Barbara G. Tarn's Blog, page 103

Sunday Surprise

And it’s a guest! From the upcoming Ink Slingers Halloween Anthology (I go the Smashwords link yesterday and no time to start reading it, so stay tuned for more), ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Russ Towne!

Where do you live and write from?

I live in Campbell, California, USA. It is near San Jose and San Francisco. I write from wherever I might be at the time the seed of an idea is given to me and begins to grow.

Why do you write?

There are actually several reasons I write. I write because I must. I’ve learned story ideas are precious gifts and to gratefully document and share them. I believe it would be selfish of me to horde or ignore them. Sometimes when I’ve tried the latter it was as though a great and growing pressure built inside me to the point where I could no longer think or function until I let the ideas out and shared them with others. So, I write to function and survive.

I write to provide a greater balance my life. I’m a wealth manager at a firm I founded in 2003. I spend much of my days using the logic portion of my brain. Writing helps me to maintain greater balance by allowing me to use the creative portion of my brain.

I write because to do otherwise would be to ignore the whispers of my heart. I’ve found ignoring my heart is always a bad idea.

I write to remind myself and readers of the greatness and goodness within ourselves and others.

When did you start writing?

I was over fifty years old and had convinced myself that I didn’t have a creative bone in my body. Then, about four or five years ago a friend named Denis Loiseau invited me to co-write a song with him. We had so much fun working together that we collaborated on several songs that were picked up by music industry executives from Nashville and Hollywood, and an invitation to go to Nashville to meet some music executives. Although we are receiving royalties for some of our songs, we are far from having made it to the Big Leagues of songwriters, but it has been a fantastic adventure and a whole lot of fun. Songwriting led to writing poetry, which led to writing children’s stories, and fiction and non-fiction stories, which led to writing three anthologies of my own stories, and compiling three anthologies featuring the work of forty or fifty other writers. It has been an exciting four or five years.

What genre(s) do you write?

Children’s stories, non-fiction stories, poetry, and fiction and flash fiction in a wide variety of genres including adventure, action, science fiction, speculative fiction, crime, thriller, paranormal, western, gold rush, utopia and dystopia.

What does your writing routine consist of?

The writing routine that works best for me is no routine. I write when the words flow so forcefully that I’m pretty much unable to think or do anything else. Sometimes the flow keeps me writing all night (which is less than ideal during the work week), and at other times I go months without writing a thing. I’ve learned if I’m patient the flow will return. Sometimes it starts as a trickle and grows, and at other times it’s a flash flood removing everything else in it’s path. I’ve tried to write without the flow but it feels too much like work, is frustrating, is rarely (if ever) productive, and wastes precious time. I love to have fun when I write or do anything else, and I have the most fun writing with the flow rather than trying to write in its absence. My favorite time and place to write is outdoors, especially at night in the Spring, Summer, and Fall. I especially love writing in the rain as I sit at a covered table with the rain splashing overhead and all around. I’m a bit of a Goldilocks writer in that I enjoy writing night or day in all kinds of weather, except when it’s too hot or too cold, but when it’s just right, I write. My Chocolate Lab Duke is nearly always at my feet keeping me company.

What do you feel are your strengths as a writer?

I believe readers experience and feel a greater connection with my heart and spirit, the hearts and spirits of others, and most importantly, to their own. I often hear that something I wrote made a reader cry tears of joy or healing tears. I consider that the ultimate compliment, and am honored and humbled by such heart-felt feedback.

How have you developed these qualities?

I listen to the whispers of my heart. It is my North Star as a writer. It won’t lead me astray.

Where do you find your inspiration?

Inspiration often comes to me at the most inconvenient times and places, such as when I’m in bed preparing to sleep, in the bathroom, working outside, or driving. It is when my brain has calmed down a lot that I’m able to hear the heart whispers.

Do you put yourself in your stories?

Sometimes, especially for non-fiction, but often my fiction stories begin with an actual event or experience and I just let my imagination lead me from there. I believe starting from a real event enables me to more authentically describe all I felt and experienced.

Outliner or improviser?

Yes. I do both depending on my need at the time, but even my outlines are often only created in my head. My favorite is free-form writing where I just start a story and let it take me where it needs to go. I’m often amazed at the ending and what I’ve experienced along the way. To me it’s like an incredible adventure on a mighty, fast-flowing, uncharted river in the jungle. I never know what is around the next bend or when my journey will end.

