Kaye Lynne Booth's Blog: Writing to be Read, page 155

Ask the Authors: Publishing

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We’ve already taken a look at the different publishing arenas in my series Pros and Cons of Traditional vs Independent vs Self-Publishing, so this installment will be a brief discussion on the topic that may repeat some of that information. Some of our panelists here also participated in that series, so if you’d like to take a more in depth look you can visit my interview with Tim Baker, or see what Art Rosch has to say, or discover Jordan Elizabeth‘s take on it, or check it out from the beginning and move on from there.

Regarding the whole publishing thing, DeAnna Knippling: I can’t answer the questions directly (nnnnnn), but if you want, here’s a blanket statement to cover the week’s stuff:

Okay, I’m deadly bored of these kinds of questions.  I know you need to ask them, but I’ve answered them so often that I really don’t have much to say other than, “Do what you want!  Mix it up!  Stir the pot!  Try something new!  Don’t try something new!”  I feel like authors get so wrapped up in “what is the secret trick to making a bajillion dollars?!?” that they stop moving forward on their journeys as writers.  The second you stop learning and growing, you’re dead.  Some of your growth comes in the publishing and marketing areas, that’s true, but writers get obsessed with success over quality, and they burn out or become repetitive cheesemongers.  And then they push forward without learning about copyright and contracts and rights and get screwed over by the people who are supposed to be “helping” them.  It’s nuts.  Read The Copyright Handbook, stop whining about having to write synopses and bios and blurbs, spend some time studying, and read the fine @#$%^&* print.

Some, like DeAnna Knippling, feel this topic is one of many which has been done to death. Of course, it has, because the rise of digital pubishing changed the game for authors and would be authors, restructuring the playing field, so today’s struggling authors may not even be sure of the rules. In today’s publishing world, this is a delimma every author has to face and we’re all looking for answers. Upcoming authors are trying to figure out this whole thing and decide which publishing route is best for them. Published authors whose books aren’t selling as well as they had hoped wonder if they made the right choice and entertain thoughts of going ‘the other way’ next time. Let’s start out this discussion by seeing what kind of mix we have on our panel.

Are you a traditionally published, small press published or self-published author?  

Jordan Elizabeth: I have books out with three small presses: Curiosity Quills, Clean Reads, and CHBB.

Cynthia Vespia: I’m what’s called a hybrid. I’ve been both small press published and now I’m mostly self-published. But the holy grail is always to land a contract with one of the big names in publishing.

Carol Riggs: All three. I have two traditionally published book with Entangled Teen, which is a smaller publisher but a notch above “small press” in my opinion. For example, they distribute with Macmillan, and my debut novel, THE BODY INSTITUTE, was featured in Barnes & Noble stores. THE LYING PLANET is also published by Entangled, while BOTTLED is published via a small press, Clean Reads. Then I’ve self-published two of my five-book series of JUNCTION 2020. I hope to release the third in the series this summer.

Chris Barili: Yes. I am a true hybrid author, with a traditional book sale (small publisher, but traditional) and a self-published series.

Janet Garber: Self Published via Lulu.

Follow-up: Would you talk a little bit about Lulu. How do they measure up as a publishing platform? What services do they offer their authors?

Janet Garber: Researching the different options was confusing. I probably decided on Lulu because I liked the salesman and also I did not find many complaints online at the time. I would not say that my approach was very scientific, but the results were more than satisfactory. I do think there are probably much cheaper options particularly if one is tech-savvy and confident about a DIY approach. I purchased additional service of press release — they basically just took what I wrote. They were supposed to send it out to appropriate outlets, but I was not at all satisfied with the outlets they approached. This was a waste of about $400!  Buyer beware!

They also offer proofreading and editing – I did not feel I needed either but I did invest in a private developmental editor and that was money well spent. As part of the LULU package, they distribute your book. So my novel is available on Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Ingram in paperback and ebook.

Margareth Stewart: This sounds quite intriguing for me as I have been published in many forms. I was traditionally published by Chiado Press – with my first book I have divorced, so now what? (Portuguese Edition). I self-published twice as it was taking too long to receive a positive answer from English Publishers. When I had my first novel ready, I did not want to self-publish – I wanted the experience of having someone from an out source to read Open and say: “Ok, let´s publish it” – Open/Pierre´s journey after war by Margareth Stewart was published by Web-e-books at the end of 2017. So from the experience above, nowadays I would say we all want recognition in a certain form. This may come through publishers, agents, readers, amazon – it does not matter – as long as it comes. Writing is an art waiting to being read.

The publishing journey is different for every author. We’ve all heard the sucess stories of a book that got miraculously got picked up by one of the big five and turned into a movie in a whirlwind of activity, and all the author had to do was type out the words. But for most of us, it isn’t that easy. We struggle and climb up from the bottom of the literary barrel, vying for the attention of either publishers or readers, trying to get our books onto the best seller lists, or at least sell well enough to be profitable.

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Many of you may already be familiar with my story. I sold a poem in 1996, when we still submitted via snail mail, but decided it wasn’t profitable for me until the rise of the computer age and digital publishing. I knew I wanted to write, so I landed gigs where ever I could, including the content factories, such as Demand Studios and Examiner.com. I founded an online writng group, I started this blog, Writing to be Read, and I went back to school and got my M.F.A. in Creative Writing. I self-published Last Call as an experiment. After getting several short stories and poems published, last April I found a small press publisher for Delilah, Dusty Saddle Publishing. Since then, I have become a college level English lecturer, and I’m working on increasing my marketing and promotion knowledge in order to promote the sales of my books, because with a small press, that’s pretty much up to the author. We all had to start somewhere. Let’s ask our panel members about their rise to get where they are now.

Would you share the story of your own publishing journey?  

Jordan Elizabeth: I feel as if I have written forever.  It wasn’t until college that I started taking my writing more seriously.  I queried agents until I finally found a home at the Belcastro Agency.  It was a short while after that my friend and fellow author Eliza Tilton introduced me to Curiosity Quills Press.  Another friend and fellow author, Cathrina Constantine, introduced me to CHBB.

Cynthia Vespia: When I was a senior in high school I picked up a copy of Dean Koontz’ Intensity from the library and I was immediately hooked. When I finished reading it, I knew I wanted to be a writer. I wanted to pull emotions from people the way Dean Koontz had done for me. (I’ll jump ahead here so I don’t drag on) Flash forward to the completion of my first novel The Crescent. I sent it around to different agencies, and even Arnold Schwarzenegger’s old agent wound up reading it, but nothing panned out. I remember coming very close to a deal with a local publishing house early on in my career but they opted to go another way. But I had a finished book, and I wanted to see what it would look like in print, so I self-published when self-publishing wasn’t cool yet. But that little book has gone on to create some great attention and is in the middle of pre-production for a movie.

My small press experience hasn’t been ideal which is why I’ve gone back to self-publishing. The one thing I will say about my small press journey is it got my series Demon Hunter in front of a lot of people and I wound up being nominated in 2009 for a Best Series award.

Carol Riggs: It took me 11 years, more than 350 rejection letters, and twelve previously written novels until my debut novel was taken on by an agent and sold to Entangled Teen. During those 11 years, I had tons of writing, rewriting, frustration, and refusing to quit going on. The road was rocky even after my debut, THE BODY INSTITUTE, got sold to Strange Chemistry, an imprint of the UK publisher, Angry Robot. Five months before my book was to come out, they closed down Strange Chemistry, and my agent and I had to scurry around and start the whole submission process over again. Pretty tooth-gnashing!

Chris Barili: My first fiction sale was a western short story called “Yellow” that I wrote for my first summer semester of my MFA studies. That story sold to The Western Online that fall, and I only mention it because 13 short story sales later, it remains the starting point for me selling fiction. My novel Smothered (as B.T. Clearwater) was originally my MFA thesis. It was a standalone romance, and I had no plans for it until Winlock Press (part of Permuted Press) held a contest to find books to premier their supernatural romance lineup. I entered and won, so not only did the book go on sale for e-books, but through Permuted’s deal with Simon and Shuster, a limited print run took place, as well, meaning–book signings at Barnes and Noble!

My Hell’s Butcher series of novellas is self-published, and I did that for the simple reason that there just aren’t markets for novellas out there in the traditional world. And since I wanted to try my hand at self-publishing, I decided the series would be my foray into that battle.

Janet Garber:  I researched the different companies online, called a few, and went with Lulu.  I was under a deadline because I wanted to sell my book at a professional conference and Lulu came through, publishing my book in a short five weeks. I was actively involved in proofing very very carefully and am happy to say end result was a fine looking book with a wonderful cover.

Margareth Stewart: I come from Academics which is a hard field to be published and to write something original. Scientific papers are  full of rules. To write a 15-page-article, it is necessary to read around 15,000 words or more, and to process it all with a very unique view. It is a though and painful process. So, when I got into the fiction world – Oh, I thought: “Heaven, I’m in heaven, And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak…”. Difficulties are part of the process. Keep writing and keep reading.

In today’s publishing world, the question of whether to go the traditional route, search out a small press with interest in your book, or to go ahead and self-publish and get your work out there is something every author has pondered at one time or another. Chances are a publisher, either taditional or small press, is not going to come knocking down your door to publish your book. Although there are authors who have had a previously self-published picked up by a publisher, it is not the norm, and although not like it once was, self-published authors may still carry a bit of stigma with publishing houses. Let’s take a look at how our panel members tackled the delimma.

What made you decide to go with traditional/small press/self-publishing?  

Jordan Elizabeth: I was hoping for a traditional publisher, but I’m thankful to my friends who have found me homes with small presses.  It seems to be true what they say about small presses being more family-oriented and helpful.

Cynthia Vespia: I went back to self-publishing because #1 the small press companies I was working with all closed their doors, and #2 because I had a very specific vision in mind for what I wanted to do with Demon Hunter when I got my rights back. But I have a few new ideas in the works that could be very successful mainstream properties, so I’m looking to go back to the traditional publishing route and finally capture that holy grail.

Carol Riggs: I think the traditional publishing makes me feel more accomplished, like my books are of better quality. I know that’s not necessarily the case, but to have professionals rooting for your writing is really reassuring and gratifying to me. For my self-published books, I’m using my JUNCTION 2020 series to grow my newsletter subscription by giving away book 1 as a freebie incentive. Find it on my website at carolriggs.com!

Janet Garber:  I was very impatient to see my book in print and hold it in my hands. So much work had gone into it, years and years of procrastination too, and I wasn’t getting any younger. For these reasons I did not even consider traditional publishers. I still hesitate on going that route because I do not want to wait 2-3 years to see my Paris novel in print, the time to secure an agent and then a publisher.  My first (nonfiction) book was traditionally published by Silver Lining Press, a branch of Barnes & Noble, and that book was brought out very quickly; I did not need an agent since they approached me with the offer to do a book, etc.

In the self-publishing arena, which platforms have you found good to work with? How do you deal with KDP’s exclusivity clause, which states that your work may not appear on any other platform?

Art Rosch: The KDP Select option IS exclusive but operates for 90 days.  There’s an auto-renew function, and if you don’t want to be enslaved by it, make sure that it is not checked.  I tried it for a few cycles.  I had to remove my book from Smashwords and go into the Dashboard to Channel Manager and remove distribution channels like Apple, Barnes and Noble, etc.  In any case, my books didn’t  sell.

I like Smashwords approach and the universality of their formats.  But no one competes with Amazon.  I haven’t published any physical books yet, but I have a bit of change on hand and I think I”ll give it a go.  Everyone has their favorite provider of such services, so there’s plenty of choice.  Publish-on-demand.  I have no demand.  I have a more serious issue, it’s a literary one, a revision of Chapter One of my autobiographical novel.  I don’t care for it at the moment.  A book begun in 1976 and I’m still revising it.  Heh!

 Cynthia Vespia: I use Amazon for ebook and print. I also have my work on Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, and I’ve used LuLu for some hardcover print because Amazon didn’t have that option at the time. I’ve heard that Draft 2 Digital is the place to have your ebooks as well, but I haven’t looked at it yet.

For the KDP clause what I have been doing is using it for a new release and then not renewing the enrollment. I’d rather have my work in as many spots as possible.

Although you are self-published, do you still long for the esteem of a traditional publisher? Why or why not?

Janet Garber: Since I have published widely in multiple genres and have one book traditionally published, I’m not craving validation from a traditional publisher. The appeal is mainly the feeling that a traditional publisher would sell more of my books and be better equipped to setting up opportunities for promotion (book tours, speaking engagements, etc.) Let’s not forget hybrid publishers – not sure where they fit in.

What are your thoughts on small presses? What are the pros and cons? Do you curse them or sing their praises?

