Billy Lindsay - 1 September 2024
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This week it is my pleasure to interview Billy Lindsay. Would you please introduce yourself to my readers, Billy and share something about your life.
I am a retired mail carrier self-publishing my third book. An illustrated e-book Set in NOLA titled, Mardi Gras Ripper.
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
I was bored from reading every ghost, alien, and Bigfoot story I could find Sitting in a small-town library 40 years ago, I decided to browse the ancient book Sections. I found a brief description of a chap called Springheeled Jack that was different from anything I had found. The story brewed in my head several years until I decided to try my hand at storytelling. Historical Fiction had not yet appeared as a category and I had the beginning and end of a tale involving Springheeled Jack. I worked on the ‘bones’ of the story for 10 yrs and produced my first book, The Bones of Jack. I followed up with a sequel, Curse of a Devil, after another 7 years of research, sweat, and tears.
Do you always write in the same genre or do you mix it up?
My latest work is a departure from old Springy, since I decided to give up on my obsession with him. It is a murder/mystery/thriller adult fiction with lots of history, culture, and local lore.
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
Both. There has to be a main idea for me and then an outline of chapters that can change order, branch off, be added to while the tale unfolds. Waking up in the middle of the night was frequent occurrence to write notes or type.
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
I would refer you to sellers such as B&N, Apple, Smashwords, etc. that provide excerpts on their sites such as a sneak peaks and such.
Who is your favourite character and why?
Before my latest book, ol’ Springy was No. 1. Now it is a tossup between 2 characters in Mardi Gras Ripper. The villain, who is very complex and a lead investigator, Erzulie Renou, a Creole detective from Nola. She is tough, smart, attractive, charismatic, and determined to stop the villain.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write? My first 2 gave me pleasure. My latest one was therapy for a traumatic several years during a divorce and an estate legal battle to adhere to the conditions of my sister’s will.My whole family had other ideas for her money and possessions. They were ruthless, demonstrating unconceivable acts against me because I was the Executor. I felt a weight lifted from my shoulders in publishing the book. A few of the experiences of the estate battle are incorporated in various forms throughout the chapters and many of my life experiences too.
What is the best marketing tip you have received?
I am still looking for it.
How would you describe yourself?
At this point in my life I try to psychoanalyze myself and how I arrived where I am now. As I review situations I was in and motivations of others, I put the pieces together as to how things turned out for me.
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
Try to stay limber and fit: swim, bike, landscaping, eating healthy(gardening). I have 8 acres to work. I acted in community theatre about 14 years until I felt there was no more challenge to the roles or nothing different was being tried. I have also done art in the past. My first oil painting of Marilyn Monroe is featured in a book, Marilyn in Art, by Roger Taylor and a 7 foot fiberglass painted figure resides in either the Red Skelton Museum or the Hollywood Shop in Vincennes, Ind.
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
If I had a bestselling book, I would go to several different climates or regions.
If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
The time a new kitten (Luna) decided the Christmas tree needed a new topper ornament. She knocked it off and perched there during her naps for quite a while.
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
I mainly read non-fiction or how to books. I like to learn new things. Currently Rehashing my science courses from HS/college. Reading 3 books on Biology, Chemistry experiments, and Forensic experiments.
Do you have your own website?
Not yet.
Are you working on a new book at the moment? I want to write about my experiences as an Executor of an estate. It would be a cautionary warning to those with legal obligations after a death. A large portion of my offices is still taken up with boxes of paper from unending court sessions, journals, and evidence. My sister was married to a Cardiologist who had died before her, so I essentially inherited a Doctor and his wife (with many interests) estate. I would title it: The Third Beneficiary, No Respect for the Dead. It would require the help of a literary lawyer, since those still alive would all file suits against me if any opening were apparent.
Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?
I occasionally run discounts through Draft2Digital on different book sites such as B&N, Smashwords, the Amazone. I haven’t done a book signing for years. The last one I tried was at a bookstore which closed its doors the week before I was scheduled and the owner kept my book and an advertising poster and left the area. Libraries in the area are unfriendly to hostile toward me for some reason.
I am a retired mail carrier self-publishing my third book. An illustrated e-book Set in NOLA titled, Mardi Gras Ripper.
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
I was bored from reading every ghost, alien, and Bigfoot story I could find Sitting in a small-town library 40 years ago, I decided to browse the ancient book Sections. I found a brief description of a chap called Springheeled Jack that was different from anything I had found. The story brewed in my head several years until I decided to try my hand at storytelling. Historical Fiction had not yet appeared as a category and I had the beginning and end of a tale involving Springheeled Jack. I worked on the ‘bones’ of the story for 10 yrs and produced my first book, The Bones of Jack. I followed up with a sequel, Curse of a Devil, after another 7 years of research, sweat, and tears.
Do you always write in the same genre or do you mix it up?
My latest work is a departure from old Springy, since I decided to give up on my obsession with him. It is a murder/mystery/thriller adult fiction with lots of history, culture, and local lore.
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
Both. There has to be a main idea for me and then an outline of chapters that can change order, branch off, be added to while the tale unfolds. Waking up in the middle of the night was frequent occurrence to write notes or type.
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
I would refer you to sellers such as B&N, Apple, Smashwords, etc. that provide excerpts on their sites such as a sneak peaks and such.
Who is your favourite character and why?
Before my latest book, ol’ Springy was No. 1. Now it is a tossup between 2 characters in Mardi Gras Ripper. The villain, who is very complex and a lead investigator, Erzulie Renou, a Creole detective from Nola. She is tough, smart, attractive, charismatic, and determined to stop the villain.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write? My first 2 gave me pleasure. My latest one was therapy for a traumatic several years during a divorce and an estate legal battle to adhere to the conditions of my sister’s will.My whole family had other ideas for her money and possessions. They were ruthless, demonstrating unconceivable acts against me because I was the Executor. I felt a weight lifted from my shoulders in publishing the book. A few of the experiences of the estate battle are incorporated in various forms throughout the chapters and many of my life experiences too.
What is the best marketing tip you have received?
I am still looking for it.
How would you describe yourself?
At this point in my life I try to psychoanalyze myself and how I arrived where I am now. As I review situations I was in and motivations of others, I put the pieces together as to how things turned out for me.
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
Try to stay limber and fit: swim, bike, landscaping, eating healthy(gardening). I have 8 acres to work. I acted in community theatre about 14 years until I felt there was no more challenge to the roles or nothing different was being tried. I have also done art in the past. My first oil painting of Marilyn Monroe is featured in a book, Marilyn in Art, by Roger Taylor and a 7 foot fiberglass painted figure resides in either the Red Skelton Museum or the Hollywood Shop in Vincennes, Ind.
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
If I had a bestselling book, I would go to several different climates or regions.
If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
The time a new kitten (Luna) decided the Christmas tree needed a new topper ornament. She knocked it off and perched there during her naps for quite a while.
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
I mainly read non-fiction or how to books. I like to learn new things. Currently Rehashing my science courses from HS/college. Reading 3 books on Biology, Chemistry experiments, and Forensic experiments.
Do you have your own website?
Not yet.
Are you working on a new book at the moment? I want to write about my experiences as an Executor of an estate. It would be a cautionary warning to those with legal obligations after a death. A large portion of my offices is still taken up with boxes of paper from unending court sessions, journals, and evidence. My sister was married to a Cardiologist who had died before her, so I essentially inherited a Doctor and his wife (with many interests) estate. I would title it: The Third Beneficiary, No Respect for the Dead. It would require the help of a literary lawyer, since those still alive would all file suits against me if any opening were apparent.
Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?
I occasionally run discounts through Draft2Digital on different book sites such as B&N, Smashwords, the Amazone. I haven’t done a book signing for years. The last one I tried was at a bookstore which closed its doors the week before I was scheduled and the owner kept my book and an advertising poster and left the area. Libraries in the area are unfriendly to hostile toward me for some reason.
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Judit Neurink - 25 August 2024
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Judit Neurink
juditneurinkauthor.com
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This week it is my pleasure to welcome back Judit Neurink, whom I have invited to tell us about the changing of the name and cover of one of her books. But first, would you please introduce yourself to my readers, Judit and share something about your life.
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
My first book to be published was a non-fiction book about an Iranian sect that presented itself as a resistance movement, Misled Martyrs. I lived in the Netherlands and was interested in political sects, as my husband at that time had joined a socialist party which I recognized as such – but could not say much about because of him. The Iranian movement was not happy with my book, which was mostly based on stories of people who had left the movement. It got its people to go and demonstrate in front of the theatre in Amsterdam where the presentation for the book took place. And for months I had crying members on the phone telling me about the terrible misdeeds of the Iranian regime – while their leaders were as much dictators as the ones in Iran.I was very happy that years later it was translated in Arabic and Kurdish, as I found that many people in the Middle East did not see the real face of the group. Resistance is often considered through a rosy view while the truth is denied.
I know you write both fiction and non-fiction. Would you like to tell us how your time working as a journalist reporting on ISIS has influenced your writing?
That time has influenced my life and my worldview… I felt broken and disappointed, mostly because of the unimaginable things people did to each other. It was a hard time, with a lot of terrible stories I was told and a lot of broken people to deal with. A dark time, because many around me were doubting what the future would bring. It was a busy time; so much to report and so many deadlines.But as a writer it has inspired me enormously. I wrote three books about the terror group and what happened during its reign in Iraq and Syria (The war of ISIS, Slaves wives and brides and Women survive ISIS). And a novel to show how good people were inside secretly resisting and helping the kidnapped yezidi-women escape (The Good Terrorist). I am presently working on a sequel to this novel, this time focussing even more on the plight of yezidi-women still imprisoned with the group.
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
I have done both. But I find it works better with me to have an idea about the characters and the plot, but let the book flow as it wants to. I love the way it takes over, taking you into directions that you had not imagined. Sometimes you have to stop and look and perhaps steer it back a bit to keep the plot going, but usually it works for me. For fiction that is. Non-fiction needs to be planned carefully beforehand and executed much according to that plan.
Many people change their book covers, but you have also changed the title of your book, A Devil’s Child. Will you tell us what led to your decision to rename it and change the cover?
This is about the very first novel I ever wrote, and that stayed in my computer for years, then was rewritten time after time until it finally felt right. Since then, I had written quite a few other books and have become more experienced. But I guess not so much in genres and categories, for those are important when selling books in online shops like Amazon’s. And they did not quite work out with the title and the cover. A Devil’s Child also gives you the idea of something creepy, while the book is really an espionage novel with some romance and suspense. It is about a journalist, Anna, who finds out that her Iraqi husband, Karim, is really a spy, and who gets into danger when she gets pregnant from a lover. Karim kidnaps the baby, which leads to a search that takes Anna to Iraq after the fall of dictator Saddam Hussein.So that’s how I came to the new title, The Jealous Spy. And then I needed a cover to go with the title and the genre. For the first one, A Devil’s Child, it had been made in Athens, where I live, by a Greek designer. It probably works in a shop, where you see the book at its full size. But for the libraries of online shops, I needed something that jumps from the page. I asked Getcovers, a company that specializes in making covers to have a go at it, and was happy with what they came up with.Now let’s see if that finally gets the book the readers that it really deserves.
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
This is a scene from French Deception, https://a.co/d/etNNmTS, an espionage thriller I recently published under the pen name of Judit Antonia. The main character, Susan, a photographer, is in Iraqi Kurdistan to find out more about a former French lover. Following his tracks, she goes through the mountains to Iran. On the way back she spends time in the mountain camp of a resistance movement, but only is able to leave there with the help of a Kurdish woman called Shadi:
She now chooses the shepherd’s paths, which makes walking a little easier. When the sun rises behind us, we finally stop to drink water and catch our breath. It has stopped raining. Due to the clouds, the morning sky slowly turns pink and orange. We stand still, looking at the natural beauty and my Leica captures it, when the hum of an airplane becomes audible in the distance. Shadi immediately gestures: lie down! We seek the shelter of the wet bushes. I can’t get much wetter, I tell myself, shivering with cold and listening to the hum that grows louder quickly. That definitely is not a sports plane. Is it coming this way from Iran, or am I mistaken? Then the sound of dark bangs ricochets throughout the mountains. The earth shakes as explosions follow in succession. The birds that greeted the morning so cheerfully just a moment ago, have stopped abruptly. I feel for Shadi’s hand. Close together and stiffened with fear and cold, we listen to the hum above that persists. I don’t need to see it to know that the plane is circling to overfly the target once more. Once again, the ground shakes and loud sounds of explosions can be heard. As the plane noise subsides, I crawl out from under the bushes and grab my Leica. In the distance, dark gray pillars of smoke reach for the orange sky as the sun begins to break gently through the cloud cover. Just a few hours ago, we were there. In one of those huts that must now be destroyed. If not by the Iranian bombs, then at least by the explosion of the stored ammunition. Thanks to Shadi, I am still alive. Tears run down my cheeks as I hug her. How many others did not survive the bombing? Which of those men and women who shared their meal with me just yesterday have now been killed? She doesn’t give me time to think about it but pulls me back onto the shepherd’s path. ‘There’s nothing we can do for them,’ she says. ‘And we still have a long way to go. Come on, we need to move and get warm or we’ll get sick.’ I look back at the smoke that continues to curl up. Despite the heavy wet clothes, I suddenly feel strangely light. I escaped death. That feeling gets even stronger when the sun really breaks through and starts to warm my back. I just got an extra life. I am still here.
Who is your favourite character and why?
I guess I would choose Zara, who in The Jewish Bride, https://www.amazon.com/ebook/dp/B079R1J8XV, through a diary that was hidden under the ground, finds out that she is half Jewish. I love her because she is so young that she still must learn so much. What love is and what it is not, whether she is firstly Kurdish or Jewish, why her mother has so desperately hidden her roots, and what governments do to their citizens. I worked on a sequel to the book, but that has been halted because of the developments in Israel, where most of it is playing.
How would you describe yourself?
I am a person who is good at being on her own, but also loves to socialize with the right people. I am sort of proud that after moving to Athens I was able to set up a new social network there. That network is important, as it keeps me sane in the moments that I need it. Mostly I feel lucky, with a great house not too far from the sea, good friends, loads of people in different countries I connect with and work that I love. I now have the age to stop working, but I just cannot imagine not writing anymore.
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
Walking by the sea, sometimes swimming, traveling (to Iraq or the Netherlands, mostly), going to Sting concerts and sharing nice meals with friends. And I will show some friends around Kurdistan and Iraq later this year too.
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
Suspense, usually. I am not much for the sweet romantic stuff. I love Helen Fields for instance. But I also like novels that like mine, take a real situation to spin a story around, like The Women by Kristin Hannah, about women serving in Vietnam and the traumas they have to cope with afterwards.
Do you have your own website?
Yes, I have a website in English: juditneurinkauthor.com
What is the best marketing tip you have received?
I have learned that it is good to have a reader’s magnet, to get readers to sign up for your regular author’s letter. I had much fun writing a short story for that cause, about a journalist having a love affair with the president of a small Arabic state, and tried to make it suspenseful enough to get the readers interested in my other books. It’s called The President’s Mistress, and it can be read for free here: https://BookHip.com/KLALCPD
Are you working on a new book at the moment? When I last interviewed you, you had three new books in the pipeline. Have they been published yet?
Two out of three were published. The sequel to The Jewish Bride is still in the pipeline.At the moment I am working on two books next to each other, a non-fiction book about the effect of DNA-research on our lives, and a fiction book about the escape of yezidi-women from a camp in Syria where radical women keep them imprisoned in a sort of small caliphate. It is a sequel to The Good Terrorist, with many of the characters from that book reappearing.
Thanks for your questions, Rita, and listening to me! Judit
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
My first book to be published was a non-fiction book about an Iranian sect that presented itself as a resistance movement, Misled Martyrs. I lived in the Netherlands and was interested in political sects, as my husband at that time had joined a socialist party which I recognized as such – but could not say much about because of him. The Iranian movement was not happy with my book, which was mostly based on stories of people who had left the movement. It got its people to go and demonstrate in front of the theatre in Amsterdam where the presentation for the book took place. And for months I had crying members on the phone telling me about the terrible misdeeds of the Iranian regime – while their leaders were as much dictators as the ones in Iran.I was very happy that years later it was translated in Arabic and Kurdish, as I found that many people in the Middle East did not see the real face of the group. Resistance is often considered through a rosy view while the truth is denied.
I know you write both fiction and non-fiction. Would you like to tell us how your time working as a journalist reporting on ISIS has influenced your writing?
That time has influenced my life and my worldview… I felt broken and disappointed, mostly because of the unimaginable things people did to each other. It was a hard time, with a lot of terrible stories I was told and a lot of broken people to deal with. A dark time, because many around me were doubting what the future would bring. It was a busy time; so much to report and so many deadlines.But as a writer it has inspired me enormously. I wrote three books about the terror group and what happened during its reign in Iraq and Syria (The war of ISIS, Slaves wives and brides and Women survive ISIS). And a novel to show how good people were inside secretly resisting and helping the kidnapped yezidi-women escape (The Good Terrorist). I am presently working on a sequel to this novel, this time focussing even more on the plight of yezidi-women still imprisoned with the group.
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
I have done both. But I find it works better with me to have an idea about the characters and the plot, but let the book flow as it wants to. I love the way it takes over, taking you into directions that you had not imagined. Sometimes you have to stop and look and perhaps steer it back a bit to keep the plot going, but usually it works for me. For fiction that is. Non-fiction needs to be planned carefully beforehand and executed much according to that plan.
Many people change their book covers, but you have also changed the title of your book, A Devil’s Child. Will you tell us what led to your decision to rename it and change the cover?
This is about the very first novel I ever wrote, and that stayed in my computer for years, then was rewritten time after time until it finally felt right. Since then, I had written quite a few other books and have become more experienced. But I guess not so much in genres and categories, for those are important when selling books in online shops like Amazon’s. And they did not quite work out with the title and the cover. A Devil’s Child also gives you the idea of something creepy, while the book is really an espionage novel with some romance and suspense. It is about a journalist, Anna, who finds out that her Iraqi husband, Karim, is really a spy, and who gets into danger when she gets pregnant from a lover. Karim kidnaps the baby, which leads to a search that takes Anna to Iraq after the fall of dictator Saddam Hussein.So that’s how I came to the new title, The Jealous Spy. And then I needed a cover to go with the title and the genre. For the first one, A Devil’s Child, it had been made in Athens, where I live, by a Greek designer. It probably works in a shop, where you see the book at its full size. But for the libraries of online shops, I needed something that jumps from the page. I asked Getcovers, a company that specializes in making covers to have a go at it, and was happy with what they came up with.Now let’s see if that finally gets the book the readers that it really deserves.
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
This is a scene from French Deception, https://a.co/d/etNNmTS, an espionage thriller I recently published under the pen name of Judit Antonia. The main character, Susan, a photographer, is in Iraqi Kurdistan to find out more about a former French lover. Following his tracks, she goes through the mountains to Iran. On the way back she spends time in the mountain camp of a resistance movement, but only is able to leave there with the help of a Kurdish woman called Shadi:
She now chooses the shepherd’s paths, which makes walking a little easier. When the sun rises behind us, we finally stop to drink water and catch our breath. It has stopped raining. Due to the clouds, the morning sky slowly turns pink and orange. We stand still, looking at the natural beauty and my Leica captures it, when the hum of an airplane becomes audible in the distance. Shadi immediately gestures: lie down! We seek the shelter of the wet bushes. I can’t get much wetter, I tell myself, shivering with cold and listening to the hum that grows louder quickly. That definitely is not a sports plane. Is it coming this way from Iran, or am I mistaken? Then the sound of dark bangs ricochets throughout the mountains. The earth shakes as explosions follow in succession. The birds that greeted the morning so cheerfully just a moment ago, have stopped abruptly. I feel for Shadi’s hand. Close together and stiffened with fear and cold, we listen to the hum above that persists. I don’t need to see it to know that the plane is circling to overfly the target once more. Once again, the ground shakes and loud sounds of explosions can be heard. As the plane noise subsides, I crawl out from under the bushes and grab my Leica. In the distance, dark gray pillars of smoke reach for the orange sky as the sun begins to break gently through the cloud cover. Just a few hours ago, we were there. In one of those huts that must now be destroyed. If not by the Iranian bombs, then at least by the explosion of the stored ammunition. Thanks to Shadi, I am still alive. Tears run down my cheeks as I hug her. How many others did not survive the bombing? Which of those men and women who shared their meal with me just yesterday have now been killed? She doesn’t give me time to think about it but pulls me back onto the shepherd’s path. ‘There’s nothing we can do for them,’ she says. ‘And we still have a long way to go. Come on, we need to move and get warm or we’ll get sick.’ I look back at the smoke that continues to curl up. Despite the heavy wet clothes, I suddenly feel strangely light. I escaped death. That feeling gets even stronger when the sun really breaks through and starts to warm my back. I just got an extra life. I am still here.
Who is your favourite character and why?
I guess I would choose Zara, who in The Jewish Bride, https://www.amazon.com/ebook/dp/B079R1J8XV, through a diary that was hidden under the ground, finds out that she is half Jewish. I love her because she is so young that she still must learn so much. What love is and what it is not, whether she is firstly Kurdish or Jewish, why her mother has so desperately hidden her roots, and what governments do to their citizens. I worked on a sequel to the book, but that has been halted because of the developments in Israel, where most of it is playing.
How would you describe yourself?
I am a person who is good at being on her own, but also loves to socialize with the right people. I am sort of proud that after moving to Athens I was able to set up a new social network there. That network is important, as it keeps me sane in the moments that I need it. Mostly I feel lucky, with a great house not too far from the sea, good friends, loads of people in different countries I connect with and work that I love. I now have the age to stop working, but I just cannot imagine not writing anymore.
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
Walking by the sea, sometimes swimming, traveling (to Iraq or the Netherlands, mostly), going to Sting concerts and sharing nice meals with friends. And I will show some friends around Kurdistan and Iraq later this year too.
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
Suspense, usually. I am not much for the sweet romantic stuff. I love Helen Fields for instance. But I also like novels that like mine, take a real situation to spin a story around, like The Women by Kristin Hannah, about women serving in Vietnam and the traumas they have to cope with afterwards.
Do you have your own website?
Yes, I have a website in English: juditneurinkauthor.com
What is the best marketing tip you have received?
I have learned that it is good to have a reader’s magnet, to get readers to sign up for your regular author’s letter. I had much fun writing a short story for that cause, about a journalist having a love affair with the president of a small Arabic state, and tried to make it suspenseful enough to get the readers interested in my other books. It’s called The President’s Mistress, and it can be read for free here: https://BookHip.com/KLALCPD
Are you working on a new book at the moment? When I last interviewed you, you had three new books in the pipeline. Have they been published yet?
Two out of three were published. The sequel to The Jewish Bride is still in the pipeline.At the moment I am working on two books next to each other, a non-fiction book about the effect of DNA-research on our lives, and a fiction book about the escape of yezidi-women from a camp in Syria where radical women keep them imprisoned in a sort of small caliphate. It is a sequel to The Good Terrorist, with many of the characters from that book reappearing.
Thanks for your questions, Rita, and listening to me! Judit
G G Collins - 18 August 2024
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This week it is my pleasure to interview G G Collins. Would you please introduce yourself to my readers and share something about your life. My love of writing and art began early. I was the only student who didn’t groan when a term paper was assigned. In college I majored in art and minored in business (big mistake). But that’s okay the art (painting, dancing, singing & piano) served me well when I became an arts editor. I live with a man and several neurotic – and psychic – cats. Some appear in my books as my characters’ pets. It’s like keeping them forever. As a devotee of the American Southwest, I wanted to share this magical place with others. It’s called the Four Corners where the New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona state lines intersect. The area is rich with culture and geological monuments that date back thousands of years. Having been employed by a book publisher and walking a beat as a reporter for years, my two mystery series came to me naturally. The cosy series features mystery editor Taylor Browning at a Santa Fe, New Mexico book publisher. She could stay in her office and safely edit mysteries, but no, solving crimes is way more fun. In the opener, Dead Editor File, she helps bring the murderer of her boss to justice. He was found dead in his locked office. On the home front, she has to walk a careful line with her Abyssinian cat Oscar who, shall we say, runs a tight ship. Late dinner? That could mean the destruction of a roll of paper towels or the new curtains. He doesn’t get mad, he gets even. The latest, Editor Kill Fee, was recently reviewed by Publisher’s Weekly, and has been nominated for a New Mexico Book Award. It will be featured in an upcoming Strand Magazine reading list. It stars Taylor Browning and her, now, two cats, Oscar and Cheddar. She does her best with co-worker Jim to stop a chile smuggling ring with a twist, involving the disappearance of the book club president in an area called the Pecos Triangle. (Learn more about the Pecos Triangle here: https://reluctantmediumatlarge.wordpress.com/2023/04/28/new-mexicos-triangle/ In the Rachel Blackstone Paranormal Mystery series, Rachel is the Reluctant Medium. Unexpectedly endowed with spiritual powers she doesn’t want nor understand she learns she must solve mysteries of the past and present. She tried a Hopi ritual to return the dead but the wrong spirit returned. She and best friend Chloe tackle everything from the possible end of the Fourth World of the Hopi to stopping the German’s trying to highjack the recipe for the atomic bomb during the 1940s. In their latest outing (Skinwalker Medium due out in August 2024), they must stop a skinwalker who has connections to the Santa Fe Penitentiary riot of 1980. Whether you enjoy chilling paranormal mysteries/thrillers or cosy cat-inhabited puzzles, my stories deliver both. I love the American Southwest and the tribes of that region: Hopi, Navajo, Ute and the Ancestral Puebloans. We have so much to learn from them. Respect for the Earth, survival in a dry land and the love of said land. I integrate Native American rituals, traditions and beliefs into my stories. The Rachel Blackstone mysteries are infused with shamans, power animals and spirits while being grounded in real historical and contemporary issues and events. Taylor Browning cosies are more conventional and less intense with plenty of cats, tea and wine. Taylor finds she can’t edit her way out of real murder. When did you write your first book and how did it come about? While working at a book publisher reading, editing and promoting books along with doing dishes and returning manuscripts (old school), when it hit me I hadn’t read any mysteries about an editor who solves crime. So I wrote one. Do you always write in the same genre or do you mix it up? I have written both mystery series and teen novels. I remember those painful teen years and loved writing those books: Without Notice about a girl who loses her mother and learns dad has a new girlfriend. Flying Change incorporates my love of horses while growing up and facing fear. When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand? My “outline” consists of a few lines depicting how I want the book to unfold. It’s maybe a one-page series of ideas. After that, I let my characters take over, and add any issues I want to highlight, for instance, water issues in the water-challenged New Mexico or the plight of some tribal members who still don’t have running water let alone internet on their reservations. I do extensive research when it comes to Native American beliefs. It’s important to me to get it right. I don’t want to appropriate their ways. Because Santa Fe is a community of Native Americans, Spanish Americans and Anglo-Americans cultures I make an effort to include characters from all three traditions. Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books? This scene is from my upcoming book Skinwalker Medium. Rachel Blackstone has been receiving petroglyph drawings with warnings. Here, she is in the garden of a Navajo woman whose knowledge she seeks. She is the mother of Dave Chee, a park ranger at Bandelier Monument near Los Alamos. This is what happens when she hands the drawing to Mrs. Chee. Excerpt: “I believe you have a symbol you need translated,” Doba said.Rachel pulled the single white sheet of paper from her purse pocket, unfolded it and handed it to Doba.Doba immediately dropped the paper as if it had burned her hand. When it fell to the ground, the edges of the paper began to turn black and fall off as ash. They all watched in amazement as the paper continued to smoulder toward the centre.“Son,” Doba said. “Take a photo before it’s gone!”Dave was startled but pulled his cell from his jacket and quickly took several photos.Although it seemed safe in this magical yard, Rachel felt not a little frightened. Why had it not burned her hand?In an instant the paper exploded causing a rain of sparks that transformed into blackened ash floating in the air. One by one they landed on the grass.“I can tell you this,” Doba said. “The figure means prophecy. In some cases it can mean the good that comes from far-reaching wisdom; seeing what is to come. But with the added message and what just happened I would say it is a warning. This could be from a potent source. Only the most powerful witches can do what we witnessed. You must be careful. Your life and people you care about could be in danger.” Who is your favourite character and why? It has to be Rachel Blackstone, the Reluctant Medium. All she wanted to know was who killed her father. She thought she’d ask him using the Hopi ritual to return the dead. That’s when her life took a wide turn. Now she not only has her friends and co-workers in her life, but spirits, power animals and great leaders from other times. Rachel just wants to do her interviews, write her stories and get on with her life. But as her friend Chloe eventually tells her, she has been called and there is nothing she can do about it. These characters are everyday people like you and me. But they are asked to be more and they do their best to deliver. Rachel does this by traveling through time on occasion either by astral travel, event horizon or vision quest. Each adventure begins with a visit from the spirit world and she takes her cues from there. Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write? It always seems to be the one I’m currently writing. What is the best marketing tip you have received? Not everything works for every author. I’ve had some nice success buying ads in small publications. It has been hit or miss with the larger – and more expensive – online publications. Online book tours have worked well for me and I plan another one later in the year. How would you describe yourself? Primarily a storyteller, but I’ve also collected a myriad of stories in the interviews I’ve done over the years. If you do reporting you really have to be a life-long learner and I am. I can’t imagine writing a book where I didn’t learn something. I’m also the person who would like to wake up on a plane headed to a country I’ve never visited, preferably speaking a language I don’t know. What do you do when you are not writing or reading? As an arts editor, I love to watch ballet, theatre and opera. There are so many smaller community groups who produce quality entertainment. I urge people to support the arts groups as they have a difficult road of balancing budgets and still providing the best performances. Don’t forget your local art house cinema. Travel has always been important to me, although the pandemic certainly put a crimp in that. Being out in nature is lovely when I can do it. If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us? Yes, I have shared my life with two horses, several dogs and 16 cats – not all at once! Early on we had an Abyssinian – who later became Oscar in my cosy series. Cleverly, he escaped the house one day and was stung on his muzzle by a bee or wasp. After a quick visit to his veterinarian we brought him home and placed kibble in his bowl. He turned that bowl over twice before the cat-illiterate people finally realized he needed soft food because his mouth hurt. We had to laugh at ourselves. Lesson learned: cats can communicate. But we have to be “listening.” What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read? If I’m in a bookstore, it’s the flap copy. Online, I read reviews. Yes, they are important and most authors are delighted to receive them even if only a few lines. Yes, bad ones too can be helpful. I’m not offended. You can’t be everyone’s cup of tea. Here are two of my favourite reviews: For Reluctant Medium: “I really enjoyed this book! This book kept me up way too late. I can't wait for the next one!” For Dead Editor File: “ ... my favourite character, hands down, has to be the cantankerous cat, Oscar.” Do you have your own website? Yes, I have two websites. Reluctant Medium at Large is my book site. You’ll find many stories about quirky Santa Fe, the chilling Pecos Triangle and the hauntingly beautiful American Southwest. Alongside these are book reviews I’ve written and helpful stories for writers beginning their journey of book writing. I include topics such as world building and how to do an interview for the fiction writer. Find it at: https://reluctantmediumatlarge.wordpress.com/ On Parallel Universe at Large are reviews of TV shows and movies. I’m a fan of entertainment from around the world. You’ll find several shows from Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the UK and Nordic fare. I subscribe to Brit Box and Acorn for all the best mysteries, dramas and adventures. Parallel Universe also has interviews and some editorial views of my own curated from earlier work. Find it here: https://paralleluniverseatlarge.wordpress.com/ Are you working on a new book at the moment? I’m in the final phases of completing Skinwalker Medium. It is expected out sometime in August 2024. Next, I’ll be writing Editor Die Line the fourth in the cosy series. Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about? I should know if my book Editor Kill Fee is a finalist in the New Mexico Book Award in September. Crossing my fingers. The recent Publisher’s Weekly review of the same book was exciting as well as the upcoming Reading List inclusion in Strand Magazine. Publisher’s Weekly has this to say about Editor Kill Fee: “Collins clever third mystery finds the New Mexico book editor investigating a pair of missing persons cases.” And, “Collins gives herself a lot to juggle, but for the most part, she pulls it off, and she brings her subplots together with a satisfying finale. It’s ideal for poolside reading.” Even Oscar the cat couldn’t be angry about that, as long as dinner was on time.
