Guest post: Creating an Indie Chicks charity anthology by Cheryl Shireman

I’m delighted to bring you tonight’s guest blog post, a Monday night extra, on the topic of creating an Indie Chicks charity anthology, by Cheryl Shireman.

Is Your Life Whispering to You?

I believe life whispers to you and provides direction. I call that life force God. You can call it whatever you want, but there is no escaping it. If we are open, and brave enough to say yes, life will take us in directions we never expected, and you will live a life beyond your wildest dreams.

Those whisperings often come in the form of a “crazy” idea or a nudge to move into a certain direction that seems odd or silly or daring. Then there is that moment when you think, Well, that’s weird. Where in the world did that come from?

And then there’s the second moment, when you have to make a choice. You can dismiss the crazy notion, and probably even come up with a dozen reasons why it’s a bad idea. You don’t have the time, the money, or the resources. Besides, who are you to do such a thing? What in the world were you thinking? So, you dismiss the idea. We always have that option – to say No.

But it comes back – that whisper. Sometimes again and again. But if we are practical, and safe, we can squash the notion until it is almost forgotten. Almost.

Such a notion came to me a couple of months ago. I began to think of an anthology composed of women writers. An anthology that would be published before the rapidly approaching holiday season. The title came to me almost immediately – Indie Chicks. It was a crazy notion. I was working with an editor who was editing my first two novels, and was also in the middle of writing a third novel. Working on three books seemed to be a pretty full plate. Adding a fourth was insane.

But the crazy notion kept coming back to me. It simply refused to be dismissed. So I sent out a “feeler” email to another writer, Michelle Muto. She loved the idea. I sent out another email to my writing buddy, J. Carson Black. She loved the idea, too, but couldn’t make the time commitment. She had just signed with Thomas & Mercer and was knee deep in writing. I took it as a sign. I didn’t have the time for the project either. Perhaps after the first of the year, when final edits were done on my own novels. I dismissed it, at least for the present time. I’d think about it again in another couple of months, when the timing made more sense.

A week later I surrendered, started developing a marketing plan for Indie Chicks, and began sending out emails to various indie writers – some I knew, but most were strangers. I contacted a little over thirty women. Every one of them responded with enthusiasm. Most said yes immediately, and those who could not, due to time commitments, wished us well and asked me to let them know when the book when the book was published so they could be part of promoting it.

One of the first writers I contacted was Heather Marie Adkins. Earlier this year, while I was browsing the internet, I came across an interview with Heather. The interviewer (oddly enough, Michelle Muto) asked Heather, When did you decide to become an indie author? Heather’s answer was:  About a month ago. My dad had been trying to talk me into self-publishing for some time, but I was hesitant. One night, I sat down and ran a Google search. I discovered Amanda Hocking, JA Konrath, Victorine Lieski; but it was Cheryl Shireman that convinced me. This is the field to be in. I was shocked (Astonished! Flabbergasted!). I had no idea that I had ever inspired anyone! To be honest, it was a bit humbling. And,okay, yes – it made me cry. So, of course, I had to invite Heather to be a part of the anthology. Heather not only said yes, but she also volunteered to format the project – a task I was dreading.

As Heather and I exchanged emails, I told her about how I had been similarly inspired to become an indie writer by Karen McQuestion. My husband bought me a Kindle for Christmas of 2010. Honestly, the present angered me. I didn’t want a Kindle. I wanted nothing to do with reading a book on an electronic device! I love books; the feel of them, the smell of them. But, very quickly, I started filling up that Kindle with novels.

One day, while looking for a new book on Amazon, I came across a title by Karen McQuestion. I learned that McQuestion had published her novels through Amazon straight to Kindle. Immediately, I began doing research on her and how to publish through Kindle. I had just completed a novel and was ready to submit it through traditional routes. Within 48 hours of first reading about McQuestion, I submitted my novel, Life Is But A Dream: On The Lake. Twenty four hours later, it was published as an eBook on Amazon. Within another couple of weeks it was available as a paperback and through Nook. Did I jump into this venture fearlessly? No! I was scared to death, and I almost talked myself out of it. Almost. The novel went on to sell over 10,000 copies within the first seven months of release.

As I shared that story with Heather, another crazy notion whispered in my ear – Ask Karen McQuestion to write the foreword for Indie Chicks. Of course, I dismissed it. We had exchanged a couple of tweets on Twitter, but other than that, I had never corresponded with McQuestion. It was nonsense to think she would write the foreword. I was embarrassed to even ask her. Surely, she would think I was some sort of nut. But, the idea kept whispering to me and, with great trepidation, I emailed her. She said yes! Kindly, enthusiastically, and whole-heartedly, she said yes. Karen McQuestion had inspired me to try indie publishing. I had inspired Heather Adkins. And now the three of us were participating in Indie Chicks, that crazy whisper I had been unable to dismiss.

The book began to develop, and as it did, a theme began to form. This was to be a book full of personal stories from women. As women, one of our most powerful gifts is our ability to encourage one another. This book became our effort to encourage women across the world. Twenty-five women sharing stories that will make you laugh, inspire you, and maybe even make you cry. We began to dream that these stories would inspire other women to live the life they were meant to live.

From the beginning, I knew I wanted the proceeds of this charity to go to some sort of charity that would benefit other women. While we were in the process of compiling the anthology, the mother of one of the women was diagnosed with breast cancer. Almost immediately upon learning that, Michelle Muto sent me an email. Hey, in light of *****’s mother having an aggressive form of breast cancer, can I nominate The Susan G. Komen foundation for breast cancer? I mean, one of our own is affected here, and other than heart disease (which took my own mother’s life), I can’t think of anything more worthy than to honor our sister in words and what she’s going through. A daughter’s love knows no bounds for her mother. Trust me. I know it’s a charity that already gets attention on its own. But, that’s not the point, is it? The point is there are 25 ‘sisters’ sticking together and supporting each other for this anthology. I say we put the money where the heart is. We had our inspiration. All proceeds would go to the Susan G. Komen foundation for breast cancer research.

The stories started coming in. Some were light hearted and fun to read. But others were gut-wrenching and inspiring – stories of how women dealt with physical abuse, overwhelming grief, and a host of bad choices. It was clear; these women were not just sharing a story, but a piece of their heart. I felt as if I were no longer “organizing” this anthology, but just getting out of the way so that it could morph and evolve into its truest form.

Fast forward to just a few days before publication. Heather was almost done with the enormous task of formatting a book with twenty-five authors. We were very close to publishing and were on the homestretch. That’s when I received an email. An unlikely email from someone I didn’t really know. Beth Elisa Harris and I were involved in another indie project and Beth sent an email to all of the authors in that project, including me. She attached a journal to that email. For whatever reason, Beth had been inspired to share a journal she wrote a few years ago. She cautioned us to keep her confidence and not share the journal with anyone else. I tend toward privacy and don’t tend to trust easily. This is a HUGE step for me. I’ve only read it once since I wrote it. Intrigued, I opened the journal and began reading. It dealt with her diagnosis, a few years back, with breast cancer! Before I was even one third of the way through the journal, I felt I should ask Beth to include this journal in the Indie Chicks anthology. It was a crazy notion, especially when considering her words about privacy and trust. We didn’t even know each other, how could I ask her to go public with something so personal? I tried to dismiss the notion (are you noticing a pattern here?), but could not. I wrote the email, took a deep breath, and hit send. She answered immediately. Yes. Most definitely, yes.

Indie Chicks: 25 Women 25 Personal Stories, with foreword by Karen McQuestion and afterword by Beth Elise Harris, is now available through Barnes and Noble and Amazon. The book includes personal stories from each of the women, as well as excerpts from our novels. And it began as a whisper. A whisper I did my best to ignore.

What whisper are you ignoring? What crazy notion haunts you? What dream merely awaits your response? I urge you, say Yes. Live the life you were meant to live. Say yes today.

Stories included in Indie Chicks:

Foreword by Karen McQuestion

Knight in Shining Armor by Shea MacLeod

Latchkey Kid by Heather Marie Adkins

Write or Die by Danielle Blanchard

The Phoenix and The Darkness by Lizzy Ford

Never Too Late by Linda Welch

Stepping Into the Light by Donna Fasano

One Fictionista’s Literary Bliss by Katherine Owen

I Burned My Bra For This? by Cheryl Shireman

Mrs. So Got It Wrong Agent by Prue Battten

Holes by Suzanne Tyrpak

Turning Medieval by Sarah Woodbury

A Kinky Adventure in Anglophilia by Anne R. Allen

Writing From a Flour Sack by Dani Amore

Just Me and James Dean by Cheryl Bradshaw

How a Big Yellow Truck Changed My Life by Christine DeMaio-Rice

From 200 Rejections to Amazon Top 200! by Sibel Hodge

Have You Ever Lost a Hat? by Barbara Silkstone

French Fancies! by Mel Comley

Life’s Little Gifts by Melissa Foster

Never Give Up On Your Dream by Christine Kersey

Self-taught Late Bloomer by Carol Davis Luce

Moving to The Middle East by Julia Crane

Paper, Pen, and Chocolate by Talia Jager

The Magic Within and The Little Book That Could by Michelle Muto

Write Out of Grief by Melissa Smith

Afterword by Beth Elisa Harris

Indie Chicks is available for your Kindle on Amazon and your Nook on Barnes and Noble. You may also read it on your computer or most mobile devices by downloading a free reader from those sites.

Stop by our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/IndieChicksAnthology

Follow our Indie Chicks hash tag on Twitter!  #IndieChicksAnthology

Thank you Cheryl, I hope it sells really, really well!

If you would like to write a writing-related guest post for my blog then feel free to email me with an outline of what you would like to write about. If it’s writing-related then it’s highly likely I’d email back and say “yes please” (while quietly bouncing up and down in my seat with joy!).

The blog interviews return as normal tomorrow morning with romance author Chris Karlsen – the one hundred and seventy-fourth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further. And I enjoy hearing from readers of my blog; do either leave a comment on the relevant interview (the interviewees love to hear from you too!) and / or email me.

 

Author interview no.173 with multi-genre writer Dal Burns

Welcome to the one hundred and seventy-third of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. Today’s is with children’s and sci-fi author, playwright (and more) Dal Burns. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further. You can also read Dal’s ‘Writing for radio and theatre’ guest blog posted last night.

Morgen: Hello, Dal. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

Dal: I’m a 4th-generation entertainer. I’ve been in TV, movies, radio, recording studios, rock band, theatre etc. I’ve done almost every job in the ‘biz, including writing. I’ve written for radio ads, theatre programs, screenplays, radio plays (they were fun!) theatre plays (2 of which were produced and quite successful). I’ve actually been a stunt man in Australia and in the U.S. on top of everything else. I wrote my first short story at seventeen, after a mentor suggested I enter a writing competition. He said that because I was rather well known in my village (in the wilds of Northumberland) as the local storyteller. As I recall, I won the competition. I didn’t pick it up again until I was in my thirties and working with a theatre company.

Morgen: Definitely born to do it. What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

Dal: I don’t write for any genre. I write what I love. Stories are my genre, if you will. I have always loved stories and when I was living in the Australian bush (in my late teens) I heard stories from Aborigines, carnival workers, jackaroos and the like. Stories I heard while on walkabout with Aborigines or sitting by a campfire in the deep bush with an opal miner or a carnie or a swagman I chanced on in the bush.

Morgen: What an experience. What have you had published to-date? If applicable, can you remember where you saw your first books on the shelves?

Dal:

• Outback! – One-man play that became an audiobook. Suitable for YA to adult
• The Kookaburra and Other Stories – Audiobook of seven stories and a paperback with twenty-three stories. Suitable for 6-11 years, though many adults love the audio version
• The Adventures of Phoo – The story of a boy jester and his robot friend Clunk, on the planet Mars. Suitable for 6-11 years
• Alien Race – Sci-fi novella for YA to adult

My Kookaburra book first appeared at Copperfields book store. I once got a phone call from the lead editor of the Sydney Morning Herald who called to tell me my Kookaburra CD had supplanted the Game Boy as the favourite object for his two sons to fight over!

Morgen: Oh wow! This leads me perfectly on to my next question, have you ever seen a member of the public (whom you don’t know!) reading your book… in any unusual locations?

Dal: My books and audio have turned up in England, Saudi Arabia, China, Australia, Chile and a few other odd locations. I have never seen one in the hands of a stranger, though.

Morgen: Yet. How much of the marketing do you do for your published works or indeed for yourself as a ‘brand’?

Dal: Not a lot. Once I have written a piece, I tend to let it go. I am changing that attitude and am working on social and commercial web media to help get my work more into the public eye. YouTube videos will be a part of that, along with the usual blog and Twitter accounts.

Morgen: Trailers are becoming more and more popular. I’m not strictly a novelist so it’ll be interesting to see whether they work for other mediums, I suppose they do. See, I’m hammocking in the learning curve. You mentioned competitions, do you think they help with a writer’s success?

Dal: Not really sure they help unless they are studied by a publisher who is interested in acquisitions.

Morgen: Do you write under a pseudonym? If so why and do you think it makes a difference?

Dal: I don’t use a pen name. I figure if someone wishes to hunt me down for writing a terrible book, they’ll find a way!

Morgen: But hopefully not. Do you have an agent? Do you think they’re vital to an author’s success?

Dal: I don’t have an agent. I believe that agents were once vital to a writer’s career. With the advent of the web and eBooks, that is changing, rapidly.

Morgen: I agree, or at least by going my own way, I hope so. Are your books available as eBooks? If so what was your experience of that process? And do you read eBooks?

Dal: Alien Race is purely an eBook. My Kookaburra stories and my Adventures of Phoo will become eBooks next year, when my publishing contract expires and the books are mine, once again. My next two books will also be eBooks, at least at first. I currently own a Kindle and a Nook and I use my iPhone for some, smaller books.

Morgen: I’m hoping, as a short story writer, that that will work to my advantage. What was your first acceptance and is being accepted still a thrill?

Dal: Gosh, that’s hard. I first started writing radio ads and theatre programs. I had a short (horror) story published by a magazine and I loved it. Anytime someone likes my stories, I get a big thrill.

Morgen: Presumably in amongst these successes you’ve had any rejections? If so, how do you deal with them?

Dal: Hundreds. I just figure that if Parlophone records turned down the Beatles because ‘guitar bands’ were on the way out, no-one is perfect and the agent / publisher is probably wrong about me, too.

Morgen: JK Rowling was turned down by over a dozen (14-16 depending on where you read about it). What are you working on at the moment / next?

Dal: Letters from Chile is an (adult) collection of short stories. Releasing as an eBook as soon as I can get it finished.

The Neighbour’s Cat is an illustrated book for young children. Working with Kari Wishingrad (co-author) and SonaJacob (illustrator) on this project, releasing as an eBook and possibly an iPad app., this winter

The Hidden Path is a YA Faerie story that is on my list for next year, as an eBook.

Morgen: It’s encouraging that you write so many different things (as I do) but then that’s the joy of eBooks, it pleases so many more markets than being streamlined into one. Do you manage to write every day? What’s the most you’ve written in a day?

Dal: I don’t write every day. Some days I wander around the forest around my little town, sometimes with my horse and sometimes alone. I use that time to think and let my mind formulate stories. I think the most I ever wrote in one day was 3,000 words and they were awful.

Morgen: Oh dear.

Dal: With Alien Race, I wrote 2,500 in one day and was delighted with all of them!

Morgen: Oh good – only an average of 50 awful words then. What is your opinion of writer’s block? Do you ever suffer from it? If so, how do you ‘cure’ it?

Dal: Writer’s block is not something I have experienced. When I am in the right mood, I write. If the ‘feel’ is not there, I do other things.

Morgen: Best plan. A question some authors dread, where do you get your inspiration from?

Dal: My life, principally. I am very well-travelled and adventurous. I recently backpacked through Patagonia, mostly alone. Got a few good stories right there! Last year I bicycled 800 miles through Morocco with a friend. We just biked wherever we felt like going. This year I spent a week in the Nevada desert, driving cattle to the Reno Rodeo. Between the ages of seventeen and twenty I travelled the Australian bush, often alone. I still get inspiration from the bush. I have so much life to draw from that I have no excuse not to be inspired, all the time.

Morgen: Wow, you sound like my friend Caroline, she’s always off somewhere, and my brother’s a big traveller. I’m more of a home bird… a one-room writer. Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Dal: I do both. Sometimes a story comes to me fully-fledged, as Alien Race did. With Phoo, it took me six months of hard slog to build the plot and write it up.

Morgen: But rewarding when you got there, hopefully. Do you have a method for creating your characters, their names and what do you think makes them believable?

Dal: I do not. I most often draw from life and will create my characters from an amalgam of ‘characters’ I have met in life. Naming is fairly easy as I tend to make up a name that ‘suits’ the character I have created. Taking inspiration from life helps make my characters ‘believable’.

Morgen: And that’s what we’re after. Do you write any non-fiction? If so, how do you decide what to write about?

Dal: I write non-fiction in a fiction format. I take real events from my life and the lives of others and mould the events into fiction, using a little ‘poetic license’.

Morgen: Do you write poetry? If so, do you write to form or free verse? What would you say is the difference between a piece of prose and a prose poem? Why do you think poetry is so popular and yet so poorly paid?

Dal: I do write some Hai-Ku, though mostly for myself. To me, a prose poem is just a piece of prose set to a particular cadence. Poetry is not taken seriously in schools and, therefore, the adults don’t take it for the art form it truly is.

Morgen: Isn’t it, it’s a shame. I’m still learning poetry (not sure if I ever will as I don’t write much of it) but it would be nice to ‘get’ it. Do you write short stories? If so, apart from the word count, what do you see as the differences between them and novels and why do you think they’re so difficult to get published?

Dal: I believe that quantity often overshadows quality. If we don’t get 250,000 words, we feel robbed. Unless we get a Hummer or a triple Big Mac, we are not getting value for money. That’s the principle difference as I see it. That and most publishers cannot see past their own noses.

Morgen: Hopefully eBooks will change that. Novel length for eBooks is already been talked about at least. Are you involved in anything else writing-related other than actual writing or marketing of your writing?

Dal: Not at the moment. Something comes up, I will jump at it.

Morgen: Who is your first reader – who do you first show your work to?

Dal: I have friends in California and the UK who get to see my work before I send it to market.

Morgen: Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

Dal: I edit. I hate editing and I edit.

Morgen: I’m not its biggest fan either.

Dal: I want to distil a story to its essence so I write it, leave it to sit a while and then hack at it with a blunt instrument until I remove the useless words.

Morgen: What an image. How much research do you have to do for your writing?

Dal: I do research. Often by going out and living what I want to write about. I tend to read a lot anyway, so I get facts and snippets and tuck them away for future use. I rarely research just for a single book / story.

Morgen: What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write?

Dal: There are times when writing is so easy, it’s not fair. Some days I can’t type fast enough to keep up. Other times, it’s like trying to pass a rather large and spiky kidney stone!

Morgen: I’m embarking on NaNoWriMo tomorrow so I’m hoping it’s the former for me, although this’ll be my fourth time so I know what I’m letting myself in for. Do you write on paper or do you prefer a computer?

Dal: I make notes on paper. I always have a small, spiral pad handy. When actually writing, I use my computer.

Morgen: I’m the same really then I do most edits on paper. Some writers like quiet, others the noise of a coffee shop etc. Do you listen to music or have noise around you when you write or do you need silence?

Dal: I far prefer quiet to write by. Taking notes is different. Whenever the fancy strikes, I can write my notes in any environment. Oftentimes the environment helps me to come up with ideas. An old friend of mine, Charles Schultz (creator of Snoopy) used table napkins to jot down ideas for his strip. He liked the local ice arena café and ate lunch there every day (he built the arena for his daughter to skate in). When we had lunch together, he’d be scribbling away on the napkins. I liked that and have copied it.

Morgen: I grew up with the Peanuts strip… so funny. Let’s hope some of his napkin magic rubs off. What point of view do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? Have you ever tried second person?

Dal: First person is fine. Third I use a lot. I once wrote a short horror story in the second-person and just scared the living daylights out of the magazine editor. I wanted to drag the reader into the story and second person worked a treat on that one.

Morgen: Doesn’t it, it’s great for dark (I love it). Do you use prologues / epilogues? What do you think of the use of them?

Dal: Don’t use them. I may, if I need them. Just depends on what I need to drive the story along.

Morgen: Do you have pieces of work that you think will never see light of day?

Dal: Absolutely. Some of them are junk but I like them, anyway. Some are scraps of stories I just cannot find the wherewithal to finish.

Morgen: Practice pieces then maybe. What’s your favourite / least favourite aspect of your writing life?

Dal: Favourite is coming up with a new story, a new character to become friends with.  Least favourite is actually typing out the story.

Morgen: If anything, what has been your biggest surprise about writing?

Dal: That adults love my kids’ stories.

Morgen: Oh I’m a real child (I still love the Peanuts humour). What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Dal: Get out and live. Go out and get into scrapes and adventures. Scare yourself half to death by doing things like parachuting, or Ropes Courses or backpacking alone in the wilderness. Go and hang out in seedy bars and dangerous street corners and listen to other people’s conversations. Experience every possible emotion to its fullest. Get some scars, emotional and physical. Fall in love with the (totally) wrong person and get a broken heart. Then write about it all.

Morgen: I’d say most of us have done some of those. What do you like to read?

Dal: I love sci-fi, funny books, biographies, Stephen King, Brian Greene and anyone who strikes my fancy at that moment.

Morgen: Stephen King’s a popular choice in these interviews. Is there a quote or phrase you like.

Dal: Yes, there is. A very long time ago, a friend said to me, “Burns, you have this unique inability to understand that some things are impossible.” I’ve never found out whether this was intended as a compliment or an admonishment. I have always taken it as a maxim to live by.

Morgen: What do you do when you’re not writing?

Dal: I run on the wooded trails around my home. I ride my Peruvian Paso horse. I read a lot. I do some gardening and I potter around my home and truck, fixing things that get broken. I learn about new technology. I help out with the local Theatre group, on stage and behind the scenes. I look to get into adventures and to learn new skills.

Morgen: Wow, what a life. Northampton’s a little lacking on that score. Are there any writing-related websites and/or books that you find useful and would recommend?

Dal: My favourite book on writing is Stephen King’s book, On Writing. Other than that, every book I read helps me to be a better writer.

Morgen: A popular choice. In which country are you based and do you find this a help or hindrance with letting people know about your work?

Dal: I live in California, high up on a mountain, overlooking the Napa Valley wine-growing region. I’m pretty remote but the web is increasing my ability to reach people.

Morgen: Are you on any forums or networking sites? If so, how invaluable do you find them?

Dal: I have a Facebook page, a Twitter feed, a Google+ account, a blog site, a web site or two and I am a member of LinkedIn. I believe they will all help me as I learn how to use them effectively. They are the future, IMHO, LOL ;->.

Morgen: I agree, especially for those (like me) going solo (well, solo with an editor) and most interviewees have said that. Where can we find out about you and your work?

Dal: http://dramaworksinc.com, http://dburnsinc.com (older site, needs work), http://dalburnswrites.com (blog), Twitter – @dalburns, Facebook – Dal Burns, iTunes, Amazon.com, AmazonMP3, Rhapsody, CD Baby, Napster etc, under ‘Dal Burns’. I have books, audio, songs and even some ringtones (for the iPhone). I also lead the ongoing children’s writing competition ‘Write Across America‘.

Morgen: My goodness, you have time to write? What do you think the future holds for a writer?

Dal: A lot of hard work. We will have to be our own writer, editor, agent, publisher and marketer. Still, we’ll get paid more than the average 5c a word for all our work!

Morgen: Let’s hope so. Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

Dal: Yes. That inspiration and hard work can really come from the least expected sources. ‘Alien Race’ is a great example. I was having a drink with a friend one evening and we were talking about writing. She is not a writer and she was picking my brains about it all. She gave me a funny look and said “I’ll bet you $100 you can’t write me a story of over 20,000 words, in two weeks, if I give you the last line you must use for the story.” I took the bet. She continued, “The last sentence of the story is to be…” and she told me what it would be (Can’t give that away, though). I wrote Alien Race in ten days and won the bet.

Morgen: And you’re clearly very proud of the result. Thank you Dal.

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

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• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
• Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group (http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017)
• Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)

We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Podcast: Bailey’s Writing Tips ep 042 – back to basics

Episode 42 of the Bailey’s Writing Tips podcast was released today Monday 31st October 2011.

Having spent episode 41 talking about NaNoWriMo I thought it would be an opportune time to cover the basics of writing and talk about ‘show don’t tell’, repetition (not to do it!), dialogue fundamentals and much more.

The episode concluded with a 314-word first-person short story called ‘Lost’ which I will be posting on my Flash Fiction Fridays page on Friday 18th November.

The podcast is available via iTunes, Google’s Feedburner, Podbean (when it catches up), Podcasters (which takes even longer) or Podcast Alley (which doesn’t list the episodes but will let you subscribe).

Details of the other episodes (interviews, reviews, red pen sessions etc.) can be found here.

 

Guest post: Writing for Radio and Theatre by Dal Burns

I’m delighted to bring you this guest blog post, today on the topic of writing for radio and theatre, by Dal Burns.

‘Writing for Radio and Theatre’

I began writing for radio while working for a local Theatre group.  I had worked my way into writing articles in the play programs and they were happy with what I was producing. After listening to the radio ads produced by the local station, I knew I could do better and sat down to write.  I found it takes real discipline to write an ad that can be narrated in either twenty-nine or fifty-nine seconds. A lot depends on the narrator and the speed at which they normally speak in an ad. I timed my own narrations at different speeds and it soon became clear what words were easy to speak at speed and which ones caused me to require the Heimlich maneuver.

Most ads are poorly-written. Trying to generate excitement by using buzz-words and an excited tone of voice is so tired, so I decided to use the best medium for getting out a message. A little touch of humor and the use of subtle picture words is where I headed. Funnily enough (no pun intended) that worked.

Here’s my formula. Don’t preach. Use a little humor and seek for the picture words that will get your point across. It takes quite a bit of banging on doors to get work at local stations but it’s worthwhile as once you are in the door, the different style you employ helps the station to sell more ads. A writer who can generate good ad copy is worth a lot.

Once known at the local stations, I tried my hand at radio plays. This type of play relies on a combination of sound effects and picture words.  I always had my plays broadcast or recorded in front of a live audience. This brings an ambiance and life to the play that is simply not possible in a regular studio recording.

One great technique in a comic play is to have the actors break character once in a while and speak to the other actors. One of my favorites is to have one actor ‘steal’ another actor’s line. This generally leads to a short argument, before the engineer breaks in and gets the show back on track.

The long history behind radio plays makes them an ideal resource for research. As most people have never heard a radio play, it’s easy enough to take the basic idea behind an old play and bring it up to date with new words and ideas. Case in point would be the old Richard Diamond series from the 1940’s. Diamond was one hard-boiled and whip-smart private eye.

This was too much to resist, so I took Richard and married him to a 1950’s style of British comedy and suddenly he was a major goofball with a very cool-dude voice. From there, it was simple to write a script that highlighted Diamond’s strengths and weaknesses. Several examples were:

“Hi, I’m Richard Diamond, private eye but my best friends call me diamond dick, swinging detective…I wonder why?” and “I was sitting in my office the other day when a man came through the door (crashing sound). I wish he’d opened the door first!” Speaking of his secretary, “Now there’s a gal who carries a pair of 38’s, and a gun, wherever she goes.”

Corny as all get out and yet the studio audience howled with laughter and the local critics loved the show.

Theatre plays are another animal entirely. Theatre is the actor’s medium, much more so than the writer’s. Once the curtain goes up, it’s the actor’s play. They are in control of the process of bringing your words to life.

It’s said there are only three types of play:

• American: Man gets girl. Man loses girl and spends the rest of the play getting her back
• French: Man gets girl and spends the rest of the play trying to get away from her
• Russian: Two people, who neither want nor get each other, spend two hours complaining about it

Forget about them. As the writer, you have three tasks:

• A plot line that is coherent
• An emotional dilemma for each actor that is slowly revealed during the play
• A sharply defined resolution to the play

I’m adding two more essential elements:

• The picture words
• Blocking

The plot’s the easy part. Movies and books can provide the framework of a play. Plays, though, require a great deal of emotion in the plot, to keep the limited action on stage from becoming dull and static.

Emotional dilemmas are vital. The dilemma each actor is given will enable them to make a rich and interesting character. It really is the actor’s food and drink on the stage. It drives the words they speak and movements they make. The script is designed to make the actor’s dilemma more and more difficult to hide as the plot progresses. The plot must force the actor to reveal their hidden dilemma slowly and with much resistance.

The resolution is not really about the plot. It’s about allowing the actors to resolve their emotional dilemmas. That’s the payoff for the audience. It’s their emotional release. All audience members have dilemmas. To present them with the same dilemma on stage and then provide a resolution is cathartic for an audience member and it sells tickets!

Picture words. Your script must contain words that evoke pictures in the actor’s mind as that is how the actor relays the emotion and plot of the play. Without them, the actor is lifeless. If you don’t see pictures when you write the words, the actor won’t be able to communicate those words to the audience. It’s that simple.

Blocking. Forget about it. Don’t write a single word of blocking into your play. It shackles the director and the actors. Let dialog drive action on the stage. Make them get up, sit down or pace the stage because the words they speak force them to. Not because you block the play for them.

This is great, thank you Dal!

Dal is a fourth-generation entertainer first put on stage at age eight, by his father. He has been involved in TV, movies, radio, recording studios, rock band, theatre etc. He has written for radio ads, theatre programs, screenplays and radio plays (he says they were fun!) theatre plays (two of which were produced and quite successful). Dal wrote his first story at seventeen, after a mentor suggested he enter a writing competition. He said the suggestion was made because he was rather well known in his village (in the wilds of Northumberland) as the local storyteller. After that he didn’t write again until in his thirties, when working with a theatre company.

Dal has written four books and is working on a fifth, which is an illustrated children’s book, with co-author Kari Wishingrad and illustrators Sona & Jacob. That book will be released this year with the title “The Neighbor’s Cat”. He is also working on three new books; another children’s illustrated book, a YA story about an alternate universe and a YA story about two horses. Although Dal has never visited an alternate universe, he thinks he owns Bella, a Peruvian Paso mare. Bella knows better. Dal’s websites include http://dalburnswrites.com and http://dramaworksinc.com. He can also be found on Twitter and Facebook and leading the ongoing children’s writing competition ‘Write Across America‘. You can also read Dal’s interview with me here.

If you would like to write a writing-related guest post for my blog then feel free to email me with an outline of what you would like to write about. If it’s writing-related then it’s highly likely I’d email back and say “yes please” (while quietly bouncing up and down in my seat with joy!).

 

Author interview no.172 with writer Anne R Allen

Welcome to the one hundred and seventy-second of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. Today’s is with mystery author Anne R Allen. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further.

Morgen: Hello, Anne. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

Anne: I grew up in an academic household—both my parents were university professors of literature—so I was always surrounded by books. I pretty much wrote from the time I could hold a crayon. I used to name all the characters in my coloring books and make up stories about them. I wrote my first mystery novel when I was seven.

Morgen: Wow, you’ve got a good memory. I can’t remember much about my childhood (ooh, is that a violin I hear in the distance?). What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

Anne: I keep coming back to mysteries. I’ve written women’s fiction, literary fiction, and romance, but somehow a dead body always appears and suddenly I’m back in whodunit-land.

Morgen: <laughs> What have you had published to-date?

Anne: I had my first book published as a serial in a California entertainment weekly—a comic mystery called COMING UP FOR AIR that ran thirty weeks—and that was exciting, but the biggest thrill came when a UK publisher accepted two of my chick lit mysteries: FOOD OF LOVE and THE BEST REVENGE and I went over to England to edit and promote them.

Morgen: Oh yay! That was dedication, it’s a long haul… but then I’m not a fan of flying. Can you remember where you saw your first books on the shelves?

Anne: Seeing FOOD OF LOVE on the shelf of the W. H. Smith bookshop in Gainsborough, Lincs for the first time was one of the great moments of my life.

This September FOOD OF LOVE was finally launched in the US (in a new, improved form) by Popcorn Press, a small publisher in Wisconsin. They’re going to publish THE BEST REVENGE in November.

I’ve also signed with UK publisher Mark Williams international Digital Publishing for three more books, THE GATSBY GAME, GHOSTWRITERS IN THE SKY, and SHERWOOD, LTD. MWiDP is handling the ebooks and Popcorn Press will publish the paper versions.

THE GATSBY GAME debuted on October 4th and GHOSTWRITERS IN THE SKY today October 30th. SHERWOOD LTD is due in mid-November.

