Allison M. Cosgrove's Blog, page 33

Q & A with Glynis Smy

Another lovely author graces my blog once more! Please welcome Glynis Smy!

What would your bio say?

Glynis Smy tries hard at pleasing others, and getting the grammar right in her novels. She enjoys life in Cyprus, walking in vineyards and sampling village wine. Her three children are grown up, and her year old granddaughter is gorgeous. Apparently Glynis writes better than she cooks. Her DH does 99% of the cooking as he says it is safer that way. Her hobbies are cross stitch and making cards to raise funds for a five-bed hospice. Her ambition is to meet a few online writing friends one day! She helps authors and readers come together with a blog designed to advertise books free for authors. http://newbookblogger.blogspot.com/

When did you start writing and why?

In 2005 I emigrated to Southern Cyprus. At 48 years old I no longer worked long nursing shifts. Out came my pen and my poetry pad. A few short stories later a friend persuaded me to turn one into a novel. I laughed, she insisted. I wrote it, but sadly she died the day I wrote, The End. Determined to not waste the faith she had in me, I published Ripper, My Love. It has received wonderful reviews and I am so pleased I found the courage to continue my writing path.

If you are a parent how does being a parent affect your writing and writing habits? Or does it?

My children are adults and live in the UK and Canada. I am free to write all day, whenever the mood takes me.

Who is your favorite author and why?

Catherine Cookson kept me sane during night shifts. I loved her slow pace, and community spirit she introduced into her work. She inspired me. I am also a fan of Barbara Erskine, and Victoria Holt.

What do you hope to accomplish with your writing?

I have done it. Strangers are reading my books and leaving reviews. Pure and simple, I want to be read. I would also love to see the film as a movie … who wouldn’t? Then I wake up. LOL.

Traditional or Self publishing? Why?

I would have liked traditional, but two publishers wanted me to remove two male characters. Anyone who has read my book will laugh at the very thought, as they are essential parts of the story. I turned down two offers. Rejections were positive, but they did not know where to place the novel in the commercial world. I wanted to write, not spend more time querying. So I selected, CreateSpace to publish. I have no regrets.

Talk about your journey into the wide world of publishing

I have the valuable support of friends on the Internet. I gained them via my blog. It is the place I first ventured into the writing community. They guided me through the nooks and crannies of self publishing. Talli Roland, has been a wonderful mentor and reader. She urges me forward. Jen Moon (aka Heather Woods), helped me with the cover. I found FaceBook author pages and Twitter ideal for marketing and connecting with other authors.

Tell us about your book (s)

Ripper, My Love came to me while I was drinking coffee at a friend’s café. I asked for a napkin and pen. I wanted to create a Victorian romance but wanted to had a mystery or suspenseful twist. Apparently I achieved both. Kitty is a vulnerable young woman with a hint of spirit, and courage. During the time period she wanted to leave home, it was dangerous times. You see she lived in the hunting ground of Jack the Ripper. I didn’t want to go down the route of writing about him/her, so chose to write more about the people who might have been in his life.

Maggie’s Child (Dec). Is based around another strong female character, Maggie Sawbury. Her life is hard, and her choices even harder. Again, this is not just pure romance, although it is not a suspense like my first.

Ripped Genes and The Man in Room Eighteen are my current Wip’s, and will be out in 2013. Ripped Genes is a story that forms from Ripper, My Love. I had not intended a sequel, but have been told by several readers they would love to read something that forms from the ending of the book. So I took up the challenge.

What inspired you to write these books (or in this genre)?

I love the Victorian era, and admire women who worked during that period. They coped with many hardships. Even those who were well off had to face difficulties of their sex and its restrictions.

Tell us why we should love or hate your main character?

You should love Kitty Harper for her determination. She struck out in business for herself before women were given the vote. She rises to challenges, and she has a loving heart.

Do(es) your book(s) have a soundtrack?