Sarah Geddes - 11 August 2024
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Sarah Geddes
https://authorsarahgeddes.my.canva.site
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This week it is my pleasure to interview Sarah Geddes. Would you please introduce yourself to my readers, Sarah, and share something about your life.
Hi! I am Sarah Geddes. I am a 6th grade language arts teacher, a mom of two awesome and very energetic boys, and a children’s author.
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
My first book was “Henry the Sneezing Dragon” - published in June 2023. It all started because of my kids. My oldest son in particular always loved bedtime stories. He would give me a topic and I’d have to craft a complete story for him on the spot. “Henry the Sneezing Dragon” is one of the stories I created for him.
Do you always write in the same genre or do you mix it up?
Right now I am sticking to children’s books. I love creating stories for my boys and finding ways to publish and share them with other kids who may also enjoy the characters.
However, it wouldn’t surprise me if I wrote a novel down the road. I think my writing can and will grow with my kids.
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
Usually it starts as a story I tell my boys or an idea sparks from a game we are playing or one of our adventures. The ideas just develop in my mind until I get time to type them out. Being a teacher and mom of two (ages 5 and 7) - I don’t have a lot of free time, but thankfully I have the Google Doc app on my phone. When I find a few spare minutes - literally in a parking lot or waiting for a haircut - that is my time to get those ideas down!
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
Sure! Here is a small blurb from my upcoming book “To the Moon: A Jacob and Trevor Adventure.” The story is about two brothers who are the best of friends. One day Jacob loses a tooth. However, when the tooth fairy comes - she has run out of money and leaves him fairy dust instead. The boys use the fairy dust to go on an adventure.
The next morning, Jacob woke up to Trevor’s little voice. “Did she come? Did she come?”Jacob sat up, excitement thrumming through him. When he put his hand into the pocket of his tooth fairy pillow, however, he did not pull out a dollar bill. Instead, his hand wrapped around a small blue silky bag. Attached was a note. He started to read it out loud as he noticed Trevor climbing onto the top bunk.
Who is your favourite character and why?
I love all of the characters in my books! However, Jacob and Trevor in “To the Moon” are based on my two boys and our pretend game of flying to the moon. Jacob and Trevor - whether in real life or in my storybooks - will always be my favorites.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
This is a hard one! “Henry the Sneezing Dragon” reminds me so much of my son Jacob when he was only 2. He begged me for a dragon story and he would get so wrapped up in any story I told. The happiness on his face when I came up with a story about a dragon named Henry makes this one a favorite.
“To the Moon: A Jacob and Trevor Adventure” - coming out September 13th, 2024 - is another favorite because it is based on my two kids and our actual game of pretending to fly to the moon. I love having this in print because it pauses time for me. As my boys grow older - it will always allow me to think back to the days of playing make-believe in our own backyard.
What is the best marketing tip you have received?
I’m still looking for that advice! Do you have any great tips to share?
How would you describe yourself?
To be honest I am pulling a blank here. I don’t think I can describe myself with a single word or phrase. I am a mom, a wife, a teacher, a writer, and a lover of books. I am a dog owner. I am a friend. I love travel, hiking, and new adventures. I love snapping photographs. I love my high five state (Michigan). Now that my kids are older, I am trying new things and discovering new hobbies.
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
If I’m being honest - I read (or listen to audio books) almost every day. In fact, I have to make a conscious effort NOT to read a book during certain points in the school year - when I know I have a lot of grading coming up or extra tasks to do outside of my regular working hours. I get absolutely pulled into novels.
When I’m not writing or reading though I am usually with my kids. My boys are now 5 and 7. This summer my husband and I have taken them to Kings Island and we’ve traveled up to Canada to go camping. My boys and I always spend time up north; we play on the beach, look for Petoskey stones, spend time on Mackinac Island …
In 2023 I started doing some background acting - being an extra for locally filmed TV shows and movies - just small roles. I’m considering taking an acting class this year just for fun.
During the school year I teach full time. I am a 6th grade language arts teacher for an online public charter school. I’ve taught with the same program since 2007 and absolutely love it.
I also make time to see one of my best friends every year - who lives in a different state than me. Every year we try to book a little adventure together. This year we spent my 41st birthday on Chincoteague Island and we kayaked over to Assateague Island to see all of the wild ponies.
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
This is a tough one. I’d love to take my kids to England. I have family there (mainly in Norwich) - and there are so many beautiful places to explore. The last time I visited, my husband and I absolutely fell in love with the Cotswalds and really loved hiking in the Lake district.
I’d also love to take my kids to Italy. I want to show them Cinque Terre and Venice.
I also loved backpacking in New Zealand when I was younger and would love to go back to see if everything is just as magical as in my memories.
I’ve also never been to Ireland or Scotland - and I'm sure I’d love both countries. I know my husband would love to golf there!
If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
Growing up we had a lot of pets. My sister had 2 horses. We had 3 parakeets, 2 bunnies, 2 dogs, fish, and for a brief moment a stray cat that I named Pepper.
As an adult - I just have Cooper. My husband and I got him when he was only a few months old and he will be 13 this October. He is a typical rescue mutt - an absolute handful, but a great dog.
One story that sticks out to me though took place when I was in high school. I was at the local humane society looking for a dog of my own and the dog I liked, Elwood, was “on hold.” Someone else said they wanted him and they had 24 hrs to pick him up before he was open for adoption by another family.
That other person? It was my older brother, Ryan. Of all the dogs in all the humane societies - we had picked the exact same one. Needless to say, my parents and I let my Ryan keep the dog, but we would often help out and watch him.
Elwood was an escape artist. My parents live on 5 acres and we couldn’t just let him run free - so my dad spent one whole day building this huge kennel - JUST for Elwood. The kennel was about 10 feet high - so Elwood wouldn’t be able to jump out.
So my dad finishes the kennel, and we put Elwood in. My dad and I start walking back to the house - and there Elwood is - in front of us. My dad and I look at each other and think maybe he escaped before we closed the door. We go back, open the kennel, put Elwood inside, and before we even turn around Elwood has climbed the 10 foot fence and jumped - beating us back to the house. My poor dad worked all day for nothing lol - the escape artist could not be held in by a fence.
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
First of all, I’m a huge fan of fiction. It takes a lot to make me pick up a non-fiction book. I also want to be pulled into the story. If the first few pages of a book don’t interest me - I’m probably not going to take the time to read it at all.
Do you have your own website?
I do. I’m currently using Canva, but eventually I hope to upgrade to a more professional website. I just need the time, energy, and knowledge to make it happen!
https://authorsarahgeddes.my.canva.site/
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
Yes. So, “Henry the Sneezing Dragon” is already out. It can be purchased online at Barnes and Noble or Amazon. “To the Moon: A Jacob and Trevor Adventure” will be out September 13th, 2024.
I’m also working on self publishing a book called “The Water Bear Astronaut.” It is about a water bear, or tardigrade, that goes to space. My boys learned about tardigrades by watching the show Wild Kratts. I had never heard of them before! After looking tardigrades up - I learned that NASA had actually sent tardigrades into space. This story is about a little water bear who dreams of being an astronaut - and his dream coming true. I’ve never self published a book before - so this is a new endeavor for me.
I also have a story called “The Stowaway Bear” that I am working on. It is about a bear named Tully who falls in love with the smell and taste of fudge. She follows her nose from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan - where she lives - and ends up on a ferry boat to Mackinac Island. The story has been written, but I need to spend some time editing and revising. Then I need to decide how I want to pursue publishing.
Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?
I am hoping to sign up for a few events over the holiday season. I’ll keep my website updated!
Right now I plan to be at Charlin’s Book Nook in Frankenmuth, Michigan on December 14th, 2024 from 11am - 3:00pm EST. If you have never been - it is a great independent book store! Frankenmuth is a place many people love to visit. There are cute shops, the world’s largest Christmas Store (Bronner’s), water parks, and more.
Hi! I am Sarah Geddes. I am a 6th grade language arts teacher, a mom of two awesome and very energetic boys, and a children’s author.
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
My first book was “Henry the Sneezing Dragon” - published in June 2023. It all started because of my kids. My oldest son in particular always loved bedtime stories. He would give me a topic and I’d have to craft a complete story for him on the spot. “Henry the Sneezing Dragon” is one of the stories I created for him.
Do you always write in the same genre or do you mix it up?
Right now I am sticking to children’s books. I love creating stories for my boys and finding ways to publish and share them with other kids who may also enjoy the characters.
However, it wouldn’t surprise me if I wrote a novel down the road. I think my writing can and will grow with my kids.
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
Usually it starts as a story I tell my boys or an idea sparks from a game we are playing or one of our adventures. The ideas just develop in my mind until I get time to type them out. Being a teacher and mom of two (ages 5 and 7) - I don’t have a lot of free time, but thankfully I have the Google Doc app on my phone. When I find a few spare minutes - literally in a parking lot or waiting for a haircut - that is my time to get those ideas down!
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
Sure! Here is a small blurb from my upcoming book “To the Moon: A Jacob and Trevor Adventure.” The story is about two brothers who are the best of friends. One day Jacob loses a tooth. However, when the tooth fairy comes - she has run out of money and leaves him fairy dust instead. The boys use the fairy dust to go on an adventure.
The next morning, Jacob woke up to Trevor’s little voice. “Did she come? Did she come?”Jacob sat up, excitement thrumming through him. When he put his hand into the pocket of his tooth fairy pillow, however, he did not pull out a dollar bill. Instead, his hand wrapped around a small blue silky bag. Attached was a note. He started to read it out loud as he noticed Trevor climbing onto the top bunk.
Who is your favourite character and why?
I love all of the characters in my books! However, Jacob and Trevor in “To the Moon” are based on my two boys and our pretend game of flying to the moon. Jacob and Trevor - whether in real life or in my storybooks - will always be my favorites.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
This is a hard one! “Henry the Sneezing Dragon” reminds me so much of my son Jacob when he was only 2. He begged me for a dragon story and he would get so wrapped up in any story I told. The happiness on his face when I came up with a story about a dragon named Henry makes this one a favorite.
“To the Moon: A Jacob and Trevor Adventure” - coming out September 13th, 2024 - is another favorite because it is based on my two kids and our actual game of pretending to fly to the moon. I love having this in print because it pauses time for me. As my boys grow older - it will always allow me to think back to the days of playing make-believe in our own backyard.
What is the best marketing tip you have received?
I’m still looking for that advice! Do you have any great tips to share?
How would you describe yourself?
To be honest I am pulling a blank here. I don’t think I can describe myself with a single word or phrase. I am a mom, a wife, a teacher, a writer, and a lover of books. I am a dog owner. I am a friend. I love travel, hiking, and new adventures. I love snapping photographs. I love my high five state (Michigan). Now that my kids are older, I am trying new things and discovering new hobbies.
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
If I’m being honest - I read (or listen to audio books) almost every day. In fact, I have to make a conscious effort NOT to read a book during certain points in the school year - when I know I have a lot of grading coming up or extra tasks to do outside of my regular working hours. I get absolutely pulled into novels.
When I’m not writing or reading though I am usually with my kids. My boys are now 5 and 7. This summer my husband and I have taken them to Kings Island and we’ve traveled up to Canada to go camping. My boys and I always spend time up north; we play on the beach, look for Petoskey stones, spend time on Mackinac Island …
In 2023 I started doing some background acting - being an extra for locally filmed TV shows and movies - just small roles. I’m considering taking an acting class this year just for fun.
During the school year I teach full time. I am a 6th grade language arts teacher for an online public charter school. I’ve taught with the same program since 2007 and absolutely love it.
I also make time to see one of my best friends every year - who lives in a different state than me. Every year we try to book a little adventure together. This year we spent my 41st birthday on Chincoteague Island and we kayaked over to Assateague Island to see all of the wild ponies.
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
This is a tough one. I’d love to take my kids to England. I have family there (mainly in Norwich) - and there are so many beautiful places to explore. The last time I visited, my husband and I absolutely fell in love with the Cotswalds and really loved hiking in the Lake district.
I’d also love to take my kids to Italy. I want to show them Cinque Terre and Venice.
I also loved backpacking in New Zealand when I was younger and would love to go back to see if everything is just as magical as in my memories.
I’ve also never been to Ireland or Scotland - and I'm sure I’d love both countries. I know my husband would love to golf there!
If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
Growing up we had a lot of pets. My sister had 2 horses. We had 3 parakeets, 2 bunnies, 2 dogs, fish, and for a brief moment a stray cat that I named Pepper.
As an adult - I just have Cooper. My husband and I got him when he was only a few months old and he will be 13 this October. He is a typical rescue mutt - an absolute handful, but a great dog.
One story that sticks out to me though took place when I was in high school. I was at the local humane society looking for a dog of my own and the dog I liked, Elwood, was “on hold.” Someone else said they wanted him and they had 24 hrs to pick him up before he was open for adoption by another family.
That other person? It was my older brother, Ryan. Of all the dogs in all the humane societies - we had picked the exact same one. Needless to say, my parents and I let my Ryan keep the dog, but we would often help out and watch him.
Elwood was an escape artist. My parents live on 5 acres and we couldn’t just let him run free - so my dad spent one whole day building this huge kennel - JUST for Elwood. The kennel was about 10 feet high - so Elwood wouldn’t be able to jump out.
So my dad finishes the kennel, and we put Elwood in. My dad and I start walking back to the house - and there Elwood is - in front of us. My dad and I look at each other and think maybe he escaped before we closed the door. We go back, open the kennel, put Elwood inside, and before we even turn around Elwood has climbed the 10 foot fence and jumped - beating us back to the house. My poor dad worked all day for nothing lol - the escape artist could not be held in by a fence.
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
First of all, I’m a huge fan of fiction. It takes a lot to make me pick up a non-fiction book. I also want to be pulled into the story. If the first few pages of a book don’t interest me - I’m probably not going to take the time to read it at all.
Do you have your own website?
I do. I’m currently using Canva, but eventually I hope to upgrade to a more professional website. I just need the time, energy, and knowledge to make it happen!
https://authorsarahgeddes.my.canva.site/
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
Yes. So, “Henry the Sneezing Dragon” is already out. It can be purchased online at Barnes and Noble or Amazon. “To the Moon: A Jacob and Trevor Adventure” will be out September 13th, 2024.
I’m also working on self publishing a book called “The Water Bear Astronaut.” It is about a water bear, or tardigrade, that goes to space. My boys learned about tardigrades by watching the show Wild Kratts. I had never heard of them before! After looking tardigrades up - I learned that NASA had actually sent tardigrades into space. This story is about a little water bear who dreams of being an astronaut - and his dream coming true. I’ve never self published a book before - so this is a new endeavor for me.
I also have a story called “The Stowaway Bear” that I am working on. It is about a bear named Tully who falls in love with the smell and taste of fudge. She follows her nose from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan - where she lives - and ends up on a ferry boat to Mackinac Island. The story has been written, but I need to spend some time editing and revising. Then I need to decide how I want to pursue publishing.
Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?
I am hoping to sign up for a few events over the holiday season. I’ll keep my website updated!
Right now I plan to be at Charlin’s Book Nook in Frankenmuth, Michigan on December 14th, 2024 from 11am - 3:00pm EST. If you have never been - it is a great independent book store! Frankenmuth is a place many people love to visit. There are cute shops, the world’s largest Christmas Store (Bronner’s), water parks, and more.
Mizuki Chan - 4 August 2024
This week it is my pleasure to interview Mizuki Chan. Would you please introduce yourself to my readers, Mizuki and share something about your life.
Hello everyone,my pen name is Mizuki.(I cannot tell my real name due to privacy reasons) I’m a relatively new author in the world of literacy.I come from a third world country.I have just finished writing my first book , Detective won :The mysteries of Lockwood and now I'm working on my second book.My life usually revolves around studying as I am a highschool student. When I'm not studying,I usually work on my book. I used to paint and draw but with time I got busy and couldn't continue painting or drawing. I would love to go back to painting, it's my passion and it really makes me happy.It's one of my favourite things to do along with writing and reading books.
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
I wrote my first book at the end of middle school and now it's finally finished.It’s now available on Amazon Kindle.(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D63Y1PJ3)This book isn't quite what I had in mind but you know it's just the starting. The starting is always tough. Nowadays, I have started to work on my writing skills so that the second book can be unique, amazing and just exactly what I have in my mind.
Hello everyone,my pen name is Mizuki.(I cannot tell my real name due to privacy reasons) I’m a relatively new author in the world of literacy.I come from a third world country.I have just finished writing my first book , Detective won :The mysteries of Lockwood and now I'm working on my second book.My life usually revolves around studying as I am a highschool student. When I'm not studying,I usually work on my book. I used to paint and draw but with time I got busy and couldn't continue painting or drawing. I would love to go back to painting, it's my passion and it really makes me happy.It's one of my favourite things to do along with writing and reading books.
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
I wrote my first book at the end of middle school and now it's finally finished.It’s now available on Amazon Kindle.(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D63Y1PJ3)This book isn't quite what I had in mind but you know it's just the starting. The starting is always tough. Nowadays, I have started to work on my writing skills so that the second book can be unique, amazing and just exactly what I have in my mind.
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Do you always write in the same genre or do you mix it up?
I have just written about two books, one is complete and the other one is not. The two books are from my series,Detective won. They both have the same genre that is suspense,thriller and mystery. I have been thinking about mixing up and trying new things. Who knows. I might try another genre or I might not.
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
I mostly start with an idea,sit down and let it evolve. Sometimes I think about the plot beforehand and write it down.
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
From my Book Detective won : The mysteries of Lockwood
“Murder,blood and death.I didn't know how much of a psycho I was until all of the above things made me so excited. It was all so intoxicating, so exciting. Oh so sweet the sound of their screams as I brutally beat them to their inevitable death with a damn hammer, slowly slicing and cutting their body as I hum to a sad melody, dropping their bodies into a bath of hot acid. The acid sizzles and bubbles as the pieces drown,slowly burning and melting... .yet i still enjoy it...And here I was..”
Who is your favourite character and why?
I have given all my characters a piece of me so that they feel more alive. Because of this, all my characters are quite dear to me. Each one carries a fragment of my experiences, fears, and dreams, making them feel like extensions of my own being.However, among them my personal favourite is Min-young, he is the main character's best friend and sidekick. He is my personal favorite not just because of his role in the story, but because his character embodies something deeply personal to me. Maybe they reflect a part of myself that I've struggled with, or they symbolize a dream I've harbored for years. Perhaps they carry a narrative arc that resonates with my own journey of growth and self-discovery. I just feel a personal connection with him,his backstory, his past, everything reminds me of myself.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
My first book Detective won :The mysteries of lock wood.Writing this book was a tough but eye opening experience. I experimented quite a lot and I hope you all like the outcome. Right now I'm also enjoying writing my second book that is Detective won : The case of H.E.R.
What is the best marketing tip you have received?
Personally, I think the best tip is to use social media.you should post your book wherever you can, you know get your book out there and all.
How would you describe yourself?
Fun and cheerfulI think I'm quite a fun person to have around even though sometimes my emotions get the best of me. I try to stay positive and spread happiness around me. Seeing other people happy makes me happy too. I have my flaws as well but I would say I'm an okay human being, not too good, not too bad.
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
Nowadays I bake or study. previously I used to do art as well but with time I got quite busy and couldn't do art but now I'm thinking of doing art once again because it's my passion and it makes me happy. I also enjoy watching murder documentaries or movies.
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
I would like to go to South Korea as my book is based there. The culture and history really intrigue me. I would also like to go to Japan as the beautiful landscape and food make me want to live there.
If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
I don't own any pet. I was thinking of adopting a cute kitten or rabbit as I love nature and animals.
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
When I'm selecting a book I mostly go for an intriguing story with a bit of magic or murder.
Do you have your own website?
sadly no. I do have an insta account the id is mizuki_376.
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
yes on my second book in the detective Won series that is Detective won : The case of H.E.R. I'm also thinking of writing two other books called A common story and behind the cameras. Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?
no I don't have an event but I do have three new books coming up!!!!!
I have just written about two books, one is complete and the other one is not. The two books are from my series,Detective won. They both have the same genre that is suspense,thriller and mystery. I have been thinking about mixing up and trying new things. Who knows. I might try another genre or I might not.
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
I mostly start with an idea,sit down and let it evolve. Sometimes I think about the plot beforehand and write it down.
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
From my Book Detective won : The mysteries of Lockwood
“Murder,blood and death.I didn't know how much of a psycho I was until all of the above things made me so excited. It was all so intoxicating, so exciting. Oh so sweet the sound of their screams as I brutally beat them to their inevitable death with a damn hammer, slowly slicing and cutting their body as I hum to a sad melody, dropping their bodies into a bath of hot acid. The acid sizzles and bubbles as the pieces drown,slowly burning and melting... .yet i still enjoy it...And here I was..”
Who is your favourite character and why?
I have given all my characters a piece of me so that they feel more alive. Because of this, all my characters are quite dear to me. Each one carries a fragment of my experiences, fears, and dreams, making them feel like extensions of my own being.However, among them my personal favourite is Min-young, he is the main character's best friend and sidekick. He is my personal favorite not just because of his role in the story, but because his character embodies something deeply personal to me. Maybe they reflect a part of myself that I've struggled with, or they symbolize a dream I've harbored for years. Perhaps they carry a narrative arc that resonates with my own journey of growth and self-discovery. I just feel a personal connection with him,his backstory, his past, everything reminds me of myself.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
My first book Detective won :The mysteries of lock wood.Writing this book was a tough but eye opening experience. I experimented quite a lot and I hope you all like the outcome. Right now I'm also enjoying writing my second book that is Detective won : The case of H.E.R.
What is the best marketing tip you have received?
Personally, I think the best tip is to use social media.you should post your book wherever you can, you know get your book out there and all.
How would you describe yourself?
Fun and cheerfulI think I'm quite a fun person to have around even though sometimes my emotions get the best of me. I try to stay positive and spread happiness around me. Seeing other people happy makes me happy too. I have my flaws as well but I would say I'm an okay human being, not too good, not too bad.
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
Nowadays I bake or study. previously I used to do art as well but with time I got quite busy and couldn't do art but now I'm thinking of doing art once again because it's my passion and it makes me happy. I also enjoy watching murder documentaries or movies.
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
I would like to go to South Korea as my book is based there. The culture and history really intrigue me. I would also like to go to Japan as the beautiful landscape and food make me want to live there.
If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
I don't own any pet. I was thinking of adopting a cute kitten or rabbit as I love nature and animals.
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
When I'm selecting a book I mostly go for an intriguing story with a bit of magic or murder.
Do you have your own website?
sadly no. I do have an insta account the id is mizuki_376.
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
yes on my second book in the detective Won series that is Detective won : The case of H.E.R. I'm also thinking of writing two other books called A common story and behind the cameras. Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?
no I don't have an event but I do have three new books coming up!!!!!
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Karen A. Wyle - 28 July 2024
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Karen A. Wyle
http://www.KarenAWyle.com
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This week it is my pleasure to interview Karen A. Wyle. Would you please introduce yourself to my readers, Karen, and share something about your life.
I’m a quasi-retired attorney and an author of novels in a few different genres, as well as of picture books (for which I collaborate with artists) and one nonfiction book. The latter brought my two careers together: it’s a somewhat hubristic attempt to summarize and explain American law and (to a lesser extent) legal practice to the lay reader. It grew out of a guest post I wrote for authors contemplating moving into legal fiction, attempting to help them steer clear of common errors I’ve found in such fiction. By the time I finished writing and promoting the book, I realized it could also be useful to other readers: the American legal landscape is something of a minefield, and the book provides at least a rudimentary map.
On the personal side, I live in an idyllic forested spot in south central Indiana, between two small dots on the map. I have two grown and wildly creative offspring, and my husband and I are approaching our 35th wedding anniversary. It was my childhood ambition to become a novelist, but I abandoned that dream in college and took several decades to return to it. (That detour was quite useful, perhaps invaluable, in that becoming a lawyer taught me how to write easily and fluently, and that skill fortunately translated into doing the same when writing a novel.)
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
My first book, not counting short stories scrawled in crayon on construction paper (stories which owed a great deal to Walter Farley’s Black Stallion series), was written as a gift to my fifth grade teacher, whom I adored. It consisted of 200 pages handwritten in pencil and divided into about 100 chapters. Its title: The Biography of A Dragon (or was it “my dragon”?) and A Little About Me. It veered between thinly disguised autobiography, wish-fulfillment, fantasy, and Jack London’s Call of the Wild with a dragon instead of a dog as protagonist.
Aside from that juvenilia, I owe my first novel to my eldest’s participation in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in high school during junior and senior years. The second time around, I decided to take part as well, assuming I’d drop out within a few days. Thirty days later, I had a very rough draft of a science fiction book called Twin-Bred.
Do you always write in the same genre or do you mix it up?
I’m up to between four and six genres, depending on how broadly or narrowly one defines them: science fiction (both near future and more distant in time and space), historical romance, historical fiction, and fantasy (afterlife fantasy and faerie-related). That’s not even counting the picture books. At this time, as I prepare for the release of the historical novel and my first nonfiction picture book (a biography of composer Joaquin Rodrigo), I have no idea in what genre I’ll write next.
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
When I wrote Twin-Bred, I started out with two ideas and a handful of notes on character and scene. (The ideas: how the bond between twins, observed even in utero, might persist if the twins were of two different species, carried by foster mothers; and how a womb twin survivor, someone whose twin died before birth, might attempt to preserve that twin as an imaginary companion and even collaborator.) As time has passed, the notes with which I approach the actual writing have grown more extensive, including many about scenes I might include – but I’ve never actually outlined a book. I’m somewhere between the extremes of plotting and “pantsing” (writing by the seat of one’s pants). Some people use the word “plantser” for those occupying my point on that spectrum.
One of the most thrilling aspects of writing fiction, for me, is letting the book and its characters surprise me. I fear that if I outlined the book in detail, I wouldn’t be leaving enough room for my subconscious to come out and play. However, this in no way means that I consider my process the “best,” let alone the only, way to write a novel. If asked about rules for writing fiction, my usual response is to say that there are none, except that you should discover what works for you and write accordingly – and, if that process stops working for you, try something else. (I received a timely reminder of this last point from Chuck Wendig’s Gentle Writing Advice: How To Be A Writer Without Destroying Yourself.)
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
Here’s a short excerpt from my upcoming historical novel The Decision, set in Berlin from 1915 through 1938 – though at this stage, with all revising and tweaking behind me, it makes me nervous to dwell on any one passage, for fear I’ll see phrasing I wish I could change. It takes place in Spring 1924. The whole book, except for the introductory scene, is from Hans’ point of view. In the earlier years, he’s “Hansi,” a diminutive. “Mutti” is German for “Mom” or “Mommy.”
-------
Mutti always seemed to feel cold these days. At least, when Vati helped her get dressed, he would choose her warmest winter things. She used to care what colors she wore and take trouble to fix her hair just right, but no longer.Sometimes she would wear her winter coat inside. Or she wouldn’t get dressed at all, but would wear one nightgown over another, and her coat over that. She was thin enough now that she didn’t look fat no matter how many layers of clothes she wore.Then came a day that finally felt like spring. When Hansi came home from school, the stuffy air in the flat, after the soft fresh breeze outside, almost choked him. He went right to the window and opened it. Mutti stirred on the coach. “Oh . . . what a lovely smell. What is it?”Hansi went over and squatted next to the sofa. “It’s the air, Mutti,” he said, fighting tears. “It’s the fresh air outside. It’s spring starting.”Mutti struggled to sit up. Hansi got up to help her, and then sat next to her. She said softly, “I did hope I would see spring again. Thank you, Liebling.” She hesitated. “Would you help me get up, so I can walk to the window?”Hansi bit his lip and put his hands under her arms. Leaning back for leverage, he tried to lift her. He couldn’t quite, the first time, and she fell back onto the sofa with a little gasp. But the second time, he got her to her feet. He held her around the waist, pulled her against his side, and moved very slowly toward the window. She wobbled, and he had to grip her so tight he was afraid he was hurting her, would even leave bruises. But she looked eagerly toward the window, and he kept going.Finally he reached it. Slowly, carefully, he stopped next to the window and leaned forward so she could put her hands on the window frame. He stepped behind her, keeping his hands ready in case she started to fall sideways or backwards. But she stayed where he’d put her, and took a long, deep breath. She even hummed a few notes of a tune, one she used to sing to him and Lotte about flowers waking up in springtime. He looked at her cheeks to see if any color would come into them. But none did.She turned her head a little, looking up and down the street. “I don’t see any flowers yet. Are there any flowers?”Hansi swallowed hard and said hoarsely, “A few, here and there.” It might be true, though he hadn’t seen any. “I’ll look for some tomorrow and bring them home.”
