Nicky Peacock's Blog, page 10
October 21, 2015
Interview with Lesley A Diehl
Tell us about your publishing journey…
My first manuscript was a cozy mystery, and it was 120,000 words. Yikes! Once I learned to write fiction and genre fiction at that, I had success with a short story that won the Sleuthfest 2009 short story contest. I think that gave me confidence because the next year a small press picked up my first book. I published with a number of small presses, and finally my agent hooked me up with Camel Press which publishes my Eve Appel mystery series. I also am self-publishing books.
What do you love about being an author?
I write cozy mysteries and short stories most of which are also cozy in outlook although I have written more serious stories. Because I like to go for a laugh by creating unusual characters and scenes designed to give my readers a chuckle, and I’m entertained as I write. I was trained as a psychologist, so I know there’s nothing that feels better emotionally or physically than a good belly laugh. Laughing is part of why I love writing, but the other part is how liberating and satisfying it feels to create characters, places and stories, how satisfying it is to pull that stuff out of my imagination and transfer it to a story.
If you could have dinner with any author, who would it be and what would you eat?
I always thought I’d like to drink champagne and eat chocolate covered strawberries with Robert Parker. Because he married a woman in the mental health field and seemed to have a profound respect for therapists (note his character Susan), I felt he would understand me and my quirky outlook on life. But alas the man died before the two of us could get together, so I guess I’d choose the same meal with Elizabeth George because I have the utmost respect for her ability to create characters with real emotional depth.
If your book/ story was to be made into a movie, who would you cast as the leads?
Can I choose the book or story? If so, then I’d choose the stories I wrote for The Killer Wore Cranberry: Vols 1-4. It’s the Thanksgiving anthology published by Untreed Reads. The main character is Aunt Nozzie, a woman based upon my own six foot tall, very outspoken aunt. There was just no one with my aunt’s verve for life. And she was a great bartender! But who could do this woman justice? With a red wig and a few more pounds, Meryl Streep might be just the one.
Vampires – do you prefer them as sexy leads or blood hungry monsters?
My love affair with vampires ended in the late sixties and early seventies with the Hammer studies production of the Count Dracula story. They cast Christopher Lee as the count, and there was something subtlety sexy about the guy. Now the subtlety is gone, and I miss that. Now it’s too in-your-face and doesn’t allow the reader/viewer to input her own imagination. And, no, I never want to think of a vampire as a blood hungry monster because I’m too much of a romantic down deep inside (very deep inside—my friends would be shocked to hear me say that).
If you had a time machine, which era would you go back to and why?
The Victorian period. Although I hated the corsets, everything else about the dresses was very lovely. If a woman has to live her life out as some man’s chattel, at least she should get to dress well. I’d go back and speed up the women’s rights movement, maybe by blowing up a few more golf courses.
What life advice do you wish you’d been given sooner?
The best and worse advice I got was to write what you know, so I began writing a mystery about a woman who was a psychology professor. That first manuscript was so boring. However, I discovered that a writer can take what she knows and convert it into something quite fun if she frees herself from what was and makes up what was. It’s called imagination. I found I had a lot of it once I got going.
If you were a supernatural creature, what would you be and why?
I want to be the elf guy in The Lord of the Rings, you know the one who fires arrows and always hits his target. He’s a force with which to be reckoned. Nobody would mess with me with if I had those skills. He also has the best hair, so straight. I bet he never has trouble with frizz in humidity.
Where do you write best?
I do my best (and my worst) work at my desk in my office. It’s my “now I’m creating stuff” place. At my office in Upstate New York, I can look out my window into the lilac bush and see the birds. In Florida, I look out the window and see…alligators. No wonder my Florida based work is so weird.
What was the last book you read, and what were your thoughts on it?
I just finished A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. My husband had read it, and we went to see the movie. I was so intrigued, I read it also. It is charming, funny, enlightening and convince me that my first impulse not to hike the Appalachian Trail was the correct one. But what a read about two out-of-shape guys who did it. I loved it. It was just the break I needed from reading my usually diet of mysteries.
If you didn’t write in your genre, which other would you prefer and why?
If I could master doing some sultry sex scenes, I might try my hand at romantic comedy. Note that it has to be comedy. I haven’t the chops for writing real romance. I guess I’m just too much of a cynic (don’t tell my husband). I really don’t think I’m fit for anything other than thinking up ways to kill off people, then creating a jazzy protagonist who can get the bad guys.
