Sbr Martin's Blog - Posts Tagged "vampire-chronicles"
"A Friday the 13th Tribute to Mother Rice: How Vampire Fiction Influenced My Writing on Human Nature" - Guest Post on Cynthia Shepp's Wordpress
It's Friday the 13th! Of what are you scared? Check out my guest post on Cynthia Shepp's wordpress, where I compare supernatural villains to more natural ones. It's also part tribute to one of my favorite authors, Anne Rice.
http://cynthiashepp.wordpress.com/201...
There's a giveaway attached to the post - so read the whole thing and follow the rules for your chance to win!
Please take the time to explore Cynthia's site. Book reviews, author interviews, and editing services to boot - she's a busy gal who knows how to get the job done with tons of style and grace.
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Repost:
A Friday the 13th Tribute to Mother Rice
How Vampire Fiction Influenced My Writing on Human Nature
I was first ensnared by vampires in 1994 when, like nearly every other lovelorn teenage girl in the world, I ran to the theater to see blonde beauty Brad Pitt star alongside top gun Tom Cruise in Interview with the Vampire. The film was moving—deep and disturbing, yet inviting. It made me want to be a vampire a little bit, and not just so that I could keep company with two of Hollywood’s hottest hunks.
Since I was about 12 years old, I’ve been one of those people who is deathly afraid of death. To this day, I still have severe panic attacks when I attempt to contemplate the unknown. It’s always been an immobilizing fear that’s more than taken my breath away. So the idea of immortality seemed like a good thing to me. To live forever, to never die or face the unknown, if, that is, one actually faces anything after death—this seemed like a ticket I wanted to buy.
I overlooked a vital component of Interview though. I wasn’t able to see the suffering in Pitt’s pale eyes. All I could see was the promise of something more that his character’s eternal life offered. It wasn’t until two years later, when I decided to read the book on which the movie was based, that I caught a glimpse of the immortal’s inner struggle and turmoil.
A friend gave me a copy of Anne Rice’s “Interview with the Vampire,” which I read in less than two days. In no time, I was off to the store to pick up the second installment in Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, followed by the third, the fourth, and the fifth.
Fortunately for me, I caught word of Rice’s work around the same time that she was coming out with additional books in the Vampire Chronicles and developing another bloodsucker saga, the New Tales of the Vampires. For the next few years, I spent a lot of time with my nose buried deep in any one of Rice’s books, reading, rereading, referencing, and reviewing. I’d say I was hooked, but that’s definitely an understatement.
In Rice’s volumes, I discovered something I’d never known before. The Vampire Chronicles were the first books I ever read for leisure’s sake, rather than as an academic assignment. Rice’s prose was more vivid, more alive, than anything I’d ever read in the classroom. The storylines were rich with flashbacks and side-stories so elaborate, so fascinating, that my jaw dropped several dozen times (per book).
What stood out to me most were Rice’s characters, the depth with which she explored them and the lengths to which she developed them. By far, they were the most intensely real and unquestionably human characters I’d ever encountered.
Keep in mind, however, that they weren’t actually human characters for the vast majority of pages. They were vampires.
But before they were vampires, yes, they were humans. And that humanness, that abstract idea of humanity, did not, for the most part, die when certain characters crossed over; if anything it was merely chilled to an icy cross between distraction and desperation.
The crux of my own mortal crisis was put before me via these beguiling beings. I saw in them a personification of my own greatest fears, and learned that perhaps I’d feared the wrong things.
By the time I was done with “The Vampire Lestat,” I’d already seen more than enough evidence that immortality wasn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The promise was not a promise, but a curse. The remaining novels in the series went on to prove just that.
The sadness that some of Rice’s characters bled—oh, the sadness! There is no beauty in an immortal life, nor even any life as life implies an end. Sinking but never reaching bottom, falling but never landing, the vampire is burdened to linger in an unceasing decline as all the world around him changes and decays. The deaths of human allies, the troubles of mankind, and disassociation from nature—war, disease, disaster—to these things the vampire bears eternal witness.
So it was that I learned not so much to fear death as to fear life, to fear all the things that one is tasked to tackle during her time on this planet, whether in a finite or infinite frame. This is not to say that Rice’s work made me afraid to live. Not at all. Indeed, it made me want to live as much as I can before my time comes.
Her references to art and music, to history and culture, to sensation and perception, remind me that this life is a mixed bag. For all the darkness one must face, so too there is light.
And I needed to be reminded of that light, and recall familiar characters to whom I could relate, when my own life’s story began to unfold. Losing my mom, my only sibling, my father, and my grandmother within seven very short years, I felt like Louis, Lestat, and a handful of my other favorite characters. I was alone, neglected, forgotten. Forsaken, perhaps. The immortality I once craved would not remedy this. It’d only make it much, much worse.
Rice’s words helped me grow, from a teen to a woman, from a happy-go-lucky idealist to an open-minded realist, and from a reader to a writer. They allowed me to take a look at the human experience, as enlivened by nonhumans, and ground my perspective as an individual and a creator.
When I began writing novels, I couldn’t help but write according to how I read. It became my goal to see the complex plots, realistic characters, dramatic story-telling, and cross-genre style of Mother Rice’s work reflected in my own fiction.
Note that the stories I write are not Horror, at least not in any traditional sense. There are absolutely no paranormal, other-than-natural elements in my work. I write about people, human beings, some of whom are far more monstrous than any preternatural inhabitant of Rice’s literary world.
Through the Vampire Chronicles, I was able to hone my understanding of what does and does not constitute a real “monster.” Lore and legend, along with pop culture notions, would have us believe that vampires are dirty, rotten beasts of prey. Evil. No good. Mean-spirited, depraved, inclined to do only harm.
This is not the typical Rice vampire. Rice vampires border on being tragic heroes, for whom the reader cannot help but feel empathy and compassion. These characters are troubled creatures. They simply are not monsters.
But some of my human characters are. Dirty, rotten beasts of prey. Evil. No good. Mean-spirited, depraved, inclined to do only harm. Yeah. These words are better suited for my characters than for Rice’s.
Take, for example, Bender, the male antagonist in my most recent release, “pig.” He’s not a very nice guy. He beats his wife, calls her despicable names, and makes her live under his thumb. He drinks too much, shoves chewing tobacco in his mouth every chance he gets, and is generally pissed off because he never found fame.
Let’s look at Louis now—the vampire who was interviewed in the first title of Rice’s series. Louis didn’t too much like the idea of killing humans for blood, so he’d drink from rats when he had the chance. With limited exception, he never wanted to pass his Dark Gift on to others, because he didn’t want another to suffer as he’d done for centuries without end.
Louis could deliver a world of hurt if he wanted to. But he doesn’t want to. Now, Bender, on the other hand, he’s lookin’ to give far more pain than he’s willing to receive. Louis’ immortal existence brought suffering and torture mainly to Louis himself, while it was others who suffered and were tortured during Bender’s mortal stint. So who’s the loathsome swine here?
This post is live online as of Friday, July 13, 2012. That’s right—Friday the 13th. It’s a day we think of Jason Voorhees, the undead, and other things that go “Boo!” But these aren’t the scariest things in this world.
We are.
We, the humans, must endure a human condition not unlike the inescapable humanness and humanity embodied in the plights of the vampires in Rice’s series. Life, loss, death, upheaval, decline, and lots of other scary shit goes on around us, unstoppable forces eroding our very existence as if we stood as timeless pillars on a plane of perpetual fast motion.
We, the humans, have in our genetic code a primal disposition toward the gruesome, an uncanny ability to turn human circumstances into inhumane situations. Abuse, adultery, alcoholism, asshole-ism run rampant on this planet. We are the victims and the aggressors of the most heinous acts imaginable.
A scorned wife cuts off her cheating husband’s penis. A militant extremist storms into a youth camp and opens fire. Shoe bombs on airplanes and child molesters next door. You name it. The world of supernatural fiction suddenly seems so much more appealing. It’s easier to assign such base emotions and actions to something that is not human or living. We don’t want to confront the realities we are capable of, or have already committed, so we look for a scapegoat, something nonhuman to absorb our more prurient human inclinations.
Vlad Tepes had a penchant for impaling his captives on wooden stakes and is rumored to have feasted on their remains. Countess Elizabeth Bathory liked to take nice warm baths in the blood of young virgins. History has noted these blood-lusters, and they were human. But talking about Dracula as a fictitious supernatural character, rather than as none other than Vlad Tepes, heir to the Dracul reign, allows us to think that we humans are better than we really are.
Just as blind faith has been argued as an opiate for the masses, so too can be unyielding interest in the preternatural. We need something to dilute the truth and shade us from the inevitable, the unsavory, and the unknown. Immortality quashes the quandary of an afterlife. Nonhuman monsters allow us to sidestep human accountability, while simultaneously engorging the ever-present imp of our universal perverse.
But what of the fictitious bad guys like my Bender?
Writing him does the same thing that writing a vampire does, by putting real fears into fiction. But it does something else as well—or, rather, doesn’t do something else.
It doesn’t allow the reader to shift focus away from human instinct and incident. It tells the reader that shit happens, and that it happens because of people just like you and just like me. People. A man whose artistic ambitions failed, who is unhappy in his marriage, who looks at sex as a disgraceful and distasteful act is capable of cruel things. And his battered wife is capable of murder.
Have you ever cheated on a significant other? Ever slapped or hit a loved one? Ever wished somebody dead or called them a foul name? If you did these things, how’d you feel afterwards? I’m guessing you probably felt bad. Maybe you felt a little freakish, kinda like a monster.