Who is your favourite character and why?
I’m terrible at picking a favorite anything, be it a book, a food, a song, or a character. A few of my favorite characters are Dr. Mara Cadell, protagonist of Twin-Bred, a brilliant and socially isolated woman who doesn’t suffer fools gladly; Arthur, a secondary character in my near-future thriller Playback Effect, whose name arose from an honest, noble nature suitable for King Arthur’s Round Table; and, in a thoroughly perverse way, the sociopath in the same novel. (It rather tickled me to have breakfast with a sociopath, authorially speaking.)
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
The short and honest answer would be, “I don’t remember.” But in writing my fantasy Far From Mortal Realms, the novel preceding my upcoming release, I did greatly enjoy researching myths of the faerie world and adapting and supplementing them for my own purposes.
How would you describe yourself?
Short; female; Jewish; word-obsessed; relatively content.
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
Not reading?? What a strange concept!
When I was more able-bodied, I enjoyed walking, and traveling to places I could walk around and explore. I’m now limited to much shorter stretches on foot, and am contemplating ways of traveling that won’t require much walking.
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
If this fantasy included spinal repair at a level beyond current medicine, I’d like to explore Denmark on foot, revisit England, and finally make it to Ireland. I may be able to manage some version of that trip in any case, with careful planning. I’d also like to take a river cruise through some of the prettier parts of Europe.
If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
Our dog Davida was a “Heinz 57” mutt, a mixture of many breeds. From one or more of them, she inherited ears that could change shape remarkably. Sometimes they were insignificant and folded over, but when she was particularly intrigued, they became more like radio telescopes, swiveling this way and that..
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
It’s a combination of the author (if one of my favorites), the premise, and whether it seems likely to be character-driven.
Do you have your own website?
Yes, though I periodically think about changing it up. It’s at http://www.KarenAWyle.com.
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
As I write this answer, the closest I’ve come to starting a new book is to contemplate basing my next picture book on a very cute photo I saw on Instagram. By the time this interview is published, however, a new idea may have captured me.
Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?
If you happen to be in Bloomington, Indiana on August 15th between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m., please drop by our wonderful independent bookstore Morgenstern’s! I’ll be signing copies of my new novel and possibly reading from it as well. I’ll also have a few other books on hand, including my latest picture book, the aforementioned biography of composer Joaquin Rodrigo, illustrated by watercolor artist Tomasz Mikutel.
I’m a quasi-retired attorney and an author of novels in a few different genres, as well as of picture books (for which I collaborate with artists) and one nonfiction book. The latter brought my two careers together: it’s a somewhat hubristic attempt to summarize and explain American law and (to a lesser extent) legal practice to the lay reader. It grew out of a guest post I wrote for authors contemplating moving into legal fiction, attempting to help them steer clear of common errors I’ve found in such fiction. By the time I finished writing and promoting the book, I realized it could also be useful to other readers: the American legal landscape is something of a minefield, and the book provides at least a rudimentary map.
On the personal side, I live in an idyllic forested spot in south central Indiana, between two small dots on the map. I have two grown and wildly creative offspring, and my husband and I are approaching our 35th wedding anniversary. It was my childhood ambition to become a novelist, but I abandoned that dream in college and took several decades to return to it. (That detour was quite useful, perhaps invaluable, in that becoming a lawyer taught me how to write easily and fluently, and that skill fortunately translated into doing the same when writing a novel.)
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
My first book, not counting short stories scrawled in crayon on construction paper (stories which owed a great deal to Walter Farley’s Black Stallion series), was written as a gift to my fifth grade teacher, whom I adored. It consisted of 200 pages handwritten in pencil and divided into about 100 chapters. Its title: The Biography of A Dragon (or was it “my dragon”?) and A Little About Me. It veered between thinly disguised autobiography, wish-fulfillment, fantasy, and Jack London’s Call of the Wild with a dragon instead of a dog as protagonist.
Aside from that juvenilia, I owe my first novel to my eldest’s participation in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in high school during junior and senior years. The second time around, I decided to take part as well, assuming I’d drop out within a few days. Thirty days later, I had a very rough draft of a science fiction book called Twin-Bred.
Do you always write in the same genre or do you mix it up?
I’m up to between four and six genres, depending on how broadly or narrowly one defines them: science fiction (both near future and more distant in time and space), historical romance, historical fiction, and fantasy (afterlife fantasy and faerie-related). That’s not even counting the picture books. At this time, as I prepare for the release of the historical novel and my first nonfiction picture book (a biography of composer Joaquin Rodrigo), I have no idea in what genre I’ll write next.
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
When I wrote Twin-Bred, I started out with two ideas and a handful of notes on character and scene. (The ideas: how the bond between twins, observed even in utero, might persist if the twins were of two different species, carried by foster mothers; and how a womb twin survivor, someone whose twin died before birth, might attempt to preserve that twin as an imaginary companion and even collaborator.) As time has passed, the notes with which I approach the actual writing have grown more extensive, including many about scenes I might include – but I’ve never actually outlined a book. I’m somewhere between the extremes of plotting and “pantsing” (writing by the seat of one’s pants). Some people use the word “plantser” for those occupying my point on that spectrum.
One of the most thrilling aspects of writing fiction, for me, is letting the book and its characters surprise me. I fear that if I outlined the book in detail, I wouldn’t be leaving enough room for my subconscious to come out and play. However, this in no way means that I consider my process the “best,” let alone the only, way to write a novel. If asked about rules for writing fiction, my usual response is to say that there are none, except that you should discover what works for you and write accordingly – and, if that process stops working for you, try something else. (I received a timely reminder of this last point from Chuck Wendig’s Gentle Writing Advice: How To Be A Writer Without Destroying Yourself.)
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
Here’s a short excerpt from my upcoming historical novel The Decision, set in Berlin from 1915 through 1938 – though at this stage, with all revising and tweaking behind me, it makes me nervous to dwell on any one passage, for fear I’ll see phrasing I wish I could change. It takes place in Spring 1924. The whole book, except for the introductory scene, is from Hans’ point of view. In the earlier years, he’s “Hansi,” a diminutive. “Mutti” is German for “Mom” or “Mommy.”
-------
Mutti always seemed to feel cold these days. At least, when Vati helped her get dressed, he would choose her warmest winter things. She used to care what colors she wore and take trouble to fix her hair just right, but no longer.Sometimes she would wear her winter coat inside. Or she wouldn’t get dressed at all, but would wear one nightgown over another, and her coat over that. She was thin enough now that she didn’t look fat no matter how many layers of clothes she wore.Then came a day that finally felt like spring. When Hansi came home from school, the stuffy air in the flat, after the soft fresh breeze outside, almost choked him. He went right to the window and opened it. Mutti stirred on the coach. “Oh . . . what a lovely smell. What is it?”Hansi went over and squatted next to the sofa. “It’s the air, Mutti,” he said, fighting tears. “It’s the fresh air outside. It’s spring starting.”Mutti struggled to sit up. Hansi got up to help her, and then sat next to her. She said softly, “I did hope I would see spring again. Thank you, Liebling.” She hesitated. “Would you help me get up, so I can walk to the window?”Hansi bit his lip and put his hands under her arms. Leaning back for leverage, he tried to lift her. He couldn’t quite, the first time, and she fell back onto the sofa with a little gasp. But the second time, he got her to her feet. He held her around the waist, pulled her against his side, and moved very slowly toward the window. She wobbled, and he had to grip her so tight he was afraid he was hurting her, would even leave bruises. But she looked eagerly toward the window, and he kept going.Finally he reached it. Slowly, carefully, he stopped next to the window and leaned forward so she could put her hands on the window frame. He stepped behind her, keeping his hands ready in case she started to fall sideways or backwards. But she stayed where he’d put her, and took a long, deep breath. She even hummed a few notes of a tune, one she used to sing to him and Lotte about flowers waking up in springtime. He looked at her cheeks to see if any color would come into them. But none did.She turned her head a little, looking up and down the street. “I don’t see any flowers yet. Are there any flowers?”Hansi swallowed hard and said hoarsely, “A few, here and there.” It might be true, though he hadn’t seen any. “I’ll look for some tomorrow and bring them home.”
Who is your favourite character and why?
I’m terrible at picking a favorite anything, be it a book, a food, a song, or a character. A few of my favorite characters are Dr. Mara Cadell, protagonist of Twin-Bred, a brilliant and socially isolated woman who doesn’t suffer fools gladly; Arthur, a secondary character in my near-future thriller Playback Effect, whose name arose from an honest, noble nature suitable for King Arthur’s Round Table; and, in a thoroughly perverse way, the sociopath in the same novel. (It rather tickled me to have breakfast with a sociopath, authorially speaking.)
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
The short and honest answer would be, “I don’t remember.” But in writing my fantasy Far From Mortal Realms, the novel preceding my upcoming release, I did greatly enjoy researching myths of the faerie world and adapting and supplementing them for my own purposes.
How would you describe yourself?
Short; female; Jewish; word-obsessed; relatively content.
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
Not reading?? What a strange concept!
When I was more able-bodied, I enjoyed walking, and traveling to places I could walk around and explore. I’m now limited to much shorter stretches on foot, and am contemplating ways of traveling that won’t require much walking.
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
If this fantasy included spinal repair at a level beyond current medicine, I’d like to explore Denmark on foot, revisit England, and finally make it to Ireland. I may be able to manage some version of that trip in any case, with careful planning. I’d also like to take a river cruise through some of the prettier parts of Europe.
If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
Our dog Davida was a “Heinz 57” mutt, a mixture of many breeds. From one or more of them, she inherited ears that could change shape remarkably. Sometimes they were insignificant and folded over, but when she was particularly intrigued, they became more like radio telescopes, swiveling this way and that..
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
It’s a combination of the author (if one of my favorites), the premise, and whether it seems likely to be character-driven.
Do you have your own website?
Yes, though I periodically think about changing it up. It’s at http://www.KarenAWyle.com.
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
As I write this answer, the closest I’ve come to starting a new book is to contemplate basing my next picture book on a very cute photo I saw on Instagram. By the time this interview is published, however, a new idea may have captured me.
Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?
If you happen to be in Bloomington, Indiana on August 15th between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m., please drop by our wonderful independent bookstore Morgenstern’s! I’ll be signing copies of my new novel and possibly reading from it as well. I’ll also have a few other books on hand, including my latest picture book, the aforementioned biography of composer Joaquin Rodrigo, illustrated by watercolor artist Tomasz Mikutel.
Robert A. Walker - 21 July 2024
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Robert A. Walker
https://rawalkerwriting.com
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This week it is my pleasure to interview Robert A. Walker. Would you please introduce yourself to my readers, Robert and share something about your life.
Hi! I grew up with two sisters in a small town in northwestern Massachusetts. I moved out west in my early twenties, and have been here ever since. Now retired, I live along the Pacific coast in Carmel, California with my wife and dogs. Our three children have all flown the coop.
When I’m not writing or reading, chances are I’m relaxing with my wife and dogs, working on an endless list of home improvement projects, creating dishes in the kitchen (desserts are my specialty), or trying to improve my tennis game.
Other little tidbits: my “go to” breakfast is a bowl of Alpen with non-fat milk (which my children call “Old Man Wheaties”); I’ll take chocolate over vanilla—whether that’s a box of See’s candies or a hot fudge sundae; I’ll pass on both coffee and tea, despite my British heritage; I’d rather talk than text, as the latter tends to increase the opportunity for misinterpretation; and despite my penchant for writing at night, I’m more of a morning person.
And I love feedback. There’s nothing better than hearing from a reader, especially if they’ve been entertained by my work.
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
My father was a professional editor, so I guess an affection for the written word has always been in my blood. My second-grade teacher read a short story I wrote to my entire class when I was 7, and I was so, so proud. Talk about inspiration! I’ve been wanting to write novels ever since, but my career path took me in other directions, and although it required lots of writing and editing, it’s only since retirement that I’ve found sufficient time to write extensively for pleasure. It wasn’t until 2020 that I put creative pen to paper, and Six Moons, Seven Gods is what flowed out—fantasy, with tinges of grim dark and romance. I didn’t sit down thinking I’m going to write a fantasy novel, but I will say the movie Camelot had a profound impact on me when I was young; my father read Tolkien aloud to me and my sisters, and later in life I thoroughly enjoyed reading Herbert’s Dune series and Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastard series to my son. So I suppose a bit of all that helped to inspire Six Moons.
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
I work both ways now. I find it challenging to flesh out details too far in advance, and don’t want to be governed by a strict outline. But I’m comforted and work best when guided by a general sense of overall plot and where things are headed. My first draft of “Six Moons, Seven Gods” was strictly “write as you go”, and that got me into trouble on several occasions, as I wrote my characters into predicaments even I could not help them escape!
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
Absolutely! Here’s a little taste of Six Moons, Seven Gods:
“Ruler Two walked briskly down the corridor. He and Ruler Five had met the assassin at The Cauldron only two days earlier. They had not expected to hear from her so soon.To be entirely honest, he was eager to see her. She had been on his mind a lot since his visit to The Cauldron. There was something irresistible about her. It was largely physical, to be sure —those long, slender limbs; her revealing garb. But there was also something about the way she spoke to him, the way she looked at him, that hinted at a playful, sexual nature. The way her fingers had dug into his thigh; the suggestive invitation to join her on the third floor of The Cauldron. He had checked with more than one reliable source since his return to The Hidor. The third floor was indeed where one went to explore and satisfy one's animalistic urges. He could not help but imagine, over and over again, what might have happened had he accepted her advances that night.Have I gone mad? The woman is an assassin! She probably kills her lovers in the act! Far better for Ruler Five to engage her in the throes of passion—perhaps he has already.”
Who is your favourite character and why?
I enjoy all my characters. Sibil Dunn and Rolft for their fierce loyalties; King Axil for the manner in which he rules while suffering personal loss; Marshal Carson for his calm leadership and wit.Two of the most fun to write, however, were the villains, Reynard Rochon and his sidekick, Spiro. Their unusual relationship and playful but contentious banter kept the writer in me entertained, despite their despicable behavior.
What is the best marketing tip you have received?
Unless you’re writing solely for family and friends, you’re not going to get your book into the hands of readers without marketing it.Many writers, such as myself, are introverts by nature and not accustomed to promoting or calling attention to themselves. So it’s easy to put off for another day, especially when the muse is calling, or you have something more enjoyable to do. Marketing can be time-consuming. and it isn’t always sexy. The best advice I’ve been given is to tackle it in bits and pieces, but never lose sight of it. Stick with it. It may seem an insurmountable mess at first, but everything gets easier and more familiar as you go. Try to find the joy in it. Make it a challenge; relish the lessons that you learn along the way.I try to carve out time for writing and marketing each week. But there are definitely days when one is neglected due to my being absorbed by the other.
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
I’ve never been to Switzerland, but would love to visit there. It has a friendly, peaceful reputation, snow-capped Alps, and creamy chocolate. I imagine melted Swiss cheese tastes even better on a toasted baguette there, and of course, its home to tennis greats Roger Federer, Martina Hingis and Stan Wawrinka. What’s not to love about Switzerland?
If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
I’ve owned dogs most of my life. My closest companion growing up was a beagle named Ruby. My wife and I now share our home with Moolah, a 14-year old Labradoodle, and Kihei, a two-year old Australian Cobberdog. Moolah’s been around long enough to know when we’re preparing to travel. She mopes around the house, never letting us out of sight. If we leave an empty suitcase on the floor, she’s going to get inside and remind us that we’re all meant to stay together.
Do you have your own website?
Absolutely! Please visit me at https://rawalkerwriting.com. Or contact me at either fairytalepub@gmail.com or rawalker@rawalkerwriting.com.
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
Yes! I’m currently working on the second book in The Legend of Baelon fantasy series. “Two Crowns, Three Blades” will pick up where “Six Moons, Seven Gods” leaves off. “Revenge is a temptress, full of promise, but she rarely satisfies… and almost always exacts payment.“ Already familiar with most of the series’ characters, readers will find it a bit easier to immerse themselves in the sequel early on. And while not every character that readers have come to know and love (or hate) will make it through Book Two, those who do survive will reveal even more about what makes them tick. Folks interested in the book’s progress can subscribe to my newsletter at https://rawalkerwriting.com!
Hi! I grew up with two sisters in a small town in northwestern Massachusetts. I moved out west in my early twenties, and have been here ever since. Now retired, I live along the Pacific coast in Carmel, California with my wife and dogs. Our three children have all flown the coop.
When I’m not writing or reading, chances are I’m relaxing with my wife and dogs, working on an endless list of home improvement projects, creating dishes in the kitchen (desserts are my specialty), or trying to improve my tennis game.
Other little tidbits: my “go to” breakfast is a bowl of Alpen with non-fat milk (which my children call “Old Man Wheaties”); I’ll take chocolate over vanilla—whether that’s a box of See’s candies or a hot fudge sundae; I’ll pass on both coffee and tea, despite my British heritage; I’d rather talk than text, as the latter tends to increase the opportunity for misinterpretation; and despite my penchant for writing at night, I’m more of a morning person.
And I love feedback. There’s nothing better than hearing from a reader, especially if they’ve been entertained by my work.
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
My father was a professional editor, so I guess an affection for the written word has always been in my blood. My second-grade teacher read a short story I wrote to my entire class when I was 7, and I was so, so proud. Talk about inspiration! I’ve been wanting to write novels ever since, but my career path took me in other directions, and although it required lots of writing and editing, it’s only since retirement that I’ve found sufficient time to write extensively for pleasure. It wasn’t until 2020 that I put creative pen to paper, and Six Moons, Seven Gods is what flowed out—fantasy, with tinges of grim dark and romance. I didn’t sit down thinking I’m going to write a fantasy novel, but I will say the movie Camelot had a profound impact on me when I was young; my father read Tolkien aloud to me and my sisters, and later in life I thoroughly enjoyed reading Herbert’s Dune series and Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastard series to my son. So I suppose a bit of all that helped to inspire Six Moons.
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
I work both ways now. I find it challenging to flesh out details too far in advance, and don’t want to be governed by a strict outline. But I’m comforted and work best when guided by a general sense of overall plot and where things are headed. My first draft of “Six Moons, Seven Gods” was strictly “write as you go”, and that got me into trouble on several occasions, as I wrote my characters into predicaments even I could not help them escape!
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
Absolutely! Here’s a little taste of Six Moons, Seven Gods:
“Ruler Two walked briskly down the corridor. He and Ruler Five had met the assassin at The Cauldron only two days earlier. They had not expected to hear from her so soon.To be entirely honest, he was eager to see her. She had been on his mind a lot since his visit to The Cauldron. There was something irresistible about her. It was largely physical, to be sure —those long, slender limbs; her revealing garb. But there was also something about the way she spoke to him, the way she looked at him, that hinted at a playful, sexual nature. The way her fingers had dug into his thigh; the suggestive invitation to join her on the third floor of The Cauldron. He had checked with more than one reliable source since his return to The Hidor. The third floor was indeed where one went to explore and satisfy one's animalistic urges. He could not help but imagine, over and over again, what might have happened had he accepted her advances that night.Have I gone mad? The woman is an assassin! She probably kills her lovers in the act! Far better for Ruler Five to engage her in the throes of passion—perhaps he has already.”
Who is your favourite character and why?
I enjoy all my characters. Sibil Dunn and Rolft for their fierce loyalties; King Axil for the manner in which he rules while suffering personal loss; Marshal Carson for his calm leadership and wit.Two of the most fun to write, however, were the villains, Reynard Rochon and his sidekick, Spiro. Their unusual relationship and playful but contentious banter kept the writer in me entertained, despite their despicable behavior.
What is the best marketing tip you have received?
Unless you’re writing solely for family and friends, you’re not going to get your book into the hands of readers without marketing it.Many writers, such as myself, are introverts by nature and not accustomed to promoting or calling attention to themselves. So it’s easy to put off for another day, especially when the muse is calling, or you have something more enjoyable to do. Marketing can be time-consuming. and it isn’t always sexy. The best advice I’ve been given is to tackle it in bits and pieces, but never lose sight of it. Stick with it. It may seem an insurmountable mess at first, but everything gets easier and more familiar as you go. Try to find the joy in it. Make it a challenge; relish the lessons that you learn along the way.I try to carve out time for writing and marketing each week. But there are definitely days when one is neglected due to my being absorbed by the other.
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
I’ve never been to Switzerland, but would love to visit there. It has a friendly, peaceful reputation, snow-capped Alps, and creamy chocolate. I imagine melted Swiss cheese tastes even better on a toasted baguette there, and of course, its home to tennis greats Roger Federer, Martina Hingis and Stan Wawrinka. What’s not to love about Switzerland?
If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
I’ve owned dogs most of my life. My closest companion growing up was a beagle named Ruby. My wife and I now share our home with Moolah, a 14-year old Labradoodle, and Kihei, a two-year old Australian Cobberdog. Moolah’s been around long enough to know when we’re preparing to travel. She mopes around the house, never letting us out of sight. If we leave an empty suitcase on the floor, she’s going to get inside and remind us that we’re all meant to stay together.
Do you have your own website?
Absolutely! Please visit me at https://rawalkerwriting.com. Or contact me at either fairytalepub@gmail.com or rawalker@rawalkerwriting.com.
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
Yes! I’m currently working on the second book in The Legend of Baelon fantasy series. “Two Crowns, Three Blades” will pick up where “Six Moons, Seven Gods” leaves off. “Revenge is a temptress, full of promise, but she rarely satisfies… and almost always exacts payment.“ Already familiar with most of the series’ characters, readers will find it a bit easier to immerse themselves in the sequel early on. And while not every character that readers have come to know and love (or hate) will make it through Book Two, those who do survive will reveal even more about what makes them tick. Folks interested in the book’s progress can subscribe to my newsletter at https://rawalkerwriting.com!
Jackie Lambert - 7 July 2024
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Jacqueline Lambert
www.JacquelineLambert.co.uk
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Building The Beast: How (Not) To Build An Overland Camper
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CZJWR6C4
This week it is my pleasure to interview travel writer Jacqueline (Jackie) Lambert. Would you please introduce yourself to my readers, Jackie, and share something about your life.
I am from Blackburn, Lancashire, in the damp north west of England. A town famous for cotton milling, 4000 holes in the Beatles’ song, and world superbike champion Carl Fogarty, who lived across the road when we were kids. He can brag that we once sat on a swing together when we were around 9 years old.
I grew up with two brothers, and always preferred action and sport to more traditionally feminine pursuits. I spent my childhood riding horses bareback and hurtling down hills on a bike I recovered from a skip.
My life changed in 1994 when, as a 30-year-old London-based singleton, I undertook a solo holiday: Rafting The Zambezi: The River of the Gods. I misunderstood ‘rafting’ to mean floating down the river on a barn door looking at wildlife. On the Slambezi, as some call it, ‘rafting’ meant spending six days navigating 60 km of the biggest white water in the world, avoiding wildlife (crocs and hippos), and sleeping under the stars on beaches by the river. It was the best roller coaster ride on the planet, in a stunning location, but so inaccessible that most people will never see.
It started my addiction to adventure.
Since then, I have jumped off, dived under, floated around, flown over, slid down, and raced around almost sixty countries (and counting) on six of the seven continents.
In 1999, I met and married someone who shared my passion: a fellow skier, windsurfer and mountaineer. Since work interfered with the fun, Mark and I always planned to quit to fit more of the good stuff into our lives…
I am from Blackburn, Lancashire, in the damp north west of England. A town famous for cotton milling, 4000 holes in the Beatles’ song, and world superbike champion Carl Fogarty, who lived across the road when we were kids. He can brag that we once sat on a swing together when we were around 9 years old.
I grew up with two brothers, and always preferred action and sport to more traditionally feminine pursuits. I spent my childhood riding horses bareback and hurtling down hills on a bike I recovered from a skip.
My life changed in 1994 when, as a 30-year-old London-based singleton, I undertook a solo holiday: Rafting The Zambezi: The River of the Gods. I misunderstood ‘rafting’ to mean floating down the river on a barn door looking at wildlife. On the Slambezi, as some call it, ‘rafting’ meant spending six days navigating 60 km of the biggest white water in the world, avoiding wildlife (crocs and hippos), and sleeping under the stars on beaches by the river. It was the best roller coaster ride on the planet, in a stunning location, but so inaccessible that most people will never see.
It started my addiction to adventure.
Since then, I have jumped off, dived under, floated around, flown over, slid down, and raced around almost sixty countries (and counting) on six of the seven continents.
In 1999, I met and married someone who shared my passion: a fellow skier, windsurfer and mountaineer. Since work interfered with the fun, Mark and I always planned to quit to fit more of the good stuff into our lives…
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When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
Mark and I gave up work in 2016, and accidentally bought a caravan (RV trailer). You know those days when you say, “Let’s just go out and have a look…”
A few celebratory bottles of champagne later, we decided we could live without working if we moved into it full time and toured with our four dogs. We intended to travel for three years, but eight years in, we haven’t lost the buzz.
Friends encouraged me to set up a blog to record our travels, share the practicalities of touring with dogs – and answer the question they didn’t dare ask. “You’re not millionaires and didn’t inherit a windfall, so how did you retire at 50 to follow your dreams?”
I’ve always loved writing, so blogging was a great outlet. Besides publishing honest warts-and-all travel stories and the truth about van life, I answered that big question of finance.
In September 2018, Nicola, one of my readers commented, “You should write a book. No one writes like you. Even your blog about toilets was a joy to read.”
If I did, she promised to buy six copies as Christmas presents. Never one to miss an opportunity, I sprang into action, learned all I could about publishing independently, honed my first year of blog posts into a manuscript, commissioned the cover, formatting, proof reading and editing – and my comic memoir, Fur Babies in France: From Wage Slaves to Living The Dream, was born on 2nd December 2018.
It was a Hot New Release on Amazon.
Thanks Nicola!
Do you always write in the same genre or do you mix it up?
I am a scientist (biochemist), so I am very factual and don’t feel I have the imagination to write fiction. That said, I love humour, and use that creatively when I tell my stories.
Non-fiction is my preferred genre for reading. I do enjoy some fiction, but the last highly rated fiction book I read irritated me with gaping reality gaps and a preposterous, over-convenient ending involving helicopters that simply screamed, ‘I want to be a film starring Tom Cruise!’
I did, however, thoroughly enjoy Lessons in Chemisty, which read rather like my own biography as a female scientist. Author Bonnie Garmus wrote it so magnificently, she even made the talking dog work!
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
My books are travelogues, so they follow a natural chronology of the trips I have undertaken. I do tend to sit down and write and love that feeling when the words flow. Even the comic asides tend to just come to me.
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
An excerpt from the award-winning Dogs ‘n’ Dracula
Back at the campsite, our Romanian neighbour, Miron, popped around again. He lived in Bucharest but had brought his family to see his home town. He gave us a small, plastic water bottle filled with pálinka; a plum brandy, which is Romania’s national drink. This particular example had been lovingly fermented and home-distilled to the point of being almost vaporous by Miron’s uncle.
“Be careful with it,” he urged. “It’s about 50% alcohol.”
We thanked him profusely for his kindness, but checked; “Are you sure you don’t want it yourself?”
“My Uncle gives us at least two litres every time we visit.”
We sensed that Miron’s liver – along with the livers of his close family and friends – were silently beseeching us to accept.
Since I have conducted in-depth research, now seems a good time to guide you through the labyrinth of Romanian plum-liquor terminology as I understand it. So here goes; pálinka and ţuică are both made from plums, but pálinka is generally more alcoholic, since it is twice- or thrice- distilled. Or it might just be that pálinka is a word of Hungarian origin for ţuică, or refers to ţuică made in the Ardeal region. Or it might just all be the same thing.
According to tradition, distillation must take place in a brass still over wood or charcoal. However, since gas is more controllable, it gives more consistent results. The heat source probably makes little difference to the final product, but don’t mention gas to pálinka purists – or Romanian Standards.
Horíncă, jinars or fățată are all terms for “very strong ţuică” – or might simply be different names for ţuică in different regions. None of these should be confused with slivovitz. Slivovitz is still plums, but ground plum stones are added to the fermentation to give a nutty flavour. Popular in other Balkan states, slivovitz is less common in Romania.
Although țuică can be drunk straight from the still, old țuică (țuică bătrână) is aged in oak barrels, while “țuică cu fruct” is țuică with a whole plum inside the bottle (a plum centre!)
“How do they do that?” I hear you ask in wonder.
Here, I shall share with you a special Romanian secret. Just place an empty bottle over the branch of a plum tree in Spring and then; Hey…
…wait three months…
…Presto!
A whole fruit has grown inside the bottle. (Note - this is not the method used for ships.)
Rachiu is the same drink, but made with other fruit. Although rachiu can also be made with plums.
Phew. I’m glad that we’ve got that cleared up. I hope that you have been keeping up as there will be a test later. And I am hoping that during my careful fact-checking, my Romanian friend, Lia, wasn’t just spinning me a plum line.
Lia informed us that our pálinka was a bit ‘lightweight’. Her grandparents considered 70% alcohol more acceptable. For context, a bottle of vodka is usually around 40% alcohol. Romania is one of Europe’s top plum-producers. I could make another pun around the epithet ‘plum centre’ here, but I won’t, because that would be plumbing the depths.