No I do not have a soundtrack, I do have a video with a piece of music that took me ages to find.  Music by Taylor Hayward  ’And If a Boat Came By’ from the album: First Recordings

You can follow Glynis on her website. Click on the book cover for where to pick yourself up a copy!

Only a Few More Days!

Two more days until Word on the Street! For those of you who are in the area and are thinking of coming down to pay me a visit you can find my booth at the foot of Grosvenor St. in Queen’s Park, Toronto. Booth number 205. I will be there from 11 am to 6pm and will have soft covers available for sale!

Please stop by and say hi!

 

Week 14: The Next Big Thing

I was lucky enough to be invited along on The Next Big Thing blog hop for Week 14. Its my first blog hop so please bear with me!  That aside I hope you enjoy your time here! Don’t forget to hop along to next weeks blogs! Who knows one of us may be the Next Big Thing!

What is the working title of your book?

Sacrifice of Innocence is book one in my detective series, book two (release set for 2013) is Dragon Twins.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I have always been fascinated with cults and their ability to operate under the noses of the general public for a long time before they are found out. Also another thing that I find interesting is whenever a new serial killer emerges, we as a society tend to try and place a reason on why this person behaves the way that they do. One of the things that seems to crop up is the notion that serial killers must belong to satanic cults and practice sacrificial rituals. Most of the time there is no evidence that the serial killers ever participated in any cults satanic or otherwise and these persons are merely deviants of one form or another

This book however is an entirely different scenario but does incorporate and play on the two ideas.

What genre does your book fall under?

I write suspense thriller novels mainly but I have toyed with other genres for fun but nothing serious!

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Ooo! This one is tough! I am not sure who I would want in there as my characters to be honest. Maybe Liam Neeson for my main character Stan, based solely on his previous performances of a man on a mission.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A cult has been killing children for its rituals and only one cop knows who they are.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I started out looking for an agent knowing that a lot of the bigger publishing houses require an author to be represented. I was still looking into finding an agent when I was referred to the publishing house I signed with last December for Sacrifice of Innocence.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

It took just under a year for Sacrifice of Innocence to be written and about two years to write Dragon Twins. 

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

The Alex Cross by the wonderful James Patterson. Each book has its own plot to solve, but there are threads that tie the entire series together.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

My best friend once asked me what one thing I had wanted to do as a child but hadn’t accomplished. That was almost 7 years ago and I am still writing away because of her.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

The constant struggle of good and evil is what gives me the inspiration to write the stories I do. I think we all need that hope that there is justice for the victims of the crimes we read about in the news every day.

Thats it for me folks! Dont forget to hop over to Week 15′s Bloggers & Their Blogs! :

David Cleinman: http://davidcleinman.com/writings/

Danielle Blanchard: http://thebeautifulpeopleawritersjourney.blogspot.com

Katina Ferguson: www.katinaferguson.com

Randy Attwood: www.randyattwood.blogspot.com

Tee Baggins: www.fiftyshadesofgay.wordpress.com

Q & A with Melanie Fletcher

This author jumped out at me on Twitter and totally made me smile. I present the wonderful Melanie Fletcher as my third “victim”

What would your bio say?

Melanie Fletcher is an expatriate Chicagoan who currently lives in North Dallas with her husband the Bodacious Brit™ and their four fabulous furbags JJ, Jordan, Jessica, and Jeremy (yes, they were following a theme, moving along now). When not herding cats, she turns into SF Writer Girl, and has the SFWA membership card to prove it. Her fiction can be found in a variety of anthologies and online zines, and RANDOM REALITIES, a collection of her short fiction spanning her career, was published as an e-book earlier this year.

But wait — she doesn’t just write specfic. She also designs soft toys and jewelry, works as a web designer and graphic artist, and produces the comedy podcast Don’t Quit Your Day Job: The Podcast (www.dqydjpodcast.com) with Jerry J. Davis, Patrick Gaik and Stacy the News Girl. When she refers to herself as a Renaissance Broad, she’s not kidding.

