This week’s piece is by poet, essayist, short story author and novelist Garden Urthark.

This poem is the final poem written by the hero, Moody Santo, in Garden Urthark’s Other World, an epic mystery in five parts that can be downloaded from Smashwords.  The poem, a sonnet, appears in the fourth part of Other World, which is entitled “Book of Afterlife.”

Let my love be darkness, let it be dark
Dark as a midnight sea.  I feel—I feel
The frantic waves rise upward in their arc
But to fall back to Earth again, and wheel
Back into dark.  O tumultuous One
Of Mysteries who made this sea of blood,
So take away all light from me, no sun
Controls my heart, nor makes it ebb or flood—
Not like the Moon, whose love I seek, whose face
I cannot touch, nor body kiss or hold,
Whose beauty all my yearning to embrace
Is not to reach, and soon I’ll be too old.
Such waves of darkness rise within my heart,
I weep such tears past finding out by art.

***

Garden Urthark (Writer): A native of Washington, DC, and its suburbs, Garden Urthark wrote the Life Trilogy over a period of over thirty years, devoting over 18 years to Other World.

While a Visiting Student at Gallaudet University, where he worked part-time as an English tutor, he met his wife, Sung, who was one of the students he tutored.

Garden and Sung almost immediately began their collaboration on projects that would combine her art with his literary work.

Sung Kim (Artist):  Born and raised in Seoul, Korea, Sung is deaf. She came to the United States to study art.

A graduate in Studio Art at Gallaudet University, the only liberal arts university in the world for deaf people, she married Garden Urthark and together they have a hearing son.

Sung’s artwork for the Life Trilogy includes reproductions of her oil on canvas paintings, paintings in acrylics, watercolors, and pencil drawings.

Portraits Deep in the Castle is available in paperback from Amazon.com; Other World is available as an eBook from Smashwords.

If you’d like to submit your poem (40 lines max) for consideration for Post-weekend Poetry take a look here.

The blog interviews will return as normal tomorrow with military mystery / suspense / action Cindy Bring – the three hundred and ninety-first of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, biographers, agents, publishers 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 sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything… and follow me on Twitter where each new posting is automatically announced. You can also read / download my eBooks and free eShorts at Smashwords, Sony Reader Store, Barnes & Noble, iTunes Bookstore, Kobo and Amazon, with more to follow. I have a new forum, friend me on Facebook, like me on Facebook, connect with me on LinkedIn, find me on Tumblr, complete my website’s Contact me page or plain and simple, email me.  I also now have a new blog creation service especially for, but not limited to, writers.

Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 words. Alternatively if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract / short chapter (ideally up to 1000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them)  on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are weekly episodes, usually released Monday mornings UK time, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays.

Late April 2011 I discovered http://StoryADay.org and the project that is to write 31 stories in 31 days. Anyone who knows me or follows this blog, knows how passionate I am about short stories so my clichéd eyes lit up at this new marvel. And just a few days later there I was, breathing life into new characters. This went on to become (with some editing of course) my 31-story collection eBook Story A Day May 2011.

I was nearing completion of the 2012 project when I decided that I didn’t want to stop at the end of May so 5PM Fiction was born. I put a load of prompts on the 5PM Fiction page and today’s prompt was to write a story starting ‘As Amy ran down the hill…’ but I cheated and changed the sentence round. So here is my 266-worder. Short and sweet with no bodies.

First impression

Running down the hill, Amy could see the bus indicating right, waiting to pull out into the rush hour traffic.

“Don’t let it in, don’t let it in!” Amy begged but then saw a cream Mini slow down, its flash of lights reflect on the back of the bus.

She knew if she waited for the next one she’d be late and if she was late on her first day she’d not be sure if there would be a second.

The traffic lights ahead changed to red and whilst drivers cursed the new roadworks, they had bought Amy valuable seconds. She caught up with the bus and went ahead a little, waving in an attempt to catch the driver’s attention. He nodded and opened the doors.

“We’re not supposed to pick up between stops.”

“I’m…” Amy said struggling for breath, “sorry. I…”

“Late for work?”

Amy nodded. “First day.”

“Oops.”

Amy smiled. She’d not had to catch the bus for her old job but now she was working in the town centre she’d either have a longer walk or take public transport and having spent too long deciding what to wear had only left enough time for the latter.

“Nice suit,” the driver said as she took the ticket.

“Thank you. It’s new.”

“First impression counts, hey.”

Amy blushed then realised that the driver was younger than he’d looked from the front of the bus. A little older than her but with a heart-melting smile. “So they say.”

Now, as she sat on the bus, she had another reason to look forward to going to work.

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything… and follow me on Twitter where each new posting is automatically announced. You can also read / download my eBooks and free eShorts at Smashwords, Sony Reader Store, Barnes & Noble, iTunes Bookstore, Kobo and Amazon, with more to follow. I have a new forum, friend me on Facebook, like me on Facebook, connect with me on LinkedIn, find me on Tumblr, complete my website’s Contact me page or plain and simple, email me.  I also now have a new blog creation service especially for, but not limited to, writers.

Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 words. Alternatively if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract / short chapter (ideally up to 1000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them)  on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are weekly episodes, usually released Monday mornings UK time, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.

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

RLB: I’ve lived in western North Carolina all of my life except for a few months in Sarasota, FL, where I met my husband in his bookstore. My maternal grandmother and my mother read to me, so I learned as a pre-schooler the value of narrative and dialog. In third grade, I began penning stories of my own and never stopped.

Morgen: How romantic, meeting your husband where you did. Fate, clearly. What genre do you generally write?

RLB: Historical novels hold the most appeal, though my first attempts were a contemporary teen angst and a fanciful heroine-marries-badboy-and-goes-to-live-in-his-mysterious-castle. Both remain packed away, and rightfully so!

Morgen: What have you had published to-date?

RLB:  The first book was a test case, put through Lulu.com. A fictionalized account of a real ex-moonshiner, Floyd and the Traveling Yard Sale turned out satisfactory, so I published I Rode with Cullen Baker, my first historical novel, based on a real-life Texas outlaw.

Morgen: Historical is a really popular genre (and agents have told me they want more of it). History was my worst subject at school so I tend to avoid it although one of the people who bought my Story a Day May 2011 eBook collection said one of the historical pieces was their favourite (as did someone else with a sci-fi piece and I tend to avoid that too, because I don’t read the genre). Have you had any rejections? If so, how do you deal with them?

RLB:  Like most writers who stick with it, I have a folder stuffed with rejections from some of the biggest names in the publishing world, as well as obscure and transitory editors at selected magazines. Once I understood why my novels were being shoved aside, I stopped courting failure, and as soon as I could, I took my career into my own hands.

Morgen: I was the same although my file isn’t stuffed, I just liked the idea of doing everything myself. Have you won or been shortlisted in any competitions?

RLB: Some years ago, my 1-page short, “It Wasn’t My Idea,” resulted in first prize, a giant tiger kite (never flown, but a nice decoration), and “Harvest” won $10 as first in a monthly contest one Halloween. My short story “Going…going…gone” recently won $100 (first place) at www.love-lovepublishing.com. My contemporary novel, Strong Coffee, placed 4th in the second Textnovel.com competition, and in 2001 the script version of I Rode with Cullen Baker won first place in the original Split-Screenplay $1000 competition.