Lia also wowed me with the numerous different types of Romanian plum jam, although statistics suggest that over 75% of Romanian plums end up as alcohol. Even though it is traditionally served in a small glass to be sipped before a meal, pálinka represents 40% of Romania’s alcoholic beverage consumption. And it is used on special occasions instead of wine to propose a toast.
“Noroc – Cheers!”
Who is your favourite character and why?
My husband and soul mate, Mark! We met on the 9 January 1999 and were engaged 37 days later. We were married on the rocks outside a Scottish lighthouse 37 weeks after meeting. This year, we celebrate our silver wedding.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
I thoroughly enjoyed writing my third book, Dogs 'n' Dracula: A Road Trip Through Romania, because Romania was such a surprise.
Anais Nin said, “We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.”
My main motivation for writing Dracula was to set Romania’s record straight. We were told so many horror stories about Romania, we almost didn’t go. Yet Romania stole our hearts with its fabulous unspoilt landscapes, fascinating history, and such kind people that I dedicated the book to them, in Romania’s centenary year.
Dracula was the first of my books to win an award: it won the Chill With A Book Premier Readers' Award and was a finalist in the Romania Insider Awards for the ‘best promotion of Romania abroad’. The British Ambassador to Romania and Prince Charles (now King Charles III), who has a special connection to Romania, (as you might discover in the book!) both have a copy.
When readers leave reviews such as ‘Romania now firmly in my sights’, I feel it’s mission accomplished.
It was a real pleasure to revisit Romania’s El Dorado, the real Dracula’s birthplace in one of the oldest occupied citadels in Europe, and towing a caravan over two cornfields, a footpath, and Romania’s second highest mountain pass.
What is the best marketing tip you have received?
Build a following – preferably before you write your book.
When I published my first book, I had a small following from my blog. I’m sure this – and Nicola’s six copies – helped with the rather flattering ‘Hot New Release’ Amazon rankings on publication.
However, this advice truly hit home when someone published ‘my’ book. For twenty years, I’ve nursed the idea of writing a book of achievable adventures but never got around to it. Recently, I saw someone had done it. A couple whose Instagram account showcases stunning photos of their own achievable adventures to their thousands of subscribers.
When they hit publish, a fully engaged audience who know them and love what they do was ready and waiting to buy their book.
This is a much easier route than publishing a book as an unknown, then trying to get people to understand what you’re about.
I don’t say this from any position of envy – it was a Eureka moment for me, and I wish them every success. Meanwhile, I will continue building up my following!
I spent much of my career in sales and marketing (scientific equipment, not books). The first rule, which applies across the board is that people buy from people. It’s so important to get yourself out there and let people get to know you.
How would you describe yourself?
Cheerful.
A disposition which has allowed me to cope with adversity or take on challenges without getting discouraged or taking myself too seriously.
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
I am a permanent nomad, so I am usually exploring. Currently, we are checking out Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania before a slow mosey back to England via Poland, Germany, and France.
Since we’re owned by four dogs, we do a lot of walking. We all love being out in nature. In winter, we ski, while our summer passions are windsurfing or stand up paddle boarding (SUP).
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
There are plenty places on my bucket list.
In 2020, a second bout of window shopping resulted in the purchase blind off the internet of a 24.5-tonne 6-wheel army truck, which Mark and I converted into an off-grid home fit for a trip to Mongolia. Why Mongolia? I am fascinated by Genghis Khan have often fancied myself as a Mongolian horse archer, streaking across the steppes. Unfortunately, political unrest and the war in Ukraine have scuppered our route to Mongolia.
I would love to visit the wild landscapes of Iceland, and there is a lot more I’d like to see in South America or Asia. Long-held dreams of mine are to ride horses through the Torres del Paine national park in Patagonia, or gallop across the desert on the Lawrence of Arabia trail to the ancient city of Petra.
If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
The Fab Four, our four cavapoos (cavalier King Charles/poodle cross), are a constant source of joy and entertainment. The sweetest story was when we had a friend to stay who we were comforting after she broke up with her boyfriend. Our little Kai is more human than dog. He trotted off to the kitchen and came back with a heart-shaped biscuit, which he pushed gently on to our friend’s knee. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house!
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
I like to learn as I read, so I choose books that sound enlightening. If there’s a smattering of humour, even better!
Do you have your own website?
I have two websites, my travel and doggie blog, www.WorldWideWalkies.com and my author website, which has information about my books, interviews, and articles on writing, www.JacquelineLambert.co.uk
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
Yes – I’m working on the follow up to my latest release, Building The Beast: How (Not) To Build An Overland Camper, which was awarded a Readers’ Favorite Five Star Seal. The new book will follow our first year of lorry life adventures.
Although the trip was more Manchester than Mongolia, because Putin invaded our route, it was eventful. We had to get used to the quirks of a 24.5-tonne vintage army truck, which in turn led to many encounters with interesting characters, including one who kidnapped Mark!
Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?
Our truck, The Beast, will be on show at The Adventure Overland and Campervan Show in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK, on 14-15th September, so come along and meet her and have a chat. https://adventure-overland-show.com/display-vehicles/
I will be hosting an author talk and Q&A with Leek Loves Books on Thursday 19th September 2024. https://www.leeklovesbooks.com/
And Finally:
Jacqueline’s latest book, Building The Beast: How (Not) To Build An Overland Camper, is out now.
• Find All Jackie’s books & anthologies on Amazon: https://author.to/JLambert• Follow her travel blog: www.WorldWideWalkies.com• Visit her author website: www.JacquelineLambert.co.uk
Mark and I gave up work in 2016, and accidentally bought a caravan (RV trailer). You know those days when you say, “Let’s just go out and have a look…”
A few celebratory bottles of champagne later, we decided we could live without working if we moved into it full time and toured with our four dogs. We intended to travel for three years, but eight years in, we haven’t lost the buzz.
Friends encouraged me to set up a blog to record our travels, share the practicalities of touring with dogs – and answer the question they didn’t dare ask. “You’re not millionaires and didn’t inherit a windfall, so how did you retire at 50 to follow your dreams?”
I’ve always loved writing, so blogging was a great outlet. Besides publishing honest warts-and-all travel stories and the truth about van life, I answered that big question of finance.
In September 2018, Nicola, one of my readers commented, “You should write a book. No one writes like you. Even your blog about toilets was a joy to read.”
If I did, she promised to buy six copies as Christmas presents. Never one to miss an opportunity, I sprang into action, learned all I could about publishing independently, honed my first year of blog posts into a manuscript, commissioned the cover, formatting, proof reading and editing – and my comic memoir, Fur Babies in France: From Wage Slaves to Living The Dream, was born on 2nd December 2018.
It was a Hot New Release on Amazon.
Thanks Nicola!
Do you always write in the same genre or do you mix it up?
I am a scientist (biochemist), so I am very factual and don’t feel I have the imagination to write fiction. That said, I love humour, and use that creatively when I tell my stories.
Non-fiction is my preferred genre for reading. I do enjoy some fiction, but the last highly rated fiction book I read irritated me with gaping reality gaps and a preposterous, over-convenient ending involving helicopters that simply screamed, ‘I want to be a film starring Tom Cruise!’
I did, however, thoroughly enjoy Lessons in Chemisty, which read rather like my own biography as a female scientist. Author Bonnie Garmus wrote it so magnificently, she even made the talking dog work!
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
My books are travelogues, so they follow a natural chronology of the trips I have undertaken. I do tend to sit down and write and love that feeling when the words flow. Even the comic asides tend to just come to me.
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
An excerpt from the award-winning Dogs ‘n’ Dracula
Back at the campsite, our Romanian neighbour, Miron, popped around again. He lived in Bucharest but had brought his family to see his home town. He gave us a small, plastic water bottle filled with pálinka; a plum brandy, which is Romania’s national drink. This particular example had been lovingly fermented and home-distilled to the point of being almost vaporous by Miron’s uncle.
“Be careful with it,” he urged. “It’s about 50% alcohol.”
We thanked him profusely for his kindness, but checked; “Are you sure you don’t want it yourself?”
“My Uncle gives us at least two litres every time we visit.”
We sensed that Miron’s liver – along with the livers of his close family and friends – were silently beseeching us to accept.
Since I have conducted in-depth research, now seems a good time to guide you through the labyrinth of Romanian plum-liquor terminology as I understand it. So here goes; pálinka and ţuică are both made from plums, but pálinka is generally more alcoholic, since it is twice- or thrice- distilled. Or it might just be that pálinka is a word of Hungarian origin for ţuică, or refers to ţuică made in the Ardeal region. Or it might just all be the same thing.
According to tradition, distillation must take place in a brass still over wood or charcoal. However, since gas is more controllable, it gives more consistent results. The heat source probably makes little difference to the final product, but don’t mention gas to pálinka purists – or Romanian Standards.
Horíncă, jinars or fățată are all terms for “very strong ţuică” – or might simply be different names for ţuică in different regions. None of these should be confused with slivovitz. Slivovitz is still plums, but ground plum stones are added to the fermentation to give a nutty flavour. Popular in other Balkan states, slivovitz is less common in Romania.
Although țuică can be drunk straight from the still, old țuică (țuică bătrână) is aged in oak barrels, while “țuică cu fruct” is țuică with a whole plum inside the bottle (a plum centre!)
“How do they do that?” I hear you ask in wonder.
Here, I shall share with you a special Romanian secret. Just place an empty bottle over the branch of a plum tree in Spring and then; Hey…
…wait three months…
…Presto!
A whole fruit has grown inside the bottle. (Note - this is not the method used for ships.)
Rachiu is the same drink, but made with other fruit. Although rachiu can also be made with plums.
Phew. I’m glad that we’ve got that cleared up. I hope that you have been keeping up as there will be a test later. And I am hoping that during my careful fact-checking, my Romanian friend, Lia, wasn’t just spinning me a plum line.
Lia informed us that our pálinka was a bit ‘lightweight’. Her grandparents considered 70% alcohol more acceptable. For context, a bottle of vodka is usually around 40% alcohol. Romania is one of Europe’s top plum-producers. I could make another pun around the epithet ‘plum centre’ here, but I won’t, because that would be plumbing the depths.
Lia also wowed me with the numerous different types of Romanian plum jam, although statistics suggest that over 75% of Romanian plums end up as alcohol. Even though it is traditionally served in a small glass to be sipped before a meal, pálinka represents 40% of Romania’s alcoholic beverage consumption. And it is used on special occasions instead of wine to propose a toast.
“Noroc – Cheers!”
Who is your favourite character and why?
My husband and soul mate, Mark! We met on the 9 January 1999 and were engaged 37 days later. We were married on the rocks outside a Scottish lighthouse 37 weeks after meeting. This year, we celebrate our silver wedding.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
I thoroughly enjoyed writing my third book, Dogs 'n' Dracula: A Road Trip Through Romania, because Romania was such a surprise.
Anais Nin said, “We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.”
My main motivation for writing Dracula was to set Romania’s record straight. We were told so many horror stories about Romania, we almost didn’t go. Yet Romania stole our hearts with its fabulous unspoilt landscapes, fascinating history, and such kind people that I dedicated the book to them, in Romania’s centenary year.
Dracula was the first of my books to win an award: it won the Chill With A Book Premier Readers' Award and was a finalist in the Romania Insider Awards for the ‘best promotion of Romania abroad’. The British Ambassador to Romania and Prince Charles (now King Charles III), who has a special connection to Romania, (as you might discover in the book!) both have a copy.
When readers leave reviews such as ‘Romania now firmly in my sights’, I feel it’s mission accomplished.
It was a real pleasure to revisit Romania’s El Dorado, the real Dracula’s birthplace in one of the oldest occupied citadels in Europe, and towing a caravan over two cornfields, a footpath, and Romania’s second highest mountain pass.
What is the best marketing tip you have received?
Build a following – preferably before you write your book.
When I published my first book, I had a small following from my blog. I’m sure this – and Nicola’s six copies – helped with the rather flattering ‘Hot New Release’ Amazon rankings on publication.
However, this advice truly hit home when someone published ‘my’ book. For twenty years, I’ve nursed the idea of writing a book of achievable adventures but never got around to it. Recently, I saw someone had done it. A couple whose Instagram account showcases stunning photos of their own achievable adventures to their thousands of subscribers.
When they hit publish, a fully engaged audience who know them and love what they do was ready and waiting to buy their book.
This is a much easier route than publishing a book as an unknown, then trying to get people to understand what you’re about.
I don’t say this from any position of envy – it was a Eureka moment for me, and I wish them every success. Meanwhile, I will continue building up my following!
I spent much of my career in sales and marketing (scientific equipment, not books). The first rule, which applies across the board is that people buy from people. It’s so important to get yourself out there and let people get to know you.
How would you describe yourself?
Cheerful.
A disposition which has allowed me to cope with adversity or take on challenges without getting discouraged or taking myself too seriously.
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
I am a permanent nomad, so I am usually exploring. Currently, we are checking out Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania before a slow mosey back to England via Poland, Germany, and France.
Since we’re owned by four dogs, we do a lot of walking. We all love being out in nature. In winter, we ski, while our summer passions are windsurfing or stand up paddle boarding (SUP).
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
There are plenty places on my bucket list.
In 2020, a second bout of window shopping resulted in the purchase blind off the internet of a 24.5-tonne 6-wheel army truck, which Mark and I converted into an off-grid home fit for a trip to Mongolia. Why Mongolia? I am fascinated by Genghis Khan have often fancied myself as a Mongolian horse archer, streaking across the steppes. Unfortunately, political unrest and the war in Ukraine have scuppered our route to Mongolia.
I would love to visit the wild landscapes of Iceland, and there is a lot more I’d like to see in South America or Asia. Long-held dreams of mine are to ride horses through the Torres del Paine national park in Patagonia, or gallop across the desert on the Lawrence of Arabia trail to the ancient city of Petra.
If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
The Fab Four, our four cavapoos (cavalier King Charles/poodle cross), are a constant source of joy and entertainment. The sweetest story was when we had a friend to stay who we were comforting after she broke up with her boyfriend. Our little Kai is more human than dog. He trotted off to the kitchen and came back with a heart-shaped biscuit, which he pushed gently on to our friend’s knee. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house!
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
I like to learn as I read, so I choose books that sound enlightening. If there’s a smattering of humour, even better!
Do you have your own website?
I have two websites, my travel and doggie blog, www.WorldWideWalkies.com and my author website, which has information about my books, interviews, and articles on writing, www.JacquelineLambert.co.uk
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
Yes – I’m working on the follow up to my latest release, Building The Beast: How (Not) To Build An Overland Camper, which was awarded a Readers’ Favorite Five Star Seal. The new book will follow our first year of lorry life adventures.
Although the trip was more Manchester than Mongolia, because Putin invaded our route, it was eventful. We had to get used to the quirks of a 24.5-tonne vintage army truck, which in turn led to many encounters with interesting characters, including one who kidnapped Mark!
Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?
Our truck, The Beast, will be on show at The Adventure Overland and Campervan Show in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK, on 14-15th September, so come along and meet her and have a chat. https://adventure-overland-show.com/display-vehicles/
I will be hosting an author talk and Q&A with Leek Loves Books on Thursday 19th September 2024. https://www.leeklovesbooks.com/
And Finally:
Jacqueline’s latest book, Building The Beast: How (Not) To Build An Overland Camper, is out now.
• Find All Jackie’s books & anthologies on Amazon: https://author.to/JLambert• Follow her travel blog: www.WorldWideWalkies.com• Visit her author website: www.JacquelineLambert.co.uk
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Ronald Schulz - 30 June 2024
This week it is my pleasure to interview Ronald Schulz. Would you please introduce yourself to my readers, Ronald and share something about your life. I was born in Chicago in 1952, the oldest and only boy with 5 sisters, and now live in Seattle, Washington, but I’ve lived and worked in many places over the years, from hippie communes to urban slums. My wife and I continue to wander the globe, but more comfortably and lehttps://www.amazon.com/ebook/dp/B0B2RWVH8Xss adventurously these days. I am the father of two grown kids and a grandfather of three, so even though I’m 72 and semi-retired, I cannot just grab a rucksack and go like I used to. When did you write your first book and how did it come about? Writing about my times and experiences was always in the back of my mind. In the 1980s I began jotting notes and even submitted a short story to a student magazine, which they accepted, but as luck had it, that issue never got published and I’d given them my only copy. It was only after my circumstances became more settled and I took a university class in memoir writing, that I began to write with more determination and submit my efforts to peer review. Do you always write in the same genre or do you mix it up? History and true stories have always been my obsession, although I’m often advised that objective truth is elusive and “there is no such thing as nonfiction.” I like to examine the psychology and motivation behind events, and we all hide behind masks, even from ourselves. To expose our hidden motivations, we must strip away our fictional defenses, and confess to reveal our naked truths. I write memoirs that read like novels, or creative nonfiction that brings the reader into an emotional self-identification with the protagonists. When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand? I do both. First, I need to be fired up, and driven to record and explain a meaningful experience. However, my memory of the events and the person I was at the time might be imperfect and overshadowed by the excuses I’ve made to myself. This will gradually become clearer as I write and focus on it. Then, as I walk away from the desk and do other things my mind continues to mull it over and bring forgotten aspects of the story into better focus. These are brainstorms that I need to jot down or else I may forget. Back at my desk, I can incorporate the notes to flesh out and enlarge the story I’m writing about. Therefore, I find that taking breaks from writing can refresh and improve the result. Don’t push yourself too hard, let the ideas flow as easily as squirting toothpaste from a tube. Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books? This is from a chapter entitled Forest Home Cemetery from Home from the Edge
“Well, if it isn’t my old cellmate from the County jail!” The voice sounded familiar. I turned around to see the smiling face of a curly-haired new patient. “Pete, my man! Is it really you?” Still in his long-fringed leather jacket, Pete Fischetti looked much the same as when I first met him in the Bull Pen of Cook County Jail. His hair, like mine, was growing out after the scalping we got in jail. I spoke in a stage whisper. “Looks like our lawyers’ strategy put us both here. Calling us crazy might help us avoid hard-time.” He wrapped me in a bear hug. “Wouldn’t it be wild if they sent all the Weathermen to this mental hospital? It’d be just like the song.” He broke into an off-tune rendition of We all live in a Yellow Submarine, by the Beatles, but then switched to the Weathermen version that went, We all live in a Weatherman machine, a Weatherman machine, a Weatherman machine. And our friends are all in jail, many more of us are out on bail… “That’s enough, Pete,” I said. “You’ll scare the nurses!” I smiled at the glowering RN sitting behind the counter. She never appreciated my rock and roll serenades. “Don’t worry, Pete is only as crazy as the rest of us.” She gave me a dismissive wave. “Why don’t you boys move away from the nurses’ station? Go bother someone else.” I grabbed Pete’s elbow. “Let me show you around and introduce you. You’re gonna love it here. It’s even better than jail.” He burst out laughing and I joined in. Later I met his famous dad, the political cartoonist, who seemed like a pretty-cool guy with a liberal perspective, whereas mine was a conservative Republican, who believed in the power of the unrestrained free market to fix everything. After his parents left, Pete turned serious. “Can you sign yourself out?” I nodded. “Let’s go for a walk and catch up.” He lowered his voice to a stage whisper. “I’ve got some fine herb we can share.” … “It’s some damn good shit, huh?” I nodded in agreement, but I couldn’t get my voice to work without an immense effort. “Sure, is! Damn good shit.” A buzzing sensation, like bees in my bonnet, muffled other sounds, even Pete’s voice. I felt numb, airy, but at times heavy too and I’d forget what we were talking about in mid-sentence. “Goddamn, I’m stoned, Pete.” I wasn’t sure if I spoke or only thought those words. My perception of time, my train of thought and my full memory of what happened vanished into a haze. Pete’s face appeared in front of me, his mouth working as he seemed to ask me something. I grabbed his jacket, pulled him close, and blurted, “Huh?” “How many times have we gone around the field, Ron?” “Wow, I don’t know, man. How long have we been out here?” Pete started laughing. “Fuck if I know. Your face looks hilarious right now. We’re totally fucked up. Better head in before we lose our privileges.” Somehow, we got back across Roosevelt and onto the ward without the nurses noticing our condition.
The next day, we walked across the frozen DesPlaines river to explore the Forest Home Cemetery. Originally called Waldheim, it had been the first German cemetery in Chicago. We wound our way along meandering paths among headstones and skeleton trees that would offer leafy shade in summer. The monuments intrigued us, and we stopped to examine them. The statue of a man in a thoughtful pose intrigued us. He rested his head on his right hand, supported by his knee atop a great pillar. Below was the year 1888, below that U. A. O. D. “Spooky,” Pete said. “I wonder what the letters stand for.” We couldn’t find an inscription to clarify the mystery. Only much later did I learn that it stood for The United Ancient Order of Druids, was a nineteenth century fraternity, whose members lay buried around it. High on pot, I felt we’d gone back in time. “Wow, Pete, look at that one.” I stopped and pointed at the black statue of a hooded woman standing like a protecting Valkyrie over the corpse of a bearded man, as if shielding him from evil. They were on top of a pyramid which stood atop a white pillar. Below it was an inscription. “Listen to this, Pete!” Chills ran up and down my spine as I read aloud. The day will come when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you are throttling today. Pete whistled. “That’s heavy, man. Makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.” “Yeah,” I said. “Let’s check out the back.” There we found a bronze plaque upon which was a decree pardoning the labor leaders accused of the Haymarket bombing. The Haymarket was the very place Pete and I had marched off from to bring the Vietnam War home to America. We stood among the martyrs of the Haymarket, our ancient comrades. Giddy with stoned amazement, I clapped Pete on the shoulder. “Dig it, man. Our getting sent to Riveredge was no mere coincidence. We have a big karmic connection to these long-dead Haymarket comrades. They may even be us, reincarnated.” We read that a following city administration had erected this memorial to acknowledge the injustice done to these martyred Labor agitators. They had been railroaded by the courts and hung despite considerable evidence of their innocence. “Yeah,” Pete whispered. “This is some heavy history, makes this sacred ground to the struggle.” Pete took another hit and offered it to me. “It’s spooky-wild that we both ended up right here, together, after getting busted in the modern Haymarket riot.” Who is your favourite character and why? Pete was a boisterous, ever-cheerful friend I first met in jail. We had been arrested during the radical SDS ‘siege of Chicago’ in 1969, and he sympathized with me as a bandaged victim of police truncheons. We ended up in the same mental hospital where he shared his smuggled marijuana and I, my contraband booze, which made our stay there most enjoyable. What is the best marketing tip you have received? That’s a hard one, as I’m overwhelmed by marketing advice and social media demands that so far haven’t helped advance my book sales as much as it has cost me, but then I hear ‘ignore all that and keep writing sequels’ which should, in the long run, bring attention to my efforts. In the end, I write for love, not loot, although to keep going I need some financial reward. How would you describe yourself? While I am a ‘people person,’ I sometimes lose patience and become frustrated with what I see as obstinate shortcomings in others. Like most of us, I’m rough around the edges and need to remind myself to chill out and lower my expectations, even for the standards I set for myself. I’m stuck with me for the long haul, and you are too, as we share the air and our limited space on this amazing planet Earth. Let us make it a more enjoyable relationship then has too often been the case, and we had better leave it in good shape for our descendants. What do you do when you are not writing or reading? I enjoy nature, hiking, bike riding, and horse riding, which I loved about living in the country and haven’t done in too many years. Together with my wife and friends, I also enjoy traveling, as much for the people I meet as for the local sights and attractions. If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why? I’ve already been almost everywhere, but revisiting I find everywhere has changed to become a new and unfamiliar place. I miss Nepal and need to return there to see the metamorphosis it has gone through since 1976. Do you have your own website? My Amazon author site is: https://www.amazon.com/author/ronaldschulz and Goodreads is https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22470023.Ronald_Schulz Watch my Chicago Heartland Radio Interview here https://youtu.be/1VD2mCuYs7M Are you working on a new book at the moment? Yes, my next book should be available at the beginning of July, CHICAGO WHITE PANTHERS: THE PARTY AT THE END OF THE RAINBOW. A sequel to this book, which I am working on in the midst of other commitments, is CHASING KARMA, the origin story of our back-to-nature organic farming commune in Wisconsin. We were radical hippies from Chicago who immersed ourselves in the rural scene before organic produce became in demand, but there is so much more to the story as we experimented with sexual and economic relationships and concepts of communal versus personal space. We are still friends, despite being flung across the landscape due to personal and economic forces, leaving only one die-hard family in permanent residence. Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about? Other events will be noted on my facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/RonaldBooksandbluster/
“Well, if it isn’t my old cellmate from the County jail!” The voice sounded familiar. I turned around to see the smiling face of a curly-haired new patient. “Pete, my man! Is it really you?” Still in his long-fringed leather jacket, Pete Fischetti looked much the same as when I first met him in the Bull Pen of Cook County Jail. His hair, like mine, was growing out after the scalping we got in jail. I spoke in a stage whisper. “Looks like our lawyers’ strategy put us both here. Calling us crazy might help us avoid hard-time.” He wrapped me in a bear hug. “Wouldn’t it be wild if they sent all the Weathermen to this mental hospital? It’d be just like the song.” He broke into an off-tune rendition of We all live in a Yellow Submarine, by the Beatles, but then switched to the Weathermen version that went, We all live in a Weatherman machine, a Weatherman machine, a Weatherman machine. And our friends are all in jail, many more of us are out on bail… “That’s enough, Pete,” I said. “You’ll scare the nurses!” I smiled at the glowering RN sitting behind the counter. She never appreciated my rock and roll serenades. “Don’t worry, Pete is only as crazy as the rest of us.” She gave me a dismissive wave. “Why don’t you boys move away from the nurses’ station? Go bother someone else.” I grabbed Pete’s elbow. “Let me show you around and introduce you. You’re gonna love it here. It’s even better than jail.” He burst out laughing and I joined in. Later I met his famous dad, the political cartoonist, who seemed like a pretty-cool guy with a liberal perspective, whereas mine was a conservative Republican, who believed in the power of the unrestrained free market to fix everything. After his parents left, Pete turned serious. “Can you sign yourself out?” I nodded. “Let’s go for a walk and catch up.” He lowered his voice to a stage whisper. “I’ve got some fine herb we can share.” … “It’s some damn good shit, huh?” I nodded in agreement, but I couldn’t get my voice to work without an immense effort. “Sure, is! Damn good shit.” A buzzing sensation, like bees in my bonnet, muffled other sounds, even Pete’s voice. I felt numb, airy, but at times heavy too and I’d forget what we were talking about in mid-sentence. “Goddamn, I’m stoned, Pete.” I wasn’t sure if I spoke or only thought those words. My perception of time, my train of thought and my full memory of what happened vanished into a haze. Pete’s face appeared in front of me, his mouth working as he seemed to ask me something. I grabbed his jacket, pulled him close, and blurted, “Huh?” “How many times have we gone around the field, Ron?” “Wow, I don’t know, man. How long have we been out here?” Pete started laughing. “Fuck if I know. Your face looks hilarious right now. We’re totally fucked up. Better head in before we lose our privileges.” Somehow, we got back across Roosevelt and onto the ward without the nurses noticing our condition.
The next day, we walked across the frozen DesPlaines river to explore the Forest Home Cemetery. Originally called Waldheim, it had been the first German cemetery in Chicago. We wound our way along meandering paths among headstones and skeleton trees that would offer leafy shade in summer. The monuments intrigued us, and we stopped to examine them. The statue of a man in a thoughtful pose intrigued us. He rested his head on his right hand, supported by his knee atop a great pillar. Below was the year 1888, below that U. A. O. D. “Spooky,” Pete said. “I wonder what the letters stand for.” We couldn’t find an inscription to clarify the mystery. Only much later did I learn that it stood for The United Ancient Order of Druids, was a nineteenth century fraternity, whose members lay buried around it. High on pot, I felt we’d gone back in time. “Wow, Pete, look at that one.” I stopped and pointed at the black statue of a hooded woman standing like a protecting Valkyrie over the corpse of a bearded man, as if shielding him from evil. They were on top of a pyramid which stood atop a white pillar. Below it was an inscription. “Listen to this, Pete!” Chills ran up and down my spine as I read aloud. The day will come when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you are throttling today. Pete whistled. “That’s heavy, man. Makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.” “Yeah,” I said. “Let’s check out the back.” There we found a bronze plaque upon which was a decree pardoning the labor leaders accused of the Haymarket bombing. The Haymarket was the very place Pete and I had marched off from to bring the Vietnam War home to America. We stood among the martyrs of the Haymarket, our ancient comrades. Giddy with stoned amazement, I clapped Pete on the shoulder. “Dig it, man. Our getting sent to Riveredge was no mere coincidence. We have a big karmic connection to these long-dead Haymarket comrades. They may even be us, reincarnated.” We read that a following city administration had erected this memorial to acknowledge the injustice done to these martyred Labor agitators. They had been railroaded by the courts and hung despite considerable evidence of their innocence. “Yeah,” Pete whispered. “This is some heavy history, makes this sacred ground to the struggle.” Pete took another hit and offered it to me. “It’s spooky-wild that we both ended up right here, together, after getting busted in the modern Haymarket riot.” Who is your favourite character and why? Pete was a boisterous, ever-cheerful friend I first met in jail. We had been arrested during the radical SDS ‘siege of Chicago’ in 1969, and he sympathized with me as a bandaged victim of police truncheons. We ended up in the same mental hospital where he shared his smuggled marijuana and I, my contraband booze, which made our stay there most enjoyable. What is the best marketing tip you have received? That’s a hard one, as I’m overwhelmed by marketing advice and social media demands that so far haven’t helped advance my book sales as much as it has cost me, but then I hear ‘ignore all that and keep writing sequels’ which should, in the long run, bring attention to my efforts. In the end, I write for love, not loot, although to keep going I need some financial reward. How would you describe yourself? While I am a ‘people person,’ I sometimes lose patience and become frustrated with what I see as obstinate shortcomings in others. Like most of us, I’m rough around the edges and need to remind myself to chill out and lower my expectations, even for the standards I set for myself. I’m stuck with me for the long haul, and you are too, as we share the air and our limited space on this amazing planet Earth. Let us make it a more enjoyable relationship then has too often been the case, and we had better leave it in good shape for our descendants. What do you do when you are not writing or reading? I enjoy nature, hiking, bike riding, and horse riding, which I loved about living in the country and haven’t done in too many years. Together with my wife and friends, I also enjoy traveling, as much for the people I meet as for the local sights and attractions. If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why? I’ve already been almost everywhere, but revisiting I find everywhere has changed to become a new and unfamiliar place. I miss Nepal and need to return there to see the metamorphosis it has gone through since 1976. Do you have your own website? My Amazon author site is: https://www.amazon.com/author/ronaldschulz and Goodreads is https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22470023.Ronald_Schulz Watch my Chicago Heartland Radio Interview here https://youtu.be/1VD2mCuYs7M Are you working on a new book at the moment? Yes, my next book should be available at the beginning of July, CHICAGO WHITE PANTHERS: THE PARTY AT THE END OF THE RAINBOW. A sequel to this book, which I am working on in the midst of other commitments, is CHASING KARMA, the origin story of our back-to-nature organic farming commune in Wisconsin. We were radical hippies from Chicago who immersed ourselves in the rural scene before organic produce became in demand, but there is so much more to the story as we experimented with sexual and economic relationships and concepts of communal versus personal space. We are still friends, despite being flung across the landscape due to personal and economic forces, leaving only one die-hard family in permanent residence. Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about? Other events will be noted on my facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/RonaldBooksandbluster/
Jeff Senior - 23 June 2024
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This week it is my pleasure to interview Jeff Senior. Would you please introduce yourself to my readers, Jeff and share something about your life.