Cynthia Vespia: I’ve worked with a few small presses and TBH it wasn’t ever anything that wowed me in terms of packaging. As a graphic designer I can do my own covers, and there are more than a few freelance editors whom I can hire to polish the manuscript. I never saw being under the label of a small press to be more beneficial to going indie. They just did not have the means to promote my work in a manner any better than I could do myself. Actually, it really tied my hands sometimes because if I wanted to do a sale or bring some physical copies to an event I had to go through the small press as wait. In the indie publishing world you are in charge of it all. I like that freedom of movement. I will say the one good thing about a small press would be if they have the means to get you into a bookstore or a library because most of those retailers frown upon the POD style of print that most indie authors use.

Traditional publishing has always been a tough road, and with the rise of independent publishing, I think it has gotten even tougher. Although the ‘big five’ are still out there, many traditional publishing houses and small presses are finding it hard to stay in the game with the rise of the ebook and digital publishing. Independent bookstores, as well as some of the larger chains of brick and mortar stores have folded in recent years.

According to Author Earnings’ Print vs. Digital Report, independent authors walk away with a bigger piece of the pie, overall, than traditionally published authors. Pair that with the continuous upward struggle to get noticed by traditional publishers, it is no wonder so many authors are publishing independently, even though by doing so they are taking on multiple roles that traditional publishers would cover, such as covers, marketing and promotion, etc… Let’s see if our panel members agree.

What do you see as the pros and cons of independent/traditional publishing? 

(First from those in favor of the traditional route): 

Jordan Elizabeth: The best pro I can see for traditional publishing is that you get help with marketing.  They might not hold your hand, but they will give you guidance.  A con is that you don’t make as much off ads as you would if you self-publish.

Carol Riggs: Obviously, an author has more control over writing content and cover art with indie publishing. We can make more money per book, although often a traditional publisher can help market an author, so sometimes more books are sold overall; maybe that evens out, I’m not sure. I do know authors who have done awesomely with both indie and traditional publishing. Which path you take depends on what your needs and goals are. But a definite downside to indie is you do ALL the marketing yourself, and you’d better have or hire a good editor, or quality will suffer and your book’s reception likewise. Authors being in a rush to get their books out before they’re ready gives indie publishing a bad name. Editing and polishing are essential.

(Now let’s here from the independent publishing fans):

Cynthia Vespia: There’s a lot of pros to indie publishing. As I said, you have complete control over your own work. It allows books that might never see the light of day get out to readers who enjoy the story. On the other hand, that’s the same con. There are so many people out there writing books now, and they aren’t taking the time to polish them before they get published so you get a lot of, dare I say “garage sale junk” out there. Writing is a business like anything else. You have to take the time to learn everything about it from the craft of writing, to presentation, to marketing. And that isn’t strictly for indie authors either. If you get traditional or small press published you still need to be your biggest fan to get your work out there. In a sea of books yours needs to stand out.

(And from those who have dipped into both publishing arenas):

Chris Barili: Indy publishing is great if you want control, want higher royalty cuts, and don’t like the “gatekeeper” system, but it is a LOT of work. And money. I spend between $500 and $600 publishing each Hell’s Butcher novella. That’s money I’ll never get back, as they are very  unlikely to round up a big enough audience on their own. And as an Indy author, all that marketing, publicity, and so forth — that’s on you. And I suck at it.

The traditional route costs you little or nothing out of pocket, but you give up some control, and of course it takes a MUCH longer time. I was fortunate with Winlock , as they got my e-books out in 3 months. Paperbacks a year later. A traditional publisher would take 18 – 24 months. Self-publishing about a month, probably.

Janet Garber: Pros: [With the traditional route] many people are involved in evaluating your book, making developmental suggestions and edits; these people are very savvy about the publishing world and what appeals to readers; the publishers hopefully undertake some degree of marketing for you or at least guide you to getting best bang for your book in terms of marketing dollars spent.

Cons: effort required to send queries to agents and wait-wait-wait for a positive response; possibility that agent or publisher could change their minds about publishing your book after you’ve invested a lot of time on pleasing them; need to do multiple rewrites and revisions that may alter what you wanted to say and how you wanted to say it.

It seems each publishing avenue has its advantages and disadvantages. Traditionl publishing is a tough road to travel, but it carries the advantages of having available editors, cover artists and media coverage, as well as possible prestige in some areas. While it may be at least a little bit easier to get noticed by a small independent press, the advantages are neglible, depending on the press. While some provide editing and cover artists, others don’t even do that. Most will provide some marketing and promotion, but even that isn’t guarunteed, and you may have to give up control over your work. In self publishing, you maintain control of your work, but you also have to hire out for editing and cover artists, and take on the role of marketer or pay to have it done, as well.

Whether you choose to seek out and strive for a traditional publisher, aim your efforts toward small presses, or do it all yourself to get your work out there and maintain control over it, we all have to find ways to make our writing stand out amongst a diluge of other writers and authors. Most of that must come from craft, but choosing the right cover image and giving your book a killer title help, too. But no one will ever pick up yoru book and read it unless they know it’s there, so marketing and promotion are a bigger here. We have a segment coming in about three weeks on that topic, but for now be sure and drop by next Monday, when we’ll be talking about the differences in genres.

If you have a question you’ve always wanted answered, but it’s not covered in the post on that topic, or if our panel’s answers have stirred new questions within you, pose your query in the comments. Make note if it is directed toward a specific author. Questions will be directed to the general panel unless otherwise specified. Then, in the final post for the series, I will present your questions and the responses I recieved from panel members.

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Ask the Authors: Setting

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In today’s installment of Ask the Authors, the panel will talk about setting and world building. Setting is one of the three basic elements of story, but one that is often overlooked. We spend hours plotting and developing characters, but it is important for us to give just as much attention to our settings. Through our writing, we can take readers to places both real and imagined. As authors, it is our job to paint a clear picture for our readers with our words, whether taking them to real locations requiring accurate descriptions or to whole worlds that spring from our creative imaginations, which need to be illustrated to come alive for them. Setting is important because readers must be able to immerse themselves within the world of the story for total buy-in. If readers don’t buy into our world, past, present or future, real or created, they aren’t going to read very far. Our job is to allow them to believe, and setting may be a starting point to do that.

What tools or strategies do you use in world building for your stories?

Carol Riggs: Sometimes it’s helpful to base even a fantasy or sci-fi novel on a real place or photo, then branch out from there. I use Google maps a lot (my latest novel is set around St. Louis, MO), where I can visually see where things are, and can often zoom into a street view of where I want to be. Awesome! I research places online; living with technology makes writing so much easier.

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When the setting is a real one, whether past, present or future, knowledge of the location is necessary to describe in a way that readers familiar with the area, so research is necessary. Having experienced a location first hand can make it easier to visualize ourselves, and relate that vision clearly for our readers. Authors who write about their hometown or other locations they know quite well, are following the age old advice to write what you know, and it may pay off for them, if it helps provide a clear vision for the story setting.

Have you ever had places that you travel to end up in your books?

DeAnna Knippling: It’s usually the reverse.  I write about someplace and then try to travel there.  I totally geek out about seeing what my character saw.

Jordan Elizabeth: All the time!  I based Secrets of Bennett Hall after my visit to Hyde Hall near Cooperstown, NY.

Janet Garber: What I love most about writing and travel is that every experience, good or bad, can be woven into a story, used to enrich a setting. Nothing is wasted. My experiences living abroad (outside the U.S.) definitely have enriched my writing and given me incalculable insight into “foreiAgn” cultures. My next novel takes place in Mexico and in France and I was able to write about the locations with a specificity impossible to someone who had not lived in these countries.

Cynthia Vespia: In a way, yes. I was traveling to Alcatraz in San Francisco for a trip and at the same time I was in the middle of writing my thriller Sins and Virtues which opens with an escape from a maximum security prison. While I was at Alcatraz I went inside one of the cells to take a picture, as you do, and I swear something in there followed me home. When I returned to my novel I started seeing images inside my head of an attempted prison break from Alcatraz. The images were clear as day, and seen through the eyes of a middle-aged man. My character was a young female so it wasn’t just a case of a really good imagination coming to life…this felt like something else entirely. I felt this other presence through the duration of writing Sins and Virtues and it only left when I completed the book. True story.

Chris Barili: Of course. In fact, if I’m writing in the real world, I try to set things in places I have been, and preferably places I know well. Even when I’m writing in a fictional world or universe, though, the setting takes on elements of the places I’ve been, cultures I’ve experienced, and so on.  B.T. Clearwater’s current work-in-progress takes place in Denver, as did Smothered.  

Carol Riggs: I haven’t ever traveled anywhere exotic, unusual, or outside the U.S., but for instance I’ve been to (and lived on) the Oregon coast, so a few of my novels are set there. I’ve been to L.A.; one of my novels is set there but a futuristic version of it. Most of my novels are fantasy or sci-fi, so they are otherworldly and not set in real places anyway.

Art Rosch: Travel is good for writers.  Meeting other people is good for writers.  Any experience that engages the writer with the world is good for writers.  What would we write about if all we we did was hide out in our little cubbyholes and watched TV or played video games?

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In many cases however, we are called by our stories to write about places we haven’t been and are not familiar with. Although first hand experience is preferable, it is sometimes necessary to research a location without physically visiting it. Such research can lend a feel of authenticity to your story, if your research is thorough and you select details that enhance your story.

In a story we are often asked to create images for the reader of places we may not have experienced ourselves. When have you had to do that?

DeAnna Knippling: All the time.  Google maps is my friend.

Jordan Elizabeth: Most of my books require that because I write fantasy.  I like to imagine there is magic all around us, so that helps me in describing what the magic is like.

Janet Garber: When I write speculative fiction, short stories, obviously I have to make up and populate an alien world. I try to have as much fun as possible; in fact I label this “silly sci-fi.” A forthcoming story in Spectacle Magazine, entitled Seapocalypse, is about a fed-up seahorse who doesn’t like the division of labor in his household. “Shishkosh” (Newtown Literary and Tigershark) tells the story of an earthling of the future who crash lands on a very strange planet.

Cynthia Vespia: My fantasy series Demon Hunter is set in medieval times in places that didn’t really exist. That’s the fun of writing fantasy or sci-fi, or even some contemporary settings. You get to make up what it looks like. In that case, I generally will draw from places that I have been and embellish them with whatever I need to move the scene. If it happens to be a place that exists in reality that I haven’t been to then I will research it online. For instance, one of my early works had a meeting at a place called Musso & Frank in Hollywood. It is a very well known restaurant but I have never actually been there. Because it is so well known I wanted it to be described the right way, so I did my due diligence and researched the hell out of it!

Chris Barili: The entire Hell’s Butcher series so far has consisted of settings I haven’t actually seen, from Creede, CO to places in Maryland and Virginia. And not only were they PLACES I’ve never been, but during times I did not experience. So I had to immerse myself in research to get the right flavor for setting, both physical and culturally.

Carol Riggs: Yes, a lot! I write fantasy and sci-fi, so I love using my imagination to make up new places and experiences. Stories set on other planets, or even a world similar to Earth—but with magic or an unusual twist added. Fantasy novels in general tend to be set in a kind of medieval-flavored setting, more primitive with castles and huts/cottages and what not.

Sometimes it’s helpful to base even a fantasy or sci-fi novel on a real place or photo, then branch out from there. I use Google maps a lot (my latest novel is set around St. Louis, MO), where I can visually see where things are, and can often zoom into a street view of where I want to be. Awesome! I research places online; living with technology makes writing so much easier.

What are your favorite settings to write about?

DeAnna Knippling: Victorian England and parts abroad.  I love writing crime…and these people were criminals, pretty much just top to bottom.  But a close second is America during the Roaring 20s.

According to Writing-World.com, there are four methods for revealing setting: through motion, letting your setting unfold as your character moves through the scene; through your character’s experience, or what he or she knows, which may be a good reason to use multiple POVs to show how different characters see their surroundings; through your character’s feelings, similar to using the character’s experience, letting his or her mood influence how readers see the setting, or through the senses and the use of sensory detail.

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I think we all reveal setting through motion, even when we’re not doing it intentionally, but I think the last is most effective. While not all readers will relate to the experiences your character has had, or whatever has put your character into such an angry mood, all readers can relate to sensory information, so they are more likely to form an accurate mental picture from the details of sight, taste, touch, sound and smell. Let’s see if our panel members agree.

What kind of details do you like to add to create a mental picture of setting for your reader?

DeAnna Knippling: Smell.  Food.  Texture…temperature.  Weather.

Jordan Elizabeth: I love smell.  Sometimes we take smell for granted in real life, but adding a smell to a story can really bring it to life.

Janet Garber: The gold standard: appeals to the senses.

Cynthia Vespia: I always remember to include the 5 senses. It rounds out a better picture if you can get a real feel for the place that isn’t just a visual painting from your mind but also has depth and reality to it.

