Stuart Aken's Blog, page 340

Interview with Author, Geoffrey Thorne.

Geoffrey Thorne, novelist and screenwriter, was born in the United States and currently lives in Los Angeles, California. A Second Prize-winner in Simon & Schuster's sixth annual Strange New Worlds anthology with his story "The Soft Room," he published more stories in anthologies and the Star Trek: Titan novel Sword of Damocles.Other stories include contributions to Phobos Entertainment's anthology Reality Cops: The Adventures of Vale and Mist, Parsec Ink's Triangulation: End of Time anthology, and the neo-pulp webzine Astonishing Adventures! Magazine .As a screenwriter, he worked with Kickstart Entertainment to develop, Of Bitter Souls and Sword of Dracula , for television. He worked as a staff writer on season 9 of USA network's Law & Order: Criminal Intent season 3 of TNT's Leverage.Geoffrey Thorne is co-founder and writing partner in GENRE 19, a studio formed with artist, Todd Harris, in 2008.
Tell us about WINTER OF THE WILD HUNT in a few sentences.
Well, it's an urban fantasy, paranormal romance told by the male half of the couple but focusing on the female. It's a bit of twist on a few themes and I'm really happy with it. This is taking Paranormal Romance and beating it to death with SCIENCE! Or something.
How did you come to write this particular book?
Well, technically it was the first book I ever wrote, about 20 odd years ago. Needless to say that first version was crap. I decided to see what I could do to make it work, now that, in theory, I know what I'm doing. I like myths and folk stories and I like mixing them with hard reality so this story was going to be told one way or another.
If you have a favourite character in your novel, why that particular one?
Can't say. It gives too much away. But the two lovers are pretty high up there in my esteem. Especially the girl. Romance, remember? Paranormal Romance. Extremely para.
Where and when is your novel set and why did you make these specific choices?
It's set in the present, in an unnamed American city. I like the whole Tolkien-esque thing well enough for a fantasy setting but I wanted to tell this sort of story in a modern frame. And it's a REALLY old story.
How can people buy your books?
Amazon. Barnes & Noble. Powell's. Smashwords.  Basically wherever good books are sold. My Star Trek stuff is pretty ubiquitous too.
What qualities make a successful writer?
Durability. Good ideas. A good sense of the flow of language and a sense of fun being transferred from you to the reader. Understanding how people work vs how you wish they worked. Unless you write that bleak, depression-inducing stuff that makes people want to hang themselves but why would you do that?
How do you set about writing a piece?
The idea occurs to me, wherever. I jot down some notes and let the thing gel a bit. This can take as little as a few hours and as long as a year. When it's firm in my mind I sit down to write. Sometimes with an outline, sometimes not.
Beginning writers make many mistakes; what do you think is the most harmful?
Thinking they know everything and therefore everything they write is gold or, conversely, thinking they know everything and therefore their work is automatically crap. Writing, getting to be a good at it, is a long process. Dig in. Learn to learn.
To what extent are grammar and spelling important to a writer?
You have to know the rules in order to break them effectively. Ask Picasso. Dig him up first, of course.
How much revision of your MS do you do before you send it off?
Hmm. Depends on the story but not many. Never more than two and never a giant overhaul. More like spot-welding. If an editor wants a rewrite she'll say so.
To what extent do you think genre is useful in the publishing world?
Well, my stuff is all mash-ups of at least two genres at a time. I think it's a fine marketing gambit– giving the readers a rough idea of where to go– but it's limiting too. Michael Crichton's stuff is all classified General Fiction but nearly everything he wrote is Science Fiction. Why isn't Greg Bear's stuff in General Fiction? No clue.
How do you know where to begin any given story?
I don't. They tell me.
What sort of displacement activities keep you from actually writing?
Video games. Eating. Sleeping. Basically anything having to do with keeping body and soul together. Plus video games.
Do you have support, either from family and friends or a writing group?
Not so much. My parents were great at the beginning, very encouraging and my wife has a great critical eye (when she actually has time to sit still and read something, which is rare. Her job is CRAZY!) but now it's basically just me plugging away in an office or cafe until the mountain is climbed.
Is presentation of the MS as important as most agents and publishers suggest?
Do what they tell you. Do not deviate. I used to be a reader. If the MS looks poorly formatted, I'm not wasting one second on it. Circular file. Seriously. There are just too many to get through in a given day. If the publisher tells you how they want the thing delivered, deliver it precisely that way. 
How long does it normally take you to write a piece?
No particular time period. Some things whip by; some take lots of time. There's no pattern.
Who or what inspires you?
Hmmm. My brain cooks stories. Pretty much constantly. I'm not sure I even actually need inspiration. It's more like knowing I'm not going to live long enough to tell all these stories.
If there's a single aspect to writing that really frustrates you, what is it?
Getting books into the readers' hands.
Is there any aspect of writing that you really enjoy?
Finishing whatever's current and moving on to the next.
Do you think writing is a natural gift or an acquired skill?
Both. I'm not the most gifted writer I know but I have pretty good control of my "gift." A more gifted writer might be horribly undisciplined and not have any clue what makes some of her stuff good and some crappy. That writer will not get the brass ring though she is, technically, more "gifted."
What single piece of advice would you give to writers still hoping to be published?
Marathon, not Sprint. Dig in. Write. Eat rejection like candy and keep at it. If success happens fast, it's not worth anything.
What are you writing now?
I'm desperately trying to finish the new eNovella in my GRIM ARCANA series, FIXING MR. STYX. Urban fantasy. It'll be offered for free for however many days are left in October when it's done. Halloween is my favorite holiday.
Do you have a website or a blog that readers can visit?
hmm. a bunch, actually. Try... http://redjacket.blogspot.com/ or the new one for the WINTERMAN PROJECT (that's the micro press we formed when the books kept selling) http://www.wix.com/wintermanproject/books
Given unlimited resources, what would be your ideal writing environment?
A giant European manor house (Irish or English, preferably) with a two-story library/study stuffed with books.
Where do you actually write?
Anywhere I can fit me and my laptop.