And if you felt that way, if you did these things or merely contemplated them, guess what: You’re not alone. You’re one of millions upon millions of other likeminded people, though you’ll find only a small fraction willing to admit to these primitive impulses.
You can step into my fiction to confront those parts of yourself that are human, that you don’t necessarily like. Find a character to relate to—a victim or a perpetrator—and hunker down with human nature. See real life threads mimicked and woven into fictitious elaborations. Embrace what you are, what you were, and what you never want to be. Hide from yourself no longer.
In closing, I feel the need to issue a disclaimer. I love me a good vampire novel! The first half of this post should show just how much I’ve been influenced and affected by the work of the mother of all vampire yarns, the Queen of the Damned herself, Anne Rice. So don’t think for one second that I’m dismissing the subgenre. We need these types of stories to function as a society. Alls I’m sayin’ is that we need my brand too.
Wanna meet my monsters? Find “pig” on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Pig-ebook/dp/B0... and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sbrmartin.pig.
Video Teaser-Clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWkHow....
Also by sbr martin: “in wake of water,” available for purchase at http://www.amazon.com/In-Wake-Of-Wate... and likeable on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/inwakeofwater.
Check out sbr martin’s Goodreads author profile for blog updates, reviews, giveaways, and other cool stuff—http://www.goodreads.com/sbrmartin.
Read it. Live it. Love it. sbr.
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
http://cynthiashepp.wordpress.com/201...
There's a giveaway attached to the post - so read the whole thing and follow the rules for your chance to win!
Please take the time to explore Cynthia's site. Book reviews, author interviews, and editing services to boot - she's a busy gal who knows how to get the job done with tons of style and grace.
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Repost:
A Friday the 13th Tribute to Mother Rice
How Vampire Fiction Influenced My Writing on Human Nature
I was first ensnared by vampires in 1994 when, like nearly every other lovelorn teenage girl in the world, I ran to the theater to see blonde beauty Brad Pitt star alongside top gun Tom Cruise in Interview with the Vampire. The film was moving—deep and disturbing, yet inviting. It made me want to be a vampire a little bit, and not just so that I could keep company with two of Hollywood’s hottest hunks.
Since I was about 12 years old, I’ve been one of those people who is deathly afraid of death. To this day, I still have severe panic attacks when I attempt to contemplate the unknown. It’s always been an immobilizing fear that’s more than taken my breath away. So the idea of immortality seemed like a good thing to me. To live forever, to never die or face the unknown, if, that is, one actually faces anything after death—this seemed like a ticket I wanted to buy.
I overlooked a vital component of Interview though. I wasn’t able to see the suffering in Pitt’s pale eyes. All I could see was the promise of something more that his character’s eternal life offered. It wasn’t until two years later, when I decided to read the book on which the movie was based, that I caught a glimpse of the immortal’s inner struggle and turmoil.
A friend gave me a copy of Anne Rice’s “Interview with the Vampire,” which I read in less than two days. In no time, I was off to the store to pick up the second installment in Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, followed by the third, the fourth, and the fifth.
Fortunately for me, I caught word of Rice’s work around the same time that she was coming out with additional books in the Vampire Chronicles and developing another bloodsucker saga, the New Tales of the Vampires. For the next few years, I spent a lot of time with my nose buried deep in any one of Rice’s books, reading, rereading, referencing, and reviewing. I’d say I was hooked, but that’s definitely an understatement.
In Rice’s volumes, I discovered something I’d never known before. The Vampire Chronicles were the first books I ever read for leisure’s sake, rather than as an academic assignment. Rice’s prose was more vivid, more alive, than anything I’d ever read in the classroom. The storylines were rich with flashbacks and side-stories so elaborate, so fascinating, that my jaw dropped several dozen times (per book).
What stood out to me most were Rice’s characters, the depth with which she explored them and the lengths to which she developed them. By far, they were the most intensely real and unquestionably human characters I’d ever encountered.
Keep in mind, however, that they weren’t actually human characters for the vast majority of pages. They were vampires.
But before they were vampires, yes, they were humans. And that humanness, that abstract idea of humanity, did not, for the most part, die when certain characters crossed over; if anything it was merely chilled to an icy cross between distraction and desperation.
The crux of my own mortal crisis was put before me via these beguiling beings. I saw in them a personification of my own greatest fears, and learned that perhaps I’d feared the wrong things.
By the time I was done with “The Vampire Lestat,” I’d already seen more than enough evidence that immortality wasn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The promise was not a promise, but a curse. The remaining novels in the series went on to prove just that.
The sadness that some of Rice’s characters bled—oh, the sadness! There is no beauty in an immortal life, nor even any life as life implies an end. Sinking but never reaching bottom, falling but never landing, the vampire is burdened to linger in an unceasing decline as all the world around him changes and decays. The deaths of human allies, the troubles of mankind, and disassociation from nature—war, disease, disaster—to these things the vampire bears eternal witness.
So it was that I learned not so much to fear death as to fear life, to fear all the things that one is tasked to tackle during her time on this planet, whether in a finite or infinite frame. This is not to say that Rice’s work made me afraid to live. Not at all. Indeed, it made me want to live as much as I can before my time comes.
Her references to art and music, to history and culture, to sensation and perception, remind me that this life is a mixed bag. For all the darkness one must face, so too there is light.
And I needed to be reminded of that light, and recall familiar characters to whom I could relate, when my own life’s story began to unfold. Losing my mom, my only sibling, my father, and my grandmother within seven very short years, I felt like Louis, Lestat, and a handful of my other favorite characters. I was alone, neglected, forgotten. Forsaken, perhaps. The immortality I once craved would not remedy this. It’d only make it much, much worse.
Rice’s words helped me grow, from a teen to a woman, from a happy-go-lucky idealist to an open-minded realist, and from a reader to a writer. They allowed me to take a look at the human experience, as enlivened by nonhumans, and ground my perspective as an individual and a creator.
When I began writing novels, I couldn’t help but write according to how I read. It became my goal to see the complex plots, realistic characters, dramatic story-telling, and cross-genre style of Mother Rice’s work reflected in my own fiction.
Note that the stories I write are not Horror, at least not in any traditional sense. There are absolutely no paranormal, other-than-natural elements in my work. I write about people, human beings, some of whom are far more monstrous than any preternatural inhabitant of Rice’s literary world.
Through the Vampire Chronicles, I was able to hone my understanding of what does and does not constitute a real “monster.” Lore and legend, along with pop culture notions, would have us believe that vampires are dirty, rotten beasts of prey. Evil. No good. Mean-spirited, depraved, inclined to do only harm.
This is not the typical Rice vampire. Rice vampires border on being tragic heroes, for whom the reader cannot help but feel empathy and compassion. These characters are troubled creatures. They simply are not monsters.
But some of my human characters are. Dirty, rotten beasts of prey. Evil. No good. Mean-spirited, depraved, inclined to do only harm. Yeah. These words are better suited for my characters than for Rice’s.
Take, for example, Bender, the male antagonist in my most recent release, “pig.” He’s not a very nice guy. He beats his wife, calls her despicable names, and makes her live under his thumb. He drinks too much, shoves chewing tobacco in his mouth every chance he gets, and is generally pissed off because he never found fame.
Let’s look at Louis now—the vampire who was interviewed in the first title of Rice’s series. Louis didn’t too much like the idea of killing humans for blood, so he’d drink from rats when he had the chance. With limited exception, he never wanted to pass his Dark Gift on to others, because he didn’t want another to suffer as he’d done for centuries without end.
Louis could deliver a world of hurt if he wanted to. But he doesn’t want to. Now, Bender, on the other hand, he’s lookin’ to give far more pain than he’s willing to receive. Louis’ immortal existence brought suffering and torture mainly to Louis himself, while it was others who suffered and were tortured during Bender’s mortal stint. So who’s the loathsome swine here?
This post is live online as of Friday, July 13, 2012. That’s right—Friday the 13th. It’s a day we think of Jason Voorhees, the undead, and other things that go “Boo!” But these aren’t the scariest things in this world.
We are.
We, the humans, must endure a human condition not unlike the inescapable humanness and humanity embodied in the plights of the vampires in Rice’s series. Life, loss, death, upheaval, decline, and lots of other scary shit goes on around us, unstoppable forces eroding our very existence as if we stood as timeless pillars on a plane of perpetual fast motion.
We, the humans, have in our genetic code a primal disposition toward the gruesome, an uncanny ability to turn human circumstances into inhumane situations. Abuse, adultery, alcoholism, asshole-ism run rampant on this planet. We are the victims and the aggressors of the most heinous acts imaginable.
A scorned wife cuts off her cheating husband’s penis. A militant extremist storms into a youth camp and opens fire. Shoe bombs on airplanes and child molesters next door. You name it. The world of supernatural fiction suddenly seems so much more appealing. It’s easier to assign such base emotions and actions to something that is not human or living. We don’t want to confront the realities we are capable of, or have already committed, so we look for a scapegoat, something nonhuman to absorb our more prurient human inclinations.
Vlad Tepes had a penchant for impaling his captives on wooden stakes and is rumored to have feasted on their remains. Countess Elizabeth Bathory liked to take nice warm baths in the blood of young virgins. History has noted these blood-lusters, and they were human. But talking about Dracula as a fictitious supernatural character, rather than as none other than Vlad Tepes, heir to the Dracul reign, allows us to think that we humans are better than we really are.
