Amy Corwin's Blog, page 11
December 5, 2011
Guest Author: Charles Rosenberg
Remember the move, The Paper Chase? Or shows like LA Law and Boston Legal? Perry Mason? We've all been thrilled by courtroom drama and intrigues by lawyers (despite the jokes about them) and I'm honored to interview Charles Rosenberg, a gifted writer and lawyer.
Charles Rosenberg
Why did you decide to write?
After having been the legal script consultant to four TV shows – The Paperchase, LA Law, The Practice and Boston Legal, plus having been one of two on-air analysts for E! TV's coverage of the O. J. Simpson criminal and civil trials, writing Death on a High Floor , which is a legal thriller, just seemed a natural thing to do. Although the truth is that I started a similar novel in the mid-70's, but never finished it. So maybe it all started back then.
How much research do you do?
Didn't have to do any research, really, on what life is like inside very large law firms since I spent a significant part of my life as a lawyer inside such firms (although I want to be sure to point out that none of them was as mean as Marbury Marfan, the firm in Death on a High Floor ). Nor did I have to do much research on criminal procedure since I taught that subject as a law professor once-upon-a-time, have represented clients in criminal matters (although they involved white collar federal prosecutions rather than murders) and, of course, watched every minute of the Simpson murder trial plus a couple of others. So all I had to do was brush up a bit on current California criminal procedure. As for ancient Roman coins, which play a key role in the plot, I collect such coins (in a minor kind of way), and I own all of the books that are referred to in the novel. So that research was done from my own book shelves. I did have to learn a bit more, though, about the particular coin in the book – the EID MAR (Ides of March) denarius of Brutus—the coin Brutus minted to celebrate his assassination of Julius Caesar, complete with double daggers and the Latin words EID Mar (Ides of March) on the back. That research I was able to do on the Internet. Other than that, it was just odds and ends Internet research.
What was the most interesting thing you discovered when you were doing your research?
That counterfeit ancient coins are even more common than I thought. Indeed, I discovered that some forgeries were so good that there are people who collect them.
(Note from Amy: I had no idea people collected forged coins, but I can see why. Many are works of art and show real talent on the part of the forgers. Makes you wonder what they could accomplish if they set their mind to doing real work. :) )
What's your favorite method for researching?
The Internet, particularly things like Google Scholar.
Do you have a favorite theme or message for your readers?
Hmm. I think I'd like people to take from the novel that circumstantial evidence of guilt doesn't always mean that the person is guilty.
When do you write/what is your writing day like?
My life, because it involves continuing to be a full-time lawyer, as well as an adjunct law professor, is hard to plan from day to day. So I just write whenever/wherever I get the time. There is no standard "writing day" in my life. Might be nice if there were.
What is the best advice someone has given you about writing? The worst advice?
Best advice was: Finish it and then go back later and polish it. Worst advice: use an outline.
How do you approach a new book? Outlines? Just an idea?
Outlines work well for many people, I know. They just don't for me. I approach a mystery just by asking myself who died, who did it and why. That provides, instantly, two characters (although the dead one doesn't have much of a role). From there, it just develops as I write.
How do you develop your characters?
I think they develop organically through interactions with the other characters as I write them, mainly through dialogue. I'm a big believer in "show, don't tell." In some ways, I just start with a broad character outline. For example, the main criminal defense lawyer in Death on a High Floor is anti-technology: doesn't own a computer or a cell phone. Once you have that down, the rest of his personality just flows from that—he's something of a crank in everything. The ancient coin dealer, Serappo Prodiglia, is quirky, in part because I think that to be a dealer in ancient coins you have to be a bit quirky. Aren't all antiquarians quirky in some way?
Who are your favorite authors? Have any authors inspired you or influenced your work?
I always have trouble with this question because I'd need to break it down into many categories, and name a favorite for each. In the thriller genre, I've always loved Frederick Forsyth, who wrote Day of the Jackal. Currently, in the area of novels that are more "literary," I'm enamored of Hilary Mantel, who wrote Wolf Hall (the Man Booker Prize winner in 2009), among many other novels. In terms of true influence, though , I'd have to say it would be the non-fiction work by the late John Gardner, The Art of Fiction, Craft for Young Writers. I first read it when it came out in 1984, and it's still full of good advice and insight.
What makes a great book in your opinion?
Being able to be absorbed in the fiction in so profound a way that you truly forget that the characters never really lived.
If a reader took away one thing from your book(s), what would you like that to be?
A sense of what it's like, psychologically, to be accused of a crime you didn't commit.
Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?
Just finish it!
Where do you see yourself as an author in five years?
I have a second novel that's about 70% done (not a sequel) that I hope to finish in a couple of months. Then I plan a sequel to Death on a High Floor . And then there are some novels beyond that, one of which is a historical novel, and one of which is a sci-fi "space opera." And I hope to be better known. But what author does not?
Where do you see the publishing industry going in the next few years and where do you see yourself within this industry?
I'm sad to say (because I still like hard copy books, even though I now read most books on my Kindle) that print books, except for specialty items, are going away. As a result, large brick and mortar book retailers (like retailers of music) are going to be largely gone (Barnes & Noble lost a lot of money this year), and publishers are going to find themselves, like record companies, re-emerging in forms they can't now quite envisage. There will also be, as with record companies, a lot more consolidation.
Bio
Charles B. ("Chuck") Rosenberg has been the credited legal script consultant to three prime time television shows: L.A. Law, The Practice and Boston Legal, as well as The Paper Chase (Showtime). During the O .J. Simpson criminal trial, he was one of two on-air legal analysts for E! Entertainment Television's live coverage of the trial. He also provided commentary for E!'s coverage of the Simpson civil trial. He is also the author of the book The Trial of O.J. Simpson: How to Watch the Trial and Understand What's Really Going On (Publishing Partners 1994) and is a contributing author to the book Lawyers in Your Living Room! Law on Television (ABA Publishing 2009). He has taught extensively as an adjunct law professor, including at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, the Loyola Law School International LLM Program in Bologna, Italy, the UCLA School of Law, the Pepperdine School of Law, and the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA. A graduate of the Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review, Chuck currently practices in the Los Angeles area. He has been a partner in several law firms, including a large international firm. Currently, he is a partner in a three-lawyer firm. Chuck and his wife have lived in Los Angeles since the early 1970s. He is at work on a second novel.
Website: http://charlesrosenberg.wordpress.com/ (with links to blog and the book's Facebook page)
Book blurb
Death on a High Floor
Simon Rafer is the roundly hated managing partner of Marbuy Marfan, a glitzy Los Angeles law firm with more than a thousand lawyers scattered across four continents. Robert Tarza, a sixtyish, laid back senior partner who is waltzing toward retirement, has the misfortune to get in early one morning and find Rafer dead in the reception area, an elaborate dagger struck in his back. It's not good to find the body, and it's particularly not good if you seem to have a motive, to wit: Rafter had just bought a rare ancient Roman coin from Tarza for a cool half-million dollars, declared it a fake and was demanding his money back. LAPD homicide detective Spritz has his eyes fixed on Tarza from the start, and seems near to building an air tight case against him for Murder One. Jenna James, the kick-ass woman associate whom Tarza has mentored for seven years, wants to defend him. And Tarza likes the idea, because he finds himself falling apart and needs somebody who believes in him. But then again, maybe Jenna herself is the real killer . . .
* * * * *
Thank you!Fiction Writing and Other Oddities
Charles RosenbergWhy did you decide to write?
After having been the legal script consultant to four TV shows – The Paperchase, LA Law, The Practice and Boston Legal, plus having been one of two on-air analysts for E! TV's coverage of the O. J. Simpson criminal and civil trials, writing Death on a High Floor , which is a legal thriller, just seemed a natural thing to do. Although the truth is that I started a similar novel in the mid-70's, but never finished it. So maybe it all started back then.
How much research do you do?
Didn't have to do any research, really, on what life is like inside very large law firms since I spent a significant part of my life as a lawyer inside such firms (although I want to be sure to point out that none of them was as mean as Marbury Marfan, the firm in Death on a High Floor ). Nor did I have to do much research on criminal procedure since I taught that subject as a law professor once-upon-a-time, have represented clients in criminal matters (although they involved white collar federal prosecutions rather than murders) and, of course, watched every minute of the Simpson murder trial plus a couple of others. So all I had to do was brush up a bit on current California criminal procedure. As for ancient Roman coins, which play a key role in the plot, I collect such coins (in a minor kind of way), and I own all of the books that are referred to in the novel. So that research was done from my own book shelves. I did have to learn a bit more, though, about the particular coin in the book – the EID MAR (Ides of March) denarius of Brutus—the coin Brutus minted to celebrate his assassination of Julius Caesar, complete with double daggers and the Latin words EID Mar (Ides of March) on the back. That research I was able to do on the Internet. Other than that, it was just odds and ends Internet research.
What was the most interesting thing you discovered when you were doing your research?
That counterfeit ancient coins are even more common than I thought. Indeed, I discovered that some forgeries were so good that there are people who collect them.
(Note from Amy: I had no idea people collected forged coins, but I can see why. Many are works of art and show real talent on the part of the forgers. Makes you wonder what they could accomplish if they set their mind to doing real work. :) )
What's your favorite method for researching?
The Internet, particularly things like Google Scholar.
Do you have a favorite theme or message for your readers?
Hmm. I think I'd like people to take from the novel that circumstantial evidence of guilt doesn't always mean that the person is guilty.
When do you write/what is your writing day like?
My life, because it involves continuing to be a full-time lawyer, as well as an adjunct law professor, is hard to plan from day to day. So I just write whenever/wherever I get the time. There is no standard "writing day" in my life. Might be nice if there were.
What is the best advice someone has given you about writing? The worst advice?
Best advice was: Finish it and then go back later and polish it. Worst advice: use an outline.
How do you approach a new book? Outlines? Just an idea?
Outlines work well for many people, I know. They just don't for me. I approach a mystery just by asking myself who died, who did it and why. That provides, instantly, two characters (although the dead one doesn't have much of a role). From there, it just develops as I write.How do you develop your characters?
I think they develop organically through interactions with the other characters as I write them, mainly through dialogue. I'm a big believer in "show, don't tell." In some ways, I just start with a broad character outline. For example, the main criminal defense lawyer in Death on a High Floor is anti-technology: doesn't own a computer or a cell phone. Once you have that down, the rest of his personality just flows from that—he's something of a crank in everything. The ancient coin dealer, Serappo Prodiglia, is quirky, in part because I think that to be a dealer in ancient coins you have to be a bit quirky. Aren't all antiquarians quirky in some way?
Who are your favorite authors? Have any authors inspired you or influenced your work?
I always have trouble with this question because I'd need to break it down into many categories, and name a favorite for each. In the thriller genre, I've always loved Frederick Forsyth, who wrote Day of the Jackal. Currently, in the area of novels that are more "literary," I'm enamored of Hilary Mantel, who wrote Wolf Hall (the Man Booker Prize winner in 2009), among many other novels. In terms of true influence, though , I'd have to say it would be the non-fiction work by the late John Gardner, The Art of Fiction, Craft for Young Writers. I first read it when it came out in 1984, and it's still full of good advice and insight.
What makes a great book in your opinion?
Being able to be absorbed in the fiction in so profound a way that you truly forget that the characters never really lived.
If a reader took away one thing from your book(s), what would you like that to be?
A sense of what it's like, psychologically, to be accused of a crime you didn't commit.
Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?
Just finish it!
Where do you see yourself as an author in five years?
I have a second novel that's about 70% done (not a sequel) that I hope to finish in a couple of months. Then I plan a sequel to Death on a High Floor . And then there are some novels beyond that, one of which is a historical novel, and one of which is a sci-fi "space opera." And I hope to be better known. But what author does not?