Morgen: Wow, well done. That must make up for your stuffed file. Do you have an agent?

RLB: I’ve had two agents. For a brief time.

Morgen: Ah. Are your books available as eBooks? Do you read eBooks or is it paper all the way?

RLB: For now, for me it’s paper. Ironic, as I’m a tree-hugger whose father loved nothing better than chopping down the biggest poplar tree on his property and using it for firewood.

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

RLB: I do it all, learning as I go.

Morgen: It’s definitely a curve, isn’t it. Do you have a favourite of your books or characters? If any of your books were made into films, who would you have as the leading actor/s?

RLB:  Whatever book I’m re-reading in prep for publishing, is my favorite. If I had to choose a favorite character, he would be Ramón Cordero, the central figure in most of my saga, Tierra del Oro. The actor/s would depend on who is the right age now, and what books were being filmed.

Morgen: Did you have any say in the title / covers of your book(s)? How important do you think they are?

RLB: Being my own publisher, I’ve chosen all of my titles. I believe they are extremely important as they’re usually the first and sometimes the only thing a potential reader knows.

Morgen: And some people are put off if they’re poor. What are you working on at the moment / next?

RLB: A Lion Against the Wind, Book 5 of the Cordero Saga (Tierra del Oro) went live this April with subsequent titles to follow at 2-month intervals, finishing in December 2012. I’m also putting together the YouTube video for Book 2, Legend of the Sierra Madre (cover shown).

Morgen: Do you ever suffer from writer’s block?

RLB: Once the saga began, I never had writer’s block, for there was always some scene or sequence in my mind, ready to find its way onto the page the moment I sat down.

Morgen: That’s pretty much how it works for me, I’m very lucky. Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

RLB:  I used to jot down events that I knew would happen sooner or later, and record bits of dialog that characters spoke, so I wouldn’t lose them before they were needed.

Morgen: You mentioned Ramón Cordero, do you have a method for creating your characters, their names and what do you think makes them believable?

RLB: My characters appear in my mind’s eye and I watch and listen to them. I think they’re believable because they live in a world that was once real–Mexico in the 19th and 20th centuries. I’ve amassed quite a nice reference library of vintage materials. The most exciting find was Gringo Rebel, by Thord-Gray, a man in the rebel army who wrote details of General Obregón’s march down the west coast. It came into my hand at the exact point in my novel that I needed it for authenticity.

Morgen: Do you write any non-fiction, poetry or short stories?

RLB:  Some short stories, short scripts, a very few poems, and occasional irate letters or emails.

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

RLB: I’m still editing just before I hit the “publish” button at Create Space.

Morgen: I think most writers would keep editing if they could, going back to something later there’s usually something. You just have to draw a line. You said you need authenticity, which is obviously vital, and you sound very knowledgeable about that era, do you have to do much research?

RLB: I did much more research than ever found its way into the stories, but knowing what was going on at the time my characters lived enabled me to weave in the events and details they would have been affected by.

Morgen: It’s always better to know more than goes in the book. Some authors have clearly been showing off when they’ve put in so much unnecessary detail. What point of view do you find most to your liking?

RLB: I Rode with Cullen Baker and Strong Coffee are both first person. The Tierra del Oro novels are all third person, but have multiple points of view, depending on which character is most emotionally involved in the action.

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

RLB: The two unnamed efforts I mentioned earlier, as well as an unfinished vampire story and one finished novel that I’m still not satisfied with. And some western short stories with beginnings but no endings.

Morgen: Yet. What advice would you give aspiring writers?

RLB: Characters make the plotlines, and plotlines make the characters. Don’t put out work that reveals your ignorance of the language you’re writing in and of the audience you’re writing for.

Morgen: If you could invite three people from any era to dinner, who would you choose and what would you cook (or hide the takeaway containers)?

RLB:  I would find out what they like to eat, and either cook it myself or call up a caterer. I’d invite Edward James Olmos, Victor Villaseñor, and Margaret Mitchell.

Morgen: Is there a word, phrase or quote you like?

RLB: “Always scroll to the bottom.”

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

RLB:  I read and buy books. When I ever find the time, I’m planning to return to my painting.

Morgen: Me too. I have loads of art equipment in my loft waiting to be used, although I’m more of a cartoonist (although not a great one) – I’m OK if I have something in front of me to replicate but unlike my writing, I have little imagination when drawing from scratch. Are there any writing-related websites and / or books that you find useful?

RLB: My Book Marketing Guides, Lynnette’s Book Marketing – Blog, www.love-lovepublishing.com, http://www.everywritersresource.com and http://www.everywriter.net.

Morgen: I don’t know those. I’ll check them out. Are you on any forums or networking sites? If so, how valuable do you find them?

RLB: I’m sporadically active at Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Goodreads, and still visit the online site that has given me immense encouragement over the years, Zoetrope.com

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

RLB: Depends entirely on the writer.

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

RLB: www.rlbhartmann.com

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

RLB: I have one other historical novel, The Brackettville Horses, slated to be published by Love-Love Publishing sometime this year.  Book 5, A Lion Against the Wind, launched on time on the 14th April. Any or all of the 5 Tierra del Oro titles may be purchased through the links on my website

Morgen: Thank you, RLB.

RLB: Thank you, Morgen, for allowing me the opportunity to express myself!

Morgen: I love talking writing so it’s always a pleasure.

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 questions. You complete them, I tweak them where appropriate (if necessary to reflect the blog ‘clean and light’ rating) 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.

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything… and follow me on Twitter where each new posting is automatically announced. You can also read / download my eBooks and free eShorts at Smashwords, Sony Reader Store, Barnes & Noble, iTunes Bookstore, Kobo and Amazon, with more to follow. I have a new forum, friend me on Facebook, like me on Facebook, connect with me on LinkedIn, find me on Tumblr, complete my website’s Contact me page or plain and simple, email me.  I also now have a new blog creation service especially for, but not limited to, writers.

Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 words. Alternatively if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract / short chapter (ideally up to 1000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them)  on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are weekly episodes, usually released Monday mornings UK time, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.

Tuesday Tales provides a new prompt each week, the members write a story inspired by it and post it on our blogs / websites. Then we email the link and first two or three sentences to Jean Joachim. She then posts them on the Tuesday Tales blog (on a Tuesday ), gives us the link then we go out and shout about it. So, without further ado, here is my 670-worder, inspired by Roald Dahl’s Fat Chance (and I’ve given my characters the actors’ names).

They try to with the food

“Cherry Pie, John?”

“Yes, Miriam.”

“No stones?”

“No, Miriam.”

“Thank you, John.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Oh yes… it’s still warm. Well done you.”

“Shall I put the kettle on?”

“That would be lovely.”

“Right you are.”

Miriam knew the pie would taste even better with the tea but didn’t want it to get cold so took a bite and savoured it until she heard the kettle boil.

“Are you not having any tea, John?”

“I have to go back to work.”

“This late?”

“We’re a doctor down so I’ve been seeing more patients, more paperwork. Don’t wait up.”

***

Had Miriam looked out the window or waved her husband goodbye from the front door, she would have seen him turn left instead of right as he should have done to go to the surgery. Of course John knew she’d still be sitting on the sofa as she did every Monday and Thursday evening when he brought her cherry pie.

***

“Oh, John!”

“Oh, Sheila!”