Where can fans find you online?
My website: www.lesleyadiehl.com
Twitter: @lesleydiehl
Facebook: facebook.com/lesley.diehl.1
The newest book from Camel Press is A Sporting Murder, the third in the Eve Appel mysteries
A Deadly Draught
http://store.untreedreads.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6_92&products_id=1027
Poisoned Pairings
http://store.untreedreads.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6_92&products_id=745
Murder is Academic
http://store.untreedreads.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6_92&products_id=1244
Angel Sleuth
http://store.untreedreads.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6_92&products_id=369
Filed under: Interviews with other authors Tagged: lesley a diehl
October 20, 2015
Interview with Chris Bauer
Tell us about your publishing journey…Like Raymond Chandler, I began writing later in life as an unemployed oil company executive.I write the genre fiction I enjoyed reading. I had started reading science fiction in grade school, followed by a period where I read everything Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote–my favorite his Mars and Center of the Earth series. I reverted to science fiction, my favorites Philip K. Dick and Robert Heinlein, and transitioned to the Deathlands series, Raymond chandler, and Dashiel Hammett. during the Hammett phase, I created two novels without success. Obviously agents couldn’t make THAT many wrong decisions, so I sought a writer’s group to polish my skills. Writers Under The Arch in St. Louis met at the largest privately owned bookstore, and the groups was all that a writer’s groups should be. The grup leader, Cindy Fehmel, set the tone with respect and tough love. Successes and failures were share, and developed into writing lessons. The ‘gestalt’ of the group proved infallible–every time I followed the combined advice, I succeeded in publishing the story. Everything I wrote would have been suitable for Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone. My latest stories are with Untreed Reeds, a first rate electronic publisher and marketer. Having proven I can succeed in the semi-pro market, the urge to create novels again infected me. I have completed ‘Airships, Land Ironclads, and the Empire of New France’, and presently working on Odeille, the Sisters of the Air, and the Empire of New France.
What do you love about being an author?
Being an author provides the opportunity to create an alternate reality replete in the fine detail, which ultimately means I’m in total control Being in total control is a nice thing.
If you could have dinner with any literary character, who would it be and what would you eat?
Philip Marlowe, in an L.A neighborhood bar. Sandwhiches probably.
If your book/ story was to be made into a movie, who would you cast as the leads?
Liam Neilsen would be the Empire’s secret agent Max Jaeger. Alicia Vikandar, of Ex Machina would be Odeille–a young woman of apparent delicacy, but with brains, emotional and physical toughness, a sense of justice, and determination.
Vampires – do you prefer them as sexy leads or blood hungry monsters?
Neither. I want to hunt down and kill the sexy leads and blood hungry monsters. A far more meaning vampire is the king in Gearge R R Martin’s Fevre Dream–victims of a genetic defect.
If you had a time machine, which era would you go back to and why?
The Victorian era would be an appealing time, not because of the straightjacket rules of social conduct among some social classes, but because of the tremendous technological breakthroughs. The period gave us the telegraph, the telephone, airships, the analog computer, and the flush toilet. Imagine going back with what you know know, and being able to create ti with gears and cogs and stem!
What life advice do you wish you’d been given sooner?
Don;t let anybody persuade you that your dream is foolish. I allowed that to happen, and I’m writing decades later than I should.
If you were a supernatural creature, what would you be and why?
None I know are totally suitable. Doctor Who, perhaps. Or a creature with the wisdom of Gandalf, the courage of Obi Wan Kenobi, and the capacity for horrendous violence when appropriate.
Where do you write best?
On a screened in porch on a warm but not hot day, with plenty of craft beers, and that special someone somewhere in the house. Reality is that I usually write on lunch in the office of my day job.
What was the last book you read, and what were your thoughts on it?
‘The Master and Margarita’, supposedly Mick Jagger’s inspiration for ‘sympathy for the Devil’. There are multiple themes of good and evil, mischievous servants of Satan, and redemption, all cast in the Soviet world of the 1930’s.
If you didn’t write in your genre, which other would you prefer and why?
If you include both Urban Fantasy and Steampunk as my current gener, I’d like to write hard boiled detective stories a la Raymond chandler.
