IWU Blog Tour #1

Hello, technological world!  I am back from the black abyss known as Disney World.  For the last week, I've had no internet access and no phone service, so I was about as cut off as I could get.  My dearest thanks to Disney for being so greedy they can't offer free wifi in the hotel room, and also to Cricket, for having absolutely no coverage in Orlando.  I'm seriously considering an Iphone.

The best Facebook group in all the universe is Indie Writers Unite! a collection of indies celebrating their triumphs and sorrows in the hit-or-miss land of self-publishing.  I've jumped on the bandwagon for the IWU blog tour, so weekly I will be hosting either a guest post or interview from one of my fellow indies.

This week, we chat with Katrina Parker Williams!

Tell me a little about the book/work you're promoting.

I am currently promoting a short story collection titled Trouble Down South and Other Stories and a short story Missus Buck. Trouble Down South and Other Stories is a collection of historical fiction that chronicles events spanning more than 150 years and addresses a wide range of experiences from African-American perspectives. The stories are set in the South amid a changing landscape in which the characters are forced to wrestle with the social issues surrounding Native Americans, slavery, racism, Prohibition, World War I, the Korean War, Civil Rights, the Vietnam War, health, religion, mental illness, and education.

Missus Buck is a 6850-word short story about an elderly woman, advanced in years, who fosters a spirit of hostility toward her daughter-in-law because she believes her to be a commoner. Their family descending from German aristocracy, Missus Buck believes her son has married beneath him when he weds Missus Julie, who feels the sting of her disapproval even from the first day she met her. Missus Buck shows no mercy towards Missus Julie's slaves and squares off with Missus Julie's favored slave, the feisty Rubeline.

What jump-started the idea for this book?

I had written Missus Buck as the start of a novel but found that it worked well as a short story. I may develop it into a novel somewhere down the line.

How often do you write?  Do you set word count goals?  Do you reward yourself if you meet them?

I try to write every week at least. I can't find the time to write every day with working a full-time job and taking care of a family, so if I can get in some writing once a week, I do so. I don't set goals for myself unless I am trying to complete a short story or a novel. Then I do reward myself when I accomplish that goal.



I see that you have a traditionally published novel, Liquor House Music. What made you choose self-publishing?

I didn't traditionally publish Liquor House Music. It was self-published. I chose self-publishing because it allowed more freedom for me to write the stories I like to write and to publish them.

(Note from Heather: let that tell you guys how awesome this book looks!)



Are you working on any current projects?

I am working on three more short stories that will become part of a short story collection. Hopefully, they will be published by Fall 2011.



Your artwork is so lovely!  What kind of feedback have you gotten on designing your own book covers?

Thank you for those kind words. I have gotten a lot of positive feedback from my artwork. I don't design covers for others, but I may consider doing that in the future if someone wants me to do it.



Stepping outside your persona as an Author, as a college English professor, what advice do you think is most important for young writers?

Read, read, and read some more, and then write, write, and write some more. I tell my students that they must become good readers in order to write well. I also tell them to view writing as a fun endeavor instead of a dreaded chore. I discover so many of my students dislike English because of their lack of interest in reading, particularly good books. If they enjoy reading, writing becomes a pleasure also.



Shamelessly self-promote your links!  Any books, webpages, etc.

Katrina Parker Williams is the author of a short story collection Trouble Down South and Other Stories, a fictional novel Liquor House Music, and a short story Missus Buck.



Purchase Books at These Links:

Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_nos...

Barnes and Noble (Nook): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/troub...



Read more about Katrina's Writings at these links:

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...

Blog: http://troubledownsouth.wordpress.com/