“That was wonderful.”

“It was.”

“When are you going to leave Miriam?”

“Soon.”

“How soon?”

“Soon, my darling.

“You know I have a business trip next week.”

“I do and I shall miss you dreadfully.”

“You will?”

“Of course. You know I only want to be with you.”

“Then leave her.”
“I shall.”

“While I’m away. If you’ve not left her when I come back then we’re over.”

“Sheila!”

“I mean it.”

“OK.”

“OK?”

“Yes, my darling.”

“You will?”

“I will.”

“While I’m away.”

“Yes.”

“Oh, John!”

“Oh, Sheila!”

***

“Hello, McNeill.”

“Hello, Doctor Castle.”

“Do you have…”

“I do, sir. You did want this strength, didn’t you?”

“I did.”

“They’re quite lethal in the wrong hands.”

“Just as well they’re in mine.”

“Fair point. There we are then.”

“Thank you, McNeill.”

“Good day, sir.”

***

“I’m home!”

“Goodie. Do you have it?”

“I have, Miriam, still warm.”

“Thank you, dear.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Work again, tonight?”

“Not tonight, no. I thought I might go to the club though.”

“You do work so hard.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Not at all. There’s a really good program about dung beetles just about to start.”

“That’s nice dear. I’ll make you a cup of tea first though, yes?”

“Not tonight, John, not thirsty.”

“Alright then.”

“…Not hungry either,” she said when she heard the front door slam.

***

The program it turns out was less interesting than Miriam had hoped and she’d swiftly fallen asleep only to be disturbed by a visitor who hadn’t stayed long.

***

“It’s last orders, Doctor Castle, would you like another?”

“Better not, Derek.”

“Will we be seeing you tomorrow for the bridge match?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll know better when I get home.”

“Not a problem, Doctor Castle. Have a good night, sir.”

“Thank you, Derek.”

***

John Castle quietly let himself into his house and crept into the lounge. He smiled when he saw his wife sprawled across the sofa, eyes firmly shut. He looked at the coffee table and saw no pie.

He was leaning over her when her eyes sprang open and she screamed. He backed away just as violently.

“John! What were you doing?”

“Oh God! Er… sorry Miriam. I thought I saw…”

“What?”

“I don’t know, something moving, I’m not sure.”

“Where?”

“I think it’s gone.”

“Thank goodness.”

“Was your pie, nice?”

“I don’t know.”

“Oh? You’ve not eaten it yet?”

“I wasn’t hungry.”

“Never mind. You could have it now. I’ll put the kettle on.”

“No need.”

“For lunch tomorrow then.”

“If you buy me another.”

“Sorry?”

“I wasn’t hungry so I gave it away.”

“Gave it away? There was someone here?”

“Only for a few minutes. Was in a hurry. Had to catch a plane.”

“Really?”

“A business trip, she said.”

John swallowed hard. “She?”

“Oh, yes. Sheila, one of your receptionists. Said she wanted an update on something…”

“And you gave her the pie?”

“I didn’t think you’d mind. I wasn’t hungry and you know what aeroplane food is like. If they don’t kill you with the turbulence, they try to with the food.”

***

The links to the earlier prompts, and resulting stories, and the forthcoming prompts can be found on this blog’s Tuesday Tales page. Do go and check out the Tuesday Tales blog – it’s a wonderful idea supported by talented writers.

So, not only can you read these stories but you could also write your own using the prompts given each week. There’s no word count limit. Single-word prompts are something I regularly give my Monday night workshop and it’s amazing how different our stories can be.

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything… and follow me on Twitter where each new posting is automatically announced. You can also read / download my eBooks and free eShorts at Smashwords, Sony Reader Store, Barnes & Noble, iTunes Bookstore, Kobo and Amazon, with more to follow. I have a new forum, friend me on Facebook, like me on Facebook, connect with me on LinkedIn, find me on Tumblr, complete my website’s Contact me page or plain and simple, email me.  I also now have a new blog creation service especially for, but not limited to, writers.

Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 words. Alternatively if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract / short chapter (ideally up to 1000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them)  on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are weekly episodes, usually released Monday mornings UK time, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.

Tuesday Tales provides a new prompt each week, the members write a story inspired by it and post it on our blogs / websites. Then we email the link and first two or three sentences to Jean Joachim. She then posts them on the Tuesday Tales blog (on a Tuesday ), gives us the link then we go out and shout about it. So, without further ado, here is my 725-worder. If you’ve been reading my Story a Day May stories you’ll recognise this from 12th May but the prompt was too perfect not to re-post this.

Hold On

No-one’s told him how he should be feeling but it’s nice… a kind of tingling.

He stares at his new neighbour. He wants to curl his mouth, if he had one, like he’s seen those pink stick things do. He thinks they’re called ‘peeple’. He’s heard one of them say “sum peeple!” but he can’t be sure. He has to call them something and they’re small, like beetles, so they’re the beetle peeple.

He doesn’t understand their language, still feels like he doesn’t belong, even after all these years.

He did once, he thought, hear familiar words, his mother tongue, but it came from a little black box. He was listening hard until one of the peeple prodded the box and it crackled, like it was in pain, then the voice was replaced by music… loud, unpleasant, not like the birds. He knows music from the birds but that doesn’t help because he can’t speak their language either.

The new neighbour’s really quiet. He’s sure he should be picking up something… maybe she’s still too young. He can’t remember how old he was when he first started sensing things… not feeling, he doesn’t feel as such, but he’s old, wise and knows how life goes – in his part of it anyway.

He’s seen thousands of peeple coming and going, using him as shade, shelter, protection… a climbing frame, until one got very high then screamed as it… ‘he’ went down very quickly. A moving white box with coloured lights came and put him, and a screaming bigger ‘she’, inside and went away making lots of noise.

He prefers it when it’s quiet, and dark, it’s cooler when it’s dark. Sometimes it gets too hot. He thinks where he’s from, originally, is colder, except he can’t really remember. He remembers a journey, going over some water but most of it was land, green like here. He thinks he was young, like his neighbour, when he arrived. It was a long time ago. When she’s old enough he’ll ask her if she remembers. There won’t be so far back for her to think.

After the white box went, some more peeple came and put a barrier around him, and big yellow squares with black squiggles he couldn’t understand but he knew what it meant; that no-one could touch him anymore, couldn’t climb, couldn’t hug.

He liked it when peeple touched him, even when they cut squiggles into him. It didn’t hurt, just tickled a little, felt nice, like they were making him their own, like he belonged.

But now he has a different kind of company, his own kind and he can’t wait for her to grow, to have someone to ‘feel’ with.

There’s that tingling again. It’s like… no, it can’t be. He tells himself not to be so silly. He knows ‘silly’ from the little peeple. They’d do funny things with their faces then tell each other not to be silly, but silly looks like a lot of fun.

It is! It… no, it can’t be… It is! A new bud!

He’d felt sick for ages, not like the little ‘he’ who’d fallen from him because ‘he’ hadn’t moved… but tired, old. It’s not like that now. It feels like when little ‘he’ started climbing, to explore, reach out… grow.

They’re taking the barrier away! He must be better. He can have peeple touch him again. He feels like being very silly today!