Where can fans find you online?
I have no online presence, but two of my favorite stories are available on Untreed Reads.
http://store.untreedreads.com/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=chris+bauer
Filed under: Interviews with other authors Tagged: chris bauer
October 19, 2015
Interview with Leonora Blythe
Tell us about your publishing journey..I was born in South Wales, and came to the United States in search of adventure. I was always
fascinated by the Regency Period and when I landed at job at Warner Books I began to write books
of that genre. I had become friends with Judith Weber of Nat Sobel Associates and she agreed
to take me on as a client. She sold the rights to several of my books to Fawcett and through her
overseas connections she sold the rights to England, Japan, Germany, Norway, Sweden and France.
An incredible journey that is now continuing with Untreed Reass.
What do you love about being an author?
The freedom to take a fantasy journey, where if I make a mistake or fall in love with the wrong
person I can correct it and then move on to a happy ending. Also it gives me the chance to
immerse myself in other characters.
If you could have dinner with any literary character, who would it be and what would you eat?
Henry Pulling from Travels With My Aunt. We would take the ferry over to Martha’s Vinyard and dine
on Lobster rolls.
If your book/ story was to be made into a movie, who would you cast as the leads?
David Tennant and Keira Knightly.
Vampires – do you prefer them as sexy leads or blood hungry monsters?
Blood hungry monsters – nothing sexy about them at all.
If you had a time machine, which era would you go back to and why?
The Regency Period because a lot of social changes began taking place during that time
What life advice do you wish you’d been given sooner?
Never be afraid of trying something new and keep copious notes of everything that happens to you.
If you were a super
natural creature, what would you be and why?A fairy so I could cast beneficial spells on people and watch them smile when their wishes come true.
Where do you write best?
I own a shop and do most of my writing when things are quite – otherwise I write at home at the
kitchen table.
What was the last book you read, and what were your thoughts on it?
Mountain Top School For Dogs by Ellen Cooney. I loved the way she showed the love between humans
and dogs.
If you didn’t write in your genre, which other would you prefer and why?
Historical non-fiction. To high light some of the amazing discoveries that were made in the olden days
without the benefit of modern day conveniences.
Where can fans find you online?
Untreed Reads, of course. I also have a facebook page Leonora Blythe. My biography, Lament of an Ex-Pat by
Leonora Burton, is sold on Amazon.
Filed under: Interviews with other authors Tagged: Leonora Blythe
October 18, 2015
Interview with Liza Ketchum
Tell us about your publishing journey:
I started writing palm-size handmade books out of construction paper when I was seven. I wrote and illustrated these books at night, under the covers, with a flashlight. The stories often featured a girl who performed heroic deeds on horseback. (Totally imaginary, as I was a city girl then.) I was lucky to have wonderful teachers on my writing journey. My 8th grade English teacher, Norman Wilson, posted my poems on his wall and encouraged me to become a writer. My high school English teacher, Kay Herzog, taught me how to revise. And I was blessed, at Sarah Lawrence College, to study with Harvey Swados—who showed us the relationship between writing, work, and life; and with the inimitable and brilliant Grace Paley, who taught me so much about voice and dialogue. I have always combined teaching and writing; I co-authored a book on British Primary Schools when I was just out of college. I later published magazine articles on education, rural life, nature, and gardening—topics that I still explore in my non-fiction writing today. Then, in my thirties, I met the children’s book writer Katherine Leiner, who asked me a question that changed my writing journey: “Since you work with children and love to write, why haven’t you written a kid’s book?” A few years after that, I published my first YA historical novel, West Against the Wind. Since then, I have published 15 more books for young readers, both fiction and non-fiction.
What I love most, about being an author:
The wonderful messages I have received from my readers. Sometimes these messages inform me of unexpected connections—such as when I wrote a novel, Orphan Journey Home, based on the adventures of a real family who made a heroic journey in 1828—and then heard from the family’s direct descendants. Sometimes I hear from a reader that my work has touched him or her in a particular way. My YA novel, Blue Coyote, came out before there were many novels with gay protagonists. A number of readers wrote to thank me for writing the book, saying that they identified with Alex and that the novel made them feel less alone.
