V.K. Tritschler's Blog, page 3

Pretending to tour the world

It's impossible to imagine that a year ago that I would have to travel virtually this year because tourism would not exist. In fairness, we have been largely unaffected in my family so far which is something of a miracle given the craziness that was 2020. But whilst my plans had to change, but my ideas remained the same. I felt the need to see the world again. So I had to create new ways of doing it. Virtual museum walks were a personal favorite. I even played sympathetically quiet music in the background while I did it to set the mood. But I also found out that I love audiobooks. To escape into a book with my eyes closed, was indeed thrilling. So I managed to travel to many, many countries this year from the comfort of my couch. I was keen to learn what excites other authors and gives them a chance to escape.

This month's authors:

Cynthia Terelst

Cynthia is based in Queensland Australia and loves to write young adult and romance novels. I was keen to speak with another Australian author and find out what challenges she has overcome and what inspired her.

What inspires you to write?

That is a very difficult question to answer. I love writing, so the act of writing is inspiring. While writing I like to share my experiences with others. When my daughter was eight, we traveled around Australia experiencing many amazing things. In my first published novel, The Cat’s out of the Bag, a contemporary romance, I wrote about some of the places we visited. It was great to recall the experiences we had, like climbing a Fire Tree.

Who is your favorite character you have created and why?

In my yet to be published YA novel, Serendipity, my favorite character would be Suezanna. When some readers begin reading the novel, they find her prickly, and her actions selfish, but their opinion alters as they continue into the story. Suezanna goes through some extreme changes after her father’s death, the revelation of her mother’s mental illness, and bullying at her new school. She is angry, confused, scared, and lonely, yet beats the odds due to her bravery.

What is the hardest part about writing for young adults?

Even though social media is huge in young adult’s lives, I try to keep it out of my books because I like my stories to be about the characters and their immediate environment. I feel that social media could encroach on that, and can inhibit their thoughts and feelings. Because of the powerful messages, I am trying to portray in my books I try not to be too graphic, especially when describing bullying and sexual harassment. For me, it is about portraying their feelings and fears on the page. I would like my young adult books to be traditionally published so that they can be introduced into the school system.

I plan to self-publish my contemporary romance novels as I believe there is a wide market for them. My first published novel is The Cat’s out of the Bag. Because I like to deal with hard topics, this novel touches on domestic violence. It is a story of hope and love.

Where is your favorite writing location and why?

It actually depends on the season. Usually, I write at my kitchen table, because I can lay out everything I need and it’s within easy reach. I have a window I can look out of when I need to take my eyes away from the screen. It helps to recentre myself.

During summer, when the heat is terrible, I write in the lounge room in the air conditioning. It is much easier to concentrate when you are not sweating and suffering.

I do have a room that should be a study area but it is currently full of junk.

Cynthia loves to catch up with her readers via her various social media accounts at:

,https://www.facebook.com/cynthiaterelstauthor/

https://www.instagram.com/cynthiaterelstauthor/

She is most active on Instagram but you can find her just about anywhere!

I hope you can take a moment to offer support for her by checking out her books and chatting with her, and I extend my thanks for being interviewed!

Terry Kitto

Terry has been extremely successful as a scriptwriter and is branching out into novels. It was my pleasure to interview and find out why!

You have achieved a lot already with your script-writing, but what has been the highlight so far, and why?

I think I can only whittle it down to two highlights! The first was completing my biopic spec script 'Christopher's Queen'. It followed trans activists Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, who were at the forefront of the 1969 Stonewall Riots fighting for LGBTQ+ rights. I'll be forever indebted to them for being able to live a relatively safe and privileged life as a gay man, and so this script was a homage to them and their legacy, which is sinfully unknown by a lot of people. To ensure that Christopher's Queen was factually accurate -- and depicted Johnson and Rivera tastefully -- I conducted research with their friends and fellow activists, as well as archivists and historians. It was a huge undertaking that often put me out of my comfort zone -- approaching mere strangers as an unestablished creative is terrifying for any awkward writer! But everyone I spoke to was delightful and enthusiastic to help, and the script was one of my most emotionally provocative pieces to date. 

The second highlight is probably a more superficial one: being shortlisted for the BBC's Comedy Writersroom 2016. It was the first time I had entered any type of writing competition and I knew that I was submitting a series idea that was hard to market: a comedy-drama set in an elderly care home as it faces closure. The series was loosely based on my own time working in a care home and it represented the unexpected life and vitality the establishment and its residents can have, whilst it commented on more serious themes about mental health, sexuality, and institutionalized care. I made it to the top 7% of over two thousand submissions. Having that recognition from the nation's biggest media outlet was super rewarding.

What inspires your stories?

Two seems to be the number of the day because I typically find inspiration in two ways! For example, take my 2021 debut 'The Frequency'. It's a paranormal thriller set in Cornwall as a wave of horrific possessions grips the southern coast. A group of wayward psychics (think Ghostbusters meet Torchwood) attempt to find the root of the problem whilst they battle their own interior complexes. 

The general idea came to me when I was fourteen just after my grandfather passed away. This was the first death I had encountered and so whilst I was processing my grief, I asked questions like: if there is an afterlife, what would it be like? How could its existence be explained scientifically? Secondly, as I began writing what I now consider to be the "minus one draft", I wondered about these psychics who know, with scientific proof, that ghosts exist. How does that affect the psychology of someone that has assurance on eternal, spiritual life? Are they more reckless? What is their response to funerals and the grieving process? If they can contact the dead, do they ever move on and accept someone's passing? 

Before I knew it I had some really interesting and provoking ideas which, fast forward twelve years to today, have made for an engaging story with nuanced characters, all of which I'm really excited to put out into the world next July. So to summarise that tangent -- I tend to ask "what if's", and then I consider how the answers to those questions might affect my characters. It's a constant cycle of concept informing character, and character informing concept, and so on.  

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up, and why?

The stereotypical writer response, but truthfully the answer was: a writer! But more specifically, a storyteller. When I was younger I was writing my own stories, knocking out 400 paged novels by the time I was ten. Even though computers were well and truly instated in most homes by 2005, all I wanted that Christmas was a typewriter so that I could feel like Jessica Fletcher from Murder She Wrote! Then I moved into fine art and graphic design in my teens, and onto filmmaking and scriptwriting in my early twenties, and now I've come back full circle to writing literature. But everything I have learned in those other mediums informs my work now, both as a story and as a product. There's no doubt that the process of writing a book as a child (from painstakingly writing it out on my typewriter, drawing my own covers and illustrations, and stapling it all together) impacted the creative freedom I want now as an author, which is why I'm pursuing self-publishing for The Frequency.

You have a new book coming out, what have you found the easiest, and what has been the most challenging parts of that process?

Wow, I think it's the same answer. It is, and will always continue to be, doing the writing. The easiest part for me (95% of the time) is actually sitting down and creating. It's great for my emotional wellbeing and general mental health, and I can lose myself in stories for hours at a time, especially when it's going really good. On the flip side of that, good writing really is editing and editing well. I've had to sacrifice some set pieces and plot elements for the good of the story. Many times I've had to sit back and accept that aspects of my craft need work, and I've had to burst what little ego I have by that time. So the actual creative side, exploring ideas and spewing out draft zero, will always be easy. The refinement of it, where creativity is often sacrificed for stronger storytelling, will always be the challenge -- albeit a rewarding one! 

Terry likes to engage with his readers via his website: www.terrykitto.com.

I hope you can take a moment to offer support for him by checking it out, and I extend my thanks for being interviewed!

I wish to thank you for taking the time to read and engage with me! Happy reading everyone!
VK Tritschler

Grab your copy of Magic & Mischief here:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BKD7B5H

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/magic-mischief

BN: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/magic-mischief-inkspell-publishing/1137205386

Itunes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1519692667

Fresh off the press

This month I have a new book coming out, and it's not only exciting - it's hectic! I have spent the last few months organizing the marketing and preparing the release information. And it struck me, as I wrote another line about my characters, that the process for writing a book is just one of the first steps that an author takes along with creating characters and worlds. There is a parade of things that need to be done once 'The End' has been scribbled down. And whilst I love to engage with my readers, and I always wait anxiously to read those first few reviews, there is an element of exhaustion when the book finally comes off the press. To reach that epic moment when all that hard work is bound and ready for release into the world is a pinnacle of authors writing life. I was keen to see what my authors for this month considered a highlight in their writing careers.

