees, etc, etc. I thought that this marriage of mine would last till the end and I lost all faith in love when it didn't. To top matters off, getting closer to the big 5-0 is not fun, and facing an uncertain future is very scary. As we get older, we also tend to lose loved ones around us; I lost my mother in 2007, and my cat of 15 yrs 6 months later. My other cat is 20 yrs old and on her last legs, and I don't have any other family in Australia, except my brother. So you might say that I'm DEFINITELY not looking forward to an uncertain future where I might be alone and have to start all over again.
Why am I giving you all this background? So you can understand how Carol's book affected me. Basically, if I were a doctor dealing with a patient who's been going through all the crap I've been going through, I would prescribe Carol's book.
The story made me laugh, it made me cry (I cried a lot, in fact), it made me look at things in my life in a different light, and it made me a little bit wiser in the end. I was able to relate to so many of the situations the characters in the book found themselves in, and I simply loved the mother! She so reminded me so much of my own mother, whom I miss so much (and my mother was real internet junkie to boot!). Also, I obviously had to release more sadness and feelings of hurt and grief about my marriage breakup. So it was probably providence that I did my back in and had Carol's book handy (though I could've done without the excrutiating pain. LOL).
From an author's point of view, I loved the way Carol developed her characters and brought them to life in such a way that you could practically reach out and touch them!I got to know each of them intimately, and when the story finished I missed them. So Carol, please bring them back!
This is a MUST READ for anyone at any age! Don't miss it (and don't wait till you're getting closer to 50). You will absolutely love this story whether your 19 or 99!
And Carol, thank you for taking away so much of my pain through your writing; I truly appreciate it.
Sylvia Massara
Author of "Like Casablanca"
"The Other Boyfriend" and "The Soul Bearers"
- Into The Light
on Dec. 10, 2011
All I want to know is why this author in not yet on the “bestseller” list. This is the second book I have read by Darcia Helle, and all I can say is that I was once again delighted that her story was a real page-turner. “Into the Light” is a paranormal mystery/thriller that will keep the reader wondering what is going to happen next.
In my opinion, the character development is exceptional, and we get to piece together the personality and little quirks of each character bit by bit, while the story unfolds beautifully.
Being an author myself, I have to say that we can be the worst critics when it comes to reviewing a book because not only do we look at character and plot development, but we also look at grammar, tense and a whole host of other things. We can get very picky at times; so I am pleased to say that I didn’t have a moment’s hesitation about this author’s writing style. I knew that even if the story wasn’t right up my alley, I would still enjoy a good read. In the end, however, I enjoyed the story immensely.
When I leave a review, I don’t normally go into the actual story and reveal the plot. All I do is comment on what I’ve learned or felt from reading the book. In this instance, I have to say that I was not only entertained, but I tried to see if I could solve the mystery (which I didn’t), and so it was great when all was revealed by the author as the story unfolded very cleverly. Additionally, the story is one of inspiration and it shows the reader how we see things from a different perspective, relative to where we are—that is, on Earth or in the spirit world.
In conclusion, I have only one word to describe this novel: EXCELLENT!
Sylvia Massara
Author of Like Casablanca, The Other Boyfriend, The Soul Bearers
(4.40 from 5 reviews)