Trisha Sugarek's Blog, page 85
July 19, 2014
Interview with NY Times Best Seller Author, Ace Atkins
As a fan I first discovered Ace when I saw that Robert Parker's stories were being continued after his death. Ace was selected by the Robert B. Parker estate to continue the bestselling adventures of Boston’s iconic private eye, Spenser. That led to my wanting to read more of this brilliant author's work. And that ultimately led to my wanting to interview him.
Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing?
A. I have an office on the square in Oxford, Mississippi. It’s a good place in a historic building with creaky heart pine floors and tall ceilings, filled with lawyers hard at work. I don’t think I could stand to have complete seclusion. I used to work in a big city newsroom – at The Tampa Tribune – and I like all the energy around me as I write.
Q. Do you have any special rituals when you sit down to write? (a neat work space, sharpened #2 pencils, legal pad, cup of tea, glass of brandy, favorite pajamas, etc.)
A. A decent computer, preferably using an old-fashioned IBM clicky keyboard, and a strong cup of coffee. On some projects, I might have a bit of whiskey in the mug. But that’s usually later in the day.
Q. Could you tell us something about yourself that we might not already know?
A. I have an extensive collection of rare movie posters and stills, a collection that I started in high school. I also own every original paperback produced by the great John D. MacDonald. <(So do I, Ace!!!)
Q. Do you have a set time each day to write or do you write only when you are feeling creative?
A. I prefer to start work in the morning, no real set time, and then finish by at least 5 p.m. I do not like to work at night unless there is a deadline with edits. When I leave work, I hope to feel exhausted and ready to put up the keyboard for a while. It’s not always possible, but I also hate checking email or seeing the computer or the iPhone until the next morning.
Q. What’s your best advice to other writers for overcoming procrastination?
A. Get to work! Procrastination is certainly part of the process. I won’t tell you that part of my day isn’t filled with emails, book straightening, and some time on the internet. But to be a professional writer, you have to know when to cut that cord. The fewer distractions, the less you will be able to put off the writing.
Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing and for how long?
A. On a good day, when the work is flowing, it will be several hours. I may look up and it’s way later than I imagined. Those are the best days.
Q. Who or what is your “Muse” at the moment ?
A. My dog, Lucky. On weekends, when all the lawyers are at home, she comes to the office and keeps me company. We walk around Oxford to get the ideas going. She is terrific company and doesn’t complain.
Q. When did you begin to write seriously?
A. Although I worked on stories and novels back in college, I don’t think serious writing came until I became a newspaper reporter. I think I was actually a hobbyist until I was paid for my work. I also came under the influence of some terrific older reporters and editors who helped me make huge leaps in my abilities. It was the best education a young writer can have – unfortunately that world, the news biz, isn’t the same anymore.
Don't miss Part 2 of my interview on July 24th!
'The Forsaken' goes on sale July 24th!
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July 18, 2014
July 17, 2014
Don't Miss my Interview with author, Ace Atkins!
July 19th begins my two part interview with NY Times Best Selling author, Ace Atkins. In addition to writing for Robert Parker and continuing the mystery series for Boston’s iconic private eye, Spenser, Ace is a wonderful writer, authoring his own books, The Broken Places, The Lost Ones and The Ranger (just to name a few).
'A former journalist who cut his teeth as a crime reporter in the newsroom of The Tampa Tribune, he published his first novel, Crossroad Blues, at 27 and became a full-time novelist at 30. In 2010, he was selected by the Robert B. Parker estate to continue the author's work after his death.
As a reporter, Ace earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination for a feature series based on his investigation into a forgotten murder of the 1950s. The story became the core of his critically acclaimed novel, White Shadow, which earned raves from noted authors and critics. In his next novels, Wicked City, Devil’s Garden, and Infamous, blended first-hand interviews and original research into police and court records with tightly woven plots and incisive characters. The historical novels told great American stories by weaving fact and fiction into a colorful, seamless tapestry.
The Forsaken, The Broken Places, The Lost Ones and The Ranger — all part of the unfolding Quinn Colson saga — represent a return to Ace’s first love: hero-driven series fiction. Quinn Colson is a real hero — a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan — who returns home to north Mississippi to fight corruption on his home turf. The stories, contemporary tales with a dash of classic westerns and noir, are currently in development for a major television series. (courtesy of http://www.aceatkins.com)
'The Forsaken' will be on sale July 24th
July 15, 2014
Fiction mimics real life...doesn't it?
I have realized over the years that I am attracted to writing stories based on real life experiences, whether they are mine or someone else's.
While
visiting a convicted murderer (
While growing up my mother would tell endless stories of when she and her 13 siblings were growing up in the wilds of Tumwater, Washington. They were charming and hilarious and real! She went on to tell of her early days in Sa
n Francisco, playing semi-professional women's basketball, buying a bar and grill, and working long hours, then going out dancing all night. Years later I heard the rest of the story, from my two older siblings; how our mother had 'farmed' them out to get them out from under foot. The many men in my mother's life. It was difficult to write about my mother in this way, but I believe that I was faithful to the truth. (
July 13, 2014
Now Available! A Journal for ALL Women
NOW AVAILABLE! A complete journal for the woman writer. Each page has a famous quote nestled in the margins to inspire your thoughts, dreams, and writing. Over 275 blank, lined pages await your journal entries.
You will find helpful instructions and tips, should you want to try your hand at writing fiction, story telling, writing a play or maybe some poetry. Come on, you know you've always wanted to try.....
Coming Soon! A Journal for ALL Women
COMING SOON! A complete journal for the woman writer. Each page has a famous quote nestled in the margins to inspire your thoughts, dreams, and writing. Over 275 blank, lined pages await your journal entries.