This month's authors:

Brett Petersen

Brett has a vivid imagination and loves to create stories and worlds apart from our own. So I was keen to see what gave him the inspiration.

What (or who!) was your inspiration for your latest book,  'The Parasite from Proto Space and Other Stories"?

The nine stories in this collection were inspired by various things. Here is a basic overview of the inspirations for each of them:

:
The mundane aspects of “The Parasite From Proto Space” were inspired by crappy open mic nights as well as my tendency to take the bus to the mall, browse stores and wander around the city and suburbs on my days off from writing. The concepts of Proto Space and Post Space, two different places humans could potentially go when they die, the latter an upgrade from the former, were something I came up with completely out of nowhere.
“Summoning the Memory Eaters” was inspired by my job as a substitute teacher’s aide at the high school where my father worked. The worms, the tooth-beings, the Ellipse, and the Inverted Wolf Fang were just some extradimensional mindfucks I threw in there because I love shit like that.
“Billy-Sally” the billygoat was a character I invented while telling improvised stories around the campfire when I was younger. His trip through the silver sphere into the other dimension was just more psychedelic shenanigans I came up with on the spot. If I’m good at anything, it’s generating spontaneous content from out of thin air.
“The Labyrinth and the Jingling Keys” was the last piece I wrote for a college writing class and the first story I ever got published. It was inspired by my experiences in mental hospitals, an article I read about the Judge Rotenberg Center (a place where they apply electric shocks to autistic children in order to modify their behavior: very nasty stuff,) and a vision I had while in a psych hospital of being encased in a bubble, sucked into a vacuum, traveling through the cord, into the outlet and through the other side of the wall into a black sea filled with bubbles. The black sea is meant to represent the conscious mind, and the bubbles are thoughts that you can choose to either acknowledge or ignore as per the teachings of my old therapist.
“The Funeral Machine” is based on life in a subsidized housing unit for the elderly and disabled. I’ve lived in one of these units for nearly seven years, and I can tell you that it certainly does make you feel like your body is being digested and shat out by a giant brick machine whose two-hundred-and-forty eyes/windows watch the streets for potential prey.
I wrote “Ca-Caw” back in 2008: many years before I had the idea of putting my stories together into a book. In fact, it was one of the first stories I wrote outside of a college assignment. It draws inspiration from my fear of getting mugged in the city and my belief that danger was around every corner (which has proven to be totally untrue the longer I’ve lived here.) This is yet another story that contains elements of psychiatric hospitalization (which is definitely something that inspires my writing overall. One of these days I will write a mental institution novel in the vein of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.)
“CAVO” was based on a dream I had of a planet-sized speaker cone floating in space next to the Earth, ready to blow it away. I realized after I woke up that sound waves couldn’t travel through space, but I made it work in the story anyway. The bizarre structures that litter the CAVO speaker’s surface are just another example of my imagination’s penchant for generating random images. The investigation team trope was mainly derived from Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous With Rama. The notion of autistic people’s minds being the antidote to the CAVO virus was my way of creating a narrative in which an autistic person uses their unique autistic abilities to save the universe: something I haven’t seen before in literature.
“A Free Ride to Pleroma” uses a lot of Philip K. Dickian and Gnostic concepts of the false god/reality and the true god/reality. Pleroma is the Gnostic idea of the highest and greatest possible reality where the true God dwells. Bobbie-Sue was the name of a girl I knew in a high school for people with mental illnesses. The worlds she journeys through were inspired by places and people I encountered throughout my high school years moving from one special needs school to another.
“Frogbaby” is a term used to describe babies born with anencephaly: a condition where the brain and spinal cord never form and the baby (almost always stillborn) comes out looking like a frog with protruding eyes and no top of the head. But then I thought to myself, what if the frog babies survived, and their birth was part of a conspiracy to create children with minds that will never know pain and suffering because they’re born with only a brainstem and can’t accrue memories? Thus, the story “Frogbaby” was born. 

Your stories focus on fantastical ideas and worlds, how do you create these are they planned out or freestyle?

My ideas and the worlds I create in my stories are almost always freestyle. But when it comes to writing novels (like what I’m working on now,) things have to be a little more planned out. In terms of my process, my brain absorbs everything it sees (mostly without my knowledge) and I’m able to tap into my subconscious repository and come up with characters, settings, plots, images, and metaphors based on all that data. If an idea ever seems like it is cliché or derivative of something else, I can always change around the variables to make it original. At the risk of tooting my own horn, I usually never run into the problem of lack of originality.

How has your autism impacted your writing life or style and how?

I believe my autism makes me a better writer. When I become obsessed with a book, video game, movie, or show, I focus on all the little details that make it great. I also have a very solid understanding of why I like what I like and what makes it so good: thus I am able to write the very stories that I would ideally like to read.

On the downside, autism makes it quite difficult for me to engage with the business side of the writing world: marketing, promoting, and increasing sales. I’m going to continue writing books even if they don’t sell, but I’d at least like to be well known in the literary world.

Of all the reviews you have received, what has been your favorite, and why?

My favorite review was definitely the one by Paul Levinson simply because he’s a pretty well-known author, and I was both surprised and honored that he actually agreed to do it.

Brett loves to catch up with his readers via :

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bpetersen414 and https://www.facebook.com/brettpetersen414

Instagram: http://instagram.com/brettpetersen414

Or his official website: http://www.jellyfishentity.wordpress.com

I hope you can take a moment to offer support for him by checking it out, and I extend my thanks for being interviewed!

Jerry Harwood

Jerry creates his own worlds, but his focus instead of other worlds is on creating worlds that children can comprehend. His ability to bring story-telling and support for the younger generation was fascinating. So I was keen to hear how he did it.

What is the hardest part of writing stories for children?

I think the hardest part is being true to their dialogue and conversation. Children are smarter and have more insight than we often want to attribute to them. On the other side, they often have off-the-wall ideas. The two together can make a great book, but you have to be careful to keep dialogue something they would actually say.

Do you like to plot out your stories, or do you prefer to free-write?

I use James Scott Bell’s system. He terms it plotting by setting out signposts. So instead of a detailed plot outline, I outline the key intersections (he uses the analogy of signs on a highway for entrance and exit ramps). That way I always have a very set goal at the end and several small goals throughout the book to give it a three-act feel and proper pacing. However, I often free-write sign-post to sign-post. Sometimes that means editing the free-write, but it can also mean changing the signposts.

Your book 'Jam Sessions' discusses some very adult themes of mental health, how do you tackle them to make it easier for kids to understand?

Thank you for answering this question. My hope is that Jam Sessions is first and foremost a good story. I really tried to make it a fun read more than just sermon in fiction form. I never enjoy reading books that are just agenda and propaganda message thinly veiled in fiction. If I achieved my goal, Jam Session will read like a book about a middle school kid for middle school kids. I am very light on the family scenario that led the lead character to move schools. It is there, but not explicit. The bullying is there, but never so heavy that it darkens the tone of the story. Of course, Phillip discovers he has panic attacks, but he also has a friend who sings the youtube sensation duck and lemonade stand song. I spent time in the counseling world and wanted to be realistic about anxiety. The statistics say that anxiety is a significant problem among today’s tweens and teens. But my hope is that the book gives those struggling with it someone to identify with more than just a counseling lecture in book form.

What has been the highlight of being an author to date for you?

This may be silly, but for me, it was listening to my book on audible. That was so much cooler for me than it being in print. Donald Davidson did a fantastic job.

Jerry loves to connect online. You can find him at:
Website : http://www.jerryharwood.com

Blog: https://www.circumlocution.net

Amazon Author’s Page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0863YPCD7

I hope you can take a moment to offer support for him by checking out his book, and I extend my thanks for being interviewed!