My most recent novel, Out of Left Field, was published as a YA but it has become a cross-over book. I’ve heard from many adult readers who remember the Vietnam conflict and want to share their stories of that era. Some were drafted, fought there and survived—but lost buddies. One woman told me about her boyfriend who went to Canada, like the father in the story; other readers recalled participating in peace marches; a close friend shared the story of her young husband’s death after he was wounded in battle. Brandon, the protagonist, loses his father at the novel’s beginning, so I’ve also heard from readers who lost a parent when they were young. I’m moved and honored to hear all these stories.
If you could have dinner with any literary character, who would it be?
As a child, I always wished I could drop into the setting of The Secret Garden, and spend a week with Dickon. I was in love with his thick accent and curly hair. I envied him his freedom, his humor, his knowledge of nature (both plants and animals), his down-to-earth common sense, and his ability to heal two damaged children.
If your book was made into a movie, who would you cast as the leads?
My historical novel, Newsgirl, would make a great movie. It takes place in San Francisco during the California Gold Rush. The main character, Amelia, is twelve. She should be portrayed by a feisty, athletic actor who is comfortable disguising herself as a boy; who could hold her own in the nearly all-male population of a rough gold rush town; and who would survive many dramatic moments, including a balloon ascent (and crash) in the gold fields; a narrow escape from being Shangaied; and a fire that nearly levels the growing city. Anyone interested
If you had a time machine, which era would you go back to?
When I write about the past, I hope my readers feel they have been transported to that era and location in a time machine. I’ve written four books that take place during the California Gold Rush (two novels, two non-fiction) so I’d love to be transported back to that period. (Sometimes I wonder, if we do have past lives, if I’ve lived there already.) I’ve spent more than half my life in Vermont, and my novel, Where the Great Hawk Flies, is set there just after the American Revolution. I’d love to visit my beloved state as it was a few hundred years ago—as long as I could return to the present.
What life advice do you wish you had been given sooner?
My most recent novel, Out of Left Field, takes place during the Boston Red Sox’s winning baseball season in 2004, only 11 years ago—but it has echoes to the Vietnam War, an era that I lived through myself. In that case, I felt I was in a time machine that allowed me to revisit my own past. I returned to recent memories and our excitement as the Red Sox pulled off that spectacular win. But I was also haunted by the ghosts of the Vietnam era, when I lost my cousin and a dear friend to the conflict, causing me to join in the anti-War movement.
If you could be a supernatural creature, what would you be?
Rather than being a supernatural creature, I’d rather stay in the natural I’ve studied the lives and habits of sea turtles and have written about them with two friends. My husband and I have swum with green sea turtles, while snorkeling in the Caribbean, and measured leatherbacks’ nests on the beach. I’d love to inhabit a sea turtle’s world for a while, to swim with their ability to find their way over vast distances. Or I’d cruise along the ocean floor, nibbling sea grass in the turquoise water as giant sea fans wave and colorful parrotfish wriggle past.
Where do you write best.
I’m lucky to have a quiet studio on the top floor of our house outside Boston. I write well here—but I also find inspiration in natural settings: forests, the seaside, the mountains of Vermont, the path along the Charles River, or in my garden. For this reason, I always carry a notebook in case an idea comes to me when I’m away from my desk.
What was the last book you read and what did you think?
The last book I read is All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. I found it stunning, brilliant, passionate, inspiring. I loved the characters, and I was touched by Doerr’s compassion for people on both sides of the conflict, caught up in violence that was not of their making. His historical detail brings that era (WWII) vividly to life. And I was impressed with the book’s structure, the way the action moves back and forth in time so seamlessly. It’s the best book I’ve read in a long time. And I’ve just begun to read M.T. Anderson’s brilliant and fascinating biography of the composer Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony for the City of the Dead. I can’t put it down.
If you didn’t write in your genre, what genre would you write in?
I actually write in more than one genre. Two friends and I have recently finished a non-fiction picture book. On my own, I’ve written biography, historical and contemporary novels—such as Out of Left Field—as well as magazine articles, poetry, and essays. My friend, the writer Phyllis Root, asks a great question: “What would you write if you knew you could not fail?” My answer to that is that I’d love to try writing a play.
Where can fans find you online?