Where do you see the publishing industry going in the next few years and where do you see yourself within this industry?
I'm sad to say (because I still like hard copy books, even though I now read most books on my Kindle) that print books, except for specialty items, are going away. As a result, large brick and mortar book retailers (like retailers of music) are going to be largely gone (Barnes & Noble lost a lot of money this year), and publishers are going to find themselves, like record companies, re-emerging in forms they can't now quite envisage. There will also be, as with record companies, a lot more consolidation.
Bio
Charles B. ("Chuck") Rosenberg has been the credited legal script consultant to three prime time television shows: L.A. Law, The Practice and Boston Legal, as well as The Paper Chase (Showtime). During the O .J. Simpson criminal trial, he was one of two on-air legal analysts for E! Entertainment Television's live coverage of the trial. He also provided commentary for E!'s coverage of the Simpson civil trial. He is also the author of the book The Trial of O.J. Simpson: How to Watch the Trial and Understand What's Really Going On (Publishing Partners 1994) and is a contributing author to the book Lawyers in Your Living Room! Law on Television (ABA Publishing 2009). He has taught extensively as an adjunct law professor, including at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, the Loyola Law School International LLM Program in Bologna, Italy, the UCLA School of Law, the Pepperdine School of Law, and the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA. A graduate of the Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review, Chuck currently practices in the Los Angeles area. He has been a partner in several law firms, including a large international firm. Currently, he is a partner in a three-lawyer firm. Chuck and his wife have lived in Los Angeles since the early 1970s. He is at work on a second novel.
Website: http://charlesrosenberg.wordpress.com/ (with links to blog and the book's Facebook page)
Book blurb
Death on a High Floor
Simon Rafer is the roundly hated managing partner of Marbuy Marfan, a glitzy Los Angeles law firm with more than a thousand lawyers scattered across four continents. Robert Tarza, a sixtyish, laid back senior partner who is waltzing toward retirement, has the misfortune to get in early one morning and find Rafer dead in the reception area, an elaborate dagger struck in his back. It's not good to find the body, and it's particularly not good if you seem to have a motive, to wit: Rafter had just bought a rare ancient Roman coin from Tarza for a cool half-million dollars, declared it a fake and was demanding his money back. LAPD homicide detective Spritz has his eyes fixed on Tarza from the start, and seems near to building an air tight case against him for Murder One. Jenna James, the kick-ass woman associate whom Tarza has mentored for seven years, wants to defend him. And Tarza likes the idea, because he finds himself falling apart and needs somebody who believes in him. But then again, maybe Jenna herself is the real killer . . .
* * * * *
Thank you!Fiction Writing and Other Oddities
December 4, 2011
Sample Sunday: The Bricklayer's Helper
It's sample Sunday again! This time, I'm giving you a small taste from my Regency romantic mystery,
The Bricklayer's Helper
.
What would you do if you were a young girl, orphaned during the early years of the 19th century? Without a family and references, there were pitifully few jobs for women, leaving them to face desperate lives of thievery or prostitution.
Sam faces this terrible situation in
The Bricklayer's Helper
.
Her story was based on the actual life of Catherine Wilson, who was orphaned at fourteen and bravely refused to accept the social restrictions of her day. She donned her deceased brother's clothes to find work under the name of John Thomson.
An orphan like Catherine, Sarah finds herself alone when a suspicious fire burns down her home with her family trapped inside. All she can remember about the horrific event is the warning to "run and hide." Fighting to stay alive, Sarah cuts her hair, dons the garb of a young boy and obtains a job as a bricklayer's helper. This disguise allows her to remain safe for nearly thirteen years.
Unfortunately, work takes her to London and a man from her past recognizes her. He arranges a meeting with her, only to be murdered before they can speak. Desperate that she may be vulnerable, Sarah hires an inquiry agent from the Second Sons Inquiry Agency.
However, Sarah is not too sure about the inquiry agent she's assigned. William Trenchard may be competant to fumble his way beneath a lady's skirt, but can he discover who murdered her family? Despite her doubts, Sarah hires him, hoping to survive long enough to uncover the killer.
Unfortunately, their decisions may prove to be dangerous to their hearts…if not downright fatal.
Book: The Bricklayer's Helper
In the scene below, Sarah, in her guise as Sam Sanderson, has gone to meet a man from her past, unsure what secrets he will reveal about the fire that destroyed her family.
Excerpt from The Bricklayer's Helper
She glanced around, trying to listen over the pounding of her heart. No one shouted. No one except the major showed any interest in her—other than sheer annoyance when she impeded the smooth flow of foot traffic.
Major Pickering raised his hand, his eyes intent on her face. She took a slow step forward. Then without warning, he stumbled. His hand fell to his side. His gaze wavered. A look of confusion passed over his thin face. Glancing down, he pressed a hand to his side. And as he brought his palm up in front of his face, his legs buckled beneath him. He fell sharply to his knees, and with a shudder, he raised his head. His gaze once more met Sam's as his mouth worked soundlessly.
A sense of urgency sent her running forward, hand outstretched. Alarmed by the pallor of his face, she tried to reach him to hear the words he uselessly mouthed. Then, although she couldn't be sure with the jostling men between them, he shook his head slightly in warning. A spasm twisted his features.
Sam stopped and watched in agonized horror as he slowly crumpled, face down, onto the pavement.
A passerby dressed in black bent over him. His quick hands patted the major's back and sides.
Several men trying to pass turned and exclaimed in surprise.
"What's wrong?" one said, his voice carrying above the crowd.
"Drunk—"
"No—murder!" another man yelled. "Fetch the constable! This man's been stabbed!"
------
I hope you enjoyed the excerpt!Fiction Writing and Other Oddities
What would you do if you were a young girl, orphaned during the early years of the 19th century? Without a family and references, there were pitifully few jobs for women, leaving them to face desperate lives of thievery or prostitution.
Sam faces this terrible situation in
The Bricklayer's Helper
. Her story was based on the actual life of Catherine Wilson, who was orphaned at fourteen and bravely refused to accept the social restrictions of her day. She donned her deceased brother's clothes to find work under the name of John Thomson.
An orphan like Catherine, Sarah finds herself alone when a suspicious fire burns down her home with her family trapped inside. All she can remember about the horrific event is the warning to "run and hide." Fighting to stay alive, Sarah cuts her hair, dons the garb of a young boy and obtains a job as a bricklayer's helper. This disguise allows her to remain safe for nearly thirteen years.
Unfortunately, work takes her to London and a man from her past recognizes her. He arranges a meeting with her, only to be murdered before they can speak. Desperate that she may be vulnerable, Sarah hires an inquiry agent from the Second Sons Inquiry Agency.
However, Sarah is not too sure about the inquiry agent she's assigned. William Trenchard may be competant to fumble his way beneath a lady's skirt, but can he discover who murdered her family? Despite her doubts, Sarah hires him, hoping to survive long enough to uncover the killer.
Unfortunately, their decisions may prove to be dangerous to their hearts…if not downright fatal.
Book: The Bricklayer's Helper
In the scene below, Sarah, in her guise as Sam Sanderson, has gone to meet a man from her past, unsure what secrets he will reveal about the fire that destroyed her family.
Excerpt from The Bricklayer's Helper
She glanced around, trying to listen over the pounding of her heart. No one shouted. No one except the major showed any interest in her—other than sheer annoyance when she impeded the smooth flow of foot traffic.
Major Pickering raised his hand, his eyes intent on her face. She took a slow step forward. Then without warning, he stumbled. His hand fell to his side. His gaze wavered. A look of confusion passed over his thin face. Glancing down, he pressed a hand to his side. And as he brought his palm up in front of his face, his legs buckled beneath him. He fell sharply to his knees, and with a shudder, he raised his head. His gaze once more met Sam's as his mouth worked soundlessly.
A sense of urgency sent her running forward, hand outstretched. Alarmed by the pallor of his face, she tried to reach him to hear the words he uselessly mouthed. Then, although she couldn't be sure with the jostling men between them, he shook his head slightly in warning. A spasm twisted his features.
Sam stopped and watched in agonized horror as he slowly crumpled, face down, onto the pavement.
A passerby dressed in black bent over him. His quick hands patted the major's back and sides.
Several men trying to pass turned and exclaimed in surprise.
"What's wrong?" one said, his voice carrying above the crowd.
"Drunk—"
"No—murder!" another man yelled. "Fetch the constable! This man's been stabbed!"
------
I hope you enjoyed the excerpt!Fiction Writing and Other Oddities
December 2, 2011
Guest Author: Anne Ashby
We're lucky to have author Anne Ashby join us today. We share a publisher, The Wild Rose Press, and I was delighted when she agreed to let me interview her. She and I both share the same writing goal: write a book that leaves the reader with a smile on his or her face.
More and more, when I read a book, I want at least some of the characters to survive (preferably characters I like) and be happy. Real life can be so difficult at times, that it's nice to think someone, somewhere has survived all the trauma and found happiness, even if it's just in a book.
Anne Ashby
Why did you decide to write?
I don't think I can say why I began writing, it was just something that happened, a natural progression, I guess you could say. I loved to read and dreamed of putting my own stories onto paper, but it took the encouragement of Loree Lough, whose "romance writing" course I attended in MD, to make me realise I could actually do this.
How much research do you do?
Writing contemporary stories makes research very easy – I'm writing about today, in today's world, with today's problems and solutions. I'm in awe of historical writers and those who develop other worlds, but I'm not even slightly tempted to follow their lead. I'm sticking to contemporary. I haven't yet set a story in an unfamiliar place so descriptions are either via memories or visits to those locations.
What was the most interesting thing you discovered when you were doing your research?
Researching for my first story "Worlds Apart" was the most involved and interesting as I used many of the language/cultural differences between USA and New Zealand we discovered when shifting to Maryland. Our family assumed movies and television had prepared us – after all, both countries speak English, don't they? No, we discovered. American is spoken in US and New Zealand's brand of English caused a few raised eyebrows. Much of every day living in US was initially foreign to us. But with the help of good friends we soon found our feet, and I discovered heaps of padding for my story. Each time my words baffled friends, or they confused me, out came the notebook to record yet another weird or wonderful distinction.
Do you have a favorite theme or message for your readers?
My tag-line is "warm, fuzzy and fun" and I always start off a story intending it to be light-hearted. My aim is to provide a 'feel good' buzz for my readers. But sometimes my characters take control and I've ended up writing about some very serious social issues. For example, in "Time to Bury the Past" teenage binge drinking plays a major part. Despite this, I hope my stories can always bring a smile and a sigh of satisfaction as the cover closes.
When do you write/what is your writing day like?
I started writing when my youngest child started school so I got into the habit of using "school hours" as my writing day. Over the last few months this has changed slightly as I work on self-promotion, with me spending about 30-60 mins posting onto loops/FB etc. I'm yet to dive into Twitter but will take that plunge one day soon. When writing, I usually read over/edit the previous day's work then write whatever is itching to get out. I'm a pantser, attempts at planning my stories have so far fallen flat. I'm reasonably disciplined (maybe because of years in the military) and put in about 5-6 hours Mon-Fri on some sort of "writing-related" work.
How do you approach a new book? Outlines? Just an idea?
Some ideas present themselves almost en masse, while others appear as just one scene and take a lot of thought before they turn into a whole story. It is my intention that every book will be planned, with a clear outline, the precise number of pages per chapter, personality charts, character arcs, everything! Only when I sit down to do this planning my mind turns to mush and nothing appears. So instead I let the jumbled story flow out and do an awful lot of editing once the draft is complete.
Who are your favorite authors? Have any authors inspired you or influenced your work?
I'll be very surprised if anyone reading this has ever heard of my favourite author. New Zealander Essie Summers wrote over 50 stories for Mills & Boon, setting most of them close to where I grew up. Reading her romances and knowing the locations made the stories so real. I guess she provided a mile of inspiration – I could write stories set in far off New Zealand, too.