Chris Barili: I tend to be a minimalist. Until I’m not. I try to use as many of the senses as possible, without stretching or forcing it, and I like metaphorical description. “The hills lay like slumbering beasts in the distance.” Things like that to paint a picture for the reader.

Carol Riggs: I like to add sensory images, like smells or sounds. I also think it helps a reader get a better picture of what a place is like if there is a comparison added. For instance, if a set of buildings are arranged in a horseshoe shape. I tend to be a minimalist as far as setting. I myself get bored when reading a description if it wanders on past one paragraph, and my rough “rule” for my own description is to keep it to three sentences. Any more than a short paragraph seems overdone (if not interspersed with action or dialogue).

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Would you like to share a brief excerpt from one of your best setting descriptions?

DeAnna Knippling: I’m not sure about “best” but here’s one:


There was an armchair sitting at right angles to the wheelchair; he sat in it, and the receptionist set the tray in front of them, then poured.  The teacups had saucers to them, and delicate gold spoons in case you wanted to stir sugar into your tea.  Not a single rattle.
The room smelled of flowers, not the sickly-sweet artificial scent of “flowers” but green things, growing things.  Roses, maybe, not the kind that you got at the flower shops but the real ones that used to grow along the sides of the road with bees swarming around them, back when you got more than a handful of bees in the summertime.
The tea smelled faintly of tea, which always struck Frank not smelling like anything at all.  He liked the smell of coffee better.  Coffee smelled good, even when you knew it was going to be terrible.  Alice leaned forward a little.  The way she moved made Frank think she was in a lot of pain.
“Can I get that for you?”
“Thank you, dear, if you would.”

Janet Garber: From In a Tizzy:

Spinning in a 360 degree circle, arms raised like a little girl, I could view impossibly fluffy clouds touching down on the horizon and two magnificent volcanoes, Popocatépetl and Citlaltépetl, their views unobstructed by skyscrapers, highways, power lines or telephone cables. So this is what the sky looks like! I spun and spun, it was all sublime.
I was the darling novia, outfitted in a dazzling white Mexican blouse festooned with brightly colored embroidered flowers and sporting faded blue jeans with two sexy patches I’d sewn on to hide a rip, two fish swimming in the neighborhood of my crotch. I wore my yellow work boots and pinned my signature long hair up, off my neck, as a concession to the blazing sun.
I sat on the grass in the sun shunning sunglasses and hat since I never burn—all I ever get are more freckles—and I watched Pierre play soccer with his scientist colleagues.  Game over, he sauntered over to me—I watched him slowly cross the field, swinging his arms—so sexy and smiling and seductive and . . .short?
“I never noticed,” I confided that afternoon, “but you’re rather short.” How could I have missed that?
“What are you saying, Foolish Talking Bird?” He laughed and pulled me in for a kiss. “I’m at least 170 cm.”
I pushed him away and looked around; our friends made a show of turning their heads in the other direction. “No, you’re not, Skinny Little Laughing Skeleton.” I mocked. “You liar, you!”
By way of answer, he lifted me and swung me around until I was breathless. Taking my hand he ran with me across the fields to our dusty little car. As we approached, I looked at him questioningly. “No more lessons for you, Lady. You’ve been a bad girl.”  Well, during our previous lesson on driving standard shift, I had jumped out of the car three times, slamming the door each time. He’d done the same. Either I was hopeless or he was a bad teacher. The latter is unlikely judging by his popularity with the physics staff and the students. “Oh, please, one more chance to strip the gears!” I cried out. [©2017 janet garber, from WIP novel]

Cynthia Vespia: Here is a scene from Karma, Book 1 in the Silke Butters Superhero Series

She didn’t even wait for the van to come to a full stop before she raced out the door. Her feet just glanced the pavement as she hopped over the curb and rushed in through the sliding glass doors.
Los Angeles Memorial bustled with activity. People loitered in the waiting area anxious for their turn to be called. Silke weaved between the lot of them and made her way to the reception desk.
Her voice was frantic as she asked for Maki’s room number. The receptionist tried to tell her to wait while she finished a phone call. She attempted to disregard the fact that Silke’s very best friend, who was more like a sister than Honey, was lying in a hospital bed clinging to life. She wanted Silke to wait her turn before going in to possibly see her friend for the very last time.
Silke was done waiting. She slammed her fists down on top of the desk, sending papers into the air. The impact also proceeded to pull sparks from her hands that ran over the receptionist desk directly into the phone. It sparked and popped in the nurse’s hand, forcing her to drop it and turn her attention to Silke.
It happened again. Some type of spark emitted from her own hands. She felt it before when facing off against Rostov. At that time, she felt powerful as she could drop the much larger assailant. Now she attacked a poor nurse just doing her job. What was happening?

©2017 CYNTHIA VESPIA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

 

Chris Barili: This is from the opening scene of Smothered:

The old Victorian didn’t just sit on the street. It didn’t hunch, stand, rest, or exist. Instead, it loomed, seeming to lean out over the front sidewalk to intimidate passersby. The porch’s white rail gleamed like a sadistic grin, slashing through the pallor of the gray shingle siding, while dark windows stared like half-lidded eyes, their smoke-stained shades still in the half-drawn position they’d been in the last time human life had occupied the house nearly a year before.
The houses around it sported fresh coats of paint, most in bright, almost garish colors popular when they were built over a century ago. All had lush, green lawns and flower boxes bursting with color, not drab gray-green weed forests with wilted, long-dead skeletons of flowers. The house also lacked the bright Memorial Day banners, flags, and window trimmings of its neighbors, making it the only unpatriotic house on the block.

Carol Riggs: This excerpt is from THE BODY INSTITUTE (p. 284 paperback).

All human sounds cut off as the door closes. Cool air clings to my skin like clammy hands. A whirring, sucking noise of machinery fills the room, which smells odd, a sort of musty grease scent mingled with antiseptic.
Glow sticks hang by the door. Leo grabs one, activates it with a crack, and aims it down an aisle. Rows and rows of coffin-shaped capsules occupy the room, stacked three high like drawers in a macabre-style dresser. They make up a maze of walls a little taller than my head.

 

Art Rosch: Below is a descriptive passage from THE GODS OF THE GIFT, my first mature science fiction novel.

Excerpt from THE GODS OF THE GIFT

The Gods of The Gift on Smashwords

 “Chapter Six
The View From Castle Strobe

            Strobe, the castle of Prince Vizmir Borgomak, was the size of a small city.  An irregular wall surrounded it, made from materials that showed its antiquity.  Old stone ramparts supported later materials of brick, concrete, rammed earth and plasticene.  There were many gates, old and new.  Some were operated by winches and slid upward on squeaking chains.  Others opened by remote control, slid smoothly into recesses.  The castle had not required military defense in thousands of years.  The old arrow slits and catapult ramps had been converted into modern verandas and scenic windows. 
            The castle had eighty seven towers, each topped with a distinctive dome or minaret. Some were shaped like simple onions, pointed at the top, round and tapering at the sides.  Others had two or three flattened ovoids pushed together and topped with sharp spires. Yet others were slab sided triangles with cat-walks latticed onto their steeples. The designs on these towers were made with paint, gilding, mosaic tiles and filigree.  Color schemes were numerous and bizarre.  One large tower near the castle’s center was the shape of a tulip bulb with a flattened top.  It was decorated with blue and white triangles, alternating side by side, one triangle upright, the other pointing downward, and the triangles changed size according to the placement on the tapering shape of the spire.  Another tower was spiraled in red stipples, like a confection.  Yet another was painted as a tree against the sky, twisting gnarled branches weaving their way up the sides of the facade against the cerulean backdrop.
            There was no sense of unity to the structure.  It seemed as though the parts had been pushed together from a book of tourist architecture, showpiece images gleaned from cultures all across the galaxy.  Walls ran from one tower to another, and there were so many that the walls collided, forming useless closed yards, odd pens with little doors, dried up gardens that had been forgotten and walled off.  Some yards contained human skeletons or bones of animals and fallen birds. No two towers were the same height, or the same color.  Windows of synthglass shone in various elevations, many adorned with balconies.  Force fields protected these balconies from the intense heat of this hemisphere of the planet, which was also called Strobe.  On this hot afternoon, flags like the tongues of  snakes hung listlessly, without a breeze to sniff. At the base of the megalith, shops huddled against the castle walls, wares of many kinds were sold and traded.  Spices and electronic devices rested in adjacent stalls where their proprietors sat on stools and smoked from water pipes.  Half a mile beyond the perimeter of the castle, agriculture on an industrial scale was being practiced.  Vast fields of tall, slender plants drank from the arms of rotating sprinklers.  The plantations surrounded Castle Strobe, vanishing to the horizon in neatly planted circles.  The plants were blooming.  Each purple stalk held three or four gaudy flowers of mauve, chartreuse and orange.  The odor of a billion flowers, sweet and cloying like toffee, penetrated the skin and clothing of thousands of robiot workers, whose nervous systems were impervious to the effect of the plant.  This potent botanical was called Somniferum Cannabino Papaverum Vizmeria.  Its name in ordinary vernacular was Futufu.  It had many other names.”

This vision of the castle was inspired by the sight of St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow’s Red Square.  The cathedral is such a bizarre and colorful structure that it casts a spell over me.  In the novel, Castle Strobe is the home of a demented drug lord.  It reflects his chaotic character, his undisciplined extravagance.  This is but one of many settings that I devised in THE GODS OF THE GIFT.  I had absolute freedom to practice world building in “Gods” because there was no realistic counterpart to our own world.  I could create anything. In my latest, yet unpublished book, The Shadow Storm, I’ve had to constrain myself with a far more familiar setting  Here I had to draw a map of the planet Freeth before I began anything else.  The setting of Shadow Storm resembles our own world on the eve of World War One.  I was stimulated to write the book by the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.  I applied a maxim, that is, “Geography Is Destiny” to create a setting that was completely different from our home planet yet reminiscent of it in almost every way.  Thus the work on the map was of primary importance.  I had to foresee battles that would have global consequences.  I had to think like a military master-mind and work out the ways in which armies would be thwarted by towering mountain ranges and navies would be directed towards the control of strategic waterways.

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In many genres, especially fantasy or science fiction, stories take us into fictional worlds which spring from the depths of our imaginations, which serve as the settings for our stories. In film, there is the luxury of visual images and through sometimes elaborate sets, and in more modern times digital imaging, we are able to bring a world to life for viewers. But in fiction, we must use our words to draw those pictures mentally for our readers through action and character. It is a different medium, but it is no less challenging to create a world through the written word.

Would you like to share some thoughts on world building?

Art Rosch: World building is intriguing because it challenges me to devise new religions, new societies, new terrain and all of these factors feed into the nature and behavior of my characters.  They are people of their time and place, and this time, this place, has only a peripheral relation to our own world and the people and events that have transpired here.  The Shadow Storm is about preparing for a global war, one that will sweep the book’s characters into violent and unusual events.  I have the warm gut feeling that I’ve written a fine book.  I hope I’ll be stimulated to continue its sequel and prequel.  That depends on whether I can find readers.  Ain’t that a bitch?  Our literary landscape is so bloated with writers and their books that it’s hard to get traction.

Every day I get emails from marketing gurus promising to show me how to do book releases that will get 100+ reviews on the day of release and earn me a seven figure income.  I think, perhaps, that the marketing gurus may be earning seven figure incomes from gullible writers, but the rest of us are confined by our own economic state.  Unless we too have seven figure incomes we won’t be able to invest in enough marketing to earn seven figure income from our books.  Is this Catch-23?

Sensory detail are a favorite for revealing setting amoung our panel members. How ever you chose to reveal setting, be sure you’ve done the needed research, whether that means traveling to the physical location or researching remotely, to be able to form a clear and accurate mental picture for your readers. Remember when dealing with real locations, that there will be readers out there who are familiar with the locations and they may be quick to point out any inconsistencies.

I think our panelists have given up some food for thought when it comes to setting and workd building. Be sure to catch next week’s installment, when Ask the Authors will talk about publishing. If you have a question you’ve always wanted answered, but it’s not covered in the post on that topic, or if our panel’s answers have stirred new questions within you, pose your query in the comments. Make note if it is directed toward a specific author. Questions will be directed to the general panel unless otherwise specified. Then, in the final post for the series, I will present your questions and the responses I recieved from panel members.

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“Strange Attractors”: a strange attractor in its own right

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I’m not sure how to classify Strange Attractors by Mark Todd. It is science fiction, but it doesn’t feel like science fiction. It feels like a story with well-developed characters you want to care about and an intricate plot, filled with irony, which keeps you guessing until the very last pages. Most of all, I think Strange Attractors is simply an interesting and entertaining read, a good, old fashioned, well crafted story that keeps the pages turning.