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FZL8CZQ

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-risky-business-of-romance

BN: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-risky-business-of-romance-vk-tritschler/1137491464

Itunes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1527882999

I wish to thank you for taking the time to read and engage with me! Happy reading everyone!
VK Tritschler

Mystery and mysticism

I think one of the best parts of being an author is that we get to create new ideas every time we sit down to write. I love nothing more than reading a newspaper heading, or seeing a television show and letting my mind wander. If that was my character what would they think? Where would they be and how would they react? And ever time it is something different and exciting. But the worlds of mystery and mysticism are intertwined. What if this world that we perceive is just the tip of the iceberg, and our thoughts and imaginings of a thousand different characters are simply our minds tapping into alternative universes that we can sense but not see? What if those other worlds are more similar to our own than we realize, but with strange or fundamental differences? The idea of it thrills and excites me. This month I thought I would talk to two more authors to see what thrills and excites them.

This month's authors:

Ashley A Quinn

Ashley is an indie author with a love of history and romance. With several books under her belt, I was keen to find out how she managed to be successful.

What is the appeal for you about historical writing?

Even as a child I found history intriguing; learning where we've come from and how we got there captivates me. I don't write historical fiction in the traditional sense, but some of my books incorporate historical elements. My Flames of Fate series is set in modern-day but revolves around Ancient Greece. I love the blend of old meets new and what the two together can accomplish.

Who is your favorite character you have created and why?

My favorite character is Hades. In many stories, he's depicted as a villain, but when reading the mythology surrounding him, he isn't the devil many think he is. There is also so much more freedom in writing a supernatural, immortal being. I took licenses with him that I wouldn't with a human character. He turned out exactly how I imagined him--cocky, arrogant, and powerful, but with a heart.

What's the hardest part about writing for you?

Staying in it. I have two young children and a very hyper, very large dog who demand a lot of my attention. I have a hard time picking back up where I left off after I've been interrupted, so I don't always get as much written during the day as I would like. It leads to some late nights as I try to make up ground.

How often do you write and where is your favorite place to do it?

I try to write every day for at least a little bit. My goal lately has been 3000 words a day, but I'm really only hitting between 1500 and 2000. I do most of my writing at my desk in my little office corner of the master bedroom. I do like the couch, though, too, but only after everyone has gone to bed.

Ashley loves to catch up with her readers via :

fb.me/ashleyaquinn.writer

https://ashleyaquinn.com

and you can check out her blog at: https://ashleyaquinn.com/blog

I hope you can take a moment to offer support for her by checking it out, and I extend my thanks for being interviewed!

Kat Turner

Kat is a lover of pets, creator of sexy romance books, and a university scholar. From picking up objects with her toes to creating engaging characters, Kat has been busy gathering accolades and characters. So I was keen to chat with her and find out how she does it.

What inspired you for your new release "Hex, Love and Rock&Roll"?

I knew that I wanted to write a book with both music and magic. As a music lover myself, I connect deeply to the intangible, emotional impact of a song. In the story, I strove to capture elements of that connection in a literal sense by bringing in the supernatural aspects in a direct way.

Your stories have a large magic element to them, is this pure imagination or do you do any research for this style of writing?

I did a great deal of research into numerous magical practices and allowed elements of that research to inform my world-building. Ultimately, the magic system in Hex, Love, and Rock & Roll and the ensuing additions to the series is one of my own inventions. 

What has been the hardest part of writing the book for you so far?

When I was drafting, it always felt overwhelming to realize that some aspect of the book wasn't working and that I'd have to re-draft large portions. While the process was daunting, it was also exciting to watch the book improve with each installment. 

Of all the reviews you have received, what has been your favorite , and why?

Jaqueline Snowe's blurb was amazing! I respect her so much as an author and was immensely flattered to learn that she loved the story. It was so cool how she said that the book pulled her in as a reader and didn't let go because that's the experience I want all of my readers to have. 

Kat loves to connect online, and there's plenty of options. You can find her at:
Twitter: @Kat_A_Turner
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kat.turner.50364
Insta: katturnerauthor
BookBub: @katurner34
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19786105.Kat_Turner
Newsletter sign up https://katturnerauthor.com/newsletter/

I hope you can take a moment to offer support for her by checking out her book, and I extend my thanks for being interviewed!

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FZL8CZQ

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-risky-business-of-romance

BN: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-risky-business-of-romance-vk-tritschler/1137491464

Itunes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1527882999

I wish to thank you for taking the time to read and engage with me! Happy reading everyone!
VK Tritschler

Being ourselves through others

This month I have been working away at several new stories. Simultaneously. While I was sipping on my coffee, I was asked what story I was working on and I had to ask "which one?". The asker of the question was surprised and queried if I was working on more than one. "Of course," I replied. "My head is full of characters waiting to get out. Not all of them are as patient as others."

It was then that I realized something. Part of being an author is allowing the transmission of the thoughts and desires of others through our own pen. And some of those characters are forceful and demanding, others lurk in the shadows and come out only when prompted or required. And this is in itself a bit like everyone's personality. There are parts of ourselves that are hidden and quiet, and others that are loud and proud. It is the meeting in the middle of these segments of our being that makes us who we are. Both as writers, and the conveyors of stories.

So this month I was keen to find out how other authors find themselves in their writing.

This month's authors:

Julie Olivia

Julie is both street smart, and book smart. Not to mention a whole heap of hilarity. So I was keen to see how she got into writing and what happened next.

What started your journey into romantic comedy?

I've always enjoyed a good love story. I'm the kind of person that watches tv shows only for the romance arcs and then flocks online to read the fanfiction. And while I've always dabbled in writing, it was never in the romance genre. Admittedly, all my plots always devolved into essentially some over-dramatized love story. I just never connected the dots that maybe that's the genre I should actually be writing until about a year ago and I had an absolute blast! I remember thinking, "oh, THIS is where I'm supposed to be!" As for comedy, I've always enjoyed writing in a more comedic style. I think inherently we're all funny people, and writing in the first person really lends itself to comedic inner dialogue. Sure, we could see how nervous the main character is by how they sweat or shuffle their feet, or we could hear all the ridiculous ways they're scheming to exit the situation. Make up an excuse? Jump out a window? Paint a hole on the wall and walk through Looney Toons style? People think funny things! I like my love stories with humans being humans in all their beautiful flaws and silly ideas.

I know you love a Hogwarts reference, why are you a Slytherin?

Hah! Funny story: I believed I was a Hufflepuff for the majority of my life, but about five years ago, every sorting hat quiz I took put me in Slytherin. Consistently. No variation! Around that time, Cursed Child was released too and I went to a midnight release where they sorted everyone with colored jelly beans, and of course, I got the green ones putting me in Slytherin! Then I had one of my closest friends ask me, "oh wait, you're not a Slytherin? I always thought you were!" Long story short and one existential crisis later, I'm finally in the Slytherin camp. We're a proud and ambitious bunch. Makes sense I'd be in denial for so long.

How important is social media as an author and why?

I think it depends on your genre. I'm a romance reader just as much as I'm a romance writer, so I know what works on me and I have bought so many books from authors I've never read before just by browsing through Instagram. But that's just for romance. It's hard to say if other genres work the same way. Maybe sci-fi isn't as prominent on Instagram but instead bigger on Twitter or Reddit or some other untapped source (heck if I know). I'm just now dipping my toe into the more business side of self-publishing, so for the past year, my only marketing efforts have consisted of hanging out on Instagram making friends with the cool book bloggers. They're my audience and I know I wouldn't be where I'm at today without them. Social media is definitely key for me.

How do you find your Arts degree helps with your writing?

My Arts degree fell under the Journalism school, so I got a decent amount of exposure to writing classes. The best writing class I took was in screenwriting. I really enjoy dialogue and I'm willing to bet it directly stemmed from that class. It's easy to focus on the words when the novelization isn't floating all around it. So, sure, my degree helped. Absolutely. But, do you need a degree to write? Nah.

Julie loves to catch up with her readers via her verious social media accounts at:

@julieoliviaauthor

She is most active on Instagram but you can find her just about anywhere!

I hope you can take a moment to offer support for her by checking out her books and chatting with her, and I extend my thanks for being interviewed!

