Melissa Bowersock's Blog, page 11

Author Interview: Carole Penfield

Today I’m sitting down with my friend Carole Penfield, who has just released her first novel, Midwife of Normandy. I haven’t read the book yet, just the blurb, but it sounds like a sweeping historic saga. Carole, can you give us a quick overview of the story?
Carole: Hi Melissa. Midwife of Normandy is a fictional story of love, ambition and heart-pounding adventure set in turbulent 17th century France. This was the actual period in history when King Louis XIV was not only building Versailles but also intent on forcefully converting all his subject to Catholicism.   His religious persecution of Huguenots threatens to destroy the life of my protagonist and her family.

To summarize briefly, Clare Dupres is the headstrong daughter of an impoverished Huguenot minister.  Her mother is training her in the art of midwifery, an ancestral profession including the secret formula for a pain-free childbirth called the “magic elixir.”  On the brink of womanhood, Clare stubbornly rebels against her father’s wish that she settle down and marry a boring silk merchant she does not love, despite the fact that he offers her a life of wealth and ease.  Dreamy-eyed, she envisions herself marrying his penniless handsome younger brother and enjoying a rewarding independent career as midwife to wealthy members of the aristocracy.
Clare’s life doesn’t turn out exactly the way she plans, when her own ambitions come into conflict with the powerful ambitions of King Louis, and she ends up facing unimaginable danger in a courageous attempt to save her family. Only then does she learn what is most important in life. 
Sounds fascinating. It seems to me that writing about the dynamics of France during Louis XIV’s reign is a weighty and almost overwhelming task. How much research did you do for the book? And how long did it take you to research and write it?
Carole: I spent more than a year doing research for Midwife of Normandy.  Not only on the dynamics of 17thcentury French politics, but also on midwifery practices, religious persecution of Huguenots, rigid class societal structure and growth of the merchant class, treatment of women, contrasting  lives of the rich and poor, and possible locations in France in which to set my fictional story. Trying to time my character’s actions to coincide as closely as possible to actual historical events. Then it took a year to write and rewrite many times. Since I had no previous experience writing fiction, I did hire an editor to do a developmental edit, copy edit, and proofreading.
Well, it's nice to know all your hard work has paid off. Have you always had an interest in French history, or was your interest specifically on your story?
Carole: No, I haven’t always had an interest in French history. I have to admit my greatest interest has always been British history.
However, when I travel I generally try to study a little of the history of the places I visit. While vacationing in France a few years ago, I visited Versailles and decided to learn more about Louis XIV. That’s when I first became aware of his religious persecution of Huguenots which caused tens of thousands to flee France. I always knew I wanted to write a novel about a strong, unconventional woman and decided to place my story in 17thcentury France. There are relatively few works of fiction set in this interesting era, compared to numerous historical novels set in the English Tudor and Regency eras.
I find that surprising, since Louis's reign was such a turbulent one. You'd think there would be more novels set into that pivotal time. What inspired you to write this book? Where did the story idea come from, especially the “magic elixir”?
Carole:  The “magic elixir” is based on my personal experience when giving birth to my first child in the sixties.  He was born in a hospital and the obstetrician promised me I would feel no pain.  Being young and inexperienced, I consented to having “twilight sleep” for the delivery.  Have you ever watched Mad Men, the TV series depicting life in the 1960s?  If not, seek out the episode on Netflix where Betty Draper gives birth to her third child, Gene. It is rather horrifying.
As I created the back story for my novel, I decided to invent an herbal equivalent to this twentieth century (now discredited) medical advance in obstetrics, and the “magic elixir” became the fictional vehicle for Clare’s initial success as a midwife.
I do plan to write a blog about the wildly popular “twilight sleep” on my website, so watch for it. 
I'm sure there are many women would be interested in that. Now, I understand this book is the first of a series. How many books will be in the completed series, or do you know? Do you have them all plotted out? Will the same characters appear in each book, or will you go in other directions, to other families?
Carole: If I live long enough, there will be three.  And yes, they will be the stories of Clare’s descendants. I’ve named the series “Secrets of the Austen Midwives” and the reason for that title will become more apparent in Book Two.  There is one “Austen” sighting in the first book, a reference in a letter Clare receives from England.  I’ve promised my fellow Jane Austen fans that there will be more.  I should also add that Midwife of Normandy incorporates a number of Jane Austen’s famous words, hidden away in my characters’ dialogue and the narrative. My editor refers to it as an Easter Egg hunt for Janeites.  I had fun putting them in and hope her devoted fans have as much fun finding them. But even if you are not an Austen fan, this book is a stand-alone story full of adventure.
Your story is historical fiction, but what about it is relevant to today?
Carole: The underlying theme of this book is fighting to escape oppression based on a person’s gender and/or religious beliefs.  In centuries past, and even up into the twentieth century, women were considered unequal to men.  During the 17th century, marriages were largely based on economic arrangements, not romantic love. Husbands owned their wives and children, and could lawfully beat them. Divorce was unheard of.
Careers for women?  I had to beat the bushes to think of a suitable occupation for my female protagonist , which is why I chose to make her a midwife. (The other choice would have been prostitute).  Midwifery had been a female-dominated profession since Biblical times, but most midwife/healers were uneducated and poor. Some were feared as witches. All the men in Clare’s life disapprove of her decision to work outside the home. Her husband denigrates her earnings as “ill-gotten gains.” Times are changing, but it has taken more than 2000 years to recognize that women can choose to have a career or a traditional family or both. Even run for president.
As far as religious persecution goes, one only has to check the depressing daily news to see that it still exists.  
Unfortunately, you are so right. So are you working on the next book in the series already?
Carole: I’ve drawn the family tree from Clare Dupres (born 1654) to the present.  Other than that, I’ve been too busy learning the ins and outs of publishing and promotion.  I’d rather be working on the book.
How well I know the feeling. The cover of your book is beautiful. Who designed it for you?
Carole: Victoria Cooper is an amazing artist and a pleasure to work with. I highly recommend her.  I spent many hours on the internet viewing bookcovers before I decided this was the right one for my book.  She has also designed matching bookmarks which I will soon have available.
If people want to know more, how can they find you?
Carole: Check out my website www.carolepenfield.com  (The header is an actual photo I took in Normandy.) Or send me an email at carole.penfield@gmail.com
I would like to take this opportunity to ask everyone to please read my book and leave a review on Amazon. Reviews are so important to newbie authors like me.
Thanks to you Melissa, for this interview and for starting me on the path to self-publishing. Your calm words of advice during my moments of panic kept me from throwing in the towel.  
You're entirely welcome. I'm glad I could help you along on your journey.
Midwife of Normandyis available on Amazon as a paperback or Kindle ebook. http://tinyurl.com/MidwifeNormandy
Facebook Author Page: Coming soonTwitter: I’m not a bird, I don’t tweetAmazon Author Page: Coming soonBlog: at www.carolepenfield.comGoogle+: NopeLinkedIn: carole penfield