Conti is Morgan’s boss, but when she learns that the project she’s been working on has the potential to wipe out world populations, and has potential military applications, she wonders if her boss is losing his mind. And perhaps he is. Conti has seen little gray men near Roswell, but they aren’t what he thinks. Morgan is seeing one too, in the form of a little boy who looks strangely like her little brother. Although he shows her many things, including a strange craft, Morgan doesn’t believe in aliens, so she gives these things a different interpretation. When Morgan confronts her boss about her suspicions on the project, he seems to give her the brush off, and before all is through, Morgan doesn’t know who to trust. She’s sure the little boy who appears both in and out of her dreams is trying to tell her something, and it could be something that could change the fate of the world, but can she figure out his message while there is still time to avert disaster?

I enjoyed every page of this story. I was drawn to it as if to a strange attractor, something attractive and compelling. I give Strange Attractors five quills.

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Ask the Authors: Action/Dialog

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When tackling dialog, we want it to sound as  real as possible, but if you capture every “um” and “ah”, the conversation may put readers to sleep, or even worse, they may just set the book down and never get back to it, because the fact is that everyday conversation is pretty boring. In writing, every word, every phrase, every scene should serve a purpose to the story. There’s no room for what screenwriters call “Hello. How are you? I’m fine.” dialog. In real life, these are things that we talk about, but readers don’t need to be privy to those kinds of conversation. Dialog should serve a purpose such as revealing needed information or character traits, but it also should help to move the story forward, just as much as the action does. It also should read smooth and sound realistic, making your characters more realistic for your readers. The question is, how do we go about doing all of that. Let’s ask our panel members if they have any tips they’d like to share.

Is it difficult to produce dialog that is natural and realistic?

DeAnna Knippling: If you think really, really hard about it and remove every possible flaw…you’ll end up with craptastic dialogue.  I maintain that good dialogue is about listening to how other people talk.

Jordan Elizabeth:  I’ve always been told that my dialogue sounds realistic.  I don’t try; I just write what I hear in my head.  Sorry if that sounds conceited!

Carol Riggs: Sometimes. I find I have to pare down my vocabulary so I don’t sound like my characters are reading from a dictionary. Again, reading the lines aloud help me catch those things and make the interchange flow better.

Tim Baker: I don’t find it difficult. I try to make my characters speak as if they were real people – the way you and I speak. If you have a guy sitting down at a bar the dialogue should be realistic…

“What can I get you?”

“Heineken. Thanks.”

As opposed to…

“What would you like to drink?”

“I would like a bottle of Heineken, please.”

What are your secrets for writing dialog that doesn’t sound forced?

DeAnna Knippling: A playwriting teacher made me go out to a coffee shop and write down every word of dialog that I heard for at least half an hour.  I haven’t been the same since.  I “hear” a voice saying things as I type, and I can “see” text as people talk.  “How would I tape out that grunt?”  “How would I punctuate that pause?”
 
Jordan Elizabeth:  I see the scene playing out in my mind and I hear what the characters are saying.  I also have a certain critique partner who is awesome at pointing out stilted sentences.

Carol Riggs: Reading it aloud! I also paste chapters into Natural Reader and let it read to me. Awkward stuff pops out pretty easily that way, if it doesn’t sound natural.

Chris Barili: Listen to real people talk, then apply the filter of your character’s personality, and you should have realistic dialogue. Unless you’re writing speculative fiction set in another time/place, of course.

Cynthia Vespia: Listen to the way people talk in real life. There are subtle nuances to every person, whether they have an accent or not. But when you write the dialogue, don’t try to be fancy.

Margareth Stewart: Very much – so very much. I have enrolled myself into screenwriting courses and also plays, so I can really master them. Besides that, I´ve also got some second-hand books with some masters of playwriting, you know from Shakespeare to Molière. So I guess by now, I´m on the way to crafting really good talking (lol). Let´s see!

Art Rosch: Once I had a dream in which a voice said, “Max wouldn’t say that.  It’s not in his nature.” So, I was getting dialogue guidance from the Dream Coach.  Dialogue must emerge from a variety of factors, and by the time I’ve got characters speaking their lines, what they say is almost pre-ordained.  I believe that words are objects, that they contain illimitable power and energy.  What people speak influences the world around them.  The dialogue between and amongst my fictional characters always serves a purpose.  Does it further the plot?  If it doesn’t it’s useless.  Is it stimulating, original, powerful?  If my characters are stimulating, their words ought to be. Dialogue emerges naturally from circumstances.  It’s organic.  The conversations that people have in fiction can be more interesting than what passes ordinarily in daily life.  They only sound forced if they don’t hew to the character’s true nature and the needs of the situation.

Dialog tags. Some authors, especially those in academia, will tell you that good writing only uses said, and maybe asked, or replied, while other authors prefer a more varied reportoir. Some say use them, others say use them as little as possible. Is there a right way when it comes to dialog tags? Let’s see what our panel members think.

Do you use dialog tags? Do you stick with the basics, or use varied tags?

DeAnna Knipling: By dialogue tags, you mean he said, right?  Of course I use them.  Why would I want my reader to be confused?  I only mix them up if it’s something satirical,” she pontificated.

Jordan Elizabeth: I tend to use varied tags, but I’m trying hard to use “said” more.  Most of the time I just use action tags.

Carol Riggs: Yes, I use tags, but usually the basics (she said, she asked). I do throw in a few mutters, whispers, and shouts; but I TRY not to overdo those. I’ve heard it said the best tags should pretty much be invisible, so the reader doesn’t even notice them anymore after awhile. I omit tags if it’s clear who’s talking, however. Not everything needs to be tagged!

Tim Baker: By tags I assume you mean attributions. I use them but I use them as sparingly as possible, and I rarely embellish them. 90% of the time I’ll use “John said.” And nothing more. Sometimes I’ll throw in a “John replied.” To prevent overuse of the word said. Then on very rare occasion I’ll use “John replied sarcastically.”

I do this rarely because I feel if the reader hasn’t learned enough about John, and isn’t “in the scene” enough to figure out that John is being sarcastic – then I’m not doing my job.

Chris Barili: As few as possible. I much prefer to use actions in place of tags to keep the reader clear on who’s talking.

For example, I could say: “Your zipper is down,” Toni said, giggling and covering her mouth with one hand. “The cow is escaping the barn!”

But I think this is much better: Toni giggled and her hand flew to her mouth. “Your zipper is down, and the cow is escaping the barn!”

Here’s a clip from Hell’s Marshal, Book one of my Hell’s Butcher series. Frank Butcher–dead and in Hell–has been told by the three judges of the underworld that he is now their marshal, charged with bringing back souls that escape eternal damnation. And his first target is Jesse James. Frank is asking the judges how to get James’ soul back to Hell.

“All right, so exorcism is out. How else?”
“You must kill the body, then use talismans we give you to send the spirit to the underworld. If you fail to send it across, it will simply possess another body.”
Bill Hickok spoke alone. “He may use people from the world of the living to do his dirty work. They’ll be his puppets as long as he needs them. Harm as few as

possible to keep things quiet.”
Frank stood, fists at his sides, taking slow, deep breaths. He hated being backed into a corner, but they’d done it nonetheless. He locked eyes with Webber.
“Why me? Out of all the souls you got down here, why pick me?”
Webber never looked away, the corners of his mouth turning up and his eyes smoldering.
“We have a history, you and me.”
So, it was personal. Frank could understand that, at least.
“One condition. If I do this, you increase my time in the pit so it’s what I deserve.”
The judges conferred, hissing.
“Agreed,” they said as one.
Frank nodded. “If I’m gonna be Hell’s Marshal, shouldn’t I get a badge?”
Webber grinned and a bolt of lightning shot down from the ceiling, crashing into Frank’s chest. His body went rigid, and a searing agony blazed on his chest. Fire

arced through his body, making his muscles contract until he felt his bones straining not to snap. He tried to scream, but couldn’t open his mouth even an inch. The acrid stink of burning flesh filled his nostrils as the skin on his chest sizzled and cooked like bacon over a fire.
An instant later, the lightning disappeared and Frank collapsed to the floor. When he finally mustered the strength to lift his head, a marshal’s badge had been

burned in swollen, pink flesh where the lightning had touched him. In the center of the six-pointed star, a skull stared out, flames dancing in the hollows of its eyes. The words “Hell’s Marshal” circled it all. The judges faded from sight, snickering as they disappeared.
“Send Jesse James back to us, Marshal Butcher,” echoed their voices. “Dead or dead.”
———-

Notice there are only two traditional dialogue tags in all that, but action is sprinkled throughout, adding flavor and helping the reader follow the “palaver,” as Frank would call it.

Art Rosch: Dialog tags can be useful.  I’ve heard advice from prominent writers to never go beyond “He said/She said”.  But I like a little variation.  “What did she want?” quavered Tina.”  Something like that, the use of a descriptive word in a tag, sometimes changing an adjective into a verb…..that works for me.  “Where did he go?” Alice asked haltingly. “What happened to Dizzy?”she screached.

 

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This quote found on “It’s All About the Words” by P.J. Braley http://pjbraley.com/writers-words/writers-writing/january/

 

 

Emotion motivates characters’ actions and may come through in dialog. But just as real people in real life, characters don’t always say what they mean, and they don’t always mean what they say. So, how do readers know that although your character says one thing, she means another? Maybe the character rolls her eyes, or averts her gaze, or perhaps she says it with a sarcastic tone. In screenwriting, you put these things into the stage directions and the actors carry them out. In fiction, this type of thing must be apparent on the page. Let’s see how our panel members tackle this one.

What methods do you use to clue readers into subtext?

 DeAnna Knippling: My understanding of how subtext works is that it’s the gap between what is done and what is said.  In a play or movie script, subtext is developed by the actors, who literally act out physical cues in order to clue the audience in on what’s going on with longing glances, angry tones of voice, etc.  In fiction, you do the same thing, only through the descriptions of the characters and their actions.  As a reader or audience, you don’t always need to know exactly what the subtext of a scene is, but you do need a clue that all is not what it seems.  A lot of classic mysteries that use the noir tradition–for example, The Maltese Falcon–use subtext to tell the reader to pay attention to something in a scene, but not exactly what.  Solving the mystery of the subtext is part of the fun.

Art Rosch: It’s usually a character’s body language.  Is anyone familiar with the work of Dr. Paul Ekman?  He invented the concept of micro-expressions.  Subtle facial tells that reveal how truthful a person is being.  If you can work with a character’s body language and facial tells, a lot of subtext will emerge.

Any pet peeves with dialog?

DeAnna Knippling: When it’s “on the nose.”  In real life, do you talk about what your id wants on a running basis?  No!  Then don’t blurt out your deepest desires on a running basis in the freaking dialogue!

Jordan Elizabeth: No pet peeve, but I can safely say that I love using dialogue to break up the tension in an intense scene.

Carol Riggs: Saying fluff greetings and lengthy good-byes, as well as repeating things to other characters that the reader already knows. Especially the latter is a smart place to “tell” or summarize so the readers can skip to the parts they don’t know yet. Another pet peeve is information and background dumping in dialogue. You can reveal things in conversation, but it’s not the place to explain your worldbuilding and character’s personal history. I try (with various levels of success) to avoid these things.

Tim Baker: My biggest pet peave when it comes to dialogue is the writer who treats dialogue like narrative. Your narrative should be grammatically correct, but speech is not like that. When we talk, we use all sorts of lexiconic (I think I just invented that word!) tricks to get our point across – including body language. As I said earlier, I try to make my character’s speech as real and natural as possible.

Cynthia Vespia: I’ve read some very popular writers that used “he said” or “she said” after every line of dialogue. It’s unnecessary in my opinion.

Art Rosch: My only pet peeves are triteness and dialog that fails to emerge from the character’s personality in an organic fashion.  That will sound both forced and boring.

 

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This quote from “It’s All About the Words” by P.J. Braley http://pjbraley.com/writers-words/writers-writing/march-writers/

 

Action carries the story forward, keeping things moving, so to speak. Every scene is a combination of action and dialog, with maybe a little bit of exposition where necessary to offer setting and set the tone. It’s a tightrope we must walk, always struggling to find our balance between elements. Unneeded dialog can bore readers, while too much non-stop action too fast can wear readers out. Let’s see how our panel members handle action.

What is your secret to finding the right balance between action and dialog?

DeAnna Knippling: There isn’t one.  What, you’re going to regulate it as 50/50?  What if no one’s talking?!?  The “right balance between action and dialogue” is really a question of beat and scene structure, and there are 1001 ways to handle it.  Beyond the scope of this answer

“Blood in the Water”: A Crazy Crime Novel

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Author Tim Baker has done it again and Flagler Beach is the setting for another crazy crime caper, Blood in the Water. Ike helps a friend with a seach for sunken treasure that leads to a thirty year old cold case, which strangely enough is tied to a murder investigation his girlfriend, Val, has undertaken. Can they bring done the killer and solve the cold case before he learns they are on his trail and puts a stop to their plans? No spoilers here. You’ll have to read the book to find out.