When did you start writing and why?

My sister and father are both very articulate, witty storytellers and raconteurs. Unfortunately, I didn’t inherit their verbal facility (I think there’s a short between my speech center and the rest of my forebrain), but I did get the same drive to tell stories. When I was a kid, I discovered that I really enjoyed writing my stories down and foisting them on my long-suffering and infinitely patient family. Later, I found out that if you were good enough, you could actually get paid for writing. Apparently I was good enough; I’ve been putting “writer” on my tax forms ever since.

If you are a parent how does being a parent affect your writing and writing habits? Or does it?

I’m not a parent, but I do have four cats, so I’ve learned how to write while holding a large furry lump on my lap, mentally hold my spot while I get up to let someone in/out the back door, and split my attention between writing an action scene and petting the Cat of Little Brain, otherwise he drools on me. Because cat drool? Not fun.

Who is your favorite author and why?

I honestly don’t have a favorite — I like different authors for different reasons. Kage Baker, because she tells some of the best damn time travel stories I’ve ever read, Terry Pratchett because he can make Coke Zero come out of my nose and knock me on my ass from sheer awe (often with the same book), Robert Heinlein and Madeleine L’Engle because HAVE SPACESUIT, WILL TRAVEL and A WRINKLE IN TIME were my joint gateway drug to science fiction, Tymber Dalton because she writes erotica that can make me cry, and Mark Gatiss because his Lucifer Box novels and his work on DOCTOR WHO and SHERLOCK are funny, breathtaking, and insanely good — I want to adopt him as my slightly younger twin brother.

What do you hope to accomplish with your writing?

To tell a ripping good yarn and keep people entertained. If I can make them think, so much the better. It would be lovely to say that I want to enlighten the populace and blaze an immortal trail in literature, but then I remember I’m talking about me, and laugh and grab another mojito.

Traditional or Self publishing? Why?

Depends on what you want to do. Traditional publishing is a great way to get exposure for your work, establish a reputation as a writer, and earn money. Problem is, it’s not just a matter of turning in a great manuscript and waiting for the money to roll in — to be successful these days, you have to be able to promote yourself, which means learning how to write a decent press release, developing contacts with book bloggers (ahem), bookstores, and other places where fine literature is available, and connecting with readers and potential readers on Facebook/Twitter/G+/Tumblr/et al.

Self-publishing is a great way to get something that isn’t easily marketable out where interested people can buy it. You can maintain power over the direction of your work, and have fun if, like me, you’re also a graphic artist with control issues and want to design a book right down to the imprint on the spine. That being said, it’s riskier, reputation-wise, because some people still look down on self-pubbing, and unless you’re slightly OCD or have a superb editor as a best friend/spouse you’re in danger of putting out stuff that isn’t quite as ready for prime time as it could be. But if you’ve got that editor in your corner, manage to put together an attractive package that catches the eye of impulse buyers, and can work social media like a seasoned doxy on the Tortuga wharves, you can make some serious money with self-pubbing, as well.

*pause*

I just called myself a whore, didn’t I?

Talk about your journey into the wide world of publishing

According to commonly held publishing wisdom, my first professional sale should never have occurred. Back in the olden days of the Internet, when USENET was still alive and kicking, I wrote a rather darkly erotic cyberpunk story called “Star Quality” and posted it on alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo, the newsgroup for cyberpunk fiction. Cecilia Tan, the owner of Circlet Press, saw it and emailed me with a request to turn it into a novella. After I picked my jaw off the floor, I did my best to stretch out the story, but there just wasn’t enough material to do it. I confessed this to her, and she said, “Never mind — I’ll buy it as-is for the antho SELLING VENUS.”

