Jerome Parisse's Blog, page 14
April 10, 2011
Alina Adams: "Skate Crime"
Hi Alina, could you please describe yourself in five words?
I did it my way.
What can you tell us about "Skate Crime"?
I published five Figure Skating Mysteries with Berkley Prime Crime, in which I described skating routines, skating arenas, skating costumes and skating music with any and every word I had at my disposal. Wouldn't it be great, I thought, if readers could actually see what I was describing?
Thanks to recent advances in technology, now they can!
"Skate Crime: Multimedia" is an excerpt from my fifth book, "Skate Crime," with videos linked right into the text as an integral part of the plot!
Who's your favourite author?
John Steinbeck. I love how he is able to convey (show, not tell) huge, sweeping, universal sentiments with an absolute minimum of words. I love George Orwell's "Animal Farm," in particular, for the same reason. There is not an extra adjective in the entire book. Then again, when I was thirteen years old, I wanted to grow up to be Sidney Sheldon. So I'm pretty eclectic.
Do you have tips for budding writers?
Write every day. Not just when you feel like it, or when you're inspired, or, especially, when it's easy. Treat it like a job. Or a sport. If you practice a sport every day, you will inevitably get better. (As choreographer Joe Gideon tells his student in the movie, "All That Jazz," – "I can't make you a great dancer, but I can make you a better dancer." Sports, dance… like I said, I'm pretty eclectic). If you write every day, especially those days when you don't feel like it, you will get better.
What are you working on now?
I have just received the rights back to all of my Figure Skating Mysteries, "Murder on Ice," "On Thin Ice," "Axel of Evil," "Death Drop" and "Skate Crime." I intend to enhance them all. I am also enhancing my romance novel, "When a Man Loves a Woman." But, not with skating videos….
Where can we find you online?
My homepage is http://www.AlinaAdams.com
Philip Chen: "Falling Star"
Hi Philip, could you please describe yourself in five words?
Engineer, Lawyer, Banker, Cartoonist, Author
What can you tell us about "Falling Star"?
Written to resolve my own innermost angst over a series of horrific nightmares in 1990, Falling Star is a realistic thriller about the discovery of mysterious objects buried deep in the ocean and what happens when they wake up and start sending signals to outer space. In my nightmares, I saw what seemed to be ordinary Americans wreaking apocalyptic horror. Buildings were set ablaze, skyscrapers came crashing down, and people died gruesome deaths.
I was travelling to Europe regularly and carrying one of the first lightweight laptops at the time. To try to settle my fears, I started writing Falling Star on the long flights, in lonely London hotel rooms, and at home on weekends. In about one and one-half months I had a 560 page manuscript that described the discovery of the objects, the investment banker pulled back into a clandestine agency to help decipher the messages, attacks by gangs of ordinary citizens determined to kill him, and the death of a revered friend. I copyrighted the original manuscript in 1991.
For twenty years, literary agents and publishers scoffed at this story, especially the theme that foreign agents have been hiding in plain view for decades in America. I could just hear them ridiculing the notion that foreign moles could marry innocent Americans, raise children, buy homes, hold down ordinary jobs, and steal the identities of dead babies. After all this is America; things like that just don't happen here! Until, of course, they do as in June 2010 when Russian spies were found to have been doing exactly what my fictional spies had been doing for twenty years. The only difference between the Russians and my fictional spies is that my spies didn't grow Hydrangeas. One of my spies was even a gorgeous female posing as a financial consultant.
When the story broke in June, I realized that I could no longer wait for agents or publishers to come find me. I decided to self-published and released Falling Star on August 4, 2010. My concern stemmed from a morbid fear that more parts of my story would be played out on prime-time news. I am mindful that the above comments might appear to be mere boasting. My response is if you doubt me, please go to my Scribd account and read the excerpts I started posting in May 2009 about my novel and accounts of the foreign spies. http://scribd.com/PhilC68
Falling Star is a fast-paced novel that has been compared to the best works of Tom Clancy, and the "idea" stories of Arthur C. Clarke. The major comment received in reviews is that the story is so real that people wonder if it is really fiction. One commenter, Author Brendan Carroll, summed up this concern by saying that Falling Star "makes the reader wonder if this story might not be fiction at all, but something very real and very disturbing."
Falling Star has received thirty-nine reviews since its release: 20 – Five Star, 15 – Four Star, 1 – Three Star, 1 – Two and One Half Star, 1 – Two Star, and 1-One Star.