As usual, Tim Baker has turned out a fun and extremely entertaining read. Readers will root for the good guys and boo whenever the villian appears. Hidden identities, missing persons, sunken treasure and lots of danger. This book has it all.

I give Blood in the Water five quills.

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Ask the Authors: Character Development

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Let’s talk about developing characters. What makes them tick? What motivates them? Are they based on real people or achetypes or created from the gray matter in the writer’s head? What are they afraid of? And how do we as authors know these things? And how do we give our characters depth? Readers need to walk away from the story feeling as if the characters are whole, complex human beings, complete with personality and history. Let’s Ask the Authors about their methods for creating character, and feel free to share what works for you in the comments if you’re so inclined.

There are many methods we can use to create rich, in-depth characters, with backgrounds and histories, and belief systems ingrained from childhood. Some authors people watch and build from their observations. Others use the Proust Questionaire or similar tools to develop charaters and give them depth. A popular practice these days for bloggers to promote new releases is to interview the protagonist of the book instead of the author. I’ve never employed this practice here on Writing to be Read, but I have entertained the idea thinking it might be fun. 

What methods do you use to develop your characters?

DeAnna Knippling: I copy real people, or amalgamate real people, into a single character.  I’m trying to strip them down to one identifying “verb.”  My favorite example of a character who’s been simplified into delightfulness is Ash Williams from the Evil Dead franchise…his “verb” is “DO THE WORST POSSIBLE THING, BABY.”  Another good one is Heath Ledger’s Joker, whose “verb” might be something like, “do the thing that makes the situation not funny anymore.”  Like I said, still working on that.

Jordan Elizabeth: I’m not sure how to answer this one.  I write the first draft as the characters guide me.  Usually advanced character development happens in the editing phase.

Chris DiBella: I try to make my good guys likeable and I try to make my bad guys complete jerks. All my books have the same cast of main characters (good guys), so I want the reader to enjoy them enough to want to keep coming back for the next thirty novels I put out. I try to make them bad-asses, but also believable with how I project their characters. I also try to inject a lot of humor in my dialogue so that they appear like normal everyday folks. On the flip side, I want people to hate my antagonist so much that they actually scream out in cheer when Mercer kills them. I even get excited when I think about how I want to write their demise. It’s all just a fun part of the process.

Chris Barili: I start with a basic character triangle. What the character wants, what she needs, and her fears/faults. For shorter works, that’s all I do. For novellas or novels I’ll do a biography sheet on each major character.  That bio is four pages long when blank, and can be as long as 15 filled out. It has everything from their looks (which I often fashion after famous people) to their inner workings.

Tim Baker: My one and only method of character development is the story itself. At the beginning of the story each character (with the exception of recurring characters like Ike and Brewski) are strangers to me. I might know their basic personality but I learn about them as I write because I use their interactions with other characters, as well as their role in the story to bring out their individual personalities.

Cynthia Vespia: No matter the genre I build my characters with realistic qualities so they are more relatable to the readers.

Art Rosch: If a writer is not a psychologist (I mean one who studies human nature and matters of heart and mind, not a certified this-or-that) I’m likely to put down the book or story by said writer.  Psychology is fundamental to writing.  Where to start?  With yourself, of course.  You, in your mind/body system, are a living laboratory of human nature.  Extend your field of observation to your family, your friends, and then keep going.  We are more the same than we are different.  I’ve been helped immensely by reading psychology books.  I’m a Jungian and a great fan of James Hillman.  Jung gives us the archetypes.  We write in archetypes and flesh out our characters with individual quirks and traits.

It’s not only the protagonists that needs to be developed into a deep, rich character, but also our supporting characters. Like real people, experiences affect how the character relates to the world around them and to the other characters in the story. Characters have to have relationships and the backgrounds and histories of the minor characters plays into how these relationships function within the story. The nature of a relationship may also affect the protagonist’s actions and it need to be clear to readers why this releationship has such an effect.

Although characters with minor roles my not need to be developed as deeply as your main players, and their roles may be so minute that there’s not room to share their background with readers, we as the authors should at least have a vague idea of where each character is coming from. Backgrounds should be more detailed for the more major characters, with more of where they each are coming from being exposed to viewers.

Different methods of doing this may be dependent on the point of view(s) with which the author choses to tell the story. A Point of View (POV) offers the reader a window into a story which allows them to see a certain angle or perspective. When using a single POV, one of the drawbacks is that it is limiting, in that the reader will only know what the protagonist knows or experiences, and nothing more, which can make it difficult if you need to let readers know what the antagonist is up to. Multiple POVs, on the other hand, remedy that particular problem, but you risk getting the reader confused if you don’t make it clear who’s head we are in at all times. Let’s see if one is more popular than the other among our author panel members.

Do you prefer single or multiple POVs?

DeAnna Knippling: Depends on the story.  I do both.


Jordan Elizabeth: I love multiple POVs.  I get excited being able to explore different minds.


Carol Riggs: I much prefer single points of view. Limited ones, where the reader is locked into one character’s head throughout the novel, and no info is gained except from what that character learns. I love this setup because it’s exactly like our experiences in life—we only know our POV. It adds to a sense of mystery, with that not-knowing. I’ve thought about writing a multiple POV novel a couple of times, but I’ve actually never written one!

Chris Barili: Depends what I’m writing. Short stories are always single POV. Well, almost. I did sell one framed short story that had two POVs, and wrote another like that. Longer works, it depends. The stories in the Hell’s Butcher Series are one POV, either Frank’s for the larger books or someone else’s for t he shorter works. Smothered, my PNR novel (as B.T. Clearwater) has three points of view, one of which is a ghost. And the fantasy novel I sent to an editor this weekend has four POVs. It’s whatever works to advance the plot and make the story complete.

Tim Baker: I prefer multiple POVs. In my books I tend to write different parts of the story from the POV of one character or another. When I do – the reader only knows what that character knows. To me it’s more entertaining to learn the story at the same time the characters learn it.

Cynthia Vespia: As I’m developing a few new series I have found that multiple POV is alot more fun to write in, and it helps create a fuller world.


I think that, as our creations, our writings are a part of us. After all, everything we write has a little bit of ourselves in it. Whether we base your characters on real life people that we know, or invent them in our minds from the depths of our imaginations, they are bound to have traits in common with their creator. Let’s see what our author panel thinks.


Have you created any of your characters based on people who you know in real life?


DeAnna Knippling: All the time

Our New World: An enigma filled with paradox

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Our New World, by Desiree King is the story of a diverse world united at last. Human, Vampire, Magi, Shapeshifters and Fae are all able to dwell in harmony at last, and Sidney and Darien the Dark Prince are both anticipating comeing into their own. But the laws of this new world require they must be wed to assume their rightful places, and they forbid them to marry one another. This is a problem because these two childhood sweethearts are all grown up and hopelessly in love. All the odds are against their ever being together, but Darien has a plan and Sidney is determined, and love conquers all.

The title causes a problem in logic because the characters are calling this “our new world”, but Sidney and Darien share a birthdate, and are both just coming of age, and it seems this new world structure has been in place for much longer than their brief lifespans to date. For me, it seems as if the characters would not be looking at this as their new world, but as the only world they have ever known.

Also my suspension of disbelief could have used more sensory details, to make me smell, hear and feel this world that the author has plunged me into.  In spite of the fact that the characters felt stereotyped and lacked depth, I liked them and found myself anticipating when I would be able to learn what happened next.

Also, I didn’t realize until late in the story who the antagonist was. We don’t see how really bad he is until well into the story, so appears as more of an obstacle to be overcome, rather than an adversary, right up until the scene where Henry punishes Sidney because his previous punishments have had no effect and it ticks him off. Only then, are we allowed a glimpse of his cold cruelty, and I have to say, the realization was a shock.

My biggest problem with this story was the fact that although the protagonist is reputed to be a deadly combat fighter and carries the blood lines of not only magi, but a powerful fire fae, it seems someone else is always coming to her rescue, either Darien the Dark Prince, or her bff and P.A., or her Fae grandfather, Eldon. I had difficulty buying into the idea that this spoiled little rich girl with status, was ready to step up and take a council seat or run her city, when she continuously put her own selfish desires ahead of what was best for her city or their new world. Oh, they talked about the possible consequences, but then she presses forward and does as she pleases without a second thought.

Despite this story’s many problems, I found the storyline to be one which held my interest and I found myself wanting to know what happens next. And after all, that’s what is important, isn’t it? I give Our New World three quills.

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Ask the Authors: A Look at the Writing Process

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When you think of a writer, what do you picture in your mind? Writers are portrayed as lazy sots who lounge around in their pajamas, clacking away on their laptops while sipping martinis by the pool, or as traveling all over creation, jotting down every impression. Emily Dickenson was a recluse, Virginia Wolfe was a depressed neurotic, and Stephen King, well, anyone would have to be at least a little nuts to come up with some of the ideas that guy does.

The truth is, very few writers live “the writer’s life”, whatever that is in your mind. Most of us are a little bit weird, maybe even eccentric, because we’re human beings, not because we’re writers, and every writer’s process is different from the next guy’s or gal’s. Some writers wouldn’t dream of beginning to write without a solid outline, while others just fly by the seat of their pants, (hence pansters), listening to their characters in their heads , and see what happens. Some binge write, while others follow a set writing schedule, getting a little done each day, or adhere to a specific word count. Some listen to music, others need quiet to write, some can write in a busy coffee shop with activity all around.

Let’s ask the authors on our panel what their writing processes look like. We may find some answers that we look at and go, “Wow! Wierd.” But you may also find some answers in which you can see traces of our own writing processes in, answers that make us say, “Wow! Somebody else does that, too!” Feel free to weigh in in the comments and share with us what your writing process is like, as well. Now, let’s take a close look at what works for our panel members and what doesn’t work, and why. Some of their answers may surprise you.

What is the biggest challenge of being a writer?

Carol Riggs: I would say getting used to sharing one’s work and allowing yourself to be put in a vulnerable position. It is risky to pour yourself onto a page and let others read what you’ve written. Growing a tough enough skin to accept feedback or criticism (constructive or otherwise) is a hard thing to do, but necessary.

Chris Barili: Actually writing. Writing is hard work, and most of us work day jobs to boot. So we get home and don’t want to sit down and do more hard work. It’s easy to be distracted by TV, video games, Facebook, and so on. Hell, I should be editing a novel right now, but I let myself do this because it’s easier and I’m tired.

DeAnna Knippling: The biggest challenge and the biggest reward of being a writer is that there’s always more to learn.  In other words, just when you think you know what you’re doing, something comes up to bite you on the ass, but at least you’re never bored.

Jordan Elizabeth: Marketing.  You love your book, but now you have to get it out there, and there are millions of books you have to compete against.  Some of the best ways to market are to purchase ads, but they cost money.  Most authors don’t see a return on their investment unless they are self-published.

Chris DiBella: For me, the biggest challenge is trying to write while everything else is going on. I’m currently pursuing another Bachelors degree (graduating this May!), and then there’s work, family life, and other activities that take up a lot of time. So, until I can get paid to write “full time”, I’ll just have to keep being a multitasking badass so that I can keep pumping out books!

Art Rosch: If you’re a computer user, a software consumer, then you are pretty much like me.  Every month my bank account bleeds little charges from software and entertainment vendors. Nine bucks here, ten bucks there. A few years ago I purchased my software on a one time basis. Then I owned it..  Not any more.  Now I don’t own the application, I rent it.  I pay $69.95 every year for Zone Alarm Anti-Virus.  It adds up.  I haven’t progressed into the newest version of Photoshop.  It costs $9.99 a month.  If you are addicted to streaming TV shows and you want to keep up with the latest series, you need to subscribe to one of twenty or thirty networks.  They charge for the monthly subscription, okay?  Ten bucks.  And they charge you for episodes of your favorite series.  We want to watch the TV version of Fargo.  But at $1.99 per episode?  Plus the monthly membership to Vudu or Fandango? No way.

Thank god for Netflix.  At one charge of $9.99 a month, I can watch everything Netflix offers. No per-episode charges.  Netflix continues to develop and acquire new material and some of it is very good.  Unfortunately, Netflix doesn’t carry Fargo.  Or The Man In the High Castle.  Amazon Prime carries an impressive array of film and television offerings but Prime is $10.99 a month.  Uh uh…no.  Not gonna do it. If I can’t control my addiction to binge watching TV series I’ll be hemorrhaging little charges every month that will quickly bleed my bank account into a fatal overdraft.

Having said that, I want to express my appreciation to Netflix for bringing the series “Thirteen Reasons Why” to our TV screen.  My maxim about story telling is simple: does this story need to be told?  If the answer is YES, then tell the story.