I’m Jeff Senior. I was born in West Yorkshire, England, and still live here, in a place called Liversedge, with my wife of over 53 years. We have two sons and two grandchildren.I started working in IT and, after about ten years, became a freelance writer. This was initially as a technical author, writing user guides and help text for computer software (all quite boring and largely unread; no-one reads manuals, they just sit on a shelf). I later moved on to writing articles for business magazines, which meant I was able to interview some very interesting people, including a few celebrity chefs (Raymond Blanc and Marcus Wareing among them). I also filled in with writing website text and blogs.
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
My first published book was in the 1980s in England, “Microcomputer Buyer’s Guide”, which came about from my work in IT, had a very restricted circulation and sold hardly any copies. I’ve ghost-written two business books that aren’t of course in my name although I do get an acknowledgement.Now I’m trying to get into proper writing that people might actually read. I’ve long had an ambition to have a published novel but financial constraints meant I needed a more dependable income. Now I’m past retirement age and the mortgage is paid off, I’ve had the opportunity to finally achieve my aim.My first novel is “The Itch That Couldn’t Be Scratched”, which was published on 1st March this year. It’s a tale of obsession, of one man’s quest to obtain justice for a woman he never knew, and the affect it has on him and those around him.The book idea came from me thinking about life in general. About how the decisions we take and the actions that result can change not only our own lives but also those around us and then those around them. It’s like a ripple effect and means our lives are not like they would have been if we had acted differently.The original plan was to describe different outcomes depending on the decisions taken but that became too complicated, and I settled for the story that was eventually produced.The whole process took about three years, split equally between the writing and editing process, and then getting it to publication. So it probably started sometime in 2021 and finished in 2024. Although, since I’m now heavily involved in trying to promote the book, I’m not sure it will ever really finish.
Do you always write in the same genre or do you mix it up?
The genre of the published book is, I suppose, ‘cosy mystery/thriller’, although it also deals with relationships. I have a second book underway, which is a sequel and so is in the same genre. I may change in future but that’s debatable.
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand? For the published book, I never followed the conventional path of preparing an outline with characters, then writing the chapters in series. Instead, I had an idea for the book, wrote the first and last chapters, then filled in from the middle. So, it sort of evolved as I went along.I often had thoughts and ideas when I was out, so I’d write content on whatever I had available, usually a tablet or phone, and then transfer them to the laptop when I got back so I could incorporate them into the book.It was all a bit random so I eventually had to go through the book, editing and resequencing so it all made sense, and finally finished up with 82,000 words that I was happy with. The second book is basically following the same pattern. I suppose we all operate differently so it’s whatever works for us.
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
The published book is about a retired couple who come across a woman in the act of suicide. No-one seems to be concerned about why she did it; it’s accepted that she was depressed and everything became too much. But the couple decide to find out the reasons behind the act. This extract covers the period after they’ve discovered some basic information about the woman and are deciding what to do next.
“Okay,” says Jess. “So what do we do now? Now we know where she lived and who she lived with. And we’ve got an allegation that he might have beaten her. So what do you want to do?”“We should go see him,” I reply.“Or go to the police. Tell them what we know and let them deal with it.”I’m doubtful. “That will be a waste of time. We’ve got no proof and they won’t act on second hand allegations.”“They might,” she replies, “if they’ve had previous reports. If they already have suspicions. Don’t you think we should try them first and not get too involved?”“Is that one of your rhetorical questions?”“One of my what?”“A rhetorical question. It’s one that’s said for effect and doesn’t need an answer because you already know what it is. It’s like when someone says ‘Are you stupid or what?’, where an answer is pointless.“It’s similar to when you give me totally unnecessary advice. Like pointing out obstacles that are as big as a bus in case I’ve not noticed them. Or telling me how to do things that I’ve been doing perfectly well for years.”“Just imagine,” I add, “that I’m a mature bloke, an adult who’s capable of making informed decisions.”“What does that mean?” she responds, obviously not impressed.“It means,” I say, “that you don’t have to tell me obvious things. You don’t have to treat me as though I’m six years old. I know it’s a difficult concept but it would be nice if you can grasp it.”That just gets me a dig in the ribs. “I don’t know what you’re on about.”But she does. So I press on regardless. “A rhetorical question is like when you ask me to make a choice and, when I do, you explain why it’s the wrong one. Because, in this case, you’ve already decided we should go to the police.”So we did, and it was a waste of time.
Who is your favourite character and why?
It’s often said that we should write about what we know but I don’t know a lot. So the two main characters are based, very broadly, on me and my wife. So I’ll have to say that Jess, the character based on my wife, is my favourite character otherwise I’ll be in trouble.She does, however, try to protect her husband and stop him being reckless. She realises he is obsessed in his pursuit of the criminal who caused the woman’s death so she spends a lot of time trying to prevent him getting into trouble.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
This is a bit of a short list because I have only one completed book plus another underway. I’ve always enjoyed writing and have done so in one form or another for most of my career. So I do get please from the whole process of writing.
What is the best marketing tip you have received?
Since my book was published, I have spent a lot of time researching the whole subject of book marketing. There is a lot of information out there but I’m not sure of the value of some of it.One of the main messages is to be very active on social media to build up a following. I’ve not found this to be very effective although social media isn’t really my thing, apart from Goodreads, which has the advantage of all members being avid readers of novels.I suppose the best marketing tip I’ve come across is to start early, not waiting until the book is published. To achieve sales, a book needs plenty of good reviews so the aim is to get plenty of review copies out before publication.
How would you describe yourself?
For most of my career, I’ve been a freelance writer, which means I spent a large part of my days alone in my home office. So I have had a fairly solitary working existence although that’s been interspersed with time with my wife and family. It’s probably meant that I’m not the most outgoing of people and am able to express myself better in writing rather than speaking.
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
I’ve always liked the outdoor life although my career has meant spending a lot of time indoors. Now I’m retired, in theory at least, I enjoy going for walks with my wife, gardening and just being outside when the weather permits, which it doesn’t always do in England. I used to watch a lot of cricket, although I don’t very much now.
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
We have been to lots of places, including Australia, India and America, and I would happily visit any of them again. I guess New Zealand might be somewhere that we’d like to visit because it’s reckoned to be a beautiful country with some spectacular scenery.We’re not ones for sitting on sun beds or beaches although we do favour warmer climes so we can get out and about. However, we have now rather settled on Lanzarote, where we go three times a year for a month each time. We know a lot of people there so it’s rather a social visit.
If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
We don’t have pets because we go away too much. We did have a dog many years ago when the kids were young. She was the most placid animal, which is just as well because our boys used to dress her up sometimes. We also had a budgerigar that lasted about a week, escaping through an open door while her cage was being cleaned and never to be seen again.
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
Like most people, I like a book with a good plot, likeable heroes, detestable villains and a story that moves along at a reasonable pace. I like legal thrillers by John Grisham and Michael Connolly, historical novels by Bernard Cornwell (particularly the Sharpe and Last Kingdom series) and books by Harlan Coben, Dick Francis and others. I used to read a lot of Steven King and Tom Clancy books but not so much now
Do you have your own website?
Yes, it’s https://www.jeffsenior.co.uk/. I try to keep it updated by adding blogs and news, although I’m not sure how many people access it.
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
I am working on a sequel to my published book. It has a working title of ‘Bad Neighbour’, although that could change. It’s been stuck at 64,000 words for quite a while now because I’m spending too much time marketing the current book plus other things.
Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?
My publisher is supposed to be doing some marketing but I don’t think they’re very helpful, so it’s mainly up to me. There are no planned events as such. I’m just trying to get more publicity, increase the number of reviews and generally raise the profile of the book. It isn’t easy because there are a lot of other books out there (a reputed 32 million plus on Amazon alone, with a further 7,500 Kindle books added every day).
I’m Jeff Senior. I was born in West Yorkshire, England, and still live here, in a place called Liversedge, with my wife of over 53 years. We have two sons and two grandchildren.I started working in IT and, after about ten years, became a freelance writer. This was initially as a technical author, writing user guides and help text for computer software (all quite boring and largely unread; no-one reads manuals, they just sit on a shelf). I later moved on to writing articles for business magazines, which meant I was able to interview some very interesting people, including a few celebrity chefs (Raymond Blanc and Marcus Wareing among them). I also filled in with writing website text and blogs.
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
My first published book was in the 1980s in England, “Microcomputer Buyer’s Guide”, which came about from my work in IT, had a very restricted circulation and sold hardly any copies. I’ve ghost-written two business books that aren’t of course in my name although I do get an acknowledgement.Now I’m trying to get into proper writing that people might actually read. I’ve long had an ambition to have a published novel but financial constraints meant I needed a more dependable income. Now I’m past retirement age and the mortgage is paid off, I’ve had the opportunity to finally achieve my aim.My first novel is “The Itch That Couldn’t Be Scratched”, which was published on 1st March this year. It’s a tale of obsession, of one man’s quest to obtain justice for a woman he never knew, and the affect it has on him and those around him.The book idea came from me thinking about life in general. About how the decisions we take and the actions that result can change not only our own lives but also those around us and then those around them. It’s like a ripple effect and means our lives are not like they would have been if we had acted differently.The original plan was to describe different outcomes depending on the decisions taken but that became too complicated, and I settled for the story that was eventually produced.The whole process took about three years, split equally between the writing and editing process, and then getting it to publication. So it probably started sometime in 2021 and finished in 2024. Although, since I’m now heavily involved in trying to promote the book, I’m not sure it will ever really finish.
Do you always write in the same genre or do you mix it up?
The genre of the published book is, I suppose, ‘cosy mystery/thriller’, although it also deals with relationships. I have a second book underway, which is a sequel and so is in the same genre. I may change in future but that’s debatable.
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand? For the published book, I never followed the conventional path of preparing an outline with characters, then writing the chapters in series. Instead, I had an idea for the book, wrote the first and last chapters, then filled in from the middle. So, it sort of evolved as I went along.I often had thoughts and ideas when I was out, so I’d write content on whatever I had available, usually a tablet or phone, and then transfer them to the laptop when I got back so I could incorporate them into the book.It was all a bit random so I eventually had to go through the book, editing and resequencing so it all made sense, and finally finished up with 82,000 words that I was happy with. The second book is basically following the same pattern. I suppose we all operate differently so it’s whatever works for us.
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
The published book is about a retired couple who come across a woman in the act of suicide. No-one seems to be concerned about why she did it; it’s accepted that she was depressed and everything became too much. But the couple decide to find out the reasons behind the act. This extract covers the period after they’ve discovered some basic information about the woman and are deciding what to do next.
“Okay,” says Jess. “So what do we do now? Now we know where she lived and who she lived with. And we’ve got an allegation that he might have beaten her. So what do you want to do?”“We should go see him,” I reply.“Or go to the police. Tell them what we know and let them deal with it.”I’m doubtful. “That will be a waste of time. We’ve got no proof and they won’t act on second hand allegations.”“They might,” she replies, “if they’ve had previous reports. If they already have suspicions. Don’t you think we should try them first and not get too involved?”“Is that one of your rhetorical questions?”“One of my what?”“A rhetorical question. It’s one that’s said for effect and doesn’t need an answer because you already know what it is. It’s like when someone says ‘Are you stupid or what?’, where an answer is pointless.“It’s similar to when you give me totally unnecessary advice. Like pointing out obstacles that are as big as a bus in case I’ve not noticed them. Or telling me how to do things that I’ve been doing perfectly well for years.”“Just imagine,” I add, “that I’m a mature bloke, an adult who’s capable of making informed decisions.”“What does that mean?” she responds, obviously not impressed.“It means,” I say, “that you don’t have to tell me obvious things. You don’t have to treat me as though I’m six years old. I know it’s a difficult concept but it would be nice if you can grasp it.”That just gets me a dig in the ribs. “I don’t know what you’re on about.”But she does. So I press on regardless. “A rhetorical question is like when you ask me to make a choice and, when I do, you explain why it’s the wrong one. Because, in this case, you’ve already decided we should go to the police.”So we did, and it was a waste of time.
Who is your favourite character and why?
It’s often said that we should write about what we know but I don’t know a lot. So the two main characters are based, very broadly, on me and my wife. So I’ll have to say that Jess, the character based on my wife, is my favourite character otherwise I’ll be in trouble.She does, however, try to protect her husband and stop him being reckless. She realises he is obsessed in his pursuit of the criminal who caused the woman’s death so she spends a lot of time trying to prevent him getting into trouble.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
This is a bit of a short list because I have only one completed book plus another underway. I’ve always enjoyed writing and have done so in one form or another for most of my career. So I do get please from the whole process of writing.
What is the best marketing tip you have received?
Since my book was published, I have spent a lot of time researching the whole subject of book marketing. There is a lot of information out there but I’m not sure of the value of some of it.One of the main messages is to be very active on social media to build up a following. I’ve not found this to be very effective although social media isn’t really my thing, apart from Goodreads, which has the advantage of all members being avid readers of novels.I suppose the best marketing tip I’ve come across is to start early, not waiting until the book is published. To achieve sales, a book needs plenty of good reviews so the aim is to get plenty of review copies out before publication.
How would you describe yourself?
For most of my career, I’ve been a freelance writer, which means I spent a large part of my days alone in my home office. So I have had a fairly solitary working existence although that’s been interspersed with time with my wife and family. It’s probably meant that I’m not the most outgoing of people and am able to express myself better in writing rather than speaking.
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
I’ve always liked the outdoor life although my career has meant spending a lot of time indoors. Now I’m retired, in theory at least, I enjoy going for walks with my wife, gardening and just being outside when the weather permits, which it doesn’t always do in England. I used to watch a lot of cricket, although I don’t very much now.
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
We have been to lots of places, including Australia, India and America, and I would happily visit any of them again. I guess New Zealand might be somewhere that we’d like to visit because it’s reckoned to be a beautiful country with some spectacular scenery.We’re not ones for sitting on sun beds or beaches although we do favour warmer climes so we can get out and about. However, we have now rather settled on Lanzarote, where we go three times a year for a month each time. We know a lot of people there so it’s rather a social visit.
If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
We don’t have pets because we go away too much. We did have a dog many years ago when the kids were young. She was the most placid animal, which is just as well because our boys used to dress her up sometimes. We also had a budgerigar that lasted about a week, escaping through an open door while her cage was being cleaned and never to be seen again.
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
Like most people, I like a book with a good plot, likeable heroes, detestable villains and a story that moves along at a reasonable pace. I like legal thrillers by John Grisham and Michael Connolly, historical novels by Bernard Cornwell (particularly the Sharpe and Last Kingdom series) and books by Harlan Coben, Dick Francis and others. I used to read a lot of Steven King and Tom Clancy books but not so much now
Do you have your own website?
Yes, it’s https://www.jeffsenior.co.uk/. I try to keep it updated by adding blogs and news, although I’m not sure how many people access it.
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
I am working on a sequel to my published book. It has a working title of ‘Bad Neighbour’, although that could change. It’s been stuck at 64,000 words for quite a while now because I’m spending too much time marketing the current book plus other things.
Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?
My publisher is supposed to be doing some marketing but I don’t think they’re very helpful, so it’s mainly up to me. There are no planned events as such. I’m just trying to get more publicity, increase the number of reviews and generally raise the profile of the book. It isn’t easy because there are a lot of other books out there (a reputed 32 million plus on Amazon alone, with a further 7,500 Kindle books added every day).
Carly Wiggins - 16 June 2024
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Carly Wiggins
www.carlywigginsauthor.com
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This week it is my pleasure to interview Carly Wiggins. Would you please introduce yourself to my readers, Carly and share something about your life.
Hello. My name is Carly Wiggins. I live in Houston, Texas, but I spend the summers in Burlington, Vermont, to escape the heat and enjoy the scenery.
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
I started writing my first book, a short Christian fiction story called June’s Faith, in 2018, but it was published in 2023. I wanted to write something to encourage Christiansand non-believers alike in the common human experience of the struggles of life and to remind people that they aren’t alone and that no matter what they go through, God is still good.
Do you always write in the same genre or do you mix it up?
I have only published two books so far that are part of the June’s Faith Christian fiction short story series, but I plan on publishing a poetry book soon. I would also like to publish Christian nonfiction sometime in the future.
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
I like to say I let it evolve. I don’t do outlines or anything. I find it to be a very creative and organic process for me. However, I had to reference characters, plots, and dialogues a lot, as I wrote June’s Faith and June’s Faith book 2 to see if everything flowed well.
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
“Today was no exception. But the difference about today was that June was going to confront God about it. She was tired of hiding beneath a rock. She demanded an answer from Him. But was He going to answer? He did indeed- but in a most unusual way.” – June’s Faith
Who is your favourite character and why?
The main character, June because she is courageous, honest about her trials in life, and wants God most of all. In both books, she wants to right the wrongs she has done. Her love for Jimmy, her husband, is just beautiful.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
June’s Faith: The Adventure Continues because I already got the hang of writing my first book, and in this sequel, there were a lot of twists and turns that I didn’t expect until I started writing it out and letting it flow where the words wanted to go.
What is the best marketing tip you have received?
If you do KDP or Barnes and Noble Press, try to pick categories that are less competitive but appropriate to your niche as well. This may seem like 101, but if you are a self-published author seeking to get into other digital or in-stores, please get your own ISBN, and on Amazon, don’t do wide distribution. These are barriers as a self-published author to spread your wings, if you will, into other places.
How would you describe yourself?
Funny, blunt, hard on myself, a thinker and feeler, and loving.
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
I also enjoy playing the guitar. I know a few Beatles songs on the guitar. Now, my voice is another story. Let’s just say it’s a work in progress. Lol.
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
Ireland, because I am Irish and would love to go back to my roots. I hear it’s such a beautiful landscape and friendly people. On a personal note, I would love to meet Bono of U2 if I could. Lol.
If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
I had a mutt named Zoey growing up. She had a mix of Samoyed, Spitz, and Cocker Spaniel. She was so pretty, and people always asked us what kind of dog she was. My dad joked around many times and said, “A Haitian lap hound from Hait.” People said, “Oh, really?” And people believed my dad. Lol. He eventually told them that she was just a mutt, but most of the time, they would just laugh. That’s my dad for you and it goes to show that mutts are the best.
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
In the end, I ask myself if it will encourage me and make me think but still line up with my core values. And I love books that make me laugh, too.
Do you have your own website?
Yes. www.carlywigginsauthor.com
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
Yes, a book of poetry with Christian poetry weaved with other poems just about my thoughts on life.
Christine Skarbek - 9 June 2024
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This week it is my pleasure to interview journalist, editor and adventurer Christine Skarbek. Would you please introduce yourself to my readers, Christine and share something about your life?
~~This is a great honor for me and I wish to thank you, Rita! Australia – what a lovely place! And you officially make the 4th continent where my book has been introduced. So, many, many thanks. As you say, I am a journalist and editor. I grew up in the Midwest in the United States only dreaming about what an ocean might be like. But, miracle of all miracles, I now straddle one! I’ve led a most remarkable life and I tell all in my adventure memoir, Confronting Power and Chaos: the Uncharted Kaleidoscope of My Life. Folks who have read my memoir tell me it reads like fiction. (Who else writes about blackmailing a sitting governor to rescue her child or entertaining Bill Clinton’s Secret Service detail to get rid of spooks invading her home for over six months? And neither event is fiction.)
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
~~I’ve written one and only one book. That is my crazy memoir, Confronting Power and Chaos: the Uncharted Kaleidoscope of My Life. It only came about because the gifted Polish screenwriter and novelist I work with told me to do it. He convinced me there are ever so many people who would take heart from reading it. And, from the many kudos my readers have showered it with, I think that’s true. One actually (and I quote her verbatim) wrote: “Christine Skarbek, you are a legend!”
Do you always write in the same genre or do you mix it up?
~~Might I digress a bit here? I am not a fiction writer but – and that is a HUGE BUT! I truly admire a good novelist and have been exceedingly fortunate to work as an editor for a Polish author I greatly esteem! I’ve worked on all ten of his novels and adapted three of them to English-speaking settings. His work is exceptional because he delves into the intricacies of his characters’ psyches as his protagonists face undisguised evil. The interplay is always rewarding for the reader.
~~No, I am first and foremost a journalist and cannot write something as creative as fiction, where you have to learn to pace the story, creating intriguing characters along the way. As a reporter, I merely report. That is why I could and did write my memoir which is getting a lot of notice on three continents and I know well it’s also on a fourth. (A buddy in Australia is going to read her copy soon. And, of course, there are you and your followers.)
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
~~ As it concerns my memoir, I was lucky. When I first moved to Poland in 2010, I would often write what I termed Roving Reporter Reports and email them to friends and family. So I had a trove of material to start with to simply copy and paste where it belonged inside the memoir. All that as backdrop, it did take me about three years of writing to put it all into context and make a narrative whole of my life’s wanderings.
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from your memoir?
~~ Would be more than happy to – Enjoy! FYI~~~The following occurred as I was finishing up my junior year abroad in Europe. (I was 20 at the time and exceedingly shy. Oh, by the way, there's a passing mention to M. Rochon. He’s a French Jew I had gotten to know months before in Paris.)
My destination the next day, Sunday, was the last goal I had set for myself. I had considered going behind the Iron Curtain to visit a holocaust site, preferably Auschwitz. But, when I had the chance several weeks before to hook up with Phoebe and some others going to Berlin, I chickened out and turned them down. Now I was determined to see Dachau. I took the early morning train and walked out of the train station into the glaring sun. I blinked repeatedly, getting my eyes to adjust, and found myself in a deserted parking lot. I wasn’t aware the usual bus to the camp referenced in my Michelin Guide didn’t run on Sundays until I studied the bus stop signs. There were no signs of life in the village, not even a stray dog. Sighing, I got out my map to study it, when a flashy red roadster came around the corner and pulled up alongside me. “Can I give you a lift?” the distinguished-looking man asked from behind the steering wheel. “Where are you going?” Like a hunting dog that had just caught the scent, I jerked to attention and scrutinized him. He could have been some professor with gray and white at his temples. There were times I could just tell about someone and this was one of those times. I liked him immediately. “Oh, I’m trying to get to the concentration camp. It’s outside of town, I know. Do you know if I can walk there? Is it too far? I just discovered there are no buses on Sundays.” “I know the way. Get in.” He leaned over and opened the passenger door invitingly. "What do you think you are doing?” I chided myself as I piled in. “Mom always told us never to accept rides from strangers!” "Do you live around here?” I asked him instead. "You’re American, aren’t you?” he answered my question with one of his own. “Guilty, as charged, sir. What gave me away? The jeans?” Andrew smiled as he put the car in gear and drove down the street. “Where in the States?” I sighed. I was used to this question: no European recognized the name Illinois, let alone my hometown. “Chicago.” "The Windy City? Great town. Lots of Poles there.” "Yeah. My father’s folks were Polish. But there are a lot of Italians, Chinese, Irish, etc. there too. Lots of immigrants. Are you British? Polish?” I couldn’t place his accent and I was usually pretty good about such things. "I am.” It was impossible not to notice he didn’t say which. "What’s your family name?” he continued his interrogation. “Skarbek. Oldest Polish surname and it was given to our ancestor by the Polish king himself. It means little treasure.” He nodded. “I’ve known a few Skarbeks. Good people. Did you know there was one very important one in WWII?” “You mean besides my father?” I chuckled. “As a matter of fact, I do.” I remembered back to the summer before Popsie died when he gave me that Chicago Tribune article from June of 1952. It was about my namesake, the countess Krystyna Skarbek, the alias Christine Granville, and how she had just died. "You’re old enough to have this now,” he told me. Thirteen-year-old me looked at the date. “Mom, Dad, did you know her and name me after her?” “We had no idea she was alive when you were born,” Herb replied. I returned to the present. “A countess spy murdered in some London hotel back in ’52.” “She was no spy. She was a courier and much more than that. The finest woman I’ve ever known.” I bolted upright in the bucket seat. “You knew her!” "We knew each other.” The catch in his voice was unmistakable. The way he said those four words hit me like a thunderclap. Here was love. My heart stopped and my mind went blank: I had no idea what to say. I’m sorry,” was all I could offer, knowing it wasn’t nearly enough. It was as if I were looking into the face of God and I had to pull away. It was too profound, too raw. I knew I should ask questions but also knew it’d be obscene if I did. I chucked so quickly the resolve I had had outside Monsieur Rochon’s bookstore that rainy October morning in le Marais. I scratched my memory banks trying to recollect any details of that long-ago Tribune article but could only recall the photo of all Krystyna’s medals. After a pregnant pause, I asked, “What was she like?” “She wasn’t Ian Fleming’s Vesper!” His zinged retort had an unmistakable bite to it. Reaching into his inside jacket pocket, he pulled out an envelope and handed it to me. Out spilled three b&w photos: one of her as a child, the other two of Krystyna and him in happy days. “Oh, my” was all I could say. We drove the rest of the way in silence until he pulled up at the concentration camp gate. “Remember her, Christine.” I froze like a statue. “How do you know my name?” My words came out in a raspy croak. "Never you mind. You’ll be alright. Now, go.” He leaned over and opened the door for me. I obeyed and got out. As he drove away, I was rooted to the spot, staring at the departing roadster, trying hard to remember to breathe.
Who is your favourite character and why?
~~ I confess I have two favs – my guiding star, Countess Krystyna Skarbek, whose life I got to investigate in the early 1990s, and my mentor, the aforementioned Polish novelist, Dominik W. Rettinger.
~~Throughout my life, Krystyna has always whispered to me when I was in a tough spot (and I’ve been in a bunch of tough spots!) She’s probably the only person to have distinguish him/herself on two fronts during WWII – and she did it without ever firing a weapon! Think of the resiliency of such a person! The absolute moxie! Marvelous woman! And she guides me to this very day. And I give her credit for that over and over in my memoir.
~~As for Dominik, since I’ve met him back in 2009, he’s always been there to support me and make crucial proposals when I needed them. I could have never gone and lived in Poland without that guy’s tenacity and steadfastness… and genius ideas!
~~In a major way, my memoir is a tribute to both these wonderful (as in full of wonder) people. The crux of my book is something we don’t have in this country… in fact, we seldom, if ever, talk about – a concept I call noblesse oblige and it is this – If you can reach inside yourself to find that nobility of soul, you can overcome nearly every obstacle they throw at you and you can do it with grace and finesse.This is exactly what Krystyna taught me and I had to go live in Poland for 12 years to be able to conceptualize what she had been teaching me all those previous years.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
~~ Writing is not a pleasure for me. It is a duty, the responsibility to report what I find in the most sincere and straightforward way to allow the reader to explore new vistas or at least introduce ideas to an audience. Quite frankly, when I write it is only because I’m compelled to write. I cannot invent things (settings/plots/characters) as a novelist does. I simply report the reality of the situation as it is. And it is an undeniable force, as if it were in my DNA to do so.
How would you describe yourself?
~~ Curious. Need to know what’s next/how I can best help.~~ Mostly optimistic. But not afraid to expose the vile operations we humans inflict on ourselves and our environment/our planet.~~ Looking for adventure. Or, to paraphrase a Jim Henson Muppets song, “I don’t know where I’m goin’ but I’m goin’ and I’m gonna have a real good time.”
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
~~ Investigating – scientific discoveries, museums, archeology, historical personages, a whole spectrum of anything of interest.~~ Supporting Ukraine, Poland and all of Central Europe as it wrests itself away from Putin’s evil tenacious claws.~~ Listening to classical music. Beethoven, Mozart, Grieg and Dvorak are my top favorites.~~ Getting to know my fellow passengers on the trains I am on. As I relate in my memoir, I have had the neatest conversations with folks on trains. They let me “pick their brains” and I get to find out the spiffiest stuff.
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
~~ Boy! That’s a toughie! So many places, so little time! However, if I’m to pick a vacation, I’d pick somewhere where the sun shines on a sandy beach and I can stick my toes in the ocean. A few waves would be awesome. I love nature when it smiles. But I also hanker for cities with handsome architecture. That’s why I love Macon GA and Paris (also because it has some of the best museums in the world!). Athens (all of Greece actually) and Egypt are on my bucket list, too.
If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
~~ It’s not a funny story but all of my four children have had dogs and that has done ever so much to save them. Best thing in the world for a child dealing with uncertainty is the certainty of a dog’s friendship. I’m not telling you anything new about the unquestioning loyalty and kindnesses a dog lavishes on a child. One of the best things I’ve ever done for my kids as they grappled with their illnesses and their parents’ divorce.
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
~~ Is it historically accurate? I love histories and biographies, you see. If it’s a novel, then it has to have the theme of confronting power and evil in an emotional way, as Dominik’s novels all do.
Do you have your own website?