Breaking Faith Published in Full as eBook for all platforms.

As a result of public demand, I've now published Breaking Faith as an ebook in its full version. That means that the ebook now contains the erotic scenes that previously I'd restricted to the print version.
On reflection, I should never have allowed the prudish attitudes of a few readers to influence my decision on this. The erotic content is integral to the story; neither gratuitous, nor extraneous. The book, after all, is about the difference between love and sex: it cannot properly convey that theme without some sexual content.
So, if you'd like to read this book on your PC, Mac or eReader, you can now do so by visiting Smashwords.     In the near future, I intend to place this on the Amazon Kindle site as well, but if you want this for your Kindle, you can still do so via Smashwords.

God: a Reality, a Fantasy, or an Unknown?

If you're easily offended by religious ideas that fail to match your own, please don't read on. But, if you have an open and enquiring mind, you might like to share your thoughts and comment on what I intend to explore here.Raised as a Christian, I passed through atheism, induced by my mother's death in a road accident when I was 16, to my current state of agnosticism. The agnostic stance, as with most religious viewpoints, has several manifestations. My own is quite simple:
I believe that IF there is a God, that being or power is certainly not in any way a personal deity and can have no gender. I believe such an entity is likely to be too complex and ineffable to be even remotely comprehensible to humanity.
As a result of this philosophical stance, I see ALL definitions of God as inadequate and sometimes downright insulting to this power. However, because I have no emotional bond to the idea – it's an academic consideration rather than a sentimental desire to have unanswerable questions easily answered – I feel no personal concern at such insults. I do, however, find sympathy with some of If we are brought up, steeped in any religious tradition, these ideas are so deeply ingrained into our consciousness that not only are they difficult to counter in later life, but they exist as a subconscious set of rules for our later beliefs and behaviours. Language itself is difficult to use without, in the case of Christian countries, Biblical references; the same applies in Muslim countries with the Qur'an. No doubt there are similar ties in other languages with Hinduism and Buddhism, though the latter is a little less aggressive than most religions. If children are taught a certain dogma as fact, then they are less likely to view opposing ideas with sympathy and, in some cases, are likely to view such opposition as hostile. We educate our children in a specific religious belief at the expense of their intellectual and spiritual freedom. That this is done by the religious groups primarily as a way of perpetuating and increasing their particular viewpoint, is undeniable, though they will all deny it, of course.
It strikes me that most religious doctrine (by which I mean the dogma; the insistence that their version of events is the only one, the right one) is so clearly based in factually questionable ideas as to be transparently doubtful. However, most adherents, disciples and converts to the various faiths are so desperate to be seen as members of their particular club or tribe that they willingly paper over the obvious cracks. Often, the arguments brought to bear in defence of their particular stance are so far-fetched as to be risible when subjected to rational analysis. Religion is the only area of human life where a belief in something which cannot be proven is considered a positive quality. There's as much evidence for the existence of fairies, a flat Earth or a Moon made of green cheese, as there is for the existence of the type of God described by most religions. (This, of course, is only the case if you remove from consideration as evidence the religious books – Bible, Qur'an, Torah, etc, - since history proves that these were clearly written by men and have nothing whatsoever to do with any higher power) Yet believers in the other fantasies listed are pilloried and ridiculed, whilst believers in the faiths are praised, especially by others of the same persuasion. Faith in things intangible encourages our children to believe myths, mistruths, rumours and lies, instead of promoting questioning everything around them and fostering the search for evidence. Do we really want to steep our children in dubious myths, which have long since been discredited, and thus perpetuate divisions caused by loyalty to organisations that exist primarily as power bases for those with a personal need for authority and control over others?
So, no doubt having enraged members of all major faiths, I invite all and sundry to comment, refute, agree or question. BUT I'll delete any comments that are simply insulting or deliberately offensive, whatever side of the argument they support.   