Just as blind faith has been argued as an opiate for the masses, so too can be unyielding interest in the preternatural. We need something to dilute the truth and shade us from the inevitable, the unsavory, and the unknown. Immortality quashes the quandary of an afterlife. Nonhuman monsters allow us to sidestep human accountability, while simultaneously engorging the ever-present imp of our universal perverse.
But what of the fictitious bad guys like my Bender?
Writing him does the same thing that writing a vampire does, by putting real fears into fiction. But it does something else as well—or, rather, doesn’t do something else.
It doesn’t allow the reader to shift focus away from human instinct and incident. It tells the reader that shit happens, and that it happens because of people just like you and just like me. People. A man whose artistic ambitions failed, who is unhappy in his marriage, who looks at sex as a disgraceful and distasteful act is capable of cruel things. And his battered wife is capable of murder.
Have you ever cheated on a significant other? Ever slapped or hit a loved one? Ever wished somebody dead or called them a foul name? If you did these things, how’d you feel afterwards? I’m guessing you probably felt bad. Maybe you felt a little freakish, kinda like a monster.
And if you felt that way, if you did these things or merely contemplated them, guess what: You’re not alone. You’re one of millions upon millions of other likeminded people, though you’ll find only a small fraction willing to admit to these primitive impulses.
You can step into my fiction to confront those parts of yourself that are human, that you don’t necessarily like. Find a character to relate to—a victim or a perpetrator—and hunker down with human nature. See real life threads mimicked and woven into fictitious elaborations. Embrace what you are, what you were, and what you never want to be. Hide from yourself no longer.
In closing, I feel the need to issue a disclaimer. I love me a good vampire novel! The first half of this post should show just how much I’ve been influenced and affected by the work of the mother of all vampire yarns, the Queen of the Damned herself, Anne Rice. So don’t think for one second that I’m dismissing the subgenre. We need these types of stories to function as a society. Alls I’m sayin’ is that we need my brand too.
Wanna meet my monsters? Find “pig” on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Pig-ebook/dp/B0... and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sbrmartin.pig.
Video Teaser-Clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWkHow....
Also by sbr martin: “in wake of water,” available for purchase at http://www.amazon.com/In-Wake-Of-Wate... and likeable on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/inwakeofwater.
Check out sbr martin’s Goodreads author profile for blog updates, reviews, giveaways, and other cool stuff—http://www.goodreads.com/sbrmartin.
Read it. Live it. Love it. sbr.
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
"Shootin' The Breeze with Sarah Beth Rem-Martin (Sbr Martin) author of 'Pig' and 'In Wake of Water'" - Interview by Madison Sevier
Today I made a virtual stop at the blogspot of Madison Sevier to discuss a wide range of topics from my work-in-progress and the authors who've inspired me to John Stamos, zombies, and thrift stores - http://madisonsevier.blogspot.com/201....
Madison is a fun-spirited gal, to whom my work was referred by Night Owl Reviews reviewer Stacey Jo. Her blog is relatively new, but it's already jam-packed with interesting material. When you're done reading my interview, click on the links to her previous posts and keep reading!
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Repost:
Shootin' The Breeze with Sarah Beth Rem-Martin (Sbr Martin) author of 'Pig' and 'In Wake of Water'
Hi Everyone! Today, I've baked up a batch of brownies and brewed a HUGE pot of coffee. We're having company! Yay!
Today, my dear friend and very talented author, Sarah Beth Rem-Martin a.k.a. Sbr Martin is stopping by to chat. Without further ado, let's get to it!
Hope she likes flowers...
WELCOME to my place, Sarah! Come on in and get comfy. Enjoy the brownies and coffee and we'll get down to business whenever you're ready :)
Sit right there, my beautiful friend while I tell folks a little about your book.
First, I'd like to tell everyone how absolutely amazing your book, 'Pig' is. My friend, Stacey Jo read and reviewed it. That girl was down right speechless! When she could speak again, she was tongue-tied. Now, if you ask me...any book that can do that to her is a book I HAD to read. Stacey Jo was right! I don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't had the chance to read it, but 'Pig' is the most mind-boggling story I have ever read. I thought I had it all figured out and then WHAM! Yes, friends, it is so very damn good!
Here are a few promotional tidbits, purchase links and the review by my friend Stacey Jo. While y'all peruse those, I'm going to get our friend Sarah some more coffee.
Purchase links:
Pig is FREE for PRIME members right now: http://www.amazon.com/Pig-ebook/dp/B0...
In Wake Of Water is also FREE for PRIME members right now: http://www.amazon.com/In-Wake-Of-Wate...
Sbr's website: http://sbrmartin.com/
Stacey Jo's 5 STAR, making a 'Top Pick' Review of 'Pig' for the highly acclaimed Night Owl Reviews: http://www.nightowlreviews.com/nor/Re...
Now let's get back to my guest. Sarah, since this is your first time here I'll let you in on a little secret :)
Instead of doing the normal round of questions, I like to jazz things up. It's a 'get-to-know-you' session and readers love to know real things about their favorite authors. If any question is too personal or you'd rather not answer, just say so, okay?
Sounds good to me, Madison. Ask away—the sky’s the limit!
**Awesome! Since we are coming up on the 'dog-days' of Summer, what's your favorite season?
I like late-fall, when I’m neither sweating nor shivering. I’m a little picky about how I dress. I don’t like wearing shorts, and I hate wearing coats. So fall suits me perfectly, if you’ll excuse my pun.
I have to agree on the 'coats' thing. I want to hibernate every winter.
**Can you pick one thing you LOVE about every season?
My favorite thing about each season is that all seasons change. Each year, we get a little of this, a little of that, something else, and then the other thing. The changing of seasons is one of the only predictable, constant things we have going for us in this world. No matter what is, or isn’t, going on in our personal lives, the seasons continue to change. The Earth keeps on living a life of its own.
Beyond the deeper meaning of it all, I like to watch the seasons change. Seeing leaves turn colors, flowers bloom, tiny snowflakes fall and then melt—it’s all beautiful.
That's a beautiful answer. I have to agree, the magic of it all is wonderful. Sometimes, I just wish I could watch winter in a snowglobe. Ha ha!
**What's your favorite holiday?
Halloween. It’s when all the freaks come out and play. I always liked the holiday as a kid, because I have a sweet tooth and was all about getting tons of free candy. As a young adult, I liked it as a party holiday, where grown-ups got dressed up and drunk. Now that I have kids of my own, I like seeing it through their eyes, witnessing their awe and joy at all that goes down on that festive eve. Plus, I still have a sweet tooth… It’s my duty to ransack their loot.
Agreed! Ransacking is the best part.
**Do you have a favorite food (comfort or otherwise) recipe? If so, would you mind sharing it?
I’m overweight, so there a lot of foods in which I excessively take comfort. In college, when I’d bring a friend home for dinner with my family, I’d always preface their visit by saying, “Once you have dinner at my house, you’ll finally understand two things—why I’m fat, and, why I’m crazy.”
My mom and grandma were great cooks, and I learned a lot from them. But what I learned wasn’t so much recipes as it was techniques. People have asked me to share a recipe with them before, only to be disappointed when I tell them that I have no recipe to share. Sometimes my friends think I’m being elusive, but I’m not. I really do just go with the flow when I cook.
I don't think you're fat, I think you're perfect as you are. I love the fact that you 'wing it' when cooking. Sometimes, that's more fun anyways. Following your own path, right?
**Okay, Favorite drink (alcoholic and/or non)?
How boring is this? My favorite drink is water—very cold water, preferably with chipped ice that I can chew. As far as alcoholic beverages, I avoid them nowadays. I’m a recovering alcoholic. But when I did hit the sauce, I was a Long Island Iced Tea, Irish Car Bomb, and 22-ounce whatever-is-cheapest draft kinda gal.
Congrats on your sobriety! Kudos to you for sharing that with us :0) LOVE IT! I'm not a big drinkin' kind of gal either. Too much to do around here.And water isn't boring, it's the one thing we all need and I commend you for not being afraid to say you love it.
**How about your favorite place to shop?
I am addicted to shopping in thrift stores, absolutely addicted! Not only are the bargains great, but I approach each trip to the thrift store as a mission, a game of sorts, where I am tasked to find either something that is ridiculously more affordable than retail or something that is incredibly stunning because it is true antique, heirloom, or vintage quality.
I’ve found a lot of amazing pieces at thrift stores In Pittsburgh, PA, where I live. From authentic Coach handbags ($12) and Coldwater Creek knit denim jeans ($3.98) to eye-catching jewelry (typically under $10) and mint-condition DVDs ($1.99), I’ve acquired so much cool stuff that’d otherwise be beyond my means.
Again...LOVE IT! There are so many great finds out there and they are cheap! I need to go shopping with you. You've scored some pretty awesome stuff :0)
**Who would you say is your favorite author and what is your favorite book by that author?
My favorite author would have to be John Gardner, author of my favorite book, “Grendel.” I totally dig how Gardner approached that novel, writing as the antagonist in the 8th century epic poem “Beowulf.” But I dig his style of writing even more.
I first read the novel in high school, but still remember my favorite quote by heart:
"Pick an apocalypse, any apocalypse. A sea of black oil and dead things. No wind. No light. Nothing stirring, not even an ant, a spider. A silent universe. Such is the end of the flicker of time, the brief hot fuse of events and ideas set off, accidentally, and snuffed out, accidentally, by man. Not a real ending of course, nor even a beginning. Mere ripple in Time's stream."
Beautifully written. Deep. Disturbing.
I have to agree. I am now hooked and need to read that for myself. Thank you.