Finally, noted book critic Alan Caruba, a charter member of the prestigious National Book Critics Circle had this to say about Falling Star:
"It is rare when a novelist makes his debut with as powerful a novel as Philip Chen's Falling Star ($15.25, available from Amazon.com, soft cover and on Kindle). It begins in 1967 and concludes in the Oval Office in 1993. In between Chen introduces you to an array of characters, all of whom have unique talents, some of whom are U.S. Navy officers, some with the FBI, all devoted to the protection of their nation. They are a handful of people who know about mysterious entities far beneath the surface of the waters surrounding the U.S. Others are members of a rogue KGB unit, moles who lived among us, but whose mission ended when the former Soviet Union collapsed. This novel stands out for the way you are introduced not just to the characters, but the physical reality in which they live, the sights and even the smells. Slowly and then with increasing intensity, the mysteries are unraveled, the enemies identified, as life and death often hangs in the balance. Drawing on his own life as an ocean research engineer, attorney and banker, Chen brings an authenticity to the novel that provides a heart-pounding reality that forces you to ask "What if?" What if Earth was under observation by those from another planet that is circling a dying sun? What if they intended to colonize it? What if the year for this was 2013? If you read just one novel in 2011, make it Falling Star."
Who's your favourite author?
This is the toughest question ever, because it is impossible to say one. My list includes Hemingway, Poe, Socrates, Clancy, Clarke, Verne, Wells, etc., to name a few.
Do you have tips for budding writers?
Do not ever let go of your dreams or be dissuaded by naysayers.
What are you working on now?
I am in the process of releasing my first collection of cartoons from There is Strangeness in the Universe ™. The collection is from a cartoon blog that I have had for a few years based a real astronomical theory that a parallel universe full of strange matter must exist to give cosmic balance to our own fragile space continuum. I started cartooning at age 63.
I am also working on the sequel to Falling Star, in which the saga of Mike and the mysterious objects takes a dramatic turn.
Finally, I am being urged by my daughter (who is probably one of the best writers I know, but has no interest in being an author or editor) to finalize my book about growing up as an Asian in 1950s and 1960s America. The novel, Home to the Middle Kingdom, has been completed, but needs some serious editing.
Where can we find you online?
My website for Falling Star can be found at http://fallingstar1970.wordpress.com
I also host a forum for independent authors called The Independent Authors Forum (interestingly enough) at my community website site, The Eclectic Mind at Puget Sound Speaks, at http://pugetsoundspeaks.com
My cartoon site can be found at http://strangenessinuniverse.blogspot.com
April 9, 2011
Jiu Xiang (Yunnan, China) – 九乡（云南，中国）
About 120 kilometres from Kunming and 40 kilometres from Shilin, Jiu Xiang offers an amazing scenery of caves and deep gorges. Jiu Xiang karst caves developed about 600 million years ago. There are over 100 caves in the area. The Jiu Xiang scenic area can be divided into five sites: The Rainbow Bridge , the Sanjiao cave, Dashaba, Alulong and the Moon Lake. Up to now, only the Rainbow Bridge site can be visited. You will go through Shilin on your way, so you can pack the two sites in a day if you leave Kunming early enough and are not scared of a long day. The caves are interesting; the stalactites and stalagmites are impressive, and the colours they are lit with are sort of cute. Two waterfalls called "The Twin Waterfalls" can be seen underground. There is also a deep gorge which you can visit on a boat. Be warned, on Sundays and on Chinese public holidays, the site is very busy with groups of Chinese tourists and you may have to wait patiently in line to get out of the caves. There are however almost no Western tourists there; they seem to prefer (or only be aware of) nearby Shilin. Many visitors prefer Jiu Xiang to Shilin.
Nigel Bird: Dirty Old Town
Hi Nigel, could you please describe yourself in five words?
Stubborn, kind, father, teacher, writer…
What can you tell us about "Dirty Old Town"?
Dirty Old Town is a collection of short stories. Of the nine, five of them have been published previously in respected magazines/webzines. They're noir in feel and generally lurk in the shadows. They're also full of heart.
There have been fourteen 5-star reviews to date at Amazon. The one I include here sums up the others. It's by a man whose debut novel (The Echo Chamber) will be released by Penguin later this year and you can expect quite a fanfare when it comes out. He says:
"I found these stories perceptive, funny, sad, cynical, daring, true and best of all always thrillingly alive. Perhaps what's most impressive is their sheer variety. Each story inhabits its own theme and voice – even sometimes its own vocabulary – wholly convincingly, and the collection builds into a brilliant whole."