To find me online: visit my website: lizaketchum.org, which has information about all my books; I also blog at that site. Or visit my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/liza.ketchum. I blog occasionally for Bookology, the online magazine focused on children’s books: www.bookologymagazine.com
Filed under: Interviews with other authors Tagged: liza ketchum
October 17, 2015
Interview with Roy Dimond
Tell us about your publishing journey…
First please allow me to say thank you Nicky for taking the time to interview me. I appreciate the support. My publishing journey, like so many authors, was tortured with rejection. The great River of No that all fledgling authors must dive into is indeed icy and choppy.
I was lucky when my first manuscript, The Singing Bowl was picked up by one of the first publishers I contacted, Green Dragon Books. Its Chairman, Mr. Wilson has since shared some of his many decades of experience and I am proud to say that a second edition has been launched.
The river however has not always run smoothly. My next publisher quickly signed my next two novels, The Rubicon Effect and Saving Our Pennys,which I co-authored with Jeff Leitch. The publisher did a wonderful job of editing and creating the book, but sadly they closed their doors shortly after my books launched.
But undeterred, thanks to the efforts of my agent Malaga Baldi, I have landed happily with Jay Hartman and K. D. Sullivan of Untreed Reads and they have published my newest book, Silence and Circumstance. It is a fictional account of the 11 days that Agatha Christie went missing.
What do you love about being an author?
The writing. Every thing else, marketing, editing, meeting people from around the world, is wonderful, educational, and always interesting, but for me it is all about the writing — creating a story in my mind and putting it on paper.
If you could have dinner with any author, who would it be and what would you eat?
Agatha Christie and steak. Mrs. Christie because of all the research I did for Silence and Circumstance and steak because my wife is a vegetarian and I never get to eat meat.
If your book / story was to be made into a movie, who would you cast as the leads?
I would like to see Emily Blunt play Charlotte Fisher, Agatha Christie’s governess, my protagonist in Silence and Circumstance.
There are so many twentieth century characters in my novel that it would undoubtedly be a director’s dream to cast characters. A young Ernest Hemingway (Benedict Cumberbatch), an even younger Ian Fleming (Joaquin Phoenix), and his mentor Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sean Connery). Dorothy Parker (Jennifer Lawrence) and Dorothy Sayers (Natalie Portman), and so many more… Hitler, Einstein, Steinbeck and H. G. Wells… my mind reels at the possibilities.
Vampires – do you prefer them as sexy leads or blood hungry monsters?
For me vampires are up there with zombies. I just don’t get them. But if forced to choose, I’d go with sexy, because I’m a lover, not a biter.
If you had a time machine, which era would you go back to and why?
-I picture myself sitting at the Algonquin Round Table in a New York hotel on a dreary Tuesday afternoon drinking a late lunch with Dorothy Parker and her reprobates. It is the early 1920’s and I stub out my third cigarette and order my fourth drink while waving to Tallulah Bankhead.
What life advice do you wish you’d been given sooner?
Girls were as intimidated of me as I was of them… if I had only known sooner.
If you were a supernatural creature, what would you be and why?
Hmmm, never been asked that before. A Phoenix could be an iconic image for a writer. Considering all the times that one wants to quit in the middle of a manuscript, then finally the angst filled query letter, then rejection only to rise again the day the phone rings and an agent or publisher says those wonderful words, “Your manuscript interests me.”
Where do you write best?
Unfortunately, in my basement, with door closed and one light bulb shining on the keyboard. I live in a log home on the west coast of Canada, in the aptly named harbor of Garden Bay, on the Sunshine Coast. I want, and wish I could say that I write best from my lovely viewing room that gazes past huge fir and cedar trees into the sparkling Pacific but no, I write best in a dungeon… sigh.
What was the last book you read, and what were your thoughts on it?
An incandescent work of prose poetry titled, By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept by Elizabeth Smart. She wrote this classic in a cabin close to where I now live and her book is simply the effort of a genius.
At the same time I read, The Captain by Ian O’Connor. I want to be Derek Jeter.
If you didn’t write in your genre, which other would you prefer and why?
I have just completed my first effort at Young Adult, tentatively titled I, Bully. It is a story of redemption, a hero’s journey, and life lessons all rolled into one. What I think makes it unique is that it is told from the perspective of both the bully and the victim.
I tackled this genre because I was a Youth Worker for 30 years and saw the damage and end result of bullying — not just for the victim, but the bully as well.
Where can fans find you online?