If a reader took away one thing from your book(s), what would you like that to be?
A smile.
Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?
Write, write and then write some more. Never give up if writing is your dream. Keep practicing and devour any writing related information you can grab, no matter where you find it. Then write even more. Submit your work, hopefully feedback will help you recognise your faults or weaknesses.
Where do you see yourself as an author in five years?
I'd like to hope I'd be still writing 4-5 books a year and getting them all published. The most important thing for me at the moment is to stay true to the "sweet" genre, but provide stories that are realistic in today's world. Sweet doesn't have to mean sickly.
Brief Bio
I'm a contemporary traditional/sweet author from New Zealand, published with The Wild Rose Press. I grew up in a very small coastal town in New Zealand's southern-most province. An eagerness to travel, fostered by my mother, led me to join the Royal NZ Navy where I enjoyed a very satisfying career. I have been fortunate to have travelled extensively and lived in Singapore and Maryland USA. I began writing contemporary romances when my youngest child started school. I enjoy including family issues, genealogy, rugby and/or snippets from my past military life in my stories. I am dedicated to bringing something of my beautiful country to romance readers everywhere, so New Zealand always features in my stories, normally as the setting. When not reading or writing, I find plenty to occupy my time with my family commitments. I currently live in Auckland with my husband and two of our four children.
TIME TO BURY THE PAST
By: ANNE ASHBY
Available – Amazon, Wild Rose Press
BACK BLURB
PTSD forces American Naval Officer Zane Erickson to re-evaluate his life. A posting to untroubled New Zealand after years in Afghanistan will allow him to bond with his motherless teenage son. Unfortunately Cody doesn't share his father's enthusiasm for this new living arrangement.
Kelsey Hewitt is a single mother wrestling with her son's drinking problem, struggling to keep the truth about his abusive father from him and determined to exclude men from her life.
As Kelsey and Zane are drawn together by the boys' friendship they each have compelling reasons to avoid any possible intimacy. But while dealing with their sons' dilemmas, their attraction for each other deepens.
Can Kelsey risk allowing another control freak into her life?
Anne Ashby
Author of: "Worlds Apart" "Devon's Dream" "Time to Bury the Past" "Wilderness Liaison" coming soon
http://www.anneashby.com/
Facebook
Thanks Anne!Fiction Writing and Other Oddities
More and more, when I read a book, I want at least some of the characters to survive (preferably characters I like) and be happy. Real life can be so difficult at times, that it's nice to think someone, somewhere has survived all the trauma and found happiness, even if it's just in a book.
Anne AshbyWhy did you decide to write?
I don't think I can say why I began writing, it was just something that happened, a natural progression, I guess you could say. I loved to read and dreamed of putting my own stories onto paper, but it took the encouragement of Loree Lough, whose "romance writing" course I attended in MD, to make me realise I could actually do this.
How much research do you do?
Writing contemporary stories makes research very easy – I'm writing about today, in today's world, with today's problems and solutions. I'm in awe of historical writers and those who develop other worlds, but I'm not even slightly tempted to follow their lead. I'm sticking to contemporary. I haven't yet set a story in an unfamiliar place so descriptions are either via memories or visits to those locations.
What was the most interesting thing you discovered when you were doing your research?
Researching for my first story "Worlds Apart" was the most involved and interesting as I used many of the language/cultural differences between USA and New Zealand we discovered when shifting to Maryland. Our family assumed movies and television had prepared us – after all, both countries speak English, don't they? No, we discovered. American is spoken in US and New Zealand's brand of English caused a few raised eyebrows. Much of every day living in US was initially foreign to us. But with the help of good friends we soon found our feet, and I discovered heaps of padding for my story. Each time my words baffled friends, or they confused me, out came the notebook to record yet another weird or wonderful distinction.
Do you have a favorite theme or message for your readers?
My tag-line is "warm, fuzzy and fun" and I always start off a story intending it to be light-hearted. My aim is to provide a 'feel good' buzz for my readers. But sometimes my characters take control and I've ended up writing about some very serious social issues. For example, in "Time to Bury the Past" teenage binge drinking plays a major part. Despite this, I hope my stories can always bring a smile and a sigh of satisfaction as the cover closes.
When do you write/what is your writing day like?
I started writing when my youngest child started school so I got into the habit of using "school hours" as my writing day. Over the last few months this has changed slightly as I work on self-promotion, with me spending about 30-60 mins posting onto loops/FB etc. I'm yet to dive into Twitter but will take that plunge one day soon. When writing, I usually read over/edit the previous day's work then write whatever is itching to get out. I'm a pantser, attempts at planning my stories have so far fallen flat. I'm reasonably disciplined (maybe because of years in the military) and put in about 5-6 hours Mon-Fri on some sort of "writing-related" work.
How do you approach a new book? Outlines? Just an idea?
Some ideas present themselves almost en masse, while others appear as just one scene and take a lot of thought before they turn into a whole story. It is my intention that every book will be planned, with a clear outline, the precise number of pages per chapter, personality charts, character arcs, everything! Only when I sit down to do this planning my mind turns to mush and nothing appears. So instead I let the jumbled story flow out and do an awful lot of editing once the draft is complete.
Who are your favorite authors? Have any authors inspired you or influenced your work?
I'll be very surprised if anyone reading this has ever heard of my favourite author. New Zealander Essie Summers wrote over 50 stories for Mills & Boon, setting most of them close to where I grew up. Reading her romances and knowing the locations made the stories so real. I guess she provided a mile of inspiration – I could write stories set in far off New Zealand, too.
If a reader took away one thing from your book(s), what would you like that to be?
A smile.
Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?
Write, write and then write some more. Never give up if writing is your dream. Keep practicing and devour any writing related information you can grab, no matter where you find it. Then write even more. Submit your work, hopefully feedback will help you recognise your faults or weaknesses.
Where do you see yourself as an author in five years?
I'd like to hope I'd be still writing 4-5 books a year and getting them all published. The most important thing for me at the moment is to stay true to the "sweet" genre, but provide stories that are realistic in today's world. Sweet doesn't have to mean sickly.
Brief Bio
I'm a contemporary traditional/sweet author from New Zealand, published with The Wild Rose Press. I grew up in a very small coastal town in New Zealand's southern-most province. An eagerness to travel, fostered by my mother, led me to join the Royal NZ Navy where I enjoyed a very satisfying career. I have been fortunate to have travelled extensively and lived in Singapore and Maryland USA. I began writing contemporary romances when my youngest child started school. I enjoy including family issues, genealogy, rugby and/or snippets from my past military life in my stories. I am dedicated to bringing something of my beautiful country to romance readers everywhere, so New Zealand always features in my stories, normally as the setting. When not reading or writing, I find plenty to occupy my time with my family commitments. I currently live in Auckland with my husband and two of our four children.
TIME TO BURY THE PAST By: ANNE ASHBY
Available – Amazon, Wild Rose Press
BACK BLURB
PTSD forces American Naval Officer Zane Erickson to re-evaluate his life. A posting to untroubled New Zealand after years in Afghanistan will allow him to bond with his motherless teenage son. Unfortunately Cody doesn't share his father's enthusiasm for this new living arrangement.
Kelsey Hewitt is a single mother wrestling with her son's drinking problem, struggling to keep the truth about his abusive father from him and determined to exclude men from her life.
As Kelsey and Zane are drawn together by the boys' friendship they each have compelling reasons to avoid any possible intimacy. But while dealing with their sons' dilemmas, their attraction for each other deepens.
Can Kelsey risk allowing another control freak into her life?
Anne Ashby
Author of: "Worlds Apart" "Devon's Dream" "Time to Bury the Past" "Wilderness Liaison" coming soon
http://www.anneashby.com/
Thanks Anne!Fiction Writing and Other Oddities
November 27, 2011
Guest Author: Judy Alter
Mystery and Western writer Judy Alter joins us today to talk about book signings and finding a niche. I'm glad she was able to join us as she touches on two subjects that speak to the nostalgia of the season. My father loved westerns and mysteries and I inherited a good many of his books when he passed away. To my delight, I found after I married my wonderful husband, that his German mother also loved westerns and I felt privileged to share my father's books with her, too. Sharing books and finding new authors is one of the best ways to make a connection with others, so I hope Judy's blog helps you to connect with her and find a new, favorite author to share with your friends and family.
Judy Alter
Book signings and finding a niche
I've been following the Facebook postings of western writer Steven Law. He apparently arranged to sign books at Hy-Vee grocery stores across the nation. For the last three days, he's been at Hy-Vees in the Omaha area—he always tells what part of the store he's in, such as next to vitamins, the produce, whatever—once, by good fortune, next to the ATM machine. His book is a traditional western, Yuma Gold, and I doubt HyVee is mentioned in it. But he's somehow made great use of a connection and has done successful signings in an unconventional venue for books.
My new novel, Skeleton in a Dead Space, is definitely a neighborhood novel, one in which the Fort Worth historic neighborhood of Fairmount is a major character. Kelly O'Connell buys and sells real estate and renovates older houses, particularly Craftsman style, in Fairmount, and she is passionate about the neighborhood. So are the residents there today.
Fairmount was built mostly between 1910 and 1930. For years, it was a stable upper-middle class neighborhood. But in the latter part of the twentieth century residents began to move to the suburbs, to more fashionable neighborhoods and, probably in truth, to safer neighborhoods. Many houses became rental property, with larger ones broken into apartments and rooming houses. It was a neighborhood on the decline until maybe the 1990s when young professionals began to realize the advantages of a neighborhood so accessible to downtown and the hospital district. They moved in, renovated the older homes, and turned the neighborhood around. Today it is more remodeled homes than not, but there's still an occasional dilapidated house that leans and needs paint and has a washing machine on the front porch. There's a great esprit d' corps among the residents, and so I've marketed directly to them.
My book signings have been in unconventional signing sites but places dear to Fairmount residents. I launched the book with two signings at The Old Neighborhood Grill, a popular café about a block beyond the actual boundary of the neighborhood but one many residents frequent. In two signings—early (7:00 a.m.) Saturday morning and 5:30 the following Monday evening, I sold almost 75 books. Sure, lots of people came because I'd sent out emails and Peter, the grill owner, had fliers. But several regular customers walked up and said they wanted to buy books for their wives.
Fairmount also houses a wonderful store called Old Home Supply—it's got everything you could possible want to redo your older home or add character to a new structure—from doorknobs to French doors, plumbing fixtures, fire screens, you name it. I once bought a metal couch for my porch there. It features two running horses and a Texas star. So now, Old Home Supply has eight copies of my book, and I signed there the Saturday after Thanksgiving. For that signing and the one at the local Barnes & Noble, I made a sign that said "A mystery set in Fort Worth's own Fairmount Historic District."
Fairmount also has a book club, and I spoke to them, though it was a small group, and they talked as much about the neighborhood and its street repairs as they did my book. But it was a pleasant evening, and I bet the word spread. They eagerly asked if I'd come back to talk about the second book, and I assured them I would.
My point in all this is to suggest writers find the unique audience for each of their books and then look for alternative signing sites. My marketing in Fairmount has paid off wonderfully.
Check out my website— http://www.judyalter.com/ —for pictures of Kelly's neighborhood and see why it's a character in the book.
Author's note:
Judy Alter is the author of fiction and nonfiction for adults and young adults. Much of her career focused on women in the American West, and she is the recipient of Western Heritage (Wrangler) Awards from the National Cowboy Museum and Hall of Fame and Spur Awards from Western Writers of America She also was honored with the Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Achievement by WWA. But she always wanted to write mysteries, and Skeleton in a Dead Space, published by Turquoise Morning Press, is her first venture into cozy mysteries. At least two more Kelly O'Connell mysteries are scheduled.