Author Derek J Canyon, Interviewed.

Describing himself as a newbie self-publishing writer, Derek J Canyon was inspired by JA Konrath's success in epublishing. After discovering his blog and reading it for about two days, he decided to dust off an old, rejected manuscript. That novel, Dead Dwarves Don't Dance, is due for release in November.He also had 3 short stories that led up to the novel, and decided to publish them in an anthology, Dead Dwarves, Dirty Deeds, which has been available since September 30th on Amazon.For the last 13 years, his day job has been working as a Technical Writer at Microsoft in the Seattle area. A great place to work, it gives him the financial freedom to pay for cool covers and editing on his ebooks. But, spending all day wracking his brain to write computer documentation does sometimes sap his creativity before he gets home. Alas, one must take the bad with the good. He lives with his wonderful wife Shari and their long-haired chihuahua Andy in the exotic wilderness east of Seattle.
Tell us about Dead Dwarves, Dirty Deeds in a few sentences.
It is an anthology of three cyberpunk short stories revolving around criminal scum and the violence they perpetrate in the technological excess of the 22nd century. Vat-grown foods have eliminated hunger, bacterial petroleum is cheap and clean, and genetically engineered neohumans do the jobs no one else wants to do. But, even in such a world of plenty, humanity still suffers from hate, strife, and apathy. As always, criminals prowl the edges and feed on the chaos, and each other.
How did you come to write this particular book?
I had the title for my novel Dead Dwarves Don't Dance in my head since about the late 1980s. Around 1994, I wrote the novel in 3 months. I didn't do any revisions or editing. Not surprisingly, my efforts to find an agent and publisher were unsuccessful. I let the manuscript languish for 15 years until I saw JA Konrath's blog and bought into his Kindle evangelizing. I spent the last couple months cleaning up the book, and I'm releasing it on Amazon in late October.To give readers a taste of my writing, I just released an anthology of short stories, Dead Dwarves, Dirty Deeds, set in the same world. These stories are actually a prequel trilogy to the novel. I've priced it at 99 cents, so it's a cheap way to decide if you like my writing enough to buy the $2.99 novel later this month.
If you have a favourite character in your novel, why that particular one?
Noose the genetically engineered dwarf assassin. He's cool, he's tough, he's hard-boiled, and he smokes a cherut. Imagine Dirty Harry, Rambo, and John McClain scrunched down into Gimli's body, then throw him into Blade Runner and there you go. He only plays a brief role in the third story in Dead Dwarves, Dirty Deeds. However, he is the protagonist in Dead Dwarves Don't Dance.
Where and when is your novel set and why did you make these specific choices?
It's set in the early 22nd century. The world is governed by the United Globe, a descendent of the United Nations. Everyone lives in vast metroplexes scattered around the world, while the rest of the world is being restored to pristine wilderness. These stories are set in North America, one in a desert prison arcology, the other two in the Regional Atlanta Metroplex. Due to the travel undertaken by some of the characters in the upcoming novel, I needed the story to start east of Texas. I arbitrarily chose Atlanta. Therefore, the three prequel short stories also relate to Atlanta.
 How can people buy your books?
My short story anthology is currently on Amazon. The novel will be available in November.
What qualities make a successful writer?
I'm not sure I'm qualified to answer this, as I'm just a beginner. However, I expect that successful writers must be determined, imaginative, marketable, thick-skinned, patient, and in it for the long haul.  In the traditional publishing arena, you also have to be well-connected and/or lucky.I don't expect to get rich overnight selling my ebooks. I'm hoping to break even within a year by selling around 2000 copies. Hopefully, in five years, when I have more titles available, I'll have a nice tidy novel income to supplement my real job.
How do you set about writing a piece?
The genesis for one of my stories might come from a title (as it did with Dead Dwarves Don't Dance) or a character, scene or  setting. Once I have a story seed, I spend about a month outlining the entire plot. For a full length novel, this outline might be about 10 pages. Then, I bang out the first draft. I can write about 1000 words an hour, with gusts up to 1500. My daily writing record is 5000 words in one day. After I finish the first draft, I rewrite six or seven times. Each revision has a different goal, such as correcting plot holes/errors, cleaning up dialogue, purging extraneous content, tightening the prose, adding descriptions, etc. After about the 8th draft, I'm ready to hand off to an editor.It takes me a total of about 200 hours to write a novel and get it into editable condition. That's 200 hours of sitting at the keyboard typing, not counting the countless hours I spend outlining and thinking about the story.