**Favorite book series?
Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. I loved each and every book in the series, and learned a lot about my own writing goals from Rice’s work. Her characters are so deep and compelling, which is something I like to consider a hallmark of my own fiction.
AR is one of my favorites, also. As for your characters, they are definitely deep and compelling. I can attest to that.
**What is your favorite thing about being an author?
I’ve been profoundly affected by some of the books I’ve read so far in my life. Both my writing and my outlook on life have been honed through reading the works of others. It’s my greatest hope that my writing will reach out and touch someone the way that so many other authors’ books have grabbed a hold of me.
I am moved by the thought of someone miles away from me kicking back with one of my books, sipping coffee as she shakes her head in disbelief every now and then, pausing to consider what she’s just read, or racing to her favorite chair so that she can sit down and pick up where she left off. To think that my words can reach and touch others is a mind-boggling thing.
Beautifully said, Sarah. You definitely touched Stacey Jo and me. We still talk about your book. Constantly shaking our heads because it's phenomenal. I think she'd be a great side-kick for you (if she ever gets un-tongue-tied, LOL). She hasn't stopped telling everyone she meets and knows about 'Pig'.
** What are the top 5 things on your bucket list?
Other than enjoying a long life where I get to see my daughters grow to be healthy and happy, I’d have to say:
1. Write and publish 5 books in 5 years;
2. Have (at least) one of my books turned into a movie;
3. Go to SeaWorld and be the one who gets selected to kiss Shamu;
4. Acquire property along the Maryland-Delaware border, close enough to the beach for easy access but far enough away so as to limit the possibility of seasonal/water devastation; and,
5. Come up with better things to include on my bucket list.
Aww. I love your Bucket List!
**Okay, if someone were to write a book about your life, what would be the title?
“sbr.” It’s short. It’s simple. It’s me.
LOVE!
**What's the one place you've always wanted to go but haven't?
John Stamos’ house…
LOL! I'm sure some of our readers would agree with you.
**What is your all-time favorite vacation spot?
Ocean City, Maryland. Whenever I think of that location, I always smile. My family vacationed there often when I was a child, and my husband and I take our own kids there now. We typically like to go in the off-season, when it isn’t so crowded and is more affordable.
The ocean and the beach are so very stunning, a living portrait of Mother Nature at her best. The way that the boardwalk flushes to the sand and adds human traffic to the equation is intense. Walking on the boardwalk, one can be both a part of civilization and of nature at the exact same time, dispelling the myth that man can’t have the best of both worlds.
Ocean City sounds amazing. Some of my friends have gone and they love it too.
**Coffee or Tea? (yes, it matters (0: )
Coffee. I enjoy its flavor, but not nearly as much as I enjoy its effects. Oddly enough, I didn’t start drinking coffee until I was 30. Before that, the caffeine had such pronounced effects on me that I simply couldn’t drink it. Just one cup had me so wired that I felt like a drug addict with ants under my skin. I couldn’t sleep and had to keep busy with whatever insurmountable tasks I could find.
Once I had kids, however, this all changed. I needed the caffeine boost to keep up with them, and to get things done. The effects have worn off over time. I’ve built up my tolerance, so to speak. But now, like a true addict, I need my daily fix. I’m unapproachable before that first cup of coffee in the morning. So don’t even *try* to talk to me before I’m about six ounces in!
LOL. There I have to disagree. I'm all about the flavor and before my first cup, I'm about as approachable as a mama bear in the Smokies. After that first, heavenly cup, I'm sweet as can be.
**When shopping, do you prefer paper or plastic?
Plastic, by default. I do most of my household shopping at Walmart these days, and they only use plastic. More and more stores, it seems, are doing away with paper. Growing up, my mom used to always say, “Paper and plastic, please.” It made the bags more durable and easier to carry, and we’d use the double-bags as a sturdy trash receptacle in our 13-gallon garbage cans.
Same here.
** Dog or cat?
Woof woof. I’m a dog person through and through, both in terms of pet preference and in terms of my own personality. Petting, kissing, snuggling in bed, going for long walks, being silly, and playing interactive games—I ain’t talkin’ about romance here. I’m talking about life’s essentials, what I need to survive comfortably. I like to get reassurance from others, and like attention, praise, and companionship. Dogs need these things, too—and they tend to dole them out as well.
Cats are too independent for me. Kittens are fun, but the typical cat is a little too adult-like for my tastes. She’s like a mature friend who doesn’t ask much of you, who comes and goes as she pleases and expects you to do things according to her schedule and her needs. Plus, I’m highly allergic to certain breeds of cats. We tried having a kitty for a while, but had to surrender her to the shelter because I couldn’t breathe around her.
As you can see, there's a mix of everything around here/. But, I knew you were stopping by, so I tucked away the kitties for our visit(0:
**Would you rather have Chinese, Italian, Mexican or none of the above?
Well, Madison, what are we talking about here—food or men? Not that it matters though, because my answer would be the same to either question: all of the above.
As far as food goes… I love Italian food, and can cook some pretty tasty Italian grub. For this reason, I don’t really like to eat at Italian restaurants. When dining out, I prefer to eat cuisine I can’t make at home. I haven’t mastered the art of Chinese cooking, so I like to hit fancy Chinese joints every now and then. I’m not really down with the fast-food Chinese spots or buffets though. Authentic Mexican fare is another favorite. I can make some mock Mexican dishes at home, but much prefer the real deal at a proper cantina.
OMGOSH! Too funny! LOVE IT! I guess I should have clarified that a bit **snickers**
**Okay, serious question time. ( LOL ) IF there was a zombie apocalypse, what would be your weapon of choice and why?
A huge silo filled with reefer. Smoking pot kills brain cells, right? If we had an ample supply of marijuana, we could all smoke it and kill off our brain cells until our brains became unappealing and unappetizing to the hungry zombies. Then they would starve to death and become extinct. And, hey, even if things didn’t work out as planned, at least we’d all go out with a bang!
PFFT! I am so sorry for blowing my coffee all over you. Let me just get that cleaned up. That is the funniest answer I have ever gotten! And it makes perfect sense LOL!
**What three things would you want to have with you if you were stranded on a mountain?
There are two ways to answer this question.
The most practical response would somehow involve things that could get me off of the mountain—like, (1) a fully-functional helicopter; (2) a well-trained, alert, and sane helicopter pilot; and, (3) enough fuel to safely carry the pilot and me to a non-isolated, civilized destination.
But that answer isn’t any fun! It doesn’t tell you anything about my personality, now does it? So, in the alternative, I’ll say: (1) a Nintendo GameBoy with immortal batteries and a Tetris cartridge; (2) a down-feather pillow in a water-repellant pillowcase; and, (3) black eye-liner. The necessity for these particular items need not be explained.
You are such a riot! I'm all about the eyeliner and I'd add mascara. Both can be used for keeping the harsh glare of the sun out of your eyes (0; LOL That was fun! I love random questions :0) Thank you so much for participating and for sharing a bit of yourself with us, Sarah.
But, we need to get back to your writing career. What do you have planned for the upcoming months? Any super-secret WIP's you can tease us with?
Yep, I’ve got a WIP… It’s called “No. 20,” and it begins: “My name is Salvatore Monticelli. I have killed 19 people, and am currently plotting the death of No. 20.”
I already have the whole story written in my head. All I have to do is tap it out on my keyboard. I started tapping away at it last month, but had to force myself to stop. I don’t start writing a book unless I intend to finish writing it within three to six months. I’m gonna be “going away” for 90 days shortly, so I didn’t want to get too deep into “No. 20” before I left. I’ll just keep developing the story in my head and churn it out when I get back.
Now, to where am I going? Hmm, Madison, I won’t answer, since you didn’t ask. Let’s just say this: It’s not John Stamos’ house…
Wow! I have goosebumps just imagining your next book! So excited! As for you leaving town for a bit...booo! I will definitely miss you and I hope you'll stay in touch :0) John Stamos doesn't know what he's missing.....
Thank you so much for shootin' the breeze with me, Sarah. I really enjoyed having you here.
Now, readers I cannot emphasize enough how badly you need to add Sarah's books to your TBR pile. Alot of you follow my friend Stacey Jo's reviews and you know she means business when it comes to books. So, please get your hot lil' hands on 'Pig' and be sure to let everyone know, by leaving a review on amazon or goodreads what you thought of it. Okay?
Until next time, everyone, I send you hugs and kisses!
XOXOXOXOXOXO,
Madison
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Madison is a fun-spirited gal, to whom my work was referred by Night Owl Reviews reviewer Stacey Jo. Her blog is relatively new, but it's already jam-packed with interesting material. When you're done reading my interview, click on the links to her previous posts and keep reading!
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Repost:
Shootin' The Breeze with Sarah Beth Rem-Martin (Sbr Martin) author of 'Pig' and 'In Wake of Water'
Hi Everyone! Today, I've baked up a batch of brownies and brewed a HUGE pot of coffee. We're having company! Yay!
Today, my dear friend and very talented author, Sarah Beth Rem-Martin a.k.a. Sbr Martin is stopping by to chat. Without further ado, let's get to it!
Hope she likes flowers...
WELCOME to my place, Sarah! Come on in and get comfy. Enjoy the brownies and coffee and we'll get down to business whenever you're ready :)
Sit right there, my beautiful friend while I tell folks a little about your book.
First, I'd like to tell everyone how absolutely amazing your book, 'Pig' is. My friend, Stacey Jo read and reviewed it. That girl was down right speechless! When she could speak again, she was tongue-tied. Now, if you ask me...any book that can do that to her is a book I HAD to read. Stacey Jo was right! I don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't had the chance to read it, but 'Pig' is the most mind-boggling story I have ever read. I thought I had it all figured out and then WHAM! Yes, friends, it is so very damn good!