Fast or slow writer?

Fast. I get bored with long projects. I love for ideas to flow as water from a fire-hose and the challenge of capturing all I can as fast as I can.

Tell us about your latest book:

In the next five or six weeks I’m releasing four or five books and re-releasing one, so it’s tough to choose. They are children’s books except the re-release which is titled Touched. The latter features many of my speculative stories and flash fiction. I’m proud of all these books, but I’ll go with Touched as it probably reveals more glimpses of my heart and spirit in a single book than the others. Most of the stories are uplifting though often the protagonists have to go through harrowing experiences to survive. It is a celebration of the human spirit expressed in many ways and genres.

Indie publishing or traditional publishing – and why?

I began with Indie, but I recognize advantages and disadvantages of each, so some day may choose another path.

Any other projects in the pipeline?

Beyond the several being released by October 31, the seeds of several other stories are sprouting in my brain. I plan to give to them more of the attention I believe they deserve after I get through releasing the ones I’ve already written.

What is your goal as a writer and what are you doing to achieve it?

My goal is completely selfish, simple, and aligns with my personal definition of success: To do what I love and to do it with love (for as someone once said, doing anything else is a wasted opportunity). That is success to me as a writer or anything else.

What is the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given? “

Write would you want to read, what would touch and entertain you.” I attempt to do that every time I write. I figure that over time like-hearted people will discover my stories and quickly feel at home. In reality, they’ll simply be feeling a greater connection with their own loving, beautiful, and compassionate hearts and spirits, and those of others, hopefully including mine.

__________________________

Russ Towne lives with his wife in Campbell, California. They’ve been married since 1979 and have three children and three grandsons. In addition to enjoying his family and friends, and his dual passions for investing and writing, Russ loves to spend time in nature, especially near rivers and streams that run through giant redwood groves, and near beautiful beaches. He enjoys watching classic movies, reading, and tending to his small fern garden and redwood grove. Russ manages the investments of the wealth management firm he founded in 2003. He has published fourteen books, eight of which are children’s books, with five more scheduled for release by October 31, 2015*.
 
Russ’s books can all be found on Amazon.com. His Amazon Author Page can be found at https://www.amazon.com/author/russtowne.
 
Books for Young Children:
Purple Fox and the Heebie Jeebies*
The Grumpadinkles*
Zach and the Toad Who Rode a Bull*
Misty Zebracorn*
V. G. and Dexter Dufflebee*
Ki-Gra’s REALLY, REALLY BIG Day!
The Duck Who Flew Upside Down
Clyde and Friends
Clyde and Hoozy Whatzadingle
Clyde and I Help a Hippo to Fly
Rusty Bear and Thomas Too
Clyde and I
 
Children’s App Based on Characters from His Clyde Books:
Clyde and Friends children’s app developed by Gail Nelson using characters from Russ’s series of Clyde books: www.clydeandfriends.com scheduled for release via the Apple Store by October 31, 2015.
 
Russ’s Blog:
Clyde and Friends — www.clydeandfriends.com
Stay updated on Russ’s latest children’s books, apps, songs, and merchandise (featuring the animated characters that appear in his stories). Readers get sneak previews of special stories, background information about where his story ideas come from and how they are developed, and opportunities to help Russ prioritize the order in which his stories and books should be published, the look, and sometimes the names of some of his characters.

The titles of the books he has written or compiled, published, and released include:
 
Non-Fiction
From the Heart of a Grateful Man
Reflections of a Grateful Man
Slices of Life An anthology of the selected non-fiction stories of several writers.
 
Fiction
Palpable Imaginings An anthology of fictional short stories by several writers in various genres.
Touched Short stories and flash fiction
 
Poetry
Heart Whispers An anthology of the selected works of over 20 poets.
 
Books for Young Children:
Clyde and I
Rusty Bear and Thomas Too
Clyde and I Help a Hippo to Fly
Clyde and Hoozy Whatzadingle
The Duck Who Flew Upside Down
Clyde and Friends
Ki-Gra’s REALLY, REALLY BIG Day!
 
Russ has four blogs:
A Grateful Man (nonfiction uplifting posts) http://russtowne.com
A Grateful Man’s Poetry http://agratefulmanspoetry.com
Imaginings of a Grateful Man (fictional short stories) http://imaginingsofagratefulman.com
 Clyde and Friends (About writing children’s stories) http://clydeandfriends.com

Why Russ Writes
Russ hopes readers experience truth and kindness in his writing, to remind everyone of the greatness and goodness within ourselves and others.