New Release: The Man in the Black Hat

I'm realizing that I love time travel. I always have, I just never wrote it until this year, but now that I've gotten started, I can't seem to stop. After my two Travis books (Finding Travis, Being Travis), I switched gears a little. My new novel, The Man in the Black Hat, is very different, but just as fun. Here's the blurb:


Clay Bauer, at the age of 38, is a second-rate actor in Hollywood. He’s too mean-looking to get leading man roles in movies, so he’s resigned himself to playing only villains. While filming a low-budget Western in the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona, he hears about the vortices there — places of power where people claim to have strange experiences, even traveling to other dimensions. He doesn't believe any of it — until he accidentally passes through a vortex and is transported more than 100 years into the past. Suddenly he’s faced with playing the most important role of his life. Only this time, it’s for real.
If you love time travel, if you've ever been to Sedona and seen the splendor of the red rocks and heard the stories of the vortices, I think you'll enjoy this book. And for this week only, Oct 21-30, 2016, I'm putting the e-book on sale for just 99 cents. Get it while it's hot. You won't regret it.

Author Interview: E.J. “Russ” McDevitt

Today I am sitting down with my good buddy E.J. “Russ” McDevitt, author of a growing series of thriller novels about Danny Quigley, a retired Special Forces agent who, even as a civilian, offers his services when the need arises—which it always does.

Russ, I understand that your character, Danny Quigley, is based on a real person. Tell us how you met this person, and what it was about him that inspired you to write Danny.
McDevitt:  Melissa, I was training sales people for a Life Insurance company in the UK, where a class came in on a Monday morning and I worked with them for a number of days or even two weeks. One of the people who came in one morning was ex Special Forces, known as the SAS , and obviously suffering from some sort of post traumatic stress. He kept failing exams and I had to counsel him. He looked like he could have reached across and torn my throat out. However, as I was ex Canadian Military, he gradually relaxed and I was able to help him. He also started to share some incredible combat stories of operations he’d been on in the Special Forces which, under ‘The Official Secrets Act’ he wasn’t supposed to reveal to anyone whatsoever.
Danny Quigley was born right then, and when I started writing some years later, I just couldn’t get that man out of my mind! Go figure: he was probably killing people the week before he came in for training…..  then wanted to sell Life Insurance!
Pretty amazing. I’m not sure I’d want to let that guy into my house on a cold call, but on the other hand, he probably didn’t have too many prospective customers saying no to him! Can you give us a brief overview of the series? What has Danny accomplished so far?
McDevitt:  Not surprisingly, the first novel, The Quigley Alchemy, was about a guy who gets out of the UK Special Forces and tries to earn a living by selling life insurance, (sound familiar?). Initially he fails, but hears about some super salesman who broke all records and then disappeared. He decides to track him down. This leads him across to Ireland, but MI5, the UK’s Domestic Intelligence Service, want him back to carry out a political assassination. They won’t take ‘NO’ for an answer and kidnap his wife to make sure he does the job.
Subsequent novels are black ops that he carries out for MI5, MI6 and the CIA in various countries. Oh, yes, he has some interesting, and in some cases, ’kick-ass’ ladies on his team. (The odd steamy love scenes as well)… ‘NO’ not 50 shades of anything. (Danny IS British after all!)
Sounds like he’s had some pretty interesting adventures, and the stories have something for everyone. Now what’s up for Danny in your latest book, The Jihadists’ Revenge ?