Beginning writers make many mistakes; what do you think is the most harmful?
Inaction, procrastination, impatience, thin-skin, and excessive expectations. If you don't write, you're not a writer. It's much better to write today than tomorrow. Don't expect immediate responses or sales. Don't expect every review to be glowing and take constructive negative reviews seriously. Don't expect to make a living writing unless you spend five years building your market.            To what extent are grammar and spelling important to a writer?
They are almost as important as imagination and plot. In self-pubbing, you can always hire an editor to clean up your grammar and spelling mistakes, but that can cost $25/hr. So, the cleaner your manuscript, the less money you spend on editing. If you're going the NY publishing route, you better get your grammar and spelling in tip top shape or the agents and publishers won't read beyond your first few mistakes.
How much revision of your MS do you do before you send it off?
At least seven revisions.
To what extent do you think genre is useful in the publishing world?
It is immensely important. How else will I find the books I like to read? How else will my target audience find my book? It's much easier to say cyberpunk or science fiction than it is to say "It's set in a near future Earth where computers, cybernetics, and genetics all mixed up together."
How do you know where to begin any given story?
Never begin in the beginning. Start the book in the middle of a scene. Start it with a reverse cliffhanger. Drop the reader into the middle of something with limited information and then slowly reveal what's going on.
 What sort of displacement activities keep you from actually writing?
I suffered a yearlong bout of writer's block during my home remodel because my general contractor was terrible. Fatigue from my real job, where I have to use my mind 8 hours a day. That can get tiring and make creative writing difficult in the evenings.  Xbox, Big Bang Theory, RPGs and board games constantly lure me away from writing.
Do you have support, either from family and friends or a writing group?
My wife is very supportive and provides me with lots of motivation and input.
Is presentation of the MS as important as most agents and publishers suggest?
I do not have the experience necessary to answer this question.
How long does it normally take you to write a novel?
200 hours of typing for a manuscript that ends up being around 90,000 words when I hand it to editing. Those 200 hours, though, can take a year to accumulate.
 Who or what inspires you?
JA Konrath, JK Rowling, Agatha Christie, Louis Lamour, ER Burroughs.
If there's a single aspect to writing that really frustrates you, what is it?
I don't get frustrated when writing creatively. I find it immensely enjoyable. If I am ever able to sustain a career as a novelist  I will be in 7th heaven.
Is there any aspect of writing that you really enjoy?
Everything except the business end.
Do you think writing is a natural gift or an acquired skill?
Acquired. I read voraciously as a kid, and I think that tempered me into writing. It fed my imagination, nurtured it, unleashed it. Now, I have an excessively overactive imagination which fuels my writing. I don't think someone who has not encouraged their imagination would be good at story telling.
What single piece of advice would you give to writers still hoping to be published?
A tiny fraction of writers can earn a living as a novelist in the print publishing world. That probably isn't me or you. However, with dedication and skill, after five or ten years of epublishing, you should be able to earn a nice living with your ebook income. Especially with the projected growth of the ebook market. For more inspiration in this regard, go read JA Konrath's blog.
What are you writing now?
I'm finishing up a YA novel. I'll be trying to get an agent and go the NY publishing route with that one. But, I'll end up epubbing if those efforts prove fruitless.
Do you have a website or a blog that readers can visit?
Website: http://www.derekjcanyon.com/Blog: http://derekjcanyon.blogspot.com/
Given unlimited resources, what would be your ideal writing environment?
In the mountains with a spectacular view of snow-capped, rugged peaks, castles, alpine lakes, trees, and raptors soaring about. Of course, I'd be on a balcony of a castle, in a comfy chair, with fruit and juice near at hand. Music appropriate to my current writing project is of course playing on my stereo.
Where do you actually write?
In my home office with a good speaker system and lots of mood music. I have a view of the street, but often enjoy fruit and juice graciously provided by my great wife.