Random Friday

placeholder post – no internet at home since Tuesday afternoon, which means yesterday I had a lot to catch up (online workshops, uploading corrected version of Ryo&Yash – having found an extranous sentence while reading the POD document) so couldn’t get to any of the DVDs I got in the meantime.

Actually, I got back online at 7pm and it was Techie Bro’s birthday, so I headed to Mom’s to celebrate. I got myself a temporary SIM for the smartphone, so I can use it as wi-fi hotspot when the landline is broken – the guy said it was set up, but Saint Techi Bro had to finish installing it – it was his birthday and I got the gift (but the, he gifted me with the smartphone in the first place, LOL).

I wrote on Tuesday afternoon for lack of better options, and had the offline Writers Group on Wednesday afternoon. Yesterday trying to get the line back and calling Telecom and going at a Tim shop for the SIM and… I was very tired and very upset. I did color half a page of SKYBAND, though… 15 more to go!

Woke up early this morning and found Mighty Jo had given me a blog award… Since it’s nice and shiny, here it is! :)

The Creative Blogger Award rules are:

1. Display the Creative Blogger Award logo on your blog

2. Nominate up to 10 blogs and notify all nominees via their social media/blogs

3. Thank and post the link of the blog that nominated you (very important)

4. Pass these rules on to them

I don’t have anyone to nominate, so if you want this, grab it, put it on your blog and follow Da Rulz!

More next week. Have a great weekend!

Writer Wednesday

So, the non-writing-but-publishing month is almost finished! As hinted last Sunday, there’s a new story out – not the official release on the publisher’s page, since unfortunately it has a pre-order button for Apple and B&N and won’t go live there until tomorrow…

It’s already available on Amazon, Kobo, Smashwords and DriveThruFiction, though! :) Yash and Ryo Lost in the Galaxy starts in the Star Minds universe, but can’t be considered part of the series. As mentioned, the cover is by the awesome Renrou.

Toying with new title, but don’t want to dive in, since I have to redraft the ending of a story and probably the whole of another that I will get back with feedback this afternoon. Then I can concentrate on that new title – and my workshop assignments won’t be the only writing I do anymore, yay! :D

I have finished inking SKYBAND 15 as well, so I can alternate the small computer (for writing) and the laptop (with Photoshop for coloring).

Oh, and there are two POD live as well, in case you want paper books: Star Minds Chasing Stardom and Star Minds Next Generation Diaries (Createspace links, since the second is probably not on Amazon yet). Cover art still by Mighty Marvellous Maurizio Manzieri.

Now, to some writerly links. 28 (Better) Things No One Tells You About Publishing – I don’t agree with all of them, but with most, definitely! ;) Are You An Author Or An Ebook Marketer? I don’t know about you, but I’m a writer. I write. Don’t be the One-book-wonder – unless you like to play the lottery, that is.

See this Gentle Reminder by Joe Konrath, by the way. And if you want to publish a book, here’s How Should You Publish Your Book? Indie or trad, up to you. Research, experiment and don’t give up. Don’t be the One-book-wonder – unless you like to play the lottery, that is. Oh, wait, did I already say that?

Sorry… :) Wishing you all a great week!

Happiness is…

Sunday Surprise

Hi guys,

I’m Samantha and I come from another world – the original, old Silvery Earth, where people are immortal and never grow up. When I’m not switching bodies at will, I travel to other universes, especially books or movies. That’s how I met Rajveer the vampire, for example!

So, I’m taking over the interviews on this blog! And here I am, meeting people from other books/universes/whatever!

Today we have two handsome young men with futuristic looks… Hello you, the tall, shy one… Tell me a little about yourself!

by Barb

My name is Yashvardan Samara, I was born on Ypsilanti, a matriarchal planet of the Star Nations, twenty-five years ago.

Star Nations! Where there was the evil Emperor Seti-luc Vaurabi, right? My twin Sonia absolutely loves his accursed son Kol-ian and his better half Ker-ris Shermac… but I’m digressing, sorry! D escribe your appearance in ten words or less.

I’m an athlete, brown hair, grey-green eyes.

Well, I can see you’re an athlete! Look at that perfectly toned body of yours! Why are you blushing?

I know I’m handsome and I’m not interested in you.