McDevitt:  Highly-trained, hate-filled Jihadists are returning to the UK to create mayham. Britain has a major problem in that literally thousands have left Britain and joined up with ISIS and Al Qaeda overseas, and are returning with instructions to create a 9/11 attack on the UK.
Danny is tasked by MI5 to carry out surveillance on some of the groups, try to target their contacts, and discover their operational plans. In the meantime a Pashtun from Afghanistan wants revenge on Danny for killing his cousin, and unleashes attacks on Danny and his family. To add to this situation, a former female colleague in California begs him to come and help find her husband, a member of the elite Seals, who has disappeared.
Later in the novel Danny is kidnapped by the Jihadists who intend to behead him on video to launch the UK’s 9/11 attack.
Whoa! That’s a lot on Danny’s plate. We can see that your stories circle the globe and take Danny into all sorts of tricky situations. How much research do you do for your books?
McDevitt:  Lots… obviously Google is a tremendous support and I use it quite a bit. Melissa, you have urged potential authors to read a lot and I’m a prolific reader of my genre: action novels. I even saw someone recently correct the guru Chris Ryan, with a scribble in his Special Forces books over something quite miniscule, so readers want the genuine thing and ideally from personal experience.
As an author I feel I can provide real credibility to my portrayal of action, having travelled as a young man in Australia in a boxing and wrestling troupe for 3 years, taking on all comers.
You were also a military policeman in Canada for six years; how much of your training and experience play into the Quigley books?
McDevitt: Yes, I served 6 years in the Canadian Military, 3 of them with the NATO Brigade in Europe. You can bet that I use this knowledge quite a lot in my stories, particularly where weapons are concerned. When the recruiting Sergeant found out about my unique experiences in Aussieland he immediately processed me into the Military Police. (I wonder why?)
You’re right; my experience is certainly reflected in the Quigley books.  In those days, when it comes to unarmed combat, the Canadian MPs never carried a pistol or a club (apart from in action zones overseas), and so they handled themselves pretty well.
What’s next for Danny Quigley? Do you already have a new book started, or are the ideas still simmering?
McDevitt: I have some thoughts spiraling around in my head. Too early to share, and I wouldn’t want some eager beaver author to beat me to a story! Watch this space…
I know the feeling. Have to let the ideas percolate until they take the brain hostage and insist on being written down. Have you ever veered off in a different direction, written in a different genre or with a different main character?
McDevitt:  I have written a Personal Development Journal that I updated recently which is basically a blueprint for those people who want to create a more fulfilling life for themselves. See http://www.transformyourlife.ca/.
However Danny Quigley is such an interesting character and hard to let go. I was also amazed and delighted to discover how many women loved my books. I didn’t figure on this initially. One woman volunteered that Danny Quigley is what men used to be like: the genuine article, that the world needs more of.
Perhaps Danny is moving into the long-vacated space occupied by James Bond, who definitely had an appeal to women. Danny stays pretty busy, and his life makes most of the rest of us look tame. What do you do for excitement? For relaxation?
McDevitt: I’m a member of Toastmasters. Some years back I won the Irish and British titles.
I exercise just about every day, Tai Chi, Che Gong, the local gym, and some martial arts. I read a lot and am a carer for my wife Marie who is disabled with arthritis. I have 6 grown up kids who live all over the world, so I travel whenever writing activities allow.
Sounds like a full life, and very satisfying. Thanks so much for sharing it with us today, Russ. Now, if readers want more information, how can they find you?
Website
Amazon
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
http://www.transformyourlife.ca/

Pacing…in Writing…Is Everything

Pacing in writing is essential. It can make a story or break it. Good pacing can tune a good story into a masterpiece, or bad pacing can reduce it to caterwauls.Some months back, I read a new book by an author I like. I expected good things. Unfortunately, the pacing of the story left me frustrated and just anxious to get the durn thing over with. The protagonist, an investigator, was frequently approached by a mystery woman who may have had information he needed. The meetings usually consisted of her appearing suddenly, saying she needed to tell him something, then leading him to a small café or down a deserted alley. She spoke cryptically; he asked questions which she danced around, they both became angry and she rushed off. Over and over.The author may have thought the emotionally-fraught meetings were adding tension to the story, but they added little else. They added no additional information. They did not move the story forward. Their only purpose, that I could see, was to frustrate me and make me less inclined to care if I finished the book or not.Our job, as story-tellers, is to parcel out bits and pieces of the story line all along the length of the story. We do this not only to let the story build in an evolving, suspenseful way, but also to reward our readers. Sure, we don’t want to give away too much too soon, but we need to give the readers something as they go along. That book I was talking about was giving me nothing. I felt like I was doing the hard work of sticking with it to try to figure out the mystery, but I was getting nothing in return. It didn’t feel like a fair deal.Just recently, I picked up a crime thriller that was free on a promo. I don’t normally gravitate to crime stories, but this one sounded interesting and had a ton of good reviews, so I tried it. I’m glad I did. The story began a trifle slowly, primarily because there were a lot of characters to be introduced to, but then quickly ramped up. I was almost halfway into it when I realized that I was really getting anxious about the turn of events. I suddenly realized that the author had completely pulled me in, and had moved me forward with rewards of revelations as the story unfolded. The story is told not only from the point of view of the investigator, but also from the POV of the bad guy, giving me inside knowledge about the crime and how it’s being carried out. That inside information, while not revealing too much about motive, still gave me more kernels of story than the investigator was getting, so while the police side was being stymied, the story was still moving forward fully and inexorably. The author was a master at turning the screws minutely but continuously. Once the police caught a break and began to put the pieces together, the story became two vectors moving rapidly toward a point of intersection. And I wasn’t going anywhere except along with them.Right on the tail of this book, I picked up another free promo, a paranormal, which I love. It was about a medium in 1800s London and the male ghost she connected with as they tried to contain a demon, and it was great. The pacing of the story was perfect and the relationship tension built at a rate that pulled me happily along. As with the crime thriller, I was anxious to see how it all played out.Unfortunately, it didn’t. When I reached the end, one story line was resolved, but the relationship issue was not. That was going to continue into the next book. I was rather disappointed in this, but dutifully bought the next book in the series. That’s when things began to go downhill in a hurry.The new story line was fine, but the push-pull of the relationship issue was getting tiresome. How many times can characters move toward each other, have second thoughts, and move away? How many times can they almost succumb to the overwhelming love they feel, give in to the doubts that fill their heads and back off? I quickly realized that the pacing of this dance was perfect in the first book, but had become contrived and overdone in the second. Rather than being fed a few tasty crumbs to keep me going, I felt like I was being tempted by a yummy cookie that was unceremoniously yanked away whenever I got too close. Because in the first book the couple had come about as close as they possibly could to consummating their relationship, they had already progressed from point A to point Y and only Z was left. There was no place to build to except full intimacy, and in order to maintain the tension of the story, that promise of resolution was never being kept. Again, it felt like a raw deal. I knew I wasn’t going to get the cookie until I got to the end of the book (maybe—there might be a third book!), but there were no crumbs left for me in the meantime. If the author had added the second book on as an afterthought, she had not taken pacing into account. If she had planned the series from the get-go, she still had not taken the pacing into account. As a writer, I found it interesting that a first book could be almost flawless, yet the second book was, in my mind, a total toss-off. And it was all because of the pacing.So what is pacing? It’s rationing out bits of information a little at a time to move the story forward. It’s developing the characters so their personalities and relationships evolve in an ever-expanding way. And it’s rewarding the reader with “ah-ha” nuggets that keep them interested. Failing to find the correct pace in any of these areas can make the difference between compelling and contemptible, between fascination and frustration. And obviously, even the best authors can find the right pace … or not.