-----
Thank you, Judy, and Happy Holidays Fiction Writing and Other Oddities
Judy AlterBook signings and finding a niche
I've been following the Facebook postings of western writer Steven Law. He apparently arranged to sign books at Hy-Vee grocery stores across the nation. For the last three days, he's been at Hy-Vees in the Omaha area—he always tells what part of the store he's in, such as next to vitamins, the produce, whatever—once, by good fortune, next to the ATM machine. His book is a traditional western, Yuma Gold, and I doubt HyVee is mentioned in it. But he's somehow made great use of a connection and has done successful signings in an unconventional venue for books.
My new novel, Skeleton in a Dead Space, is definitely a neighborhood novel, one in which the Fort Worth historic neighborhood of Fairmount is a major character. Kelly O'Connell buys and sells real estate and renovates older houses, particularly Craftsman style, in Fairmount, and she is passionate about the neighborhood. So are the residents there today.
Fairmount was built mostly between 1910 and 1930. For years, it was a stable upper-middle class neighborhood. But in the latter part of the twentieth century residents began to move to the suburbs, to more fashionable neighborhoods and, probably in truth, to safer neighborhoods. Many houses became rental property, with larger ones broken into apartments and rooming houses. It was a neighborhood on the decline until maybe the 1990s when young professionals began to realize the advantages of a neighborhood so accessible to downtown and the hospital district. They moved in, renovated the older homes, and turned the neighborhood around. Today it is more remodeled homes than not, but there's still an occasional dilapidated house that leans and needs paint and has a washing machine on the front porch. There's a great esprit d' corps among the residents, and so I've marketed directly to them.My book signings have been in unconventional signing sites but places dear to Fairmount residents. I launched the book with two signings at The Old Neighborhood Grill, a popular café about a block beyond the actual boundary of the neighborhood but one many residents frequent. In two signings—early (7:00 a.m.) Saturday morning and 5:30 the following Monday evening, I sold almost 75 books. Sure, lots of people came because I'd sent out emails and Peter, the grill owner, had fliers. But several regular customers walked up and said they wanted to buy books for their wives.
Fairmount also houses a wonderful store called Old Home Supply—it's got everything you could possible want to redo your older home or add character to a new structure—from doorknobs to French doors, plumbing fixtures, fire screens, you name it. I once bought a metal couch for my porch there. It features two running horses and a Texas star. So now, Old Home Supply has eight copies of my book, and I signed there the Saturday after Thanksgiving. For that signing and the one at the local Barnes & Noble, I made a sign that said "A mystery set in Fort Worth's own Fairmount Historic District."
Fairmount also has a book club, and I spoke to them, though it was a small group, and they talked as much about the neighborhood and its street repairs as they did my book. But it was a pleasant evening, and I bet the word spread. They eagerly asked if I'd come back to talk about the second book, and I assured them I would.
My point in all this is to suggest writers find the unique audience for each of their books and then look for alternative signing sites. My marketing in Fairmount has paid off wonderfully.
Check out my website— http://www.judyalter.com/ —for pictures of Kelly's neighborhood and see why it's a character in the book.
Author's note:
Judy Alter is the author of fiction and nonfiction for adults and young adults. Much of her career focused on women in the American West, and she is the recipient of Western Heritage (Wrangler) Awards from the National Cowboy Museum and Hall of Fame and Spur Awards from Western Writers of America She also was honored with the Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Achievement by WWA. But she always wanted to write mysteries, and Skeleton in a Dead Space, published by Turquoise Morning Press, is her first venture into cozy mysteries. At least two more Kelly O'Connell mysteries are scheduled.-----
Thank you, Judy, and Happy Holidays Fiction Writing and Other Oddities
November 24, 2011
Guest Author: Abby Gaines
We are really fortunate to have author Abby Gaines with us today. She's an absolutely terrific author of romances that are perfect to brighten up a long winter's night.
Abby Gaines
Do you have a favorite theme or message for your readers?
Yes, I do. The theme that comes through in all my stories is "You can be loved just the way you are." Which isn't to say that love won't change and transform us—it does. But unconditional love is a very precious thing.
When do you write/what is your writing day like?
I get up at 5am Monday to Friday, and write until 7am. I used to do email etc first thing, but then I attended a talk by creativity guru Eric Maizel, who says the very first hour or two are the most creative of the day. Since I started using that early morning for creation rather than administration, my productivity has increased a lot.
How do you approach a new book? Outlines? Just an idea?
I usually have an idea for a quirky situation, likely involving the heroine – the kind of "oh, no!" situation that makes you laugh and cringe for her at the same time. Such as, "Oh, no, she duped her boyfriend into going on a live TV wedding show, and he just jilted her in front of an audience of millions!" (Married by Mistake, available as a free download from www.tryharlequin.com). Or "Oh, no, she met the man of her dreams and he just fell in love with her best friend...and now she's got to stop the wedding!" (Her Best Friend's Wedding, Superromance, June 2011). And, my new book, The Earl's Mistaken Bride: "Oh, no, she married the guy she's loved for years, but it turns out he thought he was marrying her much prettier sister!"
Who are your favorite authors? Have any authors inspired you or influenced your work?
I read widely, but my favorite authors in the romance and women's fiction genre are Karina Bliss, Sophie Kinsella, Kristan Higgins, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Georgette Heyer, Julia Quinn...to name a few.
What makes a great book in your opinion?
I'm not sure what makes it, but this is how I recognize it: I'm still thinking about a month after I finished reading it.
If a reader took away one thing from your book(s), what would you like that to be?
A smile! I like to say that I write "stories that leave you smiling." Which isn't to say you might not cry a little bit along the way, but you should definitely end up smiling at the end of my books.
Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?
Keep writing, keep learning (even when you think you've already mastered the craft), keep submitting your work to editors. As far as possible, make every piece of dialogue and every action unique to your character...work hard to make sure they react in ways that person would react, rather than how you, the author, need them to react for the sake of your story. So, for example, if your hero makes hand-crafted furniture, rather than have him think of the heroine's skin as being as smooth as silk, have him think of it as smooth as the finest French polish. Okay, maybe that's not very romantic...but you know what I mean.
Where do you see yourself as an author in five years?
I have no idea! The publishing industry is changing so fast, it's impossible to say. I can pretty much guarantee that whatever the next big thing is, I'll miss it. I don't seem to have very good timing like that. I'm loving writing my Regency inspirationals, but have also really enjoyed working on Young Adult and women's fiction manuscripts recently. Whatever I write, it will always have a happy ending.
Brief Bio
Abby Gaines writes funny, tender romances for Love Inspired Historical and Harlequin Superromance -- she's currently at work on her 19th novel for Harlequin. She's also experimenting with a young adult novel and a women's fiction novel. Abby loves reading, skiing, traveling and cooking for friends, as well as spending time with her husband and children.
The Earl's Mistaken Bride is her first book for Love Inspired Historical. Here's the blurb:
As soon as Marcus Brookstone lifts his bride's veil, he sees he's been tricked. He made a bargain with God—to marry a good, Christian girl if his mother recovered from illness. But Marcus intended to marry pretty Amanda, not stubborn Constance. His next plan, to ignore his new wife, fails as well when Constance makes it clear that she wants a true union.
Constance Somerton doesn't dare reveal that she's been enamored of Marcus for years. The man believes love is for weaklings. Someone needs to teach him about marriage's blessings. Someone who sees beyond his arrogance to the tender heart beneath. Someone exactly like Constance….
Visit http://www.abbygaines.com/ to read an excerpt.Fiction Writing and Other Oddities
Abby Gaines
Do you have a favorite theme or message for your readers?Yes, I do. The theme that comes through in all my stories is "You can be loved just the way you are." Which isn't to say that love won't change and transform us—it does. But unconditional love is a very precious thing.
When do you write/what is your writing day like?
I get up at 5am Monday to Friday, and write until 7am. I used to do email etc first thing, but then I attended a talk by creativity guru Eric Maizel, who says the very first hour or two are the most creative of the day. Since I started using that early morning for creation rather than administration, my productivity has increased a lot.
How do you approach a new book? Outlines? Just an idea?
I usually have an idea for a quirky situation, likely involving the heroine – the kind of "oh, no!" situation that makes you laugh and cringe for her at the same time. Such as, "Oh, no, she duped her boyfriend into going on a live TV wedding show, and he just jilted her in front of an audience of millions!" (Married by Mistake, available as a free download from www.tryharlequin.com). Or "Oh, no, she met the man of her dreams and he just fell in love with her best friend...and now she's got to stop the wedding!" (Her Best Friend's Wedding, Superromance, June 2011). And, my new book, The Earl's Mistaken Bride: "Oh, no, she married the guy she's loved for years, but it turns out he thought he was marrying her much prettier sister!"
Who are your favorite authors? Have any authors inspired you or influenced your work?
I read widely, but my favorite authors in the romance and women's fiction genre are Karina Bliss, Sophie Kinsella, Kristan Higgins, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Georgette Heyer, Julia Quinn...to name a few.
What makes a great book in your opinion?
I'm not sure what makes it, but this is how I recognize it: I'm still thinking about a month after I finished reading it.
If a reader took away one thing from your book(s), what would you like that to be?
A smile! I like to say that I write "stories that leave you smiling." Which isn't to say you might not cry a little bit along the way, but you should definitely end up smiling at the end of my books.
Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?
Keep writing, keep learning (even when you think you've already mastered the craft), keep submitting your work to editors. As far as possible, make every piece of dialogue and every action unique to your character...work hard to make sure they react in ways that person would react, rather than how you, the author, need them to react for the sake of your story. So, for example, if your hero makes hand-crafted furniture, rather than have him think of the heroine's skin as being as smooth as silk, have him think of it as smooth as the finest French polish. Okay, maybe that's not very romantic...but you know what I mean.
Where do you see yourself as an author in five years?
I have no idea! The publishing industry is changing so fast, it's impossible to say. I can pretty much guarantee that whatever the next big thing is, I'll miss it. I don't seem to have very good timing like that. I'm loving writing my Regency inspirationals, but have also really enjoyed working on Young Adult and women's fiction manuscripts recently. Whatever I write, it will always have a happy ending.
Brief Bio
Abby Gaines writes funny, tender romances for Love Inspired Historical and Harlequin Superromance -- she's currently at work on her 19th novel for Harlequin. She's also experimenting with a young adult novel and a women's fiction novel. Abby loves reading, skiing, traveling and cooking for friends, as well as spending time with her husband and children.
The Earl's Mistaken Bride is her first book for Love Inspired Historical. Here's the blurb:As soon as Marcus Brookstone lifts his bride's veil, he sees he's been tricked. He made a bargain with God—to marry a good, Christian girl if his mother recovered from illness. But Marcus intended to marry pretty Amanda, not stubborn Constance. His next plan, to ignore his new wife, fails as well when Constance makes it clear that she wants a true union.
Constance Somerton doesn't dare reveal that she's been enamored of Marcus for years. The man believes love is for weaklings. Someone needs to teach him about marriage's blessings. Someone who sees beyond his arrogance to the tender heart beneath. Someone exactly like Constance….
Visit http://www.abbygaines.com/ to read an excerpt.Fiction Writing and Other Oddities
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope you are enjoying time with your family and loved ones, may you have the brightest and happiest day of the season!
Thank you to all my readers, friends and acquaintances who have shared their lives and inspiration with us over the years. We are truly fortunate.
I'm writing this in between bouts of cooking--this is one time of year when I truly enjoy being the traditional housewife. Yesterday, I baked bread and made the cranberry sauce. Today, we've got the turkey on the smoker and I've made a pumpkin pie and some deviled eggs. All that's left are the collards, green bean casserole and whatever else I get inspired to make.