All the usual places:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Roy-Dimond-Author/391172050979499
http://www.authorsden.com/roydimond
https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=122268688&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile
http://roydimond.wordpress.com/
https://twitter.com/RoyDimond2
My books are everywhere, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc… or at the publisher’s sites…
Filed under: Social Media Links Tagged: Roy Dimond 
Interview with Sarah Mandell
Tell us about your publishing journey
I began writing in 2008, just as a creative outlet and nothing more. I wrote several full length novels before sharing any of my work. The first one was just okay. The second one was decent, or so I thought, but when I took steps to partner up with an agent, I was rejected over and over, so I abandoned the story and moved on. My third novel was Celia on the Run, and to my delight, I had multiple agents interested in taking me on. I signed with Nine Speakers, and a few months later we were working with Untreed Reads. Less than a year after that, Celia on the Run was published. All in all, the entire process was fairly quick, about two years from when I wrote the first chapter to the time the ebook went live.
What do you love about being an author?
Writing is one of the most creative things I can do with my brain. I love inventing people, places, and scenarios. Being an author allows me to share what’s inside my mind, and when a reader enjoys my story, we have a connection that’s actually very personal.
If you could have dinner with any literary character, who would it be and what would you eat?
Cy Parks from Sarah Hall’s “The Electric Michelangelo”. This is one of my favorite books of all time, and it’s all because of this character and his fairly average, yet quite fascinating life. I imagine we’d have to eat pub food, something British, like fish and chips, and maybe a pint or two, if Cy Parks had anything to say about it. This favorite character of mine began his life on the dreary shores of England, and eventually found himself opening a tattoo shop on Coney Island, right when things got interesting at the turn of the century. I think he’d have some remarkable stories to tell about his mother, coming to America, and falling in love with a girl at the circus.
If your book/ story was to be made into a movie, who would you cast as the leads?
Nick would be played by Jamie Bell:
Celia could be played by: Hailee Steinfeld: http://www.listal.com/hailee-steinfeld
If you had a time machine, which era would you go back to and why?
I’d head back to the 1960’s, when the USA was right in the middle of some major growing pains. So much happened during that decade, some good, some bad, and it shaped this country. I’d want to be there for it, have a part during this turbulent time that made a difference.
What life advice do you wish you’d been given sooner?
You can’t please everyone.
If you were a supernatural creature, what would you be and why?
I’d be some sort of pixie or sprite, a fairy-like creature who goes around playing pranks on people. I’d be so small and quick, nobody would ever figure me out!
Where do you write best?
I’m always thinking about stories I’d like to write, regardless of what I’m doing, but the act of actually writing those stories happens in my home office here in Greenville, SC. I have everything I need there, and very few distractions, so this is the best place for writing.
What was the last book you read, and what were your thoughts on it?
Althea & Oliver by Cristina Moracho. I loved it, and wished I could have given it more than 5 stars on Goodreads. It was refreshing to finally find a decent young adult book after several months of bad luck choosing predictable, not-so-original stories. I was starting to think I had finally outgrown the genre altogether, but this book gave me hope. Althea & Oliver, the main characters, had me caring about them right from the first chapter, and I appreciated that I didn’t know how the book would end. It was a bittersweet story, just the way I like em’!
If you didn’t write in your genre, which other would you prefer and why?
If I wasn’t writing YA, I might try Historical Fiction. As cool as it is to invent contemporary lives and events, re-writing history seems like it would suit me. I enjoy research, traveling to historical sites, documentaries, museums…all that good stuff, so putting my own spin on things that actually did happen, or borrowing a setting from decades past and using it for my own story, is extremely appealing.
Where can fans find you online?
My author Facebook page is the best place to follow along: www.Facebook.com/SarahMandellAuthor
I also have a website & blog here: www.sarahmandell.com
Filed under: Interviews with other authors Tagged: Sarah Mandell
October 15, 2015
Interview with Judy Penz Sheluk
Tell us about your publishing journey…
I’ve blogged extensively about this on my website, http://www.judypenzsheluk.com. My best suggestion is to go to archives, Select: One Writer’s Journey, and then the subhead, “My Publishing Journey.” It’s an unvarnished look into my experience so far, blemishes, bumps in the road, and all.
What do you love about being an author?