Originally published by Indies Unlimited on September 16, 2014.

Book Do-Over!

When my first two books were published by a New York house way back in the 1980s, the giddy excitement rather quickly turned to disappointed resignation. Although they accepted both books without any editing comment except to increase or decrease page count to fit their norm, they had full control over the cover images and the titles, and they exerted that control with no input from me. I named my first book The Rare Breed, as it was about a half-breed woman searching for her Cheyenne family after being reared in the civilized East. Well, that title was just way too tame. The book became Love's Savage Destiny. When it was published and my husband and I made our first foray into a Waldenbooks to look for it, we scanned one huge wall of historical romances. My husband searched the titles for a few moments, then came to me and whispered, "There's a lot of Savages up there." 
Yup.
My second book was another historical romance, but this time the heroine was searching the Superstition Mountains in Arizona for the Lost Dutchman gold mine, escorted by a cavalry major and a Pima Indian scout. My title was Superstition Gold. Noooo, the publisher said, the word superstition connoted the occult and they couldn't have that. They sent me a letter in which they said, "We hope you'll be as thrilled with the title as we are." The new title was Love's Savage Embrace.
All righty, then.
It was at that point that I made myself a promise; one day I would write a book and name it Love's Savage Armpit.
I never did that, but I did write a satire of romances called The Pits of Passion by Amber Flame. The Pits of Passion is not your normal romance novel. It's a bodice-ripper, to be sure--but literally. The poor heroine can barely walk down the streets of London without having some lust-crazed man rip her clothes right off her body. When she goes to her closet to find something to wear, she has a hell of a time because the bodice is ripped out of every dress she has. You see, this is a romance novel where every aspect of the much-loved genre has been taken to the nth degree. This is a completely over-the-top, wild and sexy satire. I often warn people, this is NOT your mother's romance novel!

I actually wrote it just for fun, without any idea of publishing it. I was working at the time, and I wrote it longhand on blue line pads in the break room at work on my lunch hour. Some of the other gals in the office thought it was a hoot, and pretty soon most of them were reading it, coming behind me as I wrote. Word spread quickly, and before long I found out several techs that worked out in the field were also coming in on their lunch hours and reading it, too. I'm guessing these guys had rarely read a romance novel before, but even if they had, they hadn't read anything like this one! One day I went back to the break room and actually had to shake down almost every person there to find the last page I'd written. The pages were being passed fast and furious, and I had to wrestle the last page away so I could continue writing. That's when I realized that this campy little novel might actually be popular.

But who would publish such a thing? Romance is a sacrosanct genre, and the readers who love it would not be open to having every sacred cow lampooned as I was doing. Heck, even the hero had alabaster thighs. Surprisingly enough, though, one publisher stepped forward and optioned it. True, it was as an eBook only, and not a big deal, but at least someone actually published it. After that, it was a simple matter to publish it myself, both as a paperback and an eBook. 

My original cover was quite a mishmash of ideas. I wanted to hint at the sexiness of it, but also the absurdity of it. Ripped bodices, pirate ships, kidnappings; they all figured in. I cobbled together the cover myself, and at the time I felt it was a decent presentation. Now, though, after many years, it was time for a redo.
That was when the idea struck me. Pits could become Love's Savage Armpit. It was a perfect fit. Why hadn't I thought of that before?

The book has gotten mixed reviews, to be sure, which is no surprise. This is a book with something to offend everyone. But if you can approach it with an open mind, and if you're ready for some belly laughs, it really is quite a romp. Here's a sample of a couple reviews:

I was laughing out loud throughout the whole thing. Most satires/parodies I've read tend to go over the top and take things too far. Ms. Bowersock didn't do that. She does a wonderful job of giving just enough absurdity without crossing the line into the unbelievable. I really don't know how to write a review because there was just soooo much I liked about this book. It's friggin' hysterical!  If you like satire or historical romance or romance of any kind, you'll love this book. -- Kara Leigh Miller 

(This) is an unbelievable, hilarious tale and an enjoyable, easy read. Captivating from the get-go, this novel will take you on the ride of your life! Elizabeth's journeys will enable you to ride the high seas with her and her twin lovers, and laugh at the predicaments in which she both finds and loses herself. I have never read a novel quite like this one; (This) is in a class of its own! ... Congratulations, Melissa, (aka Amber Flame) for doing what so many writers fail to do! I treasure it! —Amazon review
So, in honor of the little satire that could, I'm re-releasing it with a brand new name, a brand new cover and a special sale. From now through October 9, 2016, it'll be just 99 cents. If you like satire, if you like over-the-top, off the wall humor, if you like sizzling, sexy action, this book is for you. 
But just remember: I warned you.