Review of Wringland by Sally Spedding.

Wringland is published by Pan Books.
673 pps. 77 chaps. 200,000 words
Powerful, disturbing, intense and engaging, the narrative moves this story at a pace that never falters. Finely drawn characters move, repel, haunt and enmesh the reader in this tale of a young woman and her man as they struggle to understand and attempt to defeat the potent forces stacked against them. Quinn, the sinister but complex tool of evil, controlled by the spirit of the vengeful Martha, embodies a type of wickedness that can reside only in the being of an uncertain man of the cloth. Abbie, essentially open but naïve, provides a wonderful example of the honest thinker caught up in the material world of corrupt sales: a heroine who grows through the experiences she faces.
Sally Spedding's sense of place is superb and captures the dreary, claustrophobic atmosphere of the Fens with such accuracy that the reader can smell the tide-washed mud, feel the weight of sky and hear the ever-present motion of the water.
This thriller tackles the world of ghosts and the spiritual supernatural with confidence enough to draw in the disbeliever. The very humanity of the characters compels the reader to follow them through their trials to the conclusion. Un-put-downable.  

Blog Jog Day

November 21, 2010 is the 38th annual World Hello Day. Anyone can participate in World Hello Day simply by greeting ten people. With this in mind, the linked blog will be scheduling the 2'nd Blog Jog Day event on this date.

You may e-mail the blog owner at chipanugget@gmail.com to be put on the notification list. 

The May 9, 2010 Blog Jog Day was a huge success. This November's event has been deliberately scheduled just before the holidays so if you have products to promote you have a better chance of sales. Remember, most Blog links remain for days, weeks, or permanently! Last year there were over 3,000 Blog visitors on Blog Jog Day and several thousand more just before and long after that date!

Interview with MJ Webb, Author.

MJ Webb is the author of Jake West – 'The Keeper of the Stones'.  The book started out as a project for his children that he thought would take countless years to complete (hence why it was aimed at teenagers and young adults, even though his children were two and three years old at the time).  He started writing and couldn't stop.  Forty-three chapters later he realised he had an epic on his hands which would delight and enthral young minds. A fulltime worker and dad, he has very little spare time and had to sacrifice things in order to write this novel; his gym membership went (gone up a notch on his belt), golf clubs were sold (paid for a few flyers) and hisTriumph Daytona went to some lucky chap from Lincoln.  His marriage somehow survived the ordeal and he and his wife are still on speaking terms (though it was touch and go for a while).It's been the hardest, most fulfilling thing he's ever done and to finally see it in print....  Priceless !
Tell us about Jake West – 'The Keeper of the Stones' in a few sentences.
My debut novel is an introductory novel intended to be the first of a three book series.When fifteen year old Jake West and his best friend, Ben Brooker, help Jake's grandfather clear his attic of the junk he's collected from his years of travelling, the boys discover an old chest containing a beautifully carved wooden box.  The box contains a set of five mysterious stones and, when they erupt to emit a bright beam of light, it sparks an epic journey which will lead Jake into a dangerous world and to the discovery of some strange family secrets. In an instant he becomes the latest in a long line of world protectors, a symbol of hope to millions and prey to all the warriors, wizards and evil tyrants who now know of his and the stones' existence.  When fifteen year old Jake West and his best friend, Ben Brooker, help Jake's grandfather clear his attic of the junk he's collected from his years of travelling, the boys discover an old chest containing a beautifully carved wooden box.  The box contains a set of five mysterious stones and, when they erupt to emit a bright beam of light, it sparks an epic journey which will lead Jake into a dangerous world and to the discovery of some strange family secrets. It's an epic tale set in a war torn fantasy land of deposed Kings, wizards and ferocious warriors. A story of courage, honour, loyalty and friendship. But it's also about coming of age and facing ones fears.
The fate of millions on this world and countless others now lies in the hands of a teenage boy from Lichfield; if he can't protect the Stones.......
How did you come to write this particular book?
I was looking through a book club magazine, trying to take advantage of the introductory offer and choose some books for my children. I wanted ones for when they were much older, but I wasn't impressed with the choices and I found myself thinking, 'I could write a book.' The more I thought about it, the more the idea gripped me and I raced for a pen.  Forty-three chapters later, the plot had grown beyond all recognition and I realised this was book 1 of a series of adventures.