Morgen: Wow that’s good going. Do send me the link for Sherwood Limited when you have it and I’ll add it to the links below. How much of the marketing do you do for your published works or indeed for yourself as a ‘brand’?

Anne: I do a lot of the marketing (and yes, it’s exhausting to be launching five books in such a short amount of time. I’m a tad frazzled). I have a popular blog, which is why both of these publishers approached me: I had a ready-made “platform.”

Morgen: “a popular blog”… I like the sound of that.

Anne: Almost all my mysteries are about writing in some aspect, so my writing-blog readers will (hopefully) be interested.

Morgen: I love stories about writing… and crime (and humour) is my favourite genre… I just wish I had more time to read. I know, make time Morgen! Do you have an agent?

Anne: I’ve had four agents, but none of them could get me a book deal. But I don’t think it was their fault. My writing doesn’t fit into a neat category, and it’s funny. Humor is subjective, so it’s harder to sell, especially in the US. Americans don’t seem to like verbal humor as much as Brits. (As you’ve probably gathered I’m a confirmed Anglophile)

Morgen: I have, no complaints from me. And see earlier reference to my two favourite genres…

Anne: A couple of agents tried to sell my books as Chick Lit, but they’re pretty dark for that genre: more like Dorothy Parker-meets-Agatha Christie than Sophie Kinsella or Janet Evanovich. But once Chick Lit was pronounced toxic by New York publishers, I suddenly became “too chick-litty.”

Morgen: I had that at this July’s Winchester Writers’ Conference; three one-to-ones with agents and they all said chick-lit is past it and they want more crime (and historical). Do you think agents are vital to an author’s success?

Anne: Absolutely. I think having a good agent on your side is the best way to a solid career. I’m still hoping. Many agents are now saying: “go indie and get some sales, and then we’ll talk.”

Morgen: There’s hope for me yet then. Are your books available as eBooks? If so what was your experience of that process?

Anne: Yes. All five of these books will be first launched as ebooks. It’s a great way to do it, because if we get negative feedback, we can fix things before the paper version comes out.

Morgen: I love that about it, although I’m hoping that between Rachel and I we’ve spotted them all. Do you read eBooks?

Anne: This is embarrassing—I don’t have a Kindle yet.

Morgen: That’s OK, nor have I. I have a non-Kindle eReader but I’ve used it twice since I bought it (nearly a year ago) but mostly because I never travel and have so many books at home I still want to read. Most people still prefer reading a portable tree and I think while I still have books in my ‘to read’ pile I will too.

Anne: I’m kind of holding out for an iPad, but I’ll have to get some kind of e-reader soon. Reading on the computer feels like work.

Morgen: And not great for the eyes. I was debating earlier this year (just after the iPad v2 came out) between an iPad and Mac Air but went for the latter as I wanted to use it to do podcast audio interviews (which I’ve since wound down in favour of these blog ones but hey, I still love it)… plus I like having a proper keyboard. What was your first acceptance and is being accepted still a thrill?

Anne: My first acceptance was that serial for the entertainment weekly, and it was exciting, but mostly it was scary. I hadn’t even written the thing—just four sample chapters. I wrote an installment a week, incorporating things that happened in local news into the story. Yes, it was an insane thing to do. I honestly don’t know how I pulled it off.

The acceptance of FOOD OF LOVE in 2003 was one of the biggest thrills of my life, because it came with an invitation to live and work for the publisher in England. I was already half in love with one of the editors, who had an adorable Hugh Grant persona online. It was the start of an incredible adventure—which I’ve incorporated into the story of SHERWOOD, LTD.

Morgen: Oh great! Sherwood… mmm, Nottingham by any chance? Have you had any rejections? If so, how do you deal with them?

Anne: Ha! I’ve had thousands. Literally. They all hurt—some more than others. You know how it is: you develop soul-calluses after a while.

Morgen: Now there’s an image.

Anne: Last summer I decided to empty my old file drawer full of paper rejection letters from the pre-electronic days. I had a huge bonfire and told myself I was letting go of the rejection, so some positive energy could come into my life. And you know what? I got an acceptance from Popcorn Press only a week later.  (And yes, to answer the previous question—it was an immense thrill.)

Morgen: If I burned my rejection letters I wouldn’t even warm a snail – but that’s not because I’m necessarily brilliant but that I don’t send much out. I have about 28 rejections (for short stories and novels) in case anyone reading this was wondering. What are you working on at the moment / next?

Anne: I’ve got a new mystery series in the works that will incorporate the characters from GHOSTWRITERS IN THE SKY, SHERWOOD, LTD and THE BEST REVENGE with some new characters. I’m going to set it in my own home town of San Luis Obispo, CA—which Oprah Winfrey recently called “the happiest town on earth.” The new book is about suddenly-homeless former billionaires. The working title is NO PLACE LIKE HOME.

Morgen: Ouch… sounds fun though, and I remember you said your work has humour. Do you manage to write every day? What’s the most you’ve written in a day?

Anne: OMG. I’ve been writing 14 hour days practically non-stop since July. Mostly blogging and promotion and endless editing. If anybody asks you if you want to edit and promote five books in three months—just run. My life is insane.

Morgen: I have 5 eBooks going up shortly but not novels (a workbook, anthology and three free shorts) so probably not as much work as you’re having. What is your opinion of writer’s block? Do you ever suffer from it? If so, how do you ‘cure’ it?

Anne: I think writer’s block can be a mechanism that protects the brain, so if you’ve been writing long hours every day the way I have, or you’re doing NaNoWriMo, and you suddenly can’t write another word, it can be your brain sending you a warning. Scientists have recently found out that creative writing and depression use exactly the same part of the brain, so any writer with a history of depression needs to take off every so often and do something entirely different or you could be in for a bad time. When I’m blocked, which luckily doesn’t happen often, I go out and listen to music or go dancing. Or I garden or walk on the beach—anything to clear the brain and get back into my body.

Morgen: Ah, the beach… I’m so land-locked here (c.3 hours) and we get seagulls… I think they come here to taunt me. Do you have pieces of work that you think will never see light of day?

Anne: Probably. I have one book I worked on for ten years. I’m still in love with the title: THE ASHTRAYS OF AVALON. It’s some of my very best, most literary writing. But the plot never came together. I’ve published bits of it in anthologies, but it doesn’t hold together as a novel.

Morgen: I have one of those… ah, yes, the aforementioned chick-lit. Part of the rejections for those I reckon was the fact I had too many incidental characters (over 40!) so they’re being split up into a cameo-based anthology. I love almost all of them (some not even their mothers would love) which will hopefully be ready sometime in the New Year. What do you like to read?

Anne: My tastes are pretty eclectic. My favourite writer right now is probably Marian Keyes. I can get lost in one of her novels and know I’m going to be entertained by wonderful, quirky characters and charming wit. I also love the comic “Spellman” mysteries of Lisa Lutz.

Morgen: I have Marian’s ‘Under the duvet’ and ‘Further under the duvet’ anthologies… in my 300+ reading pile. Where can we find out about you and your work?

Anne: Read my blog, Anne R. Allen’s Blog http://annerallen.blogspot.com, which I now share with NYT bestselling author Ruth Harris, who used to work as an editor at some of the big New York publishers like Bantam and Dell. She blogs once a month with a lot of insider info. We try to entertain as well as let other writers benefit from our mistakes.

Morgen: The perfect combination I’d say… no wonder it’s popular. Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

Anne: Yes—Thank you so very much for hosting me!

Morgen: You’re so welcome. I really enjoyed chatting with you, especially having had snippets of conversation around the electronic ether. Is there a question you’d like to ask me?

Anne: Yes—As I’m writing this, you’ve just posted your 162^nd author interview. Do you find we all start to sound the same?

Morgen: Surprisingly not actually. Back in June when I started with a few questions and thought I’d have to vary them to get different answers. To save time I put them in a document and asked the author to pick the ones he or she wanted to answer. As time went on I added a few… then a few more and now there are 47 (I’m not nerdy enough to know off by heart – I checked )… which is a ridiculous number (even I hadn’t realised there were that many) and I’m surprised how different the answers all are. Of course there are some that overlap (for instance Stephen King’s ‘On writing’ being the most popular writing aid) but apart from a hardy few who I know read most of them, most visitors pop by every now and then (I’m very fortunate to have an average of 150-200 a day over the site) so I think there’s enough variety to keep them interested (I read everything, and I am but then I would say that, wouldn’t I? ). Is there an excerpt of your writing you’d like to include?

Anne: How about some of my favourite lines?

Morgen: Great! Fire away.

Anne: From THE GATSBY GAME:

“Punch had the kind of pansexual magnetism that comes from good bone structure and an unquestioning sense of one’s own self worth.”

From FOOD OF LOVE:

“Amaretto isn’t chocolate, but if you close your eyes and think of chocolate-covered cherries, it can be quite satisfying. Especially by the tumblerful.”

“Hollywood celebrity isn’t the celebrity of power. It’s the celebrity of the victim: the virgin about to be tossed into the volcano, the garlanded lamb being led to the altar of a blood-hungry primitive god.”

From GHOSTWRITERS IN THE SKY:

“The man took off his helmet. His look was something between cave person and aging rock star entering rehab. His eyebrows might have done damage in their own right. I edged away, scanning the garden for a nice rock or weapon-sized garden gnome.

Morgen: ‘chocolate-covered cherries’… yum (why do I always spot the food?). Thank you Anne.

Anne R. Allen is the author of five comic mysteries debuting in 2011 with two publishers: Popcorn Press and Mark Williams international Digital Publishing. She is also working on a self-help guide for writers with PAY IT FORWARD author Catherine Ryan Hyde. Anne is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College and spent twenty-five years in the theater—acting and directing—before taking up fiction writing. She is the former artistic director of the Patio Playhouse in Escondido, CA and now lives on the Central Coast of California.

You can find out more about Anne and her writing from: Her blog, Anne’s author pages at Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, MWiDP. US readers can also order Anne’s books in paper from Popcorn Press. Ghostwriters in the Sky is now available from Amazon.co.uk.

Update July 2012: All five of my books did come out–but only two have appeared in paper. Then Popcorn Press closed its doors during the last week in June—the same week my 6th book came out: HOW TO BE A WRITER IN THE E-AGE…AND KEEP YOUR E-SANITY, written with Pay it Forward author, Catherine Ryan Hyde. We just finished a marathon week culminating in a huge sold-out seminar on Saturday here in SLO, and a freebie weekend on Amazon where our book went to #1 in writing guides and stayed there for its whole free period. Very nice. And Mark Williams international is taking on the Popcorn books and re-issuing them. That’s great too.

Morgen: Absolutely! Congratulations. Anne’s books are listed here.

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
• Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group (http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017)
• Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)

We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Author Spotlight no.27 – Rachel Cochrane

To complement my daily blog interviews I recently started a series of Author Spotlights and today’s, the twenty-seventh, is of scriptwriter and spoken word director, editor (and more) Rachel Cochrane.

After many years of scriptwriting full-time and several shortlists, Rachel decided to bypass the cumbersome commissioning process and take advantage of the advent of digital media.  After being selected for the Creative GLEAM scheme at Durham University Business School and a DigitalCity Fellowship at the Institute of Digital Innovation, she has now set up a spoken word entertainment website listenupnorth.com, recording her own dramas and inviting other writers to submit their quality work for you to enjoy.  Rachel is about to launch the pilot episode of her webdrama Celia, the deliberations of a middle-class, middle-aged woman which bears no resemblance to her own life – honest.  Catch the trailer http://listenupnorth.com/drama-page/338.

And now from the author herself:

After almost 7 years of near solitary writing, I decided to set up listenupnorth.com, a spoken word entertainment website.  I had a vague plan of how it might work but I was charting new territory.  Really it was a case of putting my toe in the water to see what might develop.

I wanted to produce the radio plays that I had written as audio dramas and put them out to an audience on the web.  This needed a several-pronged approach:

• Gathering actors
• Directing
• Arranging recording and editing
• Legal considerations
• Developing a website to house the productions

Having no experience of recording and editing, I contacted a local studio and arranged to record a short pilot drama.  They were used to recording music rather than drama and so arranged to do the pilot free of charge.  The drama was called Couple and needed 3 actors: a narrator and 2 actors that make up the couple, figures in a sculpture of the same name sited on a breakwater off the Northumberland coast.  Most of my dramas have a village setting because that is the environment with which I am familiar.  However I hope that the themes of my stories are universal and something with which most people can identify.

Through our local am dram I was able to enlist the help of willing actors keen for a new experience.  We rehearsed in my sitting room, it was the first time that I had directed and being tuned into voice was the key, as there would obviously be no visual clues.  Because actors did not have to learn lines, we could concentrate on performance.  The actors were very supportive and I learnt that being open to suggestions does not mean you lose artistic freedom or ownership of your work but that collaboration makes it greatly enhanced.

Waking up on the morning of the recording is always a tense affair; it’s not until I get to the studio, the actors are positioned behind the microphones and I start ticking off items on my schedules that I can start to relax.  Depending on length and complexity of script, it can take anything from a few hours to one and a half days to record.  I usually attend sessions with the recording technician at the later stages of editing.  It takes around four times longer to edit than record.  Sound effects are also added in, purchased with a royalty free licence as my website is potentially commercial.  The actors also sign performers’ contracts to ensure that I own the recording that we make and I can put it out on a website and use parts of it for publicity.  Similarly, for any writers’ work I use, a contributor’s contract is also required.

The finished work is then uploaded with great excitement to my specially developed spoken word entertainment website listenupnorth.com and publicised through social and traditional media to take it out to an audience.

Radio/audio Plays produced so far: Couple, Village Notes, Tilting at Windmills (monologue), Any Other Business, Oranges and Lemons, A Grand Old Lady (monologue) and Dolly’s House.

There is no greater joy for a writer than hearing their words come to life and I am indebted to my generous and talented friends for helping me realise this dream.

You can find more about Rachel and her work via the links above and you can also find her on Twitter and Facebook. You can also email her at enquiries@listenupnorth.com.

The blog interviews will return as normal tomorrow with mystery novelist Anne R Allen – the one hundred and seventy-second of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further. And I enjoy hearing from readers of my blog; do either leave a comment on the relevant interview (the interviewees love to hear from you too!) and / or email me. You can also read / download my eBooks here.

 

Are you ready for NaNoWriMo?

Am I ready for NaNoWriMo? Um… probably as ready as I was last year and 2009 which is “no, not really” and certainly not as ready as 2008 when I’d plotted to almost every last detail but then I started writing and quickly learned (it was my first piece over c.3000 words) that once the characters take over the writer takes a back seat and enjoys the ride.

So this year I have a few character sketches and a vague idea of what they may be doing for the next 30 days but that’s about it, and I can’t wait!

Hitchhiker’s Guide author Douglas Adams is quoted as saying “I love deadlines… the sound as they woosh by” (or something like that) and I love deadlines for a different reason… because it gets me writing. This year will be more of a challenge for me because I only started this blog at the end of March this year and it eats up a lot of my time. Whilst my blog will still keep going during November (at full speed, I’m pleased to say) I will have to find new pockets of time to fit in my 1,667 words a day, but being me, I just know I will. Something will have to give; the scant-already social life… slightly shorter dog walks (sorry hound)… the Red Cross volunteering (I’m my local shop’s ‘book lady’) or some of my equally-scant hours of sleep, and my answering of emails will probably be slower, but I know that come 1st December I’ll look at my 50,000+ words and say, with a smile, “I did that”.

If you’ve considered NaNoWriMo, it’s not too late to take part… even mid-November isn’t too late if you’re a fast typer. The only aim is to write at least 50,000 words and if you do it you ‘win’. What exactly do you win? Nothing materialistic except for the words you’ve created.  I’ve done it three times, how hard can it be? Yes, OK, it’s pretty tough but 2009 I wrote 117,540 so it can be very rewarding… and heaps of fun too. I’m registered as Morgen Bailey so feel free to find me and ‘buddy’ me (especially as the NaNo system seems to have lost the ones I did have ).

The aim of NaNoWriMo is for quantity over quality and whilst we all want a great book at the end of it, you can’t edit a blank page and given that we have to write almost 1,700 words a day there’s no time to edit as you go along. If I get stuck or know I want to add something later I put ‘MORE HERE’ and go back if there’s time at the end but I know I’ll be going through the whole thing three or four times afterwards anyway (times that by 117,540 words and you’ll know that writing my 2009 chick lit was where the hard work started).

Originated in San Francisco USA 13 years ago, they’re a non-profit organisation which relies on donations and the sales of goodies from their shop (I bought a t-shirt) and with hundreds of thousands of people participating it’s a community event for the usually-solitary life that a writer can have. Whilst you can join the online forums, meet in person with members of your local region (mine’s Milton Keynes, there isn’t a Northampton one) you can equally just sit and write your little heart out. I will probably aim for two of the three (you can guess which two) but I know that my little heart will be beating a little faster come the early hours of November 1st.

Morgen with an ‘e’

 

Author interview no.171 with sci-fi / fantasy writer and poet Tony Thorne MBE

Welcome to the one hundred and seventy-first of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. Today’s is with Tony Thorne MBE, an “elderly young writer of speculative fiction”. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further.

Morgen: Hello, Tony. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

Tony: I am an Englishman, born 85 years ago in London and technically educated there.  However, I now live in Austria; but in the winter, in the warmer Canary Island of Tenerife. I originally qualified as a Chartered Design Engineer and subsequently created a well-known British company specialising in Applied Physics products.  For developments in the field of low temperature (cryo)surgery instruments, and very high temperature (carbon fibre) processing furnaces, the Queen awarded me an MBE (Member of the British Empire).

Earlier in life I also wrote and sold some science-fiction and humorous stories, was an active SF Fan, and a spare time lecturer for the British Interplanetary Society.  Since then I’ve written and published poetry, plus papers and articles for several technical publications, and held a few patents.  After many subsequent business adventures, including the development of AI computer software for business applications, and animated computer graphics set to music.  The last time I retired was in 2003 when I started writing again, and I now have a completed novel on file and over 100 short stories published in various collections.

Morgen: Wow, that’s some going. You mentioned SF and short stories, what genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

Tony: I write mostly quirky speculative stories, tall tales in the categories SF, Fantasy and Macabre. However, I have also written a couple of detective stories, some satire, a performance poetry collection, and a “How to…” book.

Morgen: Something for everyone pretty much. Apart from the 100 shorts, what have you had published to-date?

Tony: Nineteen books so far, but over half of them myself now. The revolution has arrived..!

Morgen: Wow. I hope I’m as sprightly when I’m an octogenarian. Have you ever seen a member of the public (whom you don’t know!) reading your book… in any unusual locations?

Tony: Back in 1954 I went into a bookshop and saw there someone reading THE BRITISH SCIENCE FICTION MAGAZINE, which contained my first published story, TIMELY ENCOUNTER. I can still recall the thrill of that moment. Then there was this unusual incident back in 2007 when I was at the EUROCON in Copenhagen (see photos).

Morgen: I’d have been so tempted to say “I’m in there!”. I did tell the cashier when I bought a magazine that I had a story in it but he was very non-plussed… burst my bubble, I can tell you… but then the enthusiasm from family made up for it. How much of the marketing do you do for your published works or indeed for yourself as a ‘brand’?

Tony: Most of it nowadays, with my website and posters, although I do also have four independent publishers pushing things for me.

Morgen: Apart from your publishing success, have you won or been shortlisted in any competitions and do you think they help?

Tony: Yes, they are very useful for promotional work. e.g.  I came third in the American Mid-Atlantic Horror Professionals contest in 2005 with my macabre tale, SHAPESHIFT.  I came first in the New York ‘Best Read on the Beach’ Contest in 2009, with the first volume of my TENERIFE TALL TALES trilogy.

Morgen: Yay! Do you write under a pseudonym? Do you think it makes a difference?

Tony: No, I use my own name, shortening the Anthony to Tony.  I guess if your name happened to be something like Cuthbert Catastrophe you’d need one.

Morgen: Oh I don’t know, that would make people remember you – maybe you could use it for your humour writing. Do you have an agent? Do you think they’re vital to an author’s success?

Tony: Harry Harrison, that legendary American writer, who wrote the introduction to my first TENERIFE TALES volume, insisted I should find one, essential he said … but I’m still looking, when I get the time.

Morgen: It sounds like you’re doing pretty well already. Are your books available as eBooks?

Tony: Yes they are, all of them now.

Morgen: What is your experience of that process?

Tony: Fascinating, I’m sure it will be the main way to go in future.

Morgen: I do hope so because that’s where I’m headed. Do you read eBooks?:

Tony: Yes I do, and I am the proud owner of a Kindle.

Morgen: My mum’s just turned 80 and she doesn’t have a mobile or computer but then she has time for her gardening etc. What was your first acceptance and is being accepted still a thrill?

Tony: The first full-length book I had accepted, was my satirical semi-autobiography, How to be a Top Executive, back in the 70’s, which was exhilarating.  Then in 2005 an American Indie Publisher took the first volume of my TENERIFE TALES, SF and Fantasy items.  Recently, the publishers, BooksToGoNow, accepted two of my longer stories and that was nice..!

Morgen: Have you had any rejections?

Tony: Often..!  It often happens with short stories, nowadays. It’s saturation time… more writers than readers.

Morgen: Doing these interviews has made me realise how many but I’m sure we just have to keep going… as long as we  love it. How do you deal with the rejections you receive?

Tony: I read the item again to try and see why, then shrug, make any improvements and try again elsewhere.

Morgen: ‘Shrug’, I like that. What are you working on at the moment / next?

Tony: Editing some of my earlier items, and thinking about a sequel to my novel.

Morgen: Oh great, sequels are SO popular. Do you manage to write every day? What’s the most you’ve written in a day?

Tony: Most days I write something, from perhaps as few as 300 to around 3000 words max.

Morgen: 300 words a day is over 100,000 words a year; a healthy novel or two novellas… two NaNoWriMo novels in fact. What is your opinion of writer’s block? Do you ever suffer from it? If so, how do you ‘cure’ it?

Tony: Yes, I have experienced it… but I just wait till it goes away.  It always does.

Morgen: It does for me too. A question some authors dread, where do you get your inspiration from?

Tony: No problem.  I read all the scientific news, and then speculate..!  I start a sentence and the rest comes.  I add in things I recall from my long experience of life and there you are..!

Morgen: Sentence starts are one of the exercises we do in our Monday night workshops and whilst they’re one of the easiest for me, one of the other writers (hi, Denny) loathes them… she literally groans when I say “right, we’re going to do Denny’s favourite now.” Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Tony: Interesting question, I rarely plot up front. Ideas really do evolve and run away with me.  I often get my characters into a real mess, before seeing how to rescue them…or otherwise if it’s a macabre tale.

Morgen: Ooh I’m all in favour of macabre. Do you have a method for creating your characters, their names and what do you think makes them believable?

Tony: No method, and I don’t worry about their names very much. The things I get them to say are the most important thing to me.

Morgen: Good plan. Dialogue is so important; the fine line between too realistic (er, um, ah) and nothing but complete sentences. Do you write non-fiction? If so, how do you decide what to write about?

Tony: A particular experience will often get me going with a short item.  Like a recent adventurous train trip I had from Vienna to Zürich… or back in the army, (yes, the army) when as a duty boat coxswain, I got shipwrecked once… and taken for a ghost!

Morgen: Oh wow… my brother lives in Zürich, wonderful city. Do you write poetry? If so, do you write to form or free verse?

Tony: Both..!

Morgen: What would you say is the difference between a piece of prose and a prose poem?

Tony: A prose poem must flow and chime… without any rhyme..!

Morgen: Why do you think poetry is so popular and yet so poorly paid?

Tony: Nowadays perhaps everyone thinks they can do it… so they don’t need to buy it.

Morgen: You mentioned earlier that you write short stories, apart from the word count, what do you see as the differences between them and novels and why do you think they’re so difficult to get published?

Tony: That’s another fascinating, but difficult, question.  Good short stories are not easy to write, and there’s more money for the publisher in a big fat novel.  As to collections, they are harder to promote, you can’t have a coherent synopsis for a start.

Morgen: True. I like reading novels when I have time (especially if it’s an author I’m interviewing and I happen to already have their book) but short stories / novellas are where my heart lies. Are you involved in anything else writing-related other than actual writing or marketing of your writing?

Tony: I write an end of the week diary which I eMail to my relatives in different countries.  There’s always something happening to comment upon, and it might make a very long book one day.

Morgen: Blogs have been turned into book… as long as you think someone will be interested, why not? Who is your first reader – who do you first show your work to?

Tony: It depends on what it is. An editor, when I use one.

Morgen: Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

Tony: Now I do, and I have definitely improved my writing over the years… but I still make mistakes when an idea runs away with me.

Morgen: I love it when they do. How much research do you have to do for your writing? Have you ever received feedback from your readers?

Tony: There’s always something to research, and the Internet makes it easy nowadays.  Yes, I often have feedback, mostly good I’m glad to say; and not only from friends and relatives.

Morgen: Yay. What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write?

Tony: No idea really… nothing special. I just get on with it… when I can.

Morgen: I know that feeling. Do you write on paper or do you prefer a computer?

Tony: I use a lightweight, Neo keyboard, Word-processor and then download the work later to my desktop computer.

Morgen: Then most of us are lightweights. Some writers like quiet, others the noise of a coffee shop etc. Do you listen to music or have noise around you when you write or do you need silence?

Tony: I become oblivious to my surroundings, but the telephone occasionally is a pest.

Morgen: That’s perhaps why some writers write early / late, when people think they’re asleep (I’m in the ‘early’ camp). What point of view do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? Have you ever tried second person?

Tony: Mostly third person, but often first. I would never use second, I just do not like it.

Morgen: A lot of people don’t. I love it but then I’m strange. Do you use prologues / epilogues? What do you think of the use of them?

Tony: Yes, definitely in my longer items, but only where I believe they will work to enhance the story.

Morgen: Absolutely right. Do you have pieces of work that you think will never see light of day?

Tony: Yes I do.  Especially some tales I wrote when a lot younger for example.  I like to look after them.

Morgen: What’s your favourite / least favourite aspect of your writing life?

Tony: An acceptance… obviously is the best.  Some of the promotional side is a chore of course, and I do resent the time it takes, especially eMails and tatty forum chat. Far more time taken than the actual writing nowadays.

Morgen: Sadly so for most of us I think. If anything, what has been your biggest surprise about writing?

Tony: To be sincerely told by editors, and some critics, that I’m good at it.  I’ve had some wonderful accolades.

Morgen: You have. What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Tony: Never give up… whatever.

Morgen: That’s my philosophy. What do you like to read?

Tony: Science Fiction every time. Harry Harrison, Stephen Baxter, Larry Niven, and most of the earlier writers.  I have a large collection of their work.

Morgen: I dated a chap for 4+ years in my (our) 20s and he was an avid Pournelle, Niven, HH reader – if I pointed to a book he could tell me the characters’ names, setting, plot; that’s more than I can do with some of my own writing. Is there a word, phrase or quote you like?

Tony: Yes, one of my own, from my HOW TO book… “In this life there are only a few ways of doing something right, but millions of ways of making mistakes.  This is why things go wrong most of the time.”

Morgen: But hopefully we learn from them. What do you do when you’re not writing? Any hobbies or party tricks?

Tony: I read a lot, watch television news, or a good film… and I like going to the theatre when I can.  I still tell jokes at parties or give them a comedy, performance poetry, routine.

Morgen: You do come across as a funny chap (in the nicest possible sense!). Are there any writing-related websites and / or books that you find useful and would recommend?

Tony: Linkedin is excellent of course, apart from the unnecessary tatty chat waffle.

Morgen: Isn’t it great. I skim through the waffle emails that come in and am selective about what I reply to (some I really can’t resist) or else I’d spend too long getting involved but it’s great to see how passionate they all are. You said at the beginning of this interview that you live in Austria in the summer and Tenerife in the winter, do you find this a help or hindrance with letting people know about your work?

Tony: Both places are too distant from where I could far more efficiently promote my output.  So I use the Internet..!!!

Morgen: Isn’t it great that we can do that – I love being a writer in this era. You mentioned LinkedIn, are you on any other forums or networking sites? If so, how invaluable do you find them?

Tony: Lots of them, and some are very useful, but others take up far too much time.

Morgen: Where can we find out about you and your work?

Tony: On my website… www.tonythorne.com… but if you just enter ‘Tony Thorne MBE’ in any Search engine, quite a lot of stuff will appear.  If you miss off the MBE you’ll get loads about all the other Thornes too..!

Morgen: The same with me and MorgAn Baileys.

Tony: I’m currently offering a free second eBook to anyone who orders their first one from Amazon, and just lets me know via the Contact Me form on my website. They can choose any title that is the same price as their first one..!

Morgen: That’s very generous of you, thank you Tony. What do you think the future holds for a writer?

Tony: Not at all sure.  Good, if you are good and never give up, or commit a highly-publicised dastardly crime … otherwise not a lot will happen, because more and more people are doing it..

Morgen: They are which is why we have to network. Apart from it being fun there’s so much competition that we just have to keep our heads above the parapet. Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

Tony: I hope not..!

Morgen: Is there a question you’d like to ask me?

Tony: What motivates you Morgen to undertake all this, clearly time consuming, admirable interviewing work, for which I for one am most appreciative and grateful?

Morgen: Oh you’re so welcome. I really enjoy it. I started this blog (late March 2011) because I’d heard it was one of the best ways to say “hello, I’m here!” and wanted to put things on it regularly. Whilst I have plenty of content from all the information I give my writing group (which ends up on the ‘Useful info.’ and ‘Links’ pages) I wanted to do more. I was invited to do a Q&A with Who Hub and then with Teresa Morrow (links to those are on my Morgen with an E / My collaborations pages) and enjoyed them so much that I thought “I can do this on my blog” and started them mid-June this year… the rest as they say is history. I thought I may get half a dozen people saying “yes” but now have over 170 posted with another 40+ scheduled and over 100 completed questionnaires awaited so I can’t see me running out any time soon… I hope not anyway.

Apart from ‘meeting’ some wonderful people (many of whom I’ve stayed in touch with via email, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter) – and I’m so grateful to each and everyone for taking the time to do this –  it’s also made me realise how many people write, and I’m sure I’ve only scratched the surface; a little scary when my eBooks are going to be ‘competing’ with theirs. Of course as my blog builds so does my readership so it also serves as a marketing tool and there’s little doubt that this will have an effect on my sales but if I only end up selling one, it’ll still all have been worth it because it’s not about the money for me (although if I become Amanda Hocking MkII I won’t complain!) it’s all because I love doing it and that’s all any writer can ask. Well, thank you Tony, I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you.

I then invited Tony to include an extract of his writing and he left me with “a couple of parting poems”…

FRUSTRATION

When your child

asks difficult questions

shows curiosity and interest

in life and all its problems

Isn’t satisfied with your answers

especially the evasive kind

Looks at you

as though you’re mentally deficient

or inadequately educated

Above all

don’t feel frustrated

or display intolerant emotions

and never resort to violence

Just be patient and understanding

You might have

produced a genius

or at the very least

an average child

with a normal healthy intelligence

On the other hand

maybe it’s become apparent

that your parents didn’t

Morgen: I love that.

AVANT GARDE

Let`s cheer for Youth

when it disagrees

with every way

of life it sees

This must be good

for our success

How else would we

ever progress

But it should know

what we forgot

That if we change

the world or not

youth too must age

and come to see

that youth again

will not agree

And it in turn

however clever

we will find these antics

repeat forever

Tony Thorne, a professional Design Engineer, created a research and development company in Kent, specialising in 30000^C graphite furnaces for carbon fibre processing liquefied helium gas pipelines, nuclear protection equipment and low temperature surgery instrumentation. For this he was awarded an MBE by the Queen. Later, he became CEO of an American Company specialising in microbiological analysis instrumentation and computer related products. Based first in Switzerland, and later in Guernsey, he built up a group of related marketing and manufacturing companies and agencies, all over Europe.

Now retired, he writes SF and Macabre fiction and has published twelve collections of stories, including the award winning TENERIFE TALL TALES Trilogy, ROBOTS INCLUDED, MACABRE TALES, and TALL SF TALES FOR TEENAGERS, all now available as ebooks or paperbacks via the Internet and various publishers, including AMAZON, and WH Smith.  His first novel POINTS OF VIEW is awaiting a traditional publisher.

Update July 2012: My first novel, POINTS OF VIEW, is about a blind young Londoner who is fitted out with new nanotronic eyes, that have superhuman abilities, enough to get him appointed as an assistant to a secret agent. It will be published on the 1st August by ETERNAL PRESS, and later this year, I have three novelettes coming out from BOOKS TO GO NOW, in one volume entitled THREE KINDS OF CULTURE SHOCK.