Outside, there are still a few roses hanging on, like our Comtesse du Cayla, one of my favorites. The petals have a sheen that looks just like apricot silk. We've already had one frost, though, so I don't think the remaining buds will open, unfortunately.
Tip to Share
Here's a little tip, as well.
We're starting to clean up the garden and I found a few clusters of green tomatoes on the withered vines in my veggie patch. Rather than toss them into the compost, I went ahead and picked them. So last night, we had blackened fish and fried green tomatoes. Not half bad.
So the tip is: if you have a few small green tomatoes left on the vine, don't toss them into the compost.
Slice them about 1/4" thick, dredge them in whatever you like (I used chicken breader) and fry 'em up.
To conserve on oil, I like to use a small cast iron pan that I only fill with about 1/2" of oil. Just enough for the tomatoe slices to float in.
They only need to cook a few minutes, until brown.
Happy Holidays!
Amy CorwinFiction Writing and Other Oddities
I hope you are enjoying time with your family and loved ones, may you have the brightest and happiest day of the season!
Thank you to all my readers, friends and acquaintances who have shared their lives and inspiration with us over the years. We are truly fortunate.
I'm writing this in between bouts of cooking--this is one time of year when I truly enjoy being the traditional housewife. Yesterday, I baked bread and made the cranberry sauce. Today, we've got the turkey on the smoker and I've made a pumpkin pie and some deviled eggs. All that's left are the collards, green bean casserole and whatever else I get inspired to make.Outside, there are still a few roses hanging on, like our Comtesse du Cayla, one of my favorites. The petals have a sheen that looks just like apricot silk. We've already had one frost, though, so I don't think the remaining buds will open, unfortunately.
Tip to Share
Here's a little tip, as well.
We're starting to clean up the garden and I found a few clusters of green tomatoes on the withered vines in my veggie patch. Rather than toss them into the compost, I went ahead and picked them. So last night, we had blackened fish and fried green tomatoes. Not half bad.
So the tip is: if you have a few small green tomatoes left on the vine, don't toss them into the compost.
Slice them about 1/4" thick, dredge them in whatever you like (I used chicken breader) and fry 'em up.
To conserve on oil, I like to use a small cast iron pan that I only fill with about 1/2" of oil. Just enough for the tomatoe slices to float in.
They only need to cook a few minutes, until brown.
Happy Holidays!
Amy CorwinFiction Writing and Other Oddities
November 20, 2011
Guest Author: Olivia Kelly
Please welcome author Olivia Kelly, who writes Regency romances and is a fellow North Carolina writer. I developed a fondness for Regency romances when I picked up my first Georgette Heyer novel at a used bookstore when I was in my teens. In fact, although I write mysteries, I set many of mine in the Regency period (the first two decades of the 19th century) simply because it was a time of so many changes that directly resulted in the "world as we know it, today."
So you can imagine that I'm thrilled to have Olivia Kelly join us and allow me to ask some fairly impertinant questions.
Olivia Kelly
Why did you decide to write? I have always been an avid reader, and as Toni Morrison has said "If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." I just felt that I had stories I wanted to get out, even if they never went any further than the page in front of me.
How much research do you do? I do research as I go, usually. It would probably be more efficient to get a list made and research before I write, but sometimes I feel as though I will lose my inspiration if I don't get the story down on paper.
What's your favorite method for researching? The internet! I write at home, usually late at night or during my three year old's naptime, so trying to make trips to the library isn't practical for me. I try to make sure that I can verify my facts with at least two or three sites before I commit to using it, though.
Do you have a favorite theme or message for your readers? No, not really. I think the best message is one that been said over and over. Write what you love to read. I don't see how I could ever do anything else. I could never write just for the market, just for money. If I don't want to read it, then why bother writing it?
When do you write/what is your writing day like? I write whenever I can snatch a few minutes. Sometimes I get lucky, and my mom takes my three year old for the morning, since she works part-time. But that usually only happens once every two weeks or so. I write at night after the kids go to bed, or when they are occupied with a puzzle or playing outside. That's tough, though, because I have one ear and eye on them and one on my work, and I have to be ready to stop at a moment's notice.
What is the best advice someone has given you about writing? The worst advice? The best advice came from Deb Marlowe, who writes for Harlequin Historical. She once told me to just write what I love and don't worry so much about the "rules". She said if the writing is good, it will find a home, and I have to believe that is true. I think there is room in the market for so many styles and genres of romance –I know I love to read a variety myself. The worst advice? Well, I know the toughest advice to take was well-meaning, but still made me bite my tongue. I have heard the phrase "….since we aren't Nora, we can't do this or that." That phrase makes me nuts. I bet when Nora Roberts started out, someone once told her "You can't do this" or "That doesn't sell/They aren't buying that", and she did it anyway, because that's just what she does. I think you have to be true to your voice, and not allow anyone to compromise it. I do think you should take advice, especially from your agent/editor, but you always should weigh it against your own personal truth.
How do you approach a new book? Outlines? Just an idea? Ha! Yeah, I'll let you know when I have that one down. Well, it usually starts as an idea scribbled on whatever happens to be handy, like a napkin. I thought for a long time that I was a "pantser", that I just wrote as I went. I'm finding out that I need more structure than that, or I tend to wander around the middle of the story and get lost. I'm still working on my outlining skills.
How do you develop your characters? Usually listening to a song! No, seriously, I think I've come up with the majority of my ideas when listening to the radio! As far as actually fleshing them out? I sit down at my laptop and write a background for them. But that background is changed and tweaked over the course of the story. It is always fluid, and can morph into some interesting surprises for me. Sometimes I think I know a character, and it turns out I was completely wrong about them.
Who are your favorite authors? Have any authors inspired you or influenced your work? Well, Nora Roberts was the first romance novelist that I read, and I'm very loyal to her. I adore Julia Quinn, Lisa Kleypas, Claudia Dain, Cherry Adair, Kieran Kramer, Sarah McLean, Sabrina Jeffries, Virginia Kantra, Stephanie Lauren and Sherry Thomas. Every one of these ladies has a very distinct style of writing, something that stamps their books with their own personal flavor. I get excited when I see a new novel from one of them, I just know I'm in for a treat!
What makes a great book in your opinion? I don't know how to define that. I guess I would say that it draws you in, grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go until the last page. I'm not saying it has to be action packed, but something needs to hook you, whether it is a high-speed race to save the planet or watching the intense emotional struggle of a couple trying to come to terms with each other and themselves.
If a reader took away one thing from your book(s), what would you like that to be? Love for the characters. I love them so much, I want everyone else to see what I see. I hope I can convey it on the page in the right way, so that people want to come back and re-read the story. I love re-reading novels, it's like visiting with old friends and family.
Do you have any tips for aspiring authors? I'm so new that I'm still figuring things out myself, but I say write what you love and don't give up. Find a network of support through friends and family, and join RWA, if you write romance. Romance Writers of America, and my local chapter, has been invaluable to me.
Where do you see yourself as an author in five years? Hopefully on a bookstore shelf!
Where do you see the publishing industry going in the next few years and where do you see yourself within this industry? I'm not going to touch that one! I'm way too new at this to make any predictions.
Bio:
This is Olivia Kelly's debut foray into the world of Regency Romance. Although always an artist at heart, Olivia actually graduated college with a culinary degree, intending to use her flair for creativity and her need to direct other people's lives to become the dictator of the kitchen- a chef! Instead, she now cooks up ways to get her characters fascinated, frustrated and falling headlong into love.
She lives in North Carolina, with her husband and two young children. You can find her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter at oliviakelly_ and visit her website at http://www.oliviakellyauthor.weebly.com/ .
It Could Only Be You
Harry Connelly has crossed an ocean and pushed his half-healed, battle weary body to its limits to confront the man who ruined the life he should have had; his grandfather, the Duke of Danby. Wounded, Harry collapses in a small village's church, and is nursed back to health by the beautiful vicar's daughter, Lily Beaumont. A man haunted by the demons of war, he should know better than to become involved with such an innocent but he cannot stay away from her. Harry's forced to make a decision. He can wield his decades old anger and bitterness against his grandfather, to compel him to acknowledge the damage he caused, and demand that the duke make amends. Or he can turn his back on the past, and create a future with the woman he is beginning to think he cannot live without.
* * * * *
Thank you, Olivia!Fiction Writing and Other Oddities
So you can imagine that I'm thrilled to have Olivia Kelly join us and allow me to ask some fairly impertinant questions.
Olivia KellyWhy did you decide to write? I have always been an avid reader, and as Toni Morrison has said "If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." I just felt that I had stories I wanted to get out, even if they never went any further than the page in front of me.
How much research do you do? I do research as I go, usually. It would probably be more efficient to get a list made and research before I write, but sometimes I feel as though I will lose my inspiration if I don't get the story down on paper.
What's your favorite method for researching? The internet! I write at home, usually late at night or during my three year old's naptime, so trying to make trips to the library isn't practical for me. I try to make sure that I can verify my facts with at least two or three sites before I commit to using it, though.
Do you have a favorite theme or message for your readers? No, not really. I think the best message is one that been said over and over. Write what you love to read. I don't see how I could ever do anything else. I could never write just for the market, just for money. If I don't want to read it, then why bother writing it?
When do you write/what is your writing day like? I write whenever I can snatch a few minutes. Sometimes I get lucky, and my mom takes my three year old for the morning, since she works part-time. But that usually only happens once every two weeks or so. I write at night after the kids go to bed, or when they are occupied with a puzzle or playing outside. That's tough, though, because I have one ear and eye on them and one on my work, and I have to be ready to stop at a moment's notice.
What is the best advice someone has given you about writing? The worst advice? The best advice came from Deb Marlowe, who writes for Harlequin Historical. She once told me to just write what I love and don't worry so much about the "rules". She said if the writing is good, it will find a home, and I have to believe that is true. I think there is room in the market for so many styles and genres of romance –I know I love to read a variety myself. The worst advice? Well, I know the toughest advice to take was well-meaning, but still made me bite my tongue. I have heard the phrase "….since we aren't Nora, we can't do this or that." That phrase makes me nuts. I bet when Nora Roberts started out, someone once told her "You can't do this" or "That doesn't sell/They aren't buying that", and she did it anyway, because that's just what she does. I think you have to be true to your voice, and not allow anyone to compromise it. I do think you should take advice, especially from your agent/editor, but you always should weigh it against your own personal truth.
How do you approach a new book? Outlines? Just an idea? Ha! Yeah, I'll let you know when I have that one down. Well, it usually starts as an idea scribbled on whatever happens to be handy, like a napkin. I thought for a long time that I was a "pantser", that I just wrote as I went. I'm finding out that I need more structure than that, or I tend to wander around the middle of the story and get lost. I'm still working on my outlining skills.
How do you develop your characters? Usually listening to a song! No, seriously, I think I've come up with the majority of my ideas when listening to the radio! As far as actually fleshing them out? I sit down at my laptop and write a background for them. But that background is changed and tweaked over the course of the story. It is always fluid, and can morph into some interesting surprises for me. Sometimes I think I know a character, and it turns out I was completely wrong about them.
Who are your favorite authors? Have any authors inspired you or influenced your work? Well, Nora Roberts was the first romance novelist that I read, and I'm very loyal to her. I adore Julia Quinn, Lisa Kleypas, Claudia Dain, Cherry Adair, Kieran Kramer, Sarah McLean, Sabrina Jeffries, Virginia Kantra, Stephanie Lauren and Sherry Thomas. Every one of these ladies has a very distinct style of writing, something that stamps their books with their own personal flavor. I get excited when I see a new novel from one of them, I just know I'm in for a treat!
What makes a great book in your opinion? I don't know how to define that. I guess I would say that it draws you in, grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go until the last page. I'm not saying it has to be action packed, but something needs to hook you, whether it is a high-speed race to save the planet or watching the intense emotional struggle of a couple trying to come to terms with each other and themselves.