Here are a few promotional tidbits, purchase links and the review by my friend Stacey Jo. While y'all peruse those, I'm going to get our friend Sarah some more coffee.
Purchase links:
Pig is FREE for PRIME members right now: http://www.amazon.com/Pig-ebook/dp/B0...
In Wake Of Water is also FREE for PRIME members right now: http://www.amazon.com/In-Wake-Of-Wate...
Sbr's website: http://sbrmartin.com/
Stacey Jo's 5 STAR, making a 'Top Pick' Review of 'Pig' for the highly acclaimed Night Owl Reviews: http://www.nightowlreviews.com/nor/Re...
Now let's get back to my guest. Sarah, since this is your first time here I'll let you in on a little secret :)
Instead of doing the normal round of questions, I like to jazz things up. It's a 'get-to-know-you' session and readers love to know real things about their favorite authors. If any question is too personal or you'd rather not answer, just say so, okay?
Sounds good to me, Madison. Ask away—the sky’s the limit!
**Awesome! Since we are coming up on the 'dog-days' of Summer, what's your favorite season?
I like late-fall, when I’m neither sweating nor shivering. I’m a little picky about how I dress. I don’t like wearing shorts, and I hate wearing coats. So fall suits me perfectly, if you’ll excuse my pun.
I have to agree on the 'coats' thing. I want to hibernate every winter.
**Can you pick one thing you LOVE about every season?
My favorite thing about each season is that all seasons change. Each year, we get a little of this, a little of that, something else, and then the other thing. The changing of seasons is one of the only predictable, constant things we have going for us in this world. No matter what is, or isn’t, going on in our personal lives, the seasons continue to change. The Earth keeps on living a life of its own.
Beyond the deeper meaning of it all, I like to watch the seasons change. Seeing leaves turn colors, flowers bloom, tiny snowflakes fall and then melt—it’s all beautiful.
That's a beautiful answer. I have to agree, the magic of it all is wonderful. Sometimes, I just wish I could watch winter in a snowglobe. Ha ha!
**What's your favorite holiday?
Halloween. It’s when all the freaks come out and play. I always liked the holiday as a kid, because I have a sweet tooth and was all about getting tons of free candy. As a young adult, I liked it as a party holiday, where grown-ups got dressed up and drunk. Now that I have kids of my own, I like seeing it through their eyes, witnessing their awe and joy at all that goes down on that festive eve. Plus, I still have a sweet tooth… It’s my duty to ransack their loot.
Agreed! Ransacking is the best part.
**Do you have a favorite food (comfort or otherwise) recipe? If so, would you mind sharing it?
I’m overweight, so there a lot of foods in which I excessively take comfort. In college, when I’d bring a friend home for dinner with my family, I’d always preface their visit by saying, “Once you have dinner at my house, you’ll finally understand two things—why I’m fat, and, why I’m crazy.”
My mom and grandma were great cooks, and I learned a lot from them. But what I learned wasn’t so much recipes as it was techniques. People have asked me to share a recipe with them before, only to be disappointed when I tell them that I have no recipe to share. Sometimes my friends think I’m being elusive, but I’m not. I really do just go with the flow when I cook.
I don't think you're fat, I think you're perfect as you are. I love the fact that you 'wing it' when cooking. Sometimes, that's more fun anyways. Following your own path, right?
**Okay, Favorite drink (alcoholic and/or non)?
How boring is this? My favorite drink is water—very cold water, preferably with chipped ice that I can chew. As far as alcoholic beverages, I avoid them nowadays. I’m a recovering alcoholic. But when I did hit the sauce, I was a Long Island Iced Tea, Irish Car Bomb, and 22-ounce whatever-is-cheapest draft kinda gal.
Congrats on your sobriety! Kudos to you for sharing that with us :0) LOVE IT! I'm not a big drinkin' kind of gal either. Too much to do around here.And water isn't boring, it's the one thing we all need and I commend you for not being afraid to say you love it.
**How about your favorite place to shop?
I am addicted to shopping in thrift stores, absolutely addicted! Not only are the bargains great, but I approach each trip to the thrift store as a mission, a game of sorts, where I am tasked to find either something that is ridiculously more affordable than retail or something that is incredibly stunning because it is true antique, heirloom, or vintage quality.
I’ve found a lot of amazing pieces at thrift stores In Pittsburgh, PA, where I live. From authentic Coach handbags ($12) and Coldwater Creek knit denim jeans ($3.98) to eye-catching jewelry (typically under $10) and mint-condition DVDs ($1.99), I’ve acquired so much cool stuff that’d otherwise be beyond my means.
Again...LOVE IT! There are so many great finds out there and they are cheap! I need to go shopping with you. You've scored some pretty awesome stuff :0)
**Who would you say is your favorite author and what is your favorite book by that author?
My favorite author would have to be John Gardner, author of my favorite book, “Grendel.” I totally dig how Gardner approached that novel, writing as the antagonist in the 8th century epic poem “Beowulf.” But I dig his style of writing even more.
I first read the novel in high school, but still remember my favorite quote by heart:
"Pick an apocalypse, any apocalypse. A sea of black oil and dead things. No wind. No light. Nothing stirring, not even an ant, a spider. A silent universe. Such is the end of the flicker of time, the brief hot fuse of events and ideas set off, accidentally, and snuffed out, accidentally, by man. Not a real ending of course, nor even a beginning. Mere ripple in Time's stream."
Beautifully written. Deep. Disturbing.
I have to agree. I am now hooked and need to read that for myself. Thank you.
**Favorite book series?
Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. I loved each and every book in the series, and learned a lot about my own writing goals from Rice’s work. Her characters are so deep and compelling, which is something I like to consider a hallmark of my own fiction.
AR is one of my favorites, also. As for your characters, they are definitely deep and compelling. I can attest to that.
**What is your favorite thing about being an author?
I’ve been profoundly affected by some of the books I’ve read so far in my life. Both my writing and my outlook on life have been honed through reading the works of others. It’s my greatest hope that my writing will reach out and touch someone the way that so many other authors’ books have grabbed a hold of me.
I am moved by the thought of someone miles away from me kicking back with one of my books, sipping coffee as she shakes her head in disbelief every now and then, pausing to consider what she’s just read, or racing to her favorite chair so that she can sit down and pick up where she left off. To think that my words can reach and touch others is a mind-boggling thing.
Beautifully said, Sarah. You definitely touched Stacey Jo and me. We still talk about your book. Constantly shaking our heads because it's phenomenal. I think she'd be a great side-kick for you (if she ever gets un-tongue-tied, LOL). She hasn't stopped telling everyone she meets and knows about 'Pig'.
** What are the top 5 things on your bucket list?
Other than enjoying a long life where I get to see my daughters grow to be healthy and happy, I’d have to say:
1. Write and publish 5 books in 5 years;
2. Have (at least) one of my books turned into a movie;
3. Go to SeaWorld and be the one who gets selected to kiss Shamu;
4. Acquire property along the Maryland-Delaware border, close enough to the beach for easy access but far enough away so as to limit the possibility of seasonal/water devastation; and,
5. Come up with better things to include on my bucket list.
Aww. I love your Bucket List!
**Okay, if someone were to write a book about your life, what would be the title?
“sbr.” It’s short. It’s simple. It’s me.
LOVE!
**What's the one place you've always wanted to go but haven't?
John Stamos’ house…
LOL! I'm sure some of our readers would agree with you.
**What is your all-time favorite vacation spot?
Ocean City, Maryland. Whenever I think of that location, I always smile. My family vacationed there often when I was a child, and my husband and I take our own kids there now. We typically like to go in the off-season, when it isn’t so crowded and is more affordable.
The ocean and the beach are so very stunning, a living portrait of Mother Nature at her best. The way that the boardwalk flushes to the sand and adds human traffic to the equation is intense. Walking on the boardwalk, one can be both a part of civilization and of nature at the exact same time, dispelling the myth that man can’t have the best of both worlds.
Ocean City sounds amazing. Some of my friends have gone and they love it too.
**Coffee or Tea? (yes, it matters (0: )
Coffee. I enjoy its flavor, but not nearly as much as I enjoy its effects. Oddly enough, I didn’t start drinking coffee until I was 30. Before that, the caffeine had such pronounced effects on me that I simply couldn’t drink it. Just one cup had me so wired that I felt like a drug addict with ants under my skin. I couldn’t sleep and had to keep busy with whatever insurmountable tasks I could find.
Once I had kids, however, this all changed. I needed the caffeine boost to keep up with them, and to get things done. The effects have worn off over time. I’ve built up my tolerance, so to speak. But now, like a true addict, I need my daily fix. I’m unapproachable before that first cup of coffee in the morning. So don’t even *try* to talk to me before I’m about six ounces in!
LOL. There I have to disagree. I'm all about the flavor and before my first cup, I'm about as approachable as a mama bear in the Smokies. After that first, heavenly cup, I'm sweet as can be.
**When shopping, do you prefer paper or plastic?
Plastic, by default. I do most of my household shopping at Walmart these days, and they only use plastic. More and more stores, it seems, are doing away with paper. Growing up, my mom used to always say, “Paper and plastic, please.” It made the bags more durable and easier to carry, and we’d use the double-bags as a sturdy trash receptacle in our 13-gallon garbage cans.
Same here.