Janet Garber: Self Confidence. Feeling that you are not good enough, that you’ll be wasting your time, that you don’t have what it takes. So you avoid committing yourself to paper.  It’s a scary proposition. Most writers are masters of procrastination. I know I’d rather wash a kitchen floor or shred old bank statements than sit down and do the hard work.

Cynthia Vespia: Marketing. How to get your books to stand out in a sea of other writers all vying for the same thing. I’m not going to sugar coat it, this business is very hard. And even with the digital age making some things easier, it has made others that much harder. For instance, the market is SWAMPED with “writers” now. So as an author you have to do everything you can think of to stand out from the crowd. This goes for traditional as well as indie authors.

While attending the 2016 Write the Rockies Conference, I had the pleasure of catching the Genre Fiction Keynote, given by Robin Wayne Bailey. Mr. Bailey said something very interesting which has always stuck out in my mind. One of the most often heard pieces of advice that writers hear is “Write everyday.” In fact, one of my professors, Russell Davis’ favorite sayings is, “Ass in chair, write the damn book.” But what Mr. Bailey said was that this was bad advice, because we all have limited experiences, and we need to get out there and live life, so that we have something to write about.

I found this interesting because my writing proccess takes bits and pieces from my own life and incorporates them into my work, and all of this is part of what I call my prewriting stage. If I’m really honest, at least half of my writing process takes place in my head. I work out plot problems while I’m driving, or in the shower, or waiting to fall asleep at night. Characters have emerged from the woods during a hike, and whole chapters have been outlined while I cleaned house. So not only do we need to do things in order to create, at least for me, it’s required for the work, before my fingers ever hit the keys.

Is there anything unique or unusual about your writing process?

Carol Riggs: Not ultra unique or unusual. I never eat while at the computer, just a glass of water or tea. No music or other distractions after I check my morning email and social media. I open the document in Word and read over the last scene I wrote (the day prior), tidying it up a bit and getting myself into the flow of the story. Then I compose on the computer, aiming for 1-5 pages a day. If I need to stop and plot something out or research online, I do that. If I’m unsure of a word or phrase used, I highlight it in red to fix later so I’m not stalled too long in one place.

DeAnna Knippling: I don’t feel that it really involves a lot of brain cells most of the time.  Sometimes I have to stop and think about what the non-obvious-but-not-completely-wackdoodle next plot point should be, but mostly I just wind up the characters and let ’em go.  I don’t know that that’s unique, though.

Jordan Elizabeth: I have to be alone.  I can’t have any interruptions.  I don’t even listen to music.  Being alone is challenging when you have a broken bedroom door.

Chris DiBella: I don’t know if it could be categorized as unique, but I base all my books off real-life events. They are by no means historical fiction, but I usually stumble across a really cool history article and then I weave it into my own fictitious tale using my what-if radar. For example, I came up with the idea for my first novel, Lost voyage, after finding a book on tape in the Honolulu library. It was about a steamship that sank off the Carolina coast in 1857 with millions of dollars in gold. My what-if Spidey senses began tingling and I asked about a million what-ifs….What if there was another ship that took on the overabundance of gold from the first ship? What if the transfer of the gold was kept quiet and known only by the two captains to eliminate the threat of thievery from passengers on the second ship? What if, since the second boat was scheduled to arrive in port only a few days after the first boat, that it wouldn’t be an issue? But then, what if that second boat sank as well, but since no one knew about the transfer of the gold, no one would ever know about the cargo since there was no record of it? What if the second boat is found in the unlikeliest of places? What if there are two sides trying to get to it first? And so on… the book just keeps blossoming from there.

Art Rosch: I doubt it.  If you talk to writers you will encounter every possible variation on the process of writing.  There are improvisers and story-boarders, note hoarders and bizarre savants with eidetic memories among writers.  Why should I be unusual?  We’re all unusual.  If we’re not weird then we’re boring.

Janet Garber: Well, I tend to write in vignettes and then struggle to piece them all together and create good transitions between them.

Cynthia Vespia: I write my first draft by hand on a legal pad with a pen. It flows better for me that way. If I start on a computer it feels very final. So I save that for when I’m inputting the story from the pad. That becomes my second draft.

Is your writing process plot driven or character driven?

Carol Riggs: If I had to choose one, I’d say character, because who the character is determines how the plot will play out. But plot is very important. A story can have an awesome character, but if the plot wanders or is boring, things can fall flat.

Chris Barili: Characters drive the plot, which powers the story. So the answer is “yes.”

DeAnna Knippling: Character driven.  I struggle with plots and trying to make them more efficient.

Jordan Elizabeth:  It tends to be character driven.  I come up with a basic idea for my plot and then I start writing.  I see where the characters lead me.

Chris DiBella: I always want to have a fun plot with enough twists and turns to keep the reader interested in the outcome, but I also want to make my characters likeable. I inject a lot of humor into my books in the dialogue, and since my main character’s partner, Pat Vigil, is based off my best friend who passed away a few years back, I really get into writing his character and trying to keep his memory alive for others to enjoy. His character in the book is exactly how he was in real life – a goofy, quick-witted smart mouth who could be counted on at all costs – so it’s a lot of fun to get to remember my friend in that way.

Janet Garber: Definitely character driven. It’s what I’m drawn to when I read women’s fiction, too. I try to create interesting albeit neurotic, quirky, and funny characters.

Art Rosch: Many of us are familiar with the expression “Character is Destiny”.  In my writing, the whole point of having characters is to allow them to transform themselves. They change, evolve, grow, pit themselves against problems and survive.  So…in answer to the question, I suppose that my characters drive the plot.  It’s impossible to generalize in this way, because each of my books is completely different.  In my work-in-progress, The Shadow Storm Trilogy, I have built a world and that world is, in a sense, also a character.  The Shadow Storm’s world drives the plot: its politics, its geography, its people.

Stories often have the simplest architecture.  My hero gets trapped.  Then he escapes.  He gets trapped again, and the trap is more elaborate.  His escape requires greater concentration, more profound inner resources.  Thus the story builds itself the way an architect creates an edifice, or a composer writes a symphony. In much writing I can discern a concept of what I call “fulcrum moments”.  These are critical scenes in which heroes and villains collide and whatever happens, be it triumph or despair, is one of the defining moments of the story.  I don’t think one can separate character and plot. Our very lives are the stuff of fiction.  Do you believe the plot arc of your own life?  My experiences have been so strange, sometimes so grotesque that I can’t help but regard them as fiction.  That way, at least, I can preserve my sanity.

I am living fiction.  Sometimes this fiction really hurts. The ultimate survival tool is a sense of humor guided by a sense of serene detachment.  Easier said than done.

Cynthia Vespia: Both, but I do lean heavily on characters because I LOVE creating characters. I think every author has those characters they’ve written that stick with them long after the story is over. I have several of those and they are eager for me to revisit them.

What is the single most important element in a story?

Chris Barili: CONFLIT! Be mean to your characters. Make their lives difficult, dangerous, and yet rewarding. There’s no story without conflict.

DeAnna Knippling: The author’s perspective on life, the universe, and everything.  In the end, that perspective is why we read.

Jordan Elizabeth:  Love.  The character has to be in love.  It can be with a family member, a love interest, a hobby…the love has to be there to make the character real.

Chris DiBella: This varies from author to author and book to book. I write in the action/adventure genre, so it’s important for me that I have an element of suspense while keeping an action novel somewhat believable. Sure, my good guy can take on fifty bad guys by himself (that’s believable, right?), but I try to write those scenes in a way that doesn’t make the reader smack their head in disbelief. Everyone writes differently and everyone is hoping to achieve something different with their books. For me, the defining element is how I’m able to convey my thoughts and ideas into words that turn into a fun story to read and keep my readers coming back for the next thirty books.

Janet Garber: Whatever makes the reader care about the characters.

Cynthia Vespia: I don’t know if there is a single element, but one of the most important is pacing. Every genre has its own tempo that readers expect when they pick up a book. For me, if the book doesn’t have a genuine flow to it that moves the story along easily I get bored and put it down.

Art Rosch: Emotion.  If your readers don’t become emotionally involved they’ll stop reading. That’s why your own emotional life, especially the pain, is so important.  The great psychologist James Hillman writes repeatedly that your pathologies are your greatest teachers.  If you’re not crazy there must be something wrong with you.  Additionally, if you have no self esteem you probably don’t deserve any.

The single most important element in a story is Transformation.  That’s my opinion.  That means you have a responsibility to nurture your characters so that they learn lessons and are able to endure and survive through their tribulations.

Conflict, of course, is the entire basis of story.  Characters collide, struggle, compete and overcome obstacles.  Readers love to be born up into the battle between good and evil.  Readers love flawed characters because they are comforted with regard to their own flaws.  What’s more boring than a perfect hero?  From Ulysses onward we see flawed heroes struggling within themselves to become better human beings.

(Kaye: Hey Art, that’s three elements, but I’ll take them. They are all good answers.)

Atmosphere has a lot to do with creativity and writers are eccentric folk who can be quite ritualistic. Some more than others of course, but I guarentee that each one of us is different in the things we require in order to gear up and get creative, putting pen to page or fingers to keyboard. Let’s see what our author panel has to say about atmosphere and the writing process.

What is your favorite setting to write in?

Jordan Elizabeth: I write in my bedroom at my desk in front of the window.  The window makes me nervous, so I always have the curtain drawn.  I need my privacy.

Tim Baker: My favorite setting is in my office (at home) preferably with minimal distractions. that’s the ideal setting…however, if I don’t have that option I’ll write wherever I can. On a related note …one thing I will probably never do – unless there are no other options – is sit in a coffee shop to write. That’s one cliché I just can’t stand.

[image error]Margareth Stewart: It’s in my office living room (lol). I have adapted a big table as a desk because I’m all surrounded by papers and books, and it’s easier to find myself in piles (piles of books to read, books to quote, students’ assignments and so on. I usually have tea by the left side – sometimes water, too. I also added some vases and plants to bring nature in, and as I don’t have any curtains, it’s usually very light. The black armchair was also a great acquisition, and it’s soft enough to hold me in for long hours! My kids are always around, and though it may sound weird, nothing disturbs me when I start typing.

Cynthia Vespia: I like to write in bookstores or libraries. I get a really juiced up, inspired feeling when I’m among the books. Also, if they have coffee it is a huge plus!

Do you write with music or do you prefer quiet?

Carol Riggs: I may listen to music to get in an initial mood or emotional state, but when I write, I prefer quiet. I shut out every noise and concentrate on the rhythm of the words, syllables, consonants, and sentences.

DeAnna Knippling: Music!  Usually this: https://tabletopaudio.com/

Jordan Elizabeth: It has to be quiet.  I get too distracted by music.  I start singing along or dancing.

Cynthia Vespia: I often write with music but it can’t have lyrics. So I only use TV/movie soundtracks. For instance, Game of Thrones has some lovely soundtracks that energize me when I’m writing. I’ve also put together some playlists for myself that have some of my favorite pieces on them.

Art Rosch: It’s funny.  I’ve been a musician for fifty plus years.  I hardly listen to music at all anymore.  I listen to my tinnitus.  It sounds like a river, sometimes like a train, or wind in the trees.  I wish I could record my tinnitus.  I wish I could record my deafness. When I need musical relief from being put on hold during a phone call and having to listen to Muzak crap, I’ll put on Coltrane’s song, “Lonnie’s Lament” or Leonard Cohen, “Darker.”

What is your favorite time of day to write? Why?

Chris Barili: I do my best writing of the day in the morning, but since I have to be at work by 6 a.m., I don’t get to do it much.

DeAnna Knippling: Before noon.  Your brain isn’t worn out by the 1001 things that are pinging for your attention.

Jordan Elizabeth:  I love writing in the morning.  I’m most awake then.  Unfortunately, I usually don’t get to write until nighttime after my son goes to bed.  That’s also when my husband wants to go to bed and my office is in a corner of the bedroom.  I like to write while I’m alone, and when he goes to bed, he likes to watch television.

Cynthia Vespia: First thing in the morning when it is still quiet outside.

Art Rosch: Favorite time of day?  It doesn’t matter. I don’t have kids around.  I have few responsibilities.  I suppose I write a burst in the morning after coffee.  Then I’ll write a burst in the early evening.  There are no hard and fast patterns to my writing.  I might write this year.  I didn’t write last year.  I expect to write a lot in 2018.  Probably in June I’ll hit my stride.

Titles are something that I often overlook until last, although some authors claim to have their title before they even start writing. Although with Delilah, I knew the title before I started writing. I’m currently working on the sequel, but I have no title as yet for it. I am  simply calling it Delilah Book 2 until I find a good one. But the right title can go a long way to creating a successful book, just as the right cover can affect sales. So how much thought should go into each title? I’m afraid there really is no right answer. The answers from our author panel are varied.