If a reader took away one thing from your book(s), what would you like that to be? Love for the characters. I love them so much, I want everyone else to see what I see. I hope I can convey it on the page in the right way, so that people want to come back and re-read the story. I love re-reading novels, it's like visiting with old friends and family.
Do you have any tips for aspiring authors? I'm so new that I'm still figuring things out myself, but I say write what you love and don't give up. Find a network of support through friends and family, and join RWA, if you write romance. Romance Writers of America, and my local chapter, has been invaluable to me.
Where do you see yourself as an author in five years? Hopefully on a bookstore shelf!
Where do you see the publishing industry going in the next few years and where do you see yourself within this industry? I'm not going to touch that one! I'm way too new at this to make any predictions.
Bio:
This is Olivia Kelly's debut foray into the world of Regency Romance. Although always an artist at heart, Olivia actually graduated college with a culinary degree, intending to use her flair for creativity and her need to direct other people's lives to become the dictator of the kitchen- a chef! Instead, she now cooks up ways to get her characters fascinated, frustrated and falling headlong into love.
She lives in North Carolina, with her husband and two young children. You can find her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter at oliviakelly_ and visit her website at http://www.oliviakellyauthor.weebly.com/ .
It Could Only Be You
Harry Connelly has crossed an ocean and pushed his half-healed, battle weary body to its limits to confront the man who ruined the life he should have had; his grandfather, the Duke of Danby. Wounded, Harry collapses in a small village's church, and is nursed back to health by the beautiful vicar's daughter, Lily Beaumont. A man haunted by the demons of war, he should know better than to become involved with such an innocent but he cannot stay away from her. Harry's forced to make a decision. He can wield his decades old anger and bitterness against his grandfather, to compel him to acknowledge the damage he caused, and demand that the duke make amends. Or he can turn his back on the past, and create a future with the woman he is beginning to think he cannot live without.
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Thank you, Olivia!Fiction Writing and Other Oddities
November 17, 2011
Guest Author: Robert P. Bennett
Mystery writer Robert Bennett joins us today to share his experiences as a writer. I'm particularly happy to have him as his most recent book features an agricultural pathologist and a computer geek, two professions that fascinate me. In fact, by day, I'm a computer geek.
So, here's Robert!
Why did you decide to write?
I've wanted to write all my life. When I was younger I kept lizards as pets. As I learned more about them I wanted to write a book about them. Unfortunately that never materialized, but the dream of being a writer stayed with me. Then, fate gave me the opportunity when I was 28 yrs old. I had a car accident, which eventually paralyzed my legs. While I was recuperating and learning to deal with my new body limits I took the opportunity to learn how to develop my passion for writing. I started with nonfiction articles about disability issues but then moved on to fiction.
How much research do you do?
I've always believed that the old adage 'write what you know' really should be 'write what you can find out about'. That philosophy came in handy while I was doing journalism. As a freelancer I was writing articles about a wide variety of subjects, for a diverse audience. I had to learn about the subjects I was asked to write about. That required research, a lot of it. I learned to use the internet. I learned to conduct interviews. Now, when I write fiction, I research every aspect of my stories, from where the characters come from (their dialects and cultural mannerisms) to settings (my stories have and will continue to be set in places I've traveled to). I've researched archeology, architecture, music, poisons, virtual reality and adaptive technologies.
What's your favorite method for researching?
I'm not sure I have a favorite method, though I almost never start writing until I've at least scoured the internet for tidbits of information related to the kinds of story I want to write. From there I collect resource articles and the names of experts I'll contact either by phone or email to interview later.
Do you have a favorite theme or message for your readers?
I've always had a soft spot for the disenfranchised masses, those that society ignores or mistreats. Before my accident I was working as a social worker in a group home for mentally challenged men. That gave me some outsider's understanding about how a certain group of people with disabilities might think and interact with the world. After my accident, and with a newly-minted wheelchair-user's perspective on the world, I began to write about what it was like to have a disability. In my fiction, my protagonist is a blind man. I endeavor to show that disability is not something one accepts but rather something that one learns to deal with. I try to show that people are people who have to find ways to get on with their day to day lives.
What is the best advice someone has given you about writing? The worst advice?
My writing mentor taught me that everyone has a story that is authentic to them and that only that person has the authority to write that story. There is no such thing as fiction. You can fictionalize a story, but in its bare essence everything comes from pieces of who we are and what we have experienced.
How do you develop your characters?
You know that little voice you sometimes hear in the back of your mind? In my opinion it is the voice of instinct talking to you, but it is also a character. I believe we all have such characters living within us. I once wrote a short story (sadly, unpublished) about the voices inside the mind of a person who was undergoing surgery. In it each voice took the shape of a 'physical' being. He had to listen to each of the characters that he met along his journey in order to recovery from that surgery. In the same way when I am developing a story I let my characters tell me their experiences and how they want to proceed from the beginning to the end of the story I am writing through them.
What makes a great book in your opinion?
That is the age-old question, isn't it? Is a great story character-driven or plot-driven? Does the setting take you to a far off place where you can successfully suspend disbelief? My father didn't have much patience for weeding through overly developed settings. He wanted to get to the meat of the story, the action. My mother would say it's the emotion of the characters that is compelling to her, and the complexity of their lives that drives her to read further. For me, it's all of that and more. A great story, which is a rare and difficult thing to find, has to first put me into a world I'm interested in seeing. It has to show me things I either haven't seen in my daily life or that I've wanted to know more about. Perhaps that is why I use the places I've visited as backdrops for my stories. And, perhaps it is why I throw a lot of technology into my stories. Then, of course, I throw in the people and cultures that have always fascinated me. Who are they? Where do they come from? What emotions, philosophies and desires drive them to do the things they do? I don't know if I've written a great book though. That is for my readers to decide, isn't it? My mentor used to say he is an expert in the creation of his stories, but not in what they mean.
If a reader took away one thing from your book(s), what would you like that to be?
Everyone has a disability, whether it is visible or not. We each struggle to overcome our own shortcomings. We each struggle to do the best we can with the life we are given. Some manage to do better than others in pursuit of that goal. In the end, it is the act of living that matters, not the manner or the adaptive tools we use in order to succeed in that life. My protagonist uses a GPS and a sonic cane to navigate his world. Someone in the "real world" uses a hearing aide. What does it matter as long as their life is a successful one?
Where do you see yourself as an author in five years?
My Blind Traveler mystery series explores the life of a blind man as he manages to navigate through his world. Thus far each story has focused on the use of one of his remaining physical senses as a tool to solving the crime he is presented with. I have several senses left to explore. I also have several challenges I'd like to present to my character, and I invite my readers to suggest challenges they think a blind man who solves crimes should be presented with.
Bio
Robert Bennett, a former social worker turned writer, lives in the house he grew up in with his mother, one of his two brothers, two dogs that don't get along, and a turtle. His lifelong focus has been a concern for the needs of society's disenfranchised. His articles span a wide range of topics from sports to technology and from politics to social justice. His fiction is grounded in real world events and technologies as well as his own philosophical concerns. "It is the act of truly living and believing in yourself that is important, not the manner in which that action is undertaken." Mr. Bennett has spoken to groups of physical therapy students, church members and senior citizens, and has appeared on several radio programs. Contact Mr. Bennett through his website at http://www.enablingwords.com/ .
Book Blurb
The year is 2021. Natural forces have changed our world. As the Earth's magnetic poles have shifted, pressure on the planet's mantle layer is building. The bottom line…earthquakes now wreak havoc in areas they have never occurred before.
In Mexico, members of an archaeological team investigate the remains of an ancient village uncovered by a quake; racing to prove their theories about the civilization that once lived there. But, disaster strikes when the accidental destruction of an artifact unleashes a worldwide agricultural plague.
Halfway across the continent, Douglas Abledan, a blind computer technologist, embarks on a long anticipated vacation. On the plane to Chicago, he meets world-renowned agricultural pathologist Cara Cordelia. Little do either of them know she has been targeted for murder.
In this stand-alone sequel to his critically acclaimed "Blind Traveler Down a Dark River," author Robert P. Bennett continues to bring us suspense and intrigue while exploring a world of the not too distant future. While society struggles with the impact of natural changes, the advancement of new technology enables a blind man to investigate a murder.
* * * * *
Thank you for joining us!Fiction Writing and Other Oddities
So, here's Robert!
Why did you decide to write?
I've wanted to write all my life. When I was younger I kept lizards as pets. As I learned more about them I wanted to write a book about them. Unfortunately that never materialized, but the dream of being a writer stayed with me. Then, fate gave me the opportunity when I was 28 yrs old. I had a car accident, which eventually paralyzed my legs. While I was recuperating and learning to deal with my new body limits I took the opportunity to learn how to develop my passion for writing. I started with nonfiction articles about disability issues but then moved on to fiction.How much research do you do?
I've always believed that the old adage 'write what you know' really should be 'write what you can find out about'. That philosophy came in handy while I was doing journalism. As a freelancer I was writing articles about a wide variety of subjects, for a diverse audience. I had to learn about the subjects I was asked to write about. That required research, a lot of it. I learned to use the internet. I learned to conduct interviews. Now, when I write fiction, I research every aspect of my stories, from where the characters come from (their dialects and cultural mannerisms) to settings (my stories have and will continue to be set in places I've traveled to). I've researched archeology, architecture, music, poisons, virtual reality and adaptive technologies.
What's your favorite method for researching?
I'm not sure I have a favorite method, though I almost never start writing until I've at least scoured the internet for tidbits of information related to the kinds of story I want to write. From there I collect resource articles and the names of experts I'll contact either by phone or email to interview later.
Do you have a favorite theme or message for your readers?
I've always had a soft spot for the disenfranchised masses, those that society ignores or mistreats. Before my accident I was working as a social worker in a group home for mentally challenged men. That gave me some outsider's understanding about how a certain group of people with disabilities might think and interact with the world. After my accident, and with a newly-minted wheelchair-user's perspective on the world, I began to write about what it was like to have a disability. In my fiction, my protagonist is a blind man. I endeavor to show that disability is not something one accepts but rather something that one learns to deal with. I try to show that people are people who have to find ways to get on with their day to day lives.
What is the best advice someone has given you about writing? The worst advice?
My writing mentor taught me that everyone has a story that is authentic to them and that only that person has the authority to write that story. There is no such thing as fiction. You can fictionalize a story, but in its bare essence everything comes from pieces of who we are and what we have experienced.
How do you develop your characters?
You know that little voice you sometimes hear in the back of your mind? In my opinion it is the voice of instinct talking to you, but it is also a character. I believe we all have such characters living within us. I once wrote a short story (sadly, unpublished) about the voices inside the mind of a person who was undergoing surgery. In it each voice took the shape of a 'physical' being. He had to listen to each of the characters that he met along his journey in order to recovery from that surgery. In the same way when I am developing a story I let my characters tell me their experiences and how they want to proceed from the beginning to the end of the story I am writing through them.
What makes a great book in your opinion?
That is the age-old question, isn't it? Is a great story character-driven or plot-driven? Does the setting take you to a far off place where you can successfully suspend disbelief? My father didn't have much patience for weeding through overly developed settings. He wanted to get to the meat of the story, the action. My mother would say it's the emotion of the characters that is compelling to her, and the complexity of their lives that drives her to read further. For me, it's all of that and more. A great story, which is a rare and difficult thing to find, has to first put me into a world I'm interested in seeing. It has to show me things I either haven't seen in my daily life or that I've wanted to know more about. Perhaps that is why I use the places I've visited as backdrops for my stories. And, perhaps it is why I throw a lot of technology into my stories. Then, of course, I throw in the people and cultures that have always fascinated me. Who are they? Where do they come from? What emotions, philosophies and desires drive them to do the things they do? I don't know if I've written a great book though. That is for my readers to decide, isn't it? My mentor used to say he is an expert in the creation of his stories, but not in what they mean.