There’s a big ‘he’ with a large shiny stick. What’s he doing? He’s pulling a bit of… something out of it and it’s making a roaring noise, like he’d seen one of the little ‘he’s do which made a little ‘she’ scream. All the other peeple laughed but he didn’t find it funny. The little ‘she’ had looked scared. He remembered scared from when the sky grew dark, and the rain came, and there were loud noises way above them and the peeple screamed and ran to him, and he made them feel safe.

Hey! He’s cutting squiggles into him, making him his own. It’s not unpleasant but it’s not stopping, he must really like him.

He feels all wobbly, wants to put his branches out to balance himself. He felt like this when he got sick, but he doesn’t feel sick now, he feels… free. He feels… aliv…

“Timber!”

“Hold on!”

***

A couple of weeks ago the prompt was ‘pie’ and I missed it as I was on holiday. I’ve written the story and it follows later today.

The links to the earlier prompts, and resulting stories, and the forthcoming prompts can be found on this blog’s Tuesday Tales page. Do go and check out the Tuesday Tales blog – it’s a wonderful idea supported by talented writers.

So, not only can you read these stories but you could also write your own using the prompts given each week. There’s no word count limit. Single-word prompts are something I regularly give my Monday night workshop and it’s amazing how different our stories can be.

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything… and follow me on Twitter where each new posting is automatically announced. You can also read / download my eBooks and free eShorts at Smashwords, Sony Reader Store, Barnes & Noble, iTunes Bookstore, Kobo and Amazon, with more to follow. I have a new forum, friend me on Facebook, like me on Facebook, connect with me on LinkedIn, find me on Tumblr, complete my website’s Contact me page or plain and simple, email me.  I also now have a new blog creation service especially for, but not limited to, writers.

Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 words. Alternatively if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract / short chapter (ideally up to 1000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them)  on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are weekly episodes, usually released Monday mornings UK time, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.

Welcome to the third in the new series: 5pm Fiction.

Late April 2011 I discovered http://StoryADay.org and the project that is to write 31 stories in 31 days. Anyone who knows me or follows this blog, knows how passionate I am about short stories so my clichéd eyes lit up at this new marvel. And just a few days later there I was, breathing life into new characters. This went on to become (with some editing of course) my 31-story collection eBook Story A Day May 2011.

I was nearing completion of the 2012 project when I decided that I didn’t want to stop at the end of May so 5PM Fiction was born. I put a load of prompts on the 5PM Fiction page and today’s prompt was a ‘mixed bag’ (two characters, an object, a location, a dilemma, a trait), and today’s were an undertaker, a school boy, a book, a bus, the bus has broken down and claustrophobia, so here is my 655-worder.

The big black one with the space in the back

I can’t breathe… I… can’t… breathe… Help.

I want to shout but I can’t speak. It’s too hot in here. I’m going to cook. Someone, please, look at me, see what’s happening. I try to cough out the words but all I do is cough.

Yes! He’s looking… I know him! He’s Mr Taylor from that funeral place on Rawlings Terrace. He’s measuring me up for a coffin, I can tell, it’s in his eyes.

“Hello, Billy.”

Cough. “Hello…” Breathe. “Mr Taylor.”

“You don’t look very well. Are you OK?”

I decide that nodding my head is the best thing to do.

He smiles and I think he really means it. He doesn’t seem disappointed at all that I’m alright. “What are you reading?”

I look down at my book, my dad’s dictionary, and blush. He doesn’t know I’ve got it and he doesn’t like me taking things without asking, so I turn it over so Mr Taylor can’t see the front.

“Just a school book,” I lie and he nods.

“Are you sure you’re OK?”

I nod again and add a smile this time.

“OK. Well… they’ll get the bus running in a minute. And if they don’t they’ll send another bus.”

Oh God. We’re going to have to wait? That could take hours.

Breathe. Mum tells me not to panic, that I should breathe. I’m trying, but all I do is gulp air like a goldfish and some of it goes down the wrong way so I cough again.

I want Mr Taylor to return to his seat but he doesn’t.

“Do you mind if I sit next to you, Billy?”

I shake my head. Mum says I shouldn’t talk to strangers but Dad knows him, pointed him out to me once, so he must be alright and there are lots of people around.

“It’ll be nice to have the company, if I’m honest,” he says to me. If he’s honest? Does that mean he’s not? If they do ‘get the bus running’, will he follow me if I get off alone? Will he…

“Makes me nervous,” he continues.

I don’t know what he’s got to be nervous about, unless he doesn’t travel on the bus very often. He’s not been on mine before. “Nervous? Why?”

“Can you keep a secret?”

I look at my dad’s dictionary and nod.

“I don’t like confined spaces,” he tells me.

I want to open my dictionary but don’t. “What’s confined?” I ask him.

“It’s being in a small space when you want to be in a big one.”

It’s nice to know he feels like I do so I grin like my dad does when my mum’s just kissed him. “But this is a bus, it’s big.”

“I know,” he says and laughs.

“And you’re not alone,” I add.

He nods. I feel a bit better but he doesn’t look so good now. I wait for him to carry on but he doesn’t. “Why did you get on the bus if you don’t like being here?” I know it’s a silly question because I did the same thing but I have to because Mum and Dad are working.

“My car’s being serviced.”

“The big black one with the space in the back for…”

He laughs again. “Yes, Billy, the hearse. I’m on my way to collect it now.”

I’m too young for a car but I know Mum and Dad love driving theirs. It must be horrible for him not to have one, especially one that’s so special.

The bus wobbles and someone behind me cheers. Mr Taylor looks happy too and makes me feel good.

“The garage is on the way to your house, Billy, I could give you a lift, save you being on this thing the whole journey.”

I’ve always wanted to travel in a hearse. Hearse. Confined. I’ve learned two new words today. I don’t think my dad will mind at all.

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything… and follow me on Twitter where each new posting is automatically announced. You can also read / download my eBooks and free eShorts at Smashwords, Sony Reader Store, Barnes & Noble, iTunes Bookstore, Kobo and Amazon, with more to follow. I have a new forum, friend me on Facebook, like me on Facebook, connect with me on LinkedIn, find me on Tumblr, complete my website’s Contact me page or plain and simple, email me.  I also now have a new blog creation service especially for, but not limited to, writers.

Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 words. Alternatively if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract / short chapter (ideally up to 1000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them)  on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are weekly episodes, usually released Monday mornings UK time, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.

Morgen: Hello, Chris. Please tell us something about yourself, where you’re based, and how you became involved in the writing industry.

Chris: Hi, Morgen. I am based in the UK and since a teenager when my Nana Simmons gave me a couple of Agatha Christie’s to read I have been a huge crime fiction fan. When I was a young there wasn’t the great choice teens have today. There wasn’t such a thing as ‘Teen Reads’! So I was very bored with the limited choice. Then Nan gave me the Christie’s and the rest as they say is history! I became involved in the industry because I was fed up with the lack of good reviews out there for crime fiction.

Morgen: It’s my favourite genre and I’m surprised when I don’t have a body in one of my stories, however loosely connected. Your website is http://www.crimesquad.com – how did that come about?

Chris: It was started in 2004 when I talked about it with different people. One conversation led to another and I began to put together a ‘Wish List’ of what I would like to find on my version of the ideal crime fiction website. Then in early 2005 I started putting it together and in March 2005 Crimesquad.com was launched upon the world.