~~ No, sorry. BUT, you can find me on Facebook and between that and my publisher’s website, that’s probably sufficient. Confronting Power and Chaos | Book | Austin Macauley Publishers USA
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
~~ Through the stick-to-it-iveness (Brits call it stickability, so I’m told) of my LA entertainment lawyer, Dominik and I are working hard with a Hollywood producer to get our biopic of Countess Krystyna Skarbek to the screen. It looks very promising.
Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?
~~ I’ve been very fortunate to be interviewed on several podcasts and the next one scheduled to come up is July 6th for Pamela Wilson’s The Picky Bookworm. I love doing these and have been interviewed with folks as far away as Spain and South Africa. I’ve also been an organizer and participant of an Authors Panel at the public library here in Maryland. Both of those events are fun.
~~This is a great honor for me and I wish to thank you, Rita! Australia – what a lovely place! And you officially make the 4th continent where my book has been introduced. So, many, many thanks. As you say, I am a journalist and editor. I grew up in the Midwest in the United States only dreaming about what an ocean might be like. But, miracle of all miracles, I now straddle one! I’ve led a most remarkable life and I tell all in my adventure memoir, Confronting Power and Chaos: the Uncharted Kaleidoscope of My Life. Folks who have read my memoir tell me it reads like fiction. (Who else writes about blackmailing a sitting governor to rescue her child or entertaining Bill Clinton’s Secret Service detail to get rid of spooks invading her home for over six months? And neither event is fiction.)
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
~~I’ve written one and only one book. That is my crazy memoir, Confronting Power and Chaos: the Uncharted Kaleidoscope of My Life. It only came about because the gifted Polish screenwriter and novelist I work with told me to do it. He convinced me there are ever so many people who would take heart from reading it. And, from the many kudos my readers have showered it with, I think that’s true. One actually (and I quote her verbatim) wrote: “Christine Skarbek, you are a legend!”
Do you always write in the same genre or do you mix it up?
~~Might I digress a bit here? I am not a fiction writer but – and that is a HUGE BUT! I truly admire a good novelist and have been exceedingly fortunate to work as an editor for a Polish author I greatly esteem! I’ve worked on all ten of his novels and adapted three of them to English-speaking settings. His work is exceptional because he delves into the intricacies of his characters’ psyches as his protagonists face undisguised evil. The interplay is always rewarding for the reader.
~~No, I am first and foremost a journalist and cannot write something as creative as fiction, where you have to learn to pace the story, creating intriguing characters along the way. As a reporter, I merely report. That is why I could and did write my memoir which is getting a lot of notice on three continents and I know well it’s also on a fourth. (A buddy in Australia is going to read her copy soon. And, of course, there are you and your followers.)
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
~~ As it concerns my memoir, I was lucky. When I first moved to Poland in 2010, I would often write what I termed Roving Reporter Reports and email them to friends and family. So I had a trove of material to start with to simply copy and paste where it belonged inside the memoir. All that as backdrop, it did take me about three years of writing to put it all into context and make a narrative whole of my life’s wanderings.
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from your memoir?
~~ Would be more than happy to – Enjoy! FYI~~~The following occurred as I was finishing up my junior year abroad in Europe. (I was 20 at the time and exceedingly shy. Oh, by the way, there's a passing mention to M. Rochon. He’s a French Jew I had gotten to know months before in Paris.)
My destination the next day, Sunday, was the last goal I had set for myself. I had considered going behind the Iron Curtain to visit a holocaust site, preferably Auschwitz. But, when I had the chance several weeks before to hook up with Phoebe and some others going to Berlin, I chickened out and turned them down. Now I was determined to see Dachau. I took the early morning train and walked out of the train station into the glaring sun. I blinked repeatedly, getting my eyes to adjust, and found myself in a deserted parking lot. I wasn’t aware the usual bus to the camp referenced in my Michelin Guide didn’t run on Sundays until I studied the bus stop signs. There were no signs of life in the village, not even a stray dog. Sighing, I got out my map to study it, when a flashy red roadster came around the corner and pulled up alongside me. “Can I give you a lift?” the distinguished-looking man asked from behind the steering wheel. “Where are you going?” Like a hunting dog that had just caught the scent, I jerked to attention and scrutinized him. He could have been some professor with gray and white at his temples. There were times I could just tell about someone and this was one of those times. I liked him immediately. “Oh, I’m trying to get to the concentration camp. It’s outside of town, I know. Do you know if I can walk there? Is it too far? I just discovered there are no buses on Sundays.” “I know the way. Get in.” He leaned over and opened the passenger door invitingly. "What do you think you are doing?” I chided myself as I piled in. “Mom always told us never to accept rides from strangers!” "Do you live around here?” I asked him instead. "You’re American, aren’t you?” he answered my question with one of his own. “Guilty, as charged, sir. What gave me away? The jeans?” Andrew smiled as he put the car in gear and drove down the street. “Where in the States?” I sighed. I was used to this question: no European recognized the name Illinois, let alone my hometown. “Chicago.” "The Windy City? Great town. Lots of Poles there.” "Yeah. My father’s folks were Polish. But there are a lot of Italians, Chinese, Irish, etc. there too. Lots of immigrants. Are you British? Polish?” I couldn’t place his accent and I was usually pretty good about such things. "I am.” It was impossible not to notice he didn’t say which. "What’s your family name?” he continued his interrogation. “Skarbek. Oldest Polish surname and it was given to our ancestor by the Polish king himself. It means little treasure.” He nodded. “I’ve known a few Skarbeks. Good people. Did you know there was one very important one in WWII?” “You mean besides my father?” I chuckled. “As a matter of fact, I do.” I remembered back to the summer before Popsie died when he gave me that Chicago Tribune article from June of 1952. It was about my namesake, the countess Krystyna Skarbek, the alias Christine Granville, and how she had just died. "You’re old enough to have this now,” he told me. Thirteen-year-old me looked at the date. “Mom, Dad, did you know her and name me after her?” “We had no idea she was alive when you were born,” Herb replied. I returned to the present. “A countess spy murdered in some London hotel back in ’52.” “She was no spy. She was a courier and much more than that. The finest woman I’ve ever known.” I bolted upright in the bucket seat. “You knew her!” "We knew each other.” The catch in his voice was unmistakable. The way he said those four words hit me like a thunderclap. Here was love. My heart stopped and my mind went blank: I had no idea what to say. I’m sorry,” was all I could offer, knowing it wasn’t nearly enough. It was as if I were looking into the face of God and I had to pull away. It was too profound, too raw. I knew I should ask questions but also knew it’d be obscene if I did. I chucked so quickly the resolve I had had outside Monsieur Rochon’s bookstore that rainy October morning in le Marais. I scratched my memory banks trying to recollect any details of that long-ago Tribune article but could only recall the photo of all Krystyna’s medals. After a pregnant pause, I asked, “What was she like?” “She wasn’t Ian Fleming’s Vesper!” His zinged retort had an unmistakable bite to it. Reaching into his inside jacket pocket, he pulled out an envelope and handed it to me. Out spilled three b&w photos: one of her as a child, the other two of Krystyna and him in happy days. “Oh, my” was all I could say. We drove the rest of the way in silence until he pulled up at the concentration camp gate. “Remember her, Christine.” I froze like a statue. “How do you know my name?” My words came out in a raspy croak. "Never you mind. You’ll be alright. Now, go.” He leaned over and opened the door for me. I obeyed and got out. As he drove away, I was rooted to the spot, staring at the departing roadster, trying hard to remember to breathe.
Who is your favourite character and why?
~~ I confess I have two favs – my guiding star, Countess Krystyna Skarbek, whose life I got to investigate in the early 1990s, and my mentor, the aforementioned Polish novelist, Dominik W. Rettinger.
~~Throughout my life, Krystyna has always whispered to me when I was in a tough spot (and I’ve been in a bunch of tough spots!) She’s probably the only person to have distinguish him/herself on two fronts during WWII – and she did it without ever firing a weapon! Think of the resiliency of such a person! The absolute moxie! Marvelous woman! And she guides me to this very day. And I give her credit for that over and over in my memoir.
~~As for Dominik, since I’ve met him back in 2009, he’s always been there to support me and make crucial proposals when I needed them. I could have never gone and lived in Poland without that guy’s tenacity and steadfastness… and genius ideas!
~~In a major way, my memoir is a tribute to both these wonderful (as in full of wonder) people. The crux of my book is something we don’t have in this country… in fact, we seldom, if ever, talk about – a concept I call noblesse oblige and it is this – If you can reach inside yourself to find that nobility of soul, you can overcome nearly every obstacle they throw at you and you can do it with grace and finesse.This is exactly what Krystyna taught me and I had to go live in Poland for 12 years to be able to conceptualize what she had been teaching me all those previous years.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
~~ Writing is not a pleasure for me. It is a duty, the responsibility to report what I find in the most sincere and straightforward way to allow the reader to explore new vistas or at least introduce ideas to an audience. Quite frankly, when I write it is only because I’m compelled to write. I cannot invent things (settings/plots/characters) as a novelist does. I simply report the reality of the situation as it is. And it is an undeniable force, as if it were in my DNA to do so.
How would you describe yourself?
~~ Curious. Need to know what’s next/how I can best help.~~ Mostly optimistic. But not afraid to expose the vile operations we humans inflict on ourselves and our environment/our planet.~~ Looking for adventure. Or, to paraphrase a Jim Henson Muppets song, “I don’t know where I’m goin’ but I’m goin’ and I’m gonna have a real good time.”
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
~~ Investigating – scientific discoveries, museums, archeology, historical personages, a whole spectrum of anything of interest.~~ Supporting Ukraine, Poland and all of Central Europe as it wrests itself away from Putin’s evil tenacious claws.~~ Listening to classical music. Beethoven, Mozart, Grieg and Dvorak are my top favorites.~~ Getting to know my fellow passengers on the trains I am on. As I relate in my memoir, I have had the neatest conversations with folks on trains. They let me “pick their brains” and I get to find out the spiffiest stuff.
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
~~ Boy! That’s a toughie! So many places, so little time! However, if I’m to pick a vacation, I’d pick somewhere where the sun shines on a sandy beach and I can stick my toes in the ocean. A few waves would be awesome. I love nature when it smiles. But I also hanker for cities with handsome architecture. That’s why I love Macon GA and Paris (also because it has some of the best museums in the world!). Athens (all of Greece actually) and Egypt are on my bucket list, too.
If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
~~ It’s not a funny story but all of my four children have had dogs and that has done ever so much to save them. Best thing in the world for a child dealing with uncertainty is the certainty of a dog’s friendship. I’m not telling you anything new about the unquestioning loyalty and kindnesses a dog lavishes on a child. One of the best things I’ve ever done for my kids as they grappled with their illnesses and their parents’ divorce.
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
~~ Is it historically accurate? I love histories and biographies, you see. If it’s a novel, then it has to have the theme of confronting power and evil in an emotional way, as Dominik’s novels all do.
Do you have your own website?
~~ No, sorry. BUT, you can find me on Facebook and between that and my publisher’s website, that’s probably sufficient. Confronting Power and Chaos | Book | Austin Macauley Publishers USA
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
~~ Through the stick-to-it-iveness (Brits call it stickability, so I’m told) of my LA entertainment lawyer, Dominik and I are working hard with a Hollywood producer to get our biopic of Countess Krystyna Skarbek to the screen. It looks very promising.
Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?
~~ I’ve been very fortunate to be interviewed on several podcasts and the next one scheduled to come up is July 6th for Pamela Wilson’s The Picky Bookworm. I love doing these and have been interviewed with folks as far away as Spain and South Africa. I’ve also been an organizer and participant of an Authors Panel at the public library here in Maryland. Both of those events are fun.
Lauri Cruver Cherian - 2 June 2024
Laurie Cruver Cherian
https://www.lauricruvercherian.com
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This week it is my pleasure to interview Lauri Cruver Cherian. Would you please introduce yourself to my readers, Lauri, and share something about your life.
Hello, I am an author, educator, and actress. My favorite acting roles have been Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, Babette in Beauty and the Beast, and Yente in Fiddler on the Roof.
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
I wrote my first book of poetry, Poems of the Point while going through my parents' estate on the beach in Gig Harbor, Washington. Writing was a way to grieve, celebrate, and honour my parents’ memory and hometown
Hello, I am an author, educator, and actress. My favorite acting roles have been Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, Babette in Beauty and the Beast, and Yente in Fiddler on the Roof.
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
I wrote my first book of poetry, Poems of the Point while going through my parents' estate on the beach in Gig Harbor, Washington. Writing was a way to grieve, celebrate, and honour my parents’ memory and hometown
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Do you always write in the same genre or do you mix it up?
I began writing short stories first, then poetry, and most recently released a children’s chapter book. I’ve finished a historical fiction novel as well but it is not yet published.
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
The former, I get an idea, a memory, a feeling, or an impression, then I let the muse take over. Often the story pours out onto the page. I find when the ideas come, I need to sit down immediately and write while I have the inspiration.
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
Sure! Here is a conversation between Nilda, the nine-banded armadillo, and her newly met friend, Adelina, the tiny pink fairy armadillo. Excerpt from Four Anxious Armadillos, a children’s chapter book.
Nilda looked around the well-dug little burrow and asked, “Adelina, do you like living alone?” “Well, pink fairy armadillos don’t like to be seen. I don’t really have a choice,” she answered quietly. “Have you ever had a friend?” “¿Una amiga? No, of course not. Never.” “I would be glad to be your amiga,” offered Nilda. “Oh, I...I wouldn’t know how to have an amiga. I wouldn’t know what to do.” Adelina poked the soft grass around her with her little snout. She didn’t want Nilda to see her smile. She wants to be my friend. I don’t believe it! ¡No lo creo!” A little spark of joy lit up inside her belly like fluttering fireflies. “Well, you don’t have to DO anything.” Nilda patted Adelina’s pink-armored back with her long nails, “Just BE.” “Just be?” Adelina lifted her head and squinted up at Nilda. “Yes, just BE. Be a friend, be a listener, be helpful, be kind, be loyal, be YOU.” “Oh,” Adelina thought, “I think I can do that. I can be your amiga.” Adelina let out a heavy sigh as if she had been holding her breath for a very long time. “This will be a first for me.” She was thrilled to finally have a friend, but a little nervous, too. As she thought more about being a friend, the excitement became overshadowed by a new wave of anxiety. “What about ‘BE afraid?’” “You don’t have to be afraid of a friend, Adelina, not if I’m being all those things for you.”
Who is your favorite character and why?
Nilda, though she herself suffers from anxiety, she is an encourager and a loyal friend to the three armadillos she meets on her quest to cure herself of anxiety. She includes others, looks out for them, passes on what she has learned, and she is kind. The world needs characters like these.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
Oh, I can’t choose. Poems of the Point gave me a chance to express my love for my hometown and honor my parents. Brave as Thistles was a journey through grief, loss, illness, mid-life messiness, and ultimately finding joy, healing, and faith: writing it saved me. Four Anxious Armadillos has been pure delight and I’ve fallen in love with the four armadillo characters with their weaknesses and vulnerability, yet their devotion to each other as they face their fears.
What is the best marketing tip you have received?
This is a tough one. Don’t get complacent. Keep on making contacts and finding a way to get your novel noticed.
How would you describe yourself?
I am an educator, an actress, and author with sensitivity and love for others.
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
I teach English as a second language and volunteer at the Brazosport Center for Arts and Sciences in my community.
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
Scotland, Skye is absolutely epic! It is in Scotland where I was inspired by the thistle with its tender, vulnerable purple flowers and it’s fierce and brave spikes. I want to journey through this crazy life as brave as thistles.
I began writing short stories first, then poetry, and most recently released a children’s chapter book. I’ve finished a historical fiction novel as well but it is not yet published.
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
The former, I get an idea, a memory, a feeling, or an impression, then I let the muse take over. Often the story pours out onto the page. I find when the ideas come, I need to sit down immediately and write while I have the inspiration.
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
Sure! Here is a conversation between Nilda, the nine-banded armadillo, and her newly met friend, Adelina, the tiny pink fairy armadillo. Excerpt from Four Anxious Armadillos, a children’s chapter book.
Nilda looked around the well-dug little burrow and asked, “Adelina, do you like living alone?” “Well, pink fairy armadillos don’t like to be seen. I don’t really have a choice,” she answered quietly. “Have you ever had a friend?” “¿Una amiga? No, of course not. Never.” “I would be glad to be your amiga,” offered Nilda. “Oh, I...I wouldn’t know how to have an amiga. I wouldn’t know what to do.” Adelina poked the soft grass around her with her little snout. She didn’t want Nilda to see her smile. She wants to be my friend. I don’t believe it! ¡No lo creo!” A little spark of joy lit up inside her belly like fluttering fireflies. “Well, you don’t have to DO anything.” Nilda patted Adelina’s pink-armored back with her long nails, “Just BE.” “Just be?” Adelina lifted her head and squinted up at Nilda. “Yes, just BE. Be a friend, be a listener, be helpful, be kind, be loyal, be YOU.” “Oh,” Adelina thought, “I think I can do that. I can be your amiga.” Adelina let out a heavy sigh as if she had been holding her breath for a very long time. “This will be a first for me.” She was thrilled to finally have a friend, but a little nervous, too. As she thought more about being a friend, the excitement became overshadowed by a new wave of anxiety. “What about ‘BE afraid?’” “You don’t have to be afraid of a friend, Adelina, not if I’m being all those things for you.”
Who is your favorite character and why?
Nilda, though she herself suffers from anxiety, she is an encourager and a loyal friend to the three armadillos she meets on her quest to cure herself of anxiety. She includes others, looks out for them, passes on what she has learned, and she is kind. The world needs characters like these.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
Oh, I can’t choose. Poems of the Point gave me a chance to express my love for my hometown and honor my parents. Brave as Thistles was a journey through grief, loss, illness, mid-life messiness, and ultimately finding joy, healing, and faith: writing it saved me. Four Anxious Armadillos has been pure delight and I’ve fallen in love with the four armadillo characters with their weaknesses and vulnerability, yet their devotion to each other as they face their fears.
What is the best marketing tip you have received?
This is a tough one. Don’t get complacent. Keep on making contacts and finding a way to get your novel noticed.
How would you describe yourself?
I am an educator, an actress, and author with sensitivity and love for others.
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
I teach English as a second language and volunteer at the Brazosport Center for Arts and Sciences in my community.
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
Scotland, Skye is absolutely epic! It is in Scotland where I was inspired by the thistle with its tender, vulnerable purple flowers and it’s fierce and brave spikes. I want to journey through this crazy life as brave as thistles.
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If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
Oh yes, I have so many dog stories. I have had two fabulous dogs from the SPCA. Living in Texas, my dogs have done a fantastic job keeping my family safe from the dreaded Texas three: cottonmouth water moccasins, coral snakes and copperheads. Once, my rat terrier attacked a large aggressive cottonmouth. They both leapt three feet off the ground. Scout bit it right through the middle in mid-air. They fell to the ground writhing and growling. My children and I were screaming. I dismissed them to go find a man; I know, sexist of me. When no men were found in the neighbourhood, I ran down the street toward a painter’s van screaming, “I need a man! I need a man!” He peered around the back of the van and asked, “What do you need a man for?” After explanation, he came over and chopped the snake in half, unceremoniously slinging it over the fence. This was not the first time my little terrier took on the Texas three for his family!
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
I really enjoy history and travel, so historical fiction is my favorite genre.
Do you have your own website?
Yes, I do. https://www.lauricruvercherian.com
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
Yes, I just finished a historical fiction novel set in the boomtown of Tacoma, Washington in 1910.
Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?
I just threw a book launch for Four Anxious Armadillos. It is now available immediately on Bookbaby Bookshop or for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and most other online book stores after May 31.
Oh yes, I have so many dog stories. I have had two fabulous dogs from the SPCA. Living in Texas, my dogs have done a fantastic job keeping my family safe from the dreaded Texas three: cottonmouth water moccasins, coral snakes and copperheads. Once, my rat terrier attacked a large aggressive cottonmouth. They both leapt three feet off the ground. Scout bit it right through the middle in mid-air. They fell to the ground writhing and growling. My children and I were screaming. I dismissed them to go find a man; I know, sexist of me. When no men were found in the neighbourhood, I ran down the street toward a painter’s van screaming, “I need a man! I need a man!” He peered around the back of the van and asked, “What do you need a man for?” After explanation, he came over and chopped the snake in half, unceremoniously slinging it over the fence. This was not the first time my little terrier took on the Texas three for his family!
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
I really enjoy history and travel, so historical fiction is my favorite genre.
Do you have your own website?
Yes, I do. https://www.lauricruvercherian.com
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
Yes, I just finished a historical fiction novel set in the boomtown of Tacoma, Washington in 1910.
Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?
I just threw a book launch for Four Anxious Armadillos. It is now available immediately on Bookbaby Bookshop or for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and most other online book stores after May 31.
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Rebecca Bryn - 26 May 2024
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Rebecca Bryn
www.rebeccabrynblog.wordpress.com
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This week it is my pleasure to interview Rebecca Bryn, one of my favourite authors. Would you please introduce yourself to my readers, Rebecca and share something about your life.
Hello, lovely to be here – Rebecca is my pen name. I was born in Northamptonshire, England, but have lived in West Wales with my husband for over thirty years. I love the beaches and wild moorland, and paint as well as write. Twice married, life has had its ups and downs, and these heartbreaks are reflected in my writing.
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
A long-time friend, Sarah Stuart, began writing many years ago. We lived some distance apart, and she used to post me handwritten excerpts to proof read, and I would make notes and post them back. Life pre-email was tedious by comparison to now. Her handwriting was so abysmal, she used to cut out bits she couldn’t read and send them to me, as I was the only one who could read her writing. One day, my husband said, rather misguidedly, ‘Why don’t you have a go at writing?’ I told him I wouldn’t know where to start, and I had no imagination.I sat at my computer one day, and wrote ‘Chapter One’ with no idea what I was going to write. I haven’t stopped since.
Do you always write in the same genre or do you mix it up?
I began with fantasy, The Child of Prophecy, as that was the genre I loved reading – that and science fiction, but I don’t have enough scientific knowledge to write sci-fi convincingly. Then I wrote a mystery, The Silence of the Stones, inspired by the ancient stones around my home in Pembrokeshire, before getting hooked into historical fiction while researching my own family history – and discovering murderers! (For Their Country’s Good series) They were transported to Van Diemen’s Land, for killing Lord Northampton’s gamekeeper in Yardley Chase, in 1841. Now, it’s historical fiction that always drags me back.
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
I start with an idea – some subject that I want to know more about, and start researching it. I like to set my characters in a factual background/event, so the research tends to drive the story as much as the characters, though they develop it, despite any ideas I might have had about the way I thought it might go. I’ve learned to trust them to get where they need to go. My last two series have taken me deep into the poverty, lack of rights, and injustices suffered by working-class people in the 1800s and early 1900s. (Wales Rising trilogy and The Chainmakers trilogy
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
Oh, that’s a hard one to choose. After a great deal of thought, for the reasons given below, this excerpt from Let Us Pass, the Rebecca riots, the last book in the Wales Rising series. Gwen fears Efa has seduced her husband.
Gwen sat in the chapel with her head bowed, trying to garner the courage she’d found during the protests in Merthyr. Then, she’d been fighting the iron masters for a living wage, it was fight or starve – now she was fighting the trusts for an end to unfair tolls for the same reason. If Mr Lloyd Hall had thought his letter in the newspaper would put an end to Rebecca’s destructive behaviour, he was wrong. Reports came in daily of several groups’ activities. Rhos gate and tollhouse near Aberaeron had fallen to Rebecca on the twenty-third, and several more in the Newcastle Emlyn area had been pulled down within the next few days. As fast as the gates were replaced, someone took them down again. The more people who travelled to market without being forced to pay tolls, the more Rebecca’s actions were toasted in public houses and her praises sung. The protests were far from over, and she would continue protesting if that’s what it took to get their voices heard, so why was she afraid of facing Efa? She trusted Sam. She glanced sideways at Efa, who smirked at her and then smiled at Sam. Damn the woman, dressed in her summer Sunday best and showing too much bare skin – had she no shame? She clenched her fists. She’d worried about Sam, doubted herself, cried over Efa trying to destroy her marriage, but now she was beyond tears; she was furious. Dad ended the last prayer, and she ground out an amen. Feet shuffled, and people got up from their pews and began making their way to the door. She hurried outside, leaving Sam and the children behind. The chapel was a place of God, not the place to confront Efa. Outside, however, was a different matter. She waited close to the door for Efa to appear. Her heart thudded; it was now or never. ‘Efa Lloyd.’ Efa smiled at her. ‘Gwenny. How nice to see you.’ Gwenny. That was Sam’s name for her. ‘My name is Gwenllian, Efa, and I’d appreciate it if you would stop trying to seduce my husband.’ ‘Seduce?’ Efa laughed. ‘He took little seducing, as I recall.’ Heat flushed her cheeks, but inside she was icy cold. ‘What do you mean?’ ‘It’s me Sammy loves, Gwenllian, not you.’ ‘That isn’t true. Sam says you mean nothing to him. He told me so, and I trust him. Sam wouldn’t lie to me.’ ‘He didn’t tell you we make love in the milking parlour, then? No, I suppose he wouldn’t.’ ‘You’re lying.’ She was aware of a silent crowd gathering, but she didn’t take her eyes from Efa’s face. ‘Am I?’ Efa smiled again. God help her, but she’d wipe that supercilious smile from Efa Lloyd’s face, even if it cost Sam his job. She launched herself at Efa and grabbed her hair, pushing her backwards onto the ground. ‘I won’t let you wreck my marriage and split my family, you evil, selfish bitch.’ ‘Let me up! Stop it. Let me up!’ She banged Efa’s head on the hard earth and put one hand on the girl’s throat; the other fisted in Efa’s hair and held her down. ‘Not until you promise to stay away from my Sam.’ ‘Gwen. Stop it. Let her up before you hurt her.’ ‘Hurt her? She’ll be lucky if I don’t kill her.’ She tightened her grip on Efa’s throat, making the trollop flail her arms and gasp for breath. ‘Gwen, please. We can talk about this.’ ‘Talk, Sam? I’ve done talking. I won’t lose you to this… this piece of dirt.’ Efa was gasping, trying to say something. Perhaps she was ready to make her promise. She loosened her grip, and Efa stopped flailing and took a breath. ‘Gwen, let me up, please. Don’t hurt me. I’m pregnant.’It took a moment for the words to register. ‘Pregnant?’ She couldn’t hurt a pregnant woman, no matter how much she hated her. She untwisted her fingers from Efa’s hair and removed her hand from her throat. ‘Pregnant?’ Efa coughed and sat up. ‘Yes, Gwenllian.’ Her face twisted into a mocking smile. ‘Yes, I’m pregnant, and it’s Sam’s baby.’ The world slowed. Voices became muted. Her heart threatened to stop beating. Slowly, she turned to face Sam. ‘Sam, is this true?’ Sam’s face was ashen. ‘No! At least, I don’t think so.’ Tears ran down her cheeks. ‘You don’t think so?’ ‘Gwenny, I’m sorry.’ ‘Sorry?’ She stood, fists clenched at her side, pain clenching her heart. ‘How could you do this to me? Seven years, I waited for you. Seven years and never looked once at another man, and you let this… hussy tempt you away from me. What about us, Sam? What about the children?’ ‘I love you, Gwen.’ Dad put a strong arm around her shoulders. ‘Sam Davey, I warned you. You and our family are finished. Your possessions, such as they are, will be on the road outside the manse, later. Gwen, let’s get you and the children home.’ ‘But where will Dad go, Mam?’ Delyth’s small voice broke her heart. ‘Sam’s children belong with him.’ Efa smiled again, a look of triumph. ‘With Sam and me and their new little brother. We have plenty of room at the farm. Come on, Sammy. You can fetch your children later.’ Sam’s eyes were bright with tears. He reached out for her hand. ‘Gwen, please… I’m so sorry.’ She couldn’t bear the guilt in his eyes any more than she could bear the agony in her heart. She snatched her hand away and turned and ran. She didn’t stop until she was home. Home? How could it be home without Sam and the children? Throwing herself on her bed, her and Sam’s bed, she sobbed out her broken heart.
Who is your favourite character and why?
My present character is usually my favourite, because I feel for them deeply while they write themselves into terrible situations, but looking back across all my books, possibly Alana in The Silence of the Stones. She was selfish, self-centred, and flawed, but she had the courage to live her dream, the life I might have had if I’d been less guilt-ridden and braver.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
Oh, gosh. You do ask hard questions. I’m still thinking about the excerpt – I put a lot of my own rage towards marriage-wrecking women into that scene. Different books gave me pleasure for different reasons. I think, sometimes, as with Gwen and Efa, I’ve worked through my own angsts. Gwen finally forgiving Efa was her idea, not mine!The Silence of the Stones almost wrote itself, and I loved writing about the area I knew and loved so well.I also loved writing the journey Kiya took in The Child of Prophecy and inventing a whole new world.Jem and Ella, in For Their Country’s Good – that was a personal story about my own family, so that meant a lot to me. Her search for her lost love… it brings a lump to my throat and a pain in my heart.And brave Rosie and Emma, The Chainmakers, who fought for our rights and the children of Nazi Germany. I can’t think about Miriam in Touching the Wire without crying. I think that’s the book of which I’m proudest, and it was certainly the hardest to research and write.
What is the best marketing tip you have received?
Wouldn’t we all love a good marketing tip? Probably, the thing at which I suck – reaching out to people and interacting with them.
How would you describe yourself?
An introvert, not very brave, and slightly compulsive obsessive – I’m the sort who likes to line things up in neat rows and always puts thing back in the same place, so I can find them. They say opposites attract. My husband chucks things anywhere and can never find a thing. However, he’s just peeled the potatoes for me, so I forgive him.
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
Painting coastal scenes in watercolour – I belong to a local art group, and we exhibit our work locally. I also love gardening, which is what I should be doing now instead of this, and walking – sadly I lost my little dog last year, so now I have to walk alone.
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
Here. We haven’t been away for years apart from days out in the Welsh hills.