If a reader took away one thing from your book(s), what would you like that to be?
Everyone has a disability, whether it is visible or not. We each struggle to overcome our own shortcomings. We each struggle to do the best we can with the life we are given. Some manage to do better than others in pursuit of that goal. In the end, it is the act of living that matters, not the manner or the adaptive tools we use in order to succeed in that life. My protagonist uses a GPS and a sonic cane to navigate his world. Someone in the "real world" uses a hearing aide. What does it matter as long as their life is a successful one?
Where do you see yourself as an author in five years?
My Blind Traveler mystery series explores the life of a blind man as he manages to navigate through his world. Thus far each story has focused on the use of one of his remaining physical senses as a tool to solving the crime he is presented with. I have several senses left to explore. I also have several challenges I'd like to present to my character, and I invite my readers to suggest challenges they think a blind man who solves crimes should be presented with.Bio
Robert Bennett, a former social worker turned writer, lives in the house he grew up in with his mother, one of his two brothers, two dogs that don't get along, and a turtle. His lifelong focus has been a concern for the needs of society's disenfranchised. His articles span a wide range of topics from sports to technology and from politics to social justice. His fiction is grounded in real world events and technologies as well as his own philosophical concerns. "It is the act of truly living and believing in yourself that is important, not the manner in which that action is undertaken." Mr. Bennett has spoken to groups of physical therapy students, church members and senior citizens, and has appeared on several radio programs. Contact Mr. Bennett through his website at http://www.enablingwords.com/ .
Book Blurb
The year is 2021. Natural forces have changed our world. As the Earth's magnetic poles have shifted, pressure on the planet's mantle layer is building. The bottom line…earthquakes now wreak havoc in areas they have never occurred before.
In Mexico, members of an archaeological team investigate the remains of an ancient village uncovered by a quake; racing to prove their theories about the civilization that once lived there. But, disaster strikes when the accidental destruction of an artifact unleashes a worldwide agricultural plague.
Halfway across the continent, Douglas Abledan, a blind computer technologist, embarks on a long anticipated vacation. On the plane to Chicago, he meets world-renowned agricultural pathologist Cara Cordelia. Little do either of them know she has been targeted for murder.
In this stand-alone sequel to his critically acclaimed "Blind Traveler Down a Dark River," author Robert P. Bennett continues to bring us suspense and intrigue while exploring a world of the not too distant future. While society struggles with the impact of natural changes, the advancement of new technology enables a blind man to investigate a murder.
* * * * *
Thank you for joining us!Fiction Writing and Other Oddities
November 13, 2011
Guest Author: S. L. Smith
I'm thrilled to be able to interview author S. L. Smith today. As most of you know, I'm a huge fan of mysteries and suspense and it's a real pleasure to feature a mystery writer on my blog.
S. L. Smith
Why did you decide to write?
I have written forever, even though it doesn't seem like I'm that old. When I was in college, I wrote snail mail letters almost weekly to both of my grandmothers. I still treasure the letters I received in return. I compiled family memoirs for the families of both of my parents, believing the lives these documents portrayed deserved preserving. (Say that real fast five times.) In my career, technical writing was a primary responsibility. That was, generally, nonfiction.
I love to read, so sharing my thoughts and ideas seemed a logical next step. Mysteries and suspense have been my favorite genres forever. It seemed logical that I expand my interests from reading mysteries to writing them. I believed I could succeed, and that served as a stimulus. I had to find out if I was right. Once I reached that point, writing became an obsession. When I wasn't working at my paid job, I was writing. On weekends, holidays and vacations I wrote.
In the meantime, the dust motes thrived, emails went unanswered and meals became anything I could prepare and eat with minimal interruption. The good news is that I am single, so I am not subjecting a spouse to what others might define as insanity.
How much research do you do? What's your favorite method for researching?
Anything I don't know first-hand I research. Many things I know first-hand I research. I want to get it right. Some readers put a book down the first time they find an inaccuracy and thereafter refuse to look at anything by that author. I work far too hard to risk that type of turnoff.
I spend a lot of time on research throughout the writing process, and the method I prefer depends on the most complete/accurate and time-saving method available. Let me give some examples:
My career required substantial interaction with the state police and local law enforcement agencies. That gave me a starting point for Blinded by the Sight, but it was just the beginning. A friend spent 25-years in law enforcement. He served as my reality check for those aspects. Knowing that I needed a captive audience to fulfill my mission, I'd take him out to lunch when I needed his input and feedback. Then I painted scenarios and with his help insured the way I handled each one was accurate, feasible—you name it.
Blinded by the Sight is set in St. Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota. An investigator from the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office would handle the crime scene and autopsy, so I found a phone number on the Internet, made a call, and located someone in that office. In cases like this, the luck of the draw can be a factor, but when you tell these professionals what you are doing, they are often willing to help. I found someone who patiently answered all of my questions—twice. Despite the fact I'd kept him on the phone for a half-hour the first time, he answered my second call and follow-up questions. Between the two calls, he explained what the investigator from the medical examiner's office would do, as well as when, where and how.
It may have been possible to obtain this information on the Internet, but I dread to think the time commitment that would entail. Also, by having a local contact, I was able to insure that the picture I painted was specific to Ramsey County. There's one other thing I've accomplished through this process. I now have a fan in the Ramsey County ME's office!
There are two kids in the novel. Beginning, again, with the Internet, I found and reached someone in the applicable school district. She gave me the information I requested about the relevant practices and procedures.
I researched homelessness on the Internet. Then I added that information to my experiences working at a soup kitchen.
My bachelor's degree is in psychology. I used some of the things my coursework taught me about people while creating my characters. To that I added a lifetime of interactions with friends, family, co-workers, you name it. Include a generous dose of the observation time that the day-to-day life of an introvert entails. However, once I created the personalities, what they did with their lives was up to them.
The St. Paul High Bridge, shown on the cover of Blinded by the Sight, plays an important role in my novel. I had driven across this bridge many times, but not in years. After writing the bridge into one chapter, I went there, walked back and forth across the bridge and checked out the surrounding area. Viewing the bridge on foot gave me a much better feel for the possibilities the layout offered. When I got home, I rewrote that chapter, making use of the knowledge I'd gained. The result: what happened on the bridge was much more compelling. The bridge tour qualifies as one of my favorite pieces of research.
Do you have a favorite theme or message for your readers?
I don't have a single, favorite theme, but both Blinded by the Sight and the sequel, now in the early stages, have a theme. Unfortunately, disclosing the themes will disclose too much about the stories, so …
How do you approach a new book? Outlines? Just an idea?
When I began writing Blinded by the Sight, I had a victim, a homeless man who was wearing an impressive diamond ring. I knew why he was homeless. I had two protagonists—two investigators with the St. Paul Police Department. I knew their personalities. That's it!
I know there are authors who use outlines, story boards, etc. and swear by these methods. I am not one of them. I start with a skeleton and let the characters develop the story for me. That makes writing the novel an adventure. I am waiting to see what happens along the way. Some readers skip ahead, checking to see "who dun nit." With this methodology, that isn't possible. I have to either be patient or work more hours.
Once the first draft is completed, I start at the beginning and add more meat, more description and detail. This part of the process takes more time than the first draft. At the same time, I begin listening to the manuscript, using the language bar in MS Word. I listen to a lot of audio books and forever find myself thinking of a better way to phrase something I've heard. When I'm writing, it isn't possible for me to make that type of assessment. I do a much better job of that by listening to the manuscript once, twice, a dozen times or more. This is my best way of locating problems in the manuscript, including detecting when I'm using the same word repeatedly.
How do you develop your characters?
I seek to know and understand my characters from the outer surface to the core. A person's physical appearance often influences his or her personality. More often it goes much deeper than that. As a result, I begin with the physical description. Next I do a detailed outline of their lives and personalities. I determine what their childhood was like, how they did in school, their likes and dislikes. I establish their triggers and their vulnerabilities. This applies to all characters who make more than a cameo appearance.
What makes a great book in your opinion?
For me, a great book is one that grabs my interest and doesn't release its grip until I've either read or listened to the last word. It requires characters I like and want to know better, characters with whom I identify, or characters I hate but am given the opportunity to understand.
I like action and suspense. I dislike books that end on a sad note. I love Jodi Picoult's writing, but I HATE the endings! I should qualify that. I've only read a few of her novels and stopped after Sister's Keeper. Once I've grown attached to her characters, I can't stand the way Jodi ends her novels.
Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?
I have two tips. First, don't give up. There are more ways than ever to get published. In addition to the major presses, there are all kinds of small presses. Self-publishing is no longer only a last resort. Some highly successful authors are choosing that option. It gives them more control and can be more profitable. With eBooks storming the gates, print books are no longer the only game in town. At the same time, it seems there will always be a niche for print books.
Most important of all, whatever methodology you pursue, get your work professionally edited BEFORE you look for an agent or a publisher, self-publish, whatever. Make your work as perfect as possible. People will notice.
Bio:
Born in St. Cloud, I'm a lifelong resident of Minnesota. I obtained a bachelor's degree from St. Catherine University in St. Paul, majoring in psychology. A died-in-the-wool introvert, I found the coursework engrossing. The things I learned in those classes have been invaluable to me in writing fiction. Writing nonfiction, however, was one of my major responsibilities during the 32-years I worked for the State of Minnesota, Department of Public Safety.
I've never been married. Although I have no children, eleven nieces and nephews do a wonderful job of filling the void. Among my other loves are reading and travel.
In the early days of the new millennium, I completed a different version of my debut novel. Realizing time was fleeting, that manuscript took a backseat to family memoirs. I spent four and a half years gathering information and finding anyone and everyone with a link to my family. In the process, I discovered a treasure trove of stories and pictures. Many date back into the 1800s.
Once I'd compiled and published those books, I returned to fiction. By then, the motive for murder was passé. The rewrite was huge, but I don't regret prioritizing the memoirs. I believe they will accomplish what I'd hoped, i.e., preserving the memory of these integral parts of my family for future generations.
Although Blinded by the Sight is my debut novel, this isn't the first time I was published. In the mid 1990s, three articles I co-authored were published in public administration journals. Even so, the memoirs and Blinded by the Sight feel more like they're my babies. I have more of a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction from them, perhaps due to the relative time commitments each project entailed.
http://www.slsmithbooks.com/
Blinded by the Sight
by S. L. Smith
ISBN 0-87839-439-7
Mystery set in St. Paul, MN
North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc. • September 1, 2011
Police investigators Pete Culnane and Martin Tierney are as different as parchment and newsprint, and Martin s insecurities are fed by Pete s expertise and finesse. A homeless man wearing an eye-popping diamond ring is as inexplicable to both of them as the disappearance of the two boys who reported his body on St. Paul s Upper Landing.
Blinded by the Sight demonstrates how good intentions can go awry, resulting in unintended, life-altering predicaments.
* * * * *
Thank you for joining me!Fiction Writing and Other Oddities
S. L. Smith
Why did you decide to write?
I have written forever, even though it doesn't seem like I'm that old. When I was in college, I wrote snail mail letters almost weekly to both of my grandmothers. I still treasure the letters I received in return. I compiled family memoirs for the families of both of my parents, believing the lives these documents portrayed deserved preserving. (Say that real fast five times.) In my career, technical writing was a primary responsibility. That was, generally, nonfiction.I love to read, so sharing my thoughts and ideas seemed a logical next step. Mysteries and suspense have been my favorite genres forever. It seemed logical that I expand my interests from reading mysteries to writing them. I believed I could succeed, and that served as a stimulus. I had to find out if I was right. Once I reached that point, writing became an obsession. When I wasn't working at my paid job, I was writing. On weekends, holidays and vacations I wrote.