How do you decide the titles for your books? Where does the title come in the process for you?  

Jordan Elizabeth: Sometimes the title comes at the beginning, but usually I figure it out toward the middle of the manuscript.  As I’m writing away, the title will suddenly pop out at me.

Chris DiBella: I have the title of the book figured out before I even write the first word of it. That may sound odd, and there’s really no great way to explain it, but I have the next 25 books already titled. They’re all just based off ideas that I have for books, and I’ll navigate the plot around the title in one way or another.

Art Rosch: The titles of my books just come.  There’s usually no fuss about it. I will have the title before I begin writing the book.  I know the right title when I first think of it.  There’s one major exception.  For nearly fifteen years my autobiographical novel was titled The Vice Of Courage.  It seemed right for all that time. Something, however, niggled at my unconscious mental process, and that was the perception that readers may not understand my real meaning.  The word VICE can swing a couple of ways.  It’s really an unpleasant word.  It’s either a tool for squeezing things or it’s a bad habit.  Just before I was preparing to e-publish this most crucial part of my oeuvre, I had a change of heart.  I can’t explain how The Vice Of Courage became Confessions of An Honest Man.  It just did.

Janet Gaber: Usually titles just pop into my head without much effort on my part. I am though having problems deciding on a title for my next novel. It’s set in Paris and concerns a young couple, she’s American; he’s French as they adjust to 1970’s France.  I’d like Paris in the title if possible. So send me your ideas. Please!

Cynthia Vespia: More often than not they just come to me randomly. I’ll either have the title spring to mind before I even know what the book is about, or I’ll get the idea for the plot, start writing, and the title comes organically.

 

Another aspect  authors  differ greatly on is the amount of planning necessary to bring a book into existence. Some authors get an idea and just take off with it, waiting to see where the words lead, while others do in-depth planning, outlining and plotting to make their story come together before trying to make their story come together on the page. Some authors may even take a screenwriting approach using a whiteboard, and I know at least one author that lays out enough note cards to go at least once around the room.

Personally, I have tried both methods. With Delilah, I let my character tell me what would come next and then, of course a lot was changed during the editing process. However, with my Playground for the Gods series, which I made Book 1 my thesis project, I was required to have an outline and I was very glad I did, because my initial outline had so much backstory that my single book idea became a four book series that is still in progress.  But I think with world building for a series, you really must have some form of outline, as well as a Story Bible to keep track of all the little details.

A part of writing that most people don’t think about doesn’t take place on the page.  It takes place in our heads, before your fingers ever touch the keys to type out that first word. I call it prewriting, as I mentioned above, and it’s where most of my planning takes place. Others call it research, or plotting. Let’s see how our author panel weighs in on this aspect of the writing process.

Are you a plotter or a pantser (outline or frestyle)?

Carol Riggs: I’m basically a plotter with an outline, but a loose one. I like to map out the direction of my story, but leave plenty of room for those “happy accidents” that I never would’ve thought of at the beginning when initially plotting. Those serendipitous little happenings come about naturally, in an organic way, from the characters as they develop throughout the novel.

Chris Barili: Plotter. I use the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet, made up of colored sticky notes on a white board to plot things out. This allows me to change things as I go along, move notes around or drop them entirely. And sometimes I’ll only outline a portion of the story, allowing the rest to respond to changes that occur organically as the story moves on.

DeAnna Knippling: Pantser.  I’ve talked to plotters who have accused me of lying, especially with regards to mystery-type plots.

Jordan Elizabeth: I go freestyle.  If I plot too much, it kills the joy and I find myself struggling to come up with sentences.

Chris DiBella: I’m definitely a pantser, however, I do outline a lot so that I have some point of reference for where I want to go with the book. The problem with me outlining so far ahead, is that by the time I get to certain chapters, I’ve “pantsered” my way into a completely different direction, so the outline usually doesn’t matter anymore. I use a lot of “what if” scenarios as I’m writing, so I’m always veering off from my original storyline.

Art Rosch: I’m a little of both.  I have a grand scheme, a goal.  I know what I want my long fiction to achieve.  My thinking is fairly structured, though I have never used outlines.  I write scene by scene.  As long as I know what the next scene will be, I can write it.  Generally, I am several scenes ahead of my writing.  I’m in trouble if I run out of scenes.  I continually surprise myself, devising scenes that I had not anticipated.  Oh, I think…where did that come from? The mind is like one of those miniature circus cars.  When the doors fly open, twenty squabbling midget clowns fly out, tumbling and fighting.  My scene selection is like deciding which of my midgets (uh, excuse me…Little People) I will put in charge of the steering wheel.

Janet Garber: Definitely a pantser when it comes to short stories and poetry and essays and such. Novels require a little sense of where you’re going so I usually put together some sort of general outline.

Cynthia Vespia: A bit of both. There are elements that I always like to outline in depth such as the character traits, background, etc. I’ll also write a very rough outline of the main spots in the novel just to have a guide. That doesn’t mean I always stay strict to it, but it is there to refer to.

In a story we are often asked to create images for the reader that we may not have experienced ourselves. When have you had to do that?

Carol Riggs: I do this all the time! The genres I like to write in are speculative, whether fantasy or science fiction or something else just as imaginative. So while the feelings behind these experiences are universal, the specific image or situation is not. I’ve never discovered hidden aliens like in The Lying Planet or become turned into a genie with magical powers like in Bottled. I’ve never had my mind downloaded into someone else’s body to help them lose weight as in The Body Institute. I’ve never been sucked into a portal that takes me to a dimension built by my personal dreams and nightmares (Junction 2020). I’m using my imagination—which is totally fun—but the basic emotions are something we all can relate to.

DeAnna Knippling: Every time I look up a setting on Google maps and squint at the polygon trees, then drop the little man on the blue stripe in order to zoom in.  Reality is way more random than we give it credit for.

Jordan Elizabeth: Most of my books require that because I write fantasy.  I like to imagine there is magic all around us, so that helps me in describing what the magic is like. 

Art Rosch: It’s called RESEARCH.  I do it all the time.  One of my most important literary passages involves war in Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation in 1982.  I’ve never been to Afghanistan.  I’ve never been in combat.  This piece is the climactic moment of character development for my protagonist, Aaron Kantro.  It is the plot fulcrum in “Confessions Of An Honest Man.”  This is supposed to be an autobiographical novel.  I decided that the REAL story of Aaron’s recovery ( that is, MY recovery) from drug addiction would not make gripping fiction.  Are you kidding?  Ten years of agonizing therapy?  It might contain a ton of drama but as fiction it would be tedious.  This passage provided Aaron with a profound motivation.  Quoting from the manuscript, “The irrelevance of his personal pain was a profound blessing.”  He sees the scale of suffering all around him and realizes that being a self-indulgent dope fiend is not enough, is unworthy of his capabilities.

My editor (at the time), a ruthless tyrant from Scott Meredith Agency, called it “authentic”.  This is not an editor who praises.  I was stunned when he consecrated this excerpt with such approval.

I read everything I could get my hands on about Afghanistan: its history, people, the Soviet invasion, the rise of the Taliban. I used the internet, I referred to Wikipedia.  There’s never been a greater tool for research than the internet.  Blessings be upon the INTERNET, the writer’s best friend (and sometimes worst enemy, given the distraction quotient with which we are always faced).

Cynthia Vespia: That’s what most of my writing is. I write alot of fantasy so the basis of my stories, though sometimes grounded in reality, will have a fantastical element to it that I couldn’t possibly have experienced. But that is the fun of writing. You get to create worlds and characters that bring you and your reader out of reality if only for a little while.

One thing I’ve learned on my writing journey is that authors are a tight knit bunch. They are quick to come together in crisis, and quite supportive of one another in most cases. That’s the reasoning behind the creation of my author’s blog. While I needed a place to promote my writing, I also wanted to be of assistance to my fellow authors with profiles and book reviews, hence Writing to be Read was born. It’s thinking along those lines which also prompted this next question.

What advice do you have for upcoming authors?

Carol Riggs: Never give up! If writing is something you truly enjoy, persevere. Rejection is part of the game—accept it despite the sting. Not everyone will like your work, so write for the readers who do “get” you and your stories. I spent 11 years writing twelve novels, and the thirteenth went on to become my debut novel, The Body Institute. A writer taking a longer time to break into publishing is the rule rather than the exception. Meanwhile, keep writing, and write for the sheer joy of putting your story down on the page.

DeAnna Knippling: Try your hardest.  Eventually you’ll hit a wall.  At that point, give up on “trying,” but keep writing.  “I don’t give a damn what my readers think!  This is for me!”

Jordan Elizabeth: Don’t give up.  It can be discouraging when you keep getting rejection letters. Sometimes other authors can get feisty or petty.  Write because you love writing.  Don’t write just to sell a story.

Chris DiBella: Use a damn editor. Everyone’s an author nowadays, but not everyone has the ability to tell a story. I’m not trying to sound like a jerk, but there’s a lot of garbage out there getting published every day. Some of it is contributed to bad grammar and sentence structure, but some people just don’t know how to plot out a book. A good editor can help with both of these issues. But, then again, there may be people who think my books are garbage, so who am I to say?….but my mom thinks I should already be bigger than James Patterson, so at least I have that going for me!

Also, my best advice is to fake it until you make it…plain and simple. When someone asks you what you do, tell them you’re a writer. I’m a project manager by day, but when I get asked what I do, my first response is always, “I’m an author.” I always put that out there first because it’s a great conversation starter that 99.9% of people will ask you follow-up questions to. And that is how you eventually get to the point of selling a million copies and telling people that all you do is write books.

Cynthia Vespia: Make sure you enjoy it. Writing is a difficult journey, and it is often very solitary by nature. But you have that story inside you for a reason and only YOU can tell it. Don’t put so much pressure on publishing straight away, enjoy the process first.

Art Rosch: Keep a day job.  You’ll hear this advice a lot.  Normally I don’t give advice.  If you expect to make a living as a writer you should prepare yourself by studying journalism or creative writing in college.  That way you can become a teacher and bore all your arrogant and rebellious students who think they know so much more than you do.

As anticipated, the writing process is different for each of us. And, as predicted, our author panel presents an interesting variety of individuality. It may turn out to be an interesting ride. I hope you will all join us next Monday when we will Ask the Authors about character development. Don’t miss it.

If you have a question you’ve always wanted answered, but it’s not covered in the post on that topic, or if our panel’s answers have stirred new questions within you, pose your query in the comments. Make note if it is directed toward a specific author. Questions will be directed to the general panel unless otherwise specified. Then, in the final post for the series, I will present your questions and the responses I received from panel members.

 

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Leaving Eva/Losing Eva: A story of loss and seperation

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Leaving Eva and its sequel Losing Eva, by Jennifer Sivec, are a sad and tragic tale that evokes strong emotional response in the telling. This touching story may be true to life, covering the lives of not one, but several dysfunctional generations of women and the men in their lives, over the course of time. It is a tale where one tragic action by one self-centered girl dominoes into many heart-wrenching losses in a saga where nobody wins. While each book easily stands alone, together they tell a story of loss and tragedy that will bring all but those with hearts of stone to their knees. There is so much heartbreak within these two stories that they left me longing for a sequel, one titled Loving Eva, where at least one woman of the Harper family might finally find happiness.

One spoiled rich girl, Ellie, and a series of poor choices, leads to a life of abuse and neglect for her daughter, Eva, whom she abandons at a very young age. Losing Eva is the story of that young girl’s life, spent searching for love that seems to be just beyond her grasp. Losing Eva is the story of how once found, she constantly struggles to keep that love, and how it always seems to slip through her fingers. In addition, these books tell the story of all the others who are effected, both directly and indirectly, by Ellie’s initial decisions and the lessons, both learned and missed, from them.

This is a story you won’t want to put down. Sivec’s characters are well developed and she  makes you care about them. You will  hope for positive life experiences for them and root for them when they succeed, especially for the main character, Brynn. The plot is full of surprises and rivets you to your seat to find out what will happen next.

My only problem is the head hopping. In places it gets to be so bad that I had to stop and go back to figure out who’s POV I was in. At times the viewpoint changed mid-paragraph, which really made me have to stop and reread. Regardless of the recurring confusions that this caused, and the fact that it is one of my biggest pet peeves, this story was so powerfully told that it brought me to tears on more than one occasion. The Harper generational saga is woven like an intricate narative tapestry through the lifetime of one hauntingly tragic Harper woman.

Grab a box of tissue when you settle in to read Leaving Eva and Losing Eva. I give this story set four quills.

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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs at no charge. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.