If you have a favourite character in your novel, why that particular one?
I love the main evil warrior, Sawdon. He is awesome and incredibly scary but you can't help but admire his sense of pride, loyalty, honour and the respect and adulation he has earned from his warriors. Wouldn't want to face him in battle though.

Where and when is your novel set and why did you make these specific choices?
Lichfield, England. Present day. I love this city. It's full of history and character. The people are the kindest I've known. There's a real feelgood factor surrounding the place even in the worst of times and it's always welcoming.The fantasy land of Rhuaddan on the continent of Estia. It allows my imagination to run riot.
How can people buy your book?
Online at www.authorhouse.co.uk and .com where it's at it's cheapest. Also on other sites including Amazon.
What qualities make a successful writer?
A vivid imagination, the ability to absorb information and learn continually, humility and a sense of humour.  Oh and patience....  Lots and lots of patience.

How do you set about writing a piece?
I set out a loose plan of where I want to go/get to. Then I completely ignore it and let my pen foxtrot all over the page until my fingers ache. I read it back, edit it 32 times (not really) and decide enough's enough. Really, my limited available time means that I often sit down not knowing what I'm going to write, only that I have to write something. I've found forcing it out actually works and I'm soon in the groove and flowing until I can't stop.

Beginning writers make many mistakes; what do you think is the most harmful?
Impatience. Submitting before your work is ready and burning those valuable bridges as you rarely get a second chance.
To what extent are grammar and spelling important to a writer?
It depends if you can afford a full professional edit. I couldn't and it was therefore vital. My readers may not care, but those in the industry I'd like to impress sure do.
How much revision of your MS do you do before you send it off?
Oh absolutely loads of editing and re-editing, right up to the last minute.  Never satisfied.
To what extent do you think genre is useful in the publishing world?
I think it can be harmful to pigeonhole people's work. Because mine is classed as fantasy, many publishers and agents would not even look at it. I think that is a little short sighted and wonder if they passed on J K Rowling's books for the same reason? I respect their right to make that decision, but I wish they'd have just taken a glance at it.  (SA – this is a common problem for fiction writers who step into the fantasy world – I suspect many agents and publishers have no idea of the richness of the genre. But, to be pragmatic about it; if the agent/publisher isn't keen on the genre, they're hardly going to devote time and effort to it, are they?)
What single piece of advice would you give to writers still hoping to be published?
Take all advice on board but make up your own mind in the end. You should know if your work is good enough and if you believe in yourself, persevere and keep trying. You have to be in it to win it.
What are you writing now?
The sequel. Seven chapters in its untitled and absolutely blooming brilliant. Lol
Do you have a website or a blog that readers can visit?
Yes. www.jakewest.co.uk  I'm also on Facebook in the Fans of Jake West Group. 
Given unlimited resources, what would be your ideal writing environment?
I'm happy at home in England. A nice country cottage somewhere and a roaring fire. Bliss.
Where do you actually write?
Martini. Anytime, anywhere, any place. The search for peace and quiet is endless. Anyone free for babysitting?  

Review of Cloven by Sally Spedding.

Cloven is published by Macmillan.
355pps, 35chps plus prologue & epilogue, 2 maps, 138,000 words.
The account of the haunting of Ivan, a potter new to the area, by Sian, a disabled girl from Wales. The stories of Sian's life and death, around 1830, and Ivan's trials with local gangsters and the wife of the local doctor, in 2002, are intertwined. The characters live and the story is a page-turner, told in an intelligent but accessible style. Description of place, people and emotion is effective and evocative. The research on historical issues brings to life the poor Welsh girl and her life of hardship and suffering. Ivan is a sympathetic character with his faults, dreams and ambitions but an essentially good man. The character of Valerie, with whom he belatedly falls in love, is excellently drawn; good to have a heroine who isn't all blonde curls, boobs and legs but a real woman with faults, fears and a kind heart.
This is a book more to be admired than enjoyed in many ways, yet I did enjoy it and was pleased with the ending, which was apt. A good story, well told and one I'd recommend.