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
• Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group (http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017)
• Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)

We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Flash Fiction Friday 006: ‘Lorna doomed’ by Phoebe Matthews

Welcome to Flash Fiction Friday and the sixth story in this weekly series: a 999-worder entitled ‘Lorna doomed’ by novelist and short story author Phoebe Matthews.

On the other side of the graveyard from the Mudflat mausoleum is a stretch of ground that could use a little Mudflat magic to keep things under control. Of course, if that were the case, this story wouldn’t exist. Lorna’s lament was first published in the Rotting Tales anthology, PillHill Press 2010, and now is included in the author’s Nine Horoscope-in-Catsup Stories, Wicked Good series of collected short stories, volume 1.

Head aches.

Head killing me.

No. Wait. Can’t kill me. I am already dead.

My coffin smells nice. Someone tucked lavender around me and the scent permeated the satin. The smooth shiny wood smells of polish.

I know exactly where I am and how I got here. Clancy cheated. After he swore he would love me forever if I would go to bed with him, and after practically turning me into a love slave for the past year, I found another girl’s comb and lipstick in his car. So I did the sensible thing.

I went straight to our school’s biggest gossip and I said, “Mary Tiffany, has Clancy cheated on me?”

If he’d given some girl a ride to the library, it wasn’t worth worrying about. So that’s what I hoped she would tell me.

Instead she said, “Lorna, if you don’t know, you’re the only person in school who doesn’t.”

She started to smirk and turn away but then her true nature kicked in. Mary Tiffany is happiest when she’s telling gossip to the person it will hurt most. What she told me was that the rat I called my boyfriend had five other girls who snuck him into their bedrooms whenever he wanted.

“Mary Tiffany, why would they do that?”

“Why do you?” she shot back at me.

“Because he said he’d love me forever.”

“Got it in one.”

What I got that night was my daddy’s gun. I wrote a note with tears all over it and put it in an envelope addressed to Clancy and dropped it in the mail. And next I put the gun in my mouth.

And took it out. Because what kind of mess would a shot through my head make?  I’d need a closed casket. I’d been to funerals and seen faces all made up, with the hair arranged beautifully and those people were mostly old and wrinkly and had thin white hair. I have long eyelashes that Clancy says look sexy when my eyes are closed. And I have thick, naturally curly hair.

Didn’t want to mess it up. So instead, I moved that gun and shot my heart out.

How long have I been dead?  Well, it isn’t like there’s a calendar on the inside of my coffin lid. My head hit the lid a moment ago, which gave me the headache, and went through the satin and the wood and then through damp, sticky stuff. Garden soil is what it feels like.

After digging my way up and out, standing is rather difficult. I grab hold of a tombstone to pull myself up. It is a new stone, shiny clean, with my name carved into it. How nice.

A voice shouts, “All of you!  Follow me!”

When I look around, I see there are a half dozen people standing on nearby graves. They all lurch forward toward a man who is waving his arms. He’s dressed in black and truthfully, I don’t like the look of him. He reminds me of our gym teacher. When he isn’t shouting, he’s blowing on a whistle.

Also, something quite horrible happens. The first follower to pass me bumps into my gravestone and bits of him fall off. Really. His hand falls right out of his sleeve and lands on the ground and then an ear drops beside it. What’s more, his clothes are rotting and hanging in tatters and I can’t even begin to describe his filthy hair.

When I check them out I realize the other shuffling people are in similar condition, missing parts and wearing horrible rags.

My parents often warned me never to go anywhere with a stranger. Good advice, because although the man who is shouting is clean enough, why would I want to be with the others?

Instead I turn and walk the opposite direction. I feel lopsided, as though a heel has broken off one of my shoes. Continuing, I ignore the shouts. A path winds between graves and between two tall brick columns and out to a paved street. Center Street and Sixth. That’s familiar. Clancy lives in this end of town.

Perhaps by now he misses me and is suffering. I hope so.

When I reach his house, I stand beneath his bedroom window and call, “Clancy!  It’s me. Lorna.”

My voice sounds as though I have a sore throat. I can barely pronounce the words.

The window bangs open and Clancy leans out. “Who’s out there?  Who is that?  Oh, I see you, whoever you are. I guess you think that’s funny?  Get your ugly butthead off my lawn.”

The window slams closed.

Ugly butthead?  What does he mean?  He must not recognize me in the dark. I should knock on the door. Stumbling around the house to the front porch, I stand under the porch light and raise my hand to knock.

Something drops off. I glance down. It looks like a finger. No, that’s not possible.

My reflection looks back at me from the glass window of the front door. Clapping my hands over my mouth, I manage not to scream.

My naturally curly hair is a muddy mess and there is a worm inching across my forehead. My best dress has stains. One sleeve is torn almost off.

Bending down, I pick up the thing that looks like a finger. It is a finger. When I wrap my hand around it, two more of my fingers break away. Now I do scream.

And then I remember where I am. What if Clancy hears me and opens the door?  What if he gets a good look at me?  What if he tells Mary Tiffany? She will tell everyone.

Now that I know he lied, I also know Clancy never ever loved me.

If I return to my grave, no one there will gossip about me. First, none of them know about Clancy, and second, I look a lot better than anyone else I saw tonight at the cemetery.

Wow. I love the head hurting and then backtracking to why it hurts. Thank you Phoebe.

I asked Phoebe what the inspiration behind this story was and she said…

Inspiration for the flash fiction? Hmm. A writer friend mentioned that zombies were the next hot protagonists for romance novels and I tried to get my head around the idea of anyone romancing a zombie. It made my head hurt. The best I could do was a flash fiction story. If I tried to make a novel of Lorna’s sorrows, my head would fall off. Sorry, Lorna.

Now that would be a story!

Phoebe Matthews has a backlist of books published by Avon, Dell, Holt, Putnam, Silhouette and others. Most of her out of print titles are now available again as ebooks. She is currently writing three urban fantasy series: Mudflat, Turning Vampire, and Sunspinners. All are set in the Pacific Northwest where she lives. Her historic Chicago 1890s series occurs in the neighborhood where she spent childhood holidays with her grandparents.

As mentioned earlier, this story features in Phoebe’s ‘Nine Horoscope-in-Catsup Stories, Wicked Good series of collected short stories, volume 1’. Available from the following places: Kindle, Apple iPad, B&N nook.

If you’d like to submit your 1,000-word max. stories for consideration for Flash Fiction Friday take a look here.

 

Author interview no.170 with poet Melissa Lee-Houghton

Welcome to the one hundred and seventieth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. Today’s is with poet Melissa Lee-Houghton. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further.

Morgen: Hello, Melissa. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

Melissa: I wrote my first poem when I was about seven years old. It was about scuba diving and my teacher stapled it to the wall. When I was a little older I wrote a story about someone dying and won a competition; so I’ve always written, it has always appealed to me. As a teenager, I never had enough discipline to keep a proper journal, but I loved to write letters. I found Sylvia Plath’s collected works in a bookshop with my parents, not knowing who she was and bought the book even though they told me I wouldn’t like it; I loved and treasured it. At college I realised there was a wealth of untapped poetry magazines and writers, more than I could ever wish to read and this excited me. I wanted so much to be a part of it.

Morgen: I’ve had a surprising (to me anyway) number of authors who say they started young… it’s wonderful. Poetry is so popular and yet, like short stories, seems so undervalued by the industry. Do you write to form or free verse? What would you say is the difference between a piece of prose and a prose poem?

Melissa: I write free verse; I need freedom and room to write my way through an idea with as much space for development as possible. The prose poem / prose thing is complex because I often think that some writers don’t see the difference themselves. What is clear in prose is that it need not employ rhythm, sound and metaphor in the same way a poem would; I feel I would personally look for a contained, fully realised idea or theme in a prose poem. A prose poem requires some element of coherence. It needs an element of poetic inquiry.

Morgen: I’ve never been taught to write poetry (and I write it rarely) but I listen to the poets in my writing group and even the prose they write (more so during our writing workshops) I’d say has those features. It’s a real skill. Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

Melissa: I edit now more than ever. Working on the final edits of A Body Made of You, really taught me a lot about the careful process of editing work for others to read. I edited a poem recently from 1000 words to 1000 characters.

Morgen: Wow, that’s paring, and about… 200 words.

Melissa: It felt really good. When I began writing and submitting work, the most prominent response from editors was that I needed careful, unsparing editing. It has taken thirteen years to realise exactly what that means.

Morgen: Well I’ve been writing for about six years so I’m half-way there. What is your opinion of writer’s block? Do you ever suffer from it? If so, how do you ‘cure’ it?

Melissa: I think writer’s block is a very common phenomenon. You have to write your way through it by writing whatever comes into your head.

Morgen: You do, like free-writing… hopefully the subconscious will kick in.

Melissa: You have to learn discipline and not get complacent. I don’t believe there is always a spark and a constant flow of ideas, you have to put in a lot of hard work. People will say, you can’t force it, but I don’t see why not. You can still write with energy and conviction without that powerful tool of inspiration; use prompts, get someone else to supply them if you can.

Morgen: That’s what we do in our writing group workshops; sentence starts, one-word prompts, titles, last sentences, random keywords (there are some great ones on http://creativecopychallenge.com).

Melissa: I find that, like the Surrealists, walking around is an excellent way to go about writing something. If I have an inkling of an idea, I nurture it by wandering somewhere familiar. Sometimes I’m so preoccupied with my thoughts I don’t see what’s going on around me, I just feel the rhythm of my footsteps and mentally build on the momentum.

Morgen: Who is your first reader – who do you first show your work to?

Melissa: My husband vets everything. He isn’t a writer, but he makes a fantastic editor and he’s very honest, so I can depend on him for an initial critique. I am so grateful for the many, ‘it’s good, but it’s not good enough’ responses. It’s great when he does really like something his face lights up! It’s wonderful to have that.

Morgen: Isn’t it. I try to get my dog’s face to light with my writing but sadly it still takes the words ‘treat’, ‘park’ and ‘cuddle’ to do that. I get an electronic version from my editor when she particularly likes something I’ve written but again not a substitute. Some writers like quiet, others the noise of a coffee shop etc. Do you listen to music or have noise around you when you write or do you need silence?

Melissa: It varies for me. Sometimes the constraint of having noise and children fluttering about helps me to focus. I generally write in my dining room, though I do have a writing room upstairs. Sometimes, any noise disturbs me and I can become very tetchy! I often listen to a piece of music in headphones over and over until I’m not completely conscious of it and write almost to the rhythm. I can’t do this with just any music. There are a couple of songs and pieces by John Cale that always work for me.

Morgen: As in JJ Cale? I like him, especially Money Talks and Teardrops in my Tequila.

Melissa: If I’m writing from experience, I search my ipod to find a song that reminds me of that time in my life and draw on it for inspiration.

Morgen: What’s your favourite / least favourite aspect of your writing life?

Melissa: I love having an idea to toy with. I like to brainstorm on paper and the initial buzz of getting into a first draft is exhilarating. I hate having ideas in the middle of the night. I used to get up and stay awake all night, but these days I don’t have the energy.

Morgen: Oh dear. I know that feeling. When I first went to creative writing classes I’d send out morse code messages because I kept waking up and switching my light on and off – the dog must have thought I was mad. Do you have pieces of work that you think will never see light of day?

Melissa: My first collection started life as a 108 poem manuscript and was whittled down to thirty poems! A lot of them were good poems, but I had to create a coherent manuscript to present to each of the portrait sitters. But all the original poems will remain lost.

Morgen: Oh dear. What are you working on at the moment / next?

Melissa: I have a chapbook-length collection which I’m hoping to have published next year. It’s been two years in the making and I have yet to finish editing it. If a poem isn’t working I just scrap it. I don’t want to be known for mediocre work and I am really hoping that this collection comes together. Then I will work on my second collection. I want to have a clear idea and plan, which takes time. With A Body Made of You, I had a distinct notion; to write portraits of people whose lives or personalities interested me. I like to have a concept or theme in my work. I think my chapbook manuscript has been so long in the making because I haven’t had that. It seems the poems have found common ground organically. Themes crop up and ideas have settled within them.

Morgen: One of my poets has spent six years on her first pamphlet (and six years on one of the pieces I think!) so two years sounds pretty good going. What do you like to read? Any authors you could recommend?

Melissa: There are plenty of new voices in the poetry jungle. I love Salt’s John McCullough, whose collection, The Frost Fairs was released this year and Clare Pollard’s The Changeling by Bloodaxe books. There are always good poetry pamphlets to introduce you to new authors. I would pick Love’s Loose Ends by David Tait, a Smith / Doorstop pamphlet collection. Penned in the Margins, produce poetry to die for. Their author Michael Egan, was recently commended by the Forward Prize for his first collection, Steak and Stations, which I thoroughly recommend. I also read a lot of novels and recently, Lee Rourke’s The Canal was quite special.

Morgen: Are there any writing-related websites that you find useful and would recommend?

Melissa: The Short Review is a fantastic index of short story writers and collections and a comprehensive guide to short fiction, which I dabble in when the mood takes me. There are loads of excellent blogs out there. I love Peony Moon which showcases poets and their work and gains a good deal of worldwide interest.

Morgen: Ah yes, I’ve heard of The Short Review (note to self: check them out for my short stories ). Where can we find out about you and your work?

Melissa: You can read excerpts from my first collection, ‘A Body Made of You’ here which is available from Penned In The Margins and my personal blog.

Morgen: Thank you Melissa. Good luck with your collection.

Melissa Lee-Houghton was born in Wythenshawe, Manchester in 1982. Her first collection, ‘A Body Made of You’ published by Penned In The Margins, was released earlier this year. Her poetry and short fiction have been published in literary magazines such as Poetry Salzburg, The New Writer, Magma and Tears in the Fence. Her poem, ‘Jim’ was recently included in Starry Rhymes, a chapbook published by Read This Press. She is a regular reviewer for The Short Review.

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
• Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group (http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017)
• Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)

We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Guest post (and giveaway): ‘A blog that goes bump in the night’ by Marla Madison

I’m delighted to bring you this guest blog post, today on the topic of Halloween, by suspense novelist and former interviewee and Flash Fiction Friday contributor Marla Madison.

A blog that goes bump in the night – why is October scary?

On a cold, fall evening, Lisa Rayburn, the protagonist in my suspense novel, She’s Not There, wonders why fall is scary. She’s right, but why? It can’t be because of trick-or-treating. Today’s costumed tots go out surrounded by friends and protected by parents; nothing scary about that. (I could mention that in my day, children were able to go out alone, which was scary, but that would reveal my age – and that’s truly scary!)

In a creative writing class, I wrote a short story in which I tried to define what was actually spooky about fall. I described bare trees with branch-tentacles grasping at lone walkers after dark. So, bare trees outlined against a full moon – kind of scary. The air suddenly cool and crisp – a little scary. But frightening enough to paint the month evil? Hardly.

We all enjoy the thrill of being terrified. The legend of the Hallow’s Eve of folklore permits us to celebrate fear every year when, on October 31, witches gathered to mark the seasonal transition.

In a frenzy of fear, by the end of October our lawns sport the grim reaper, giant spiders, ghosts, coffins and Frankenstein’s monster. We throw parties attended by guests dressed as everything from football players to Count Dracula. (I’ve heard that this year zombie costumes will be the rage.)

Ghosts are a popular fright on Halloween. My house has a ghost. Honestly, it does and others have experienced it. He’s neither a wicked ghost nor a friendly one. He’s just here, the man who built this house. He had a sad, unfulfilling life and remains disturbed. We co-exist; he’s not scary.

In fiction and in movies, for me, when it comes to hair-raising, less is more. In Cujo, Stephen King mastered nail-biting foreshadowing and underlying tension of the horror to come. And a movie that left me with a creepy feeling for weeks (and even now and then when I walk past the woods) was the Blair Witch Project. Some people hated it, but I find what I don’t see to be much more frightening than a slasher flick with buckets of blood shed in every scene. Subtle horror, like humor, wins out for me every time.

I find reality scarier than either fiction or the paranormal. The night I read Helter Skelter, the true crime account of Charles Manson and his followers, I was awake all night; and not just because I was engrossed in reading. The idea of people capable of such atrocities creeping around my house while I slept, scared the crap out of me.

What scares it out of you? Come on, share it in a comment. I’ll send a coupon for a free ecopy of She’s Not There to the most interesting answer. So think about what really frightens you and spill it. Then sleep with the light on!

Thank you Marla! Ever since watching the first Halloween movie (with Jamie Lee Curtis I think) it put me off knives for life. I use them, obviously, but I won’t have a knife block on display in the house. As one of the ‘organisers’ I’m not in the running for the free eBook by the way folks so please do tell. :)

Marla Madison works part-time doing arbitrations for the State of Iowa and the Federal Mediation Service. Working full-time as an author, Marla is busy penning her second novel of suspense. She’s Not There, her first, is now available as an ebook. At home in Northwestern Wisconsin, she lives on Prairie Lake with her significant other, Terry, a beloved shelter-dog, Skygge, and Poncho, an opinionated feline from the same shelter. Some of her favorite things are playing duplicate and tournament bridge, golfing, reading, pontooning, and taking long walks with her dog. You can find Marla via her blog, Twitter and Facebook.

If you would like to write a writing-related guest post for my blog then feel free to email me at morgen@morgenbailey.com with an outline of what you would like to write about. If it’s writing-related then it’s highly likely I’d email back and say “yes please” (while quietly bouncing up and down in my seat with joy!).

 

Author interview (and blog) feedback sought

Hello everyone. I’ll keep this brief because Marla is waiting in the wings to guest blog but I’d love your opinion on the interviews I post here (and anything else you’d like to mention about my blog). I’m conscious that by posting an interview a day you will have a lot to read through so…

• Are they too long? Would you prefer a selected maximum of questions?
• Do you find them enjoyable to read or do you switch off part-way?
• Are there questions that you feel don’t need to be asked?
• Is there a topic we haven’t discussed that you would like covered?
• Is there a genre you’d like to read more about or are they fairly evenly spread?
• Generally do you find they are helpful / useful?
• Are they posted too regularly? (not sure I can do much about this as I have so many enquiries but it would be useful to know)

And about the blog itself…

• Can you find the information you want easily?
• Is there too much information here, is it overwhelming?
• Is there anything you’d like to read less of?
• Is there anything you’d like to read more of?
• If you’ve read any, are the guest blogs / author spotlights too short / long or about right?
• I’d like to include more poetry; any suggestions?
• Is there anything writing-related that I don’t cover on this blog that I could perhaps include?
• Do you have a favourite section / page on the blog?
• If you’ve been involved in anything here do you feel it was worthwhile?

I look forward to hearing your views; positive and ‘constructive’ – I’ve received rejections, I can handle it!  

I have the current format booked up until the end of the year but ongoing it’ll be really interesting to learn what is working and what isn’t (if anything ).

If you would prefer to email me directly rather than leave a comment here, you can email me at morgen@morgenbailey.com.

Thank you.

Morgen x

 

Author interview no.169 with novelist Joselyn Vaughn

Welcome to the one hundred and sixty-ninth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. Today’s is with “sweet contemporary romance” novelist Joselyn Vaughn. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further.

Morgen: Hello, Joselyn. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

Joselyn: I’m a stay at home mom with two pre-schoolers and a toddler. They keep things pretty crazy. Before they came along, I was a reference librarian at our local library and always figured I would write someday.  One day a friend and I were discussing an idea for a program at the library and it developed into a story idea.  I went home for lunch and started writing.  That eventually became my first published book, CEOs Don’t Cry.

Morgen: I love that; an idea takes shape so quickly. What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

Joselyn: I write sweet contemporary romances.  I think it would be fun to write historical romances or historical fiction, but I don’t have the time for the in-depth research it requires to get all the details right.  Maybe when the kids are older and in school, I’ll have more time. Haha.

Morgen: That’s funny. My mum’s retired and she says she never has any spare time. I think once you have a house and interests you can write off sitting twiddling your thumbs, not that that appeals to me. I’d get bored quickly. And I don’t blame you avoiding in-depth research, it’s one of my least favourites. What have you had published to-date? If applicable, can you remember where you saw your first books on the shelves?

Joselyn: I have three books published to date: CEOs Don’t Cry, Courting Sparks, and Sucker for a Hot Rod. Hauntings of the Heart is coming out soon. I haven’t seen any of my books in stores except for my local bookstore, but the first two are in a lot of libraries, so it always fun to go online and see that they are checked out.

Morgen: Have you ever seen a member of the public (whom you don’t know!) reading your book… in any unusual locations?

Joselyn: No, I wish! One of my critique partners did see someone reading one.  That was pretty exciting.

Morgen: Oh wow. I take it they didn’t take a photo. Have you won or been shortlisted in any competitions and do you think they help with a writer’s success?

Joselyn: CEOs Don’t Cry was a finalist in the Greater Detroit RWA Booksellers Best Award, The USA Book News Best Book Award and the winner of the WisRWA Write Touch Readers’ Award.  I don’t know if it has helped with sales, but someone from a television show contacted me to appear on their morning show.  It didn’t work out (it was more that they were looking for me to advertise with them), but they did come across the book.  So it does help with name recognition.

Morgen: That’s a real shame but well done on the other successes. Do you write under a pseudonym? If so why and do you think it makes a difference?

Joselyn: Yes.  I chose it for privacy reasons, but it’s much easier to market “someone else.”

Morgen: It is. Are your books available as eBooks? If so what was your experience of that process? And do you read eBooks?

Joselyn: Sucker for a Hot Rod is available as an ebook. Hauntings of the Heart will be too. The process and working with that publisher has been great.  I was really excited to have a more affordable book out there.  I am reading more and more ebooks.  I’ve found it’s much easier to pick up and put down as I’m chasing kids around.  And they can’t steal my bookmarks. Although they have figured out that they can move things around on my iPod Touch screen.  Slimy fingerprints aren’t so good.

Morgen: Or dog noses. What was your first acceptance and is being accepted still a thrill?

Joselyn: I got The Call while I was changing my daughter’s diaper. I couldn’t answer the phone because there was no way I could finish the diaper change and I couldn’t leave her on the changing table to run for the phone.  I ended up getting to listen to the message on the answering machine over and over.

Morgen: For posterity. Have you had any rejections? If so, how do you deal with them?

Joselyn: Of course.  You can’t write without getting them. Most of them have been form letters so they didn’t hurt too much.  Recently I got some contest comments that were not very constructive and those hurt. I decided I wouldn’t enter that contest again and tried to put it behind me.  I try to focus on the good reviews for that book instead.

Morgen: Not constructive is so frustrating. What’s the point? But then it’s like someone saying “oh that’s good” but not elaborating on which bit works (although I know which I’d rather have). What are you working on at the moment / next?

Joselyn: I just finished a manuscript about the bed and breakfast owner from CEOs Don’t Cry. It is called Hauntings of the Heart. It tackled some much more emotional issues than I’ve tried before, but the characters were so much fun.

Morgen: I love bringing back incidental characters. I’m embarking on a new anthology later this year and a previous character will be rearing her head in one or two of the other stories. Do you manage to write every day? What’s the most you’ve written in a day?

Joselyn: I wish.  It usually depends on how tired I am after the kids go to bed and if they cooperate and go to bed nicely.  That hasn’t been the case lately.  I’m not a fast writer, so I rarely get more than 1000 words down a day.

Morgen: But even if it’s that, it’s good going. 500 words = 182,500 a year. What is your opinion of writer’s block? Do you ever suffer from it? If so, how do you ‘cure’ it?

Joselyn: Writer’s block for usually happens when I don’t want to write what I need to work on next.  It took me a couple weeks to tackle one of the emotional memories for Hauntings, mostly because I was intimidated by the scene and whether I could pull it off. And I needed a larger chunk of time to tackle it. I finally made myself sit down and do it. My critique partners say it works, so maybe the downtime helped me mull it out.

Morgen: It often can; think of something else and you’ll see what the problem was by not concentrating on it so hard. A question some authors dread, where do you get your inspiration from?

Joselyn: I do dread that question.  I have no idea.  The ideas just appear. They get fleshed out with my critique group into something more substantial.  Usually I start writing, then something happens and it snowballs from there. In the first scene I wrote of Hauntings of the Heart, Minnie slammed the door in someone’s face and there was the story.  Who was he and why was he there and why did she slam the door?

Morgen: That’s the fun for me, not knowing what’s going to happen and finding out as I write. Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Joselyn: I get an idea and run with it.  I like to see where it takes me for the first draft. For the second draft, I plot it out more.  Sometimes I make a spreadsheet, although I have used a calendar too. This helps me see the whole story and make sure characters aren’t stuck with poison ivy for six months at a time. My critique partners laugh every time I pull out the spreadsheets.  It does make it easier to sit down in the bits of time I get and work on what needs to be finished.

Morgen: I’m a nerd with tables and spreadsheets all over the place so I’m with you on that one. You mentioned characters, do you have a method for creating yours, their names and what do you think makes them believable?

Joselyn: Some people do all these complex character sheets and interviews, but my characters just appear. Their stories come out as I’m writing. They generally tell me their names.  I had one character who said her name was such and such and I couldn’t have it be that, so I changed it to something else, but it never felt right.

Morgen: It’s like JK Rowling where (apparently) she wanted to kill off a particular character in HP7 but he or she (I think we’ll never know who) didn’t want to be killed off so she killed another… I don’t suppose he was at all grateful! Do you write short stories? If so, apart from the word count, what do you see as the differences between them and novels and why do you think they’re so difficult to get published?

Joselyn: I have yet to try a short story, but would really like to.  It seems like you have to have a really tight story to have it be emotionally satisfying. I think it will be an intense experience.

Morgen: It’s what I mainly write and it is, I love it. Who is your first reader – who do you first show your work to?

Joselyn: My critique group is awesome.  They really help me figure out plot problems, character problems and see the things I’m missing in the story. One of them should just write ‘needs more emotional reaction’ on the top of every chapter.  That seems to be my weakness.

Morgen: Oh dear. But at least you know and can work on it. Critique groups are fab aren’t they – mine spot things I’d never have twigged. Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

Joselyn: My first drafts are pretty bare-bones, so I have to do a lot of editing.  My manuscripts can double in length from the first draft to the final one.

Morgen: Do you write on paper or do you prefer a computer?

Joselyn: I write all my first drafts by hand.  I am enamored with cute notebooks and the feel of a pen sliding across paper.  I feel writerly and artsy that way.  I am contemplating doing my next first draft on the computer in hopes that it won’t take so much revising.  When I handwrite, the story flows very linearly.  It’s not easy to go back and add details without drawing a lot of confusing arrows.  We’ll see how that works out.

Morgen: Good luck. Some writers like quiet, others the noise of a coffee shop etc. Do you listen to music or have noise around you when you write or do you need silence?

Joselyn: I get more work down when it’s quiet or when the background noise is a dull mumble.  I try to write during my kids’ downtime in the afternoon.  They watch Bob the Builder or Angelina Ballerina and that is not conducive to writing at all.

Morgen: Unless you have characters called Bob and Angelina I suppose. Do you use prologues / epilogues? What do you think of the use of them?

Joselyn: I have epilogues at the end of Courting Sparks and CEOs Don’t Cry.  They worked there.  I had one at the end of Sucker for a Hot Rod, but ended up dropping it. I didn’t need it. I think they really depend on the story.

Morgen: That’s what most interviewees say. What’s your favourite / least favourite aspect of your writing life?

Joselyn: I love crafting a story and figuring out how it is all going to work out.  I love the simple act of putting words on paper.  Because my writing time is so limited right now, it’s frustrating how much time needs to be devoted to marketing and publicity. I wish I could say ‘Just read the book, okay?’ and get to writing the next story.

Morgen: You could but I don’t think it would get you very far. I notice a lot of authors touting their books (with some that’s all they do) but I think any more than 10% vs 90% chat / useful info. defeats the object; Twitter followers / Facebook friends would de-follow / friend then you’d have no-one listening. What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Joselyn: Get a pen and paper and get your butt in the chair. There’s no other way you are going to be a writer unless you start writing.

Morgen: True. Practice makes published. What do you like to read?

Joselyn: I like to read a lot of things.  It really depends on the mood I’m in.  I recently read Atlas Shrugged, which was fascinating, but I had to break it up with some lighter reading.  Authors on my auto-buy list are W.S. Gager (http://wsgager.blogspot.com) and Julia Quinn (http://juliaquinn.com), who both had new releases this summer.  I lean toward contemporary and historical romance, historical fiction and literary fiction, but every once in a while I pick up something else.  I read Hunger Games this summer and have to read the next books in the series.  A very interesting story from a reading and a writing view. Anxious to see what the author does with it in the rest of the series.

Morgen: What do you do when you’re not writing? Any hobbies or party tricks?

Joselyn: Party tricks? Does changing a multitude of diapers count?

Morgen: Not being a mother myself, I’d say so… I wouldn’t have a clue.

Joselyn: When I’m not writing, I’m usually chasing or cleaning up after my kids. On the rare nights, they go to bed nicely, I like to go for a run.  I’ve been able to do several races with my sisters this year and that has been really cool.  I also like to sew.  I’ve discovered reconstructing clothes – basically taking one or more items and converting them into something else.  I’ve tried a couple t-shirts and have some other ideas.  The last time I had a chance to sew, I had some issues with my sewing machine. It may have been haunted. (http://joselynvaughn.blogspot.com/2011/08/haunted-sewing-machine.html)

Morgen: I wonder if someone could have owned it before you? There has to be a story there… has your daughter forgiven you? Are you on any forums or networking sites? If so, how invaluable do you find them?

Joselyn: I’m on Facebook and Twitter.

Morgen: Ah yes, my two favourites (and LinkedIn). Where can we find out about you and your work?

Joselyn: You can check out my webpage and blog as well as my Facebook and Twitter links above.

Morgen: Please do, folks. What do you think the future holds for a writer?

Joselyn: Right now the possibilities are really expanding with indie publishing and self-publishing.  Ebook backlists are really helping authors get and keep their work out there for their fans. It does put a lot more pressure on the author to market, market, market.

Morgen: Sadly so which is fun if not sometimes a little too time-consuming (when we should be writing). Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

Joselyn: Thanks so much for having me.  It was great chatting with you.

Morgen: Ah, you’re welcome… you can come again.

I then invited Joselyn to provide an extract of her writing and here’s a mini-excerpt from Sucker for a Hot Rod:

Bryce took a swig from his glass. Judi was about to signal a server to take their order, but Bryce stood and walked around the table. He knelt beside her chair.

A jumble of thoughts crowded and bounced through her head like children on an indoor recess.

Candlelight. Soft music. Fancy restaurant. He’s wearing a tie. He’s down on one knee. People are staring. That lady over there is crying.

Then the thoughts coalesced into one direction.

Romantic spot. Kneeling. Oh crap.

She focused her attention on him. He held a small velvet box in his fingertips. His fingers shook.

“Judi Montgomery, will you marry me?” He opened the box and a square cut diamond winked at her against the cushioned white satin.

“What?” She hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but it slipped out. This was a bit more than an oil filter.

Update July 2012: Since this interview, Hauntings of the Heart and a novella, The Warden’s Lantern, were released by Astraea Press. Hope you get a chance to read them.

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

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You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
• Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group (http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017)
• Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)

We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Author Spotlight no.26 – Smoky Trudeau Zeidel

To complement my daily blog interviews I recently started a series of Author Spotlights and today’s, the twenty-sixth, is of historical, romance, paranormal novelist and writing guide guru Smoky Trudeau Zeidel who guest blogged for me recently.

Smoky Trudeau Zeidel is the author of two novels, The Cabin and On the Choptank Shores; a recently-released collection of stories, Short Story Collection Vol. 1; and Smoky’s Writer’s Workshop Combo Set, a newly released book containing both her writer’s workshop book and collection of 366 writing prompts, previously published as separate books.

She taught fiction writing and creativity workshops at community colleges and other venues in the Midwest for many years before packing up her daughter, dog, two cats, and guinea pig and moving to California, where she swears the climate is much more conducive to creative work and the men are, too. (She met her husband and soul mate, Scott, shortly after her move.)

Smoky and Scott live with a menagerie of animals, both domestic and wild, in a ramshackle cottage in the woods overlooking the San Gabriel Valley and Mountains beyond. When she isn’t writing, they spend their time hiking in the mountains and deserts, splashing in tide pools, and resisting the urge to speak in haiku.

Smoky is, metaphorically speaking, the salmon who swims downstream, not up. When the invitation says “black tie,” she’ll more likely show up in tie-dye. If there’s a tree, she’ll climb it. A rock, she’ll scramble up  it. A creek, she’ll splash in it.  When the neighborhood coyotes howl, she tends to howl back.  Her husband calls her “eccentric.” She prefers the term “quirky.” But then, she’s a writer, an artist. What else would you expect?