I suspect he says it better than I ever could.
Who's your favourite author?
Difficult to pick, but Paul Auster has been at the top of my list since New York Trilogy and that's quite some time ago now.
Do you have tips for budding writers?
Seek out criticism from people with a track record and take what they say as dispassionately as you can. It's learning process and a huge amount of work is needed in rewriting, so consider every criticism and decide whether you're going to act upon it or not.
What are you working on now?
I'm currently working on two main projects.
The first is as an editor. Chris Rhatigan and I are putting together an anthology of work called Pulp Ink. A whole host of great writers are creating stories using a line or a track from the movie Pulp Fiction. So far the standard of what we've been sent is incredible and the variety offered perfect for a collection. Not only is the content going to be great, we've also got the team from Needle Publishing to put it all together, so we couldn't be better placed. It should be out as an e-book by the end of summer of this year and I have no doubt that it will be among the strongest anthologies of 2011.
I'm also working on a novel, a third attempt at the longer form. This one is coming more easily to me than my earlier attempts and I'm hoping that's got something to do with me maturing as a writer. It's teacher noir, a story based around a Hampstead school where the world spins out of control for a number of individuals. I'm hoping that is dark and engaging.
I'll also be publicising the new anthology 'Mammoth Best British Crime' as much as I can. My story 'An Arm And A Leg' is placed alongside the likes of Christopher Brookmyre, Colin Bateman, Ian Rankin, Kate Atkinson, Stuart McBride, Allan Guthrie, Liza Cody, Paul Brazill and Alexander McCall Smith (amongst others). It's a great honour to be part of such an institution.
Where can we find you online?
All Due Respect: http://all-due-respect.blogspot.com/2011/03/issue-10-april-2011.html
A Twist Of Noir: http://a-twist-of-noir.blogspot.com/search/label/Nigel%20Bird
Beat To A Pulp: http://www.beattoapulp.com/stor/2010/1121_nb_TakingALineForAWalk.cfm
The Drowning Machine with the prize-winning Beat On The Brat: http://drowningmachine.blogspot.com/2010/06/wgi-1st-place-beat-on-brat-by-nigel.html
My own blog, Sea Minor, is at http://nigelpbird.blogspot.com .
Dirty Old town is available in the UK at
in the US at
and from Smashwords at
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/40287
Matt Henderson Ellis: Strange as Angels
Hi Matt, could you describe yourself in five words?
"No retreat, baby, no surrender."
What can you tell us about "Strange as Angels"?
It occurred to me that Prozac had as big an influence on my generation, and its music, as LSD had on the generation who came of age in the 1960s. I am not a scientist or sociologist, so I sought to examine this idea via my own personal experiences with depression and self-medication. The result was Strange as Angels, a memoir which chronicles my use of music, particularly 80s punk and new wave, to alleviate the psychic burden of teenage depression. The narrative is basically the story of first love, the ramifications of being on overly sensitive soul, and what happens when you are not true to your own nature. Along the way, I give short exegeses of bands like the Smiths, the Cure, the Violent Femmes, and the Replacements and their place in music before Prozac and Nirvana broke depression and, simultaneously, underground rock into the public consciousness.
Who's your favourite author?
The only living writer I buy in hardcover is Haruki Murakami. The dead ones: John Kennedy Toole, Bernard Malamud, Flannery O'Conner, Mikhail Bulgakov, Georges Perec, and George Orwell.
Do you have tips for budding writers?
There is so much bad advice out there on the Internet, written by people who are mostly rehashing other people's bad advice. Learn things by doing them (I'm mostly talking about the publishing process here). Creatively, if you are indeed a writer, you don't need advice; you will write anyway. Just do it without shame and stay 100 percent committed to following your own path to expression: forget what everyone else is doing. That said, community is sustaining, emotionally, I mean. You should always have a few trustworthy people around with whom to share your writing. Not much gets done in a void. Oh, and read John Gardener's On Becoming a Novelist – it is invaluable.
What are you working on now?
Right now my energies are taken up by editing a novel for one client and a memoir for another. I have a novel of my own in the fermentation stage, but it is only a few unrefined ideas at this point. Also, I am trying to learn how to market e-books. Like most writers, I am not very comfortable with this facet of publication.