** Dog or cat?
Woof woof. I’m a dog person through and through, both in terms of pet preference and in terms of my own personality. Petting, kissing, snuggling in bed, going for long walks, being silly, and playing interactive games—I ain’t talkin’ about romance here. I’m talking about life’s essentials, what I need to survive comfortably. I like to get reassurance from others, and like attention, praise, and companionship. Dogs need these things, too—and they tend to dole them out as well.
Cats are too independent for me. Kittens are fun, but the typical cat is a little too adult-like for my tastes. She’s like a mature friend who doesn’t ask much of you, who comes and goes as she pleases and expects you to do things according to her schedule and her needs. Plus, I’m highly allergic to certain breeds of cats. We tried having a kitty for a while, but had to surrender her to the shelter because I couldn’t breathe around her.
As you can see, there's a mix of everything around here/. But, I knew you were stopping by, so I tucked away the kitties for our visit(0:
**Would you rather have Chinese, Italian, Mexican or none of the above?
Well, Madison, what are we talking about here—food or men? Not that it matters though, because my answer would be the same to either question: all of the above.
As far as food goes… I love Italian food, and can cook some pretty tasty Italian grub. For this reason, I don’t really like to eat at Italian restaurants. When dining out, I prefer to eat cuisine I can’t make at home. I haven’t mastered the art of Chinese cooking, so I like to hit fancy Chinese joints every now and then. I’m not really down with the fast-food Chinese spots or buffets though. Authentic Mexican fare is another favorite. I can make some mock Mexican dishes at home, but much prefer the real deal at a proper cantina.
OMGOSH! Too funny! LOVE IT! I guess I should have clarified that a bit **snickers**
**Okay, serious question time. ( LOL ) IF there was a zombie apocalypse, what would be your weapon of choice and why?
A huge silo filled with reefer. Smoking pot kills brain cells, right? If we had an ample supply of marijuana, we could all smoke it and kill off our brain cells until our brains became unappealing and unappetizing to the hungry zombies. Then they would starve to death and become extinct. And, hey, even if things didn’t work out as planned, at least we’d all go out with a bang!
PFFT! I am so sorry for blowing my coffee all over you. Let me just get that cleaned up. That is the funniest answer I have ever gotten! And it makes perfect sense LOL!
**What three things would you want to have with you if you were stranded on a mountain?
There are two ways to answer this question.
The most practical response would somehow involve things that could get me off of the mountain—like, (1) a fully-functional helicopter; (2) a well-trained, alert, and sane helicopter pilot; and, (3) enough fuel to safely carry the pilot and me to a non-isolated, civilized destination.
But that answer isn’t any fun! It doesn’t tell you anything about my personality, now does it? So, in the alternative, I’ll say: (1) a Nintendo GameBoy with immortal batteries and a Tetris cartridge; (2) a down-feather pillow in a water-repellant pillowcase; and, (3) black eye-liner. The necessity for these particular items need not be explained.
You are such a riot! I'm all about the eyeliner and I'd add mascara. Both can be used for keeping the harsh glare of the sun out of your eyes (0; LOL That was fun! I love random questions :0) Thank you so much for participating and for sharing a bit of yourself with us, Sarah.
But, we need to get back to your writing career. What do you have planned for the upcoming months? Any super-secret WIP's you can tease us with?
Yep, I’ve got a WIP… It’s called “No. 20,” and it begins: “My name is Salvatore Monticelli. I have killed 19 people, and am currently plotting the death of No. 20.”
I already have the whole story written in my head. All I have to do is tap it out on my keyboard. I started tapping away at it last month, but had to force myself to stop. I don’t start writing a book unless I intend to finish writing it within three to six months. I’m gonna be “going away” for 90 days shortly, so I didn’t want to get too deep into “No. 20” before I left. I’ll just keep developing the story in my head and churn it out when I get back.
Now, to where am I going? Hmm, Madison, I won’t answer, since you didn’t ask. Let’s just say this: It’s not John Stamos’ house…
Wow! I have goosebumps just imagining your next book! So excited! As for you leaving town for a bit...booo! I will definitely miss you and I hope you'll stay in touch :0) John Stamos doesn't know what he's missing.....
Thank you so much for shootin' the breeze with me, Sarah. I really enjoyed having you here.
Now, readers I cannot emphasize enough how badly you need to add Sarah's books to your TBR pile. Alot of you follow my friend Stacey Jo's reviews and you know she means business when it comes to books. So, please get your hot lil' hands on 'Pig' and be sure to let everyone know, by leaving a review on amazon or goodreads what you thought of it. Okay?
Until next time, everyone, I send you hugs and kisses!
XOXOXOXOXOXO,
Madison
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Interview with SBR Martin on Lindsay and Jane's Views and Reviews
My second stop today was at Lindsay and Jane's Views and Reviews, where Jane interviewed me after reading and reviewing "pig" last week.
Jane came up with some really good questions, and I came up with some pretty decent answers. Read, read, read at http://lindsayandjaneviewsandreviews....
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Repost:
Interview with SBR Martin
Recently I read a book called 'Pig' so hopefully I can be forgiven for expecting a book about a farm animal!....It is not about a farm animal!
'Pig' is one of the most unique books I have read in a while and I was totally blown away by it. Today I would like to welcome to the page the author of that book sbr Martin.
Q:- Would you tell us a little bit about your first novel? 'In Wake of Water' as I haven't managed to read it yet.
sbr: Well, the jacket blurb reads: "Enter a world of sex, deception, ignorance, and guilt. Malformed metaphysical ideas and corrupt social mores intertwine against the backdrop of a small town where there are too many secrets and life is anything but ideal. When a girl gets lost in this world and decides to escape, what will happen in her wake?"
But you didn't really need me to tell you that, huh? I guess I would describe "In Wake of Water" as a contemporary psychological thriller where the two main characters explore different permutations of, and alternatives to, life and death. There are some pretty shocking plot twists, and the side stories of supporting characters are both disturbing and oddly amusing.
Comparing my two novels, I’d say that “In Wake of Water” was written somewhat differently than “pig.” “In Wake of Water” was written more like a throwback to classic literature, with some purple prose piercing through the pages. “Pig” is written more directly, with more storytelling and less writing for the sake of writing.
I largely attribute this difference in style to the fact that i was in law school when I wrote "In Wake of Water" and was working as a Journalist when I wrote "Pig" - the writing I was doing elsewhere in my life influenced my authorship of each book.
Q:- Your second book ‘Pig’ managed to get as far as second prize quarterfinalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest. Can you describe how you felt when you found out how well your work had done?
sbr: I was honored, tosay the least. Along with a novel's placement in the competition, the author is given feedback from Amazon Top Reviewers and from Publishers Weekly. The feedback is designed to highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of the author's work. In many ways, it is this that is the author's greatest prize (at last for authors who don't make it all the way!).
The Amazon reviewers weren't too shy to say what thy didn't like_and I wasn't too humble to take it to heart. For instance, one reviewer said that he didn't like how I used a lot of numbers in the book description. All you need to do is take a gander at the Amazon product page to see that I appreciated his advice and incorporated it into the presentation of my book.
The review from Publishers Weekly was absolutely incredible. There were no critical words in it, though I've seen other novels in the contest reviewed in a harsh light. Given the glowing Publishers Weekly review, I must admit that I'm not certain why "Pig" didn't make it any further than it did in the contest. I've fingered its dark content as the likely culprit. But, nonetheless, for it to get as far as it did is a huge accomplishment. It's the type of recognition that every fresh author craves, but so very few get.
Quick Fire Questions
a) What colour shoes are you wearing?
sbr: Right now, I'm actually not wearing any shoes. Whenever possible, I like to go barefoot-and, seeing as how I'm just chilling at home right now, there is no need for me to wear shoes at the moment. But, typically my shoes are some shade of black.
b) Do you take sugar?
sbr: I love sugar! I have a sweet tooth for cookies,candy,cake and the like. I especially love Sweedish Fish. As far as taking sugar in my coffee or tea, I take sugar substitutes with Splenda as my first choice. I eat enough sugar as it is, so I can't justify drinking it too.
c) Name of your first pet?
sbr: The family pet I remember from my youngest days was a black poodle named Fifi. The first pet that was "mine" was a minnow named Minnie, who I brought ome from the Girl Scout camp in a Styrofaom cup.
Minnie lived for only one month in my house. I woke up on her one-month birthday and starting singing "Happy Birthday" as I made my way to her bowl in my bedroom. She was dead. We had a funeral and wake for her later that same day. To anyone who has read "Pig," the idea of having a funeral and a wake for a lost pet should sound vaguely familiar. Little bits of fact alwayd find their way into my fiction, though they're there spun out beyond recognition.
d) Night on the town or quiet night in?
sbr: I must be getting old. Quiet night in. It's too costly to go out these days. Dinner and a movie, and gasoline for transport, are so expensive nowadays-and often not worth the investment of my time or money. I have to toddler daughters, so they occupy the majority of my resources.
Don't get me wrong. I do like to go out for a night on the town every now and then. It's just not my regular practice. That said, a quiet night is a rarity too-again, I remind you, I have two toddler daughters!
Jane: Believe me as they go from toddler to child, from child to teenager, and teenager to adult, a quiet night in is even more rare!!
e) McDonalds or Burger King?
sbr: McDonalds. I'm not into that flame-broiled taste and I much prefer nuggets with the preface of Mc attached.
Q:- The story of Lily’s life in ‘Pig’ was so realistic that I felt like I was reading a biography. Did you work closely with abused women to gather your information or was it written purely from your imagination?
sbr: Neither. I don't think anyone writes anything purely from imagination-not even the most complicated stories or the most nonhuman, or inhumane, characters. At least I don't.