And now from the author herself:

When I was a child, my grandparents had a farm in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, a place of sheer magic to me. There was magic in the mountains and the valleys of Virginia. I had proof: I had fairy stones.

Fairy stones are rare mineral crystals found in only a few locations worldwide. What makes them so wondrous is they are formed in the shape of a cross. Oh, some are less perfect than others, but to a child of six, the age I was when I found my first fairy stone, they all held magic.

Fairy stones are an important part of my novel, The Cabin. Young James-Cyrus Hoffmann is as enthralled with them as I was as a child. As an adult, he finds one particular fairy stone that has the power to change his life forever.

James-Cyrus has just inherited his grandfather’s farm, and with it a mysterious cabin deep in the woods on Hoffmann mountain; a cabin he has dreamed about since childhood. When he enters the cabin, he is vaulted back through time to the Civil War era, where he meets Elizabeth, the brave young woman who lives in the cabin, and Malachi, a runaway slave. James-Cyrus realizes his dreams of the cabin were visions of the past, and that Elizabeth is his great-great aunt a woman who vanished without a trace from the family tree. He also learns of his ancestors pivotal role in the lives of runaway slaves who were offered a safe haven at the cabin, a station on the underground railroad.

Cora Spellmacher, James-Cyrus’s elderly friend and neighbor, begins to unravel the secret of how he is able to make his fantastic leaps back and forth through time. In doing so, Cora begins to hope a tragic wrong from her own past can be righted, and that she can regain something precious that was lost to her many years earlier.

James-Cyrus realizes Elizabeth and Malachi are in terrible danger. With Cora’s help, he undertakes a daring plan of rescue that promises to rewrite his family history and change all of their lives forever.

The Cabin has received critical acclaim:

Mysterious and masterfully crafted, Smoky Trudeau Zeidel’s The Cabin draws the reader into a world in which reality swims, and truth is a thread of love through time. When protagonist James-Cyrus Hoffman inherits his grandfather’s farm, he discovers he has inherited more than land, his lineage bearing the passions, transgressions, and scars of his ancestors. A thoughtful, provocative, satisfying story that challenges not only the protagonist’s sense of time and place but the reader’s as well. — Patricia Damery, author of Snakes, and Farming Soul: A Tale of Initiation

Smoky Trudeau Zeidel brings to this magical and compelling historical fantasy an obvious and highly detailed love of plants and animals, mountains, dreams, and the old wisdom of one attuned to the mysteries of the natural world. — Malcolm R. Campbell, author of The Sun Singer and Sarabande.

Read The Cabin. Experience the magic.

Yes, please do. Thank you Smoky. You can find more about Smoky and her work via…

her blog http://smokyzeidel.wordpress.com where you can read about her blog tour (yours truly kicks it off!), editing service, books and short stories. Smoky returns for our interview on 14th November. A link, when it’s live, will be here too.

The blog interviews will return as normal tomorrow with romance novelist Joselyn Vaughn – the one hundred and sixty-ninth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further. And I enjoy hearing from readers of my blog; do either leave a comment on the relevant interview (the interviewees love to hear from you too!) and / or email me. You can also read / download my eBooks here.

 

Author interview no.168 with children’s writer Helen Moss (Isabella Cass)

Welcome to the one hundred and sixty-eighth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. Today’s is with children’s author Helen Moss (aka Isabella Cass) whose author spotlight went live at the end of September. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further.

Morgen: Hello again, Helen. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

Helen: I always loved writing stories as a child, but I only started writing seriously about five years ago. After school I did a degree in psychology and philosophy, and then, after a year in London doing all kinds of jobs (including being a waitress at Ronnie Scott’s jazz club and cold-calling for a photocopier sales company and almost going to Hong Kong with a dance group) I opted instead to do a PhD in psycholinguistics (which is way easier than trying to sell photocopiers over the phone, I can assure you!).

Morgen: I don’t like the hard sell so am the world’s worst salesperson “you don’t want it? Oh, OK”.

Helen: After that, I worked for many years as a researcher and lecturer, studying the way the brain processes and represents language, and how this can be affected by brain damage or disease.

Morgen: Wow.

Helen: I loved my job, but when we returned to Cambridge after a year in Oregon (my husband’s work took us there) I felt it was time for a new challenge. I’d always harboured a dream of being a writer (writing scientific papers was, of course, a big part of being a researcher, but I longed to write something where I could make stuff up. That doesn’t tend to go down too well in the world of science!). It was probably a bit of a mid-life crisis but I decided to give it a try.

Morgen: Which would make me think you went for writing science-fiction but as we know…

Helen: I took a creative writing evening class and was totally hooked. Over the following year, I wrote a science-based mystery thriller for 9-12 year olds, called The Sea Cucumber’s Revenge, and sent it off to some agents. I was lucky enough to be taken on by Jenny Savill at Andrew Nurnberg Associates.

Morgen: Ah ha, a mix of the two. What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

Helen: I write for children in the 8-12 age group, often referred to as ‘Middle Grade’. It’s a great age to write for: children are really enthusiastic and sophisticated readers at this age and are interested in such a wide range of topics – they are real book-sponges. I’ve written a stage school series for girls and a series of mystery / adventure books. In the future I’d like to try my hand at writing for teenagers and also shorter books for younger readers, but I think ‘Middle Grade’ will always be my first love!

Morgen: Like me and short stories rather than novels. What have you had published to-date?

Helen: I wrote four books for a series called Superstar High, under the pseudonym Isabella Cass.  With this series, the publisher already had the concept and gave me the main character profiles and outline and then I had to write the books to those specifications (children’s series fiction is quite often written this way). It was a fantastic learning experience. (Published by Random House’s Corgi imprint, Superstar High came out in 2010 and 2011)

Then I was lucky enough to be asked if I’d like to write a series of adventure / mystery books. This series, called Adventure Island is published by Orion Children’s Books. The first six titles came out this year (July-September, 2011) and I’m currently working on another four to come out in Spring / Summer 2012. They are in the grand tradition of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five adventures, but brought right up to date.

Morgen: Wow, that’s some going. I feel positively underachiever by comparison. Can you remember where you saw your first books on the shelves?

Helen: When I saw the first Superstar High book on the shelf of Waterstones in Cambridge I had to restrain myself from ambushing everyone who passed and making them look. I took lots of photos instead. You’d think that the thrill might wear off with later books, but it doesn’t. I still go into bookshops just to gaze in wonder at the M shelf!  And I soon realised, I couldn’t have picked a better name, because I am usually next door to Michael Morpurgo – so I hope that lots of children will see my books out of the corner of their eye when they are looking for their favourite Morpurgo classic!

Morgen: I don’t know how many books Michael has written but it sounds like you’re catching up. Have you ever seen a member of the public (whom you don’t know!) reading your book… in any unusual locations?

Helen: Recently I’ve been doing a lot of school visits and I’m always thrilled to see copies of my books on the children’s desks, alongside a Jacqueline Wilson or a J.K. Rowling! Or a Michael Morpurgo, of course!

Morgen: How much of the marketing do you do for your published works or indeed for yourself as a ‘brand’?

Helen: As a series, it seemed important to establish a brand identity for Adventure Island. The main thing I’ve done so far is set up a website (with the help of a web designer – I started out trying to do it myself but quickly realised there are some things that are better left to the professionals!).

Morgen: I’ve had some problems with my website (the software drove me nuts and I’ve done html programming for Barclaycard!) so it’s a static page with pointers to my blog (the WordPress software is not only a breath of fresh air, it’s a tornado ).

Helen: The books have a lovely ‘retro’ look due to the gorgeous cover art by Roy Knipe, and this has been used as the theme for the website. Orion have been great at marketing the books with promotions in book shops and I do as much as I can with school and library visits and workshops.

Morgen: That sounds like fun. Have you won or been shortlisted in any competitions and do you think they help with a writer’s success?

Helen: I’ve not entered any competitions. I’m not sure I’d dare!

Morgen: I think they’re great if you’re stuck for ideas. Sometimes I write especially for a competition and even if I don’t get anyway I know I’ll have a story at the end of it to send somewhere else (or make into an eBook). And of course a win or shortlist looks good on the CV. Do you write under a pseudonym? If so why and do you think it makes a difference?

Helen: The Superstar High series was written under a name chosen by the publisher. I think it can be helpful to use one or more pen-names if you write very different styles of books, to help readers know what to expect – especially when you write series fiction for children.

Morgen: It works for Joanna Trollope (Caroline Harvey), Ruth Rendell (Barbara Vine) etc. You mentioned earlier that you have an agent? Do you think they’re vital to an author’s success?

Helen: Yes, my agent is Jenny Savill at Andrew Nurnberg Associates. I know that some authors are very successful without an agent but a lot of publishers only read new submissions from agents. For me, it has been absolutely vital and Jenny has looked out for me every step of the way!

Morgen: Are your books available as eBooks? If so what was your experience of that process? And do you read eBooks?

Helen: All the books are available in Kindle format on Amazon. That was all handled by the publishers so I’ve remained blissfully ignorant of the process. I love physical books – I like to have them piled up on my bedside table and shelves all over the house groaning under their weight. I find myself browsing their covers, remembering the ones I read at different times in my life. But I am thinking of getting an e-reader soon. When I travel, there’s usually a big battle for suitcase space between extra shoes and extra books – with an e-reader I can have both!

Morgen: Absolutely, that’s what they are to me, I’d never not have books around although my house would be less ‘lived in’ without them. What was your first acceptance and is being accepted still a thrill?

Helen: My first acceptance was to be signed up by my agent Jenny. It was so exciting I could hardly breathe all the way home from London to Cambridge! That was the turning point for me, when the possibility of being an author started to feel like a reality.

Morgen: That’s how I feel about getting my eBooks out (which I will in the next few days), although to a lesser extent of course. Have you had any rejections? If so, how do you deal with them?

Helen: Oh yes, of course! I sent my first manuscript out to lots of agents and a few publishers before Jenny said she was interested. They were all very nicely worded, but they were definitely thanks, but no thanks!

Morgen: At least they were nice (some aren’t and some don’t turn up at all). What are you working on at the moment / next?

Helen: I’m just starting Book Ten of the Adventure Island series. It’s going to be called The Mystery of the Invisible Spy and will be really fun to write! After that I hope to start re-writing The Sea Cucumber’s Revenge, and I also have at least three other books or series bursting to make it out of my Ideas File!

Morgen: Sea cucumber, I love that. Do you manage to write every day? What’s the most you’ve written in a day?

Helen: Yes, almost every day. I aim to write about 1500-2000 words, which doesn’t sound a lot to show for a whole day’s writing! That’s because I edit so much as I go along – so for the 1500 I end up with, I’ve probably written 6000 and deleted them (and then written them again and deleted them again!)

Morgen: Oh dear. Even 500 words a day is 182,500 words a year so no wonder you’ve written so much. What is your opinion of writer’s block? I guess you never suffer from it? If you do, how do you ‘cure’ it?

Helen: I do sometimes get a bit stuck as to how to bridge between two events, or there’s a scene I know I need to describe but can’t quite figure out how to get it started. My solution is to write the bits on either side of the troublesome section and ambush it in a kind of pincer movement, so that there is a smaller and smaller section left unwritten. And if all else fails, I just write in something basic like “then they all decided to do the next thing”, highlight it in yellow and come back to it later. I think the key thing is not to get bogged down, but to keep moving forward and then go back again.

Morgen: I write ‘more here’, works ever time. A question some authors dread, where do you get your inspiration from?

Helen: Here, there and everywhere! When I’m doing school visits I often show the children a powerpoint slide that has a picture of David Attenborough, Lisa Simpson and Bear Grylls side by side (everyone recognises Lisa and Bear, and there’s usually at least one child in the class who’s watched enough wildlife programmes to recognise David too!). I tell them how these three characters inspired Book Seven of the Adventure Island series (out next Spring!). One day I heard David Attenborough doing a short talk on the radio about a boy (it might have been himself; I was only half listening!) who’d loved exploring the local quarry for fossils and had found a brand new species and it had been named after him. I thought that the three kids in my books would love to have a species named after them! Then a while later, I saw a Simpsons episode in which an ‘angel skeleton’ is apparently discovered in the excavations for a new shopping mall. I started thinking about what happens if you are a property developer and a really interesting archaeological find turns up on your site. A criminal-minded developer might be tempted to try to prove the find was a fake, to prevent the building project being delayed or even stopped altogether if it’s an important scientific site. Those two elements fed into the main plot of The Mystery of the Dinosaur Discovery. And then I saw Bear Grylls digging a snow cave on one of his survival programmes and I knew I had to set the adventure in the middle of winter and have the kids stranded in a blizzard on the moors and have to dig a snow cave! I joke with the children in the class that next time they’re told off for watching too much telly they can say they are just researching their next book! There are so many amazing ideas for books out there, it’s just a case of keeping your eyes and ears open and being very, very nosy!

Morgen: Which is writer is allowed to do… in fact I think it’s in our Terms & Conditions. Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Helen: The first book I wrote, I had only the vaguest idea of where it was going when I started and the plot kept changing as I went along (this book is not yet published – this is quite possibly why!). With the Adventure Island series, I’m working to very tight deadlines, so it’s vital that I have a good plot outline to start with; there’s very little time for wrong turns.

Morgen: Ah deadlines, don’t you just love them (“as they woosh by” as Douglas Adams is quoted as saying). They’re the best thing for me. I’m pretty good at sticking to them, in fact they’re often what get me writing.

Helen: Also, being mystery stories, you really have to know what the crime is and how the investigators are going to solve it before you start writing, so you can place all the clues and red herrings in the right places. So for each book I write a detailed plot outline of about 10-20 pages. I then discuss it in a long phone conversation with my editor at Orion, who is absolutely brilliant at spotting the massive plot holes I’ve missed (characters knowing things that haven’t even happened yet, being in two places at once, etc) and coming up with suggestions for adding more action / suspense / fun along the way.  Once I’ve honed the outline to take all that on board, I try to mark in the chapter boundaries, so I have some idea of how it will all fit in to 30,000 words. I have a terrible habit of wittering on, and keeping the word count down is my perennial problem!

Morgen: I guess that’s the joy of a series is that you can take out a sub-plot and make a new book out of it. The characters must be so important in your stories (not that they’re not anyway). Do you have a method for creating your characters, their names and what do you think makes them believable?

Helen: I pinch attributes from friends and family – but never base a character exactly on one person.

Morgen: Because they’d probably realise.

Helen: I try to give characters little unexpected twists that I hope make them more real (a rock star who loves to knit, a gossipy old lady who plays on-line poker, a farmer’s daughter who is doing a computer science degree and so on). Names are interesting. Sometimes a name presents itself out of nowhere. Other times I have to really search for the right one. I trawl for names in the Births, Deaths and Marriagescolumns in the local paper, the credits of films and TV programmes and also maps.

Morgen: What a good idea – a baby names book will only give you the first name.

Helen: In the Superstar High series, for example, there is an elderly dance teacher called Miss Toft (Toft is a village near Cambridge) and a gardener called Mr Woolfox (I’ve never been to Woolfox but it’s signposted off the A1 and I knew I had to use the name!)

Morgen: And it’s a great one. Are you involved in anything else writing-related other than actual writing or marketing of your writing?

Helen: I don’t have time to do much else at the moment, except from school visits. I do author talks or writing workshops with children in Year 3-6.

Morgen: How lovely. Maybe I should start writing children’s… Who is your first reader – who do you first show your work to?

Helen: Usually it’s my lovely editor at Orion, Amber Caraveo. My younger son often reads the manuscript too, or I read bits out to him – although now he’s thirteen he’s getting a bit old so I may have to recruit a friend’s child!

Morgen: I have a family with three children next door ranging from mid-teen to three so that would be handy. Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

Helen: I always edit as I go along – I can’t help it, I’m an inveterate fiddler! I have to force myself to stop, otherwise I’d spend hours faffing around with a single line and never make forward progress!

Morgen: That’s the trouble, you can keep going. I tend to do two or three edits (four at most) then it goes off to my editor Rachel. One of my Monday nighters can spend a week on one short story. The quality proves it but she does say she changes then reverts, changes, reverts… I wouldn’t have that patience. How much research do you have to do for your writing? Have you ever received feedback from your readers?

Helen: Writing the Adventure Island has involved researching lots of interesting things; cave acoustics, the Boer War, art fraud, carbon dating to name but a few. My science background comes in useful here – I love trawling the internet and library for background information. I have to stop myself getting so immersed that I lose track of time. I’ll have a lot of explaining to do if anyone ever decides to investigate the search history on my computer, as I’m always checking out poisons, firearms, forgery and espionage! And because the setting for Adventure Island is a (fictional) small island of the coast of Cornwall, it’s always a great excuse to go and visit my sister who lives near Penzance! My sister often helps by sending me photos and descriptions of Cornish locations – like the ice works in Newlyn that appears in Book Six.

Morgen: Isn’t Cornwall such a wonderful setting for books (Daphne de Maurier being a classic example). What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write?

Helen: I get the boys packed off to the school bus by about eight, then I run around putting the washing in, tidying up, walking the dogs, feeding the hens, replying to e-mails…and try to sit down at my desk to write by about 9.30. I have a little office off the hallway. I try to write all day, fuelled by copious amounts of tea and biscuits. I stop for a while when the boys get back from school. I usually write again in the evening and at the weekend too – and I always have my laptop and notebook with me when I’m ferrying the boys around to football / basketball / rugby / swimming / scouts, just so I can always be writing if I have time to spare. In fact, I’m writing this in the car at Waterbeach Recreation Ground, waiting for my older son’s football match to kick off! I find that walking the dogs is also a great time for thinking over plots.

Morgen: Me too (I write, edit or read when I’m out with mine). Do you write on paper or do you prefer a computer?

Helen: When I’m plotting a new book I use pen and paper at the beginning – covering a sheet of paper with a splurge of words and phrases and arrows and circles. I also keep a notebook in my handbag and by my bed at night (otherwise I keep myself awake half the night trying not to forget something that seemed like a brilliant idea at 4 am – more often than not it was a rubbish idea, so really not worth loosing sleep over anyway!) Otherwise, I always work on my trusty laptop. I don’t think I’d be able to keep track of everything on pen and paper – I hop back and forth a lot in the manuscript as I write, and I think I’d spend all my time trying to find my place if I worked on paper.

Morgen: Me too, although I prefer to edit on paper. Some writers like quiet, others the noise of a coffee shop etc. Do you listen to music or have noise around you when you write or do you need silence?

Helen: When I’m working at home I like silence – although I can usually hear a dog or two sighing impatiently under my desk. They like to remind me that it is time to go for a walk. Now and then I get restless (or fed up of dog sighs!) and take myself off to Cambridge to work in a café or in the library for the day – then I find the background noise of people talking and music quite relaxing. I also love working on trains. I just have to be careful not to get distracted by listening in to other people’s conversations. I’m a terrible eavesdropper!

Morgen: Ah but that’s great fiction fodder. Do you have pieces of work that you think will never see light of day?

Helen: The first book I wrote hasn’t found a publisher yet, but I’m hoping that when I’ve finished working on the Adventure Island series, I’ll have time to go back and rewrite it and that it will have a chance of getting out there one day.  (It’s called The Sea Cucumber’s Revenge and is a science-based mystery thriller). I’ve also written some short stories – for adults rather than children – and although I’m quite fond of them, I have a feeling they might live out their days quietly in the desk drawer!

Morgen: Ah yes, the sea cucumber… yes, you must re-write it, it sounds hilarious! What’s your favourite / least favourite aspect of your writing life?

Helen: I love just about everything about being a writer. I enjoy the quietness of working on my own all day, being completely absorbed in my own world, and the thrill of creating something all the way from a vague idea to a complete book. I also really enjoy going into schools and talking to children about books and reading and writing. There’s not much I don’t like. The only bad thing is that something bizarre happens to time when I’m writing – hours just disappear like seconds. I’ve been working to very tight deadlines to write the ten Adventure Island books and I really need to slow the clock down so I can write all day and have a life!

Morgen: A life? What’s that? I think it’s the computer that eats the time… now there’s a story. If anything, what has been your biggest surprise about writing?

Helen: The most surprising thing is that I’ve been so lucky and had the opportunity to be published! A few years ago it was just a very fanciful dream. I wouldn’t have dared believe I’d ever get this far. I’m also surprised that it is so much about deadlines! Before I started, I had a naïve idea that the writing life would be a rather leisurely affair, involving a lot of sitting around in cafés thinking great thoughts and jotting down the occasional perfectly turned phrase with a beautiful fountain pen. I’m still waiting for that part to happen!

Morgen: I’m sure it happens like that for some writers, the ones who take years to write a novel. I couldn’t be like that; I’m too impatient. I have too many stories queuing up to be written that they’re almost pushing the current one out the way. What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Helen: Don’t give up. It just takes one person to read something you’ve written and love it and that can be all it takes to get the ball rolling. For children’s writers, I would also recommended joining SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators). They provide all kinds of support for both published and unpublished writers. You very quickly feel as if you are part of a community.

Morgen: Like I find with LinkedIn. What do you like to read?

Helen: I read all kinds of fiction – I particularly love detective novels and great big fat Victorian novels. I don’t read a lot of non-fiction, although I do like books about mountain climbing and the history of science. My favourite authors include Rohinton Mistry, Anne Tyler, Barbara Pym, PD James, and Jane Austen – they all make writing seem so effortless – you believe in every character and you just can’t see the seams. I read children’s fiction too of course. There are some absolutely fantastic writers for children and young adults.

Morgen: What do you do when you’re not writing?

Helen: I do a lot of walking (with two border collies, I don’t have much choice, but luckily I love it).

Morgen: Ah, I grew up with border collies.

Helen: I enjoy taking photographs, playing badminton, and whenever I have the chance to be near a mountain (there aren’t a lot of them near Cambridge!) I love ski-ing and climbing.

Morgen: So I see from your photograph. Are there any writing-related websites and / or books that you find useful and would recommend?

Helen: As I mentioned earlier, SCBWI is a great resource for anyone writing for children: http://britishscbwi.jimdo.com.

Morgen: I have the Children’s Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook (albeit a 2005 one) and presumably there’s a Writers’ Market equivalent in the US. Are you on any forums or networking sites? If so, how invaluable do you find them?

Helen: I have joined several writers’ groups on LinkedIn and I enjoy reading the discussion there, although haven’t had much time to participate much – but it did lead me to your blog, so that was a good result!

Morgen: Ah excellent! Well, done LinkedIn. I must admit that I read the comment emails when they come in and only tend to go on the website and comment when something grabs me or I can answer someone’s query, which at the moment has been about blog vs website – I said “both” as they’re two ways for someone to find you rather than one and they serve different purposes; a website being static / informational and blog more fluid and interactive. I suggested that one could be writing-related whereas the other could be about other things (but then added that I’m sad enough to have no life outside writing so both mine are purely writing-related). Where can we find out about you and your work?

Helen: I have a website (including a blog) at http://web.me.com/helenmoss and there is also a website for the Adventure Island series at www.adventureislandbooks.com – that has lots of fun activities for readers.

Morgen: Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

Helen: I’d just like to thank you for inviting me to join you today. You have a great website and blog.  It’s fantastic to be able to read about so many different writers from all different genres in one place.  Oh, and good luck with NaNoWriMo (you see, I knew you’d worked out that time trick!)

Morgen: Ah thank you. I’m actually not sure this year where I will find the time as my previous (three) NaNos and May’s ‘Story a Day’ were both blog. Well, SaD wasn’t, I created the blog end March this year but it really kicked off with the interviews mid-June. We shall see. I’ll do the 50,000 words because I just will but I suspect that the circles under my eyes will get a shade darker. Is there a question you’d like to ask me?

Helen: I have a feeling you must have cracked the time-speeding-up-when-you-are-writing problem, as you manage to do so many things. So please tell me, how do you do it and can you tell me the secret!

Morgen: <laughs resembling the Wicked Witch of the West> the aforementioned dark circles could explain. I should get more sleep but I’m lucky in the respect that I’ve been a secretary since I left school so I can prioritise (sadly my writing’s down the list a bit) and I type quickly. The secret to my ‘success’ is a nerdy Word table which tells me when the enquiry came in, the author’s name, the number of interview / spotlight / blog etc., what genre they write, when I sent the info. pack, when I received the text back, when it’s due to go live and any other comments (such as where they learned of me, if known), their nationality (handy if I oversleep and I know I’ve got a few hours to play with, although I do try to stick to the 7am / 7pm timings) and each line is colour co-ordinated (interviews are white, spotlights green, guest posts blue, my posts yellow, flash fiction grey). As I said it’s very nerdy but it really is my ‘bible’. Needless to say I back it up very often. I’m leaving my job at Christmas so I’m hoping to get more sleep (and housework, DIY, park walks) but I have a sneaking suspicion that time will go just as quickly but I still can’t wait. Thank you Helen.

Helen Moss writes fiction for the ‘Middle Grade’ age group – young readers between about seven and twelve years old. Her series, Adventure Island, is set on the fictional island of Castle Key, and follows the adventures of brothers Jack and Scott Carter, their friend Emily Wild and her faithful dog, Drift, as they solve a series of baffling, exciting – and often perilous – mysteries.

Born in 1964, Helen grew up in the beautiful rolling countryside of Worcestershire, interspersed with spells in a remote corner of Saudi Arabia with her family. After completing a PhD in psycholinguistics, she spent many happy years researching and lecturing on the way our brains process and represent language, and how this can be affected by brain injury and disease. She has lived in London, Glasgow and Oregon, but now lives near Cambridge with her husband, two teenage sons and a menagerie of dogs, hens and other animals.

Update July 2012: ”My website / blog has now moved to http://www.helenmoss.org.uk. I’m currently writing Book 12 of the Adventure Island series, which has to be done by the end of the month, and then two more to go – I think we’re going to stop at 14, at least for a while!”

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
• Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group (http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017)
• Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)

We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Guest post: Illustrating by author Vonnie Winslow Crist

I’m delighted to bring you tonight’s guest blog post, on the topic of illustrating, by author and illustrator Vonnie Winslow Crist.

Illustrating

When I tell people I’m an illustrator, they usually respond with, “So you draw pictures, right?” And I answer, “Well, yes. But it’s more than that.” And indeed it is more than just drawing a picture.

Illustrations, whether in a book, magazine, newspaper, or e-publication, require the illustrator to bring something more to the story, poem, or article being published. Pictures are said to be worth a thousand words. Rather than an elaborate, action-stopping description of a castle in a piece of short fiction, an illustrator can visually communicate to the reader with a drawing or painting the appearance of that castle. What’s more, by carefully selecting the color palette, perspective, landscape, and characters (if any) shown, the illustrator can emphasize the mood of the tale. She can also foreshadow some of the upcoming action.

The trick when creating a picture to accompany a piece of fiction, especially if the illo will introduce the story, is to present as much relevant information as possible without tipping the reader off to the ending or any surprises coming later in the tale. Sometimes, the editor or art director wants the illustrator to hint at some upcoming action. In that case, the line between what to show and what not to reveal becomes even thinner.

In my newest book, The Greener Forest, I’ve included over 30 illustrations. The first type of illustration in the book are stand-alone drawings. These illos fill an entire page, and while subject appropriate (in this case about one sort of Faerie creature or another), they don’t accompany a specific story or poem. A stand-alone drawing must do just that – be able to stand by itself and tell a story or please the viewer without additional words.

The second type of illustration I’ve drawn for The Greener Forest, are small introduction pen and ink sketches. These appear above the title of each short story and serve as a hint as to the content of the tale. In the case of the first story, Birdling, the intro sketch is of a bird’s nest with broken egg shells. In the case of the tale, Appleheads, the intro sketch is of uncarved apples. In the case of Shoreside, the intro sketch is of two fish. And in the case of The Return of Gunnar Kettilson, it is a welcome candle.

Since I introduced each story with an illustration, if there was a bit of empty space at the conclusion of a tale or poem, I decided to add an illo. But I didn’t want to overwhelm my readers with art, so I came up with an India ink drawing of some blowing leaves that could be used as often as I liked. There are trees in most of the prose and poetry included in The Greener Forest, so the drawing also reinforced one of the reoccurring images in the book. Also (she adds with a smile), the leaves are blowing towards the next page – a gentle hint to keep on reading!

At the conclusion of some of the stories, or in some cases on the page opposite the beginning of a story, I drew an illo that added to the narrative. Examples would be the sketch of the dragon from Weathermaker, the mermaid from Shoreside, the gremlers from Waiting for More, and the spriggans from Tootsie’s Swamp Tours & Amusement Park. Adding these images is risky! Many readers don’t want the illustrator’s interpretation of the characters or setting of a story to interfere with their view.

Lastly, I created the cover art. I wanted the reader to feel as though they were opening an old journal or diary, so I attempted to give the viewer the feeling the central cover image was a photo or painting taped onto a browning page of sketches. Also “taped” to the front cover are a four-leaf clover, a feather, and an oak leaf. The back cover image is also designed to appear as though a painting, leaf, and jewel suspended from a leather lanyard are taped to old parchment paper. To add to the antique journal vibe, I also painted a full-page image of a raggedy piece of paper that could be used as background for the poems and stand-alone drawings.

I won’t bore you with the technical details of illustrating – but mathematics, a familiarity with art materials, and understanding of the printing / publishing processes are important. And the toughest thing for an illustrator, is to see the artwork they meticulously created discarded when a print book is transferred to an electronic format. This will, I’m sure, change in the future – but at the present time, pdf files are the only electronic format to accurately included artwork.

Though I hope you will purchase a copy and enjoy all of the artwork in The Greener Forest, I’ve included a sample of each kind of illo from the book, plus here’s the link to a free Greener Forest maze that I drew: http://coldmoonpress.com/forreaders.html and as you leaf through books, remember the illustrators work just as hard as the writers to tell a story.

Thank you Vonnie!

Vonnie Winslow Crist, BS Art & Education, MS Professional Writing from Towson University, is a columnist for Harford’s Heart Magazine, an illustrator for The Vegetarian Journal, the editor of The Gunpowder Review, and a contributor to Faerie Magazine. A firm believer that the world around us is filled with miracles and magic, she has had a life-long interest in reading, writing, folklore, myths, legends, fairy tales, and art. She lives at the edge of a very green forest in a rural area of the USA, feeds wild birds, adores toads, tends Faerie-friendly plants in her garden, and often has toadstool fairy rings sprout up beneath the trees in her yard. The Greener Forest is her new book of fantasy stories: http://coldmoonpress.com/quickbuy.html.

Vonnie’s website is http://vonniewinslowcrist.com, blog http://vonniewinslowcrist.wordpress.com and she can be found on Facebook and Twitter. She has also blogged about this very topic at http://vonniewinslowcrist.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/magical-illustrators.

If you would like to write a writing-related guest post for my blog then feel free to email me at morgen@morgenbailey.com with an outline of what you would like to write about. If it’s writing-related then it’s highly likely I’d email back and say “yes please” (while quietly bouncing up and down in my seat with joy!).

The blog interviews return as normal tomorrow morning with children’s author Helen Moss – the one hundred and sixty-eighth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further. And I enjoy hearing from readers of my blog; do either leave a comment on the relevant interview (the interviewees love to hear from you too!) and / or email me.

 

Author interview no.167 with paranormal novelist Jeanne Bannon

Welcome to the one hundred and sixty-seventh of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. Today’s is with paranormal author Jeanne Bannon. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further.

Morgen: Hello Jeanne. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

Jeanne: I can’t remember a time when I didn’t write. As a child, I wrote; as a teen, I wrote; as an adult, I wrote. I studied journalism in college and was a freelance writer for a while. So I wrote articles and news stories, but my true passion was always fiction. I started with short stories and made several attempts at writing a novel throughout my life, but it wasn’t until about three years ago when a neighbour inspired me to again try writing a novel. I don’t know what was different this time, perhaps it was finding a fabulous online writing group, but I stuck with it and my YA novel, Invisible is the end result.

Morgen: Wow, I’m amazed (pleasantly so) how many authors knew they wanted to write when young; it took me 38 years. What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

Jeanne: I like anything to do with the paranormal. For me it’s the most exciting genre. At present I’m finishing up work on a paranormal thriller. I tried to write a romance novel once … what a disaster!

Morgen: Ah but it was practice… maybe you could turn it into a paranormal romance. What have you had published to-date? If applicable, can you remember where you saw your first books on the shelves?

Jeanne: Invisible is my debut novel. I did have a short story published in an anthology titled “A Visitor to Sandahl.” I’ll have to pop into my local bookstore and have a peek around to see where they put Invisible. I’m sure it will be a thrill.

Morgen: I’d be there on the day of release, or overnight with a tent or sleeping bag, but then at the moment I’m only going the eBook route so it’s not quite the same. How much of the marketing do you do for your published works or indeed for yourself as a ‘brand’?

