B-DAY BASH GUEST AUTHOR: NAOMI MUSCH
Please welcome fellow Desert Breeze Publishing author, Naomi Musch to the B-Day Bash party!!!
Welcome!
What inspires your writing?
Several things inspire my writing.
Sometimes it might be an idea that won't let go, or a bit of history that
fascinates me. I go there in my mind and imagine what that time or incident
might have been like for someone. Places also pique my creative interest. Oftentimes
a thematic idea inspires me. But usually it's just a driving need to create
something, to begin a scene or bit of dialogue.
Can you briefly tell us your journey to publication?
My journey is long and full of
bumps and bruises, procrastination and bad timing. It's also full of
encouraging times and inspiring life-lessons. I've published quite a few
articles and bits of non-fiction -- essays and feature journalistic pieces for
Christian periodicals over the years. Then in 2006 I published my historical
novel The Casket Girl
non-traditionally. After that I focused on traditional publishing and found a
home in 2010 for both my historical Empire
in Pine 3-book series (Desert Breeze Pub.) and my contemporary novella Heart Not Taken (Black Lyon Pub.). My
series and novella have all been published as e-books, but Desert Breeze is set
to release hard copies of each Empire in
Pine book: The Green Veil, The Red Fury, and The Black Rose in 2013.
Congratulations on finding success! What is your favorite/worst part of the writing/publishing
process?
My favorite part is when I'm deep
into the process of playing out a scene. The words begin spilling out, the
characters take over the page, and the dialogue flows. Being caught in that
creative energy is like getting taken up in a whirlwind. It's wonderful! I also
enjoy doing re-writes and edits. Improving a scene is very satisfying.
The part I like the least is
getting stuck, either in the research stage (that's where I am now, finding out
some information, but not enough. I can't force my characters into a situation
that would never happen that way
historically) or when I'm stuck in a plot point. I'm a plotter. I like having
an inkling of where I'm going even though the characters themselves take me
through the details in the moment. But if I'm stuck, it's agonizing.
What has been your most memorable experience as a published
author?
Every time a reader say they stayed
up late to finish a story because they couldn't put it down, and that the story
kept them guessing and they just had to know how it turned out. Hearing those
kinds of comments never grows old.
Aren't they great! So tell us a little about your book. What prompted this
story?
For me there's never really one
single thing that prompts a story in my imagination. Rather, it's usually a
conglomerate of ideas, events, and characters that start to swirl around until
a seed is formed. In this story, I had the combination of a northern Wisconsin
town with a checkered history, the peak of the logging industry in Wisconsin, a
national financial panic, and twin daughters just born in the previous book in
the series (The Red Fury).
On top of those specifics, I got to
thinking how girls even with much going for them can often fall prey to poor
self-image, and what a destructive force that is. That wasn't really a theme I
started with, but it certainly emerged quickly.
Then there's the whole sister thing
-- best of friends and worst of enemies if things go wrong. Being twins, I
decided to play it for all it was worth with one twin's jealousy over her
sister's engagement to a man she herself was enamored with. Jesilyn tries to
steal Corianne's fiancé by pretending to be her sister. The fallout isn't what
she hoped for or expected.
Which character do you relate to the most and why?
I'm not sure who I would relate to
most in this story. I think in every character writers reveal tiny pieces of
themselves based on their experiences and understandings of life and the world.
I hope I'm not as rash as Jesilyn or as prideful as Corianne, but I certainly
have flirted with those traits at times. Maybe I'm more like Paul who
vacillates between confidence in his calling and sometimes feeling like he's
swimming upstream. Yet he desires to be faithful.
Which character did you find most difficult to craft and
why?
I don't think I've been asked that
before! In this particular story, the most difficult character was probably
Cori. She was a little too good. But once I started dealing with her pride, she
got a little more manageable to write. Hmm... What does that mean, I wonder?
In each novel, I name a character after a family member. Do
you have a writing quirk or tag/tell?
I do that too! Jesilyn is from my daughter
Jessamyn. Her middle name is Winter and I gave that to Paul for his last
name. There are other variations
of my kids' names in the book series too. My other daughter's middle name ended
up on Paul's sister Marie. Beau became the family name Beaumont. My son Cade became
the family name Kade. I gave my son Quinn's name to David Quinn, a frontiersman
in The Casket Girl.