If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
We’ve had six dogs over the last forty years, often three at a time. They’ve all been hilarious in their own way with a great sense of fun. Our last dog, Kes, a little rescue Collie-cross, used to go mad when we came home from shopping. She’d gallop three times around the house and then three times around the flower beds before crashing to a halt and saying hello with a big smile. We miss her so much.
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
Time. Other than research, I don’t read a lot. When I do, I suppose the title first, and then the cover, and then I read the blurb. Or I go for an author I know I enjoy.
Do you have your own website?
I have a Wordpress blog site. www.rebeccabrynblog.wordpress.com
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
I’ve just completed Break It Down, the Luddite rebellion set in Yorkshire, England. It’s a prequel to the Wales Rising series. I’ve also compiled a box set for it, and have helped put together Series Firsts, an anthology, a bundle of six books with Sarah Stuart, (we now proofread for one another). They are the first books of six series – a crime thriller series and two romantic suspense series by Sarah, and three historical fiction series by me. We hope they will introduce our sagas to a wider audience.
Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?
Break It Down released on May 17th 2024, so that is now available to purchase at http://mybook.to/BreakItDown and Series Firsts will be free to download on Amazon from May 23rd until May 27th 2024. Six books free must be a great deal. And if you miss the deal, the price is only £2.99/$299, which is still a bargain. The link is http://mybook.to/SeriesFirstsanthology
Thank you. It’s been lovely to talk to you.
Hello, lovely to be here – Rebecca is my pen name. I was born in Northamptonshire, England, but have lived in West Wales with my husband for over thirty years. I love the beaches and wild moorland, and paint as well as write. Twice married, life has had its ups and downs, and these heartbreaks are reflected in my writing.
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
A long-time friend, Sarah Stuart, began writing many years ago. We lived some distance apart, and she used to post me handwritten excerpts to proof read, and I would make notes and post them back. Life pre-email was tedious by comparison to now. Her handwriting was so abysmal, she used to cut out bits she couldn’t read and send them to me, as I was the only one who could read her writing. One day, my husband said, rather misguidedly, ‘Why don’t you have a go at writing?’ I told him I wouldn’t know where to start, and I had no imagination.I sat at my computer one day, and wrote ‘Chapter One’ with no idea what I was going to write. I haven’t stopped since.
Do you always write in the same genre or do you mix it up?
I began with fantasy, The Child of Prophecy, as that was the genre I loved reading – that and science fiction, but I don’t have enough scientific knowledge to write sci-fi convincingly. Then I wrote a mystery, The Silence of the Stones, inspired by the ancient stones around my home in Pembrokeshire, before getting hooked into historical fiction while researching my own family history – and discovering murderers! (For Their Country’s Good series) They were transported to Van Diemen’s Land, for killing Lord Northampton’s gamekeeper in Yardley Chase, in 1841. Now, it’s historical fiction that always drags me back.
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
I start with an idea – some subject that I want to know more about, and start researching it. I like to set my characters in a factual background/event, so the research tends to drive the story as much as the characters, though they develop it, despite any ideas I might have had about the way I thought it might go. I’ve learned to trust them to get where they need to go. My last two series have taken me deep into the poverty, lack of rights, and injustices suffered by working-class people in the 1800s and early 1900s. (Wales Rising trilogy and The Chainmakers trilogy
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
Oh, that’s a hard one to choose. After a great deal of thought, for the reasons given below, this excerpt from Let Us Pass, the Rebecca riots, the last book in the Wales Rising series. Gwen fears Efa has seduced her husband.
Gwen sat in the chapel with her head bowed, trying to garner the courage she’d found during the protests in Merthyr. Then, she’d been fighting the iron masters for a living wage, it was fight or starve – now she was fighting the trusts for an end to unfair tolls for the same reason. If Mr Lloyd Hall had thought his letter in the newspaper would put an end to Rebecca’s destructive behaviour, he was wrong. Reports came in daily of several groups’ activities. Rhos gate and tollhouse near Aberaeron had fallen to Rebecca on the twenty-third, and several more in the Newcastle Emlyn area had been pulled down within the next few days. As fast as the gates were replaced, someone took them down again. The more people who travelled to market without being forced to pay tolls, the more Rebecca’s actions were toasted in public houses and her praises sung. The protests were far from over, and she would continue protesting if that’s what it took to get their voices heard, so why was she afraid of facing Efa? She trusted Sam. She glanced sideways at Efa, who smirked at her and then smiled at Sam. Damn the woman, dressed in her summer Sunday best and showing too much bare skin – had she no shame? She clenched her fists. She’d worried about Sam, doubted herself, cried over Efa trying to destroy her marriage, but now she was beyond tears; she was furious. Dad ended the last prayer, and she ground out an amen. Feet shuffled, and people got up from their pews and began making their way to the door. She hurried outside, leaving Sam and the children behind. The chapel was a place of God, not the place to confront Efa. Outside, however, was a different matter. She waited close to the door for Efa to appear. Her heart thudded; it was now or never. ‘Efa Lloyd.’ Efa smiled at her. ‘Gwenny. How nice to see you.’ Gwenny. That was Sam’s name for her. ‘My name is Gwenllian, Efa, and I’d appreciate it if you would stop trying to seduce my husband.’ ‘Seduce?’ Efa laughed. ‘He took little seducing, as I recall.’ Heat flushed her cheeks, but inside she was icy cold. ‘What do you mean?’ ‘It’s me Sammy loves, Gwenllian, not you.’ ‘That isn’t true. Sam says you mean nothing to him. He told me so, and I trust him. Sam wouldn’t lie to me.’ ‘He didn’t tell you we make love in the milking parlour, then? No, I suppose he wouldn’t.’ ‘You’re lying.’ She was aware of a silent crowd gathering, but she didn’t take her eyes from Efa’s face. ‘Am I?’ Efa smiled again. God help her, but she’d wipe that supercilious smile from Efa Lloyd’s face, even if it cost Sam his job. She launched herself at Efa and grabbed her hair, pushing her backwards onto the ground. ‘I won’t let you wreck my marriage and split my family, you evil, selfish bitch.’ ‘Let me up! Stop it. Let me up!’ She banged Efa’s head on the hard earth and put one hand on the girl’s throat; the other fisted in Efa’s hair and held her down. ‘Not until you promise to stay away from my Sam.’ ‘Gwen. Stop it. Let her up before you hurt her.’ ‘Hurt her? She’ll be lucky if I don’t kill her.’ She tightened her grip on Efa’s throat, making the trollop flail her arms and gasp for breath. ‘Gwen, please. We can talk about this.’ ‘Talk, Sam? I’ve done talking. I won’t lose you to this… this piece of dirt.’ Efa was gasping, trying to say something. Perhaps she was ready to make her promise. She loosened her grip, and Efa stopped flailing and took a breath. ‘Gwen, let me up, please. Don’t hurt me. I’m pregnant.’It took a moment for the words to register. ‘Pregnant?’ She couldn’t hurt a pregnant woman, no matter how much she hated her. She untwisted her fingers from Efa’s hair and removed her hand from her throat. ‘Pregnant?’ Efa coughed and sat up. ‘Yes, Gwenllian.’ Her face twisted into a mocking smile. ‘Yes, I’m pregnant, and it’s Sam’s baby.’ The world slowed. Voices became muted. Her heart threatened to stop beating. Slowly, she turned to face Sam. ‘Sam, is this true?’ Sam’s face was ashen. ‘No! At least, I don’t think so.’ Tears ran down her cheeks. ‘You don’t think so?’ ‘Gwenny, I’m sorry.’ ‘Sorry?’ She stood, fists clenched at her side, pain clenching her heart. ‘How could you do this to me? Seven years, I waited for you. Seven years and never looked once at another man, and you let this… hussy tempt you away from me. What about us, Sam? What about the children?’ ‘I love you, Gwen.’ Dad put a strong arm around her shoulders. ‘Sam Davey, I warned you. You and our family are finished. Your possessions, such as they are, will be on the road outside the manse, later. Gwen, let’s get you and the children home.’ ‘But where will Dad go, Mam?’ Delyth’s small voice broke her heart. ‘Sam’s children belong with him.’ Efa smiled again, a look of triumph. ‘With Sam and me and their new little brother. We have plenty of room at the farm. Come on, Sammy. You can fetch your children later.’ Sam’s eyes were bright with tears. He reached out for her hand. ‘Gwen, please… I’m so sorry.’ She couldn’t bear the guilt in his eyes any more than she could bear the agony in her heart. She snatched her hand away and turned and ran. She didn’t stop until she was home. Home? How could it be home without Sam and the children? Throwing herself on her bed, her and Sam’s bed, she sobbed out her broken heart.
Who is your favourite character and why?
My present character is usually my favourite, because I feel for them deeply while they write themselves into terrible situations, but looking back across all my books, possibly Alana in The Silence of the Stones. She was selfish, self-centred, and flawed, but she had the courage to live her dream, the life I might have had if I’d been less guilt-ridden and braver.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
Oh, gosh. You do ask hard questions. I’m still thinking about the excerpt – I put a lot of my own rage towards marriage-wrecking women into that scene. Different books gave me pleasure for different reasons. I think, sometimes, as with Gwen and Efa, I’ve worked through my own angsts. Gwen finally forgiving Efa was her idea, not mine!The Silence of the Stones almost wrote itself, and I loved writing about the area I knew and loved so well.I also loved writing the journey Kiya took in The Child of Prophecy and inventing a whole new world.Jem and Ella, in For Their Country’s Good – that was a personal story about my own family, so that meant a lot to me. Her search for her lost love… it brings a lump to my throat and a pain in my heart.And brave Rosie and Emma, The Chainmakers, who fought for our rights and the children of Nazi Germany. I can’t think about Miriam in Touching the Wire without crying. I think that’s the book of which I’m proudest, and it was certainly the hardest to research and write.
What is the best marketing tip you have received?
Wouldn’t we all love a good marketing tip? Probably, the thing at which I suck – reaching out to people and interacting with them.
How would you describe yourself?
An introvert, not very brave, and slightly compulsive obsessive – I’m the sort who likes to line things up in neat rows and always puts thing back in the same place, so I can find them. They say opposites attract. My husband chucks things anywhere and can never find a thing. However, he’s just peeled the potatoes for me, so I forgive him.
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
Painting coastal scenes in watercolour – I belong to a local art group, and we exhibit our work locally. I also love gardening, which is what I should be doing now instead of this, and walking – sadly I lost my little dog last year, so now I have to walk alone.
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
Here. We haven’t been away for years apart from days out in the Welsh hills.
If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
We’ve had six dogs over the last forty years, often three at a time. They’ve all been hilarious in their own way with a great sense of fun. Our last dog, Kes, a little rescue Collie-cross, used to go mad when we came home from shopping. She’d gallop three times around the house and then three times around the flower beds before crashing to a halt and saying hello with a big smile. We miss her so much.
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
Time. Other than research, I don’t read a lot. When I do, I suppose the title first, and then the cover, and then I read the blurb. Or I go for an author I know I enjoy.
Do you have your own website?
I have a Wordpress blog site. www.rebeccabrynblog.wordpress.com
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
I’ve just completed Break It Down, the Luddite rebellion set in Yorkshire, England. It’s a prequel to the Wales Rising series. I’ve also compiled a box set for it, and have helped put together Series Firsts, an anthology, a bundle of six books with Sarah Stuart, (we now proofread for one another). They are the first books of six series – a crime thriller series and two romantic suspense series by Sarah, and three historical fiction series by me. We hope they will introduce our sagas to a wider audience.
Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?
Break It Down released on May 17th 2024, so that is now available to purchase at http://mybook.to/BreakItDown and Series Firsts will be free to download on Amazon from May 23rd until May 27th 2024. Six books free must be a great deal. And if you miss the deal, the price is only £2.99/$299, which is still a bargain. The link is http://mybook.to/SeriesFirstsanthology
Thank you. It’s been lovely to talk to you.
Rick McCann - 19 May 2024
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This week it is my pleasure to interview Rick McCann, author of Two If By Sea. Would you please introduce yourself to my readers and share something about your life.
First off, thank you Rita for having me on your authors interview blog. It’s a pleasure to be here. As you have stated, my name is Rick McCann and I’ve been a professional merchant mariner for over 50 years. I have been with my beautiful wife Peggy for 28 years. We have 5 children that range from 43 down to 21 years old. The three boys are the oldest and two girls round out our family. We have 5 wonderful grandchildren that make it all worthwhile.
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
This is a question that I could go on about and really take up some time to answer, but to keep us on track, I’ll be concise with my answer. My first book took me over 20 years from thought to publication. Probably 15 years of writing and the last 5 trying to find a literary agent to take me on and then the search for a publisher. Of course, then comes the editing and finally the launching of the book. Which happened on October the 10th of 2021. There were still some minor typos that snuck in there but overall I believe we came out with a great novel. Many thanks go out to my Agent, Richard Lawrance of Eaton Literary Agency and Joseph Brient of Commonwealth Books Publishing Company.
I first got the idea for the story one day shortly after the attack on the World Trade Centre towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. on 9/11. I guess I was thinking of other ways that were still open to terrorists to use to attack us and I would use the story to try and alert anyone that chooses to read the book by making it as realistic as I could. In that way, hopefully making us all a little safer by opening our minds to something along this path or any number of other ways that our country and society could be vulnerable to those that wish us harm. Thus, by being shown how something like this could be attempted could make us all a little more aware of our surroundings and not be caught off guard again.
Do you always write in the same genre or do you mix it up?
Two If By Sea, my only novel, it is in the thriller genre, which is my favorite type of book for me to read personally. I guess it was a matter of natural selection, you write what you read the most. I started writing for business, technical pubs, policies, and procedures, for the company I worked for. Then I did some freelance short articles for trade publications and penned my own tour guide booklets for my personal sightseeing cruise business, I also have an article on the Mystery and Suspense Magazine website. My last foray was to write, I guess you could call it my memoirs. Before my parents passed away, I had asked my parents if they would make a tape recording of their lives and what they could remember about their parents and grandparents. This wasn’t just for me but I wanted their story in their own words for my children as well as future generations to be able to not only know their Great Grandparents but be able to hear them as well. Sorry to say neither my mom or dad complied with my wishes. Peggy knew this and she gave me a program for a Christmas present where it would ask me questions and I would write the answers in a story format. This I did for about a year at a question a week along with digging out old photos to go along with whatever topic I was working on that week. Finally, I completed the book of my memoirs and it was published as a hardback that I will present to my children and they can pass it down to their children so they can know me as well as much of my parents lives as I could remember. It was a lot of work but I sure felt a huge accomplishment when my books arrived in the mail and got to hold it. I’m as proud of that accomplishment as I am for getting my novel Two If By Sea published! When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
My writing style is more like the first part of your question. An idea comes to me and as I write it seems to take on a life of its own and just progresses from there. Kind of like planting a seed and watching a tree grow. You never know how many branches it will produce or how majestic it will be until it is fully grown. I never know how a story will end until it ends naturally, I never force the ending or a character to go a certain way, it just evolves from the story as it is being written by me. Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
It would be my pleasure. Trying to choose an excerpt is a lot harder than you would think it should be! But I hope that this one will excite everyone to want to read my book! “One away, Captain,” the lookout called. “Very well,” she said. They’d better get a move on, she thought. We’re starting to slide, and we need to get moving before we start bearing down on them. “Better hold on,” the windward lookout said. “Here comes a big one, and it’s a rogue.” Karen Ann swung around and saw the rogue wave heading toward them. “Full ahead on both! Mr. Hanratty, call the chopper and tell them we have to bug out. Warn them to watch for a rogue wave.” “On it, Skipper.” He reached for the radio microphone. The stern took the brunt of the wave and was heaved into the air, causing the props that just started spinning up to lunge halfway out of the water and send a nerve-wracking vibration throughout the ship. “Captain, the chopper has its basket almost all the way back down,” the lee side lookout called, holding on as best he could. Karen Ann looked back at the rescue attempt just as Mr. Hanratty passed on her message to the chopper pilot. She saw the wave lift the sailboat and raise it toward the helicopter in the sky overhead. The Natural High was on a collision course straight up with the Coast Guard helicopter. The pilot did everything in his power to evade the boat that came at him faster than he could bring up his aircraft to avoid the broken masts and windblown loose rigging. The lone sailor was left clinging precariously to the wreckage, with the seemingly distant helicopter suddenly growing so fast in his eyes that he saw the crew chief’s fearful look, as he desperately raised the basket.
Excerpt taken from Chapter 12
Who is your favorite character and why?
This question is bringing me great angst, I have really thought about which character is my favorite but I am torn between the two protagonists, Captain Karen Ann Murphy and Lamar, aka Lic, Westin. But I have strong feelings for all my characters, even the very minor ones that come and go throughout the book.
Karen Ann is the epitome of grace under fire. Being in a dominantly male work environment she has had to prove herself and gain the respect of her crews, to which she has done and, in the process, has become one of the best to ever sail the sea. She has been able to do this and maintain her female integrity to the highest level.
Lamar (Lic) is a highly intelligent man, on the other hand, he starts out on the wrong side of the law and eventually is forced to make a decision. Will he be a coward or will he become the man that he tries to portray to the world and his family.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
I really must ask to be allowed to choose Two If By Sea and my memoirs, Through My Eyes. Each gave me so much pleasure while writing them that I cannot justify picking one over the other. They each gave me pleasure during the writing process, but for many different reasons. Two If By Sea gave me pleasure by seeing my mind in action and it was like an out of body experience to me as the story took on a life of its own. Through My Eyes brought back so many memories for me and while doing some family research I discovered so much that I didn’t know but now I do. Sorry but there must be a tie here! What is the best marketing tip you have received?
Wow, I’ve seen and been told so many marketing tips. I think the best marketing tip I received was to keep plugging at promoting my book, never give up because somewhere, sometime it will pay off. Of course I’m still waiting, plugging at it, and trying out every avenue I can to promote my book. I’m a very small fish in a very big pond.
How would you describe yourself?
I believe that I’m a hard working, dependable, and loyal type of person. I try to look out for those that I’m responsible for and treat everyone the way I would like to be treated. I’m not a superman or someone that thinks of themselves as special, usually others come before me. The talents God gave me, I’ve tried to use to the best of my ability to do good in the world.
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
The “honey do list,” is never ending! I have retired from sailing full time but I do get called in to make some trips for my previous employer when they are shorthanded. Since my wife retired from her fulltime job also, we try to take more time away to spend with each other and enjoy the fruits of our labor.
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
The islands in the South Pacific have always had a lore for me that I would love to spend some time there and explore. Of course, Alaska is a place I would love to visit, as well, to see the immensity and beauty of the landscape. I’m more of an open space type of person and cities with their crowds don’t have the attraction for me like the wide-open spaces. I’m more of a nature lover I guess you could say.
If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
I am mostly a dog person although, I’ve had cats, birds, turtles, rabbits, hamsters, and more throughout my life, each one bringing something special to mine and my family’s life. The companionship of a dog is really special as there really is no more perfect unwavering love on planet earth than what you get from your dog.
Since we both have retired and our vacations have become longer, we decided that we had to start bringing our pups, (2 100-pound labs,) on vacation with us. Now at home the dogs hear that its bedtime and they run to get their spot on the king-sized bed. Now we rented a pet friendly place for our vacation and when we arrived, we realized that there is only a full-sized bed in the master bedroom. “Looks like you guys are sleeping on the floor,” we tell them. Bedtime rolls around and the 2 of them make a beeline for the bed. Have you ever tried to move a deadweight 100-pound lab? So, my wife and I do our best to make do and find some room for us to sleep by moving this dog body part and that so we can get into bed, it was like a jigsaw puzzle. During the night, the pups both at the same time spread out and BAM, my wife and I are both on the floor wondering what happened! We did not get much sleep that first night as she took the couch and I took the recliner. The dogs were very comfortable though and were well rested in the morning, not so much me and my wife! We eventually convinced them that the bed was ours and we made up beds for them to sleep on near us. We now have 3 big labs and the king-sized bed is shrinking very fast! On a final note, all three “Labrador Retrievers” want nothing to do with the water, pool, lake, river, bay, or ocean! They tolerate bath time!
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
I can read a lot of different genres, so each has its own requirements. For fiction, it is a believable plot that will immerse me and draw me into it to experience the story. For historical books, I prefer time periods that I’m drawn to, but I have read many that the time period wasn’t my favorite but the author really captured me so I enjoy the read. I’m not a big Sci-Fi reader but if its a good book and highly recommended by someone I know I’ll take the plunge.
Do you have your own website?
Yes, I do but it’s not like your average author’s website. I had my own business shortly before and after I retired where I did maritime consulting, procedure and policy writing, auditing of safety and other maritime manuals, Captain for a day, boat handling and navigation instruction, as well as a boat tour business. Once I decided to close the business down, I still had over a year left on my business website. Being the thrifty one in the family, I figured I would just convert it to my author’s website. I removed most of the business information and fill it with my book information! Brilliant! I did all of that and figured I would get back to renaming it so it appeared like other authors websites. I just have not got around to do that yet. Yes, sometimes I do procrastinate. The website is: https://www.ballastmarineservices.com/
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
I’m glad you asked this question. I do have another book in the works but haven’t really had the time to commit to actively working on it the way I should… there goes that procrastination again! It is not exactly a sequel to Two If By Sea. It is more in line of a series style, there will be some of the same characters involved along with some new ones. My style of writing has been compared to Tom Clancy and James Patterson. To which Tom Clancy happens to be very near the top of my favorite authors, so it only seems right that my style would be similar. Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?
I do have a book signing coming up on June 1st of this year (2024) at one of our local libraries. The event is being held by the Avalon Public Library, located in Avalon, NJ. The title of the event is: Avalon Library’s Local Author Fair! This event will be held outdoors on the field and track next to the Avalon School and playground, unless inclement weather forces us to move into the library its self. The hours of the event will be 10 am to 12 noon. I hope to see many people there to get their copy of Two If By Sea signed or buy a signed copy at the fair! Come one and come all, hope to see you there! www.avalonfreelibrary.org
First off, thank you Rita for having me on your authors interview blog. It’s a pleasure to be here. As you have stated, my name is Rick McCann and I’ve been a professional merchant mariner for over 50 years. I have been with my beautiful wife Peggy for 28 years. We have 5 children that range from 43 down to 21 years old. The three boys are the oldest and two girls round out our family. We have 5 wonderful grandchildren that make it all worthwhile.
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
This is a question that I could go on about and really take up some time to answer, but to keep us on track, I’ll be concise with my answer. My first book took me over 20 years from thought to publication. Probably 15 years of writing and the last 5 trying to find a literary agent to take me on and then the search for a publisher. Of course, then comes the editing and finally the launching of the book. Which happened on October the 10th of 2021. There were still some minor typos that snuck in there but overall I believe we came out with a great novel. Many thanks go out to my Agent, Richard Lawrance of Eaton Literary Agency and Joseph Brient of Commonwealth Books Publishing Company.
I first got the idea for the story one day shortly after the attack on the World Trade Centre towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. on 9/11. I guess I was thinking of other ways that were still open to terrorists to use to attack us and I would use the story to try and alert anyone that chooses to read the book by making it as realistic as I could. In that way, hopefully making us all a little safer by opening our minds to something along this path or any number of other ways that our country and society could be vulnerable to those that wish us harm. Thus, by being shown how something like this could be attempted could make us all a little more aware of our surroundings and not be caught off guard again.
Do you always write in the same genre or do you mix it up?
Two If By Sea, my only novel, it is in the thriller genre, which is my favorite type of book for me to read personally. I guess it was a matter of natural selection, you write what you read the most. I started writing for business, technical pubs, policies, and procedures, for the company I worked for. Then I did some freelance short articles for trade publications and penned my own tour guide booklets for my personal sightseeing cruise business, I also have an article on the Mystery and Suspense Magazine website. My last foray was to write, I guess you could call it my memoirs. Before my parents passed away, I had asked my parents if they would make a tape recording of their lives and what they could remember about their parents and grandparents. This wasn’t just for me but I wanted their story in their own words for my children as well as future generations to be able to not only know their Great Grandparents but be able to hear them as well. Sorry to say neither my mom or dad complied with my wishes. Peggy knew this and she gave me a program for a Christmas present where it would ask me questions and I would write the answers in a story format. This I did for about a year at a question a week along with digging out old photos to go along with whatever topic I was working on that week. Finally, I completed the book of my memoirs and it was published as a hardback that I will present to my children and they can pass it down to their children so they can know me as well as much of my parents lives as I could remember. It was a lot of work but I sure felt a huge accomplishment when my books arrived in the mail and got to hold it. I’m as proud of that accomplishment as I am for getting my novel Two If By Sea published! When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
My writing style is more like the first part of your question. An idea comes to me and as I write it seems to take on a life of its own and just progresses from there. Kind of like planting a seed and watching a tree grow. You never know how many branches it will produce or how majestic it will be until it is fully grown. I never know how a story will end until it ends naturally, I never force the ending or a character to go a certain way, it just evolves from the story as it is being written by me. Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
It would be my pleasure. Trying to choose an excerpt is a lot harder than you would think it should be! But I hope that this one will excite everyone to want to read my book! “One away, Captain,” the lookout called. “Very well,” she said. They’d better get a move on, she thought. We’re starting to slide, and we need to get moving before we start bearing down on them. “Better hold on,” the windward lookout said. “Here comes a big one, and it’s a rogue.” Karen Ann swung around and saw the rogue wave heading toward them. “Full ahead on both! Mr. Hanratty, call the chopper and tell them we have to bug out. Warn them to watch for a rogue wave.” “On it, Skipper.” He reached for the radio microphone. The stern took the brunt of the wave and was heaved into the air, causing the props that just started spinning up to lunge halfway out of the water and send a nerve-wracking vibration throughout the ship. “Captain, the chopper has its basket almost all the way back down,” the lee side lookout called, holding on as best he could. Karen Ann looked back at the rescue attempt just as Mr. Hanratty passed on her message to the chopper pilot. She saw the wave lift the sailboat and raise it toward the helicopter in the sky overhead. The Natural High was on a collision course straight up with the Coast Guard helicopter. The pilot did everything in his power to evade the boat that came at him faster than he could bring up his aircraft to avoid the broken masts and windblown loose rigging. The lone sailor was left clinging precariously to the wreckage, with the seemingly distant helicopter suddenly growing so fast in his eyes that he saw the crew chief’s fearful look, as he desperately raised the basket.
Excerpt taken from Chapter 12
Who is your favorite character and why?
This question is bringing me great angst, I have really thought about which character is my favorite but I am torn between the two protagonists, Captain Karen Ann Murphy and Lamar, aka Lic, Westin. But I have strong feelings for all my characters, even the very minor ones that come and go throughout the book.
Karen Ann is the epitome of grace under fire. Being in a dominantly male work environment she has had to prove herself and gain the respect of her crews, to which she has done and, in the process, has become one of the best to ever sail the sea. She has been able to do this and maintain her female integrity to the highest level.
Lamar (Lic) is a highly intelligent man, on the other hand, he starts out on the wrong side of the law and eventually is forced to make a decision. Will he be a coward or will he become the man that he tries to portray to the world and his family.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
I really must ask to be allowed to choose Two If By Sea and my memoirs, Through My Eyes. Each gave me so much pleasure while writing them that I cannot justify picking one over the other. They each gave me pleasure during the writing process, but for many different reasons. Two If By Sea gave me pleasure by seeing my mind in action and it was like an out of body experience to me as the story took on a life of its own. Through My Eyes brought back so many memories for me and while doing some family research I discovered so much that I didn’t know but now I do. Sorry but there must be a tie here! What is the best marketing tip you have received?
Wow, I’ve seen and been told so many marketing tips. I think the best marketing tip I received was to keep plugging at promoting my book, never give up because somewhere, sometime it will pay off. Of course I’m still waiting, plugging at it, and trying out every avenue I can to promote my book. I’m a very small fish in a very big pond.
How would you describe yourself?
I believe that I’m a hard working, dependable, and loyal type of person. I try to look out for those that I’m responsible for and treat everyone the way I would like to be treated. I’m not a superman or someone that thinks of themselves as special, usually others come before me. The talents God gave me, I’ve tried to use to the best of my ability to do good in the world.
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
The “honey do list,” is never ending! I have retired from sailing full time but I do get called in to make some trips for my previous employer when they are shorthanded. Since my wife retired from her fulltime job also, we try to take more time away to spend with each other and enjoy the fruits of our labor.
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
The islands in the South Pacific have always had a lore for me that I would love to spend some time there and explore. Of course, Alaska is a place I would love to visit, as well, to see the immensity and beauty of the landscape. I’m more of an open space type of person and cities with their crowds don’t have the attraction for me like the wide-open spaces. I’m more of a nature lover I guess you could say.
If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
I am mostly a dog person although, I’ve had cats, birds, turtles, rabbits, hamsters, and more throughout my life, each one bringing something special to mine and my family’s life. The companionship of a dog is really special as there really is no more perfect unwavering love on planet earth than what you get from your dog.
Since we both have retired and our vacations have become longer, we decided that we had to start bringing our pups, (2 100-pound labs,) on vacation with us. Now at home the dogs hear that its bedtime and they run to get their spot on the king-sized bed. Now we rented a pet friendly place for our vacation and when we arrived, we realized that there is only a full-sized bed in the master bedroom. “Looks like you guys are sleeping on the floor,” we tell them. Bedtime rolls around and the 2 of them make a beeline for the bed. Have you ever tried to move a deadweight 100-pound lab? So, my wife and I do our best to make do and find some room for us to sleep by moving this dog body part and that so we can get into bed, it was like a jigsaw puzzle. During the night, the pups both at the same time spread out and BAM, my wife and I are both on the floor wondering what happened! We did not get much sleep that first night as she took the couch and I took the recliner. The dogs were very comfortable though and were well rested in the morning, not so much me and my wife! We eventually convinced them that the bed was ours and we made up beds for them to sleep on near us. We now have 3 big labs and the king-sized bed is shrinking very fast! On a final note, all three “Labrador Retrievers” want nothing to do with the water, pool, lake, river, bay, or ocean! They tolerate bath time!