Willa J Brand

Willa has been a lover of books her whole life, so it was a natural step for her to become an author. Here is what she told me about her journey.

What started your writing career?

I’ve been an avid reader for as long as I can remember. My mother was a librarian and I spent a large portion of my childhood engrossed in books. She made sure that I was exposed to some incredible literature and some of my favorites are Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Austen, and Bronte of course. But as I got older and went off to university, I found I had less time for recreational reading, and less able to focus on longer more involved plots. It was then that lighter reading such as Nora Roberts began to appeal to me. It was like a vacation for my brain. Later as a mother, I had even less time, and I began to have a hard time finding reading that I enjoyed. Ultimately this led me to try my hand at writing. My husband encouraged me to make time for it when I found how much I loved it - and the rest is history. I’ve got a file full of storylines, two completed novels, and a third in the making. This is definitely going to be something I will enjoy doing for the rest of my life, and I hope I will gain some faithful readers along the way. 

Your stories focus a lot on resilience, what appeals to you about this concept?

I think it is central to life. I want my characters to be realistic. That requires both flaws and strengths on their part. While I want them to be relatable, I also want to create admirable personas - characters that I hope my readers grow to love and care about as much as I do. I feel that is key to the reading experience and I hope that enthusiasm on my part is conveyed to the readers.

How do you balance your busy life on the farm with writing?

It is certainly a challenge, but my husband is a huge help when it comes to carving out time for my writing. I’m a night owl at the best of times so when things quiet down in the evenings, I often steal away to my office and work until late. With four little kids and all the work that comes along with farming and ranching, it can be hard, especially in busy seasons. But I have such a passion for writing that I can't imagine not doing it at this point. It keeps me sane some days!

Of all the reviews you have received, what has been your favorite, and why?

So far, my first “organic” review has got to be my favorite. I can't even explain how excited I was to see that review pop up on Amazon when my Refuge went live. I loved that feeling that someone unknown to me had chosen my book to read, and loved it. As a reader, I love discovering a new book or author, and I am so excited to have created that experience for others.

Willa likes to engage with her readers via Twitter, Facebook, her blog, and her website. S

You can find links to all her social media via her website: https://www.willajbrand.com/

I hope you can take a moment to offer support for her by checking it out, and I extend my thanks for being interviewed!

I wish to thank you for taking the time to read and engage with me! Happy reading everyone!
VK Tritschler

GIVEAWAY - Get your copy of The Secret Life of Sarah Meads for FREE between 04-08th September for Labor Day. Enjoy! https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Life-Sarah-Meads-ebook/dp/B078S41SL5

The Long Way Home

Being an author is less a race, and more a marathon. We set goals for ourselves along the way that help to guide us in what we hope is the right direction. Occasionally we take faster strides or leaps as we go, but largely we are stuck in the slow slog of writing, editing, submitting, and repeating the process. It can be hard to stay motivated, and you can get distracted along the way. But I have found that sometimes a change in pattern is as good as a holiday. Picking up another genre. Writing from a new location. Creating a different character or world. We do not always follow the same path to make our long walk towards completion for us, and some of us stumble and fall on the way. But the journey is part of the process and the part of the reward. And I feel privileged to be allowed to participate. This month I got to chat with two more adventurers on the path and find out how they managed.

This month's authors:

Cosmin Onofrei

Cosmin is a deep thinker and a deep writer. He brings to his work his background in counseling and his love of art. I was keen to see what his thoughts were on the writing process.

Given your background in counseling, what would you recommend to help people who are struggling with writer's block or finding it difficult to confront their emotions while they write?

Art is always terrifying because it's always created beyond your edge, beyond what you know and outside of your comfort arena. And in all honest truth it should be like that, if it's not, then it's not art in its fullest sense in my view.

True art takes control of you and everything that it touches and you are just a mere vessel through which that force shines. Any sort of blockage, being the one that you encounter when you try to write something, or the one that makes you unable to confront your emotions, it's an obstruction to creation and it hinders your artistry in every way.

When you encounter such obstruction, the best thing you can do is to embrace it, to love the obstruction, because to enter in any flow state you first need to relax enough so there's nothing in the way of that Force of creation. For it to come through you, for that power to shine through your body in the form of your unique art, that relaxation is a must, and any form of opposition just postpones creation from occurring.

After you learn what are your particular ways of relaxing into that, of dissolving your opposition through embracing the obstruction, you need to PERSEVERE. Someone once told me that for every sketch that Pablo Picasso kept, he threw out 850 drawings. That is a rough estimate but I can confirm that it's not always the case when you pick up a brush, or when you sit down in front of the piano, that you are relaxed enough to create in a way that is satisfying to you. When that happens you need to persevere in order to relax enough so that Creation will start to do its ways with you.

How often do you like to write and where is your favorite writing location?

It depends on what I'm trying to accomplish. I would write lyrics to songs while traveling by train and I would start to write a chapter late at night, realize that I'm too tired and that I need to rest, go to bed and wake up in the middle of the night to continue because some words came to me in my dreams.

But to answer your question, for me the more stormy the weather the more inspiring it is. So I write as often as I have to when I need to finish a project, a book let's say, and when I'm not working with a deadline, I write when the muse comes to me and when my environment is inspiringly stormy.

What do you think is the most artistic part of writing?

Engagement beyond what you can fathom, dissolution of self. That to me is the most artistic part in any artistry. The process through which you are treading towards fields of dreams touched by rays of infinite charm - to say it more poetically.

That is true for every moment if you are sensitive enough to perceive it. That dive, that freefall, not knowing what to expect or what will come out of that, that is LOVE in its largest presence.

When did you start your path as an author, and what decisions have been fundamental in this pathway for you?

That wasn't a made decision, that was a born decision. Since birth I was entangled in the ways of Creation, submerged in every aspect of Art, only to be brought to surface by that force in the form of a Song, a melody or lyric, in the shape of a chapter or in just about any other form of art you can imagine.

I was born with a resilient spirit, and with a 'never give up' heart - these were and are the fundamental pieces that catalyzed this pathway.

Cosmin loves to catch up with his readers via :

www.instagram.com/onofreihimself

or via email: contact@cosminonofrei.com

I hope you can take a moment to offer support for him by checking it out, and I extend my thanks for being interviewed!

James B Hansom

James became an author by writing down the demons from his past onto the page. His struggles in childhood have become the source of his latest book so I was keen to see what his thoughts were about the process.

In your books, you write about your difficult upbringing and your struggle with mental illness, at what stage in life did you take up writing?

I’ve often used writing as a way of dealing with difficult times; I find that when your head is in a bad place the writing’s fantastic. I guess I first started using it as a tool in that way when I was around the age of 11 or 12 when I was constantly being bounced around children’s homes during the holidays from boarding school; that’s when I first realized that my writing helped others in a similar situation.

What has been the hardest part of the writing process for you and why?

I always leave things for a few days to crystallize in my mind before I begin, then it’s simply a question of transferring it onto ‘paper’; so the actual writing is easy. I guess the hardest part is seeing what you put your heart and soul into culled by the editors; I realize they need to be impartial and a little brutal but it’s still heartbreaking to see whole sections struck out.

When do you like to write - are you an owl or a rooster?

I’ve often found that working is easier when the World is asleep; especially writing as one needs to be completely immersed in that moment of the book’s story. Although it can be horrible during the winter months when one can go for weeks without seeing daylight!

How often do you write and where is your favorite place to do it?

Having moved around for most of my life I don’t have a set place, I’m happy to sit and write anywhere. But in my mind I’m sat in the study of our ‘forever home’ as in the Prologue of the book; I can see it in detail, the wooden paneled walls with our books, my antique burr walnut desk with a green leather inlay with little ink pots. One day ;-)

James likes to stay in touch with his readers via his book:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B089T7RLP5

I hope you can take a moment to offer support for him by checking out his book, and I extend my thanks for being interviewed!