Et voila, I earned my first professional credit and my associate membership in the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Since then, I’ve sold stories to a wide variety of markets, dealt with scam publishers (remember: money flows TO the writer), was the web designer, critic and pinch-hit editor for the Hugo-nominated specfic zine Helix, met some amazing writers, editors, readers, artists, and friends at a whole bunch of science fiction cons, and have generally had a cracking good time. Writing isn’t for everyone — you do spend a lot of time alone in a small room with the voices in your head. But if you can make it work for you, it’s glorious.

Tell us about your book (s)

Right now, the only book I have out is RANDOM REALITIES, which is a collection of ten short stories spanning my writing career. It includes my first professional sale and a selection of my SF, fantasy, horror, and humor stories, as well as two pieces (“The Quiet Sound of Bees” and “All on a Summer’s Day”) that have never been published before. I do have a novella, SABRE DANCE, that comprises half of Yard Dog Press’s Double Dog #4 (http://www.yarddogpress.com/books/DoubleDog4.html), a modern update of the old Ace Doubles. I share the book with Laura J. Underwood’s brilliant fantasy adventure THE LUNARI MASK — my novella is best described as “The Arabian Nights meet the Three Musketeers,” and hers is “Granny Weatherwax meets the Pirates of the Carribean.”

I’m currently editing my third novel (you don’t want to read the first one, and the second one needs serious overhauling). It’s an alternate history mystery titled A MOST MALICIOUS MURDER, inspired by Jeffrey Combs’ one-man play NEVERMORE. In MMM, Edgar Allan Poe, having survived an attempt on his life in 1849, is happily married to his childhood sweetheart and on a book tour in Oxford. When he gets drunk and finds himself suspected of murdering a hotel chambermaid, he must team up with a shy, stammering undergraduate named Charles Dodgson and find the real murderer before he strikes again.  Yes, it’s Edgar Allan Poe and Lewis Carroll — they fight crime! And because this one is going to be damned difficult to market, I may self-pub it under my Belaurient Press imprint.

What inspired you to write these books (or in this genre)?

I wrote MMM partially as a thank you to Messrs. Combs, Gordon and Paoli for their brilliant work on NEVERMORE, and partially as an exercise to bring two of the most unfairly slandered figures in English literature together and give them something interesting to do. Yes, Poe was a drunk who tended to shoot himself in the foot, but he didn’t take drugs, he didn’t randomly molest underage girls, and he really did have the worst luck. And Carroll was not a pedophile, no matter what pop psychologists say — I’ve read his journals, I’ve studied his life, and if people would bother to actually do their research (e.g. Carroll had nine sisters — of course he was good with little girls. He wasn’t afraid of adult women at all, as his friendships with Ellen Terry and E. Gertrude Thompson should indicate. And a number of Victorian photographers, male and female, took pictures of naked girls — it was considered to be indicative of the childrens’ innocence and the pictures were usually featured in their parents’ homes), I wouldn’t have to vent about this topic yet again in an interview that’s supposed to be about me.

As for why I write science fiction, it’s simple — on a really clear night, go find a field somewhere, out in the boonies where there’s very little light pollution. Lie down on your back, and look at the stars. When you do this, you realize that the universe is vast, and we’re just a little blue marble stuck out here on the outer arm of a minor spiral galaxy.

You also realize that somewhere up there, someone is looking back at you. Could be an alien, could be an angel, could be astronauts, you don’t know. But they’re up there, and they have a story. That’s why I write science fiction — to tell their stories.

Tell us why we should love or hate your main character?

Eddy is a weak man, yes, but he’s not a bad man, and Lord knows he’s had some of the absolute worst luck in the world. Now that he finally has the home and wife he’s always wanted, he screws up yet again when he loses his temper and falls off the wagon. But instead of giving up and diving into a bottle, he somehow digs down and finds the courage to face his own demons and take control of his life back from his “imp of the perverse.” In doing so, he finds a way to help a grief-stricken Dodgson deal with the loss of his beloved mother, and the two of them wind up battling a sadistic serial for the life of a young girl. What’s not to like?