How to Work Book Festivals

 I used to live in Tucson, Arizona, where they started a new Book Festival back in 2009. That first year, there were over 50,000 attendees, and by the third year that number had jumped to 100,000. Quite quickly, the Tucson Festival of Books was rated in the top 5 book festivals in the country. I attended every TFOB until I moved out of the area, and it was gratifying to see so many people excited about books and reading. But being used to smaller events in book stores and libraries, I quickly realized that a book festival of this magnitude was a completely different animal, and there was a lot to learn. Every year I did things a little differently, and every year I had a more successful time.
The Nature of the BeastAt first glance, you might see a number of 50,000 or 100,000 potential readers and think, “Jackpot!” Yes, it’s true, there’re a lot of potential sales out there, but what I quickly learned is there is also (1) a lot of real estate these readers expect to cover and (2) a lot of other authors out there crying for attention. The problem with a venue like this is that there is a veritable river of readers rushing like a torrent down the alleyways between tents. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to get that river to STOP at your tent, or at the very least, pull out a few stray readers with whom you can converse.Easier said than done.Festivals like these always have vendor and sponsor tents. If you write in a single genre, you might try to get a spot in the Mystery Tent, or the Romance Tent, or see if you can get a book store, local business or publisher to make room for you in their tent. This way you may be able to narrow your audience and not have that thundering river to contend with. Check with your regional book festival for a list of sponsors and how to connect with them. I write across multiple genres, so that wasn’t a good fit for me, and I always bought space in a generic Authors’ Pavilion where I was not pigeonholed.Okay, so you’ve got your territory staked out. What’s next?Don’t sit behind your table and expect readers to approach you. They won’t. I saw one woman sit behind her stack of books, head down, eyes averted and ― as she was probably expecting ― everyone streamed right on by. Stand up so you’re on the same eye level with them. Smile. Make eye contact. Say hello. Offer freebies. I give out free bookmarks and free business card-sized magnets with my book covers on them. However, don’t just lay your freebies on the table; actively hand them to people. Many people are afraid to pick things up, not sure if they are free or not, and if they don’t take one, you’ve just lost an opportunity. While not everyone will take the freebies you offer, at least they will slow down for a sec, and if one of your books catches their eye, they’ll stop.Speaking of catching eyes, have something designed to do just that. I learned to have a poster large enough to read from a middle distance with a catchy or thought-provoking question or statement. It has to be short so people can read it quickly within the two to three seconds their eyes are roving my space. One year I was promoting my non-fiction, the biography of an Army nurse and prisoner-of-war, and I had a poster asking, “Could YOU survive a prisoner-of-war camp?” Another year I was promoting a novel about reincarnation and my poster read, “Have YOU lived before?” Ask the question or gear the statement toward the reader, drawing them personally into the implied discussion.Once they’ve stopped, engage them in cheerful, non-pushy conversation. Do not pounce on them with, “Buy my book!” One year I shared a table with a man who practically leaped over the table and button-holed anyone who even looked sideways at his book. He would shove the book in their faces, reeling off his spiel and not even noticing the deer-in-the-headlights look on their faces or the speed with which they would skitter away at the first chance. When I was selling books and he wasn’t, he was completely dumbfounded. He had no idea that he was actually driving readers away.Remember to have fun. In my last appearance, I had people constantly at my table, and I was so caught up in our conversations that I wasn’t even paying attention to the books I sold. After all was said and done, I realized I’d been selling a book every 20 minutes on average.Finally, don’t look at this as a huge selling event. It probably won’t be. Look at it as a PR event where you can meet people and get your name out there. Very often attendees won’t even try to make a buying decision; they just have too much ground to cover, too many things to see and do. Instead, think of this as a Halloween of sorts for readers. When they get home with all their free loot, then they’ll sit down and go through the book marks and business cards and whatnot, and when they find yours, they’ll think about that nice lady (or man) and that interesting-looking book. They’ll remember your demeanor, your generosity, your cheerful conversation, and they’ll think, “Yeah … I’m going to go order that book.”Things to DoStand upMake eye contactSmileHand out freebiesHave a poster with a catchy question or statementDon’t hard-sell; be friendlyThings to HaveBookmarksMagnets or other freebies (candy is also good)Business cardsPosterPayment sign (how much your books are, special discounts, etc. Also types of payment you accept)PensReceipts (if requested)Change for cashOriginally published by Indies Unlimited on September 2, 2014.

Birthday Sale -- A Blast to the Past!

September is my birth month and I always like to give presents to YOU, my readers. And, because most of us tend to hark back to our past on our birthdays (some more than others), I decided this would be an excellent time to put my time travel novels on sale. Not quite the same as stepping into a time machine and going back to our 20s, 30s or even 40s, but a fun ride nonetheless. Here's the deal.

From now until September 25, 2016, both books of my time travel series No Time for Travis will be on sale for just 99 cents. That's a $4.00 savings per book. I believe these are my best books to date, and if you like time travel, I'm pretty sure you'll love these! 




Finding Travis:  Travis Merrill’s life isn’t going according to plan. He’s quit several career paths, his wife has left him, and his only solace is volunteering to portray a cavalry surgeon at historic Fort Verde in Arizona, a place where time seems to stand still. When a weird trick of time actually sends him back to the year 1877, he’s boxed into impersonating the post surgeon for real. Unfortunately, he finds his medical knowledge is no match for the primitive practices of the day, and he’s forced to make life or death decisions, not always successfully. He wonders if he will ever be able to return to his own time, or if he might find a life—and a love—140 years in the past.
Being Travis:  Two years ago, a weird trick of time sent Travis Merrill spiraling from 2016 to the year 1877. Committed now to his life in frontier Arizona, Travis is married with a child on the way and is homesteading a ranch. His knowledge of the future, however, keeps him at odds with his neighbors, his friends… and his wife. He finds it more and more difficult to protect his home without alienating his family, yet he can’t ignore what he knows is—and will be—true.
Scoop up both of these novels for just 99 cents each and take a trip back in time to frontier Arizona. You'll find humor, drama, romance and adventure. Perfect reading for a cool fall evening. I guarantee it!  