On another note, nature, woods, and
wildlife always figure pretty prominently in my stories. There's usually some
sort of hunting or fishing or hiking going on.
How funny! I've used the middle name of my baby brother for a hero. What is your favorite book/television show? Do either of these
mediums influence your writing? How?
I enjoy Once Upon a Time, Grimm,
and Downton Abbey, but what influences me more are the old westerns like
Gunsmoke and Bonanza. I mean, who doesn't love it when those Barkely boys ride
in from The Big Valley? Great stories, wonderful characters, super dialogue.
A favorite book is harder to peg.
I've been influenced by Dickens, Bodie Thoene's Zion series, Angela Hunt's
historicals, the big creative non-fiction of Allen Eckert (The Frontiersman),
and Francine Rivers who can really touch a reader emotionally. I love some of
the old classics less for their style, theme, or language than their ability to
create aura in a scene. A more recent author I enjoy is Laura Frantz simply
because she writes about my favorite time periods with a style that I think is
similar to my own. At least we share a taste and fondness for the same bits of
history.
The Barkely boys were something! And I love Once Upon a Time and Downton Abbey! What advice would you give aspiring authors?
You're going to wonder at some
point if you'll ever get published or be good enough to get published. Hang in
there. None of us ever stops learning and refining. If we do, we're done. And
keep it in the front of your mind that whatever you do for the LORD is already
successful, even if He is the only one who ever reads your work. If you have a
gift for writing, and are making an effort to hone it, then He is pleased.
Where can readers find you?
I'd love to have them drop by my
site: http://www.naomimusch.com
Or like my page on Facebook: Naomi
Musch - Author
Catch me on Twitter: NMusch
There are a few more places I hop
around the blogosphere. If you're a new or developing writer, check out my
tutorials along with several other authors on A Novel Writing Site and if you
just enjoy all stuff Midwestern, join me and other Midwestern authors at The Barn Door.
Anything you'd like to ask readers of this post?
Sure! I read a lot, and while I enjoy a lot of stories, there are
only certain ones that become truly memorable to me. I'd like to know what kind
of stories you find most memorable. Care to share? Another question I have
pertains to something I've been wondering a lot about. Has the number of free
e-books available online prevented you from purchasing as many books as you
might have otherwise, or do you still buy books (electronic or print) as often
as before?
Blurb:
The Black Rose - Empire in Pine, Book Three
Despite the panic of 1893, logging has reached its golden
era in the growing state of Wisconsin, and twins Jesilyn and Corianne Beaumont
enjoy a comfortable life with family in the bursting Great Lake city of
Superior. But when jealousy incites Jesi to seduce Cori's fiancé, a flight and
fall from grace lands her in a boomtown brothel, where a fresh start is denied
her.
Camp preacher Paul Winter longs to
offer hope in the logging and mining towns of northern Wisconsin, but not in
the way he expects when he meets a redhead he calls Pie Girl. He's never had to
battle his own longings quite this way before.
Meanwhile, stung by Jesilyn's
betrayal, Corianne's bitterness might separate her from a second chance at
happiness and peace. Only by Grace can both women begin new lives, and
budding love can bloom in places neither of them expects.
Bio:
Naomi and her husband Jeff live as epically as
God allows on a ramshackle farm in Wisconsin's north woods near their five
young adults and three grand-children. Amidst it, she writes stories about
imperfect people who are finding hope and faith to overcome their struggles.
Her entire Empire in Pine series, available now in eBook from Desert Breeze
Publishing, will also go to print in 2013. She invites new friends and old to
say hello and find out more about her books, passions, and other writing venues
at http://www.naomimusch.com
or look her up on Facebook (Naomi Musch - Author) and Twitter (NMusch).
Purchase Links:
Desert Breeze: http://tinyurl.com/793uv89
Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/bosd2e5
B&N: http://tinyurl.com/7tbnkep
Thank you for visiting Naomi! Remember to record your entries in the giveaway widget! You have a chance to win any one of the following ebooks from Naomi: The Green Veil, The Red Fury, The Black Rose.