I love being able to create stories from nothing but my imagination. I love doing research. I love seeing my random thoughts turn sentences, paragraphs, pages and chapters. Erica Jong said it best, “When I sit down at my writing desk, time seems to vanish. I think it’s a wonderful way to spend one’s life.”
If you could have dinner with any literary character, who would it be and what would you eat?
I’d love to eat at Rosie’s with Kinsey Millhone from Sue Grafton’s Alphabet Mysteries. We’d have white wine and whatever Rosie told us we had to eat.
If your book/ story was to be made into a movie, who would you cast as the leads?
I was just asked this question at a book club meeting (the group had picked The Hanged Man’s Noose as their September read, and I agreed to visit with them—had a blast). Anyway, I told the group that I really had no idea. I have images of the characters in my head, of course (for example, Garrett Stonehaven is a 40ish Chris Noth), but I don’t have every role in my head cast as a real-life actor. Someone in the group replied, “But then what if they cast an actor you don’t like.” To which I responded, “My book as a movie, are you kidding me? Where do I sign?”
Vampires – do you prefer them as sexy leads or blood hungry monsters?
Sexy leads, absolutely.
What life advice do you wish you’d been given sooner?
Agatha Christie said, “Write even when you don’t want to, don’t much like what you’re writing, and aren’t writing particularly well.” It’s another way of saying, “don’t wait for the muse to show up, but be there when it does.” I expect I spent a fair bit of my life waiting for the muse to show up without making any effort to invite her in.
Where do you write best?
In my home office, on my iMac. My walls are painted Philipsburg Blue, a comforting and creative color (thank you Benjamin Moore!). I work best while listening to talk radio in the background (Newstalk 1010 Toronto and Talk 640 Toronto). I can’t imagine writing in a coffee shop!
What was the last book you read, and what were your thoughts on it?
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin. It was one of the finest books I have ever read. The storytelling is inspired, the characters fully drawn and the richness of the descriptions reminded me a bit of In Cold Blood, which I’ve always considered a masterpiece.
If you didn’t write in your genre, which other would you prefer and why?
Something comforting and connectable, and by that I don’t mean a self-help book. For example, I read Garth Stein’s The Art of Racing in the Rain shortly after we had to put our 12 ½ year old Golden Retriever, Copper, down. The ending of that book was so comforting to me, but the entire book was filled with moments like that.
Where can fans find you online?
You can find me on my website, http://www.judypenzsheluk.com. My blog covers the life of a writer, from my perspective, and I also interview other authors, as well as publishers. I’m on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/JudyPenzSheluk, Twitter is @JudyPenzSheluk, and Pinterest is http://www.pinterest.com/judypenzsheluk
The Hanged Man’s Noose (July 2015) is available at all the usual suspects, including Amazon (http://authl.it/3jg) and directly from the publisher, http://www.barkingrainpress.org, where you can read the first four chapters free. http://www.barkingrainpress.org/dd-product/hanged-mans-noose/
Judy’s short crime fiction appears in World Enough and Crime (Carrick Publishing, Nov. 14), The Whole She-Bang 2 (Toronto Sisters in Crime, Nov. 14), and in the Short Fiction Mystery Society’s first crime fiction anthology, Flash and Bang (Untreed Reads, Oct. 15). Find them all at amazon.com/author/judypenzsheluk
Filed under: Interviews with other authors Tagged: crime, Judy Penz Sheluk, thrillers
October 14, 2015
Book Spotlight: The Divide by E.J. Mellow (Dreamland #2)
Synopsis:
Molly finally uncovers the truth about the strange dreams that plagued her sanity for weeks. Now destined to accept a clandestine role, Molly must find the strength and courage buried deep to push forward and succeed.
With the help of Dev, the roguish blue-eyed man of her dreams—whose dark past resurfaces to haunt him—Molly prepares to test the limits of her newly awakened powers and set right a world on the edge of being consumed by nightmares.
But when an unknown shadow stalks her every step and a shocking revelation about her ancestry comes to light, Molly may find herself forced to make a decision that could leave her alone in the dark and standing on the wrong side of a divide.
Don’t miss The Divide—the heart-thumping second installment in The Dreamland Series.
Filed under: Book Review Tagged: The Divide E.J. Mellow (Dreamland #2)
October 12, 2015
Interview with Vickie Britton and Loretta Jackson
Tell us about your publishing journey….