Did you ever see a couple get into a fight in public-maybe on the trolly or at the market? Did you ever think to yourself that the man took the argument too far? Did he call her a bad name? did he grab her arm and lead her away?
And, if you ever saw these things, did you ever wonder: if he does that to her in public, what does he do to her behind closed doors?
Or, here's another line of thought. Did you ever have a fight with a loved one? Did yoe ever call someone a mean name? were you called a mean name? Did you and/or he/she ever get physical? And, if you ever experienced these things, did you ever wonder: what would have happened if I, or the other person, took things even further? What would have happened if I hadn't quieted my own rage?
Now, this is all to show that there are little scenarios we all face every now and then, questions we ask ourselves from time to time, that can really get the imagination going. There are things we witness, or execute, in our own very real lives that can be fictionalized to a haunting extreme.
Q:- In recent years we have seen an influx of new authors. How difficult/easy has it been to market your work, make it stand out amongst the rest and encourage readers to buy it?
sbr: I've tried to keep my language clean in my responses to your questions, which hasn't been too hard-until now. Let's just say this: It's really difficult!!!!
There has been a huge influx of new authors in recent years, and many of them are terrific writers. It’s hard to get noticed and stand out. It’s hard to compete with big names, and even with smaller names who have more spare cash in their hands. It’s hard. It’s just hard.
The best I can do is create an impressive piece of work and hope that people hear about it. I’ve been pounding the e-pavement with “pig,” pitching it to reviewers left and right, taking part in a virtual blog tour, promoting on Facebook, offering giveaways—the list goes on and on, and I’m always open to new ideas.
I decided to do a lot of my own PR this time around, even though that’s verboten in the traditional literary world. But the traditional literary world is changing quite rapidly. eBooks are all the rage, self-publishing and print-on-demand are just as common as the big publisher names, and everyday people are taking to reviewing books. Self-promotion isn’t shameless when you’ve got a good product to push. And “pig” is a good product. It’s a different kind of book. People just need to know it exists.
Q:- Do you write thrillers because this is the genre you most enjoy to read?
sbr: I typically like to say that I don’t have a favorite genre, because I really do enjoy all different types of books. Some of my favorites have paranormal/horror elements in common—like Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, John Gardner’s “Grendel,” and Gregory Maguire’s “Wicked”—but I also love biographies and psychoanalytical works.
The theme that runs rampant through all of my desert island books is the element of surprise. Fiction or nonfiction, I like to be shocked. Perhaps the shock comes in a fictional plot twist, or after the suspense leading up to the reveal of a big secret; or, perhaps, it comes from learning about the childhood of Maya Angelou or the troubled life of rock icon Tommy Lee; perhaps it comes at learning how one scholar interprets the disturbing undercurrents of fairytales, if not at discovering the disturbing undercurrents themselves.
So it is that element of "the thrill" that is found in many different genres which I like to read, and to which I also like to write.
Q:- If ‘Pig’ was made into a film, who would you choose to play the characters Lilly and Bender? Personally I think Ray Liotta would make a great Ben and Barbra Alyn Woods would make the perfect Lily!
sbr: I haven't really thought about who'd play Lily and Bender, though I've thought about "Pig" being made into a film. Because the book spans nearly 30 years, it's hard for me to think of the ideal actors. Should I pick actors to portray young Lilly and Bender, or lder Lilly and Bender? Most of the story takes place when they are in their 30s/40s, but the backbone of the tale is set when they're older. Can one lady, and one fellow, portray both ages well?
While I haven't thought much about casting Lily and Bender,I have thought about casting Leo. I think Russell Brand would be perfect.
I do like your suggestions of Ray Liotta and Barbara Alyn Woods—both are great performers and could express the attributes, and flaws, of my characters quite well. So let’s you and I get a hold of these folks and pitch the flick to them!
Q:- If you could spend one week in any period of history, which period would you choose?
sbr: Oh my, I’ve been asked this question before, but not in an interview context. Every time someone asks me, I say a different period, not because I’m fickle but because, as I continue to learn and grow in life, my answer reflects what I’ve most recently learnt.
At 34 years old, I have only just come across “Classic Rock.” For years, I was all about bands like Nirvana, Radiohead, and The Eels. These are the types of bands with which I grew up, the soundtracks to college parties and long drives in my various cars over the years.
I used to dismiss Classic Rock, because I had Modern Rock. But I haven’t been pleased with what’s been calling itself “Rock” these days. I took to playing a classic rock radio station in my car and fell head over heels for Led Zeppelin. My appreciation for other bands of that era is also evolving. I’m giving Pink Floyd, Hendrix, CCR, and Cream a shot, as well as the Rolling Stones and Queen.
To answer your question… I’d like to spend a week in the era when Classic Rock was just rock. The late-1960s/early-1970s sound pretty fun. Plus, denim jeans from the era were skintight and wide-legged—fabulous!
Q:- Did you hire an editor and/or Cover designer for your book? If so how did you find people you trusted?
sbr: “Pig” features cover art by Jenn Wertz, a musician/artist best known as an original member of multi-platinum recording artists Rusted Root. I am fortunate enough to have her in my circle of friends, so acquiring her artwork was an easy and trustworthy transaction.
Another lady I’m pleased to have in my circle of friends is Lizzy Bittner, who did the author photography for both of my books, and the cover photography for “In Wake of Water.” I’ve known Lizzy since childhood, and she basically donated her services to my literary cause.
Q:- What question would you have liked me to ask in this interview but I didn’t?
sbr: Well, my dear, I'll take this as an opportunity to plug my work...
Below is my short bio and all of my favorite links, written in third person for effect.
SBR Martin is an author of contemporary psychological fiction. Her most recent release, Pig, was a Second Prize Quarterfinalist in the 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest, where Publishers Weekly wrote of Martin’s work: “The ultimate resolution of the story makes for quite a surprise… (Martin) is able to build good characters, flawed and believable, yet familiar; so that at the end one is saddened, but also, in a strange way, enriched.”
Martin was bred, born, and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she continues to live and work as a writer, journalist, and mother. She holds a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, as well as a journalism portfolio replete with contributions to media outlets such as AOL’s Patch Network and CBS Local Media Pittsburgh.
Pig is her second book, published less than one year after the Oct. 2011 release of her debut novel, In Wake of Water.
Books by SBR Martin:
Pig: available for purchase on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Pig-ebook/dp/B0... and likeable on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sbrmartin.pig
In Wake of Water: available for purchase on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/In-Wake-Of-Wate... and likeable on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/inwakeofwater
SBR Martin’s other online presences:
SBR can be found online in myriad places, including multiple stops along her virtual tour. Guest posts, interviews, and other visits are chronicled on her Goodreads blog. If you’d like SBR to make a special appearance on your blog/site, contact her directly at sbrmartin@sbrmartin.com.
SBR on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/sbrmartin
SBR on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/sbrmartin
SBR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sbrmartin
SBR on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/sbrmartin
SBR on Twitter: http://twitter.com/sbrmartin
SBR on SBR: http://www.sbrmartin.com
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Jane came up with some really good questions, and I came up with some pretty decent answers. Read, read, read at http://lindsayandjaneviewsandreviews....
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Repost:
Interview with SBR Martin
Recently I read a book called 'Pig' so hopefully I can be forgiven for expecting a book about a farm animal!....It is not about a farm animal!
'Pig' is one of the most unique books I have read in a while and I was totally blown away by it. Today I would like to welcome to the page the author of that book sbr Martin.
Q:- Would you tell us a little bit about your first novel? 'In Wake of Water' as I haven't managed to read it yet.
sbr: Well, the jacket blurb reads: "Enter a world of sex, deception, ignorance, and guilt. Malformed metaphysical ideas and corrupt social mores intertwine against the backdrop of a small town where there are too many secrets and life is anything but ideal. When a girl gets lost in this world and decides to escape, what will happen in her wake?"
But you didn't really need me to tell you that, huh? I guess I would describe "In Wake of Water" as a contemporary psychological thriller where the two main characters explore different permutations of, and alternatives to, life and death. There are some pretty shocking plot twists, and the side stories of supporting characters are both disturbing and oddly amusing.
Comparing my two novels, I’d say that “In Wake of Water” was written somewhat differently than “pig.” “In Wake of Water” was written more like a throwback to classic literature, with some purple prose piercing through the pages. “Pig” is written more directly, with more storytelling and less writing for the sake of writing.
I largely attribute this difference in style to the fact that i was in law school when I wrote "In Wake of Water" and was working as a Journalist when I wrote "Pig" - the writing I was doing elsewhere in my life influenced my authorship of each book.
Q:- Your second book ‘Pig’ managed to get as far as second prize quarterfinalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest. Can you describe how you felt when you found out how well your work had done?
sbr: I was honored, tosay the least. Along with a novel's placement in the competition, the author is given feedback from Amazon Top Reviewers and from Publishers Weekly. The feedback is designed to highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of the author's work. In many ways, it is this that is the author's greatest prize (at last for authors who don't make it all the way!).
The Amazon reviewers weren't too shy to say what thy didn't like_and I wasn't too humble to take it to heart. For instance, one reviewer said that he didn't like how I used a lot of numbers in the book description. All you need to do is take a gander at the Amazon product page to see that I appreciated his advice and incorporated it into the presentation of my book.