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
I can read a lot of different genres, so each has its own requirements. For fiction, it is a believable plot that will immerse me and draw me into it to experience the story. For historical books, I prefer time periods that I’m drawn to, but I have read many that the time period wasn’t my favorite but the author really captured me so I enjoy the read. I’m not a big Sci-Fi reader but if its a good book and highly recommended by someone I know I’ll take the plunge.
Do you have your own website?
Yes, I do but it’s not like your average author’s website. I had my own business shortly before and after I retired where I did maritime consulting, procedure and policy writing, auditing of safety and other maritime manuals, Captain for a day, boat handling and navigation instruction, as well as a boat tour business. Once I decided to close the business down, I still had over a year left on my business website. Being the thrifty one in the family, I figured I would just convert it to my author’s website. I removed most of the business information and fill it with my book information! Brilliant! I did all of that and figured I would get back to renaming it so it appeared like other authors websites. I just have not got around to do that yet. Yes, sometimes I do procrastinate. The website is: https://www.ballastmarineservices.com/
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
I’m glad you asked this question. I do have another book in the works but haven’t really had the time to commit to actively working on it the way I should… there goes that procrastination again! It is not exactly a sequel to Two If By Sea. It is more in line of a series style, there will be some of the same characters involved along with some new ones. My style of writing has been compared to Tom Clancy and James Patterson. To which Tom Clancy happens to be very near the top of my favorite authors, so it only seems right that my style would be similar. Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?
I do have a book signing coming up on June 1st of this year (2024) at one of our local libraries. The event is being held by the Avalon Public Library, located in Avalon, NJ. The title of the event is: Avalon Library’s Local Author Fair! This event will be held outdoors on the field and track next to the Avalon School and playground, unless inclement weather forces us to move into the library its self. The hours of the event will be 10 am to 12 noon. I hope to see many people there to get their copy of Two If By Sea signed or buy a signed copy at the fair! Come one and come all, hope to see you there! www.avalonfreelibrary.org
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Kari L. Greenaway - 12 May 2024
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Kari L. Greenaway
https://kariLgreenaway.com
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This week it is my pleasure to interview Kari L. Greenaway. Would you please introduce yourself to my readers and share something about your life.
Hello fellow travellers! And thank you, Rita for the opportunity. I’ve been divorced now for over a year and each day is a day closer to peace within singleness. My faith grounds me and encourages me forward. I live with my 3 pets. Addi, an Akita Husky and Greystone and Keno, my two cats.
I am addicted to MS Excel as a tool to enhance my out of the box thinking. Especially regarding alphabetizing my content to get a fresh view.
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
It was 12/2015, the Dr.’s notes said I was talking in rhyme and riddle and word salad. (I didn’t know I spoke all those, lol.) I was diagnosed with late onset schizophrenia in 2000. It’s been 24 years this past February. I was 29 then and am 52 currently. By the end of the 6-week hospital stay, I was stable and writing poetry like there was no tomorrow.
I wrote three collections in 2016. Hope Doesn’t Hide, He Had You at Belief, and There is a God. (Each collection had 22 poems.) They’ve since been pulled for revision. To be more like Collection Four below.
The last poetry book I wrote, Redeemed Reflections: Poems and Ponderings of Faith, (Which is the only poetry collection currently available,) was written in 2018. Due to grief at my mother’s passing, I held off publishing it until 2020. It won the 1st place gold medal for poetry in the 2021 Illumination Awards.
Do you always write in the same genre, or do you mix it up?
My writing is blossoming out toward children’s NF & Fiction. October 2023, saw a 23-year dream for a children’s NF book come to fruition. In 2000, I was still relatively unstable and not on any beneficial medication. I watched my 2-year-old nephew playing in the yard and he stopped a few times to watch 1st a fire truck that went by, and then some bicyclists racing. In 2017, I thought back to that time and was ruminating a children’s reference book on careers, lines of text started setting in my mind and within a brief time, I had my rough draft. I sent it out a few times when I had given it more polish, but it wasn’t your traditional word count for that age-group. In August of 2023, I worked with an amazing editor, whose also an author, and together, got it ready for the 10/2023 publication. What Job is For Me? From A to Z, is currently available on Kindle and in paperback formats. Each letter has a two-page spread and it’s about 64 pages long. Brilliant colour throughout and I did the illustrations through Canva Pro. My sister assisted me with the concept, photo type children and people, with cartoony backgrounds and supporting images. No AI was involved, some pages have double digit elements. It was super fun to work with my sis on it.
Hello fellow travellers! And thank you, Rita for the opportunity. I’ve been divorced now for over a year and each day is a day closer to peace within singleness. My faith grounds me and encourages me forward. I live with my 3 pets. Addi, an Akita Husky and Greystone and Keno, my two cats.
I am addicted to MS Excel as a tool to enhance my out of the box thinking. Especially regarding alphabetizing my content to get a fresh view.
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
It was 12/2015, the Dr.’s notes said I was talking in rhyme and riddle and word salad. (I didn’t know I spoke all those, lol.) I was diagnosed with late onset schizophrenia in 2000. It’s been 24 years this past February. I was 29 then and am 52 currently. By the end of the 6-week hospital stay, I was stable and writing poetry like there was no tomorrow.
I wrote three collections in 2016. Hope Doesn’t Hide, He Had You at Belief, and There is a God. (Each collection had 22 poems.) They’ve since been pulled for revision. To be more like Collection Four below.
The last poetry book I wrote, Redeemed Reflections: Poems and Ponderings of Faith, (Which is the only poetry collection currently available,) was written in 2018. Due to grief at my mother’s passing, I held off publishing it until 2020. It won the 1st place gold medal for poetry in the 2021 Illumination Awards.
Do you always write in the same genre, or do you mix it up?
My writing is blossoming out toward children’s NF & Fiction. October 2023, saw a 23-year dream for a children’s NF book come to fruition. In 2000, I was still relatively unstable and not on any beneficial medication. I watched my 2-year-old nephew playing in the yard and he stopped a few times to watch 1st a fire truck that went by, and then some bicyclists racing. In 2017, I thought back to that time and was ruminating a children’s reference book on careers, lines of text started setting in my mind and within a brief time, I had my rough draft. I sent it out a few times when I had given it more polish, but it wasn’t your traditional word count for that age-group. In August of 2023, I worked with an amazing editor, whose also an author, and together, got it ready for the 10/2023 publication. What Job is For Me? From A to Z, is currently available on Kindle and in paperback formats. Each letter has a two-page spread and it’s about 64 pages long. Brilliant colour throughout and I did the illustrations through Canva Pro. My sister assisted me with the concept, photo type children and people, with cartoony backgrounds and supporting images. No AI was involved, some pages have double digit elements. It was super fun to work with my sis on it.
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And lastly, I signed a developmental editing contract with EA Books to work on my in-progress middle-grade book. The main character is called, Little k. And she walks and talks with Jesus. There are mental health elements and humour throughout the novel.
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
It varies, Rita. With the poetry, I write it mostly through what I consider the Spirit’s prompting. I’ve made myself available no matter the time of day, to write what’s put on my heart. Even if I was falling asleep and a line popped into my head. I’d grab my iPhone and type away in notes till the prompting was gone or the poem in a 1st draft stage. I use the same process for individual poems for others that I feel compelled to write. With WJIFM? From A to Z, that was a concept, that flowed a bit slower.
Little k’s story was a bit bizarre. I wrote it in 4 days with no sleep. I’d never done such a thing as a novel. But my mind was adamant to get it down. I fell asleep at my desk and when I awoke, I hadn’t remembered writing the final few chapters. It was 11,400 words at that time. That was 2/2021. It’s been 6 years since first draft written. Now comes the developmental help I need. I’ve edited it to 16,600 words at this point, but I am too close to the story as it’s about relationship with Jesus. And in my youth, I had been terrified of Him.
I believe the prompting and the writing of Little k’s story has brought me into an amazing relationship with the Lord Jesus.
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
I wish I knew more which one to present for your audience’s enjoyment. (Little k’s character is currently 7 years old. That may change.)
“Are you comfortable, Little k?” “Yes, Jesus. But I would be more comfortable if I were riding May Queen and not having lessons on my week off.” He smiled and went on to say, “At an appointed time, you will enter the Father’s and My glory. Do you know what the word appointed means?” “Yes, it has the word point in it, so it must mean You point your finger at me and say, do your math, and do your homework. So, it’s a lot of pointing and doing and not a lot of resting. If You appointed me too often then I would not have as much time to read. And, instead of me falling asleep with story thoughts or thoughts of me riding May Queen, all I would see would be Your finger. Dashing around in my mind, pointing, and telling me, over and over to do this and do that till I was so dizzy, it woke me up. And Jesus, even mother would tell you that is not nice. One time I pointed at a girl at the store, and said to mother, ‘see that girl with the nice long hair? Will you please help make my hair like hers?’ Mother bent down, saying in her unhappy voice, ‘Little k, it’s not polite to point and single out another person.’ And I even told her please. She got confused, forgetting to answer me whether she could help me with my hair. She remembered pointing but forgot my bigger problem. My hair, and how I want long pretty hair, that I can braid like May Queen’s.” “I'm glad your mother told you that. It is wrong to point and single out another with your finger. And I am sorry she forgot to remember about you wanting longer hair. The appointed I mean is defined as a set, certain, time given to you to further your learning.” I looked at him. He sat cross-legged on the other side of the blanket and had a blade of grass between his fingers. “Well, Jesus, You should have said give in the first place. I am glad You will not be pointing at me and taking my book time away. Next time just say, ‘give.’ Okay? Because You know I like to receive. So, when you say you want to give me something. That will make me only happy, not confused. All right?” “Yes, Little k. But I thought you liked new words.” “Of course! I do like new words, Jesus, but did You forget so soon about the minute ago? Appointing my finger? Old to me. Not new. Next time I see nice hair that I want, I am going to use my elbow. Then You and mother will be happy with my learning. And you will want to give to me.”
“Oh, Little k, I do love to be able to give to you. The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. [John 10:10 (MKJV)] I was born to give.”
Who is your favourite character and why?
Little k for sure. I can relate to her and to her curiosity and it’s a safe place for me to get to know Jesus better. I love God’s Word. I have ever since I laid eyes and ears on it. That was in 4th grade. It’s a bit of a paradox. I’ve always believed in the truth of His Word, but it was terrifying for me at times. So, from 1982-2014, 32 years I didn’t have a right relationship with Lord. In 2014, I knew He would complete in me what began at belief. Then tack on another 4 years until 2018. And when Little k was “born.” Then add another 5 years and I was rebaptized in 2023. It’s quite the faith-walk.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
Looking back, they’ve all had bitter-sweet moments. And I can’t say one over the other. I’ve spent a lot of life behind my computer screen. Schizophrenia taught me isolation. But writing has been a huge part of me trusting His creative process and gifting in me. Slowly I’m learning some extroversion. I love His gentle guidance and I’m learning to love others in the process.
What is the best marketing tip you have received?
Think creatively. If the mainstream publishing community is doing one thing, set them on their ears. Invite the Father into your writing and publishing journey. He cares for you and has a purpose for your message. He’s going to be the one to water that seed. Enter a co-creator relationship with Him. Pray for your readers. There are a few insightful movers and shakers I’ve taken interest in learning from on my walk. Allen Arnold, and those at Kingdom Driven Entrepreneurs
How would you describe yourself?
Quirky, driven to be joyful each day, and with a lowercase i. My mental illness doesn’t define me whatsoever. I am an open book about it. I cry at the drop of a hat. Especially at beautiful things.
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
Rag-quilting and locker-hooking with fabric is relaxing for me. I work on my budget in Excel or play with the animals. I’ve started basic Tai Chi and I’ve been trying to read as much as I can in the children’s middle grade genre.
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
Israel was my top for a long time, but Sweden is moving up there. I study Hebrew often and to go to Israel for an extended amount of time would be amazing. Sweden has some lovely art museums I would like to explore. I’ve been trying to find someone to house sit my home and animals, while I do some traveling. It’s a slow process, but I want to live outside my comfort zone more now that I’ve been on an amazing medication since 2021.
If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
Oh my, indeed! My Addi is quite a ferocious carpenter-bee eater. And her technique is interesting to watch. And my one cat, Greystone has an amazing purr. I’ve never heard such a purr as his.
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
Is it clean and does it agree or go against God’s Word.
Do you have your own website?
Yes. I can be found at https://kariLgreenaway.com (I make the L bigger her so it can be differentiated from the letter i in my first name.) You should be able to access it no matter whether it’s capitalized or not. I am also on SubStack and it’s a wonderful place for writers who want to increase their readership.
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
Why, yes! A Christian romance, Sci-fi type. And a Bible study based on a poem I wrote. And a children’s picture book series.
Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?
Not that are set in stone. If anyone is interested in having me do a reading via Zoom with their child’s class for What Job is for Me? From A to Z, they are welcome to contact me via my website contact page. It’s best for children aged 4+ and it’s an interactive Zoom. But some preparation is involved. Otherwise, my book, Redeemed Reflections on Kindle is currently priced $4.29 USD for a time. Marked down from $ 9.99 USD. It’s also available in print for $14.99 USD.
Thank you, Rita for having me. It’s been a pleasure. And thank you, readers, and fellow writers, for sharing your time with me. ~Kari L. Greenaway
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
It varies, Rita. With the poetry, I write it mostly through what I consider the Spirit’s prompting. I’ve made myself available no matter the time of day, to write what’s put on my heart. Even if I was falling asleep and a line popped into my head. I’d grab my iPhone and type away in notes till the prompting was gone or the poem in a 1st draft stage. I use the same process for individual poems for others that I feel compelled to write. With WJIFM? From A to Z, that was a concept, that flowed a bit slower.
Little k’s story was a bit bizarre. I wrote it in 4 days with no sleep. I’d never done such a thing as a novel. But my mind was adamant to get it down. I fell asleep at my desk and when I awoke, I hadn’t remembered writing the final few chapters. It was 11,400 words at that time. That was 2/2021. It’s been 6 years since first draft written. Now comes the developmental help I need. I’ve edited it to 16,600 words at this point, but I am too close to the story as it’s about relationship with Jesus. And in my youth, I had been terrified of Him.
I believe the prompting and the writing of Little k’s story has brought me into an amazing relationship with the Lord Jesus.
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
I wish I knew more which one to present for your audience’s enjoyment. (Little k’s character is currently 7 years old. That may change.)
“Are you comfortable, Little k?” “Yes, Jesus. But I would be more comfortable if I were riding May Queen and not having lessons on my week off.” He smiled and went on to say, “At an appointed time, you will enter the Father’s and My glory. Do you know what the word appointed means?” “Yes, it has the word point in it, so it must mean You point your finger at me and say, do your math, and do your homework. So, it’s a lot of pointing and doing and not a lot of resting. If You appointed me too often then I would not have as much time to read. And, instead of me falling asleep with story thoughts or thoughts of me riding May Queen, all I would see would be Your finger. Dashing around in my mind, pointing, and telling me, over and over to do this and do that till I was so dizzy, it woke me up. And Jesus, even mother would tell you that is not nice. One time I pointed at a girl at the store, and said to mother, ‘see that girl with the nice long hair? Will you please help make my hair like hers?’ Mother bent down, saying in her unhappy voice, ‘Little k, it’s not polite to point and single out another person.’ And I even told her please. She got confused, forgetting to answer me whether she could help me with my hair. She remembered pointing but forgot my bigger problem. My hair, and how I want long pretty hair, that I can braid like May Queen’s.” “I'm glad your mother told you that. It is wrong to point and single out another with your finger. And I am sorry she forgot to remember about you wanting longer hair. The appointed I mean is defined as a set, certain, time given to you to further your learning.” I looked at him. He sat cross-legged on the other side of the blanket and had a blade of grass between his fingers. “Well, Jesus, You should have said give in the first place. I am glad You will not be pointing at me and taking my book time away. Next time just say, ‘give.’ Okay? Because You know I like to receive. So, when you say you want to give me something. That will make me only happy, not confused. All right?” “Yes, Little k. But I thought you liked new words.” “Of course! I do like new words, Jesus, but did You forget so soon about the minute ago? Appointing my finger? Old to me. Not new. Next time I see nice hair that I want, I am going to use my elbow. Then You and mother will be happy with my learning. And you will want to give to me.”
“Oh, Little k, I do love to be able to give to you. The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. [John 10:10 (MKJV)] I was born to give.”
Who is your favourite character and why?
Little k for sure. I can relate to her and to her curiosity and it’s a safe place for me to get to know Jesus better. I love God’s Word. I have ever since I laid eyes and ears on it. That was in 4th grade. It’s a bit of a paradox. I’ve always believed in the truth of His Word, but it was terrifying for me at times. So, from 1982-2014, 32 years I didn’t have a right relationship with Lord. In 2014, I knew He would complete in me what began at belief. Then tack on another 4 years until 2018. And when Little k was “born.” Then add another 5 years and I was rebaptized in 2023. It’s quite the faith-walk.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
Looking back, they’ve all had bitter-sweet moments. And I can’t say one over the other. I’ve spent a lot of life behind my computer screen. Schizophrenia taught me isolation. But writing has been a huge part of me trusting His creative process and gifting in me. Slowly I’m learning some extroversion. I love His gentle guidance and I’m learning to love others in the process.
What is the best marketing tip you have received?
Think creatively. If the mainstream publishing community is doing one thing, set them on their ears. Invite the Father into your writing and publishing journey. He cares for you and has a purpose for your message. He’s going to be the one to water that seed. Enter a co-creator relationship with Him. Pray for your readers. There are a few insightful movers and shakers I’ve taken interest in learning from on my walk. Allen Arnold, and those at Kingdom Driven Entrepreneurs
How would you describe yourself?
Quirky, driven to be joyful each day, and with a lowercase i. My mental illness doesn’t define me whatsoever. I am an open book about it. I cry at the drop of a hat. Especially at beautiful things.
What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
Rag-quilting and locker-hooking with fabric is relaxing for me. I work on my budget in Excel or play with the animals. I’ve started basic Tai Chi and I’ve been trying to read as much as I can in the children’s middle grade genre.
If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?
Israel was my top for a long time, but Sweden is moving up there. I study Hebrew often and to go to Israel for an extended amount of time would be amazing. Sweden has some lovely art museums I would like to explore. I’ve been trying to find someone to house sit my home and animals, while I do some traveling. It’s a slow process, but I want to live outside my comfort zone more now that I’ve been on an amazing medication since 2021.
If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?
Oh my, indeed! My Addi is quite a ferocious carpenter-bee eater. And her technique is interesting to watch. And my one cat, Greystone has an amazing purr. I’ve never heard such a purr as his.
What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?
Is it clean and does it agree or go against God’s Word.
Do you have your own website?
Yes. I can be found at https://kariLgreenaway.com (I make the L bigger her so it can be differentiated from the letter i in my first name.) You should be able to access it no matter whether it’s capitalized or not. I am also on SubStack and it’s a wonderful place for writers who want to increase their readership.
Are you working on a new book at the moment?
Why, yes! A Christian romance, Sci-fi type. And a Bible study based on a poem I wrote. And a children’s picture book series.
Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?
Not that are set in stone. If anyone is interested in having me do a reading via Zoom with their child’s class for What Job is for Me? From A to Z, they are welcome to contact me via my website contact page. It’s best for children aged 4+ and it’s an interactive Zoom. But some preparation is involved. Otherwise, my book, Redeemed Reflections on Kindle is currently priced $4.29 USD for a time. Marked down from $ 9.99 USD. It’s also available in print for $14.99 USD.
Thank you, Rita for having me. It’s been a pleasure. And thank you, readers, and fellow writers, for sharing your time with me. ~Kari L. Greenaway
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Jonathan Kravetz - 5 May 2024
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Jonathan Kravetz
jonathankravetz.com
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This week it is my pleasure to interview Jonathan Kravetz. Would you please introduce yourself to my readers, Jonathan and share something about your life.
Hi Rita. I’m originally from Massachusetts—where How We Were Before is set—but I’ve lived in New York City for years. I moved here to pursue a career in academia, but when that didn’t work out, I began writing. I was lucky to find two great teachers: first, the late Fred Hudson, for screenwriting, and then Alice Elliott Dark for fiction. Alice had a story called “In the Gloaming” in the Best American Short Stories that I loved. Somehow, I found out that she was teaching at the Writer’s Voice at the 63rd Street Y and started taking classes with her; I began to learn about structure, voice, and other important aspects of fiction. She’s a wonderful teacher. Later, I co-founded one of the first online literary webzines—Ducts.org—and edited that for sixteen years, along with a reading series that ran in the east village for just as long. I miss hearing a diverse range of writers every month and editing the webzine, but keeping up with my all those responsibilities also kept me from doing as much writing as I would have liked.
Random fact: I live in Rockaway, New York a less well-known beach community in New York City.
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
The first novel I wrote was a satire about dating called The World’s Worst Alien Boyfriend. Also, if you Google my name, you’ll see that I’ve written a bunch of non-fiction books for kids. A six-book series on “gross bugs” was a lot of fun to write.
But How We Were Before is my first published novel. The stories themselves sprang from my experiences growing up in Southeastern Massachusetts. All of the characters are fictional, but some of the events in the book—the double murder of an older couple, the police chief selling confiscated drugs—really happened in my town. There’s another event in the book that was also inspired by true events but revealing that would reveal too much for those who want to read it.
Here's a nice description of the book to entice your readers: When a savage home invasion results in the death of a town's most glamorous couple, the surviving friends and relatives of the victims must navigate the emotional aftermath: Exasperated high school Vice-Principal Zachary Rivers makes a final effort to reach a troubled student. Town librarian, Shelby Blythe—the eldest daughter of the murder victims—begins a correspondence with Billy Lawson, her parents’ murderer. Evelyn Kavanaugh, a retired marketing manager and beloved family friend of the Blythes, embarks on a luxurious cruise as a prelude to suicide. Noam Russell, Billy Lawson’s best friend, returns to Benfield to claim a share of his deceased father’s estate. Samantha Blythe’s maternal attempt to help an employee evokes a renewed desire to connect with her own family.
The spaces between stories are haunted by echoes of the deceased couple's life—from the ignorant bliss of first impressions and great expectations to the tumultuous troubles of middle age, and, finally, an undying hope for reconciliation.
Do you always write in the same genre, or do you mix it up?
My next book is a comic mystery set in Rockaway. Considering that How We Were Before a book of twelve connected stories following a double murder in a small Massachusetts town, I’d say it’s safe to say that I like to mix it up. In fact, I only recently began to realize that I have a habit of alternating “serious” and “funny.”
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
A little bit of both. For something as long as a novel, I think it’s important to build an overarching architecture for the book. I usually then write out what I expect to happen in each chapter, but I’m always open to the story and characters evolving. My recent comic mystery changed many times and, as a result, surprised me often. That’s ideal: when I don’t see what’s coming, the reader probably won’t either. For the stories in How We Were Before, I generally started with an idea for a character and then a specific setting that I could use to put them in motion. I tried to know what my characters’ “problem” were before I started, but I didn’t always and, in those cases, I used the forward momentum of a particular character to teach me what the story was about.
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
Sure. In fact, a few of the stories in How We Were Before were published on their own in literary journals. I revised them for the book, but it could be fun for your readers to check out both versions. This is the first story in the book: “Weekly.” https://thefuriousgazelle.com/2020/05/19/jonathan-kravetz/And just for fun, here’s a story that was in the first draft of the book, but that I took out because I felt it didn’t quite fit with the others: “The Loyalty of Elephants.” https://thievingmagpie.org/jonathan-kravetz-fiction
Who is your favourite character and why?
I enjoyed writing Shelby in the fifth story in the book, “Nothing to Do With Real Life.” She’s the daughter of the murdered couple and she really took on a life of her own through the writing process. I suppose every character an author creates has a bit of the author’s truth in their story, but Shelby surprised me and took the story in a direction I never expected. I also very much like a sixth grader named Louis. His story is called “Pareidolia” (the tendency of the mind to create meaning out of nebulous visual stimuli). He’s the most earnest and innocent character in the book, and I simply love him for how hard he’s trying to fix his life.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
Wait, you’re supposed to get pleasure from writing books? I hadn’t heard that. I must be doing it wrong.
Kidding aside, when the work begins to flow, I get a kind of runner’s high, and the ground I’m covering exists in a totally new world. It’s nice when it comes easily, but working through the pain also pays off. Writing makes me stronger. Editing is tough; it requires passion, patience, and a belief that it will all turn out right in the end.
What is the best marketing tip you have received?
I read somewhere that new authors benefit from starting a newsletter to reconnect with old contacts and develop a network of readers among current colleagues and friends. Social media is great, but a newsletter is personal and immediate and helps you build a fan base. Moreover, in the process of assembling my list, one email or Facebook message at a time, I was pleasantly surprised. It was fun getting in touch with hundreds of old friends that I’d lost track of. Beyond the marketing element, the newsletter paid off with personal dividends. If you decide to try this approach, I think you’ll be surprised at how excited people are to hear you’ve written a book.
Hi Rita. I’m originally from Massachusetts—where How We Were Before is set—but I’ve lived in New York City for years. I moved here to pursue a career in academia, but when that didn’t work out, I began writing. I was lucky to find two great teachers: first, the late Fred Hudson, for screenwriting, and then Alice Elliott Dark for fiction. Alice had a story called “In the Gloaming” in the Best American Short Stories that I loved. Somehow, I found out that she was teaching at the Writer’s Voice at the 63rd Street Y and started taking classes with her; I began to learn about structure, voice, and other important aspects of fiction. She’s a wonderful teacher. Later, I co-founded one of the first online literary webzines—Ducts.org—and edited that for sixteen years, along with a reading series that ran in the east village for just as long. I miss hearing a diverse range of writers every month and editing the webzine, but keeping up with my all those responsibilities also kept me from doing as much writing as I would have liked.
Random fact: I live in Rockaway, New York a less well-known beach community in New York City.
When did you write your first book and how did it come about?
The first novel I wrote was a satire about dating called The World’s Worst Alien Boyfriend. Also, if you Google my name, you’ll see that I’ve written a bunch of non-fiction books for kids. A six-book series on “gross bugs” was a lot of fun to write.
But How We Were Before is my first published novel. The stories themselves sprang from my experiences growing up in Southeastern Massachusetts. All of the characters are fictional, but some of the events in the book—the double murder of an older couple, the police chief selling confiscated drugs—really happened in my town. There’s another event in the book that was also inspired by true events but revealing that would reveal too much for those who want to read it.
Here's a nice description of the book to entice your readers: When a savage home invasion results in the death of a town's most glamorous couple, the surviving friends and relatives of the victims must navigate the emotional aftermath: Exasperated high school Vice-Principal Zachary Rivers makes a final effort to reach a troubled student. Town librarian, Shelby Blythe—the eldest daughter of the murder victims—begins a correspondence with Billy Lawson, her parents’ murderer. Evelyn Kavanaugh, a retired marketing manager and beloved family friend of the Blythes, embarks on a luxurious cruise as a prelude to suicide. Noam Russell, Billy Lawson’s best friend, returns to Benfield to claim a share of his deceased father’s estate. Samantha Blythe’s maternal attempt to help an employee evokes a renewed desire to connect with her own family.
The spaces between stories are haunted by echoes of the deceased couple's life—from the ignorant bliss of first impressions and great expectations to the tumultuous troubles of middle age, and, finally, an undying hope for reconciliation.
Do you always write in the same genre, or do you mix it up?
My next book is a comic mystery set in Rockaway. Considering that How We Were Before a book of twelve connected stories following a double murder in a small Massachusetts town, I’d say it’s safe to say that I like to mix it up. In fact, I only recently began to realize that I have a habit of alternating “serious” and “funny.”
When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and plot the chapters beforehand?
A little bit of both. For something as long as a novel, I think it’s important to build an overarching architecture for the book. I usually then write out what I expect to happen in each chapter, but I’m always open to the story and characters evolving. My recent comic mystery changed many times and, as a result, surprised me often. That’s ideal: when I don’t see what’s coming, the reader probably won’t either. For the stories in How We Were Before, I generally started with an idea for a character and then a specific setting that I could use to put them in motion. I tried to know what my characters’ “problem” were before I started, but I didn’t always and, in those cases, I used the forward momentum of a particular character to teach me what the story was about.
Would you like to give us a short excerpt from one of your books?
Sure. In fact, a few of the stories in How We Were Before were published on their own in literary journals. I revised them for the book, but it could be fun for your readers to check out both versions. This is the first story in the book: “Weekly.” https://thefuriousgazelle.com/2020/05/19/jonathan-kravetz/And just for fun, here’s a story that was in the first draft of the book, but that I took out because I felt it didn’t quite fit with the others: “The Loyalty of Elephants.” https://thievingmagpie.org/jonathan-kravetz-fiction
Who is your favourite character and why?
I enjoyed writing Shelby in the fifth story in the book, “Nothing to Do With Real Life.” She’s the daughter of the murdered couple and she really took on a life of her own through the writing process. I suppose every character an author creates has a bit of the author’s truth in their story, but Shelby surprised me and took the story in a direction I never expected. I also very much like a sixth grader named Louis. His story is called “Pareidolia” (the tendency of the mind to create meaning out of nebulous visual stimuli). He’s the most earnest and innocent character in the book, and I simply love him for how hard he’s trying to fix his life.
Which of your books gave you the most pleasure to write?
Wait, you’re supposed to get pleasure from writing books? I hadn’t heard that. I must be doing it wrong.
Kidding aside, when the work begins to flow, I get a kind of runner’s high, and the ground I’m covering exists in a totally new world. It’s nice when it comes easily, but working through the pain also pays off. Writing makes me stronger. Editing is tough; it requires passion, patience, and a belief that it will all turn out right in the end.
What is the best marketing tip you have received?
I read somewhere that new authors benefit from starting a newsletter to reconnect with old contacts and develop a network of readers among current colleagues and friends. Social media is great, but a newsletter is personal and immediate and helps you build a fan base. Moreover, in the process of assembling my list, one email or Facebook message at a time, I was pleasantly surprised. It was fun getting in touch with hundreds of old friends that I’d lost track of. Beyond the marketing element, the newsletter paid off with personal dividends. If you decide to try this approach, I think you’ll be surprised at how excited people are to hear you’ve written a book.