Where can we find you online?
http://www.wordpillediting.com/wordpillblog/
April 8, 2011
If I Never See You Again, by Niamh O'Connor
Jo Birmingham's life is far from easy. She has recently split up from her long-term husband, has two kids to look after including a two-year old, works long hours for the Dublin police, and is in charge of a murder investigation that others would love to have. Oh, and did I mention that her ex-husband is also her boss and now living with his secretary? If it all sounds too much, just wait till you read the book. A serial killer is on the loose, and Birmingham needs to quickly find out the link between all the victims.
If I Never See You Again is a good read. Birmingham's character is interesting and real. We spend time getting to know her at the beginning of the book and the novel is the better for it. The story has got a real feel. People have real lives and you don't close the book thinking, "Yeah, right!", even if I find the serial killer's motives a bit flimsy. I thought the ending was also a bit too easy too, but the build-up is good. If I Never See You Again is not scary like other crime novels can be and there is no gratuitous gore. It focusses more on catching the killer and on the relationships between the characters. I enjoyed reading it. Three stars.
I was given "If I Never See You Again" by Transworld Publishers as part of The Great Transworld Crime Caper, in which I am currently taking part.
C.E. Grundler: "Last Exit in New Jersey"
Last Exit in New Jersey is a complex story with an intricately woven plot viewed through parallel protagonists. Hazel Moran is a seemingly vulnerable 20 year-old who finds herself faced with some very unpleasant characters seeking her missing cousin, who vanished days earlier with her father's new tractor-trailer truck. But beneath a shy, rebellious, moody exterior Hazel is highly capable, fierce, and deceptively lethal, and she's single-minded in her determination to protect her family. The other protagonist, Otto Hammon, is a somewhat unstable young man who finds himself inexplicably swept into the middle of these confusing events, and readers will soon realize his sanity is shaky at best. For Hammon failure isn't an option, it's a fact of life, yet he presses on all the same as he's faced with a cast of questionable characters, including this perplexing and dangerous young woman who has come to doubt everyone she knows and trusts, sometimes with tragic results. The mystery, written with a tone of irony and dark humor, unfolds and events weave together, building to a conclusion that proves nothing is coincidence.
C.E. Grundler answers a few questions:
Who's your favourite author?
I would have to put Donald Westlake at the top of the list, particularly his comic crime novels, but also his hard-boiled 'Parker' series, written under the Richard Stark alias. But if I had to name the author who had the greatest influence on me, that would be John D. MacDonald with his Travis McGee series, which undoubtedly warped me from an early age.
Do you have tips for budding writers?
Persistence. The best thing you can do is write, and keep writing… and then write even more. Writing is much like any other activity: the more you keep at it, the better you become. Read constantly, and think as you do. Read good books, read great books, read awful ones. Study what makes writing flow seamlessly and what makes it clunk; what makes for an intriguing plot versus a dull one. Listen to your own words from a detached perspective – have a friend read your passages aloud and see where you cringe, then edit ruthlessly. Don't take yourself too seriously, but do take your craft very seriously. And before you publish, get a proof-reader or four to look everything over.
What are you working on now?
Currently I'm working on No Wake Zone, which picks up with Hazel and Hammon where Last Exit In New Jersey left off.
Where can we find you online?
My blog is: http://cegrundler.wordpress.com
And I'm on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=100001455003973
April 7, 2011
Kunming by night
Kunming by night (Yunnan, China) is quite beautiful. The city is lit in lots of different ways and some of the buildings become real pieces of art. I went out last week and took some pictures. They should give you an idea of what I mean…
Shilin (Stone Forest, Yunnan – 石林, 云南)
Last weekend I left Kunming (Yunnan, China) to visit Shilin, about hundred kilometres south-east of the city. It takes about an hour and a half to get there. Shilin, also called Stone Forest, is a beautiful place. The Chinese sometimes call it "The First Wonder of the World"; this is of course slightly exaggerated, but Shilin is definitely worth a visit. Shilin is located in Lunan Yi Nationality Autonomous County, and covers an area of 400 square kilometres. It is a typical example of karst topography, not dissimilar to Madagascar's Tsingy de Bemaraha. Approximately 270 million years ago, the region was a vast expanse of sea. Over time, the waters retreated, leaving a limestone landscape, which after erosion became present-day Shilin. Of course the Stone Forest carries typical legends such as the story of Ashima, a beautiful Sani girl.