Jeanne: I do all of the marketing myself. I use Twitter, Facebook, have a blog and use other social networking tools. It’s exhausting work, but it has to be done. The drawback is that it leaves hardly any time for writing.

Morgen: That is true. I’m going to have to be far more disciplined come next year. At least with a day job (which I’m leaving at Christmas) it makes me focus and I know there are three days a week that I won’t be able to sit at my computer and tweet or facebook. Do you have an agent? Do you think they’re vital to an author’s success?

Jeanne: Not yet. I came close, but decided to sign directly with a publisher when I was offered a contract. I had a 100% chance of being published by signing the publisher’s contract and a who-knows-what chance of getting published if I had waited for an agent. However, that said, I do think agents are still necessary to get a manuscript published by a big house. I see things changing in the not so distant future, however with the popularity of self-publishing.

Morgen: Absolutely, it’s making agents and publishers sit up and, I think, take authors more seriously. We have a say now, especially where eBooks are concerned. Are your books available as eBooks? If so what was your experience of that process? And do you read eBooks?

Jeanne: Yes, Invisible is out in both ebook and paperback format. My royalties are higher for ebook sales so I kinda like to see sales of the ebook outpacing the paperback. But, there is something special about holding a ‘real’ book and I don’t think books as we know them today will ever disappear completely. And yes, I do own a Kindle, ‘though I read ‘real’ books more than I do ebooks.

Morgen: Me too. I have so many looking pretty at home and the eReader is relegated to trips… so it’s just as well it has a 3-month battery charge hold. What was your first acceptance and is being accepted still a thrill?

Jeanne: Invisible was my first acceptance. I think I was more thrilled when I received the contract from the publisher than I was the day I actually held my paperback in my hands. I will have to answer the second part of the question when my next book is published.

Morgen: Yes please do. Do let me know and I’ll update this page. What are you working on at the moment / next?

Jeanne: I’m finishing up on a paranormal thriller titled Dark Angel. It’s slow going because of all the promotion I have to do for Invisible. I’ve worked on Dark Angel for over two years now and I think it’s time I finally finish it.

Morgen: I’m not a long-stayer when it comes to one project. That’s what appealed about NaNoWriMo – a novel in a month? As a short story writer that appealed to me. Of course it’s not that simple, the editing process took much longer (especially as my second NaNo was 117K!) but it’s all about getting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Jeanne: I like to plot. I can’t write unless I have an idea of where I’m going with the story. I hate sitting down to a blank page and not having any notion of what to write. Also I think a book is tighter with fewer loose ends when it is plotted from beginning to end.

Morgen: It does vary from person to person although I presume your characters take over too. Who is your first reader – who do you first show your work to?

Jeanne: I usually post my manuscript to my writer’s group. They’re my first readers and I’ve learned so much from them. Sometimes I send a copy to my mother. She always gives me honest feedback.

Morgen: Mine does too, sadly it’s not always helpful… I write dark and she likes Pam Ayres light and fluffy so I’m more selective these days, but I have a great editor to likes various genres and is ruthless with me. Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

Jeanne: I am an editor so I can’t help but edit as I write. I’m a pretty parsimonious writer and try to write tightly from the beginning. But that said, I do tend to do a lot of rewriting and polishing. There’s always something that can be improved.

Morgen: There is and it’s an art to know when to stop. Some writers like quiet, others the noise of a coffee shop etc. Do you listen to music or have noise around you when you write or do you need silence?

Jeanne: I like silence, but rarely have it. I’ve learned to write in any environment, though I am most productive when I’m alone with no distractions.

Morgen: Me too, classical music so I have some noise but no words to distract me. What point of view do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? Have you ever tried second person?

Jeanne: Invisible is written in first person present and it was a lot of fun to write. It took me directly into my protagonist’s head and I think it helped readers to really understand and get to know her as well. Dark Angel is written in third person and there’s a lot more I can do with the characters since I can switch point of views. I would never write a book in second person. It doesn’t feel natural to me and I think it would be very difficult to pull off.

Morgen: There are very few people who’ve written a novel in second person (Jay McInerney’s Bright Lights Big City being one – I have it, it’s tough) but I love it for shorter pieces. What’s your favourite / least favourite aspect of your writing life?

Jeanne: I love having written, but not so much the actual writing process. Although I love to write, it still mostly feels like work to me.

Morgen: Oh dear. I have a poet in my writing group who calls it torture but she wouldn’t do anything else. If anything, what has been your biggest surprise about writing?

Jeanne: My biggest surprise has been the amount of work the author has to do. Authors write the book and promote the book and it’s a lot of work for not much in return. That’s why, more and more, self-publishing is looking like a better option to me.

Morgen: Seeing as I’m going the direct eBook route you’ll hear no complaints from me. What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Jeanne: I think finding a writing group was paramount to my success. I would advise any new writer to find a group, either online or in person. Also, write as often as you can. Don’t give up when those rejections come in because they will.

Morgen: Absolutely, they say a successful writer is one who didn’t give up and regardless of how good you are you’ll always need a second opinion. In which country are you based and do you find this a help or hindrance with letting people know about your work?

Jeanne: I live in Ontario Canada. I don’t see being Canadian as a barrier. The only annoyance is that my publisher hasn’t made my book available on Amazon.ca so the shipping for my Canadian readers is more expensive.

Morgen: Oh yes, that would be annoying. Where can we find out about you and your work?

Jeanne: Readers can follow or find me at the following: Twitter, Facebook author page, YouTube trailer, Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Smashwords, Solstice Publishing, Goodreads.

Morgen: What do you think the future holds for a writer?

Jeanne: I think self-publishing is going to be big for established writers. Undoubtedly ebook sales will increase, but I believe ‘real’ books will never disappear. It’s a challenging, but exciting time to be a writer.

Morgen: I’m excited. Thank you so much Jeanne.

Jeanne’s worked in the publishing industry for over twenty years. She started as a freelance journalist, then worked as an in-house editor for LexisNexis Canada and currently works as a freelance editor and writer.

Invisible, Jeanne’s debut novel, is about a teenage girl who isn’t happy with herself and wishes she could disappear. And one day she does.

When not reading or writing, Jeanne enjoys being with her daughters, Nina and Sara and her husband, David. She’s also the proud mother of two fur babies, a sweet Miniature Schnauzer named Emily and Spencer, a rambunctious tabby, who can be a very bad boy.

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
• Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group (http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017)
• Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)

We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Author Spotlight no.25 – Ann Pietrangelo

To complement my daily blog interviews I recently started a series of Author Spotlights and today’s, the twenty-fifth, is of author Ann Pietrangelo.

Ann Pietrangelo is the author of No More Secs! Living, Laughing & Loving Despite Multiple Sclerosis. Making peace with multiple sclerosis, surviving triple-negative breast cancer, and continuing to pursue a career as a freelance writer … well, let’s just say she’s fairly stubborn and doesn’t lack a sense of humor.

A member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, her writing covers a wide range of topics, including multiple sclerosis patient information, her Living with Triple-Negative Breast Cancer series, general health news, copywriting, and articles for sites all around the web.

Ann and her husband, Jim, are partners in WebCamp One LLC, a full-service website development company. They share their quiet Virginia home with their cat, Smokey, who does her best to keep things lively. On any given day you’ll find Jim in the home office while Ann camps out with her laptop in front of the sunny bay window. Not every couple can manage to work together, but these two seem to thrive on it.

No More Secs! Is a poignant and often humorous memoir chronicling their experiences with midlife, marriage, and multiple sclerosis. Ann is currently working on a novel.

And now from the author herself…

As a young girl, I always begged to use my sister’s portable Brother typewriter, even though I didn’t know how to type. I loved the clanking of the keys and fantasized about sitting in a smoke-filled room, a pencil behind my ear, piles of crumpled paper all around, pounding away at my latest novel. I was a weird kid.

Decades later when I finally sat down to write a book, there was no smoke-filled room, no pencil, no piles of crumpled paper, and typewriters were but a fond memory. But I wrote away on a laptop in my home office, at the kitchen table, and on the living room sofa. I wrote away for a year and a half. The result wasn’t a novel, but a memoir – a look inside the thought process of a person with multiple sclerosis. But it’s not all about MS, because life isn’t all about MS. Time keeps moving and, ready or not, MS or not, we must move along with it. At its heart, this is a love story. Romantic love. Love of family. Love of life. The following is an excerpt:

“Your test results are all normal. At this point I would consider the three treatment options we spoke of. There is no hurry in making this decision, but would like to hear back from you in the next couple of weeks. If you have any questions or concerns please call me. Thanks.”

When I was a kid, doctor shows were all the rage on television. I’d seen the pronouncement of diagnosis hundreds of times. The kindly old doctor touches the patient’s hand and looks into his eyes as he breaks the news. He might put an arm around the patient’s shoulder, or comfort the worried spouse. The camera would then zoom in on the patient’s face so we can see the emotional impact up close and personal.

But it seems we’re not going to get our Marcus Welby moment … or anything that even vaguely resembles one.

The email that changes everything lands in my inbox on January 28, 2004, at 2:19 p.m. Just another email mixed with a batch of well-worn jokes and plenty of spam.

That’s how No More Secs! begins and, yes, you read that right. I received my diagnosis of MS via email.

Like relapsing / remitting MS itself, the book alternates between the serious and the silly, as Jim and I find our way in our (then) new relationship, our new careers, and our new reality. Trust me, it’s no tale of woe and, if I did a good job, you’ll come away with a positive feeling.

Given the lovely emails I’ve received from you, Ann, I’m sure we would. Thank you. You can find more about Ann and her work via… AnnPietrangelo.com – NoMoreSecs.com – Facebook/NoMoreSecs

You can buy the eBook from Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble (also available on Amazon.uk - Amazon.de – Amazon.fr).

The blog interviews will return as normal tomorrow with supernatural thriller author and editor Jeanne Bannon – the one hundred and sixty-seventh of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, directors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further. And I enjoy hearing from readers of my blog; do either leave a comment on the relevant interview (the interviewees love to hear from you too!) and / or email me. You can also read / download my eBooks here.

 

Author interview no.166 with writer DV Berkom

Welcome to the one hundred and sixty-sixth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. Today’s is with fantasy, mystery and suspense / thriller author DV Berkom. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further.

Morgen: Hello, DV.

DV: Hi Morgen, thanks so much for inviting me on your blog!

Morgen: You’re so welcome, we’ve had a fair amount of contact via Twitter etc. so it’s lovely to finally have a proper chat. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

DV: Currently, I live in the Pacific Northwest in the US (think RAIN and BIG TREES) with my sweetheart, Mark, an ex-chef-turned-contractor, and write whenever I can carve out the time. I’ve been writing short stories for years, but actually started taking my writing seriously in 2006, when I completed my first novel. Wow- what a rush that was! Now, I can’t seem to stop…

Morgen: Me too; http://NaNoWriMo.org in a few days. What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

DV: I attempted fantasy first (love dragons and faeries), then mystery, and finally found my “voice” in the suspense / thriller genre. A natural progression, since I enjoy giving my characters a lot of insurmountable obstacles to overcome. Well, that and I love to blow things up.

Morgen: I think I’m still finding my niche although my writing group tell me my voice is there. Dark and humour is pretty much my home I think. What have you had published to-date? If applicable, can you remember where you saw your first books on the shelves?

DV: Currently, I have four novellas e-pubbed in the Kate Jones Thriller Series: Bad Spirits, Books 1-5 (originally 5 shorts combined into one), Dead of Winter, Death Rites and Touring for Death. All are available on Amazon.co.uk, BarnesandNoble.com, XinXii.com and Smashwords.com.

Morgen: I see what you mean about not stopping. How much of the marketing do you do for your published works or indeed for yourself as a ‘brand’?

DV: As a self-pubbed writer, I do all of my own marketing. It’s fun, but a bit overwhelming! I have a web site, www.dvberkom.com, and guest blog whenever I can. There are so many great people and places to work with, including fab blogs like yours, that the sky’s the limit. If only there were 36 hours in a day…

Morgen: Ah thank you. My blog is what it is really because of all the authors involved – and I’m not just saying that because I’m talking to one of them but it would just be me and my ramblings otherwise. Do you write under a pseudonym? If so why and do you think it makes a difference?

DV: D.V. Berkom is a semi-pseudonym. It’s very close to my given name. It helps to keep things separate, financially and otherwise. It was a little confusing at first, though. I’d be at an event and someone would have to repeat “DV” a couple of times before I realized they were speaking to me.

Morgen: That’s funny. You mentioned e-publishing, are your books available as eBooks? If so what was your experience of that process? And do you read eBooks?

DV: All of my books are offered as eBooks. It’s absolutely the best way for me to go, since I have always been a do-it-yourselfer and am very independent. I read eBooks as well as print – I just love reading! This is an exciting time to be an author. Yes, things are up in the air in the publishing world, but that’s when the biggest strides and innovations are going to happen.

Morgen: I think it’s a great time to be a writer and am so glad I’ve come into the eRevolution now. What are you working on at the moment / next?

DV: At the moment, I’m writing a stand-alone novel tentatively titled Pieces of April. It’s a total departure from Kate Jones but is still in the suspense / thriller genre and involves a strong female protagonist (who may or may not have been a paid assassin…) I’m hoping to have it available by the end of the year.

Morgen: Ooh sounds interesting. Do you manage to write every day? What’s the most you’ve written in a day?

DV: I try, but can’t always manage it every day. I think the most I’ve ever written was somewhere around 5,000 words.

Morgen: A tenth of a NaNo novel. What is your opinion of writer’s block? Do you ever suffer from it? If so, how do you ‘cure’ it?

DV: I don’t think of it as ‘writer’s block’.  It’s more that my subconscious is telling me I’ve made a wrong turn somewhere in the story and I’d better figure it out, or I won’t be able to continue. I’ve found that if I let the manuscript alone for a bit and do something else, it allows the story to percolate. Then I’m usually hit with the remedy while I’m doing the most innocuous things, like cleaning my shower.

Morgen: There are some advantages to procrastination. A question some authors dread, where do you get your inspiration from?

DV: Ideas come from everywhere! The news, a snippet of a conversation, dreams, the internet, you name it! I wrote Bad Spirits after reading about the escalating drug violence in Mexico. I’d lived there for a time and fell in love with the people and the country, and was just so sad that these horrendous events were happening there.

Morgen: I have a friend in Mexico and she’s given me mixed views on the country. I think she’s pretty safe where she is and is very patriotic. We’ve just mentioned ideas, do you plot your stories or do you just get the idea and run with it?

DV: I begin with an idea, run with it for a few chapters and then start writing myself notes directly in the manuscript on where I want to take the story. I try to remember to make the font a different color so I can see at a glance what needs to be removed during editing.

Morgen: Hopefully less colour than black and white. Do you have a method for creating your characters, their names and what do you think makes them believable?

DV: My characters come mainly from my imagination, and are sometimes composites of people I’ve met throughout my life. Their names usually just come to me, but I make sure that they don’t all begin with the same letter.

Morgen: Yes, very important. I read a story a while back with male and female characters will too similar names and got very confused. I mentioned in today’s podcast red pen session that any time the reader stops because something baffles them or makes them re-read is a step towards them putting the book down. In the excerpt I read there was a paragraph mentioning two female characters and where the author was talking about one she then went on to say ‘her right shoulder’ … so it’s not clear (although we can work it out) whether it’s the grandmother’s or leading character’s shoulder. It’s obviously easy with two genders but needs to be clearer when the same.

DV: I remember one instance my critique partner pointed out that all the male character names in a story I was working on began with an ‘A’. It’s weird the things you don’t catch in your own writing.

Morgen: I went to a talk given by crime reader Stephen Booth a few days ago and he said he has two rows of A-Z by his desk and when he uses a new characters name he crosses off one letter for the first name and one for the surname. I have an A-Z above my desk for some of the games we do during Litopia’s Open House on a Sunday evening but that’s another great use.

DV: I think what makes a character believable are their flaws. Reading about the perfect alpha male and / or female bores me to death. Give me a messed up human being any day.

Morgen: Absolutely. None of us are perfect so why write about someone who is? Someone who thinks he or she is maybe but then part of the story would be finding out they’re not and why (and perhaps by whom). Who is your first reader – who do you first show your work to?

DV: My critique partners. All of them write in different genres and have different strengths, and will kick my butt into next Tuesday if I don’t bring my best. I’m very lucky to have found a group of talented writers with which to develop the craft. And, of course I let Mark (my partner) read the first draft. I love having a male point of view for the stories. He’s honest and is great with technical things.

Morgen: That’s great. Sadly I can’t say the same for housemate (my dog). Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

DV: I edit as I go. I’ll write one day, then the next go over that and continue on. Once I’ve gotten it back from my critique group, I make changes they suggest and put it away for a bit. Then, I go over it once or twice more and send it out to several beta readers. When I get those suggestions back, I’ll tighten it all up and then read it out loud to myself. It’s amazing what you can catch when you do that. Then I’ll more than likely tweak it until I upload. It has gotten easier to catch things, the more I write.

Morgen: Too true, practice makes… much improved. And yes, reading it out loud makes all the difference. I read the podcast red pen pieces in my head first then writing the critique and it’s surprising how much more I can find to mention when I then read it out for the recording. I should just read it aloud first but then maybe I wouldn’t find the things I found on the first read. How much research do you have to do for your writing? Have you ever received feedback from your readers?

DV: I try to research as much as possible. I love to travel, so it’s not a hardship, certainly. The internet is a wonderful thing and I use it extensively, but actually experiencing the place I’m writing about or doing the things I’m describing is the best way, at least for me. As for feedback, yes! I love to get emails from readers – that way I know what’s working and what isn’t. Apparently, one of the male characters (Sam) in Dead of Winter really struck a chord with readers – I’ve received several requests to do another story with both Sam and Kate. I’ve already got a rough idea in mind.

Morgen: Oh great. What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write?

DV: Coffee. Lots and lots of coffee. I also have an insatiable need to clean the kitchen. Don’t ask me why. I hate housework.

Morgen: But we always find plenty of it to do before we right. Get the clutter free from our houses and it’ll de-clutter our minds? Not sure but it helps. Do you write on paper or do you prefer a computer?

DV: Definitely computer.

Morgen: Me too, although I prefer to edit on paper. Some writers like quiet, others the noise of a coffee shop etc. Do you listen to music or have noise around you when you write or do you need silence?

DV: In the beginning I get distracted when there’s anything on, so silence to start. Once I get into the scene, though, the house could explode around me and I wouldn’t notice.

Morgen: What point of view do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? Have you ever tried second person?

DV: The Kate Jones books are all in first person, and Pieces of April is in third. I like them both for different reasons. It all depends on the story. I haven’t tried second yet. I once wrote a short story in first-person / present tense and found it fascinating.

Morgen: Oh do try second person. It’s my favourite tense, certainly for shorter pieces. I have a few second pov on http://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/writing-group-exercises/sentence-starts if you’d like to try some of those. What’s your favourite / least favourite aspect of your writing life?

DV: Favourite: Getting lost in a scene and the characters. Least favourite: Not enough time for writing!

Morgen: Snap, although I’m hoping that giving up my day job at Christmas will help. If anything, what has been your biggest surprise about writing?

DV: How your subconscious is always working on the story and will spring surprises on you. I’ve learned to let it have its way – it always ends up being better than what I originally intended.

Morgen: I love that. What advice would you give aspiring writers?

DV: Write! Join a critique group. In the beginning, the hardest thing in the world for me was to let other people read my work and critique it. Now, I relish other people’s perspectives on the stories. I know it makes my writing so much richer. Then revise, revise, revise. Take classes. Learn the craft. Shore up your weaknesses (we all have them ) It ain’t easy, but is ultimately rewarding in the extreme.

Morgen: Is it. My non-writing friends (less of them than writing friends!) read some of my stuff and say “oh, I couldn’t do that” but I say “try” because you really never know what’s going to come out… that’s my favourite bit. What do you like to read?

DV: I read tons of different genres, literary fiction, non-fiction, you name it. The novelists I tend to come back to time and again tell a great story. I also love me some humor.

Morgen: That’s me too; dark and funny. What do you do when you’re not writing?

DV: Besides working full-time, I love photography, traveling, hiking, camping, gardening, anything outdoors. I’m also a certified feng shui practitioner, so occasionally do consultations. My main interest is writing, though.

Morgen: Me too, live and breathe. Are there any writing-related websites and/or books that you find useful and would recommend?

DV: Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass, and reading, reading, reading other authors. Dissect their work. Once you start writing, you’ll never look at a novel the same way…sometimes good, sometimes not.

Morgen: I know you’re on some forums and networking sites because that’s how we ‘met’ but how invaluable do you find them?

DV: Too many! But they can be invaluable – I do have to limit myself, or I wouldn’t write. For example, because of being a member of a crime writer’s listserv I was lucky enough to exchange emails with a retired Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) supervisor out of Dallas and received some great advice regarding Bad Spirits. Facebook is fun and I’ve ‘met’ so many lovely people on Twitter.

Morgen: Isn’t it great, I’m having the time of my life. Where can we find out about you and your work?

DV: You can visit my website: www.dvberkom.com and I have an author page on Amazon.com.

Morgen: What do you think the future holds for a writer?

DV: It’s so exciting to be a writer now. Things are changing fast! The main thing I’ve noticed is that the playing field has now opened up to anyone with the drive and determination to get their work out there. The eBook revolution has just begun – there has been and will be some fantastic changes in how we read and understand the novel. I love the printed page and don’t believe it’s going away, but more and more choices are available to the reader as well as the writer and I think ultimately that’s a good thing.

Morgen: Absolutely. There’s talk on LinkedIn (as there is everywhere else) about the book dying but I do believe that eBooks are getting more people reading, and they serve different purposes; whilst you won’t need to take a suitcase of books on holiday, books look lovely on a shelf and there’s nothing quite like snuggling up in a comfy chair or in bed and holding paper. Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

DV: I wanted to thank you again, Morgen, for this interview and your time. I appreciate all that you do and look forward to reading more author interviews!

Morgen: Ah, thank you for taking part. As for the interviews, they’ll be one a day for as long as the authors want to talk to me… or until I’ve spoken to every one there is. Is there a question you’d like to ask me?

DV: I loved Deep Pan Payback. Do you write a lot of micro fiction? It strikes me as quite challenging!

Morgen: Oh wow, thank you. It was the first thing I ever had published so I’m very fond of it. I used to write quite a few and found the more I wrote the more they came out around the 60 word length. I tend to write longer pieces these days but I still love them and will be writing more, perhaps releasing them as a flash fiction eBook.

I then invited DV to provide an extract of her writing and this is the opening from ‘Bad Spirits’:

Something didn’t feel right.

Dark.

Dirt floor.

My left side ached, and I could barely swallow. I sat with my eyes closed and tried to recall what happened. The events from the previous night came crashing back into the present, and the fear of discovery threatened to overwhelm me again.

I peeked around the corner of the corrugated steel building. A lone goat munched on some dried grass near a split-rail fence. A few yards away a rooster pecked at the hard, dry earth. An older woman with salt and pepper colored hair and skin like a walnut, scattered seed in front of him. She clutched a brown and white serape around her against the early morning chill.

Everything appeared calm, bucolic, even. I leaned back against the metal wall and took stock of my position.

Salazar ruled this little section of Sonora with an iron hand. The woman outside would not help me, for fear of payback. In fact, no one who knew him would be fool enough to assist Salazar’s crazy American woman.

I love that, thank you again DV!

DV Berkom grew up in the Midwest, received her BA in Political Science from the University of Minnesota, and promptly moved to Mexico to live on a sailboat. Several years and at least a dozen moves later, she now resides outside of Seattle, Washington with her sweetheart Mark, an ex-chef-turned-contractor, and writes whenever she gets a chance. You’re welcome to email her at dvb@dvberkom.com or chat with her on Facebook or Twitter – she loves to hear from readers as well as other writers.

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
• Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group (http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017)
• Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)

We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Bailey’s Writing Tips podcast ‘red pen session’ no.6

This week’s podcast was released today, Monday 24th October, the sixth of my episodes dedicated to reading a short story or self-contained novel extract (with synopsis) and then talking about it afterwards.

I run a fortnightly critique group as well as critiquing other authors’ writing which I really enjoy so I thought I’d create podcast episodes doing this. Please remember that it’s only one person’s (my) opinion and you, and the author concerned, are welcome to disagree with my interpretation – I will never be mean for the sake of it, but hope that I’m firm but fair. I also type the critique as I’m reading the story for the first time so by listening to the episode you will have had the advantage of hearing the story in full before hearing my feedback.

Regardless of what genre you write I hope that this helps you think about the way your stories are constructed and that you have enjoyed hearing another author’s work, the copyright of which remains with them.

Today’s story was a novel extract emailed to me by Kathryn Wild, a teacher who has spent the last three years in Thailand and Switzerland, working in their education systems, after four years in England. She is currently in the process of relocating again, most likely to Spain, having left the English Education system to allow herself time to travel and more importantly to write. In the space of the last two years, she has written two young adult novels (book one is almost ready to go out, book two needs editing but it is sitting in the ‘bottom draw’ so, she says, she can see it fresh when she come back to it). She is currently 20,000 words into the first draft of book three

I read the story, critiqued it and concluded with: “Kathryn has achieved what should be done in a novel’s first chapter; she’s introduced us to our protagonist, given a little description of her so we can form a picture, mentioned a small number of other characters, and given us their conflicts or dilemmas without giving too much away. It’s always very tempting to give as much information about the characters and setting at the beginning – known as an ‘info dump’ but we don’t have that here, and it makes us want to read on. Also as a non-reader of fantasy I don’t feel overwhelmed by the information we’ve been given. It’s a very relatable story and I suspect from Kathryn’s clear writing style it’ll continue like that.”

Kathryn’s website is http://www.kathrynwild.com and you can follow her on Twitter (where there’s currently a photograph of Kathryn and a beautiful tiger).

If you have any feedback on today’s episode or any other podcasts or aspects of my website or blog, I’m always delighted to hear from you – my email address is morgen@morgenbailey.com.

And if you’re feeling brave enough to email me a (ideally normally) 1,000-word short story or novel extract (with a brief synopsis please) for these red pen sessions then feel free. I suggest you listen to at least one of the red pen episodes to get an idea of what happens.

Bailey’s Writing Tips podcast is available via iTunes, Google’s Feedburner, Podbean (when it catches up), Podcasters (which takes even longer) or Podcast Alley (which doesn’t list the episodes but will let you subscribe). Episodes include hints & tips (currently episode no.41) and author audio interviews – see this blog’s podcast page for more information.

 

Guest post: Politic Timing, Political Fiction by Paula Friedman

I’m delighted to bring you tonight’s guest blog post, on the topic of political writing, by Paula Friedman.

Politic Timing, Political Fiction

Well, that’s a big title. But one meaning is that political context changes even while one writes.

Certainly it changed between 2002, when I began my The Rescuer’s Path, and this autumn of 2011 as the book nears publication.

The Rescuer’s Path is a short novel of love, family, non-violence — and a few other issues like war, Jewish-Arab relations, adoption, refugees, the Holocaust, and legacies of loss thrown in. I wrote the first draft during two or three weeks of that first year after 9/11, when racism and xenophobia ran rampant, and a “homeland security” apparatus encroached across the U.S., U.K., and the rest of the world. Since some wonderful Arabic friends had enormously helped me during one lonely period in my life, I changed a planned novel, about a young woman who aids a wounded fugitive, into a political tale with a half-Arab hero. Aided only by a Holocaust survivor’s daughter who loves him, the hero flees police and FBI alike.

Thus the book takes a stand against the xenophobic reaction of its time. But, like most of us, I had no publishing connections, only a few blurbs from noted and less noted authors that might make publishers read my query. And as a working woman in economic hard times, I had few free hours for querying.

A few near hits, two nearly-won prizes — years passed, the film Children of Men came out, The Shock Doctrine came out, in the U.S. Obama came in (on a wave, though brief, of hope), one publisher held the manuscript for months of internal discussions, one publisher would accept it if rewritten to a genre.

Only in 2009 did one publisher, progressive and feminist Plain View Press (cooperative and now a nonprofit), take the novel on.

By then, with many American liberals still believing the nation’s first Black president must be Left-leaning despite certain policy indications, my novel seemed to some less leading-edge. But as administration policies tightened further, preaching a security that drained more and more resources from whatever ordinary securities real people had, The Rescuer’s Path remained among the relatively few voices seriously speaking, in the U.S. publishing universe, for peace and justice.

But now it is October. By January 2012, when The Rescuer’s Path is published, Occupy Wall Street and the related movements evolving from this year’s Arab Spring may already have created serious changes and openings to heal the past ten years of oppression. If so, my novel won’t be so leading-edge anymore — but I shall gladly count that for a victory.

Let’s hope so. Thank you Paula!

Paula Friedman teaches fiction and memoir writing in Hood River, Oregon, and edits books for university and trade presses. Previously, she directed public relations for the Judah Magnes Jewish Museum, directed the international Rosenberg Award for Poems on the Jewish Experience, and founded and managed the collective literary magazine The Open Cell. She has run poetry readings and writers workshops in the Bay Area, Paris, and elsewhere, and has recently compiled an anthology of West Coast Jewish women’s poetry. She holds an MA from San Francisco State University and a BA from Cornell University. Active in peace and justice issues, she received the 2006 award of the Columbia River Fellowship for Peace.

Paula Friedman’s honors include Pushcart Prize nominations and New Millenium Writings, OSPA, and other awards and honors, as well as Centrum and Soapstone residencies and fellowships. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in numerous print and online literary magazines and anthologies. Her novel The Rescuer’s Path is forthcoming in January 2012 and a poetry chapbook, Time and Other Details, appeared in 2006. Advance orders welcome from Plain View Press or from Paula (her website is http://www.paula-friedman.com – she can also be found on LinkedIn and Facebook) and thereafter will also be available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other good online retailers.

If you would like to write a writing-related guest post for my blog then feel free to email me at morgen@morgenbailey.com with an outline of what you would like to write about. If it’s writing-related then it’s highly likely I’d email back and say “yes please” (while quietly bouncing up and down in my seat with joy!).

The blog interviews return as normal tomorrow morning with D V Berkom – the one hundred and sixty-sixth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further. And I enjoy hearing from readers of my blog; do either leave a comment on the relevant interview (the interviewees love to hear from you too!) and / or email me.

 

Author interview no.165 with novelist Jane Davis

Welcome to the one hundred and sixty-fifth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, directors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. Today’s is with novelist Jane Davis (who I interviewed for my podcast in June this year). A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further.

Morgen: Hello again Jane, lovely to have you back. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

Jane: I am the middle child of five. My older siblings – one of each – tested the parental waters for me, and I shunned my younger siblings as being too young to be of any use. I received a Catholic upbringing and struggled to tell the difference between Brothers Grimm and Noah and the Ark, but was introduced to the wonderful language of King James. Hilary Mantel spoke on The Culture Show about the impact of religion on her life and her writing: the realm of the invisible; the constant fear of everything you do being overseen; ultimately, the fear of hell. “I don’t trust it. I always feel that if I put my hand against a door it might go right through it.” I got that completely. These are powerful, powerful thoughts for a child to engage with and interpret. Having not been to church for over twenty years, I came to writing following a negative experience at a child’s christening – far too complex a story to go into here.

Morgen: But very useful fiction fodder by the sound of it. What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

Jane: Agent, Carolyn Dawnay, offered the reassuring advice, “Dare to be unfashionable.”  I write without worrying about genre and then struggle to describe my finished work. My main aim is that whatever I write should be honest and authentic. I know what I definitely don’t write, but whether my work is commercial, literary, lit-lite or quality women’s fiction, I am not sure. I have settled for saying whose work inspires me: Maggie O’Farrell’s warmth for her characters; Martin Davies’s (The Unicorn Road) simple execution of epic subjects; James Robertson’s (The Testament of Gideon Mack) fusion of the everyday and the extraordinary.

Morgen: I don’t stick with a genre either which is probably why I don’t have an agent (the books I submitted weren’t my best, on reflection, so that probably didn’t help) and am going the eBook route. Can you remember where you saw your first books on the shelves?

Jane: I wasn’t the first to spot my book on the shelves. Even before the book signings on the first day of release, my sister Anne was visiting our nieces in Brighton and spied it in Waterstones. She texted me a photograph to prove it.

Morgen: Have you ever seen a member of the public (whom you don’t know!) reading your book… in any unusual locations?

Jane: No! I always keep a look out when I’m on trains and I hate the fact that it’s really hard to spy what people are reading on Kindle.

Morgen: I guess you just have to see how many you can sit next to. How much of the marketing do you do for your published works or indeed for yourself as a ‘brand’?