I wish to thank you for taking the time to read and engage with me! Happy reading everyone!
VK Tritschler

***Available for FREE from the 4-8th September on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Life-Sarah-Meads-ebook/dp/B078S41SL5 Grab your copy while you can! ***

Finding your passion

As an author when we write about passion in our stories, we compile phrases and words to invoke feelings in our readers. We wrap them up in memories or emotions that they might have long suppressed or hidden. But it is that very same feeling an emotion that prompts us as authors to write in the first instance. The drive and desire to create is the thrill and love we get from the written page. Long after the words have slipped past the reader's eyes, it is the emotion that we get from a review, a kind word on our writing. Or the knowledge that long after we have departed that someone might find our thoughts and have those emotions evoked again. So I was keen this month to discuss with two more authors about what invoked their passion to write.

This month's authors:

Paul Cristo

Paul is a mixture of audial, visual, and written artist, which is why he loves to get stuck into film and scripts. I was interested to learn about his process of writing and what makes him tick.

Given your background as a filmmaker, and now an author, how do you feel film development such as scriptwriting differs from novel writing, and what strengths or weaknesses do you think each brings when you do your own writing?

A completed script sitting on a desk is still, by nature, incomplete, even with a cool custom title font and its pages tidily bound with those fancy spirally thingies. There is a multitude of holes to be filled in by a large team of creative people before it can suitably be recognized as a movie or a TV show.  A completed novel sitting on a desk is... well... completed. Ready to dive into. Finito. 

There's autonomy in writing books that are rarely present when writing for the screen. That's the part I like the most. 

Working as a film and television composer, I was rarely given the opportunity to write music that wouldn't eventually be adulterated by another person, for one reason or another. When writing a book, there's nothing between the reader and me; I write "Sally barked at the mailman," and the reader reads "Sally barked at the mailman." And that's pretty cool.

They say a good author can make the page sing, so do you feel that your musical talents bring a unique writing style to your work?

Thankfully, musical structure and story structure are very similar. They even use the same terminology; exposition, development, recapitulation, coda; you can even find commas and periods in music notation to indicate pauses and duration. I've never been particularly good at planning structure out, in music or writing, so I try to let story momentum do all the work. I know that's like painting a picture without knowing the size of the canvas, but somehow things fall into place if enough elbow grease is applied. So, yes... I'm mean... sort of.

Why did you choose an apocalypse as your first novel? What was your inspiration?

I came up with an idea for a podcast, the premise being if the world ended, (no power, water, food, people, etc.) what would it realistically take to get from having nothing to being able to stream Netflix again. Each episode would be an in-depth procedural of how to find clean water or how to grow food or protect yourself from villains. Not long after I started, I realized I was writing the script for an audiobook and not a podcast.

How often do you write and where is your favorite place to do it?

I try to write something every day, even if it's only a couple of lines. Whenever I skip a day, the laptop screen gets a bit heavier to lift. 

I seem to write better at night. I'm not sure if that's because I'm a bit of night owl, or it's quieter with fewer distractions, or if it's because that's when my pet possum Petey is awake to keep me company. I wish I could be a coffee shop writer, but there're too many noisy shiny things. I'm so distraction prone that I could find a way to lose focus in a sensory deprivation tank. Also, the water would electrocute me.

Paul loves to catch up with his readers via his range of social media accounts at:

http://paulcristowrites.com

https://twitter.com/PaulCristoWrite

or via email:

I hope you can take a moment to offer support for him by checking it out, and I extend my thanks for being interviewed!

Robert J Swayer

Robert is a lover of thoughts, ideas, and the bigger picture. So I was keen to see what picture he painted for his readers.

What would you consider as the starting point for your career as an author and how did you develop from it?

Way back in 1979, when I was nineteen, a nearby planetarium was having a science-fiction short-story writing contest judged by one of my writing heroes, Isaac Asimov. The mere thought that Asimov would read my story was incentive enough to write it. I didn’t win the contest, but the planetarium staff loved my story and produced a terrific dramatic star show based on my story.

After that, there was no stopping me. Although it took another eleven years to get my first novel published, I’ve managed close to a novel a year ever since then, and my twenty-fourth, The Oppenheimer Alternative, just came out.

In your books, you delve into a range of sci-fi genres. What is your favorite to write and what excites you about these genres?

I’ve never liked the term sci-fi, because I think it’s a misnomer, at least for the sort of books I write. My subgenre explores big ideas — where did we come from, where are we going, do we need privacy, what is consciousness, is there a god? I think of myself as more of a philosophical fiction writer — phi-fi rather than sci-fi!

My writing mentor Terence M. Green — a fellow Canadian but one who got his own start writing for an Australian anthology! — calls what he and I write “thoughtful entertainment,” and that’s what excites me: not just giving the reader a pleasant experience (although I do — in a field filled with dystopian voices, I’m known as a sunnily optimistic exception) but also giving them something to think about and to spark lively conversations with their friends and family.

What is the hardest lesson you have learned so far as an author and what do you define as your greatest achievement?

It’s a lesson that too few writers ever learn: your books are not for everyone. I’ve seen writers try to push their work on all sorts of people who will never enjoy it because that kind of book simply isn’t that person’s cup of tea. Any writer’s aspiration shouldn’t be being blandly acceptable to everyone but rather to be the favorite author of a very narrow segment of the reading public.

Once you accept that, you know which critics to listen to and which to ignore. Just yesterday, I stumbled across a one-star reader review of one of my older novels that basically said, well, this book (Starplex, the only novel of its year to be nominated for both of the SF world’s top awards, the Hugo and the Nebula, and the winner of Canada’s top SF award, the Aurora) sucks because the spaceship in it isn’t outfitted with any cool Star Wars-style weapons. Precisely: I’m a pacifist, and I offer something different. No one has ever yet taken a gun into space; let’s keep it that way.

As for my greatest achievement, well, I’m lucky enough to be a Member of the Order of Canada, which is my country’s counterpart of the Order of Australia. I was the first person ever admitted to the Order for work in the science-fiction. Although I’ve had lots of other successes, including a US network TV show based on my novel FlashForward, nothing will ever top this.

How do you create your key characters - do you like to plan them out or write as you go?

I’m a top-down writer: I start with a topic (in the case of my last book, Quantum Night, the science behind why people can be evil); develop a theme (in that case: the most pernicious lie humanity has ever told itself is that you can’t change human nature); and only then develop a character who lets me illuminate that theme (in Quantum Night, an experimental psychologist who discovers that he himself had committed atrocities as a result of an experiment he was part of years before as a young man).

But for my new novel, The Oppenheimer Alternative, it was a very different creative process. Every single character in the book is (a) real, (b) famous — the cast includes J. Robert Oppenheimer, Albert Einstein, Richard Feynman, Edward Teller, and Wernher von Braun, (c) still within living memory of some people, and (d) has had major biographies published about them.

For every previous novel, I’ve been able to say, as any author can, that I’m the world’s foremost expert on my made-up characters, but for The Oppenheimer Alternative there are historians who have devoted years or decades to studying these people. I was thrilled beyond belief when we got a cover blurb for my novel from Martin J. Sherwin, coauthor of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Oppenheimer, American Prometheus, and another blurb from Gregory Benford who not only is a great science-fiction writer but was also Edward Teller’s graduate student.

Robert likes to stay in touch with his readers via:

https://sfwriter.com

Facebook:

I hope you can take a moment to offer support for him by checking out his book, and I extend my thanks for being interviewed!

I wish to thank you for taking the time to read and engage with me! Happy reading everyone!
VK Tritschler

,includes Vital Impetus by VK Tritschler

,Lost between worlds, Jess is hunted. Fighting back using newfound powers the teen has yet to understand, her only help is an old childhood friend with secrets of his own. Will their reunion be her salvation or the end of her life?

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Reality of reality

With the world in turmoil recently and the changes in everything we do, it has brought about a new kind of reality. Similar and yet so very different from the version we lived before viruses were a serious concern, and handshaking was replaced with an elbow tap.

It got me thinking about alternative realities. Is this world just a version of reality? And if so, what happened in the other worlds, do they still shake hands? Or did they suffer a worse fate?

So this month I am chatting with two very different genres. One loves to write fallible fictional characters, full of mistakes and flaws. The other writes about real-life ideas on how to make your life better in the face of difficulties. Like two sides of the universal coin, I was keen to see what ideas they brought to our reality table. And here is what they told me...