The review from Publishers Weekly was absolutely incredible. There were no critical words in it, though I've seen other novels in the contest reviewed in a harsh light. Given the glowing Publishers Weekly review, I must admit that I'm not certain why "Pig" didn't make it any further than it did in the contest. I've fingered its dark content as the likely culprit. But, nonetheless, for it to get as far as it did is a huge accomplishment. It's the type of recognition that every fresh author craves, but so very few get.
Quick Fire Questions
a) What colour shoes are you wearing?
sbr: Right now, I'm actually not wearing any shoes. Whenever possible, I like to go barefoot-and, seeing as how I'm just chilling at home right now, there is no need for me to wear shoes at the moment. But, typically my shoes are some shade of black.
b) Do you take sugar?
sbr: I love sugar! I have a sweet tooth for cookies,candy,cake and the like. I especially love Sweedish Fish. As far as taking sugar in my coffee or tea, I take sugar substitutes with Splenda as my first choice. I eat enough sugar as it is, so I can't justify drinking it too.
c) Name of your first pet?
sbr: The family pet I remember from my youngest days was a black poodle named Fifi. The first pet that was "mine" was a minnow named Minnie, who I brought ome from the Girl Scout camp in a Styrofaom cup.
Minnie lived for only one month in my house. I woke up on her one-month birthday and starting singing "Happy Birthday" as I made my way to her bowl in my bedroom. She was dead. We had a funeral and wake for her later that same day. To anyone who has read "Pig," the idea of having a funeral and a wake for a lost pet should sound vaguely familiar. Little bits of fact alwayd find their way into my fiction, though they're there spun out beyond recognition.
d) Night on the town or quiet night in?
sbr: I must be getting old. Quiet night in. It's too costly to go out these days. Dinner and a movie, and gasoline for transport, are so expensive nowadays-and often not worth the investment of my time or money. I have to toddler daughters, so they occupy the majority of my resources.
Don't get me wrong. I do like to go out for a night on the town every now and then. It's just not my regular practice. That said, a quiet night is a rarity too-again, I remind you, I have two toddler daughters!
Jane: Believe me as they go from toddler to child, from child to teenager, and teenager to adult, a quiet night in is even more rare!!
e) McDonalds or Burger King?
sbr: McDonalds. I'm not into that flame-broiled taste and I much prefer nuggets with the preface of Mc attached.
Q:- The story of Lily’s life in ‘Pig’ was so realistic that I felt like I was reading a biography. Did you work closely with abused women to gather your information or was it written purely from your imagination?
sbr: Neither. I don't think anyone writes anything purely from imagination-not even the most complicated stories or the most nonhuman, or inhumane, characters. At least I don't.
Did you ever see a couple get into a fight in public-maybe on the trolly or at the market? Did you ever think to yourself that the man took the argument too far? Did he call her a bad name? did he grab her arm and lead her away?
And, if you ever saw these things, did you ever wonder: if he does that to her in public, what does he do to her behind closed doors?
Or, here's another line of thought. Did you ever have a fight with a loved one? Did yoe ever call someone a mean name? were you called a mean name? Did you and/or he/she ever get physical? And, if you ever experienced these things, did you ever wonder: what would have happened if I, or the other person, took things even further? What would have happened if I hadn't quieted my own rage?
Now, this is all to show that there are little scenarios we all face every now and then, questions we ask ourselves from time to time, that can really get the imagination going. There are things we witness, or execute, in our own very real lives that can be fictionalized to a haunting extreme.
Q:- In recent years we have seen an influx of new authors. How difficult/easy has it been to market your work, make it stand out amongst the rest and encourage readers to buy it?
sbr: I've tried to keep my language clean in my responses to your questions, which hasn't been too hard-until now. Let's just say this: It's really difficult!!!!
There has been a huge influx of new authors in recent years, and many of them are terrific writers. It’s hard to get noticed and stand out. It’s hard to compete with big names, and even with smaller names who have more spare cash in their hands. It’s hard. It’s just hard.
The best I can do is create an impressive piece of work and hope that people hear about it. I’ve been pounding the e-pavement with “pig,” pitching it to reviewers left and right, taking part in a virtual blog tour, promoting on Facebook, offering giveaways—the list goes on and on, and I’m always open to new ideas.
I decided to do a lot of my own PR this time around, even though that’s verboten in the traditional literary world. But the traditional literary world is changing quite rapidly. eBooks are all the rage, self-publishing and print-on-demand are just as common as the big publisher names, and everyday people are taking to reviewing books. Self-promotion isn’t shameless when you’ve got a good product to push. And “pig” is a good product. It’s a different kind of book. People just need to know it exists.
Q:- Do you write thrillers because this is the genre you most enjoy to read?
sbr: I typically like to say that I don’t have a favorite genre, because I really do enjoy all different types of books. Some of my favorites have paranormal/horror elements in common—like Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, John Gardner’s “Grendel,” and Gregory Maguire’s “Wicked”—but I also love biographies and psychoanalytical works.
The theme that runs rampant through all of my desert island books is the element of surprise. Fiction or nonfiction, I like to be shocked. Perhaps the shock comes in a fictional plot twist, or after the suspense leading up to the reveal of a big secret; or, perhaps, it comes from learning about the childhood of Maya Angelou or the troubled life of rock icon Tommy Lee; perhaps it comes at learning how one scholar interprets the disturbing undercurrents of fairytales, if not at discovering the disturbing undercurrents themselves.
So it is that element of "the thrill" that is found in many different genres which I like to read, and to which I also like to write.
Q:- If ‘Pig’ was made into a film, who would you choose to play the characters Lilly and Bender? Personally I think Ray Liotta would make a great Ben and Barbra Alyn Woods would make the perfect Lily!
sbr: I haven't really thought about who'd play Lily and Bender, though I've thought about "Pig" being made into a film. Because the book spans nearly 30 years, it's hard for me to think of the ideal actors. Should I pick actors to portray young Lilly and Bender, or lder Lilly and Bender? Most of the story takes place when they are in their 30s/40s, but the backbone of the tale is set when they're older. Can one lady, and one fellow, portray both ages well?
While I haven't thought much about casting Lily and Bender,I have thought about casting Leo. I think Russell Brand would be perfect.
I do like your suggestions of Ray Liotta and Barbara Alyn Woods—both are great performers and could express the attributes, and flaws, of my characters quite well. So let’s you and I get a hold of these folks and pitch the flick to them!
Q:- If you could spend one week in any period of history, which period would you choose?
sbr: Oh my, I’ve been asked this question before, but not in an interview context. Every time someone asks me, I say a different period, not because I’m fickle but because, as I continue to learn and grow in life, my answer reflects what I’ve most recently learnt.
At 34 years old, I have only just come across “Classic Rock.” For years, I was all about bands like Nirvana, Radiohead, and The Eels. These are the types of bands with which I grew up, the soundtracks to college parties and long drives in my various cars over the years.
I used to dismiss Classic Rock, because I had Modern Rock. But I haven’t been pleased with what’s been calling itself “Rock” these days. I took to playing a classic rock radio station in my car and fell head over heels for Led Zeppelin. My appreciation for other bands of that era is also evolving. I’m giving Pink Floyd, Hendrix, CCR, and Cream a shot, as well as the Rolling Stones and Queen.
To answer your question… I’d like to spend a week in the era when Classic Rock was just rock. The late-1960s/early-1970s sound pretty fun. Plus, denim jeans from the era were skintight and wide-legged—fabulous!
Q:- Did you hire an editor and/or Cover designer for your book? If so how did you find people you trusted?
sbr: “Pig” features cover art by Jenn Wertz, a musician/artist best known as an original member of multi-platinum recording artists Rusted Root. I am fortunate enough to have her in my circle of friends, so acquiring her artwork was an easy and trustworthy transaction.
Another lady I’m pleased to have in my circle of friends is Lizzy Bittner, who did the author photography for both of my books, and the cover photography for “In Wake of Water.” I’ve known Lizzy since childhood, and she basically donated her services to my literary cause.
Q:- What question would you have liked me to ask in this interview but I didn’t?
sbr: Well, my dear, I'll take this as an opportunity to plug my work...
Below is my short bio and all of my favorite links, written in third person for effect.
SBR Martin is an author of contemporary psychological fiction. Her most recent release, Pig, was a Second Prize Quarterfinalist in the 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest, where Publishers Weekly wrote of Martin’s work: “The ultimate resolution of the story makes for quite a surprise… (Martin) is able to build good characters, flawed and believable, yet familiar; so that at the end one is saddened, but also, in a strange way, enriched.”
Martin was bred, born, and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she continues to live and work as a writer, journalist, and mother. She holds a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, as well as a journalism portfolio replete with contributions to media outlets such as AOL’s Patch Network and CBS Local Media Pittsburgh.
Pig is her second book, published less than one year after the Oct. 2011 release of her debut novel, In Wake of Water.
Books by SBR Martin:
Pig: available for purchase on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Pig-ebook/dp/B0... and likeable on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sbrmartin.pig
In Wake of Water: available for purchase on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/In-Wake-Of-Wate... and likeable on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/inwakeofwater
SBR Martin’s other online presences:
SBR can be found online in myriad places, including multiple stops along her virtual tour. Guest posts, interviews, and other visits are chronicled on her Goodreads blog. If you’d like SBR to make a special appearance on your blog/site, contact her directly at sbrmartin@sbrmartin.com.
SBR on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/sbrmartin
SBR on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/sbrmartin
SBR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sbrmartin
SBR on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/sbrmartin
SBR on Twitter: http://twitter.com/sbrmartin
SBR on SBR: http://www.sbrmartin.com
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