Morgen: One of your features is Author of the Month – how do you choose who to feature, and of all the authors you’ve spoken to, does anyone stand out?

Chris: I have a fantastic team of reviewers who will come to me and tell me about a great book they’ve read and that they’d think it a great one for ‘Author’ or ‘Fresh Blood’. I also keep my ear to the ground and listen to what books people in the industry are getting excited about. I also like to mix it up a bit so that all publishers (big and small) get a bite of the cherry.

Morgen: You just mentioned Fresh Blood which features new authors – do you pick them or do they approach you (or perhaps via a third party)?

Chris: ‘Fresh Blood’ is a very heavily contested page – THE most heavily contested page of the site. With the number of visitors to Crimesquad.com and with our standing within the industry, they know that any new author who doesn’t necessarily have a huge marketing budget will be instantly seen on Crimesquad.com. And if it is also on ‘Fresh Blood’ then they feel that it automatically has a seal of approval from a crime review website like Crimesquad.com. (Those are not my words BTW – but from different people in the publishing industry).

Morgen: Reviews, as you say, is another aspect of your site – with all the books to choose from, what grabs you to review the ones you do?

Chris: My team of reviewers who include Helen, Sylvia, Sarah, Michael, Graham and Kirstie thankfully all like different sub-genres within crime fiction. So I am blessed that they know what they like and that I am going to bring something new and fresh to the table every month and that there will be such a mixed bag that there will be something for everyone who visits Crimesquad.com.

Morgen: They’re pretty generous, with everything currently reviewed receiving 4 or 5*s (I love your magnifying glass rating system), have there been any books to your knowledge that they really didn’t like?

Chris: I wouldn’t call it ‘generous’ – just what books get us reviewers excited. I do not decide on the ‘Spyglass’ ratings. That is down to the individual. We have scored some threes but never a two or a one (or even a zero!). The whole point of Crimesquad.com has always been to ‘promote’ crime fiction. I want to tell our visitors out there what is good and current and fresh. We don’t review with rose-tinted glasses. We will say if something in the book jarred or we weren’t quite convinced by the conclusion – but there will always be the positives. Whenever a new reviewer comes on board I tell that exactly what I have written here. I want to PROMOTE crime fiction – there are enough places you can go to who are more than happy to rip a piece of work to shreds, to tell you how crap a book is and fill their site with negativity. We read plenty of stuff that doesn’t float our boat or is so-so. In those instances we simply don’t review it. I want to get our readers buying those great, shiny new books. Only the other day I got an email from a guy who came to Crimesquad.com and bought three books we had reviewed. For me, that is what it is all about.

Morgen: You’re absolutely right because listing books that no-one should buy would be wasting your and their time and readers want recommendations, don’t they. Do you have any tips for anyone who’d like to become a reviewer?

Chris: Be honest – but not too honest that you become unkind. If you hate a book, put it aside and read the next one. The next one may blow your socks off where the previous one left you cold. And if you’re going to review either of them let it be the one that excited you and wouldn’t let you go. Spread the word! With all the debate about e-books vs. the printed word and literacy, we need to give people a good reason to get people in bookshops or downloading on to their e-reader. And that is with honest reviews.

Morgen: I enjoyed your Classic Crime section – apart from the language used and police procedures, are there differences are between crime writing of the early 20th Century and now?

Chris: There are masses of differences. In Christie’s day DNA hadn’t even be thought of. There wasn’t a CCTV camera on every corner of every street. You couldn’t find a killer with a simple piece of fluff. Then it really was a matter for the ‘little grey cells’ whether you were Poirot or not. In the Golden Era characters were sacrificed for the sake of the plot. As crime fiction developed in the 50’s / 60’s the lives of the people became as important as the plot. Practitioners of this were excellent writers like Celia Fremlin and Margaret Millar who wrote exceptional crime novels in the 50’s both of which won the Edgar for Best Crime Novel. Millar in 1955 for ‘Beast in View’ and Fremlin in 1959 for ‘The Hours Before Dawn’. Both excellent books. I have recently written a piece about The Heritage of Crime Fiction for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate which is on the 19th – 22nd July and is a must for any crime fiction fan.

Morgen: I’d love to go to that, hopefully next year. You also have an Events listing – do you manage to get to many of them?

Chris: Thankfully I don’t live too far out of London so I can get to a number of events. It is always good to meet the authors as well as catch up on news from the publishers.

Morgen: I’d go to everything if I could. Now I don’t have a day job it’ll certainly be easier, just the small matter of affording them all. Are you involved in any competitions?

Chris: Not at the moment but it is something I am currently exploring.

Morgen: I’m sure it would be popular. You write as well – is this in the crime genre too?

Chris: I have written a novel which ISN’T crime fiction and is being looked at by an agent. I am currently writing some crime short stories, though for an e-book.

Morgen: Oh good luck with your novel (and your shorts, of course), do let me know how you get on and I can add it as an update to this posting. eBooks are pretty easy to do but give me a shout if you get stuck, although I’m sure you have loads of people who would help you. Have you had anything else published to-date?

Chris: I haven’t had anything published. I am one of those terrible writers who thinks that anything they write isn’t good enough. However, in recent years I have decided that won’t get my work in print so I have a few projects that are currently in progress.

Morgen: I’m not great at submissions, I keep writing but rarely send anything out so I only have 28 rejections, less acceptances sadly but I’ll be working on that this year with my shorts to magazines, online etc… and I’d like to do more guest blogging and interviews on others’ blogs (in case anyone reading this would like to ask me ). Do you write every day? Do you ever suffer from writer’s block?

Chris: I try to write every day but work, Crimesquad.com take precedence so sometimes writing takes a back seat. No, if anything I am the opposite. I have to curb myself from writing too much. And my head is always full of ideas so I want to get on to the next book / short story whilst still writing the current one!

Morgen: I’m the same. I’ve been writing a short story every day since May 1st (Story a Day May then 5PM Fiction) so 33 stories so far (34 as at 5pm today ) and it’s great, hard work, but great. Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Chris: I have tried many different ways from meticulous plotting to simply running with it. The one I feel comfortable with is having an outline / sketch and then seeing if I keep to the path or go off in a different direction. For me, too much plotting made me feel too constraint. I know it works for others and talking to many writers they all have a different approach to writing.

Morgen: Again I’m the same. I plotted more for my first novel (a lad lit about a hitman, which I plan to eBook this year) but then realised that the characters took over so have plotted less with each one – I’ve written four and a half and will be doing another this November for NaNoWriMo). What’s your least favourite aspect of your writing life?

Chris: It is when you get to a point in the book and you begin to doubt yourself. Many writers, even the big sellers have that ‘moment’. Their advice is to simply work through it and believe in yourself.

Morgen: Because it’s going to be a first draft, so no need to worry until it’s done and you have to go back through it by which time you’ve (hopefully) loved the story and found it all hangs together. What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Chris: Keep writing! As long as you have that fire in your belly you can create great fiction.

Morgen: I do. If you could invite three people from any era to dinner, who would you choose and what would you cook (or hide the takeaway containers)?