Author Interview: Robert Redding

Continuing my little jaunt around my home state of Arizona, I am now in Chino Valley to interview my good buddy Robert Redding. Robert is clearly a Renaissance man, interested in so many different topics that it would take a full page just to list them. He brings that eclectic interest and passion to his writing, as well, and I would be hard-pressed to pigeonhole him in any particular genre. So far he has released two books, Over the Road: 37 Years of True Truckin’ Adventures and Mutual Funds Are Cheating You!  Let’s start there and see where it leads us.

MJB: Robert, I am going out on a limb here and just guessing that your 37 years as a truck driver provided you with more stories than you could ever put down on paper. Can you give us a quick peek at one or two of them?

RR: Of course, Melissa…happy to.  The book is filled with crashes and breakdowns, junkies and prostitutes, steep hills and problems with police. My favorite story is “Granddad.”  It is about a trucker hauling steel in Ohio.  He was caught in a blizzard, forced off the road, and buried in a snowdrift.  It was the Blizzard of 1998 that killed 51 people.

Five days later his son, on a snowmobile, came looking for him.  The buried highway showed no sign of his truck.  He was on a huge snow berm, looking over waves of drifts that marched to the horizon.  He realized that it was too late, his father was dead.  Dropping his head in grief, his tears fell at his feet.  Then he saw the top 3 inches of a CB radio antenna poking up out of the snow.

MJB: When did you decide to write the stories you witnessed? Did you keep notes as you drove and plan to write a book “someday,” or did it all wait until you were done with trucking and then you knew you had to write them all down?

RR: Yes, I wrote up my trucking stories as they happened.  When I retired I finished them off and put them on Amazon. 

The first story I ever wrote was about the Death Road which runs from La Paz into the Amazon basin in South America.  This road is the food lifeline to the ancient silver town.  During a weekend some friends and I were on the road.  Overnight, a massive rain storm hit.  A bridge and a hundred yards of road disappeared into the valley below.  This trapped hundreds of people, and dozens of vehicles on the dangerous and precipitous lane.  It was the height of the rainy season and repairs would take a month.  After that I became addicted to writing out my adventures, which were mostly overseas travel stories. 

MJB: And now for something completely different… mutual funds. What background and experience do you have in the financial world? And what compelled you to write about this? (Keep in mind that I am not—and maybe some of my readers are not—a financial whiz, so please keep it simple.)

RR:  My own study led to the discovery of our hard wired psychological traits that prevent most people from making money in the market.  Inevitably it seems we are programmed to buy high, and sell low.  The pain of losses is so high, that we hold onto bad investments, even though we should dump them as soon as they start to fade.  For instance, if you were to buy ten stocks, you would find that three start to lose money, four stay the same, and three start to gain in value.  It sounds crazy, I know, but what most people will do is take profits and sell the gainers, and hold onto the losers until they spiral down, and then sell at the nadir.   The truth is that every generation helplessly makes the same mistakes over and over again.  We rarely learn from our past.

Almost all of us have money in mutual funds.  It is considered to be the smart way to save for retirement, and it is if done right.  It is really very simple.  The key is decades and decades of compounding interest.  So, very early in life, buy into a mutual fund that holds blue chip stocks, and continue to invest every month.  Forget day trading, forget penny stocks, forget currency trading, forget buying gold…and especially forget buying and selling.  Buying into a blue chip index fund is investing, everything else is gambling.

MJB: I know you’re also interested in things like astrology, UFOs, symbolism and crop circles, just to name a few. Is there any one topic that pulls you more than the others, or do you find yourself jumping from one to another constantly? Which topic appeals to you the most, and why?

RR: I have always been interested in crop circles and astrology. In 2012 I flew to England and took a tour of the crop circles.  This adventure lead to a book called “Autobiography of An Alien”.  The interesting idea here is that crop circles are made by humans, but not all of them….and the difference is easily seen.

I started studying astrology in 1973 and found that I was quite fascinated with it.  I studied it for a very simple reason. If astrology was everything they said it was, then everybody should be studying it, as it gave paranormal powers. I did charts for a number of years, but soon became fascinated with astrological symbols…their source, their original meaning, and how they have evolved into what they are today.  For example, Christmas is full of symbols that we have forgotten the meaning of. 

Besides my other subjects I have discovered an interest in the Symbolism of Geometric Forms and Polarity and Duality.  Of course these are deadly dull subjects to most people.  Lately I have been asking everybody if they have seen a ghost, or a UFO, and writing out their stories.  That is kind of fun.

MJB: So far all your writing has been non-fiction. Do you think there might ever be a novel mixed in there somewhere? If so, what might it be about? 

RR: I started a novel.  I have the first chapter.  A teenager, just out of high school, starts on a cross country bicycle trip.  He arrives in Boston during a rainstorm and takes refuge in a church.  There he interrupts a church council meeting.  The Pastor allows the kid to dry out at his home.  They start talking and the kid spends the night.  The Pastor, who has just lost his wife, knows it is time for a change in his life.  He has a lot of money and is going to retire from the church.  This is what he knows.  He can go anyplace he wants, and do anything he wants.  He has complete freedom to do what he wants.  He invites the teenager along as a travel companion. 

The theme of this book is:  IF YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO ANSWER TO ANYONE….WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

MJB: Do you read as many far-reaching topics as you write? What books have really grabbed you? What authors have inspired you?