“Ask the Authors” is Coming to “Writing to be Read”

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I’m excited to tell you about a new series of posts coming to Writing to be Read. Starting next Monday, “Ask the Authors” will pose the questions you want to ask to our panel of authors, and I’ll bring you their answers. The series will cover all aspects of writing, with topics including the writing process and elements of craft, and issues surrounding publishing, and building a platform, marketing and promotion, with members from our panel weighing in on each subject. If you have follow-up questions for the panel or for the individual authors, you can leave them in the comments. I will get them answered and post them in the concluding post, so be sure to catch the whole series.

Our panel consists of eleven members, which I’d like to introduce to you today. All of them, I have worked with here on Writing to be Read, either reviewing their books or interviewing them, or both. Many have participated in either my 2016 Publishing series: “Pros and Cons of Traditionional vs. Independent  vs. Self-Publishing” or my 2017 Book Marketing series: “Book Marketing: What Works?”. They are all outstanding authors and together, they cover a wide variety of genres and publishing routes. Feel free to pose any questions for them of for the panel in general in the comments of any of the posts and I will try to get them answered for you. I hope all my readers will give each of them a warm welcome.

[image error]Tim Baker is a Florida author of ten novels, most of which I’ve read more than once. His work is well crafted and entertaining, with memorable characters you can’t help but care about. (See my reviews of Tim’s books: Living the Dream, No Good Deed, Water Works, Backseat to Justice, Unfinished Business, Pump It Up, Eyewitness Blues, Full Circle, 24 Minutes) He started out his writing career with a publisher, but has now moved into the independent publishing arena.

Tim has played almost every sport imaginable throughout his life and currently enjoys S.C.U.B.A. diving, riding his motorcycle, reading and watching movies, (not necessarily in that order). In fact when writing a novel, he approaches it like he’s creating and watching a movie in his head. When asked who he’d like to play the lead character if one of his books were turned into a movie:

“That’s an easy one…in almost all of my books the hero is a guy named Ike. He is a 6’6” ex-Navy SEAL with a tendency to bend (and sometimes break) the rules. He was modelled after the character of Wade Garret, played by Sam Elliot, in Road House – but Sam is getting a bit old to play Ike so the next best thing is an actor named Anson Mount (from the series Hell on Wheels).”

Something his readers might not gues about him: “After reading my books I think most people would be surprised to learn that I am very non-violent. I don’t believe that violence ever solves anything. I also don’t own a gun (but I don’t care if you do), nor do I know much about them. Most of the technical jargon I use about guns in my books I learn from people who know. And I would go out of my way to avoid hostility.”

When asked to describe himself in three words: “Impossible to describe (that’s 3 words!!)”.

Living the Dream was one of the first reviews I did on Writing to be Read back in 2010. I’ve interviewed him for both my 2016 Publishing series and my 2017 Book Marketing series, as well as an author profile back in 2012, and I am pleased to welcome Tim to our Ask the Authors” panel.

You can learn more about Tim and his books at his website: www.blindoggbooks.com.

 

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Jordan Elizabeth is a New York small press author of Young Adult fiction. (See my reviews of Jordan’s books: Escape From Witchwood Hollow, Cogling, Victorian, The Goat Children, Path to Old Talbot, Kistishi Island, Treasure Darkly, Wicked Treasure, Runners & Riders)

One of her secrets for juggling her writing career and family is to set aside one hour a night just for writing. If she’s fortunate enough to set aside two hours, she uses the second hour for marketing. When asked: “What is one thing readers would never guess about you?” She replied: “I am terrified of costumed characters.  Think head-to-toe Mickey Mouse.  If I see one, I freak out.” 

I have reviewed Jordan’s work, both novels and short fiction since 2016, and I had the pleasure of interviewing her for both my 2016 Publishing series and for my 2017 Book Marketing series, and we started off the new year with another interview to talk about her latest book, Secrets of Bennett Hall. In fact, when asked to relate about the most fun interview she’d ever done, she replied, “Anything by you.  You always ask unusual questions that really get me thinking.” So thank you for that, Jordan. It pleases me to no end to have you join our “Ask the Authors” panel.

You can learn more about Jordan and her books at JordanElizabethBooks.com.

 

[image error]Margareth Stewart is the pen name for Mônica Mastrantonio, debut author of Open/ Pierre’s Journey After War published by web-e-books.com. She has also compiled and published three international Anthologies featuring global authors: Whitmanthology, Womenthology, The Pain that Unites us All.

She holds a PhD in Social Psychology, and she has been teaching and tutoring students over 22 years. This zen-mother of 3, loves life and her tattoos. She spends her time between Sao Paolo, Miami and writing residencies.

When asked about her favorite form of exercise: “Jogging – that´s kind of an obligation for me. As writers, we tend to sit for long hours, so every single day, I do try to keep that up and go out for a short run of 4 to 5 kilometers. If I have more time, I go round a park nearby and that makes 6 kilometers. I do recommend it – it keeps our mind sharp and our ideas bright.

I only recently met Margareth through my interview with her, but I am happy to have Margareth as a panel member.

You can learn more about Margareth and her book on her Facebook page.

 

 

[image error]Chris DiBella is currently an independent California author. (See my reviews of Chris’ books: The 5820 Diaries, Whispering Death, Blood Dawn) I say this because Chris has been all over. Originally from New England, he began writing his first novel while living in Hawaii. I reviewed his debut novel, Lost Voyage, back when he was a Colorado author and I was the Southern Colorado Literature Examiner, as well.

I met Chris through another author on this panel, Tim Baker, and it is apparently Tim who gave Chris the best piece of advice he’s ever received:

“I wrote a blog piece about how it’s okay to sometimes alienate your readers…to a point. One of the comments on it was from my friend Tim, who said this:

“If Stephen King or JK Rowling want to piss people off, they can afford it. You and me? We should be a little more careful. Just sayin’.”

And that was the roundabout way of giving me the best piece of advice I could’ve ever received. I immediately got on my laptop, opened up a blank Word document, and typed in big bold letters “BE BIGGER THAN STEPHEN KING & J.K. ROWLING”.

Chris’ words to you readers: “I am however, an open book…..every pun intended….so if there’s anything you would like to know about me or about what makes me tick, please feel free to reach out and ask away. I love interacting with fans and I welcome any questions you may have.”

Soon you can learn more about Chris and his books at his website, which is under construction ans linked to his blog site: www.chrisdibella.com. For now, it might be easier to contact him through his Facebook page.

 

[image error]Janet Garber is the author of both fiction and non-fiction who lives in the U.K. and bases her writing on her experiences as an H.R. manager in New York.

Janet says that if Dream Job, Wacky Adventures of an HR Manager were made into a film, anyone playing her protagonist, Melie Kohl, would have to be believable as a New Yorker, funny and self deprecating, wildly imaginative, more than a little neurotic.  She suggest Mary Elizabeth Winstead, star of that great political satire, BrainDead.

When asked what she would do in a life without writing, she says: “I would do what I always do when I’m avoiding my work: knitting, hiking, going to movies, cooking, getting together with friends, travelling, teaching. But . . .I prefer a future  with maximum creativity and that means writing.”

I reviewed Janet’s debut novel,  Dream Job, Wacky Adventures of an HR Manager,  and thought it was one of the quirkiest books I’ve ever read, but it was very entertaining. I hope you will all give her a warm welcome.

If you’d like to learn more about Janet or her books, visit her at:

Her website: http://www.janetgarber.com

On Lulu: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/Melie5

Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/author/melie5

 

[image error]Art Rosch is an independent novelist and memoirist from sunny California. (See my reviews of The Road Has Eyes and Confessions of an Honest Man. Also see my interview with Art for my 2016 Publishing series here.)

Art says the best piece of advice he was ever given was to ask for help when you need it.  If you find yourself bottoming out, don’t hesitate to ask for help.  You can’t get out of trouble by yourself. When asked to describe himself in three words: Becoming more alive.

I’ve known Art since 2008, when I administered my own writing site, Writer’s World, and Art was a member. Later, he had his life partner, Fox, who is a pet pyschic, do a reading for me after my son died and we inherited his dog. I am so pleased to welcome him to the “Ask the Authors” panel.

You can learn more about Art and his books at Arthur Rosch Books or on his blog Write Out Of My Head.

 

[image error]Carol Riggs is a Young Adult fantasy and science fiction author, and dragon collector from Oregon.  You will usually find her in her writing cave, surrounded by her dragon collection and the characters in her head.

The most fun part of writing for Carol is “the freedom of drafting a first draft, and being imaginative with my storyline.” The least fun part: “The least fun is marketing, all that necessary left-brained business side of things.”

Carol’s favorite genres to read (and write!) are speculative, which includes fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, magical realism, contemporary fantasy, or anything else with a twist of weird or the imaginative.

When asked what she would do in a future where the was no writing: I would cry. Seriously (after I finished crying), I would return to my artwork, because I have a degree in Studio Arts and that is something I love to do, but haven’t had as much time to do it because I’m so busy writing. In general, I enjoy drawing people more than landscapes. I also like to create miniature fabric art.

I have reviewed Carol’s books on two occasions, and I welcome her as a valuable addition to our “Ask the Authors” panel. (See my reviews of Carol’s books: Bottled and The Lying Planet.)

You can learn more about Carol or her books at her website: http://www.carolriggs.com/

 

[image error]DeAnna Knippling is another independent Colorado author and one of the a great example of what being a writer is all about. She writes full time as a writer for hire in addition to writing fiction in both short and long forms under her own name. (See my reviews of DeAnna’s books: Clockwork Alice; Something Borrowed, Something Blue; How Smoke Got Out of the Chimneys; ) Her stories are always fun and entertaining.

The most unusual or unique thing she’s done in her writing career to date: “I’ve written murder mystery party games for Freeform Games in the UK.  SO VERY COOL.  So very intense getting them edited…”

When asked about what she would do in a future without writing, she replied: “Be in a coma.” and in one where writing made her rich and famous: “I would buy a house in the mountains and support my husband in the sloth and luxury that he deserves.  I have other plans, too, but that’s at the top of the list.”

When asked to describe herself in three words: “I’m right heeeeeeere!”

I had the pleasure of interviewing her twice in 2017. The first time, a profiling interview and then for my 2017 Book Marketing series, and I am thrilled to welcome her to our “Ask the Authors” panel.

You can learn more about Deanna and her books by visiting the following sites:

Goodreads

www.WonderlandPress.com

www.facebook.com/deanna.knippling

 

[image error]Cynthia Vespia an award nominated speculative fiction author, cover designer and promotional content developer. She also teaches internet advertising classes and marshal arts workshops. Her speculative fiction encompasses fantasy, the paranormal, and magic realism.

When asked if one of her books was made into a film, who she would you like to play the lead: One of my books is currently in the beginning stages of becoming a film. It is based on my novel The Crescent and it is a female gladiator tale called Gladiatrix. If I could have anyone in the lead role I would choose Gal Gadot. She is not only hot in features, but she is a hot name right now coming off of Wonder Woman and Justice League. The way she presents herself in the beginning of Wonder Woman on the island of Themyscera is perfect for my gladiator tale, and she can fight too!

Cynthia was another of Writing to be Read‘s first reveiws and, always willing to jump in where needed, she participated in a profiling interview, my 2017 Book Marketing series. (See my reviews of Cynthia’s books: the Demon Hunter Saga, including The Hero’s Call; Life, Death and Back; Lucky Sevens)

You can learn more about Cynthia and her books at her website: www.cynthiavespia.com/ 

 

[image error]Chris Barili is a speculative fiction and romance author who was also my cohort in the M.F.A. in Creative Writing program at Western. (See my reviews of Chris’ books: the Hell’s Butcher series and his romance, Smothered (as B.T. Clearwater).)

Besides writing, Chris lifts weights, mountain bikes, practices martial arts and battles Parkinson’s disease. Writing just may be his salvation. When asked about a future where writing left him rich and famous, Chris said he would write more. Regarding a future without writing: “Shrivel up and die. Writing is part of me. Without it, a part of me dies. A crucial part of me. I cannot  live without it. I can live without an arm or a leg. I can get by with this Parkinson’s thing. But without writing, I am sunk.”

The best piece of advice he was ever given: “Try genres outside of fantasy.” In addition to my reviews of Chris’s books and short fiction, he was also interviewed for my 2017 Book Marketing series, and I’m happy to have him as a member of our “Ask the Authors” panel.

You can learn more about Chris and his books at his Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Chris-Barili/e/B00NA04S8W/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_4

As you can see, we’ve got a terrific panel of multi-talented authors, both experienced and rising, representing a diversity of genres, covering a wide range of knowledge. The way this series works is I will present a series of posts that will offer answers the panel gives  in reponse to my questions.

If you have a question you’ve always wanted answered, but it’s not covered in the post on that topic, pose your query in the comments. Make note if it is directed toward a specific author. Questions will be directed to the general panel unless otherwise specified. Then, in the final post for the series, I will present your questions and the responses I recieved from panel members. I hope you’ll all participate and leave your questions in the comments. I think if we can get enough particiaption it might be really fun.

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