You will find helpful instructions and tips, should you want to try your hand at writing fiction, story telling, writing a play or maybe some poetry. Come on, you know you've always wanted to try.....
To be released by August 1, you can pre-order your copy by clicking here: http://www.writeratplay.com/contact-me/
I will be delighted to put you on the list so that you can have one of the first copies off the press. Or visit my
July 12, 2014
Stellar (Pre-release) Review for "The Taste of Murder"
REVIEW ~~~ The Taste of Murder is Book 5 in Sugarek's 'The World of Murder' series (previously acclaimed by this reviewer as a tight, compelling series that builds powerful scenarios and believable protagonists) and is especially recommended for prior fans of the books who want a continuation of the same successful devices employed in the previous titles: emotion-driven protagonists and a whodunit scenario that puzzles readers as much as the characters doing the investigating.
With its dash of romance, culinary-based intrigue, and a New York City setting, The Taste of Murder is as riveting as its predecessors and offers much to newcomers as well as prior fans. And having the subject be a culinary competition mystery is perfect timing, by the way, given current TV viewer interest in cooking show competitions (which are proliferating - sans murder scenarios, of course!)he story opens on the set of a cooking show competition where four chefs are charged
with using ingredients from three mystery shopping bags. All is progressing smoothly … until a world-renowned chef/judge keels over dead.
Cut!
The next scene takes place at the police station, where O'Roarke and his partner Stella Garcia have just been handed the cold case of Chef Jeff's death from 2011. But the duo doesn't do cold cases, so why has this one landed on their desk with special direction by their Captain? It seems politics is involved; but when O'Roarke and Garcia do some sleuthing, much more is at stake than the wishes of a new mayor to see closure on an unsolved mystery.
As their probe into an old case turns up more and more suspects and possibilities, so they find themselves probing film directing, culinary cook-offs, and long-dead motives for murder that return to life during the course of their investigations.
From a gay lover to a jealous wife, there's lots of motivation for murder and emotions run high: it's up to Garcia and O'Roarke to sort through the maze of connections and angst to sort out the identity of the real murderer.
Fans of mysteries in general will find The Taste of Murder holds all the trappings of a good yarn, tightly bound with the personalities and motivations of the two investigators themselves. While old fans will find O'Roarke and Garcia's methods familiar (and just as engrossing as in prior books), newcomers will find this book also stands well alone and assumes no prior knowledge of protagonists and past events to prove a satisfying, compelling mystery read. ~Diane Donovan, Senior Book Reviewer, Midwest Book Review (COMING SOON! The Taste of Murder, in the Fall 2014)
Other books in the World of Murder Series
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DON'T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring
July 11, 2014
Check out Author, Tara Ford's Blog
Tara Ford, Author**Fiction,Five,Fridays
Besides being a successful author, blogger, and teacher, Tara carves out some time to support other writers such as myself. She has, over the past few weeks, featured my fiction on her very clever Fiction, Five, Friday!
http://taraford.weebly.com/fiction-five-friday
We are of like minds...'pay it forward'. Thanks, Tara 
July 10, 2014
How to Not Survive, but Thrive, Living with a Writer!
This was just toooo good not to share! As a writer, I will tell you that it's good, no, great advice if you are involved with a writer.
Okay, all laughs aside....seriously....if you are the significant other to a writer you are one of my HEROES!! When we are writing and you try to talk to us, we are not being rude by not answering you, we don't mean to be neglectful, we don't mean to hurt your feelings. We simply don't hear you.....when we are deep into the zone we aren't even in the same room or house with you...we are in the world of our story, if we are lucky.
This, in fact, is one of the questions I ask the authors that I interview. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing and for how long? And they have all reported back that yes they get lost in the story and in their characters.
So if you give the writer in your life some slack, bring them a cup of coffee but don't speak, quietly close the door to their 'writing space' you are truly a friend to that writer.
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July 8, 2014
This Author featured on Poetrysoup.com
Dear Trisha,
Congratulations, this is to let you know that your poem The Ash Can is one of the poems being featured on the PoetrySoup home page this week. Poems are rotated each day in groups of 14-16 to give each poem an equal opportunity to be displayed.
Thanks again and congratulations.
Sincerely,
PoetrySoup.com
The Ash Can © Trisha Sugarek
I got the call on Sunday night. I was traveling on business. When I looked at the caller ID
I wondered why my husband’s boss would be calling me. I was unprepared for what
he told me and my legs turned to water when he said that my husband was dead.
‘A heart attack? An accident?’ I asked. ‘No’, he said, ‘John committed suicide.
They found him in your garage this morning.’ I heard someone screaming and
wished that they would stop so I could hear the rest. His voice was very far away
and the woman just kept screaming. ‘Shut up! Shut up!’ I need to hear. I clapped my
hand over my mouth when I suddenly realized it was me who was screaming.
I don’t remember hanging up or getting on the plane. Yes, John and I were having
problems and we had been separated for about three months but nothing was official.
After thirty years of marriage I never believed that we couldn’t weather this and share
the rest of our lives together. This was just a phase he was going through…some sort
of mid-life crisis. This had to be some horrible mistake, a case of mistaken identity.
My John would never do this, leave me like this.
I stumbled into our home around nine the next morning. The house looked like a woman
hadn’t lived there for months. Dirty dishes in the sink, groceries half put away, empty
beer cans and a full ashtray by John’s chair. Seeking comfort I walked over to his chair.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a reflection in the mirror over the
fireplace. Some wild looking woman with mascara smudges under her eyes and smeared
lipstick looked out at me. I walked closer to inspect this stranger in my house.
She looked old and used up. Who was she? What had life dealt her to look so worn out?(more)
