Ask the Author: Joyce E.S. Pyka
Answered Questions (6)
Joyce E.S. Pyka
On a good day there is a creative euphoric high (usually called flow) and it's magic. When you enjoy the pleasure of reading you are learning to be a good writer at the same time. Writing will often take you in unexpected directions, so there's the joy of discovery. It keeps your mind sharp, besides being therapeutic. Did I list enough "bests"? - there are more you know...
Joyce E.S. Pyka
I was asked by someone from one of the groups I joined what inspired me to write about the town of Willow Woods using the real life Village of Riverside. Thought you might like to see my response below:
Oh, so many things! On my way to work, I had the privilege of driving through Riverside, a picturesque village designed by Frederic Law Olmstead (he also designed Central Park in New York). The Arcade, was going through a thorough restoration. It was a thrill to see its ramshackle bones come to life again. One day, I decided to visit their tiny museum along the tracks and learned just how far back in time this town went.
As a writer, and a self-professed history nerd, who also loves reading mysteries, it “called” to me. Filled with stately historic mansions, a train route that has tied this national landmark to Chicago for more than a hundred years, it was the perfect setting. After doing more research, I felt inspired to write a historical fiction cozy. I filled it with colorful characters, including a young woman, struggling with her ambitions at a time (circa 1900) when women had little opportunity to do so, and of course, have her solve mysteries along the way!
Of note – the Village of Riverside was featured on PBS, in Ten Towns That Changed America.
https://interactive.wttw.com/ten/town...
Oh, so many things! On my way to work, I had the privilege of driving through Riverside, a picturesque village designed by Frederic Law Olmstead (he also designed Central Park in New York). The Arcade, was going through a thorough restoration. It was a thrill to see its ramshackle bones come to life again. One day, I decided to visit their tiny museum along the tracks and learned just how far back in time this town went.
As a writer, and a self-professed history nerd, who also loves reading mysteries, it “called” to me. Filled with stately historic mansions, a train route that has tied this national landmark to Chicago for more than a hundred years, it was the perfect setting. After doing more research, I felt inspired to write a historical fiction cozy. I filled it with colorful characters, including a young woman, struggling with her ambitions at a time (circa 1900) when women had little opportunity to do so, and of course, have her solve mysteries along the way!
Of note – the Village of Riverside was featured on PBS, in Ten Towns That Changed America.
https://interactive.wttw.com/ten/town...
Joyce E.S. Pyka
I was the kid in the neighborhood who made up and told spooky stories to other children, whether on the front porch on summer nights or when on babysitting jobs. I always had a book of some sort around, and notebooks filled with stories.
Joyce E.S. Pyka
3rd draft of my next cozy, Willow Woods book. I usually do around six drafts.
Joyce E.S. Pyka
Read! Read! Read! Reading is writing! And then reread and dissect all the books you love and have inspired you to write. Study their craft, characters, pacing, dialogue, descriptions, etc. Then find your own voice and story.
Joyce E.S. Pyka
I get up and leave my computer, and distract myself with something physical or another one of my muses. Though this doesn't happen often for me, I find the more I fight a block, the more it jams my creativity.
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