Chris: That’s a difficult one. I’d like Agatha Christie as it was her book, ‘Sad Cypress’ which got me on the crime fiction road. I know it has been well documented she was painfully shy but it would be nice to have her at my table. Oscar Wilde would be my second choice as he was so witty and acerbic and went through such trials during his life. A great talent cut short by a close-minded society. My third choice would be the novelist, Margaret Millar. She wrote some great crime fiction and really pushed the envelope by writing about taboo subjects like race and homosexuality in her novels during the 50’s. Plus she was a screenwriter in Hollywood and I am sure she will have some VERY interesting tales to tell about the Golden Era of the silver screen. And can I be cheeky and have a fourth guest? Eartha Kitt who was an amazing woman who went through so much adversity during her lifetime. She’d be by the piano purring away with that divine voice of hers.

Morgen: As it’s Eartha you could definitely have a fourth, she’s great… I’d get her to purr all the way through the meal. Is there a word, phrase or quote you like?

Chris: I have a week where I use a word and try to put it in a sentence. This week’s word is ‘umbrage’. Don’t ask me why – it just popped in to my head!

Morgen: It’s a great word. Are you involved in anything else writing-related other than your website and writing?

Chris: I am currently a judge for the John Creasey / New Blood CWA Dagger for first published debut crime novel. It has been a great honour being a judge for this award as new writers are and always have been my passion. It is always wonderful to welcome someone new to the party! Also, I will be moderating at Crimefest this year, which is a great honour for me. Again, I will be interviewing five fresh, debut authors.

Morgen: How wonderful. I hope you’re there when I go. What do you do when you’re not writing? Any hobbies or party tricks?

Chris: Reading! I am currently reading all the time. I still have a few books for the Dagger to read and then a couple of the panellists at Crimefest. Then I have a summer of reading more – but this time I get to choose what books I want to read! I also enjoy the theatre and cinema.

Morgen: I love the cinema and have a season ticket for one of the ones in Northampton so can go as often as I like for £15 a month, it’s great. What do you think the future holds for the writing industry?

Chris: I think it is a very exciting time for publishing at the moment. Lots of people fear the e-book but I believe that like everything else it will all calm down and there will be equilibrium between the printed word and e-books. There are those that are scaremongering that the days of the printed word are numbered. I believe that books and e-books can and will live happily alongside each other / hand-in-hand. But for any new writer, e-books are a great opportunity to get your book out there. What I do advise is to get any book edited and checked professionally. If you put your book out there without making sure its flies are done up and shoe laces tied properly, then you will have to live with people saying how shoddy your work is – and no writer wants that!

Morgen: I totally agree. I have an editor and two regular first readers (as well as my writing groups) and put my shorts / writing workbook on Smashwords first because of the daunting 70-something page style guide but it turned out just to be thorough and after that Amazon was a breeze – I’d also recommend doing it that way round as Smashwords provide free ISBN numbers which Amazon asks for. I’m doing a talk on the subject at one of my writing groups in a couple of weeks which will (hopefully) be fun. Your site is http://www.crimesquad.com – is there anywhere else where can we find out about you and your work?

Chris: I think one website is enough! I rather it focus on the books than be about me, really. When publishers and writers sing Crimesquad’s praises I get quite embarrassed. Maybe when I’ve printed my own book I will have my own website – for now Crimesquad.com suffices.

Morgen: I know what you mean. It’s lovely when people say good things about this site (which I’m very fortunate that they often do), it makes the late nights and early mornings worth it. Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

Chris: I’d like to mention my exceptional team of reviewers – Helen, Sylvia, Sarah, Michael, Graham and Kirstie. I have been blessed to find so many great people who have become great friends as well. Plus, they are as intense and as passionate about crime fiction as me – so I don’t feel quite so alone anymore!

Morgen: I’m lucky that I love being a solitary writer (although I have a dog and a new lodger so not alone) and I’ve made so many friends through my blog, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter etc. that I can’t imagine feeling lonely. Thank you, Chris. It’s been great ‘meeting’ you and hopefully our paths will cross in real life before too long.

Chris Simmons conceived and created Crimesquad.com seven years ago. It was his passion for crime fiction, in particular debut novels that started this path. With ‘Fresh Blood’, Crimesquad.com has highlighted many new and exciting writers who have gone on to receive awards for their first novels (Stef Penney, Ryan David Jahn, Louise Penny amongst others). Due to this passion Chris was approached by the CWA and is currently a judge on the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger for best crime fiction debut.

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 questions. You complete them, I tweak them where appropriate (if necessary to reflect the blog ‘clean and light’ rating) 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.

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything… and follow me on Twitter where each new posting is automatically announced. You can also read / download my eBooks and free eShorts at Smashwords, Sony Reader Store, Barnes & Noble, iTunes Bookstore, Kobo and Amazon, with more to follow. I have a new forum, friend me on Facebook, like me on Facebook, connect with me on LinkedIn, find me on Tumblr, complete my website’s Contact me page or plain and simple, email me.  I also now have a new blog creation service especially for, but not limited to, writers.

Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 words. Alternatively if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract / short chapter (ideally up to 1000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them)  on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are weekly episodes, usually released Monday mornings UK time, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.

Many people have a single lifetime career. Not Dale. She is into her fourth. While raising her young family, Dale obtained her RN degree and practiced psychiatric nursing. She parlayed her medical and extensive sales experience to become CEO of her Destination Management Company which for twenty years organized conventions, corporate events, and meetings for national and international guests. Dale conducted numerous educational seminars and assisted in developing a tourism college degree program.  During her fourth career, she penned her memoir and has immersed herself in the marketing process. Through her speaking engagements, she hopes to help others overcome difficult circumstances based upon her own personal life experiences. She loves her life and is appreciative of all the good things that have come her way. Dale resides in Boston and Phoenix with her husband.

And now from the author herself:

In 1950s Jewish Boston, my mother established a home-based business as a prostitute to remedy her husband’s inability to provide for his family. At age six, I was answering the front door for johns. Neighbor children were forbidden to play with me and even the Girl Scouts asked me to leave. What a terrible irony, in a family with so many strange and twisted realities, my gay sister, “coming out” at age 16, was the only thing my parents focused on as contemptible.

My memoir, The Hooker’s Daughter – A Boston Family’s Saga, is a story of survival, driven by a strong will and an ability to extract positive qualities from a dysfunctional life, punctuated by immoral and illegal behaviors. I was able to reconcile the reality of my environment with what Iwished it to be. My resulting tenacity enabled me to cope with my terminally ill husband and widowhood at age 37. My unconditional love for my mother challenges the reader to examine beyond that which is socially acceptable and identify that which is universal.

This memoir could have been a dark book, “A Mommy Dearest.” But, instead of condemnation, this is a story of love, forgiveness, and triumph over one’s demons. To paraphrase the German philosopher, Nietzsche “What does not destroy me, makes me stronger.”

I grew up in Mattapan, a Boston suburb, which was a highly Jewish populated neighborhood. Like other first and second generation immigrant families, we clustered together embracing our way of life. There were the comforting landmarks and events:  lots of synagogues, kosher butchers, delis, bakeries, and holiday celebrations on Rosh Hashana and Passover. Yiddish was spoken on the streets and in homes. However, I felt terribly isolated, a misfit and without a support system

The Torah pasha, Lech Lecha, (Genesis) commands us to transcend ourselves to experience our “real self.” As I matured, the time came to “cut the psychological umbilical cord,” in order to discover what I was capable of.