Does your book have a soundtrack?

I listen to instrumental music constantly when I write — A MOST MALICIOUS MURDER was split pretty evenly between the soundtracks for PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN (particularly during one fight sequence — I love a good sword cane fight) and STAGE BEAUTY.

Thank you so much Melanie for spending some time making us laugh and giving an insight into your world!

You can find Melanie on Facebook and on her blog!
You can find her books;

Website & Blogsite : www.melaniefletcher.com

Links to where her book(s) are sold :

Amazon and  Barnes & Noble and Yard Dog Press

Author Caught Posting FAKE Reviews

That’s right. You read that correctly. No it was not me or any one that I knew thankfully. In the end however it affects all of us, myself included, just the same.

All it takes is one bad apple to make the rest of us look bad.

Some author (who shall remain nameless in this post at least although he has been outted elsewhere on the internet) decided that for whatever reason that the reviews that he was getting were not enough and he had to create a few alternate accounts and post glowing reviews on his own work.

Now that is bad enough but almost understandable. Almost. Being an author myself I understand the want to be able to log onto your sales portal and see a fresh new review from someone who read your book and sincerely enjoyed it. That random bit of praise for something you have worked so hard for is a high like no other. Not to mention the fact that reviews are great marketing tools for an author when it comes to establishing a name for themselves. So yes in a way I can say I almost understand.

The other side of it however is that if it isn’t written by someone who is being sincere, then its perfectly useless. Sure you can pay to have someone write you a five star glowing review or write one yourself under a pseudonym but if the book you have written is not going to live up to the fake review(s) that you have had posted then your integrity is shot and the fakes stand out like a sore thumb.

You end up no better off than where you started. Let your writing speak for itself.  If  it is good then it will get the reviews you want to see. If it is not as good as it could be then listen to your readers! They know what they want to see and hear. If you are lucky they will spend the time to tell you what the problems they may just come back another day to see if you have made them going forward.

To me it couldn’t be more simple.  However this particular author didn’t see it quite so cut and dried.

To make matters even worse. He used his fake accounts to go and bash other authors works. I don’t think I have to even have to explain how wrong that is on so many levels.  Enough said.

At the end of the day however this sort of behavior undermines the hard work and effort that the new authors have coming up because everyone ends up doubting the validity of the reviews that they are seeing. They are left wondering if that really is a five star book or just another five dollar review.

I always hope for a great review of my work, but the ones I love the most are the ones that cut to the chase and tell me exactly what I need to know. I am not perfect. I know there may be places where I can improve my craft as an author. I may not always agree (and it may sting) but in the end you are my readers and my continued presence in the arena as a published author depends on your point of views and I will always value them.

Short: The Kick

How could you! Less than 300 words! Enjoy!

Ow! Hey! Watch where you are going — Hey what did you do that for? I didn’t do anything to you!

Why are you jumping around like that? It hurts? You hurt your foot? 

Well good serves you right for having done it in the first place. You should learn not to kick people, it is not nice. No I do not have any sympathy for you. You are the one who tripped over my leg and then decided to kick me for getting in your way.

Why are you looking at me like that? I didn’t do it. 

Stop it.

Stop looking at me as if I was the one who hurt you. You think I did? Did I really now? Well thats because you kicked me! Not the other way around here buster. 

I did not purposely move so that you would trip over me in the first place. I was sitting here minding my own business when you came along and I did not just jump out and hit your foot. It was you that moved your foot in such a manner that it made contact with my leg. 

Look it up in the dictionary if you don’t believe me. It says right there what the definition of kick is:to strike with the foot or feet. That is the official dictionary definition. I did not make that up. So you can’t sit there and argue with me about it either.

So I could not have been the one to cause you this grave injustice. It could not have been me, I never even moved my foot.

You are still giving me the evil eye. Why? How could I be the one to have hurt you? I am just a coffee table you are the human –not me.