This month's authors:

Lisa Wolstenholme

Lisa is an Australian author who loves to create flawed characters and examine the possibilities of personality in her writing. So I was keen to delve into her mind and find out what makes her tick.

What is the hardest part about writing women’s literature?

I mostly write contemporary fiction with a psychological spin, so the challenge is to reflect the modern-day issues faced by women and the avenues they can explore to overcome them. I also feel that because there are so many clichés and overused storylines it’s hard to come up with ones that are fresh and relevant. That’s a challenge for writers of any genre.

I personally like heavily flawed but relatable characters who make lots of mistakes, so another challenge for me is to make those characters believable without being over-the-top.

Who is your favorite author in your genre, and why?

I love Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins because of the way they create the flawed yet utterly realistic protagonists who you can’t decide if you love or hate. Dark Places is an absolute favorite. Gillian really gets the reader inside Libby’s head, revealing snippets of what happened to her family, and giving us a raw, dislikeable character to start with. I love the fact that she uses first-person point-of-view to allow us to perceive the world as Libby does, something I aspire to achieve.

How do you get the balance of work-life and writing right?

That’s a good question. I’m not sure I’ve nailed it yet! I guess I write when I can, or when the scenes in my head demand to be written. I’m attending a workshop on juggling the writers' life, so I’ll let you know after that!

You have beautiful covers, did you design them yourself?

I had no input for the books produced by Serenity Press, but for ‘The Sunrise Girl’ I already had a concept cover, so the publisher used and enhanced it. My latest cover for ‘The Wash’ has been redesigned by the publisher, and I love it.

Lisa loves to catch up with her readers via her range of social media accounts at:

https://www.facebook.com/WolstenWriter/

https://www.instagram.com/lisa_writer/

https://twitter.com/wolstenl

https://www.lisawolstenholme.com

I hope you can take a moment to offer support for her by checking it out, and I extend my thanks for being interviewed!

Steve Griffiths

Steve is a master of the mindful and a businessman of acumen. So I was keen to catch up with him and learn about his latest book about changing your mindset.

What inspired you to create your debut book, and how did you begin?

What inspired me to write my debut book was to further build upon all the books on mindset, goals, spirituality I’ve read to date as I noticed a gap – a gap I’ve personally learned to better fill in my everyday life and I wanted to share this.

I knew the importance of positivity, being determined, focused, and believing in yourself, and yet, these weren’t always enough to live the life you’ve always wanted. To me, this was the gap.

So, I wanted to address these points, that you shouldn’t mask negative situations/emotions with positivity, that not to be so highly focused/determined you ignored very obvious experiences that resulted and were a signpost for your further development.

So, this caused me to self-reflect more and understand my contribution to all events and if I really do want to materialize the life I’ve always imagined, then is there also a part of me that is limiting this happening?

So, I began by wanting to write and explain new concepts in the easiest way possible, to want the reader to be interested in these new viewpoints while still not ignoring the important topics to be addressed. I’m describing a new way of thinking and living that people, I believe, understand – it’s just very easy to form habitual patterns and the challenge is allowing new ideas to peak through.

Essentially this new viewpoint has to be experienced for yourself – it’s like describing a room to a person that is out of their focus, say behind them. It has to be experienced to be believed and enjoyed. But it first starts with the reader understanding there is a room behind them to being with and the exploring can begin. So, taking the time to read the book at a pace suitable to each reader and to allow new concepts to take on personal meaning would gain the most benefit.

,What has been the most difficult part of the process for you so far, and how did you overcome it?

For me, this was addressing new concepts that are pivotal in helping live the life you’ve always wanted – for if they were overlooked, the gap that I experienced in the books I’ve read would still be there. The incorporating of these concepts has better helped me personally and I understood the importance of discussing them – and so explaining them in a way to make them meaningful to people is the part I also enjoyed the most. For if they were already understood, there would be no need in writing the book and everyone would be living a wonderful life as close to their ideal as possible.

I overcame this by using everyday words rather than using vocabulary that can lead itself to more scientific, religious, or spiritual terms that bring their own charged meaning that can be hard to move past. As well as excluding those who aren’t familiar with such vocabulary. I wanted to bring people and concepts together so using everyday words as much as possible was my writing style.

,How does your previous education help or hinder your ability to write, and why?

My education really helped me, I studied Art and played musical instruments (the piano) as I knew at a young age how important creativity is, both in enjoying life but also in creating your life. If you can’t imagine how can you create it?

My maths, science, economics background helped as I looked at this world also with my artistic eyes, always studying those topics that would increase my life experience. Especially studying introductory quantum theory at university, this taught me that electrons don’t spin around a nucleus but form a probability haze. The very elements that make up our bodies are a probability – I found this fascinating. Statistics introduced me to the greater world of probabilities, and I could explore probably actions in my life, the type of life I would live if I choose one path over another, that I can merge probable paths not taken with the current one I’m on. For me, the freedom of choice is true power, as you open yourself up to paths you want to explore and live.

Economics and finance taught me survival of the fittest is an outdated concept applied from people’s view of nature – you don’t have to step on other people to get ahead. Even the sports I played, I was able to apply my creative side to my style of play.

Having such broad interests allowed me to view and experience the world around me free of current beliefs and helped in the writing of my book, as I could look at the traditional topics but from a different angle.

,If you had a chance to speak with any author (living or not) who would it be and why?

While not strictly an author, Leonardo da Vinci. I like the way he was able to express his inner world via his drawing, paintings, and ideas for inventions and I’ve recently learned he never ended up creating any. We are all expressing our inner world of thoughts and ideas physically whether we are talking, writing, drawing and I admire how he mixed art and science.

Art means you relate to a concept while science means you describe a concept. I believe it’s impossible to separate yourself from what you are observing/describing as the very act of observing an object, event, situation changes it (there’s a scientific word for that I’m sure). So, relating to a concept, I believe would be closer to better understanding the concept and from that viewpoint, new inventions can occur.

Steve likes to stay in touch with his readers via:

https://www.instagram.com/s.x.griff/

I hope you can take a moment to offer support for him by checking out his book, and I extend my thanks for being interviewed!

I wish to thank you for taking the time to read and engage with me! Happy reading everyone!
VK Tritschler

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When is a draft, not a draft? ...and other lies we tell ourselves

As an author I find myself drawn to be very critical of my work so I can tell you all a small truth - I consider every single thing I write a draft. Regardless of what state it's in.

I read a quote from Terry Pratchett the other day where he said: "The first draft is just you telling yourself the story." He is right. It's rough and uneven; it still has all its lumps and bumps, and sometimes it is just the ghost of a story yet to come. But I think that as authors we sometimes get so focused on the difference between what we have written and the idea of the story that is floating around in our brain waiting to get out, that we find it hard to give it a final stamp of approval. Is it done when you have had it edited, beta-read, re-edited, re-read? Or what about when you have distracted yourself by designing a cover, prepared a marketing plan and joined a new group on Facebook to learn about how to write a better book and used some of their ideas?

I think as authors we live in the perpetual draft phase. It's just a decision we make somewhere along that process to allow the world to read our incomplete work and hope they like it. So let's see what the other authors do with their works in progress this month.

This month's authors:

Mara Gan

Mara is a woman of fun and smarts. By day she teaches history to unsuspecting teenagers, and by night she writes books and travels to far-flung places. So I wanted to find out what makes her tick:

Having your vast experience in writing and a remarkable education on the subject, what do you think is key to writing a quality story or book?

I suppose it comes down to three things: Write what you know, write for yourself, and write a lot. Imagination is always necessary when writing fiction, but people, humanity, the details about characters- stick to what you know, and it helps make the experience so much more realistic and enjoyable. And write what you want to write; don't write because you want to sell books or be famous. Write because you have something you want to say, or because you have a story you need to tell, or because writing makes you happy. Your writing will be so much better if it comes from that kind of understanding.

And, like any skill, you have to flex it. Write a lot! It doesn't even matter what you're writing, but just write. Flex that pen. Or, you know, keyboard.

What does your average writing day look like?

Procrastination. Writing is what I do for fun, so it's what I do when I'm avoiding my other job. Writing is like therapy; it helps me untangle my brain, so eventually, I can think about that other job with more clarity.