Author Interview with Patricia Rockwell

Patricia Rockwell has spent most of her life teaching.  From small liberal arts colleges to large regional research universities—and even a brief stint in a high school, her background in education is extensive.  She has taught virtually everything related to Communication—from a fine arts speech-theatre orientation to more recently a social science research approach.  Her Bachelors' and Masters' degrees are from the University of Nebraska in Speech and her Ph.D. is from the University of Arizona in Communication.  She was on the faculty at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette for thirteen years, retiring in 2007.
Her publications are extensive, with over 20 peer-reviewed articles in scholarly journals, several textbooks, and a research book on her major interest area of sarcasm, published by Edwin Mellen Press.  In addition to publications, she has presented numerous papers at academic conferences and served for eight years as Editor of the Louisiana Communication Journal.  Her research focuses primarily on several areas of communication:  deception, sarcasm, and vocal cues. 
Dr. Rockwell is presently living in Aurora, Illinois, with her husband Milt, also a retired educator.  The couple have two adult children.  SOUNDS OF MURDER is her first novel.
Tell us about "Sounds of Murder" in a few sentences. 
It's a cozy mystery.  Pamela Barnes is a Psychology professor and acoustics expert at a small southern University who discovers one of her colleagues strangled to death in the departmental computer lab.  When she stumbles across a recording of the actual murder, she feels compelled to track down the killer.  She does so by studying the acoustic output of the recording and attempting to identify the sounds made during the murder.  Then she searches for potential killers who might have made the same sounds.  Oh, and she gets in a lot of trouble along the way.
 How did you come to write this particular book?
I used to be a college teacher and researcher myself—actually in the field of Communication, but much of my research involved sound.  My dissertation evaluated the accuracy of acoustic technology and human coders to differentiate between liars and truthtellers based on their voices alone.   I always loved mysteries and vowed to write one when I retired and had time. 
 If you have a favorite character in your novel, why that particular one?
Pamela is the main character and probably my favorite, most likely because she is most like me.  I also have other favorites among the characters—many of them based on academic types I knew during my years of teaching.  There is one sharp-tongued widow professor named Joan who is sassy, classy, and enjoys a night on the town.   I rather like her.
Where and when is your novel set and why did you make these specific choices?
It is set in the present day at a small, regional university in the South in the mythical town of Reardon.  I specifically don't indicate which state, although I drop a lot of clues.  I set it in a place I knew.
 How can people buy your book?
It's available in print and Kindle form at Amazon.com. 
 What qualities make a successful writer?
If you just mean writer (and not bookseller which is an entirely different matter), I think persistence, organization, and the ability to brainstorm are important qualities.  This may be my first novel, but it's not my first book or published work as I have many scholarly works published.  I know from experience the effort and time that goes into what may seem like something very simple.   I think of many short papers that I published that I worked on for years and years.  I think of the many times I started from scratch and totally reorganized many things I wrote that eventually were published. 
 How do you set about writing a piece? 
Actually,  with "Sounds of Murder" I joined the NaNoWriMo event, which is an annual novel writing contest that is held online each November.  Contestants are encouraged to write a novel in 30 days and the keyword is "finish" the book.  You can always polish it later, but first you have to finish it.  I found this technique to work well for me.  So well, in fact, that I tried it again the following year and completed the second book in the Pamela Barnes acoustic mystery series.  I will be writing the third such book this November.  I have it outlined and will follow my regular routine of writing a chapter a day.
 Beginning writers make many mistakes:  what do you think is the most harmful?
Failure to revise.  I would include in that, not having someone or several someones read it and give constructive criticism.  I'm lucky to have a couple good editors whose opinions I value and they read my work many, many times before I'm satisfied.
 To what extent are grammar and spelling important to a writer?
As you can probably imagine, coming from a teaching background, I'm fanatical about grammar and spelling.  When I'm revising and find a mistake in my own work, I'm extremely hard on myself.
 How much revision of MS do you do before you send it off?
A lot.  As I said, I have several editors or "readers" who are very critical and whose opinions I value.  Although I don't "send any MS off, because I have my own publishing company, that doesn't mean that I don't expect my own work to be polished and perfect.
 To what extent do you think genre is useful in the publishing world?
I don't know if "useful" is the word I would use.  I know it exists.  As a matter of fact, my own publishing company, Cozy Cat Press, was formed specifically to produce one genre of novels—the cozy mystery.  We are a niche publishing company—and we make it clear to potential authors who might consider submitting their work that we are only interested in publishing cozy mysteries.    As far as I know, we are the only publisher that publishes only cozies.  There are quite a few publishers that publish only mysteries.
 How do you know where to begin any given story?
That's a hard one.  I try to start with an exciting moment, a scary, or frightening moment that leads directly into the mystery.   Most cozies are plot driven and typically fairly short so there isn't a lot of time for elaborate character development.    I have learned from my critics how important it is to start off "with a bang."
 What sort of displacement activities keep you from actually writing?
Not sure what you mean by "displacement" although I assume you mean anything that distracts me from writing when I want or need to write.  Actually, it's not much of a problem for me as I'm very organized and highly motivated, so when I intend to write—I write.
 Do you have support, either from family and friends or a writing group?
My husband is super supportive.  I have a writing buddy—actually a co-publisher—who is also an incredibly supportive co-writer and friend.  The rest of my family and friends—not so much.  I try not to let it bother me.
 Is presentation of the MS as important as most agents and publishers suggest?
I can't really answer that from the writer's point of view as I didn't make very many attempts with traditional publishers before I became disgusted and decided to form my own publishing company.  Now that I'm a publisher and receiving submissions myself, I would say that to some extent presentation is important.  However, no matter how "pretty" the book is, if it isn't readable, it doesn't really matter.
 How long does it normally take you to write a novel?
One month.  As I said, I follow the NaNoWriMo formula.  I start November 1 with Chapter 1 and I end November 30 with Chapter 30—doing a chapter a day.  So far, it has worked great for me.
 Who or what inspires me?  
Other authors—particularly cozy authors. 
 IF there's a single aspect to writing that really frustrates you, what is it?
I find book marketing is FAR more difficult than book writing.
 Is there any aspect of writing that you really enjoy?
It's really like giving birth.  You watch the little creature grow and develop in the womb of your mind and then it's born onto the paper and eventually flies off a reader's home—just like a first-grader going to school.
 Do you think writing is a natural gift or an acquired skill?
I think you have to love writing (which is the gift part), but you can always work on getting better (the skill part).
 What single piece of advice would you give to writers still hoping to be published?
It's really hard.  Personally, I'd find a small publisher (like Cozy Cat Press—and there are many others) where you won't get the expensive bells and whistles, but you will get a lot of tender loving care.  Or do as we did and form your own company—but, boy, that is hard.  Let me tell you.
 What are you writing now?
I'm just getting ready to write the third book in my Pamela Barnes series.  I'll start it November 1.  I have an extremely complete outline ready and I work on revising it daily.
 Do you have a website or blog that readers can visit?
I'm an avid blogger.  I have one devoted to communication-related issues:  http://communicationexchange.blogspot.com    and one a personal diary blog:  http://subjectivesoup.blogspot.com.    Also, our company website:  www.cozycatpress.com
 Given unlimited resources, what would be your ideal writing environment?
Actually, I'm quite happy with my environment.  I have a small study on the second floor of our house.  My computer and two printers are there.  It overlooks our living room, so I can chat with (or ignore) my hubby when he's watching golf on TV.
 Where do you actually write?
At my computer.