One day, I read there was a writing group meeting in a back room of Panera’s bakery and decided to go. At first, I wrote the assignments that the leader gave the ten of us, but eventually I asked if I could write my own pieces instead. They were struck with my story and encouraged me to consider it as a serious endeavor to be shared with others.

I could have put my writings in the drawer but there was something more gnawing at me! I felt that I could offer something to people who are suffering and struggling.  I wanted to show that it is possible to overcome dire circumstances and inspire people not to be victims. As the Torah says: “If you save one person, you save the world.”

Many people have asked me about the process of getting my book published. My experience has been very positive and I had a great story to tell. It took me a number of drafts to understand that a memoir need not be a chronological listing. Instead it should absorb the reader like a good novel while maintaining the truth.

I had many discussions with my husband about what should or should not be in the book.  He said, “There is too much in there. No one will believe it. Decide what is important to make a point and leave the rest out.” But I said, “It happened to me. I am telling the story.” Well, it is very hard for an author, especially a memoir writer, to leave anything out. The final product left out a lot.

The growth of E-books and self-publishing has significantly changed the publishing industry. Today, a traditional publishing house requires the author to do the majority of the marketing and publicity. Unless you have a platform and your name is Clinton or Bush, it is difficult to obtain any assistance. Ultimately, I decided to self-publish. This gave me more control of the process.

Writing the book is only the beginning. Marketing can absorb a great deal of time and effort. I love marketing! I built my original business from nothing and understand that personal contact and follow thru is very important. What I didn’t know was that it should start at least 6 months prior to publication.

If you get published, I assure you, you will enjoy the journey. The activity will bring you rewards that you never anticipated.

I agree. The only thing that comes close to seeing your name in print is creating the work in the first place. Thank you, Dale. 

Print copies of Dale’s memoir are available on her website, www.TheHookersDaughter.com, from the publisher Infinity Publishing, and from Amazon.com. Ebooks are also available for Kindle, Nook, iBook from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes and vendors such as Smashwords and Goodreads. Dale can be contacted by email at TheHookersDaughter@Gmail.com or on Facebook.

The blog interviews will return as normal tomorrow with Author and Crime Squad website creator / host Chris Simmons – the three hundred and eighty-ninth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, biographers, agents, publishers 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 sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything… and follow me on Twitter where each new posting is automatically announced. You can also read / download my eBooks and free eShorts at Smashwords, Sony Reader Store, Barnes & Noble, iTunes Bookstore, Kobo and Amazon, with more to follow. I have a new forum, friend me on Facebook, like me on Facebook, connect with me on LinkedIn, find me on Tumblr, complete my website’s Contact me page or plain and simple, email me.  I also now have a new blog creation service especially for, but not limited to, writers.

Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 words. Alternatively if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract / short chapter (ideally up to 1000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them)  on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are weekly episodes, usually released Monday mornings UK time, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.

Late April 2011 I discovered http://StoryADay.org and the project that is to write 31 stories in 31 days. Anyone who knows me or follows this blog, knows how passionate I am about short stories so my clichéd eyes lit up at this new marvel. And just a few days later there I was, breathing life into new characters. This went on to become (with some editing of course) my 31-story collection eBook Story A Day May 2011.

I was nearing completion of the 2012 project when I decided that I didn’t want to stop at the end of May so 5PM Fiction was born. I put a load of prompts on the 5PM Fiction page and today’s was ‘weird’, so here is my 425-worder, the title of which is one of my favourite Stranglers songs.

Strange Little Girl

It wasn’t until she overheard a conversation that Lollie had ever considered herself weird. That was the word they’d used. She wasn’t very good at long words but she knew the funny ones, the weird ones.

“Weird, strange, per-cue-lee-er,” she said, thinking it great to be called any of those. Nice is boring. Sweet is what an old aunt calls you. And in half an hour hers would be looking after her while her mum and dad went out. To the cinema. Lollie wanted to go with them but they said she was too young. She was always too young, unless her mother wanted her to do something, like go to the corner shop to fetch Auntie Mildred’s favourite sweets, barley sugar. Lollie had tried one once and thought it tasted like medicine so had spat it onto her hand, and Auntie Mildred had told her off. “Lauren!” she’d said, never calling her Lollie. “You’re named after a famous actress,” she’d said once, “not an ice cream.”

But Lollie loved ice creams, especially cherry, apricot or mint, or all three.

It was while she was waiting in the queue for 100 grams from one of the jars behind the counter that she’d heard the boys talking about her. She’d turned round and realised they went to the same school. Adrian something, Peter Smith, and a third she didn’t recognise. “That Lollie’s weird,” the third said and she wondered how he knew if she didn’t know him. The other two had laughed and agreed.

She should be getting back home before her aunt arrived, but waited outside the shop until the boys came out. Feeling brave, she wanted to speak to them, ask them what they had meant.

Adrian came out first eating a packet of crisps, then Peter pouring out some Smarties on to his palm and throwing them into his mouth, tipping his head back.

Despite it being cold and almost dark, the third boy came out unwrapping an ice cream.

“I thought you didn’t like those,” Adrian said.

“Weird, you called it,” Peter added.

The other boy nodded. “I know but it’s like Marmite. Sometimes you hate it and sometimes…”

So they hadn’t meant her. She felt a little disappointed but it had made her think about herself and she liked being weird, even if for only a few minutes, so she decided she would stay weird and if her Aunt didn’t like it then that was too bad. Maybe if the boy Lollie didn’t know liked weird, they could be weird together.

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything… and follow me on Twitter where each new posting is automatically announced. You can also read / download my eBooks and free eShorts at Smashwords, Sony Reader Store, Barnes & Noble, iTunes Bookstore, Kobo and Amazon, with more to follow. I have a new forum, friend me on Facebook, like me on Facebook, connect with me on LinkedIn, find me on Tumblr, complete my website’s Contact me page or plain and simple, email me.  I also now have a new blog creation service especially for, but not limited to, writers.

Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 words. Alternatively if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract / short chapter (ideally up to 1000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them)  on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are weekly episodes, usually released Monday mornings UK time, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.

Morgen: Hello, Carol. Please tell us something about yourself, where you’re based, and how you came to be a writer.

Carol: I always wanted to be an anthropologist and / or a travel writer, but to actually earn a living I had a career in Information Technology.  Fortunately I was able to pursue my passions by traveling extensively between positions.  One of my last traveling adventures is the basis for Right Now Is Perfect.  This memoir about sailing aboard a 36-foot boat across the Pacific with my would-be soul mate concludes with the unexpected diagnosis of Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis, and the impact of progressing disability.  It was only when I became too disabled to work that I finally got serious about writing. I live in northern California with my poodle, Napoleon.

Morgen: I love his (her?) name. What genre do you generally write and have you considered other genres?

Carol: I have some deep-seated need to tell the truth and although I enjoy reading fiction, I’ve only written non-fiction.  I hope someday to be creative enough to do fiction.

Morgen: It is wonderful. The only non-fiction writing I do is about writing. What have you had published to-date? Do you write under a pseudonym?

Carol: Right Now Is Perfect: A Romance, An Adventure, The Unexpected Thereafter is my first book.  I use my middle name because there are millions named Carol Ryan, but not so many named Carol Anita Ryan.

Morgen: Good idea. There are three Morgen Baileys that I know of, online certainly, and I don’t think either of the other two write, so I’m lucky in that respect. Have you had any rejections? If so, how do you deal with them?