Typically, I get into a zone and spend most of the day shushing my husband when he tries to talk to me because I'm hyper-focused on whatever bit of the story I've drummed up. I'll drink unhealthy amounts of tea, gorge on tortilla chips as my primary meal and stay up far later than I should, and when I finally get to bed, I'll toss and turn because more ideas have fired around in my head... It goes like that for a few days, and then I'll emerge, bleary-eyed, from my writing frenzy, and slowly re-adapt to being with humans again.

How do you build a character profile - is it planned, do you use ideas from people you have met?

A little of both. Some of my characters are amplified versions of people I've met, some are people I wish I knew, and some are simply personalities needed to make the story interesting. Characters shouldn't be malleable; they need opinions, and those opinions should be contrasted, tested, and challenged by everyone around them, so sometimes I'll design a character just too contrary to another one. Having someone test your character's beliefs helps them-and you- understand it better.

As for the two main characters, Meda herself has elements of my personality, but she is most definitely not me; she's the kind of person I wish I could be. I wanted to write someone who would help me be a better person, and she is my attempt at changing the way I think in some situations. Perseus has a lot of my personality, too, but only if my life and childhood had been very different.

Who is your author hero (either fictional or not) and why?

Any author with the discipline and brain space to write daily is a LEGEND. Those of us who have two lives- the author life and the day-job-life- can struggle to write daily, even if it's therapeutic and a story begs to be told, so anyone who can do that is my hero! But I have immense respect for Maria Semple, author of Where'd You Go, Bernadette? for her ability to weave together such a wonderful, almost-detective-like story in such a unique way, but have it be so approachable and relatable. I met her and she's also awesome in person. And while I am not, strictly speaking, a Potterhead, how can you not love and admire J.K. Rowling?

Mara loves to catch up with her readers via her social media accounts at:

http://www.facebook.com/maraganbooks

https://twitter.com/maragan6

I hope you can take a moment to offer support for her by checking it out, and I extend my thanks for being interviewed!

Cendrine Marrouat

Cendrine is a lady of many talents. From photography to writing, she has spent her days creating art in many forms. So I was keen to chat with her about how she manages to get everything done.

With such a range of books and accomplishments, what would you consider your greatest success to date?

I am the kind of person who celebrates every little victory. So, I tend to tap dance a lot. ;-)

What do I consider as my greatest success? Reading this review about one of my books:

"In my sneak peek of Life’s Little Things, I got a chance to see some of the book, and fell in love. Marrouat’s writing reminded me of one of my favorite poets, Kahlil Gibran. My initial impression was spot on. Each photo is caption by a carefully crafted line or phrase that Marrouat wrote especially for the image. Reminiscent of Gibran’s nostalgic, vibrant, and soulful poetry and prose, the quotes for each photograph evoke the best moments in life. I found myself transported to memories I treasure but often forget. Reading this was like lazing in a hammock under a sun-drenched sky. It was a stirring experience in all the best ways." (

Kahlil Gibran is my favorite artist. This is the best compliment I have ever received.

If I can affect one person positively with my work, my job is done.

What has been the lowest moment of your career so far, and what turned it around for you?

I have never had what you call the lowest moment in my career. I think that it stems from the fact that I have always been focused on and aware of my strengths and weaknesses. I also love challenging myself!

As an artist with a wide experience in several fields, there is never a dull moment. And I surround myself with people who provide me with enough fuel to be able to keep going without looking back.

How would you describe your process for writing poetry?

For the last several years, I have only focused on traditional haiku and my own poetry form (the Sixku). My process is always the same: I sit and pay attention to what I see. Then, I let my mind guide me to where I want to go with my words.

What prompted you to write books to help other authors, and what is one of your key takeaway points for new authors?

Because that's what art is all about. Art is meant to be shared with others and help them experience emotions.

If you just write for yourself, what is the point?

My main takeaway for new authors is to stop comparing themselves to the world. Be careful about the words you use to publicly describe yourself. Because this is what people will remember about you and ultimately the way they will see you.

Also, learn the importance of a solid marketing strategy.

Cendrine likes to engage with her readers via Twitter, Facebook, my blog, and her website. She also, uses Instagram and YouTube.

You can find links to all her social media via her website:

I hope you can take a moment to offer support for her by checking it out, and I extend my thanks for being interviewed!

I wish to thank you for taking the time to read and engage with me! Happy reading everyone!
VK Tritschler

Grab your copy of Magic & Mischief here:

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The flow of the pen

I read once that different parts of the brain are activated depending on if you are using a pen or a typewriter. Apparently, they did studies to see what parts of the brain lit up on a scan when a person wrote with a pen as opposed to writing on a keyboard. But I was wondering as I read the results, did they use the same writing prompt at the same time of day with the same person for both, ensuring that they had eaten and drunken the exact same amount of food at the time?

Why the questions, you might rightfully ask. But let's be honest here team; as an author, one single sip of coffee can affect a story. The way light bounces off a table in the afternoon or the changing mood of the writer at the time. All of these affect how the pen flows on my page. One morning I can have a wonderful idea, but a mere half hour and two sips of coffee later I can find clarity on its pitfalls. So I was wondering if they allowed for this when they did the testing? Did they randomize to account for the lack of caffeine? I suspect not. But then, I have admitted to struggling to read my own handwriting at the best of times, so perhaps I have a reason to expect the worst. But one morning I will try again. And then grab a coffee and rewrite it all anyway. So let's find out how our authors write this month...

This month's authors:

Tara Jenkinson

Tara defines herself as an Australian author, blogger, and quirky queen. Intrigued, I wanted to find out what makes the quirk and here's what she told me.

How do you find your education in professional writing and other languages help or hinder your writing?

In a nutshell, my education in professional writing made me a better writer. It taught me to be precise with my vocabulary and how to be a more ruthless editor; it pushed me to write every day and read often, adhere to deadlines, and expanded my imagination. It allowed me to explore genres outside of my comfort zones and discover a talent for styles I mightn’t have realized otherwise.
But perhaps most importantly, it introduced me to other writers, editors, publishers, and artists from Australia and all over the world, and taught me the importance of having a professional network. Writing can be an isolating profession, so surrounding yourself with people you can learn from and share ideas with is highly beneficial.
My education in other languages has helped my writing by improving my overall understanding of the English language, such as sentence structure, grammar, idioms, and dialect, and the relationship between languages in general. I have also found that studying other languages goes hand in hand with learning about other cultures and their histories, which can be a rich resource for story ideas or fantasy world-building.

What inspired your last book?

I had been reading a lot of “chick lit” books about party girls in their late 20s/ early 30s, which brought back a lot of memories from my own wild party days, and it occurred to me that the themes in these books – such as taking responsibility for your actions, learning that your mistakes have long term consequences, forging an identity away from your friends - would have more impact on a younger audience. Most YA novels focus on the high school experience and can be somewhat wholesome compared to the reality of being a young adult in Australia; I wanted to write a realistic portrayal of that “between” stage in life when we are suddenly handling the freedoms and responsibilities of an adult while still having the impulsive mentality of a teenager.

Who is your favorite character (either one you created or one you have read about and why?

I love quirky misfits, especially characters who use their eccentricities and insight into life on the outskirts to help others.
Officially, my favorite character is Tyrion Lannister from GRR Martin’s Game of Thrones. He is witty and intelligent, but I mostly love how he is aware of himself and owns his faults and mistakes. Unofficially, my favorite character is Lark Noble from the Sisters of Blood and Spirit series by Kady Cross. She is the perfect balance of spunky and vulnerable, and I love the relationship she has with her grandmother.

How do you plan a book or story, and what process do you go through as you write it?