The guides recommend about two hours to visit the site. I tend to disagree. If you like walking, you will spend a lot more time around the place. Avoid the main area, which is the first one that you reach, among large stones, as it is always busy with (mostly Chinese) tourists and locals trying to attract their attention. My recommendation is to walk along the road that circles the site (passing an interesting village on the way) until you reach the other end. From there you will have a marvelous view of the site, and there is almost nobody. There are lakes and flowers and forests, it really is a beautiful spot. Walk around the area taking in the smells, the view, the songs of the birds, and only then venture inside the stone forest itself until you reach the touristy area. You will enjoy your visit much more that way. Needless to say, the visit is much more enjoyable if the weather is on your side… Part of Shilin is a UNESCO world heritage site.
April 5, 2011
Author interview: RJ Palmer
RJ Palmer tells us about her latest novel, Birthright, and her writing process.
Jerome: What can you tell us about Birthright?
RJ Palmer: If you want spoilers you've come to the wrong place however I can say honestly that Raine Donnelly is a very special person in ways no one can ever guess and the impact of those differences would change the course of the history of humanity.
Jerome: Who are your readers?
RJ Palmer: The people who enjoy reading Birthright will be science fiction buffs and those who enjoy a good technical thriller with an edge of the surreal as well as those who enjoy a few twists here and there would quite easily and happily get lost in Birthright.
Jerome: What was your journey as a writer?
RJ Palmer: To be completely truthful I was flat broke on a winter day and unquestionably bored half insane so I sat down and started writing which in turn spawned an enduring love affair with the written word. Lacking the courage to take the chance I've quietly been writing and sitting on a lot of my work for years until my husband rather insisted that because I have a talent of which I'm aware I have an obligation to share it with the world. The rest is pretty much history.
Jerome: Do you follow a specific writing process?
RJ Palmer: Absolutely not. Although I do tend to enjoy Beethoven when I work, in my opinion it tends to impede the creative process if one refuses to let their mind draw on its own capacity for brainstorming and brilliant ideas without a certain set of criteria that has to be just so. My mind is always brimful of different ideas that, should I choose so, I'll draw on.
Jerome: Where do you find inspiration?
RJ Palmer: Most of the time I put as verbose a description to real-life scenarios as I possibly can and then use the emotions that I feel applied to a completely fictitious circumstance. Does that sound at all crazy?
Jerome: Who are your favourite authors?
RJ Palmer: I have been an avid and almost maniacal Dean Koontz fan since I was thirteen and picked up my first book authored by him. To a lesser degree I like Piers Anthony and I admire the tenacity of Anne McCaffrey who chose a more elite genre of authorship in what is in my opinion the most elite career choice on the planet. Has anyone truly given thought to how exceedingly difficult it is to be a novelist?
Jerome: Is there a book you wish you had written? Which one?
RJ Palmer: If I had to choose it would be multiple books. The Inheritance Series by Christopher Paolini is absolutely amazing though I can tell he took example from J.R.R. Tolkien. Not a bad thing. I would also love to have the singular calibre of talent of Stephen Donaldson who wrote the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant because he frankly does not seem to have been afraid to let thoroughly adult concepts impede the flow of his writing. Also to have authored the Harry Potter Series would be awesome because quite frankly and to indulge a moment of materialism J.K. Rowling is richer than Croesus.
Jerome: Do you have any tips for budding writers?
RJ Palmer: Yes, as a matter of fact I do. Be stubborn and persistent. If you know you have the talent and ability to make it as a writer or novelist, don't let anyone tell you any different. Does anyone know how many rejection letters I've gotten from agents? You know the form letters that roughly paraphrased state, "The quality of your work is not in question but we're going to say no anyway." Too many to count. Rejection is part of the process and just because someone with a chip on their shoulder who says they're too busy or that you can't write says no, that doesn't mean you don't have the talent and ability to make writing a most fabulous and satisfying career choice.
Jerome: What are you working on at the moment?
RJ Palmer: I've had a bit of writer's block at the moment. I'm working on another novel and though I've tried everything I can think of to get the creative process moving again and I know which direction I want to go with my new work, titled Sins of the Father, I'm beginning to believe that it would be better to relax and let nature take its course, so to speak. If anyone has advice about getting rid of writer's block, I would most certainly welcome any suggestions.
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