Jane: Authors need to be prepared to do the majority of their own marketing but may find that it is hard to organise events that send out ripples. There is hard footwork involved even ensuring that your book is stocked. However, the growing popularity of book clubs and literary festivals means that it has never been easier for authors to meet their readers and to get feedback.

Morgen: Isn’t that great. I love lit fests – I’ve volunteered at a couple and been to others as visitors. A few of us are planning on going to Edinburgh next summer. Have you won or been shortlisted in any competitions and do you think they help with a writer’s success?

Jane: It was winning a competition that led to the publication of my first novel ‘Half truths and White Lies’ winning, and pure luck.

Morgen: And of course the writing had nothing to do with it.

Jane: It was by chance that I heard about the Winchester Writer’s conference a week before it was held in 2008.

Morgen: Ah yes, I went there for the first time this July. I’d heard about it for a couple of years but finally got my act together and did the long weekend. It was great and I’d like to go again next year.

Jane: And it was by chance that I chose to attend a lecture held by Jack Sheffield of ‘Teacher Teacher’ fame.

Morgen: He was there this year too. Sorry, I’ll stop butting in.

Jane: Because if those two things hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have learned about the Daily Mail first novel award – two days before the deadline for entries. Unfortunately the Daily Mail withdrew from that particular competition, so it is no longer offered, but there are plenty of other fantastic opportunities. Brit Writers recently announced the winner of their 2011 competition, and the 2012 award is there to play for. http://www.prunderground.com/brit-writers-celebrating-the-creative-passion-of-the-nation/007518.

Morgen: Ooh fingers crossed. Do you write under a pseudonym? If so why and do you think it makes a difference?

Jane: I am reminded of hearing Sir Terry Pratchett speak. A collector of obscure publications, he was given a small volume, which he thought was titled ‘Preserved Fish’ and thought, ‘Well, that’s handy. I could always learn more about that.’ But it turned out that Preserved Fish was the name of the author. Adopted as a child, his pious parents had given him the name Preserved By the Hand of God, which he shortened. Joe King didn’t only want to be thought of as son of Stephen, so he chose to write under the name Joe Hill.  Unless there is a very good reason for an author not to use their own name, I can’t see any reason why they would wish to use a pseudonym. Publishers are always looking for interesting background stories for their authors and they can’t use them unless real names are used. Plus, there is such a thrill about seeing your own name in print.

Morgen: If I’d been the aforementioned gentleman I think I would have changed my name completely. At least it’s memorable, I suppose. Do you have an agent? Do you think they’re vital to an author’s success?

Jane: For anyone wishing to be a commercial writer, an agent is vital. Carolyn Dawnay of United Artists describes her role as critic, editor, doctor, lawyer, nanny and, on occasion, psychotherapist. Although many writers see them as the gatekeepers, blocking the way to publishers, the truth is that many publishers simply won’t accept submissions directly. The recession has hit the publishing world and economies have had to be made.  Many no longer employ readers and rely on agents to act as filters.

Morgen: Which is probably why it’s said that it’s more difficult to get an agent than a publisher these days. I mentioned eBooks earlier, are your books available as eBooks? If so what was your experience of that process? And do you read eBooks?

Jane: Yes. None – I was not involved. And no.

Morgen: Short and sweet, I like that. Do any of your books have dedications? If so, to whom and (if appropriate) why?

Jane: I tried to name all of my readers, friends, family and Godchildren in the dedication of my first novel, completely overlooking my long-suffering partner, Matt. Luckily that was rectified at the last moment.

Morgen: Oops. Who designed your book cover/s – if you did it / them yourself how did you chose what to go with?

Jane: Unless self-publishing, authors have little input into the cover design. The decision is made by a marketing team, who present the idea and may ask for an opinion. I was extremely fortunate in both my UK cover design, which was extremely eye-catching, and the German cover, which picked out elements from the storyline. My only reservation is that both were clearly aimed at the female market, while I feel my writing may also appeal to men. Having said that, it is women who buy books…

Morgen: I must admit that I did think they were women’s fiction when I first saw them. What was your first acceptance and is being accepted still a thrill?

Jane: Being acknowledged is still a thrill. I recently won a prize at the Winchester Writers’ conference for the first chapter of a novel that I had shelved and, this weekend, I almost burst into tears on a Book Doctor at a writers’ conference who told me that I was not to change a word of my latest manuscript.

Morgen: Oh wow, well done. Have you had any rejections? If so, how do you deal with them?

Jane: I don’t believe any author who says that they have not had any rejections. Correction: I believe Sir Terry Pratchett. When asked about his route to publication he shrugged and said, “Write Manuscript. Send manuscript to agent. Receive cheque. Buy greenhouse.”  Speaking at the Writers’ Workshop Conference this weekend, author Debi Alper recommended developing the hind of a rhino. I’m working on it.

Morgen: Me too. What are you working on at the moment / next?

Jane: I am working editing a manuscript called The Other Side of the Tracks. This is an earlier manuscript that I have re-worked to address the advice that it was beautifully written but too quiet for the current market – a common cause of rejection. I have layered the original storyline with a supplementary story involving knife crime. What I love about this is that it has enabled me to develop the role of a supporting character in my original cast, allowing an outcast to shine as a hero.

Morgen: And that’s what we like to read. Do you manage to write every day? What’s the most you’ve written in a day?

Jane: I would be lying if I said yes. I work (for money) two days a week and this involves long days with lots of travelling. But, holidays aside, I write every other day when I am not working. When you are living inside the heads of your characters, more than a couple of days’ absence feels like too long.

Morgen: Yep, I know that feeling… roll on NaNoWriMo November 1st. What is your opinion of writer’s block? Do you ever suffer from it? If so, how do you ‘cure’ it?

Jane: I worry that I don’t have a theme idea for my next big project yet, but I develop my story lines through my characters, so I am optimistic that, when the time comes, it will happen. I do try to use my emotions. If I am tired and emotional, I write a tired and emotional scene. If all else fails, a long walk gets the blood flowing to the brain. Before you know it, you’re eavesdropping on a conversation in the local park and you have that difficult dialogue sorted.

Morgen: I love people-watching and discreetly pause my iPod when I’m approaching a couple who seem to be having a deep and meaningful… all in the name of research, of course. A question some authors dread, where do you get your inspiration from?

Jane: Everything. A news article. A conversation I have overheard. A piece of music. An observation. A nagging doubt. Something from my past that I can’t leave alone.

Morgen: Now that sounds intriguing. Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Jane: There is a school of thought that says you must have a detailed plot before you start writing. If that was the case, I would never have put pen to paper. I choose to take the advice of authors who say exactly the opposite: Debbie Holt claims that there are plot-driven novels and character-driven novels. Hers fall into the latter category (as do the books of most women writers) and I’m with her.  Stephen King’s advice from his book On Writing: is to start with a single question beginning with the words, what if, and take the idea as far as it will go. Sir Terry Pratchett (him again) uses a method that he calls ‘The Valley of the Clouds’. In the valley of the clouds there are mountains but you can only see the very tops of the peaks. It is your job as an author to work out how to get to the mountains.

Morgen: Stephen and Sir Terry have been mentioned here numerous times so no apology needed. Do you have a method for creating your characters, their names and what do you think makes them believable?

Jane: The truth? I look at the bookshelf to my right, take the first name of one author and the surname of another. I know of people who trawl through telephone directories, fretting that they won’t be able to get the characterisation right until they have found the perfect name. I expect my characters to grow into their hybrid names. Like children.

Morgen: And sometimes that’s exactly what they are. Who is your first reader – who do you first show your work to?

Jane: Matt, always. Whether he wants to read it or not. I think it is only polite to let him see what I have been spending all my time on while he has been banished from the dining room. Plus he is an excellent filter of glaring errors.

Morgen: I’m sure he loves doing it… and possibly finding the glaring errors. Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

Jane: I was handed a postcard with a quotation from Ernest Hemingway on it this weekend. It says, “The first draft of anything is shit.” I usually find that I have at least 20,000 words too many in any first draft. My natural style is far too repetitive and needs a lot of whittling  down. I can lose a couple of thousand words just be deleting all of the unnecessary ‘thats.’

Morgen: 20,000 words… ouch. What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write?

Jane: Nothing. I sit down. I write.

Morgen: Good plan. Do you write on paper or do you prefer a computer?

Jane: Unless a thought strikes me in the middle of the night, a computer. I have no idea how writers managed to edit before the advent of the computer. It must have been torture.

Morgen: I learned at secretarial college on an early electronic typewriter with built-in correction fluid but we had two sheets of paper and carbon so we couldn’t cheat. It worked. Some writers like quiet, others the noise of a coffee shop etc. Do you listen to music or have noise around you when you write or do you need silence?

Jane: I need silence. When interviewed, Joe Hill said that he needed complete silence so that he can listen to the voices inside his head. As a writer you can get away with that without sounding completely mad. Anyone else, and they would lock you up.

Morgen: And isn’t that great. What point of view do you find most to your liking: first person or third person?

Jane: I like writing in the first person, but converted to third person after I was told that nothing is being published in first person. Since then, every book I have read seems to have been first person!

Morgen: The agents (and others) I’ve spoken to have said that first has been overdone and third will never go out of fashion. I like both. Monologues are one of my favourites (and second person).

Jane: The difference I find is that, whilst first person enables to get inside a character’s head, third person enables you to describe more accurately what is going on inside that character’s head. Writing is the only medium that makes this exploration possible.

Morgen: Ditto the earlier “And isn’t that great. ” Do you use prologues / epilogues? What do you think of the use of them?

Jane: Bad news for prologue fans. I attended a writers’ conference this weekend. Part of the process was Slushpile Live, an event where authors had the opportunity to read the opening of their books and to receive immediate critique from a panel of authors and agents. The clear message was that prologues are wrong, wrong, wrong. If they are part of the story, they should be chapter one. If not, they have no place being there. I would imagine the same applies to epilogues.

Morgen: I think you’re right, I rarely hear good things. A chapter one I had in the early drafts of novel 2 subsequently became a prologue but I suspect it’ll revert. Do you have pieces of work that you think will never see light of day?

Jane: Yes. My first manuscript remains buried in a special drawer.

Morgen: Mine’s in a folder and it needs a lot of reworking – I suspect that it’ll be the therapeutic novel five (for last year’s NaNo) that’ll stay buried. What’s your favourite / least favourite aspect of your writing life?

Jane: Editing is the necessary evil and is at least as time-consuming as the original writing, if not more so. Conversely, writing new material after a hard period of editing can be the most rewarding thing of all. But editing can be creative. Little details surface through reading and re-reading. I love it when I discover the whole plot seems to pivot on what I thought was a throwaway line.

Morgen: I’m pretty much the same: good = writing the unknown / less favoured (how tempted was I to say “evil”? = editing and research. What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Jane: Don’t think about it. Just do it. All that writing requires is a computer and your spare time. A lot of your spare time. Alright: every waking hour. Joining a writers’ group or an on-line community can be really useful for feedback. But if that’s not something that appeals, do read your writing out loud.

Morgen: Absolutely, all the above. What do you like to read?

Jane: I read anything that appears to touch on the same subject-matter as my own work, so that I can ensure mine differs. I often read a review or a blurb and think in panic, ‘that’s my book!’ This has recently led me to Francesca Kay’s The Translation of the Bones and Stephan Kelman’s Pigeon English.  I try to read a mix of recent releases so that I can stay in touch with the market and established authors I can learn from. I was working my way through the Booker shortlist – interesting in that they are so commercial this year (I have to say that I don’t understand the inclusion of Snowdrops) – but, having seen the Hilary Mantel special for The Culture Show, I have given myself permission to divert my energies to her memoir. The book that I have learned most about writing from this year is David Mitchell’s The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. I put off reading it, as Cloud Atlas was one of the few books I have ever given up on. A masterclass in writing.

Morgen: I have heard good things about his later book. Is there a word, phrase or quote you like?

Jane: I like Stephen Fry’s attitude that he is a verb and not a noun. He writes, he acts, he presents. In this way, he doesn’t limit himself. I don’t know where he finds the time.

Morgen: I suspect a cleaner, gardener… What do you do when you’re not writing? Any hobbies or party tricks?

Jane: It is very rare that I am not writing or researching. Thankfully, my hobbies – walking, photography and a love of the British countryside (I no longer have money for travel) – are things that can be combined. On a recent trip to Dorset, I stayed in one of the houses that Far From the Madding Crowd was filmed in and followed the Hardy trail.

Morgen: How lovely, I love that part of the country. Are there any writing-related websites and/or books that you find useful and would recommend?

Jane: Stephen King’s On Writing is the most readable book on the subject that you will find.    

Morgen: Yes. I have it. Must read it. Christmas. Slapped wrist. Are you on any forums or networking sites? If so, how invaluable do you find them?

Jane: I must admit that I am not a great teckkie. I’m on Facebook and Linked in and I blog regularly.  I’m afraid I don’t monitor its value: I know I should.

Morgen: I’m not sure you have to be too strict, the feedback you get should tell you. Where can we find out about you and your work?

Jane: www.jane-davis.co.uk

Morgen: What do you think the future holds for a writer?

Jane: Increasingly, writers need to have a secondary means of earning a living. If they are lucky that may also come from writing, or from teaching creative writing. A whole industry has been built up around coaching aspiring writers, or writers chasing that next deal, of whom there are a great many! One agent I heard speak this week – also a successful bookseller – says he thinks that e-books will be short-lived, and wasn’t argued with. I would be delighted if that were true, but we need to hedge our bets and embrace new technologies. I am greatly saddened by the eroding value of the written word, a trend that – like music – is almost impossible to reverse, and by constant reminders that few people read for pleasure any more. Last week I read a news stories about campaigners who had lost their battle to keep six libraries open after a High Court Judge dismissed their case. And yet I regularly guest at book clubs and find wonderful communities of friends who commit to reading a book a month and get together over a glass of wine to review it. That gives me huge cause for optimism.

Morgen: Sadly everything seems to be pinned on money these days but I’m optimistic too. If you could have your life over again, is there anything you’d have done differently (writing-related or otherwise)?

Jane: I would take more risks. I would try not to be so afraid of failure. Despite being a constant worrier, I have yet to be struck down by lightning and nothing very bad has happened to me.

Morgen: And if it did, you could write about it. Oh no, maybe I shouldn’t say that (constant worrier? Oops). Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

Jane: Buy books. If you want to find a bookshop on your high street, buy lots of them. I think people still see the publishing industry as fat cat organisations, but profit levels are very, very small. Minute, even. I visited Gullivers, a wonderful independent bookstore in Wimborne Minster a couple of weeks ago, but there are few market towns that can support a bookstore. The fact that the media dedicates column space and airtime to an industry that makes so little money is very encouraging. The Guardian produced a wonderful guide to independent bookshops a few weeks ago. Do grab a copy if you can. I found mine sitting on a friend’s coffee table.

Morgen: I did a bit of digging and it can be bought from The Guardian’s Online Bookshop for £3.50. Thank you so much Jane, lovely to chat to you again.

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

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You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

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As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
• Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group (http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017)
• Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)

We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Author Spotlight no.24 – Louise Crawford

To complement my daily blog interviews I recently started a series of Author Spotlights and today’s, the twenty-fourth, is of romantic suspense author Louise ‘L.F.’ Crawford.

Louise or L.F. Crawford holds an M.A. in Psychology – handy in developing characters and their murderous motivations. She started writing 16 years ago and is an award-winning author of over 18 books. Crawford writes a romantic suspense series featuring substance abuse counselor Blaize McCue and Homicide Detective Stephanos Zoloski.  The 4th book, Blaize of Trouble is coming out from Mundania Press soon.  The second book in her paranormal suspense series with Beverly Hills Detectives Art Murry and Billy Kidman, Fortune Cookie Karma is now available in e-formats and paperback from Mundania Press, www.mundania.com.  Three of her books were nominated for the Romantic Times Magazine Reviewers Choice award for Best Mystery. (www.lfcrawford.com).  Two have been on the publisher’s bestseller list.  Her books have won the Eppie for Best Mystery and been a finalist for Best Mystery three times.  She is currently working on the second book of a new IN BLOOD thriller series featuring Jane Blackwood, a stunt helicopter pilot who cannot remember the first 12 years of her life, her foster brother Nelson Blackwood, who’s developed a passion for killing, and Jane’s love interest, Detective MacCaffrey, who wants to put Nelson behind bars.  Fans of “Dexter” should check out this series.  You can read an excerpt from the first book, Born in Blood at www.newconceptspublishing.com.  For a look at her fantasy and romance novels, check out her other web site: http://www.louisecrawfordbooks.com.

And now from the author herself:

I started writing for fun when a friend asked me if I’d like to write a spy novel (think Robert Ludlum) together. Since she lived in another state, we mailed chapters back and forth over the next year or two.  No email back then and I typed everything on an IBM Selectric borrowed on the weekends from a friend.

We finished the book, sent it off to a few publishers and got some nice rejections, as in encouraging. She didn’t want to pursue it, I did. I wrote a vampire novel, which went through many permutations before I sent off the first chapter to a Best First Chapter of a Novel contest, and won!  The idea of traveling to the conference and meeting agents, etc., was too overwhelming for me at the time and I didn’t go.  I did send it out to a new agent who had me rewrite the dark fantasy into a romance novel.  Though she never sold it, I learned a lot about writing query letters and submitting my work from her over the next few years.  Then she quit the business and I started submitting on my own.

By then I’d written the first in my fantasy romance series, based on a dream: MARIAH’S LOVE, which was one of 5 finalists for Best Fantasy Romance in Romance Writers of America’s annual contest.  I’d also started writing short contemporary romance with Ramona Butler, a humor writer who wrote funny stories for the newspaper, in one of my critique groups.  Our short contemporary romance, PIUTE PRIDE, renamed, HIGH FLYING LOVE, was a finalist in the RWA’s annual contest in the same year.  It was eventually published in Australia and we’ve now re-released it for Kindle.  MARIAH’S LOVE was published by New Concepts Publishing and is being re-released from them, along with RHIANNON’S CHOICE, JARAD’S RETURN, and DARIUS’S REVENGE.

I’d also written the first book in an edgy chick-lit, mystery series, although chick-lit didn’t exist back then.  BLAIZE OF GLORY, featured a creepy serial killer stalking a victim that got away 15 years earlier.  The “victim” Andrea “Blaize” McCue, is now a substance abuse counselor.  Because her life’s in danger, she meets and eventually falls in love with, Detective Stephanos Zoloski.  I wanted to have each book deal with different aspects of recovery.

Since the Blaize/Zoloski series featured a female protagonist, I also wrote a new paranormal suspense series with a male protagonist, Beverly Hills Detective Art Murry.  The first book came from a dream about a headless corpse.  The paranormal twist came from a Voodoo sorcerer who shakes Murry’s hand and completely freaks him out.

My newest “In Blood” thriller series features a female helicopter pilot and her brother in a Dexter-like series that I hope will appeal to both male and female readers.  I had fun riding in a helicopter and interviewing a pilot and mechanic for that series. That’s it for now!

You can find more about Louise and her work via… www.lfcrawford.com and www.louisecrawfordbooks.com

Thanks Louise (I love Dexter by the way).

Since Louise sent me the above information she has received her first review – a 5-star one no less – “BORN IN BLOOD is the latest novel by L. F. Crawford which grabs you by the throat from page one and doesn’t let go until you close the cover on the last page. This is a novel with strong characters and outstanding descriptions. It gives a whole new view of what is family, as well as, what constitutes a serial killer. This is a book well worth anyone’s Holiday List, library shelf, or kindle. This is one that you will share with fellow mystery readers. You’ll find yourself rooting for the underdog and discovering areas of California you thought only existed in motion pictures. This is an outstanding read. Patricia E. Canterbury, author of Every Thursday.”

Great stuff! The blog interviews will return as normal tomorrow with novelist Jane Davis – the one hundred and sixty-fifth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate the author further. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found at here. And I enjoy hearing from readers of my blog; do either leave a comment on the relevant interview (the interviewees love to hear from you too!) and / or email me. You can also read / download my eBooks here.

 

Author interview no.164 with writer Taylor Collins

Welcome to the one hundred and sixty-fourth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, bloggers, short story authors, autobiographers and more. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further. Today’s is with poet, essayist, memoirist and note-taker Taylor Collins and whilst I say I can talk for England I think I’ve met my match with Taylor… you might like to get a large cup of something and find a comfortable chair.

Morgen: Hello, Taylor. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

Taylor: I’ve always been attracted to the creative side of life and focused on my art and writing for about the past 25 years or so.  Having worked in a rather boring bureaucratic job for many years which required a lot of traveling, I became used to journaling in my car.  But I must admit, I wouldn’t recommend that for everyone.  I’m the proverbial side-tracked English major who came back to writing in the eighties after being exposed to Peter Elbow’s method of stream of consciousness writing in Writing with Power.  That was eye-opening.  This led to Dorothea Brande’s Becoming a Writer and Brenda Uleand’s So You Want to Write.  My other earliest initial discovery was almost simultaneously Sheila Bender and Natalie Goldberg.  Sheila had written Writing in a New Convertible with the Top Down as well as her, The Writer’s Journal.  Natalie’s book Writing Down the Bones is legendary and other huge influences that brought me back to writing were Rebecca McClanahan’s Word Painting, Alexandra Johnson’s Leaving a Trace, and quite naturally, Julia Cameron’s The Artist Way.  One of my most recent current favorites is Olivia Drescher who works primarily in fraglit and the book she edited, In Pieces, is beyond inspirational.  She’s an avid Tweeter in Twitter.  To my way of thinking, if e e Cummings were alive he should be king of Twitter and Olivia would be queen.  In the process I read most of their suggested bibliographies and hundreds, if not thousands of other books, along the way.  I guess you can say I came to be a writer because I just had to and became a better writer because I am curious about what connects us all together.   I feel as if I’m on a never-ending quest of some sort to know things and figure out my connection to the universe.  My ultimate goal is a return to poetry but that’s a reach for any writer so at the moment I’m still in the note-taking stage.  I test the waters periodically.

Morgen: Wow, what an introduction. I love your passion. What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

Taylor: That’s an interesting question, Morgen, because I’m basically a note-taker and fragmented writing is my primary means of writing.  From my journaling, I hone essays, poems, bits of story and ideas to include in my memoir.  I consider myself an essayist primarily and my writing has been described as lyrical.  Complex sentences are to die for – I’m much more William Least-Moon than say Hemingway.

Morgen: What have you had published to-date? If applicable, can you remember where you saw your first books on the shelves?

Taylor: The first book I was published in was a collection of day diaries edited by Joni Cole, entitled Water Cooler Diaries. (De Capo Press, 2008)  It was the third book in that series in which women from around the country participated by agreeing to keep a day diary on a selected day.  Of 535 entries, I was one of 35 writers selected for publication in the book.  A New York firm was handling the publicity and they scheduled a conference call with a reporter and did a wonderful news article.  I was in DC when the book was actually released and walked over to Borders on L Street as B&N in Georgetown was too far in rush hour.  I remember typing the name into the computer to locate it was and they had two copies on the shelf.  Even though my name wasn’t on the cover, I was beaming and read my entire chapter while waiting in line to check-out.  It was all I could do to not jump up and down – but it was DC—so I contained myself.  All I could think is – I’m in a book.  I’m in a book.  I’ve had poetry in a chapbook from a local museum entitled Art and Poetry.  I have an essay in the book, Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln (Pen Woman Press, 2009).  I was selected April, 2011 to read a poetry tweet on NPR’s Tell Me More hosted by Michele Martin as part of National Poetry Month and actually heard myself reading it on the radio the day it was broadcast while I was driving in my car.  That was really thrilling.

Morgen: Although it’s not the same, it was weird listening to my first podcast, hearing my voice on iTunes. I listen to a variety of podcasts and NPR is one of my favourites (and Writing Excuses, Books & Authors and Litopia). How much of the marketing do you do for your published works or indeed for yourself as a ‘brand’?

Taylor: I am trying to brand myself at the moment.  It would be most helpful if I had an idea what it is that I want to be when I grow up.

Morgen: I felt like that ever since leaving school and it was only a couple of years ago that I knew I wanted to be a writer but like you, I’m still finding my niche.

Taylor: I’ve marketed my own art for years and have quite a following.  With poetry, I’ve given away most of what I’ve written as altered art pieces and have sold some of them.  I’m actually working on self-publishing some poetry through Lulu, a print-on-demand company.

Morgen: I’ve heard good things about Lulu. Have you won or been shortlisted in any competitions and do you think they help with a writer’s success?

Taylor: The NPR selection and Water Cooler Diaries were both competitions as explained above.  About ten years ago I was one of 12 writers selected for a writer’s retreat by our then state poet laureate, Fleda Brown.  I was thrilled when I learned later that about 25 people had applied, and it wasn’t just a fluke that I was accepted as maybe only 12 had applied in the first place.  I am just now applying to several contests and am forcing myself to finish things so that I can submit them.

Morgen: Me too, I was really good, entering regularly each month last year but am only just getting going this year.

Taylor: I simply love to write.  Editing is fun to a point but when it gets really tedious – like you’ve written the same sentence over 20 times and it still isn’t saying what you intended—I have a tendency to pack it in.  Working on the diary piece with Joni was gruelling.  I remember I worked on one paragraph for like three hours on a second or third rewrite and then she struck the whole thing.  Pain.  It was sheer pain to have that paragraph and all that work deleted.  She thought the re-write process would take a couple of hours – it took a whole weekend and we were under a seriously tight deadline at that moment.  In general, I think anything you can put on a resume or CV is critical to success.  It proves you showed up if nothing else.  It proves you can keep your buns in the chair.

Morgen: One of my (retired) Monday nighters, Denny, will take a week on a story. I’m less patient – three or four run-throughs is it for me but it only goes out if I’m happy. If I’m not happy by edit two or three I put it to one side and go to something else, then when I come back I usually blitz it and it’s ready. Do you have an agent? Do you think they’re vital to an author’s success?

Taylor: I need a manuscript or some semblance of a coherent work with an arc before I’ll ever think of trying to get an agent. I really feel like when I’m ready to get out there and speak about my book (the one, unfortunately, that’s still mostly in my head) an agent would be helpful.  With all the changes in publishing, especially self-publishing opportunities, there is a potential for success but an agent would know the ropes of the industry better.  There’s only so much time a person can spend learning to do everything.  I think if you want to have more time to write, an agent would be invaluable.

Morgen: It would, I’m sure every author out there would love more time for writing (myself included). Are your books available as eBooks? If so what was your experience of that process?

Taylor: They will be if I go with Smashwords as I think that is a total ebook concept.

Morgen: I’m trying them first; I’m sculpting my first two books and three free short stories at the moment, then re-sculpting for Amazon. Do you read eBooks?

Taylor: I haven’t really gotten into reading ebooks as it’s just not a visceral enough process for me.  I love the feel of books, the way the spine snaps when you first open it, the texture of the covers, the way the typeset words meld into some papers and float on others.  There’s a smell of books – old and new that to me is also appealing.  Of course you’re speaking with a person who’s personal library is about 4000 volumes not to mention an extensive collection of handwritten diaries and hundreds of letters.  Add to that that I have hundreds of my own handwritten journals in every shape size and description, it would be a stretch if I ever gave books up.  I’m certain I was a tree in another life.

Morgen: And I thought I had a lot with about half that. You’ve mentioned your lovely long list of achievements, can you remember your first acceptance and is being accepted still a thrill?

Taylor: Having the poetry accepted for the writer’s retreat by the poet laureate was the most thrilled I think I’ve ever been.  To be validated by a prolific strong poet gave me so much encouragement.  I hadn’t written anything to “hand-in” in decades so it was great to know a goal might still be obtainable.  I think in all writing – we’re in a sense coming back to poetry, to the inner desire to take intangible words and give them concrete bodies to move about in.  Everything is so transitory that it’s difficult to understand what’s the point of all this except through poetry.  I think poetry touches souls in a way that only metaphor can.  In my winning poem, I took a look at the question of whether I would look like my mother when I was dead as during my life people had always commented about how much I looked like my mother.  In death, the funeral director didn’t get her mouth “right,” which, in the poem, I speak to how no one can get it right – the mouth is just never right.  I’ve re-worked it several times and Fleda did a really great poem using the same concept.  I’ve since taken inspiration from her views and reworked mine.  That’s the wonderful thing about creativity – every spin is different – we learn so much from each other.

Morgen: And that’s the great thing about writing groups like the ones I’m in, not only do they give you constructive feedback but it’s like hearing a mixed anthology on audiobook only you have the author there expressing it how it’s originally meant. Have you had any rejections? If so, how do you deal with them?

Taylor: My first rejection was actually from Paper Maiche Press.  Sandra Martz was the editor of the wonderful anthologies that included Jenny Joseph’s great poem “Warning.” Sandra, in my personal, humble opinion, did more for women writers in those series of books than any other person at the time.  I would have loved to have been accepted by that press.  In Joseph’s case, she won the title of being the most popular post-war poet or something after appearing in Sandra’s book.  The poem was originally published in 1961 and had little acclaim here in the states.  It’s universal appeal probably had much to do with Sandra’s genius to title the book based upon the line “ When I’m an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple.”  That had much more appeal than “Warning” as I doubt women would have flocked to a book entitled that.  And the rest, they say, is history.  When I met Sandra a few years later, I could not have been more thrilled.  We became friends and I admire her more than any other woman I know.  She will always be my “s’hero.”    If you’re going to be rejected, it’s better to be rejected by the best.  There’s a certain positive feel to that.  Recently I’ve been rejected by Narrative, Passages, and Memoir (and).

Morgen: What are you working on at the moment / next?

Taylor: I’m so pathetic.  I’m working on contest entries primarily for the next three months.

Morgen: Oh yes that sounds terrible. I thought you were going to say that you really WANT to be working on… but you’re doing everything else but writing, like me, although I have NaNoWriMo coming up so I’ll have no choice, which I need. Give me a deadline and I’ll write War & Peace… well, I won’t because I don’t write classics but you know… ).

Taylor: I’m trying to hone some of my life stories that I’ve journaled about incessantly for so many years into cohesive works that can become entries in contests.  I’m actually working with a coach on some pieces and hope to have a manuscript by the end of this year.  My goal was to have it ready last year but I missed that mark as I took too much time on other projects.  I entered NANO last November on a whim as I’ve never written fiction before.  It was fun and that story is really a good one if I can just get it finalized.  It would probably work best as a novella.  I’m shooting more for “Waller-ese” rather than something “Sparks-esque.”  I’m still working on my poetry chapbook and a friend has offered to read it for me whenever I get the final ready.  It’s actually based on the poem I wrote in Twitter during national poetry month which I’ve written about in my blog.  The complete original poem is posted there as well but at this point, it’s quite different.

Morgen: Maybe that could be your first eBook, which I think lend themselves perfectly to novellas (and how two of my NaNo books will be going). Do you manage to write every day? What’s the most you’ve written in a day?

Taylor: I do write almost every day.  I set an alarm for 9:00 AM and am supposed to write from 10 – 2.  Of course, my career these days seems to be lunch!  On Wednesdays I try to paint plein air with some friends and with the cooler weather, I hope to paint each morning from 8 – 11 which means I will have to try and write from 11 – 3.  I’m a night person so I don’t know why I even bother to do anything creative during the day but I am determined to treat my writing as a job for which I must keep regular hours.  The most I’ve written in one day was the day diary – I think it was 7,500 words or so.  I’m a fast writer – a fast rambling writer who uses too much passive voice and not enough concrete.

Morgen: But you’re getting it written. I always think it doesn’t really doesn’t matter what a first draft is like as it’s writing not blank page – editable regardless. What is your opinion of writer’s block? Do you ever suffer from it? If so, how do you ‘cure’ it?

Taylor: I have never had writer’s block.  I have editor’s block.  There is no known cure for that as I’m sure it will be my demise and will be listed in my obituary as a footnote that she died while banging her head against a wall.

Morgen: Editing’s in my ‘least favourites’ so I’m right there with you (although I’d put cushions between our heads and the wall!). Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Taylor: I wrote a fiction story for NANO last year.  I think my final word count was around 22,000 words or so.  It’s a great concept and considering I didn’t start NANO until November 3 and had four days out for Thanksgiving holiday, it was pretty good for three weeks worth of writing.  I signed up for an August sort of NANO project but did not follow through. The NANO piece is a good start and I really think it will be a strong little story if I can figure out plot, scene, character development, and overall arc.  I think it’s best to just run with the general idea.

Morgen: I thought about doing the Camp NaNo this summer but knew I wouldn’t have time to do it justice – one 50,000+ project a year is enough for me (this’ll be my fourth). I’m just starting to plan a rough outline for this year’s but I usually just start writing and see what happens. Do you have a method for creating your characters, their names and what do you think makes them believable?