Welcome!
What inspires your writing?
Several things inspire my writing.
Sometimes it might be an idea that won't let go, or a bit of history that
fascinates me. I go there in my mind and imagine what that time or incident
might have been like for someone. Places also pique my creative interest. Oftentimes
a thematic idea inspires me. But usually it's just a driving need to create
something, to begin a scene or bit of dialogue.
Can you briefly tell us your journey to publication?
My journey is long and full of
bumps and bruises, procrastination and bad timing. It's also full of
encouraging times and inspiring life-lessons. I've published quite a few
articles and bits of non-fiction -- essays and feature journalistic pieces for
Christian periodicals over the years. Then in 2006 I published my historical
novel The Casket Girl
non-traditionally. After that I focused on traditional publishing and found a
home in 2010 for both my historical Empire
in Pine 3-book series (Desert Breeze Pub.) and my contemporary novella Heart Not Taken (Black Lyon Pub.). My
series and novella have all been published as e-books, but Desert Breeze is set
to release hard copies of each Empire in
Pine book: The Green Veil, The Red Fury, and The Black Rose in 2013.
Congratulations on finding success! What is your favorite/worst part of the writing/publishing
process?
My favorite part is when I'm deep
into the process of playing out a scene. The words begin spilling out, the
characters take over the page, and the dialogue flows. Being caught in that
creative energy is like getting taken up in a whirlwind. It's wonderful! I also
enjoy doing re-writes and edits. Improving a scene is very satisfying.
The part I like the least is
getting stuck, either in the research stage (that's where I am now, finding out
some information, but not enough. I can't force my characters into a situation
that would never happen that way
historically) or when I'm stuck in a plot point. I'm a plotter. I like having
an inkling of where I'm going even though the characters themselves take me
through the details in the moment. But if I'm stuck, it's agonizing.
What has been your most memorable experience as a published
author?
Every time a reader say they stayed
up late to finish a story because they couldn't put it down, and that the story
kept them guessing and they just had to know how it turned out. Hearing those
kinds of comments never grows old.
Aren't they great! So tell us a little about your book. What prompted this
story?
For me there's never really one
single thing that prompts a story in my imagination. Rather, it's usually a
conglomerate of ideas, events, and characters that start to swirl around until
a seed is formed. In this story, I had the combination of a northern Wisconsin
town with a checkered history, the peak of the logging industry in Wisconsin, a
national financial panic, and twin daughters just born in the previous book in
the series (The Red Fury).
On top of those specifics, I got to
thinking how girls even with much going for them can often fall prey to poor
self-image, and what a destructive force that is. That wasn't really a theme I
started with, but it certainly emerged quickly.
Then there's the whole sister thing-- best of friends and worst of enemies if things go wrong. Being twins, I
decided to play it for all it was worth with one twin's jealousy over her
sister's engagement to a man she herself was enamored with. Jesilyn tries to
steal Corianne's fiancé by pretending to be her sister. The fallout isn't what
she hoped for or expected.
Which character do you relate to the most and why?
I'm not sure who I would relate to
most in this story. I think in every character writers reveal tiny pieces of
themselves based on their experiences and understandings of life and the world.
I hope I'm not as rash as Jesilyn or as prideful as Corianne, but I certainly
have flirted with those traits at times. Maybe I'm more like Paul who
vacillates between confidence in his calling and sometimes feeling like he's
swimming upstream. Yet he desires to be faithful.
Which character did you find most difficult to craft and
why?
I don't think I've been asked that
before! In this particular story, the most difficult character was probably
Cori. She was a little too good. But once I started dealing with her pride, she
got a little more manageable to write. Hmm... What does that mean, I wonder?
In each novel, I name a character after a family member. Do
you have a writing quirk or tag/tell?
I do that too! Jesilyn is from my daughter
Jessamyn. Her middle name is Winter and I gave that to Paul for his last
name. There are other variations
of my kids' names in the book series too. My other daughter's middle name ended
up on Paul's sister Marie. Beau became the family name Beaumont. My son Cade became
the family name Kade. I gave my son Quinn's name to David Quinn, a frontiersman
in The Casket Girl.