Because we come from a family of writers and avid readers, we both started writing very early and can’t recall a time we didn’t have a work in progress. We became co-authors after individually publishing three mystery novels each. Avalon bought our first two co-authored books, Path of the Jaguar and Nightmare in Morocco.
What do you love about being an author?
We travel together and research each setting we use. This makes our work fun and our fiction very real to us. We enjoy talking to the people we meet on our trips, for meeting them gives us a feel for creating our own characters.
If you could have dinner with any literary character, who would it be and what would you eat?
Because we both love the setting and the character, Joe Leaphorn from the Tony Hillerman series would be our choice. We’d eat Navajo tacos, of course. This summer we traveled to New Mexico and visited some of the places he used as settings for his books.
If your book/ story was to be made into a movie, who would you cast as the leads?
If we were casting our mystery-suspense Death Blow, we would want Clive Owen and Kate Beckinsale for the hero and heroine.
Vampires – do you prefer them as sexy leads or blood hungry monsters?
Because we see them differently—Vickie sees them as sexy leads and Loretta as blood hungry monsters–we don’t do vampire books. However we have written some horror stories. The Muse Incarnate is a novella about a sexy vampire type siren who steals the soul. We also have some horror tales in our short story anthologies Mrs. Jingles and other Tales of Horror and Suspense, Killer at the Door, and The Bloody Knife. But most of our stories involve tormented minds rather than supernatural creatures.
If you had a time machine, which era would you go back to and why?
We would go back to 1880 or somewhere in that time era. For some reason, we both feel an affinity for the late Victorian time period, the clothing and the morals and manners all seem familiar to us. Probably because we did a lot of research for gothics and westerns set in this era, it has special meaning for us.
What life advice do you wish you’d been given sooner?
The best advice for life is that popularity should never be a goal. This relates to our work, for authors write for a small group who share their interests.
If you were a supernatural creature, what would you be and why?
According to Vickie, vampires are subtly sexy, where werewolves are too hairy and ill-tempered. As for vampires, she likes their old-world style. You’ll find some of our heroes have a definite gothic/vampire air about them, but they aren’t supernatural.
Where do you write best?
A writer needs quiet, so early mornings alone with a computer is the most valuable time spent. There notes scribbled from travels and observations are implemented into the final work.
What was the last book you read, and what were your thoughts on it?
We often read the same authors, and the last book we read was mystery writer Aaron Elkins’ novel, Tiny Little Teeth. His settings are very realistic. The trip up the Amazon was so vivid it made us want to go there.
If you didn’t write in your genre, which other would you prefer and why?
We have tried not to limit our work to a certain genre, although most of what we write falls in the mystery category. Besides mysteries, we have written love stories, horror tales, literary stories, and westerns. Our westerns grow out of our love for the rugged, Old West scenery. We have also written one young adult thriller, Three to Die.
Where can fans find you online?
We love hearing from readers! Please visit our Facebook page and blog at:
Vickie Britton and Loretta Jackson: Mystery Writers
https://www.facebook.com/VickieBrittonAndLorettaJackson?fref=ts
Writing Tips and Fiction
Filed under: Interviews with other authors Tagged: Vickie Britton, Vickie Britton and Loretta Jackson
October 11, 2015
Book Spotlight: End of Day by Summer Lane (The Zero Trilogy #3)
Synopsis:
The end has come.
Elle Costas and her dog, Bravo, have survived the dangers of Hollywood and escaped the clutches of Slaver Territory. The apocalypse has been cruel, and the wasteland of California has forced them to seek shelter in a civilian refugee camp at a place called Bear Mountain.
Here, they meet Cheng, a mysterious boy with the skills of a samurai, and Luli, a steampunk warrior with a thirst for vengeance. But friends cannot always be trusted. When a horrific tragedy befalls Bear Mountain, Elle and Bravo come face to face with their most dangerous enemy yet.
Betrayal and heartbreak threaten to destroy the bonds of friendship. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Run, or be caught.
Kill, or be killed.
Fight, or be forced to surrender.
The end of the day will change everything.
Will Elle and Bravo survive?
The explosive, thrilling conclusion to the #1 Bestselling Zero Trilogy by Summer Lane.
Filed under: Book Review Tagged: End of Day Summer Lane (The Zero Trilogy #3)