Taylor: I had been concentrating on non-fiction for so long that I was surprised how much I enjoyed giving voice to actual characters.

Morgen: And that’s in my ‘most favourites’.

Taylor: And all the detail that you need to fill in is quite unusual if you are to give any sense of place.  I’d been trying to do the writing prompts that you post on Twitter, Morgen – changing voice and viewpoint, etc.

Morgen: Oh great!

Taylor: I’ve really fallen off as I was bogged down in the Art House Fiction Project and was ill for a few weeks this past winter.  Never again will I miss a flu shot!

Morgen: Oh dear.

Taylor: The art / fiction project is actually an original book in a cahier moleskin and is part of the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Library.  I consider this sort of my storyboard for a manuscript I’ve been working on regarding names.  I included the original work of two friends and some of friend, Fleda Brown who was mentioned earlier.   I submitted a short story and named the antagonist after a friend I’m seeing.  Not sure what that means, but I’m sure it means something.

Morgen: Antagonist? Oh dear, hopefully a nice friend though. Who is your first reader – who do you first show your work to?

Taylor: With poetry, I’ll read to anyone who will listen.  I’m in an on-line poetry group but they aren’t into critiquing but do tell you if they like something.  I take silent to mean disapproval for some reason.

Morgen: Not very helpful. In my critique group I have two poets and two writers who write prose and poetry so, unless anything leaps out to comment on, I tend to leave it to them to thrash it out, although they’re such seasoned writers that there’s little thrashing to be done.

Taylor: A friend who’s a wonderful poet is going to read my poetry chapbook and her opinion is very valuable to me.  I’ve given some handwritten poems to a friend that I’m seeing and jokingly tell him that he’s my “Fannie Brawne.”  He’s a biker-sort of guy so I’m not sure he fully appreciates my compliment, especially since I’m no Keats. I recently discovered cinquains and they are the perfect vehicle for describing our relationship.  I’m sure he must think me quite daft some days. I guess it comes with the cougar territory that I find myself in.

Morgen: As I said to Katie Fforde (who’s judging our H.E. Bates Short Story Competition ) recently it’s in a writer’s job description. Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

Taylor: My best fragment writing is fully formed when I think and write it.  Sometimes it only takes a change to a word or two to really have something improve.  Other times I think I’ve ruined some wonderful pieces by overworking when I try to get it ready to submit.

Morgen: I mentioned Denny earlier and she says the same, that sometimes she just can’t leave a piece alone. I wonder sometimes if I’m not picky enough but if I’ve left it for a while and can only change a word or two when I return then I think it’s cooked.

Taylor: I find, too, that you should get as much editing done as soon as possible as you’re only in that place for a little while.  To come back later and try to rework something – especially in poetry—you’re not the same you and you’re no longer there in a sense.

Morgen: I think you’re probably right. Sometimes I’ve had a wonderful idea, written it down then when I’ve gone back to it it’s lost it’s magic.

Taylor: I find it best to edit intensely for as long as possible before you move on to the next place.  In trying to do this chapbook, it’s nerve-wracking as I’ve reworked it many times and it’s been months now.  I’ve had to do some research as a lot of references existed that I didn’t realize as some of it was based on dream states and there are so many connectors that need to be plugged in.

Morgen: What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write?

Taylor: My creative process is chaotic.  I follow no rules.  I do ring a little bell that has a wonderful resonance to it and that helps calm my mind a little.

Morgen: Ah, how lovely. I wonder what my dog would think to that. My equivalent is blitzing emails, doesn’t have quite the same… er, ring to it does it?

Taylor: So, you’ve rung your bell, what happens next? I start writing about life in general and after about fifteen minutes, I think you do get in flow with the universe and some of what comes out is surprising.  I’ve been combing my journals for things to enter and two projects within them take a lot of my attention some days.  Most of my journals are not in order except for two sets which I refer to as the Books of Michael and A Modern Day Love Story.  It may be that these will just be published as journals one day – which will certainly be more fun for readers than reading Samuel Pepys!   There are days when I feel that my only writing that will ever be bid upon and published will be my journals.  The Books of Michael are quite complicated and since it’s ongoing it just gets more confusing as I try to write about him.  And A Modern Day Love Story is the same way – a sage is difficult to write when you’re involved in living it.  I’m always happy on those days where my thoughts don’t lead down those two paths.  It was helpful to start keeping the separate journals about these two aspects of my thoughts as I’m trying to focus on ideas that will actually materialize into finished pieces.

Morgen: I suspect I know the answer to this given what you’ve said so far but do you write on paper or do you prefer a computer?

Taylor: I usually freewrite by hand and do all my primary writing by hand in bound journals.  I transcribe whole journal entries and notes sometimes as my handwriting is atrocious.

Morgen: I’ve had quite a number of interviewees say that. Mine’s not too bad but so slow… not suited for a fast prose brain.

Taylor: I can only edit well on the computer.  I find it very difficult to edit from a printed page.  Marginalia drives me crazy and notes get so jumbled that I find myself too confused.  It’s much easier to edit on the fly at the computer.  Usually I’ll pick a selected passage and start writing from that point – when something starts to gel I get to the computer.

Morgen: I’m usually the opposite and print out the first draft then edit on paper. It is easier by screen but I miss more. What point of view do you find most to your liking: first person or third person?

Taylor: I’ve been trying to pull a memoir together for ages so enjoy first person.  I’ve used several of your exercises and find the process interesting when you tell the same story from the different viewpoints.  As I get more into story-telling, I feel most comfortable with a third person point of view.  As stated before, in the NANO story I was trying for more of a Waller feel.

Morgen: Do you use prologues / epilogues? What do you think of the use of them?

Taylor: I think they’re invaluable because they offer a little further insight.  Not everyone is a scholar and for the average, non-academic reader, anything that can shed a little extra light can be a real help.  I’m sure I’ll use them if I ever get the manuscript written.

Morgen: Well NaNo starts in a week and a bit. Do you have pieces of work that you think will never see light of day?

Taylor: I actually think my journals will be my legacy even though they probably won’t see the light of day during my lifetime.

Morgen: That would be a shame.

Taylor: I think they can serve as a great source into the creative process as the struggle, the notes, the thoughts, the ideas are scattered around in them.  The two important sets I referred to earlier, the Books of Michael and A Modern Day Love Story, actually merge at times and I think they will be a very interesting read for all the voyeur-types who love reading diaries and journals.  I’ve tried to live as interesting a life as I could in my particular circumstances and have recorded a good deal of it in random fashion.  From all the published and unpublished diaries that I’ve read over the years, I would stack mine up against anyone’s.  Of course, what Pepys ate will always hold some appeal.  I think in the diary / journal world, there will always be some interest into the inner workings of someone’s life.  Living an interesting life naturally leads to more interesting facts about that life.  I include so much literary referencing that I will offer insight into how an artist seeks the connections that weave all creative people together in one way or another.  Few vacuums exist in the creative world and it’s amazing how many links can be discovered if you allow your mind to follow unknown, unsearched, or re-discovered paths.

Morgen: I’ve mentioned some of mine already, but what’s your favourite / least favourite aspect of your writing life?

Taylor: The least favourite – It’s the fact that you can’t stop writing.  It’s not like you reach a certain age and stop thinking.  Well, I suppose some people are capable of doing that, but as a writer you are constantly examining things and taking words to build the perfect house that won’t fall down upon scrutiny, looking for the perfect lamp to shed light into the darkest recess.  It’s doubly worse when you’re a visual artist as well as your eye is constantly seeking the light in the visual world, how it falls across a lover’s face in early morning light or turns sand purple in the early morning mist or snow blue in shadowed drifts.  But that’s the same reason you love it all as well.  You are never bored.  You are never alone.  You are always with yourself – not looking but truly seeing.  And then you get to play God.  You get to create something that didn’t exist before – for better or worse—it’s your turn to try your hand at the impossible.

Morgen: And I love that, not knowing what’s going to come out. If anything, what has been your biggest surprise about writing?

Taylor: The biggest surprise is what comes out sometimes.  When you really get in the flow, the synapses make connections that are absolutely uncanny.  There are a lot of weird connections in that cranial noggin we all tote around—that spillage is what we all just die for or for the lack thereof in many cases.

Morgen: What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Taylor: Write.  Write daily. Write often.  The only way you can be a writer is by writing.  Next I would read. Read daily. Read often.  The only way you can be a good writer is by reading.  Then, live.  Live daily.  Live often.  The only way you can be a good writer is to live in complete awareness that you are alive.  I think Wayne Dyer may have said it best – We are a soul with a body, not a body with a soul.  You owe it to your soul, to keep your body in as good of a condition as possible so that you can spend as much time as possible enjoying this short life span you’re given.  Share with us what you learn.  Share with us what you know.  Share with us your vision of the next new thing or the oldest old thing.  Only you can do that for us.  Only you can show us your unique vision of the world.

Morgen: You’ve just mentioned reading, what do you like to read?

Taylor: I have read non-fiction mostly for the past 20 years or so.  I’m very eclectic and read everything from bios to collected works with a particular bent towards poetry.  I used to love fiction the most but at a certain point, I became more attuned to poetry.  I still love Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried the most from many standpoints.  It’s what I would call real-life fiction and once heard him state that writers should stick to fiction because then you won’t end up quibbling over some minor point – or words to that effect.  By doing this, it allows the writing to move where it needs to.  I also love the little true-life-love story that he plops down in the middle of it and how the book is not structured (physically I mean) like most other works of fiction.  And how O’Brien even speaks directly to the reader that he’s made up his first soulmate’s name and explains how he came to be a writer and we see little Timmy is now that man.   I hated everything about the senseless Vietnam non-War but that’s got to be one of the best little books that’s ever been written about it or war for that matter.

Morgen: I’ve heard of it but not read it but as a short story reader, “little book” appeals. You’ve mentioned a lot of books already but are there any writing-related websites and/or other books that you find useful and would recommend?

Taylor: I love http://WritingItReal.com Sheila’s articles on craft and being a writer are so helpful.  I’ve had the opportunity to study with her both in person and on-line.  And I have an article in her magazine on a braided poem I participated in.  I can’t start the day without Garrison Keillor on Writer’s Almanac.

Morgen: That’s another I listen to and because it’s listed on my iTunes page as ‘APM…’ it’s the first one that my iPod starts with whenever I select ‘podcasts’.

Taylor: The email that arrives each morning is packed with much historical information and ideas galore on what to write and think about.

Morgen: It is, and each week day instalment is only five minutes so can be fitted in anywhere.

Taylor: I listed the books earlier that I found most helpful in the developing craft.  I love Atwood’s Negotiating with the Dead  which makes so many connections with myths and King’s On Writing which are available on-line.

Morgen: ‘On Writing’ has been mentioned a few times and I think every time I say that I have it and must read it – one of the many ‘I will’s for post-day job next year.

Taylor: Writers today have almost too much available as the sources are unlimited.

Morgen: And it’s where a lot of our time goes…

Taylor: I think Oxford’s Thesaurus for Writers is a necessary tool as well as good dictionaries.  I also subscribe to the NY Times and feel all writers should subscribe to one of the larger newspapers as there’s a goldmine of ideas in the news every day.

Morgen: I have a dozen or so display books full of newspaper cuttings, I’ll certainly never run out of ideas. In which country are you based and do you find this a help or hindrance with letting people know about your work?

Taylor: I’m in the USA.  With the internet, it’s almost impossible for your work not to be found sooner or later.  The key is to develop good, consistent content and eventually you’ll find your audience.  You are a good example of that Morgen.  You are generous with your time and talents and everyone can benefit by following you.

Morgen: Ah, thank you. I’m loving every minute (which I’ll have more of come Christmas… yay!). Can you tell I’m looking forward to ‘retiring’. Are you on any forums or networking sites? If so, how invaluable do you find them?

Taylor: I think it’s imperative that everyone have a blog or website.  My blog is a work in process and my website is mainly for art at this point but I haven’t updated it in a while.   I love all the social media sites like Facebook, Twitter but haven’t used LinkedIn to any effect yet.  I can be found on those sites at ntaylorcollins. It seems that there’s just too much of everything and everybody is trying to be the next new-new thing.   I’m a member of SheWrites but haven’t posted anything there yet.  I’m still trying to build a following in all of these.   It takes time and a lot of work to build a following.

Morgen: It does, sometimes too much but it is marketing and it has to be done but I’m so guilty of not prioritising my time well enough… and I know I’m not the only one… but it’s sometimes just too fun!

Taylor: Again, content is key and the sites are completely different so you’ll need different approaches to use each one effectively.

Morgen: I have a website too but it just points to this blog but then this blog makes up for it. I started this at the end of March and dabbled a bit. I was then invited to a couple of interviews which I love so started reciprocating and here we are 164 interviews, 200+ other posts and 18,000+ visits later. It would be such a different blog without you and the other interviewees and contributors… and I wouldn’t be having so much fun. So you have a blog and a website, which should anyone reading this interview start with?

Taylor: My blog is the best place.  I’m eventually going to drive everything to my blog and link to the other sites off of that.  Since I write and paint, the blog seems the best place to be able to direct people to the commercial aspects of my work.   I also think a blog is where you can express yourself the most freely and let people know about you as a person (or brand if that’s your approach).  I’m a people person and enjoy interaction and hope that eventually more people will comment directly on the blog rather than in emails.

Morgen: I couldn’t see a link to your blog on your website or vice versa, unless I wasn’t looking hard enough. What do you think the future holds for a writer?

Taylor: There will always be a need for writers—especially ones who can write well since written communication is more vital now than ever.  I think the problem is to garner a living wage.  There’s so much free on-line writing – much of which is deplorable beyond words.  I’m so sick of seeing passive voice and simple sentences that I just want to puke some days.  I have a terrible habit of journaling in passive voice and really have to think when I’m writing creatively to use concrete words and concise descriptions.  I think there will always be a demand for high quality journalism, well-crafted fiction in many genres, and poetry.  Poetry will always have an audience as I truly feel that is what writing always aspires to be.  Technical and copywriting will always have their place as well.  Technology still relies on readable content—I dread the day we’ll all become just talking heads.

Morgen: These are hot topics for discussion on LinkedIn and the general consensus is that readers will get fussier and those writing dross will have to up their game or get out. I think as far as sales go, good reviews will be the decider – a bad writer can only have so many friends and family. Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

Taylor: Thanks so much for asking me to share these comments, Morgen.  You are so generous and kind to work so diligently on helping writers help each other.  Your suggestions and information are so insightful.  I only wish I had more time to keep up with you postings.

Morgen: Thank you Taylor. And thank you for being my first ‘I enjoyed your podcast’ all those months ago – I’m still so grateful. I don’t think anyone can be expected to keep up with my postings (I barely do ), just dip in and out of ones that appeal or go to the relevant menus and pick the relevant ones.

I then invited Taylor to provide an extract of her writing:

Journal Entry:  August 19

Finishing material for tomorrow’s presentation.  Most helpful if last weekend was spent on this instead of with Sean.  Ended an email to Sean today with lament:

Forty-seven people will listen to me telling them how to examine and record the stories of their lives.  I will begin — “What the hell do I know? I’ve been journaling for 25 years and don’t have a frigging clue.” Or words to that effect…

Or maybe not.  Maybe I’ll just say – “You begin by looking into the eyes of someone you know and try to decide how deep you can delve into that soul through the small portal of what appears to be an endless sea.”

I’ll tell them—“You try to describe the blueness of those eyes in sunlight; how they change from sapphire to cobalt and back again always dependent upon how much available light is shed upon them. You record how they twinkle when warmed by the sun. And you end your days of writing by realizing that you can never explore all those depths. You realize you will never know what all of this means. But you are positive, absolutely sure, that it all means something.”

August 19th, that’s so funny (my birthday – she didn’t know!).

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
• Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group (http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017)
• Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)

We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Flash Fiction Friday 005: ‘Halloween night’ by Marla Madison

Welcome to Flash Fiction Friday and the fifth story in this new weekly series. This week’s piece is a 411-worder entitled ‘Halloween night’ by Marla Madison.

Halloween night

A mottling of blue, powder-puff clouds curtained the moon. When I left home, it had been free of encumbrance, a demi-moon, torn in two as if by an invisible, galactic predator.

Now as I walk this deserted lane, two spaces opened in the clouds, pale light from the moon creating glowing eyes, evil orbs peering down at me from the heavens. I walked faster as a corner of the moon appeared in one of the eyes in the clouds, creating a malevolent, one-eyed presence.

Shivering, I turned my eyes to the ground and kept walking.

I had to know.

Not wanting to be seen, I’d parked my car at the end of the cornfield. I moved stealthily toward Jonathan’s cabin, where I suspected my love to be snuggled in with another woman. Did he have the bed scattered with rose petals for her as he had for me on our first night? Was the bedroom aglow with candlelight?

I had to know.

Something snapped in the field beside me. I started, but kept up my pace. The soft, crinkly rustling of the autumn corn seemed to whisper, “Go back.”  I walked faster. A dead tree, its branches black and gnarled against the sky, reached for me, its branches crusty, jagged tentacles. I gasped, but continued my journey forward.

I had to know.

There were no lights on in the cabins near Jonathan’s. The frigid fall air and steady drizzle had kept the weekenders away.

The mossy, damp scent of the lake reached my nostrils as I heard a gentle lapping at the shoreline behind his cottage. Soft light flowing from the windows barely illuminated the approach to the front door.

I knew every inch of the yard, from the rusted mailbox, to the weather-beaten window boxes Jonathan filled with yard tools rather than planting with flowers. I peered over one. My breathing ceased at the sight of my beloved with his arms around another woman, their lips melding together in a passionate kiss.

My mouth burned with the acrid taste of jealousy. I longed to crawl into the woods and let the creatures of the earth have me, let dead leaves form a shroud around my wasting body.

Now I knew.

Running back to the road, I stumbled.  I’d nearly fallen on the tines of an old, wood-handled pitchfork; my beloved had a habit of leaving tools lying about. As quietly as possible, I leaned it against the shed where no one could step on it and injure himself. But why should I care if Jonathan or his slut pricked their feet? I pictured her with blood drizzling from dainty, pink toes, her long, curly hair falling over her pained face.

Jonathan never used to lock his doors. He probably still didn’t, in spite of the unfair restraining order he’d filed against me. I had to make him understand the depth of my love for him. I picked up the pitchfork, caressing its rugged shaft in my trembling hands and moved toward the house.

I’m coming, my darling. Now you’ll know.

Ooh… thank you Marla.

Marla Madison works part-time doing arbitrations for the State of Iowa and the Federal Mediation Service. Working full-time as an author, Marla is busy penning her second novel of suspense. She’s Not There, her first, is now available as an ebook. At home in Northwestern Wisconsin, she lives on Prairie Lake with her significant other, Terry, a beloved shelter-dog, Skygge, and Poncho, an opinionated feline from the same shelter. Some of her favorite things are playing duplicate and tournament bridge, golfing, reading, pontooning, and taking long walks with her dog.

If you’d like to submit your 1,000-word max. stories for consideration for Flash Fiction Friday take a look here.

 

Author interview no.163 with mystery, science-fiction and playwright Sally Carpenter

Welcome to the one hundred and sixty-third of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, bloggers, short story authors, autobiographers and more. Today’s is with mystery, science-fiction author and playwright Sally Carpenter. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further.

Morgen: Hello, Sally. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

Sally: I grew up in southwest Indiana, USA, and moved to Los Angeles 11 years ago. I’ve always wanted to write. As a child I read a lot of books because there wasn’t much else to do in a small town and books were free at the public library. After meals my mother washed dishes and I dried, and to pass the time I made up stories while we worked. As a child I cut pictures out of magazines and made up stories with them. In the evenings the family watched TV and I thought up my own stories for my favorite shows. I’ve always wanted to write professionally and I’ve written pieces over the years, but I was never “good at it” until recently.

Morgen: Because you’d practiced presumably, and another interviewee who started young. Wow. What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

Sally: This book is my first mystery. I started out writing science fiction, but didn’t find any success in that field.

Morgen: That’s a shame because it’s a popular genre.

Sally: For a long time I worked at playwriting, but getting a new play produced by a professional company is nearly impossible and the small theaters hardly pay writers more than cab fare.

Morgen: That’s something that Paul Hurst said in his guest blog only last night (although he was referring to musicians and free beer). What have you had published to-date? If applicable, can you remember where you saw your first book on the shelves?

Sally: This answer will be quite short. This is my first published book ever: The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper, the first book in the Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol mystery series.

Morgen: That sounds like fun; I love the Beatles. And I love the cover. How much of the marketing do you do for your published works or indeed for yourself as a ‘brand’?

Sally: Branding? Isn’t that what ranchers do to cattle?

Morgen: It probably feels like it sometimes. Have you won or been shortlisted in any competitions and do you think they help with a writer’s success?

Sally: I returned to college in mid-life to study playwright. Two of my short plays were regional finalists in the annual American College Theatre Festival. The contest selects six finalists from colleges in three or four states, so there’s plenty of competition. It’s unusual for a student to be chosen more than once. Although I didn’t win, the adjudicators had high praise for my work. One of the plays also won a creative writing award at my university. So I thought, “Hey! I must be a pretty good writer!” That gave me the encouragement I needed to keep on writing. Many years ago I submitted one or two short stories in a science fiction writing contest. I didn’t win any prizes, but one of the judges wrote a nice note that my work was good. Winning a contest is a good affirmation, but “losing” shouldn’t discourage a writer. A judge may dismiss a well-written piece for any number of reasons, such as a high number of equally good submissions or the judge just doesn’t like that particular style of writing or setting / plot / characters.

Morgen: It’s unusual for a judge to pass comment so you did well. Do you write under a pseudonym? If so, why and do you think it makes a difference?

Sally: No, I don’t. I thought about a pen name but decided I wanted people to know I wrote this. Might be too confusing if I had to constantly explain who I was at book events. Besides, my name is easy to spell and when books are alphabetized by last name, “C” comes up close to the top.

Morgen: That’s very true – almost as close to the top as “Bailey”. Do you have an agent? Do you think they’re vital to an author’s success?

Sally: No, I don’t have an agent. I tried soliciting an agent, but nowadays most of them are only interested in celebrities, published authors or writers who have already established a large fan base through a blog or other work. No agent wants to handle a first-time writer. Most agents and publishers only want books that are similar to what’s already on the market. Agents and publishers are telling authors the type of books they want to sell instead of letting writers create what they want. Agents don’t know what to do with something different. One agent said my book didn’t have a “strong enough hook,” yet my publisher said my “hook” was what attracted her to the project. Having an agent is no guarantee that he / she will actually sell your book. Some agents only send a book around to a handful of publishers and then give up if it doesn’t sell right away. Just about every writer I know who uses agents is on their second or third agent because the previous one didn’t work out.

Morgen: I have heard that a few times.

Sally: With the rise of small presses, e-publishing and self-publishing, a writer is no longer at the mercy of an agent / gatekeeper in New York City who decides for readers everywhere who’s worthy of publication. My advice for new writers is forego agents and to seek out the small presses. They’ll probably get a better response and they won’t have to share their royalties.

Morgen: I’ve foregone… although I’m going the solo (with freelance editor) eBook route. Are your books available as eBooks? If so what was your experience of that process? And do you read eBooks?

Sally: I believe my publisher is looking at adding eBooks, so I’m sure my book will end up in an electronic format eventually. I still prefer reading the old paper-and-ink standard. I like the feel of paper and how books look lined up on my shelves. I’d rather spend my money on other things than an e-reader. And how do you sign or sell e-books at an author signing event?

Morgen: Apparently it is possible. I’ve not seen it myself but http://kindlegraph.com/about explains all, although I have to say I’m not totally convinced and I love technology. Plus I agree with you, it’s not like having the paper book in your hand and I have a lot of those (books, that is, not hands). What was your first acceptance and is being accepted still a thrill?

Sally: My first acceptance was many years ago when I sold a short church play for a book that featured other religious scripts. I was paid a small amount like $30 or so. I was ecstatic and thought “Wow! I’m a professional writer now! I can make a living by writing!” Trouble is, after that first piece I accumulated far more rejections than checks.

Morgen: I know that feeling, and we’re far from alone. So, the rejections, have you had many? How do you deal with them?

Sally: In my lifetime I’ve had more than 200 rejections. I threw out most of them—too much bad karma to keep around the house. The first book I wrote decades ago had 50 rejections (never sold). Another book I wrote had 40 rejections (never sold). The novel I finally published had 10 or so rejections.

Morgen: ouch.

Sally: How did I deal with rejection? Not well. I feel terrible and mope for a while. I say mean things about that publisher.

Morgen:

Sally: Sometimes I stopped writing for a while.

Morgen: Oh no! Ah… “for a while”… phew.

Sally: After the last major round of rejections I told myself I’d never write again. If I hadn’t sold this book, I would have packed away my pen for good. Sometimes an unpublished writer needs to change genres. Some authors, like myself, take a long time to find out what type of writing works best for them.

Morgen: I’m still working it out, although I’m sort of down to two genres: dark and light. OK, they’re not really genres, are they? Crime and humour. What are you working on at the moment / next?

Sally: I’m working on the second book in the Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol series, The Sinister Sitcom Caper. When Sandy makes a guest appearance on a TV show, one of the actors falls down dead at his feet. Sitcoms rehearse and shoot in five days, so he has that amount of time to find the killer.

Morgen: Do you manage to write every day? What’s the most you’ve written in a day?

Sally: I don’t write on my book every day because I have a day job. I tried to write or do marketing work in the evenings but sometimes housework or emergencies will get in the way.

Morgen: They have a habit of doing that, don’t they?

Sally: I try to keep weekends clear. That’s when I can sit down uninterrupted and well rested and work for several hours. I measure my output by how many chapters or scenes I finish. I don’t count the words.

Morgen: What is your opinion of writer’s block? Do you ever suffer from it? If so, how do you ‘cure’ it?

Sally: I prefer the term “writer’s procrastination.” I can find a million things to do to keep from writing but once I get started the words will come.

Morgen: Oh me too.

Sally: “Writer’s block” is caused by the need for perfection. Writers expect a muse to whisper the entire finished piece in their ear and all they do is transcribe the words. Writers are frustrated when their first pass isn’t “perfect.” If I’m not sure what to do with a scene, I write another scene that I’m sure about and come back to the sticky part later. Better yet, I slop some words down on the page and go back later for revision.

Morgen: “slop some words down” I love that. That probably answers my next question, of sorts… do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Sally: When I take trips, I sit down with an atlas and choose which highways will get me to my destination most efficiently. If I don’t plan, I would make too many detours and possibly not end up where I needed to go. Making an outline in advance helps me navigate the book and I don’t waste time in dead ends. I have the ending in mind before I start. With a mystery, I have to know who dunnit so I can plant clues and red herrings.

Morgen: That does make sense… it avoids the ‘huh?’ by the reader at the end.

Sally: I have specific scenes that must take place as well as some “holes” that I fill as I go along. Since this book was my first mystery, it was a learning experience. After the first draft, I went back and added more clues and expanded the roles of some minor characters. The outline is flexible. As I reached the last chapters of the first draft, I found my timeline had a big gap in which nothing happened. I added a complication that improved the story and tightened the time line. But the basic structure of the story didn’t change.

Morgen: You’ve just mentioned characters, do you have a method for creating yours? What do you think makes them believable?

Sally: I spend a great deal of time researching my protagonist, teen idol Sandy Fairfax. I wanted to make him so authentic that the reader would feel they might have actually heard this guy on the radio. I read every book I found find on the subject, including autobiographies of real teen idols. I have concert videos of teen idol concerts and I’ve attended more than a few shows. For Sandy I wrote down the names of his records and his TV appearances. I made a timeline of what he did every year since high school. I’ll be fleshing out the members of his family in subsequent books. I even wrote lyrics to his hit songs. Although this much character work was time consuming, the upside is that for a series, I have plenty to draw on to keep the stories fresh. I chose the name “Sandy” because most teen idols have a first name that ends in the long “ee” sound—Davy, Micky, Bobby, Donny, Frankie, Freddy, Andy, Ricky. My character’s a blonde and “Fairfax” means “fair headed.” Sandy Fairfax is my hero’s stage name. His given name is Stanford Ernest Farmington Jr. His family calls him Ernest. “Farmington” is a Scottish name with its own clan tartan. The name “Ernest” comes from the American TV series “Legend” in which Richard Dean Anderson plays Ernest Pratt, a 19th century writer in the Old West who penned dime novels about the clean-cut hero Nicodemos Legend. The townspeople treat Ernest as if he’s really Legend and expect him to save them from trouble. In my books, Sandy played a detective on a TV show and people expect him to solve crimes. Since my book is about the Beatles and pop music, some of the women in the book are named after song titles—Valleri, Prudence, Pam, Helen Wheeler.

Morgen: My goodness, that’s detailed… but then you’re writing a series so I’d say definitely worth getting to know your characters and it sounds like you’re having fun in the process. Who is your first reader – who do you first show your work to?

Sally: A male co-worker was my first reader on this book. He was my “guy advisor” who made sure my hero talked and acted like a man. My friend also loved the story and his encouragement helped me through the early drafts.

Morgen: Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

Sally: I do a tremendous amount of self-editing and I don’t expect that to change. The upside is that my publisher never asked me to make any changes on the mss.

Morgen: Wow. What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write?

Sally: I have the scene worked out in my mind before I start writing. If it’s an action scene, I visualize it like a movie. I can’t sit down cold and stare at the page and hope words will appear.

Morgen: They often don’t. Do you write on paper or do you prefer a computer?

Sally: I use pen-and-paper for the first draft. I first started writing (I’m showing my age) before computers and I wrote first drafts by hand to save on typewriter ribbons. Staring at a blank computer screen annoys me and feels like a day job. There’s something about the brain-hand connection that’s organic and makes the creative juices flow. And on the computer I stop and make corrections instead of letting ideas pour freely. I type up my scribbles on the computer and edit from there.

Morgen: I learned to type on an electronic typewriter so I’m not far behind you. What sort of music do you listen to when you write?

Sally: I can’t listen to music while I’m actually writing. Any kind of noise distracts me. However, I listen to music when I’m taking a break from writing or while I’m searching for ideas. Since my book takes place at a Beatles fan convention, I played all my Beatles and related solo records. Sandy’s a teen idol, so I listen to music by The Monkees, Bobby Sherman, Shaun Cassidy and Peter Noone. I have other musicians (mostly from the 60s and 70s) that I listen to as well–even disco!

Morgen: What point of view do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? Have you ever tried second person?

Sally: I started writing my book in third person but it wasn’t working. I switched to first person and the character popped right off the page. First person let my character crack jokes and make asides to the reader and let his personality shine. I recently wrote a short story and that worked fine in third person. The type of story determines the point of view.

Morgen: I think you did the write thing. It’s amazing the difference it can make. Do you use prologues / epilogues? What do you think of the use of them?

Sally: I use a prologue and epilogue but called them “chapter one” and “chapter 23.”

Morgen:

Sally: I integrate them into the regular chapters. I’m not a fan of prologues / epilogue. Whenever I see the word “prologue” I think, “So when does the real story start?”

Morgen: Absolutely, it should start with the action.

Sally: With “epilogues,” I think, “I finished reading 300 pages and there more?” I don’t like prologues that are used to dump a load of back story, or build up an interesting character only to have him gunned down before chapter one, or to tease me about something that the writer won’t explain until the end of the book.

Morgen: Do you have pieces of work that you think will never see light of day?

Sally: Before I wrote this book I penned the first book of a proposed young adult action / adventure science fiction series. This was during the Harry Potter craze and I thought publishers would love another exciting fantasy series. I was wrong! After 40 rejections from agents and publishers I shelved it. If a publisher calls me up and expresses an interest, I’ll dust it off.

Morgen: And your writing will be even stronger by then. What’s your favourite / least favourite aspect of your writing life?

Sally: I love when a reader gets as big of a kick out of reading the book as I had writing it. I like to bring some fun and joy in someone’s life through my writing. The least favourite aspect is the expense. In the old days writers could get by with a typewriter but now a person needs to invest thousands of dollars computers, printers, websites, conferences, membership fees and promotional travel. It’s almost at the point where only the rich can write.

Morgen: I have the equipment but yes, if I went to everything on / I’m invited to I’d be eating bread and cheese. If anything, what has been your biggest surprise about writing?

Sally: That I could actually write a mystery. When I was a kid I never thought I could work out a plot or the clues.

Morgen: I tend to think that now although as you say you can go back in and add the herrings. What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Sally: Don’t get hung up on the talk about certain writers making millions of dollars with e-books or getting paid insanely huge advances or selling a zillion books or making huge movie deals. Too many authors expect that they’ll be the next major best-seller and become disappointed or even quit writing when the big bucks don’t come their way. Writers are often more concerned about getting an agent than getting their manuscript finished. First-time writers won’t be able to obtain an agent, let alone an enormous advance. Keep the stars in your eyes but your feet on the ground. Be realistic about your chances. Start with the small presses. Start, finish and polish your manuscript before worrying about marketing and contracts. You can’t sell a book if you don’t have one ready to go.