RR: Like most writers I’ve read hundreds of books. This is the how I see the writing process. A kitchen chief has basic ingredients all around him. But his skill comes in the re-combination of these ingredients into a fashionable new recipe. In the same way I take the ideas in these books and combine then into the newest cutting edge speculations. Because there is nothing new under the sun, the skill comes in the re-combination of these ancient concepts to provide a unique, and purely personal, perspective. After all, there is no progress without speculation.

My favorite fiction author is Somerset Maugham, a great story teller. I’m not much into fiction these days….I did that years ago. My favorite contemporary author is Colin Wilson.  I have always had an interest in the paranormal, and this author explains it well.

MJB: I noticed on your Amazon Author Page that you’re working on a book called The Symbolism of Salt, the Essential Element. Were you aware that there is a prehistoric salt mine nearby in Camp Verde? That for the Indians there around 1000AD, making a pilgrimage to the salt mine was a spiritual journey?  

RR: That’s right. Of course, we have to have salt to live.  In past times, salt was so scarce it was as valuable as gold.  Salt was also sacred because it preserved foods.   Most people know the word salary comes from salt.  Also, the main reason that the Erie Canal was built, was to bring salt from depositions near Buffalo to New York City. 

MJB: And I see you’re also working on a book called The Mystical Symbolism of the Christian Fish. How far back did you find evidence for the spiritual meaning of the fish? I’m pretty sure it predates Christianity.

RR: Because of my interest in astrology, I wrote a paper on the “Symbolism of Astrological Animals.”  This led to a book called “The Mystical Symbolism of the Christian Fish.”
In pagan times, the fish, because of its abundance and diversity, was a symbol of fertility and prosperous healthy living.  Fish were considered to be messengers from the Gods which dwelt in the Great Oceans, the source of all life.  At first used by the early Christians, it was later replaced with the cross as the symbol of Christianity.  The reason….the church fathers wanted to excise all pagan symbols from the Church.

MJB: Robert, thanks for taking some time out of your busy schedule to chat. I have a feeling you are never at a loss for things to do, read, write! Now, if people want to find out more and/or connect with you, how can they do that? 

RR: I have to admit that I am really a tech dinosaur   I have no idea what I would do with a Twitter account and never spend time on Facebook.  Here are some websites that I am on.

Facebook                              
Blog                                    
Flickrphotos                          

Stop the Chop--Making Smooth Transitions

Have you ever read a book where the scene is progressing nicely, things are happening, people are talking and then … you’re somewhere else. From one paragraph to the next, you’ve gone from a moonlit beach to a crowded avenue. You were just starting to understand the relationship between John and Marsha and now suddenly you’re introduced to Tony. “Marsha, hello,” John called brightly. He was obviously pleased to see her. His eyes shone at her with reflected moonlight. “Hello, John.” Her voice was low, cautious. Her eyes darted nervously about the deserted beach, and she caught her lower lip in her teeth. “How are you?” he asked as he stopped in front of her. Tony cursed the Black Friday crowds while he shouldered his way down the sidewalk. He hated shopping. Does this make you do a double-take? Do you have to go back and re-read just to make sure you didn’t miss something? In recent months I’ve read more than a few books that had trouble with transitions. Now I’ve yammered on before about how, when we write, we need to make sure the reader is flowing along with us effortlessly. Yes, there may be drama in the story and yes, there may be tension, but there shouldn’t be any of that in the reader’s efforts to follow the story. The reader may need to work at piecing out the story line in a thriller, may need to tease out the truth from the lies and misdirections in a mystery, but they should not have to work at following the writing. In my opinion, if the reader does have to work at that, we haven’t done our job well at all.There are several ways to indicate a change of time or scene. A very simple way is to put an extra space between the paragraphs. “Hello,” John called brightly. He was obviously pleased to see her. His eyes shone at her with reflected moonlight. “Hello, John.” Her voice was low, cautious. Her eyes darted nervously about the deserted beach, and she caught her lower lip in her teeth. “How are you?” he asked as he stopped in front of her.
Tony cursed the Black Friday crowds while he shouldered his way down the sidewalk. He hated shopping. The space gives us a visual clue that something has changed, and it sets us up immediately — without reading another word — that something different is going on. Equate this to the “fade to black” in films. You know when the scene fades to black that you’re either going to a different time or a different place, even if it’s still a scene with the same characters.I have to add a small caveat here. With the popularity of eBooks, we unfortunately often see formatting glitches, generally in the category of extra spaces where there shouldn’t be one (as well as indent anomalies). The single extra space between paragraphs is a simple, subtle way of indicating a shift, but with eBooks, it might be better to be more obvious, just in case. For that reason, I suggest the use of centered asterisks (either three or five) between paragraphs, like this: “How are you?” he asked as he stopped in front of her. ***** Tony cursed the Black Friday crowds while he shouldered his way down the sidewalk. He hated shopping. Another more direct way is to preface your next sentence with a reference to time or place. It might look like: The next day, Tony cursed the Black Friday crowds while he shouldered his way down the sidewalk. He hated shopping. Or: In Times Square, Tony cursed the Black Friday crowds while he shouldered his way down the sidewalk. He hated shopping. No, it’s not particularly elegant, but it’s unmistakable. The readers don’t have to wonder where or when they are. Those few words set them up immediately for the next scene.If you don’t want to use anything as obvious as the above, there’s another way. That’s to put a period on the end of your paragraph. What I mean by this is that you can end your paragraph with a line that wraps up the scene, that gives it a final, definitive feel to it, even if it also promises there’s more to come. We see this often in soap operas (no, I don’t watch them, but I have surfed through enough of them from time to time). It might look like this: “Hello, John.” Her voice was low, cautious. Her eyes darted nervously about the deserted beach, and she caught her lower lip in her teeth. “How are you?” he asked as he stopped in front of her. He folded his arms across his chest, forming a barrier between her and any escape she might consider. This time, he would make sure she wasn’t going anywhere until she explained where she’d been. Or: “Hello, John.” Her voice was low, cautious. Her eyes darted nervously about the deserted beach, and she caught her lower lip in her teeth. “How are you?” he asked as he stopped in front of her. Marsha sighed in tired resignation. She should have told him about the surgery a long time ago. She owed him that much, at least. “It’s a long story,” she said. “We’d better sit.” I realize this is all subjective and can be very nebulous when we’re trying to tie it down, but it’s like the old definition of quality. You may not be able to define it, but you know it when you see it. And you also know when it’s not working. What do you think? What tools do you use to make good transitions?Originally published by Indies Unlimited on 8/26/2014.