In the meantime, the dust motes thrived, emails went unanswered and meals became anything I could prepare and eat with minimal interruption. The good news is that I am single, so I am not subjecting a spouse to what others might define as insanity.
How much research do you do? What's your favorite method for researching?
Anything I don't know first-hand I research. Many things I know first-hand I research. I want to get it right. Some readers put a book down the first time they find an inaccuracy and thereafter refuse to look at anything by that author. I work far too hard to risk that type of turnoff.
I spend a lot of time on research throughout the writing process, and the method I prefer depends on the most complete/accurate and time-saving method available. Let me give some examples:
My career required substantial interaction with the state police and local law enforcement agencies. That gave me a starting point for Blinded by the Sight, but it was just the beginning. A friend spent 25-years in law enforcement. He served as my reality check for those aspects. Knowing that I needed a captive audience to fulfill my mission, I'd take him out to lunch when I needed his input and feedback. Then I painted scenarios and with his help insured the way I handled each one was accurate, feasible—you name it.
Blinded by the Sight is set in St. Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota. An investigator from the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office would handle the crime scene and autopsy, so I found a phone number on the Internet, made a call, and located someone in that office. In cases like this, the luck of the draw can be a factor, but when you tell these professionals what you are doing, they are often willing to help. I found someone who patiently answered all of my questions—twice. Despite the fact I'd kept him on the phone for a half-hour the first time, he answered my second call and follow-up questions. Between the two calls, he explained what the investigator from the medical examiner's office would do, as well as when, where and how.
It may have been possible to obtain this information on the Internet, but I dread to think the time commitment that would entail. Also, by having a local contact, I was able to insure that the picture I painted was specific to Ramsey County. There's one other thing I've accomplished through this process. I now have a fan in the Ramsey County ME's office!
There are two kids in the novel. Beginning, again, with the Internet, I found and reached someone in the applicable school district. She gave me the information I requested about the relevant practices and procedures.
I researched homelessness on the Internet. Then I added that information to my experiences working at a soup kitchen.
My bachelor's degree is in psychology. I used some of the things my coursework taught me about people while creating my characters. To that I added a lifetime of interactions with friends, family, co-workers, you name it. Include a generous dose of the observation time that the day-to-day life of an introvert entails. However, once I created the personalities, what they did with their lives was up to them.
The St. Paul High Bridge, shown on the cover of Blinded by the Sight, plays an important role in my novel. I had driven across this bridge many times, but not in years. After writing the bridge into one chapter, I went there, walked back and forth across the bridge and checked out the surrounding area. Viewing the bridge on foot gave me a much better feel for the possibilities the layout offered. When I got home, I rewrote that chapter, making use of the knowledge I'd gained. The result: what happened on the bridge was much more compelling. The bridge tour qualifies as one of my favorite pieces of research. Do you have a favorite theme or message for your readers?
I don't have a single, favorite theme, but both Blinded by the Sight and the sequel, now in the early stages, have a theme. Unfortunately, disclosing the themes will disclose too much about the stories, so …
How do you approach a new book? Outlines? Just an idea?
When I began writing Blinded by the Sight, I had a victim, a homeless man who was wearing an impressive diamond ring. I knew why he was homeless. I had two protagonists—two investigators with the St. Paul Police Department. I knew their personalities. That's it!
I know there are authors who use outlines, story boards, etc. and swear by these methods. I am not one of them. I start with a skeleton and let the characters develop the story for me. That makes writing the novel an adventure. I am waiting to see what happens along the way. Some readers skip ahead, checking to see "who dun nit." With this methodology, that isn't possible. I have to either be patient or work more hours.
Once the first draft is completed, I start at the beginning and add more meat, more description and detail. This part of the process takes more time than the first draft. At the same time, I begin listening to the manuscript, using the language bar in MS Word. I listen to a lot of audio books and forever find myself thinking of a better way to phrase something I've heard. When I'm writing, it isn't possible for me to make that type of assessment. I do a much better job of that by listening to the manuscript once, twice, a dozen times or more. This is my best way of locating problems in the manuscript, including detecting when I'm using the same word repeatedly.
How do you develop your characters?
I seek to know and understand my characters from the outer surface to the core. A person's physical appearance often influences his or her personality. More often it goes much deeper than that. As a result, I begin with the physical description. Next I do a detailed outline of their lives and personalities. I determine what their childhood was like, how they did in school, their likes and dislikes. I establish their triggers and their vulnerabilities. This applies to all characters who make more than a cameo appearance.
What makes a great book in your opinion?
For me, a great book is one that grabs my interest and doesn't release its grip until I've either read or listened to the last word. It requires characters I like and want to know better, characters with whom I identify, or characters I hate but am given the opportunity to understand.
I like action and suspense. I dislike books that end on a sad note. I love Jodi Picoult's writing, but I HATE the endings! I should qualify that. I've only read a few of her novels and stopped after Sister's Keeper. Once I've grown attached to her characters, I can't stand the way Jodi ends her novels.
Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?
I have two tips. First, don't give up. There are more ways than ever to get published. In addition to the major presses, there are all kinds of small presses. Self-publishing is no longer only a last resort. Some highly successful authors are choosing that option. It gives them more control and can be more profitable. With eBooks storming the gates, print books are no longer the only game in town. At the same time, it seems there will always be a niche for print books.
Most important of all, whatever methodology you pursue, get your work professionally edited BEFORE you look for an agent or a publisher, self-publish, whatever. Make your work as perfect as possible. People will notice.
Bio:
Born in St. Cloud, I'm a lifelong resident of Minnesota. I obtained a bachelor's degree from St. Catherine University in St. Paul, majoring in psychology. A died-in-the-wool introvert, I found the coursework engrossing. The things I learned in those classes have been invaluable to me in writing fiction. Writing nonfiction, however, was one of my major responsibilities during the 32-years I worked for the State of Minnesota, Department of Public Safety.
I've never been married. Although I have no children, eleven nieces and nephews do a wonderful job of filling the void. Among my other loves are reading and travel.
In the early days of the new millennium, I completed a different version of my debut novel. Realizing time was fleeting, that manuscript took a backseat to family memoirs. I spent four and a half years gathering information and finding anyone and everyone with a link to my family. In the process, I discovered a treasure trove of stories and pictures. Many date back into the 1800s.
Once I'd compiled and published those books, I returned to fiction. By then, the motive for murder was passé. The rewrite was huge, but I don't regret prioritizing the memoirs. I believe they will accomplish what I'd hoped, i.e., preserving the memory of these integral parts of my family for future generations.
Although Blinded by the Sight is my debut novel, this isn't the first time I was published. In the mid 1990s, three articles I co-authored were published in public administration journals. Even so, the memoirs and Blinded by the Sight feel more like they're my babies. I have more of a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction from them, perhaps due to the relative time commitments each project entailed.
http://www.slsmithbooks.com/
Blinded by the Sight
by S. L. Smith
ISBN 0-87839-439-7
Mystery set in St. Paul, MN
North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc. • September 1, 2011
Police investigators Pete Culnane and Martin Tierney are as different as parchment and newsprint, and Martin s insecurities are fed by Pete s expertise and finesse. A homeless man wearing an eye-popping diamond ring is as inexplicable to both of them as the disappearance of the two boys who reported his body on St. Paul s Upper Landing.
Blinded by the Sight demonstrates how good intentions can go awry, resulting in unintended, life-altering predicaments.
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Thank you for joining me!Fiction Writing and Other Oddities
November 7, 2011
NaNoWriMo Update
National Novel Writing Month Update
As we're heading into the second week, I've hit 10k words written on a historical mystery (as opposed to a hysterical mystery) Hidden Aspects. It's going pretty well, but it's an uphill battle now where I have to fight for each word, the reason being that we are moving into the "laying down of clues" arena where things have to make sense and build the mystery.
All threads are pointing to one suspect at the moment. This person was originally intended to be my killer, but I've since started to wonder if I shouldn't shift that role to someone else. This person just looks too guilty early on, if you know what I mean.
Of course, there's always the handy Agatha Christie Murder on the Orient Express technique of just making everyone guilty. LOL
Must rethink....
Or must not...because all this writing is making my brain feverish and I'm having trouble turning it off to sleep at night. Which I suppose could be a good thing if it weren't for the fact I have a day job and can't walk around fuzzy all day.
On another front, I'm starting to sweat about writing 50k because we're now destined to have a guest over the Thanksgiving holidays. So instead of sitting down and churning out another 20k words or so over the last week (and finish!) I may have to do other things, instead. Like clean house. And shop. And actually cook something. And entertain a guest, which we're ill-equipped to do since we live out in the country where, unless you like to birdwatch, hunt, fish, or do some other outdoor activity, there's not a lot to do. We don't have things like "wiis" or "X-box" or whatever those things are that you hook up to a TV. And we're about 60 miles away from the nearest mall. Not to mention that I'd rather sit naked in a pit of rattlesnakes than go shopping.
We'll just have to see what we can do.
Then there's the cooking, thing. I usually only cook one meal a day. Take it or leave it. Don't get me wrong, I almost enjoy cooking, particularly when I don't have to. In fact, I cooked a pot roast last night and it was good. And is now gone because it was so good. There was one tiny piece left but hubby ate that for breakfast, meaning I have to cook again tonight! I was hoping for leftovers...but never fear, I believe a Mexican Lasagne is in order as that should provide enough for two nights. (Yes, we're piglets, but it was a very small pot roast and the lasagne isn't all that big, either.)
Anyway, I've got to get back to work, but I just wanted to do a quick update.Fiction Writing and Other Oddities
As we're heading into the second week, I've hit 10k words written on a historical mystery (as opposed to a hysterical mystery) Hidden Aspects. It's going pretty well, but it's an uphill battle now where I have to fight for each word, the reason being that we are moving into the "laying down of clues" arena where things have to make sense and build the mystery.
All threads are pointing to one suspect at the moment. This person was originally intended to be my killer, but I've since started to wonder if I shouldn't shift that role to someone else. This person just looks too guilty early on, if you know what I mean.
Of course, there's always the handy Agatha Christie Murder on the Orient Express technique of just making everyone guilty. LOL
Must rethink....
Or must not...because all this writing is making my brain feverish and I'm having trouble turning it off to sleep at night. Which I suppose could be a good thing if it weren't for the fact I have a day job and can't walk around fuzzy all day.
On another front, I'm starting to sweat about writing 50k because we're now destined to have a guest over the Thanksgiving holidays. So instead of sitting down and churning out another 20k words or so over the last week (and finish!) I may have to do other things, instead. Like clean house. And shop. And actually cook something. And entertain a guest, which we're ill-equipped to do since we live out in the country where, unless you like to birdwatch, hunt, fish, or do some other outdoor activity, there's not a lot to do. We don't have things like "wiis" or "X-box" or whatever those things are that you hook up to a TV. And we're about 60 miles away from the nearest mall. Not to mention that I'd rather sit naked in a pit of rattlesnakes than go shopping.
We'll just have to see what we can do.
Then there's the cooking, thing. I usually only cook one meal a day. Take it or leave it. Don't get me wrong, I almost enjoy cooking, particularly when I don't have to. In fact, I cooked a pot roast last night and it was good. And is now gone because it was so good. There was one tiny piece left but hubby ate that for breakfast, meaning I have to cook again tonight! I was hoping for leftovers...but never fear, I believe a Mexican Lasagne is in order as that should provide enough for two nights. (Yes, we're piglets, but it was a very small pot roast and the lasagne isn't all that big, either.)
Anyway, I've got to get back to work, but I just wanted to do a quick update.Fiction Writing and Other Oddities