Morgen: Absolutely… like you can’t edit a blank page. What do you like to read?

Sally: I know so many local writers that I mostly read their work. I’m a member of Sisters in Crime and I support the other members who are published. I love anything by Steve Hockensmith or William Link. I still like the guilty pleasure of dipping into a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys book. I picked up about 20 of them recently at a library bookstore.

Morgen: What do you do when you’re not writing?

Sally: I sleep. Seriously, my day job takes up my weekdays and writing most of my free time. Now that my book’s published, I’ll be taking part in author panels, book fairs and signings on weekends. About once a month I see a local play and write a review for the community newspaper where I work. I’m “mom” to two black cats. On Sunday mornings I’m usually in church. For relaxation I love old movies and classic TV shows. Can’t stand TV reality shows. The only new show I watch on TV is “Castle.”

Morgen: A busy life… hopefully there’s writing your sequel in there somewhere. Are there any writing-related websites and / or books that you find useful and would recommend?

Sally: “Forensics: A Guide for Writers” by Dr. D.P. Lyle has good basic crime scene information. The good doc also has a website about forensics and will answer medical questions from authors. “Don’t Sabotage Your Submission” by Chris Roerden is a must. “It Was the Best of Sentence, It Was the Worst of Sentences” by June Casagrande. Good advice on grammar.

Morgen: All new to me, thank you for that. In which country are you based and do you find this a help or hindrance with letting people know about your work?

Sally: I live just outside Los Angeles, which is a hotbed for writers, so creativity is in the air out here along with the smog. There are number of mystery bookstores, book fairs, colleges with creative writing programs and other opportunities for promotion. The Los Angeles chapter of Sisters in Crime is the largest SinC chapters (men can join, too). I signed up for the chapter’s Speakers Bureau, which means I can participate in author panels and other chapter promotional events. It’s a good location for mystery writers, both for inspiration and promotion.

Morgen: I’ve heard Sisters in Crime a few times… Are you on any forums or networking sites? If so, how valuable do you find them?

Sally: I network through the Sisters in Crime listserve. SinC has chapters everywhere and an Internet chapter for those who don’t live near a chapter. The acquisitions editor at my publishing house, Sunny Frazier, has a network of writers on the Internet called The Posse. She connects members to promotional opportunities online and the members provide mutual support. Anyone can join The Posse by contacting Sunny at sunny69@comcast.net.

Morgen: Ah Sunny… a regular guest here. Hi Sunny… as are the Posse members (hello everyone) Where can we find out about you and your work?

Sally: You can email me questions at scwriter@earthlink.net. You can buy my book at http://oaktreebooks.com/dark_oak_mysteries.htm. I’ll be putting up a website in the months to come.

Morgen: Oh great, do le me know and I’ll add it to this page. What do you think the future holds for a writer?

Sally: The Big Six publishers in New York City are loosing their monopoly on publishing. Since the Big Six are closed to unpublished writers, the newbies are heading for the small presses, e-books and self-publishing. With the rise of Amazon, writers are no longer dependent on bricks-and-mortar stores to sell their books. With the Internet, writers can query, sell and promote their work without agents or publicists. More first-time writers can publish books but they’ll have to work hard at self-promotion. The bad news is there’s so much “noise” on the Internet, finding an audience can be difficult. With so many writers’ blogs, nobody can read everything. The Internet audience is so fragmented that an author will have to guest blog endlessly to reach even a small number of people. And there are still readers who don’t read blogs or use computers, so authors will still need to use more traditional promotional techniques.

Morgen: It is / there are… lots of opportunities for the new novelist to think about. Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

Sally: Thank you for letting me ramble on like this. These questions have been fun.

Morgen: Ah, thank you Sally. I’m so glad it wasn’t torture.

I then invited Sally to include an excerpt of her writing:

“Look, detective, I’m exhausted. I’ve had a long day that started before sunrise three time zones ago.” I glanced at my wristwatch: nearly 1 a.m.–Pacific or Central time? I couldn’t remember if I reset my watch after my flight landed. “Can this wait until tomorrow? I mean, later today? The body can’t get any more dead than it is now.”

Detective Braxton glowered at me so hard that if looks could kill, he’d have a second stiff on the floor. “Did the victim say anything that might identify the murderer?”

“Yes, sir.”

Braxton waited, his pen poised over his notebook page. “Well? What was it?”

I felt terribly thirsty. I knew Braxton would hate my answer. “He said, ‘Rocky Raccoon.’”

Sure enough, he frowned at me. “Is that a joke?”

“No, sir. That’s exactly what he said.”

“Is that the name of the murderer? An animal? What’s a Rocky Raccoon?”

“It’s a song.” Bunny stepped up beside us. “By John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Paul sings lead. It’s on disc one, side two, track five of The Beatles’ 1968 double record ‘White Album,’ which isn’t the name, but everyone calls it that because it was issued in a plain white cover with no artwork. I have a 1978 French import reissue with the records in white vinyl.”

Braxton stared at her, too stunned to take notes, but I took it in stride. Fans possess encyclopaedia knowledge of the minutest trivia.

Sally Carpenter is native Hoosier now living in sunny Southern California. She has a master’s degree in theater from Indiana State University. While in school two of her plays, “Star Collector” and “Common Ground,” were finalists in the American College Theater Festival One-Act Playwrighting Competition. “Common Ground” also earned a college creative writing award. The plays received staged readings and productions in New York City. Carpenter also has a master’s degree in theology and a black belt in tae kwon do. She’s worked a variety of jobs including actress, freelance writer, college writing instructor, theater critic, jail chaplain, and tour guide / page for a major movie studio. She now works for a community newspaper. She’s a member of Sisters in Crime / Los Angeles Chapter.

Update July 2012: ”Baffled Beatlemaniac” is available as an e-book on Kindle and Nook. The book was an Eureka! Award finalist for best first mystery novel at the 2012 Left Coast Crime convention in Sacramento, California. I’m also working on the next book in the Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol series, “The Sinister Sitcom Caper.” This time Sandy’s a guest star on the lowest-rated TV show of the fall season. When an actor drops dead at his feet, he discovers Hollywood has more secrets than a lodge meeting.

Congratulations… that sounds like fun.

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
• Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group (http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017)
• Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)

We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Guest post: ‘Writing as a business’ by Paul Hurst

I’m delighted to bring you this guest blog post, today on the topic of the business side of writing, and welcome back author and musician Paul Hurst.

Writing as a business

So, what is your job? How do you describe your profession?

If you said a writer (or author, or similar) and you expect to earn a reasonable sum for your work, then I would humbly suggest that you reconsider.

The fortunate few may have a large enough income to cover everything else apart from the actual creative bit, but for the rest of us that just ain’t the case. You may be blessed with an active and efficient agent, your publisher may be a shining example of the breed, but you’ll still be expected to get involved with publicity and marketing, sort out your accounts, keep an accurate diary and stay up to date and connected with your readers. If you don’t take on most (if not all) of this on yourself then you must sub it out to others. Either way, whether running about like a blue-arsed fly, or managing staff (and possibly doing both), you are a business person. Your writing is your product, and it has to be targeted, advertised, distributed and supported by after-sales service just as much as any other product or service. And even if you do have your very own devoted and dedicated posse who’ll wait on you catering to your every whim, please remember that delegation is fine, abdication is not. Many a creative has been royally turned over by the ‘suits’ when their back was turned.

Of course, you can decide that the money isn’t important, that the whole point of your creative output is simply to bring pleasure and/or illumination to others. Or just because you enjoy it so much (or enjoy the status). That’s fine, no harm in it at all and you are quite entitled to do that. Just scrub the ‘earn a reasonable sum’ bit from the job description because you are now indulging in a hobby. However, by accepting that this is the case, by embracing the realities of market needs, competition and everyday logistics you can now gain a huge advantage over rivals who fail to do this.

Back in the late 90’s I decided to turn a paying hobby into a business. Problem was, you were not expected to be able to make a profit from folk music. There were many ‘hobby’ bands happy to turn up for little more than fuel and beer costs. I wanted to tempt the really good players by paying a proper fee as well as making a decent income for myself.

As it happened, this all turned out to be rather a good thing. There was no option but to investigate every single possible method that I could use to out-manoeuvre rivals. A lot of reading and experimenting followed. Fortunately that path turned out to be rather a lonely one – none of the others seemed particularly interested in making any kind of an effort. They were musicians and were not going to ‘prostitute their art’ by getting involved in publicity, or by pandering to any weird thing the customer may want. If clients wanted to book them, on their terms, then fair enough. Hoo-bleeding-ray! A very happy period has followed ever since. Here are a few of the ideas that have worked, and which should translate into the field of writing as well.

Theory of mind

Sorry, spot the O.U. psychology student. It’s the old chestnut about ‘walking a mile in some else’s shoes’ so you understand their viewpoint. It also means that you get their shoes as well, and by the time they realise that you are at least a mile away – but that’s by the by.

In other words, understand who your audience are and what they want. You don’t have to sell out and head for the popular genre of the moment, stick with the style for which you have a genuine passion, but look for ways you can target that to keep your readers happy. Do they want illustrations, shorter/longer books, different formats? No experienced market trader will set up their stall without knowing first what is likely to sell that day. With all the social media options, and other joys of the interweb there is no excuse for failing to engage with your readers. Concentrate on customer service – the aim is to convert readers into raving fans by finding out what they want and then delivering it in abundance.

Risk reversal

Someone has to blink first. We’re the ones wanting the hard cash that readers have, so by the normal rules of the game it’s up to us to get things rolling. If selling paperbacks, offer a full and absolute money-back guarantee. If selling ebooks, let them download a fair chunk of the book first, as a taster. Better yet, give away a complete book first – just make sure you have links to your follow up books or services. Don’t get all anal about the DRM (Digital Rights Management) to stop readers passing on copies to friends – you won’t stop anyone who knows what they are doing. You will however wind up genuine customers who want to read ‘their’ book in more than one format. Keep giving, be open and generous and long term the reciprocity effect which is hard wired into almost all of us will kick in. Always consider the potential lifetime value of a fan.

Add-ons

When you are making a sale, that’s the best time to make another. If you sell your own books on line, find out how to use a pop up screen. These can let you offer something extra at a reduced price in a bundled deal – after all, you’ve made your main profit and are now going to send out a package anyway, so why not use the opportunity to increase the margin a bit? It could be a mouse mat, T-shirt, coffee mug or key ring – whatever. It could even be another book, but at a reduced price.

That’s great, thank you Paul!

Paul Hurst has run his own companies since the mid 1980′s. Small, stable ‘niche’ affairs with the absolute minimum of overheads. Two of the companies cover his work as a musician and performer since the late 70′s, and as band leader since the early 80′s. Working through his business The Solutions Agency Ltd, Paul provides book keeping, accountancy, training and consultancy services to a wide range of small companies, drawing on his experience in banking, County Court, retail, management accounting, advertising, building, civil engineering, importing, engineering and now psychology as a student with the Open University.

If you would like to write a writing-related guest post for my blog then feel free to email me at morgen@morgenbailey.com with an outline of what you would like to write about. If it’s writing-related then it’s highly likely I’d email back and say “yes please” (while quietly bouncing up and down in my seat with joy!).

 

Author interview no.162 with romantic suspense / mystery writer Anne K Albert

Welcome to the one hundred and sixty-second of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, directors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further. You can also read Anne’s author spotlight here.

Morgen: Hello again, Anne. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

Anne: I’ve taught high school art, sold display advertising for a small town weekly newspaper, and worked for a national brand water company, but now write full time. I married my high school sweetheart who is also my best friend. If I could afford it, I’d travel and live out of a suitcase. I suspect I may have been a nomad in a former life!

Morgen: My brother’s the traveller (he lives in Switzerland) – I don’t think I was a nomad in any life.

Anne: As to how I became a writer, I’ve always admired authors who knew from an early age they would write.

Morgen: A surprising (well, to me anyway) number of my interviewees have said that.

Anne: That was never my reality. I was of the belief writers were from another planet, and certainly not ordinary folk like me. Then, in the late 80s, in the production room of that small town weekly newspaper I mentioned, I heard the click, click, click of fingertips on computer keyboards. It was music to my ears, and still one of my favourite sounds. Believe it or not, that’s what inspired me to write. I wanted to make my own music!

Morgen: I do. What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

Anne: I devoured Nancy Drew, Hardy Boy, and Trixie Belden books as a child. Then, I discovered Agatha Christie and Erle Stanley Gardner as a teen. It’s seems a given I’d write romantic suspense and mystery. Nothing appeals to me more than a puzzle or murder to solve.

Morgen: It’s a popular genre. What have you had published to-date? If applicable, can you remember where you saw your first books on the shelves?

Anne: Defending Glory, book one of the Piedmont Island Trilogy series, was my debut release in September 2010.  Frank, Incense and Muriel, first of the Muriel Reeves Mysteries, was released two months later.  Like most authors, seeing my work on actual bookshelves is no longer the norm. But finding them on Amazon, well, that’s a rush!

Morgen: Mine are due there shortly… I can’t wait. And I love your ‘Frank, Incense and Muriel’ title by the way, I love play on words. How much of the marketing do you do for your published works or indeed for yourself as a ‘brand’?

Anne: Like the majority of authors these days I do a great deal of the self-promotion and online marketing. In the beginning I loathed it. Now, I love it–mainly because of the wonderful people I would not have ‘met’ otherwise.

Morgen: Absolutely, that’s why I’m here. Have you won or been shortlisted in any competitions and do you think they help with a writer’s success?

Anne: I’m a huge fan of writing contests. I’ve received writing tips from published authors who did not know me from Adam. Their constructive criticism pointed me in the right direction, and enabled me to persevere over the years until I got “the call”.  I began entering writing contests shortly after I joined Romance Writers of America in 1995. I submitted my first manuscript to a contest assuming I’d win. Imagine my surprise when I finished 98th out of 100 entrants!

Morgen: Ouch.

Anne: I buckled down and focused on learning how to write. By 2008 I was winning contests. Those awards helped me get a publishing contract.  Now, I’m still a fan of writing competitions. I’m very proud that Frank, Incense and Muriel is the recipient of the 2011 Holt Medallion Award of Merit for a Novel with Strong Romantic Elements.

Morgen: Oh yay, well done you.

Anne: Competing against multi-published authors is both intimidating and exciting. My editor did the happy dance when the announcement was made. She produced this video.

Morgen: …and then you did the happy dance. Do you write under a pseudonym? If so why and do you think it makes a difference?

Anne: Yes, I do write under a pen name. My aka is literally AKA.  Anne K. Albert is a combination of my daughter’s, mine, and husband’s middle names. That it just happens to spell AKA makes me giggle. I love a play on words! I’m uncertain if it makes a difference to an author’s profile, but it makes all the difference to me. Without an AKA, I doubt I’d be published.  Let me explain. I’m an intensely private person. I rarely share my deepest, darkest thoughts with anyone, even my husband or daughter. I’ve always strove to stay under the radar. (And no, I am not a criminal or in the Witness Protection Program! I just prefer to stay out of the limelight.)  As years passed and the rejections piled up, I realized I could not entirely blame agents, editors or publishers for my lack of success. I was equally responsible because I did not pursue publication as ardently as I might have.  I took a step back, did a little soul searching, and realized the prospect of seeing my real name on the cover of a book terrified me. I have no idea why, but it does! Seeing Anne K. Albert on a book jacket, however, fills me with great pride.  For whatever reason that one degree of separation allows me to be me in my private life, and ‘the writer’ elsewhere. Quirky perhaps, but hey, that’s me!

Morgen: It’s funny that a name should make difference but that’s exactly how I feel. Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Anne: I’m very much a seat of the pants writer. I’ve tried to change my habits and plot out a book, but the story never gets written. I came to the realization I write to find out what happens. I’m my first reader!

Morgen: Ah well, that answers that question. Do you write on paper or do you prefer a computer?

Anne: Up until I was published I always wrote at a computer. Now, I can’t seem to tear myself away from online chats, email, social networking, etc. I opted to write book two of the Piedmont Island Trilogy longhand. I had to. I was behind deadline! It worked great as far as actually getting something written, until I had to transcribe it. What torture! I’ve vowed not do this again. I’ll have to devise another method. Perhaps two computers, one without Internet capabilities will work!

Morgen: Or go somewhere with no internet. Some writers like quiet, others the noise of a coffee shop etc. Do you listen to music or have noise around you when you write or do you need silence?

Anne: Again, this is changing. I used to demand complete silence. Now, background noise disappears when I’m ‘there’ with my characters. I’m kind of like a fly on the wall, and I tune everything else out as there’s no way I want to miss what they’re saying or thinking.

Morgen: What’s your favourite / least favourite aspect of your writing life?

Anne: Getting started on a new story is always the hardest part for me. I’ll often write up to twenty first scenes of the same story before I’m able to continue. The beginning’s not necessarily my least favourite, it’s just frustrating – especially when I’m so anxious to get on with it. The process is two steps forward and one back, but I’ve learned it’s important to get it just right because that’s my process.

Morgen: There’s nothing wrong with being thorough as long as you can move on. If anything, what has been your biggest surprise about writing?

Anne: I love the final revision stage, which is surprising because when I first began writing I had zero idea on how to revise. However, as the manuscripts piled up, so did my ability to look at them from a reader’s point of view. Making sure I’ve tied up all the loose ends is especially gratifying.

Morgen: You love revision? Really? Can you do mine for me? What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Anne: Believe in your ability. Write what you want to write, and never, ever give up.

Morgen: Where can we find out about you and your work?

Anne: Please visit my website: http://www.AnneKAlbert.com. There is lots of info and news on my blogs: http://anne-k-albert.blogspot.com, http://piedmont-island-trilogy.blogspot.com, http://muriel-reeves-mysteries.blogspot.com, Plus I’m on Facebook and Twitter.

Morgen: As busy a lady as I am by the looks of it. Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

Anne: Thanks for featuring me, Morgen! It’s been such fun!

Morgen: You’re very welcome, and thank you for saying “yes” twice.

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
• Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group (http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017)
• Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)

We look forward to reading your comments.

 

Author Spotlight no.23 – Sheila Dalton

To complement my daily blog interviews I recently started a series of Author Spotlights and today’s, the twenty-third, is of multi-genre author Sheila Dalton.

Sheila Dalton was born near London, England and came to Canada with her family when she was six. When she was twenty, she returned to England to study at the University of London, ended up dropping out, and working as a barmaid at an Aussie pub in Earl’s Court where, as she says, “I could not make change, let alone mix drinks. All that saved me were the kindness of the owners, and my name. Aussies call all women ‘Sheilas’.”

Back in Toronto, Canada, she took up crafts, and worked as an independent craftsperson for a few years before completing her degree at the University of Toronto, later returning for a Masters in Library Science.

“I did not want to become a librarian,” she says.  “I wanted to be a writer, but as I specialized in dense, inscrutable bad poetry, the chances of making a living at it were non-existent.”

She married and had a son, then became a freelance editor and writer for many years. During that time, her first book of poetry was published, then a literary novel, and then a series of books for children, both fiction and non-fiction.

She has been a reference librarian at the Toronto Public Library for over twenty years. “And I found I loved the profession, after all,” she says. Her latest novel for adults, The Girl in the Box, is due out from Dundurn Press in November 2011.

And now from the author herself:

Travel has always had a big influence on my writing. That, and having a child.

Having a child meant I could step out of the working world to a certain extent, and spend more time writing. I didn’t quit working altogether, I couldn’t afford to, but so intense was my desire to stay at home with my son that I quite my fulltime job and ventured into the world of editing.  This meant I could do most of my work from home, at least for the first few years.

Lucky for me, my son was a big sleeper. I edited while he napped and worked on several projects I had started before he was born – my book of poetry, Blowing Holes Through the Everyday, and my novel, Tales of the Ex-FireEater. Then, when he was old enough to read to, I wrote several picture books I thought he might enjoy – Doggerel, Catalogue, and Bubblemania. They weren’t published till he was much older.

I traveled before he was born, but it was many years before I traveled again. A trip to Central America stayed with me, and eventually gelled into my current literary mystery, The Girl in the Box. I went to Guatemala with a friend for four months during the height of the Civil War there in the 80’s. I saw and heard things I never forgot, such as seeing Mayan men pulled off a bus by government soldiers, and never coming back. The fear in their eyes haunted me. Locals told me about screams coming from the local church at night, a church they were convinced had been turned into a prison and torture chamber for guerrilla fighters from the hills.

Twenty years later, I used some of those experiences to craft a novel about a young Mayan women in captivity in the Guatemalan jungle, who is rescued by a North American doctor, and brought to Canada, where she kills him. The book is about why this happened.  Caitlin, the doctor’s lover, wants answers, but is also afraid of what she might find.

A later trip to Morocco was the inspiration behind the historical novel I am currently working on. While there, a tour guide showed us underground dungeons. The dungeons were closed that day. All I saw were the holes in the ground meant to let in light and air. The sight horrified me. When I asked who had been kept there, the guide mischievously answered, “You.” Turned out the dungeons were used to house white Christian slaves, mostly from England, who were captured in raids along the English coast in the 18^th century.

When I returned to Canada, I started researching this fascinating period and used what I learned in a book I’m calling Slavery in Black and White: My Life as a Kept Woman and Most Peculiar Pirate.

I don’t always use what I see right away, but travel shows me things that make me think, and end up in my fiction eventually.

You can find more about Sheila and her writing via…

Her website, The Girl in the Box to pre-order on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, and The Girl in the Box book trailer.

Sheila is also kindly running a Goodreads Giveaway (US & Canada) which runs until 18^th November.

Thank you Sheila! Do let me know when your book comes out and I’ll add a link (or tweak the text).

Sheila will be guest posting on Tuesday 1st November, talking about writing for different age groups.

The blog interviews will return as normal tomorrow with mystery / humour author Anne K Albert – the one hundred and sixty-second of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, directors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate the author further. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. And I enjoy hearing from readers of my blog; do either leave a comment on the relevant interview (the interviewees love to hear from you too!) and / or email me. You can also read / download my eBooks here.

 

Author interview no.161 with children’s fantasy writer Alicia L Wright

Welcome to the one hundred and sixty-first of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. Today’s is with children’s fantasy author and illustrator Alicia L Wright. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further.

Morgen: Hello, Alicia. Please tell us something about yourself and how you came to be a writer.

Alicia: I’m sure that everyone says this, but I always wanted to be a writer ever since I was child.

Morgen: Not everyone, but a surprising number. Well, it surprises me anyway… I’m a latecomer.

Alicia: I’ve always loved stories and I’ve always written them.  I started writing seriously in 2003.  I started sending work off to agents in 2005, but it wasn’t until I sent my 2007 NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) novel to Tannbourne Ltd in 2010 that I had any success.  Other than my book, I’m working part-time and studying games design from home.

Morgen: Oh great! NaNoWriMo. This’ll be my fourth time (in a row). It’s fun. Hard work, but fun. What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

Alicia: I usually write children’s fantasy.  Eggs, Butter, Sugar and Disaster is actually aimed at an older audience than my other books have been.  I don’t think I’ll be writing any other kind of book any time soon.  I adore fantasy books.  I don’t think I’d do very well writing in the ‘real’ world!

Morgen: I’m the opposite. I don’t read fantasy or children’s books (my dog is my child and he’ll have anything read to him!) so I write everything else but, but then there wouldn’t be so many lovely books if we all wrote the same thing. What have you had published to-date? If applicable, can you remember where you saw your first books on the shelves?

Alicia: Eggs, Butter, Sugar and Disaster will be my first book.  I can’t wait to see it on the shelves.  It’s a lifelong dream for me. It still doesn’t feel real just yet, actually!

Morgen: And it may not for a while. I’ve had some interviewees say that. How much of the marketing do you do for your published works or indeed for yourself as a ‘brand’?

Alicia: I’m trying to do as much marketing as possible, although what I can do myself is a little limited. What I have done is start a DeviantArt account for my book and other personal art.  If anyone would like to take a look my page it can be found here: http://puddingvalkyrie.deviantart.com.

Morgen: Yes please do, the Nummy Gyuudon intrigues me (both wonderful names by the way). Do you write under a pseudonym for your books? If so why and do you think it makes a difference?

Alicia: Yes.  I’m not sure if it has an effect on my profile or not, but there are a few reasons I wanted a pen name.  One of them is that I just don’t like my real name very much! …no-one tell my parents!

Morgen: I won’t because I don’t like mine either (Morgen is a pseudonym too, named after my two dogs – Bailey’s the one that appears on my podcast). Do you have an agent? Do you think they’re vital to an author’s success?

Alicia: No, I don’t have an agent.  It would have been nice to have an agent, but at the same time, because I’m working with a small publisher I have a lot more personal contact and that’s better for me as a new author, I think.

Morgen: I think so too and my emails with Tannbourne show they’re very supportive of their authors. Are your books available as eBooks? If so what was your experience of that process? And do you read eBooks?

Alicia: My book is going to be available as an e-book, but I don’t have any.  Yet.  I think they’re a brilliant idea.  Especially if you have a lot of books you want to read but not so much space!

Morgen: Absolutely. There’s a lot of talk on the internet forums about the ‘death’ of paperbacks but for me they live in harmony. Pbooks look lovely dotted (more than a Dalmatian!) around the house but if I travel (rarely) then the eReader comes with me… a win, win.

Alicia: And my friends overseas had been asking after an e-book version, so that they don’t have to pay international shipping, so there’s that, too!

Morgen: There is. Mine will be eBook only (hopefully in the next few days ) and whilst I’ll be missing out on the ‘shelf’ experience (but never say never) it’s such a great opportunity to get my work out there. What was your first acceptance and is being accepted still a thrill?

Alicia: Well, actually… that’s a bit of a long story.  My first offer of a contract was from a not-so-reputable company.  When I was first offered I was over the moon, but looking it up and then having to turn them down was crushing.  So I was happy but very cautious when I was offered my first real contract, by Tannbourne. I was in Iceland volunteering at the time and one of my fellow volunteers had to ask me what was the matter as I clamped my hands over my mouth in shock and happiness! I mentioned this above, but it still feels like I’m in a dream and it’s not real!

Morgen: Ah…. maybe seeing the eBook too will help. Have you had any rejections? If so, how do you deal with them?

Alicia: Oh yes.  Several.  I’m not sure that I really ‘dealt’ with them at all; I expected rejection from the beginning, so I just moved on to the next agent or publisher on my list.

Morgen: Good plan. What are you working on at the moment / next?

Alicia: I’m working on a book aimed at slightly younger readers, about an exchange program with mermaids.  It’s based partly on my experiences abroad as an exchange student and volunteer.

Morgen: Oh sweet… mermaids have always been popular and I’d say they’re ideal children’s fantasy material. A question some authors dread, where do you get your inspiration from?

Alicia: EVERYWHERE.  It’s that simple!

Morgen: It is… and pretty much what every other interviewee has said. Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Alicia: I’m pretty useless at planning actually.  I just sit down and write.  But it’s not like I don’t have any idea of where I’m going.  I usually have a far off point that I’m heading towards and some smaller points that reveal themselves to me as I write.

Morgen: They do, so not useless at all, providing the ideas do come of course. Some people plan like mad then it all falls to pieces when handed over to the characters. You can probably tell I’m not a planner either (my 117K NaNo 2009 was an idea I had October 31st!). Do you have a method for creating your characters, their names and what do you think makes them believable?

Alicia: My characters just seem to come to me as they are.  I don’t really have a method at all.  They just turn up in my head and go ‘name me!’.  I do have trouble naming them sometimes.  A lot of the characters in the book I’m currently writing are named after my former classmates and volunteers, but usually I just make them up.

Morgen: Nice characters then hopefully. Who is your first reader – who do you first show your work to?

Alicia: I don’t.  So I suppose my editor is my first reader from now on!

Morgen: Not a bad decision, the editor (hello Ellen!) is the expert after all. How much research do you have to do for your writing? Have you ever received feedback from your readers?

Alicia: A lot of my characters come from various mythologies and folklore, so I read that sort of thing a lot.  I also try to read up on anything that might come up – for example, for current book, I looked up every kind of mermaid I could find and I also started looking at sea creatures.

Morgen: Do you write on paper or do you prefer a computer?

Alicia: I much prefer a computer.  I can edit as I go along and add or move bits easily.  I find that I get slowed down an awful lot if I’m forced to use paper.

Morgen: Me too. A few interviewees use the computer because their handwriting is awful. Mine isn’t but it’s very slow by comparison. Do you have pieces of work that you think will never see light of day?

Alicia: Oh yes.  I have about nine or so unfinished books on my computer.  Some won’t get finished because I have another story that’s similar that I like better, some won’t get finished because there are stories out there already that are too similar and finally some of them are just plain not good enough.

Morgen: If anything, what has been your biggest surprise about writing?

Alicia: That my stories don’t do what I tell them to!

Morgen: I love that! And only a writer or writing professional, I think anyway, would understand that.

Alicia: For example, I had a request from my editor to have my main character, Seralina, make a pudding.  She’s the Goddess of Puddings now, after all.

Morgen: Of course.

Alicia: What she was supposed to do in the scene was make a pudding and fail hilariously.  What actually happened was she got lost in the pantry, had a conversation on the nature of religion, got rescued and made a perfectly acceptable pudding.  But I think that’s what’s so great about it!  Even as the writer, I don’t know what’s going to happen!

Morgen: That’s got to be my favourite aspect. A blank page never scares me. What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Alicia: DON’T GIVE UP.  Sure it’s hard to get published, sure there’s a point in your book where you think ‘this is awful, no-one will want to read this!’ but you mustn’t give up.  Keep writing and keep sending your work to agents and so on.

Morgen: Doing these interviews has made me realise how many people there are all striving for the same thing but equally all having passion and as long as you have that. And I like the succinct advice on Tannbourne’s ‘Advice for Authors‘ page. What do you like to read, Alicia?

Alicia: My favourite author by a million miles is Sir Terry Pratchett, but I’m sure everyone knows how amazing his work is already.

Morgen: And a few have said so here. What do you do when you’re not writing?

Alicia: I love watching cartoons and I love to draw.  I also like learning languages – I have a degree and a level 2 proficiency certificate in Japanese!  I really want to save up to go and study abroad again, but it’s going to have to wait a while! I also love computer games.  RPGs are my favourite.

Morgen: You said earlier that you’re studying games design, maybe you could write for them too. Where can we find out about you and your work?

Alicia: The best source would be the Tannbourne Ltd website and my DeviantArt account.

Morgen: What do you think the future holds for a writer?

Alicia: In the digital age as we are, I think that things are both easier and harder for writers at the same time.  Many writers are self-publishing via Amazon and Lulu, so it’s really easy to get your work out there.  But at the same time, that creates a lot of competition.

Morgen: It does… but as you say we just have to keep going. Is there a question you’d like to ask me?

Alicia: Sure. “Would you like to buy my book?”

Morgen: <laughs> I would if I had children (I love the title, by the way) but I only have a dog and unfortunately he’d only really be interested if it squeaked. Ooh, that could be your next book. Thank you Alicia.

Alicia L. Wright is a farmer’s daughter who went to university.  It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Eggs, Butter, Sugar and Disaster is her first novel, to be published on the 22nd October 2011.  She lives in a little village you’ve never heard of in North West England, works part time and is studying games design from home.

***

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and are thinking “ooh, I’d like to do this” then you can… just email me and I’ll send you the information. They do now (January 2013) carry a fee (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the new interviews on this blog but everything else (see Opportunities on this blog) is free.

If you go for the interview, it’s very simple; I send you a questionnaire (I have them for novelists, short story authors, children’s authors, non-fiction authors, and poets). You complete the questions, and I let you know when it’s going to go live. Before it does so, I add in comments as if we’re chatting, and then they get posted. When that’s done, I email you with the link so you can share it with your corner of the literary world. And if you have a writing-related blog / podcast and would like to interview me… let me know.

Alternatively, if you’d like a free Q&A-only interview, I now have http://morgensauthorinterviews.wordpress.com on which I’ve rerun the original interviews posted here then posted new interviews which I then reblog here. These interviews are Q&A only, so I don’t add in my comments but they do get exposure on both sites.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel, which is being serialised on Novel Nights In!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do. I welcome critique for the four new writing groups listed below and / or flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays. For other opportunities see (see Opportunities on this blog).

The full details of the new online writing groups, and their associated Facebook groups, are:

• Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
• Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
• Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group (http://scriptwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/319941328108017)
• Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)

We look forward to reading your comments.