Well, neither am I, honey. Only looking! Do you have an enemy or nemesis? If so, who are they and how did they become an enemy?

My family is my enemy. I ran away from my home planet because they locked me in the basement and my “girlfriend” forced herself on me. And if you think men can’t be raped, you better run a search on your own planet meganet – I’m sure there are plenty of cases of male rape.

Mmm, not on Silvery Earth, but on Earth most certainly. So, are you involved in a relationship? If so, with who and what is it about them that you find appealing?

No, I’m asexual, I’m not interested in a relationship. Especially after being raped.

O-okay, fine! What is the biggest challenge you face in the story?

Overcoming my trauma – and staying alive and free.

Do you have a family? Tell me about them.

I do not wish to talk about my powerful mother and her tame husband.

Fine! Please give me an interesting and unusual fact about yourself, then!

I won medals as a gymnast and a runner. But it wasn’t enough for my mother, she wanted grandchildren, so she hooked me up with that abusive girlfriend.

I see… and you’re not willing to talk about that either! *sigh* Okay, let’s hope your companion is more talkative! For the earthlings out there, this one has almond-shaped eyes and looks Chinese or Japanese – except, of course, he’s an alien Humanoid.

by Barb

So, tell me a little about yourself!

I’m Ryo Hanashima, mob boss son from Xi-kong, The Patriarchal Planet of the Star Nations (yes, all caps, thank you)! I’m a few months older than Yash, and he’s the most handsome guy I’ve ever met, don’t you think?

*chuckle* Definitely! Describe your appearance in ten words or less.

Long black hair and mob tattoos.

What is your role in the story?

Mmm, good question. Yash and Birgit saved me from a “corrective rape”. And I’m smitten. Yash is gorgeous. If he weren’t so traumatized, I’d have already kissed him blind!

*LOL* He is indeed! What is your relationship with him, then?

*sigh* We’re friends… We left the Star Nations together… I didn’t want him arrested by the galaxy police…

What is the biggest challenge you face in the story?

Staying alive and free. Hoping I’ll end up seducing Yash!

Please give me an interesting and unusual fact about yourself.

I have a serpentine dragon coiling on my back and the tail of the dragon on my left arm reaches the side of my neck. And I’m good at races both with flying cars and motosonics…

_________________________________________________

Book(s) in which the characters appear: Star Minds Interregnum – Galaxy Police (cover art by Shafali Anand) or Star Minds Interregnum (cover art by Maurizio Manzieri) in the story Runaway. A brief mention to Yashvardan Samara is in King of Music – Zaphadin (included in Star Minds Chasing Stardom with cover by Maurizio Manzieri).

Ebook coming soon: Yash & Ryo Lost in the Milky Way with cover art by the talented RenRou.

Random Friday

of movies, ghosts and selfies…

Boyhood – an experiment by Richard Linklater. I mean, who else would take 12 years to shoot a movie, waiting for the protagonist to grow up? It’s a plotless movie, but I was fascinated by the way he did it – no fake aging on this one! Patricia Arquette is sweet (and quite vampiric, for my future books on vampires, LOL), Ethan Hawke grows up on screen almost as much as his screen son and the director’s daughter! :)

I liked the other movies he did (as plotless as this one, but somehow magic), namely Before Sunrise and Before Sunset (still haven’t watched the third in the series, Before Midnight), and the fact that he keeps working with the same actors throughout the years.

I hadn’t realized School of Rock is his, but I did know about Scanner Darkly – not my favorite neither in the director nor in the actor’s filmography. Anyhow, I like that he takes time to shoot his movies or films “sequels” or stuff like that.

Ghosts – on Goodreads! I mean, isn’t this creepy or what?

Ah, well… now to more lively persons and technologies – here’s the King of Selfies (or Mr Selfie like it says on the bottle of Coke – the whole writing translates as “With Coca Cola you give a kiss to Mr Selfie”). And mine is not a selfie, since I made it with a camera, not the SIM-less smartphone, and used the good old self-timer with 10seconds delay…

Yes, you are Mr Selfie, dear Muse H! Now, thank God it’s Friday, so everybody have a great weekend! :D

When the Lights Go Out – the Official Anthology Cover Reveal

Barb:

get ready for another FREE story from yours truly… and another batch of wonderful…ly fearful Halloween tales! :D

Originally posted on Amaranthine by Joleene Naylor:

Come one, come all, and bask in the official cover of the Ink Slinger’s Halloween Anthology:

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Featuring 25 tales of Halloween inspired goodness and an intor by horror author Rami Unger, look for the anthology October first at your favorite ebook retailers! (Links will come when I have them). Featuring vampires, monsters, human transformation, murder, ghosts, and more, there’s something for everyone in the Ink Slingers’ Anthology – but you might want to read it with the lights on.