Author Interview: Carl Schmidt

Today I am in Sedona, Arizona, sitting down to have a chat with my buddy Carl Schmidt. Carl has recently released the first two books of his Jesse Thorpe Mystery Series, Dead Down East and A Priestly Affair. I’m reading the first but have not finished it yet, and I have the second one sitting on my bookshelf, staring at me. You know how insistent those unread books can be. They’re just so pushy.
 
So, Carl, can you give us a brief introduction to Jesse Thorpe? What’s he like? What drives him? Why does he do the work he does?
 CS: Jesse is an easy going guy in his mid-thirties, trying to make ends meet in Augusta, Maine. He has three professions. He’s a bass player in a local rock band, a carpenter and a private detective. He’s smart—he has a degree in physics from Colby College—and he’s witty, but he has bills to pay, so he plugs away at work, trying to catch a break.
 Sounds like a cool guy, and someone we can relate to. Is Jesse based on anyone you know? Perhaps a composite of several people, or is he just completely fictional?
 CS: I’d have to say that Jesse is a composite of me and my son, Jaia, who kindly allowed me to put him on the cover of my first novel, Dead Down East.
  So the book is a family affair! Have you been inspired by any other fictional or real investigators? Would you liken Jesse to anyone else? Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Magnum, PI?
 CS: Humphrey Bogart played Phillip Marlowe in The Big Sleep and Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon. I’d say that Jesse is a modern day, and somewhat younger, Humphrey Bogart. Jesse Thorpe is not quite as cocky as Sam Spade. But almost. His feisty girlfriend, Angele Boucher, keeps him on edge and sees to it that he “keeps it real.”
 A Bogey for the newer generations? What draws you to write mysteries? Is it plotting out the crime and the methods to avoid capture? Or is it figuring out how to put the pieces of the puzzle together? Did you ever want to be a PI?
 CS: Mysteries are like puzzles. I like that. It never occurred to me to be a PI, but now that I’m writing these novels, perhaps I missed my calling. On the other hand, most PI work in real life is tedious and unpleasant. So probably it’s best that I never ventured in that direction.
 That’s probably the nicer part of writing mysteries rather than doing the real work: you can focus on the exciting stuff and pass over the boring stuff. Do you read a lot of mysteries, perhaps as research or reference? Or do you steer clear of them so they don’t bleed into your own stories, and read other genres instead?
 CS: I was inspired by the mysteries of Tim Cockey, who injects a lot of humor in each of his “Hitchcock Sewell” mysteries. It was the humor that got my attention, and it hung on until I finally began writing. But, for the most part, I steer clear of other mystery novels. I want my own works to be fresh and independent.
 I know you’re working on the third book of the series, Redbone. Did you plan to have three books from the get-go, or have they grown organically out of the first? Do you find it easy or hard to come up with new adventures for the same character?
 CS: It grew organically. When I finished the first one, I seemed to be on a roll. So I let it keep rolling. The real problem is getting started. Once the story begins, it takes hold and carries me along.
 Love when that happens! You’ve also written a non-fiction book, Recipe for Bliss: Kriya Yoga for a New Millennium. Which do you think is easier to write, fiction or non-fiction? Why?
 CS: At this point in my life, fiction is much easier, and more fun, to write. It’s more open-ended and allows me to assume numerous identities without judgment. It’s more free-wheeling and there are virtually You graduated from college with degrees in mathematics and physics, then spent some time teaching English in Japan, all of which would seem to use a completely different part of the brain compared to fiction writing. Were you a “closet writer” during your younger years, or did you just recently begin setting words down on paper?
 CS: My life has been a progression of sorts. As a child, I had a natural aptitude for math and physics, but when I reached my 20’s, I knew I needed to branch out. So I began playing and writing music. This stimulated the other side of my brain. I try to use both sides when I’m writing. But I have to say that it took me many years to find my voice as a writer. It has been a long process, but I’m comfortable with it now. I know what sounds good. All I have to do is keep at it until the narrative rings true and tickles my funny bone. Humor brings out the best in all us. Without it, everything looks black and white.
 So is Redbonefinished, or are you still writing and/or polishing? What’s next on the horizon? Do you have more books planned out, or are you thinking of doing something different?
 CS: Redbone is finished. All that’s left is to create the cover. I have a picture in my mind. I’m looking for a middle-aged Hispanic woman to represent one of the main characters in the story. When I publish Redbone, I’ll continue writing. I like the genre, so I’m pretty sure that a new case is about to land in Jesse Thorpe’s lap.
 Carl, thanks so much for stopping to visit and answer my questions. Now, if people want to find out more and/or connect with you, how can they do that?
 Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/CarlSchmidtAuthor/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
 Webpage: http://www.lightformfilms.com/Carl-Schmidt-Author.html
 Email:  mailto:carl@lightformfilms.com