Because I write for different genres, the way I approach writing a story differs depending on what I am writing.
Usually, though, I start with a blurb-sized idea for a story (and maybe a handful of characters and a few scenes as well) and just start to write. I research as I write unless a major plot point or character trait is beyond my area of expertise, then I gather just enough information to start writing and keep researching as I need.
I usually write a minimum of eight drafts for a story before even considering it for publication; the first two drafts are just me figuring the story out for myself, followed by two drafts where I fix any factual plot or character points through research, three drafts to refine the plot, themes, and character development, then three beta readers proofread for grammar, spelling, sentence structure, and plot consistency, before a final draft where I apply any suggested changes.
To combat writer’s block, I will write around the sentence, paragraph or scene giving me trouble and come back to it later, often leaving notes such as “insert character emotion here” to give myself a rough idea of what I want to write when my brain starts to work again; these notes are also particularly helpful when I have had a long break from a project and forgotten where I was going with a particular scene.

Tara loves to catch up with her readers via her website at:

www.tarajenkinsonauthor.wordpress.com
And via social media

I hope you can take a moment to offer support for her by checking them out, and I extend my thanks for being interviewed!

Dale Jacobsen

Dale is a rural author, who tackles the tough challenge of grass-roots Australian history with gusto. As a combination of writer and researcher, I was keen to find out what she does and how she does it.

What are the pros and cons of writing in rural Australia?

To my mind, there are mostly pros. I love the peace and quiet of sitting in my little hut, specially made for me and my writing, watching the bush and the birds. No barking dogs or noisy neighbors. It’s where the magic happens. Cons are not being able to easily access author events in the city. Brisbane is my closest, although it is close enough for those ‘must-see’ events. My township of Maleny has a very vibrant book/author scene, so I really don’t miss out on much.

What does your typical writing day entail?

It begins with a cuppa in bed while I catch up on social media. I am usually in my hut by 9 am, although I find the ideas and words don’t flow until afternoon. I spend the morning doing admin (emails etc), research and reading over what I wrote the day before. This is my first edit. I then begin serious writing after lunch (spent reading) and work through till 6 pm. If I am at the pointy end of the manuscript, I will return to my hut after dinner until bedtime.

How do you decide what to write next and what inspires you the most?

I have a few ideas in the pipeline. My books invariably grow out of a story/situation/place that grabs my imagination and won’t let go. Life is full of stories, but you know when the right one surfaces. It is the grass-roots stories, usually Australian history, that inspire me.

Of all the stories you have told, which is your favorite and why?

This is easy to answer. Being Lucy. When I heard of the woman who lived alone in a hut in the High Country of the Victorian East Gippsland, I knew I had to tell her story. I wrote it in the first person – the only way I could get inside Lucy’s mind. I absolutely love the story and am pretty pleased with how it evolved, and the wonderful feedback I have received.

Dale loves to attend local markets once a month where she actually gets to talk, face-to-face, with readers. She also has a webpage:

I hope you can take a moment to offer support for her by checking it out, and I extend my thanks for being interviewed!

I wish to thank you for taking the time to read and engage with me! Happy reading everyone!
VK Tritschler

Author Troubleshooting 101

Anyone who has ever played a sport knows that sometimes the hardest shots require the most concentration. But it is often at the most critical time in the game, that this becomes most difficult. That last two seconds on the clock and your one chance at a three-pointer. The stuff of legends and nightmares.

As an author, we often have our own deadlines and countdowns. When the clock is racing against us, and we are in need of a calm state of mind in the midst of all the chaos. This is where your troubleshooting starts and ends. Finding a solution to a problem in your story, whilst creating a new image for a book, and answering questions from supporters and promoters alike. How do you juggle all those balls in the air and keep the momentum going to make sure you make the shot? It's not easy. So I have been keeping a list of issues I have come across as they crop up. I do what can only be described as a risk assessment for my writing, and create potential problems and solutions to add to the same sheet. Along with a timeline of things that I have done before and if they were successful or not. It gives me a focal point for when those tight shots are coming up. So this month I was keen to see how others prepare for their three-point shot.

This month's authors:

Melisssa Keir

Melissa is a woman of many, many talents. As an author and owner of a Publishing company, she is both busy and motivated. So I was keen to chat with her and find out how she manages to keep her mojo moving.

Having your vast experience in publishing and writing, what are the key things that authors need to do in order to get published? And what things do you see often see done, that shouldn’t be?

One of the key things is to never give up. Publishing isn’t a sprint but a marathon. Each day you must get back in the chair and add words to paper. Many famous authors have faced rejections and so will you. But they kept at it, learning and improving. If being a published author is your dream, keep at it.

I often see authors who write stories that feature a great deal of telling rather than showing. Understanding the difference and being able to draw the reader in by using a highly honed craft, takes practice. Integrating the five senses into a story will also engage the reader and make them not want to put your book down.

What does your writing space look like?

I write at my kitchen table and in my bed. Luckily I have a laptop and take it with me wherever I go. I’ve written some of my books while in a small trailer along the Lake Michigan shore or snuggled under my covers while my husband sleeps beside me. On my kitchen table, I have sticky notes, pens, and my calendar so I can keep track of everything. A glass of ice water is nearby and sometimes music is playing, at least when I can get my husband to turn the television off.

When you started at Inkspell Publishing, what were your goals and how have they changed through the years?

When Inkspell Publishing started, I was one of the editors. Shilpa Mudiganti started it to provide a place for romance authors to become published. Many publishing houses were closing and authors were left adrift. My jobs at Inkspell grew over the years and when Shilpa decided to retire, I purchased the company.

My dream was to create a place for authors where they were supported. Inkspell is a family with everyone working together to help each other. I’m most proud of the fact that we are known as a caring and compassionate company.

Our basic goal of a publishing house with a heart remains the same, although I’d love to see more of our authors hit the big charts. After all, I believe in their books and know just how amazing they are. I want everyone to find out!

If you could meet any person (living or dead) today, who would it be and why?

There are so many people I’d love to sit down with and chat with. Tom Hiddleston, Gerard Butler- just because they are so sexy and the accents. But at this point in my life, I’d love to spend another few hours with my mother and grandmother. It’s been over twenty years since my mom passed and twenty-five years since my grandmother passed. They were inspirations to me. During the 1980s my mother wrote a romance novel and shopped it around for publication. She was rejected and I have those letters from the big publishing houses. A couple of years ago, I recovered her manuscript and updated it. I worked with an editor to bring it to publication while maintaining her voice. Finally, I published her book- The Spitfire and Scoundrel, making her dream of becoming an author, a reality. I can only imagine how our conversation would go.

Melissa loves to connect with readers. Whilst she is an author, she also loves to chat about some of her own favorite authors. She has a keeper shelf of books that she reads and rereads!

She has a website (

There is also an Amazon page (

But the best way to connect with her is through Facebook (

And if you are interested in getting published by Inkspell you can find out more about submissions here at:

http://www.inkspellpublishing.com/submission.html

I hope you can take a moment to offer support for her by checking it out, and I extend my thanks for being interviewed!

Janalyn Knight

Nobody knows sexy Texas cowboys like Janalyn. From an early age, she competed in rodeo, later working on a ten-thousand-acre cattle ranch, and these experiences lend authenticity to her characters and stories. So I was keen to chat with Janalyn to discuss how she got into writing.

Who is your favorite author and why?

My favorite author is C. J. Cherryh. She's not a romance author but has tons of romance in her books. I love her books because she does an amazing job at developing her characters and can create such different cultures and draw you into them, realizing that their differences matter much less than the ways that "people" are the same. I can't put her books down.

What is your first step to writing a story, and how much do you plan out?

When I write a book, first, I decide who my two main characters will be since I write romance. Then I make a three or four page outline of the basic story, single-spaced. After that, I find photos of the characters and then make my scenes, a good solid paragraph for each scene until the whole book is plotted out.

Have you ever used professional courses or writing courses to improve your writing, and what did you learn?

I have quite a few books on writing that I refer to a lot, and yes I've had lots of writing training through my SARA group as well as taking on-line courses and full-day workshops. Writing is all about training, training, training.

If you got stuck on a remote island with only one of your characters, who would it be and why?

Stuck on a remote island? It would definitely be with Caleb, the hero from my book, The Cowboy's Fate. Yummy!

Jannalyn is most active on Instagram and you can find her here:

I:

I hope you can take a moment to offer support for her by checking it out, and I extend my thanks for being interviewed!

I wish to thank you for taking the time to read and engage with me! Happy reading everyone!
VK Tritschler