View original

Writer Wednesday

Waiting for the final proofs from Createspace, then I guess those two titles will go live and appear on Amazon and other retailers soon. And there’s a new ebook out, Star Minds Interregnum, with cover of Mighty Marvelous Maurizio Manzieri. Working on the POD version of that one and Rajveer.

Week 2 of my online workshops and busy translating S.E.T.H. (included in Star Minds Next Generation Diaries) in Italian for a website, hoping to spread the name in my home country as well.

Inking SKYBAND 15. And already itching for going back to writing. I must be addicted! ;) Or I look forward to applying what I’m learning at the craft workshop! :D

Will probably start something new soon – but unfortunately the mornings at DayJob are not available anymore, so I’m left with squeezing everything in the afternoons. Will prove that I can find the time to write even when I can’t do the other things in the mornings! :D

My wordcount has been very low the past two weeks, but I’m sure it will go up again as soon as I start the next story. Found a new beta and hopefully she’ll help me make things better… And of course keep going back to the faithful offline beta, hoping one day I can introduce you to her writing (if she gets out of useless rewriting hell)! :)

New Author Earning Report. I still can’t leave the DayJob, but well… eventually! I’m not touching the old stuff and putting out new stuff and keep learning the craft – even though I thought I knew it all! ;) I’ll probably keep publishing some old stories, but also writing new ones. I’m in the mood for experimenting again, thank God! :D

Not much else going on… back to doing my assignments and inking and formatting PODs… If you feel so inclined, go to vote your favorite authors at this Readers Choice Awards. Have a great week!

 

Happiness is…

Sunday Surprise

Apparently the author of the month has forgotten she’s on, so no author interview… unless you’d like to be featured on this blog – you or your characters, I have also a batch of questions for fictional characters if you prefer – I guess I won’t have any guests this month.

Which is kinda fine, since it’s not really a writing month for me! :) So here’s what I’m doing this weekend:

Drawing S.K.Y.B.A.N.D (pencils done, the  inking is the hard part – and then the colors… and the lettering… sigh!).

Working on PODs (two done, two more to go…).

Formatting and uploading new titles (or final drafts for pre-order).

Friday morning I was at the office inking the latest strip (I don’t know when I’ll publish those and if I ever will, so don’t ask – they’re becoming too personal to be published! ;) Maybe I’ll choose the most interesting eventually – when I’m done coloring them) and a woman came in saying “Oh, I wish I could draw like that!”

I mean, the strip. Chibi-style. I told her “I flunked illustration school because I didn’t come from an art school, but I kept drawing because I like it.”

It’s called… practice. You know, that thing musicians or other creative people do – except writers and, apparently, artists. Lots of wannabes there. “I want to write a book” but they never find the time. “I wish I could draw” but they never put pencil to paper.

I have no artistic talent. My portraits are traced from pictures. My comics are free hand and you can absolutely tell I know nothing of human anathomy – and I never draw animals (unless I can trace, so no mythical beasts, since I don’t want to steal another artist’s work) because I don’t have the will to practise.

I like drawing people, so I keep drawing people, trying different styles and never stopping. I’ll never be a professional comic artist, but I don’t care. I do it as a hobbyist because it helps me take a break from writing. But I did learn some tricks through the years.

Maybe you can’t tell, but I know when I resume drawing after a few years without doing it. I need to go back to the basis. I downloaded chibi and non-chibi human forms in different poses as reference for my comics and the strip and the vignettes…

And then I draw. And I write, but keep learning. Of course some of my older stories make me cringe, but they were the best I could produce at the time, and it’s fine. I won’t burn them just because they were crap… Nor will I throw away my old comics, although I won’t scan them and publish them either…

And with these philosophical Sunday thoughts, I shall go back to publishing and drawing… Createspace has approved the books, so I ordered the final proofs that should arrive shortly! :) (BTW that cover art on those two is by Mighty Marvelous Maurizio Manzieri, not me!) Have a great Sunday! :D