Human Rights: Human Responsibilities.

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A recent event prompts me to ask a serious question. The British Parliament, in order to conform to European Law, has decided to allow convicted prisoners the vote. It is doing this simply because it would otherwise face costly law suits under Human Rights legislation.
My question is this:  We have a Bill of Human Rights. Why do we not have a Bill of Human Responsibilities?Everything in nature has an opposite – good/bad, dark/light, big/small etc. Surely we should understand that our laws need to reflect natural laws? If we have a written statute that guarantees human beings certain inalienable rights, is it not sensible to have similar legislation dealing with human responsibilities?
The Bill of Human Rights is constantly used in courts to back up the often spurious claims of offenders, criminals and other anti-social groups and individuals. It seems to me that if a person wants the backing of the law, they must conform to that law themselves. By breaking that agreement, they surely place themselves voluntarily outside the protection of the law, don't they? No one forces an individual to break the law. Okay, I accept that in certain countries and under certain regimes there are laws which we, in the so-called free world, hold as abhorrent. It is possible for such laws to be excluded from any international agreement on responsibilities.
I suggest that the UN, as the most fitting international organisation, should set up a discussion with all the nations of the world to discuss the idea of a Bill of Human Responsibilities, which, once enacted, could be used to counter the spurious claims of terrorists, murderers, rapists etc who use the Bill of Human Rights to gain undue rights. It might also make people a little less likely to commit certain crimes if universal legislation existed to outlaw harm to others.
I'd be interested in all opinions on this and invite your comments and observations.