Carol: It took me six years to write my first book.  The first version (which was a travel narrative) was rejected without as much as a comment, by the agent I sent a sample to.  After that, I worked with a well-known writing coach for two years and totally rewrote the book.  The final version is more of a story, hopefully appealing to a broader range of readers.  The first version was very important to the process though.  It took those years to recall details that were important to get the story right.

Morgen: I don’t think you can put too much effort into getting a book right. I had planned to get my (four) novels online well before now but hopefully they’ll all be up by the end of the year. Have you won or been shortlisted in any competitions?

Carol: The cover of my book was designed by my publisher (Authority Publishing) and it won an award at the Northern California Publishers and Authors competition in 2011.

My book trailer also won an award.  It was created by a talented friend.

Morgen: Oh yay, well done. Do you have an agent? Do you think they’re vital to an author’s success?

Carol: I don’t have an agent.  Maybe that’s the problem!

Morgen: Are your books available as eBooks? Were you involved in that process at all? Do you read eBooks or is it paper all the way?

Carol: Yes. I submitted my book to Smashwords.com and did the formatting myself so it is available in all major eBook formats (I also created the Kindle format).  I have a Kindle and I like to read books on it, mainly because it is physically hard for me to hold a book these days.  I love real books, but have learned to love eBooks for their advantages.

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

Carol: I am doing the marketing myself.  I write a blog on my website (www.RightNowIsPerfect.com), have a Facebook site (https://www.facebook.com/#!/Right.Now.Is.Perfect), and participate in online book discussions.

Morgen: Do you have a favourite of your books or characters? If any of your books were made into films, who would you have as the leading actor/s?

Carol: Jeff Bridges would definitely play the antagonist, Bill, in Right Now Is Perfect!

Morgen: Oh yes, good choice. Did you have any say in the title / covers of your book(s)? How important do you think they are?

Carol: I gave input into the cover design and chose from three excellent options.  I came up with the title myself—but asked for feedback before finalizing it.  My working title was Don’t Wait and I loved it.  Some advised against a negative title, so I changed it.

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

Carol: I’m thinking about Overland to Nepal: the Diaries from a much earlier time in my life.

Morgen: Do you manage to write every day? Do you ever suffer from writer’s block?

Carol: On a daily basis I do short marketing related writing, but it takes me a while to make myself write more seriously.

Morgen: Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Carol: I worked very hard to make every word/sentence count and relate to my ‘prove’ statement.  Every plot twist in my book had to refer back to a cause/effect sequence I wrote prior to beginning to write.

Morgen: Do you have a method for creating your characters, their names and what do you think makes them believable?

Carol: I work in non-fiction and I use real first names (unless it would be too revealing).  People who know my characters have found them spot-on.

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

Carol: I do editing, but I also use editors.  For me it’s essential.

Morgen: I think every author should even if they’re seasoned. We are usually too close to our own work to spot sometimes silly little mistakes and my editor / first readers are worth their weight. Do you have to do much research?

Carol: I do fact checking.  If I say something factual it has to be right.

Morgen: Because if it’s not, someone will point it out. What point of view do you find most to your liking?

Carol: I find first person easiest. I tried writing my book in third person and as fictional, but I couldn’t do it.

Morgen: That’s interesting. I write first and third person fiction but I have changed tense on a story before and it’s surprising how different it is. Do you have pieces of work that you think will never see light of day?

Carol: Sure.

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

Carol: Actually trying to sell books is my least favourite thing.  Marketing can be very diverting and time consuming.

Morgen: Can’t it just. What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Carol: Keep at it.  Publish on Smashwords to get feedback.  Use an editor!

Morgen: I do… and I do. If you could invite three people from any era to dinner, who would you choose and what would you cook (or hide the takeaway containers)?

Carol: Bernini (who did so many artistic masterpieces such as Saint Teresa of Avila), because he could tell me about beauty.  Krishnamurti because he could tell me about truth. And Bill Clinton because he would be so interesting to talk to.  I’d make a fabulous eggplant dish I love.  There would be red wine and strong coffee too.  What a great idea!

Morgen: Is there a word, phrase or quote you like?

Carol: You don’t know what you don’t know.

Morgen: That’s very true. What do you do when you’re not writing?

Carol: These days my life is very sleek due to disability from MS.  So I don’t have much of a non-writing life.

Morgen: I’m blessed with pretty good health (sciatica) but still don’t have much of a non-writing life. Are you on any forums or networking sites? If so, how valuable do you find them?

Carol: I’m on Goodreads.com and Linkedin.com. They are interesting and I’ve learned a lot from them.

Morgen: LinkedIn is probably where we met. What do you think the future holds for a writer?

Carol: I think being able to think and write clearly will always be valuable, although the future is hard to envision.

Morgen: eBooks certainly seems to be the direction most people are going in. Where can we find out about you and your work?

Carol: www.RightNowIsPerfect.com (recent articles include Flower power and memory) and YouTube book trailer http://youtu.be/bMuSXQZkaus.

Morgen: Thank you, Carol.

I then invited Carol to include an extract of her writing…

This week’s dispiriting news from Afghanistan, that Qurans were ‘accidentally’ burned, infuriates me.  I start with the ridiculous assertion that a holy book of Islam can be ‘accidentally’ burned.  It’s like we invaded the Vatican and ‘accidentally’ desecrated communion hosts.  No one in any capacity in Afghanistan should be that dumb, or that culturally unaware.  It’s not like it’s a big secret that Moslems don’t like the Quran being burnt (deaths have recently resulted from a previous case of Quran burning).  Everyone in Afghanistan must know the basics of Afghan culture and how Islam is practiced in the country we have invaded and now occupy.  We have spent billions of dollars and lost thousands of U.S. lives and now the whole enterprise may be lost by an Afghan Spring of our own ‘accidental’ making.

The other thing about this disaster is the role of cultural ignorance that many Americans like to celebrate.  We can’t afford to be an international player if we are going to remain tone deaf to other cultures’ values.  Why do so many politicians and commentators see this form of knowledge as weakness?

Although I seldom agree with Newt Gingrich, he may be onto something.  We should take this Afghan uprising against U.S. and NATO occupation as the opportunity to leave Afghanistan.  Bin Laden is dead; we’ve done all we can do to rid Afghanistan of Al Qaida, let’s take this opportunity to get out now!

***

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 questions. You complete them, I tweak them where appropriate (if necessary to reflect the blog ‘clean and light’ rating) 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.

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything… and follow me on Twitter where each new posting is automatically announced. You can also read / download my eBooks and free eShorts at Smashwords, Sony Reader Store, Barnes & Noble, iTunes Bookstore, Kobo and Amazon, with more to follow. I have a new forum, friend me on Facebook, like me on Facebook, connect with me on LinkedIn, find me on Tumblr, complete my website’s Contact me page or plain and simple, email me.  I also now have a new blog creation service especially for, but not limited to, writers.

Unfortunately, as I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t review books but I have a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 words. Alternatively if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract / short chapter (ideally up to 1000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me reading it / talking about and critiquing it (I send you the transcription afterwards so you can use the comments or ignore them)  on my ‘Bailey’s Writing Tips’ podcast, then do email me. They are weekly episodes, usually released Monday mornings UK time, interweaving the recordings between the red pen sessions with the hints & tips episodes. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.