On another note, nature, woods, and
wildlife always figure pretty prominently in my stories. There's usually some
sort of hunting or fishing or hiking going on.
How funny! I've used the middle name of my baby brother for a hero. What is your favorite book/television show? Do either of these
mediums influence your writing? How?
I enjoy Once Upon a Time, Grimm,
and Downton Abbey, but what influences me more are the old westerns like
Gunsmoke and Bonanza. I mean, who doesn't love it when those Barkely boys ride
in from The Big Valley? Great stories, wonderful characters, super dialogue.
A favorite book is harder to peg.
I've been influenced by Dickens, Bodie Thoene's Zion series, Angela Hunt's
historicals, the big creative non-fiction of Allen Eckert (The Frontiersman),
and Francine Rivers who can really touch a reader emotionally. I love some of
the old classics less for their style, theme, or language than their ability to
create aura in a scene. A more recent author I enjoy is Laura Frantz simply
because she writes about my favorite time periods with a style that I think is
similar to my own. At least we share a taste and fondness for the same bits of
history.
The Barkely boys were something! And I love Once Upon a Time and Downton Abbey! What advice would you give aspiring authors?
You're going to wonder at some
point if you'll ever get published or be good enough to get published. Hang in
there. None of us ever stops learning and refining. If we do, we're done. And
keep it in the front of your mind that whatever you do for the LORD is already
successful, even if He is the only one who ever reads your work. If you have a
gift for writing, and are making an effort to hone it, then He is pleased.
Where can readers find you?
I'd love to have them drop by my
site: http://www.naomimusch.com
Or like my page on Facebook: Naomi
Musch - Author
Catch me on Twitter: NMusch
There are a few more places I hop
around the blogosphere. If you're a new or developing writer, check out my
tutorials along with several other authors on A Novel Writing Site and if you
just enjoy all stuff Midwestern, join me and other Midwestern authors at The Barn Door.
Anything you'd like to ask readers of this post?
Sure! I read a lot, and while I enjoy a lot of stories, there are
only certain ones that become truly memorable to me. I'd like to know what kind
of stories you find most memorable. Care to share? Another question I have
pertains to something I've been wondering a lot about. Has the number of free
e-books available online prevented you from purchasing as many books as you
might have otherwise, or do you still buy books (electronic or print) as often
as before?
Blurb:
The Black Rose - Empire in Pine, Book Three
Despite the panic of 1893, logging has reached its golden
era in the growing state of Wisconsin, and twins Jesilyn and Corianne Beaumont
enjoy a comfortable life with family in the bursting Great Lake city of
Superior. But when jealousy incites Jesi to seduce Cori's fiancé, a flight and
fall from grace lands her in a boomtown brothel, where a fresh start is denied
her.
Camp preacher Paul Winter longs to
offer hope in the logging and mining towns of northern Wisconsin, but not in
the way he expects when he meets a redhead he calls Pie Girl. He's never had to
battle his own longings quite this way before.
Meanwhile, stung by Jesilyn'sbetrayal, Corianne's bitterness might separate her from a second chance at
happiness and peace. Only by Grace can both women begin new lives, and
budding love can bloom in places neither of them expects.
Bio:
Naomi and her husband Jeff live as epically as
God allows on a ramshackle farm in Wisconsin's north woods near their five
young adults and three grand-children. Amidst it, she writes stories about
imperfect people who are finding hope and faith to overcome their struggles.
Her entire Empire in Pine series, available now in eBook from Desert Breeze
Publishing, will also go to print in 2013. She invites new friends and old to
say hello and find out more about her books, passions, and other writing venues
at http://www.naomimusch.com
or look her up on Facebook (Naomi Musch - Author) and Twitter (NMusch).
Purchase Links:
Desert Breeze: http://tinyurl.com/793uv89
Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/bosd2e5
B&N: http://tinyurl.com/7tbnkep
Thank you for visiting Naomi! Remember to record your entries in the giveaway widget! You have a chance to win any one of the following ebooks from Naomi: The Green Veil, The Red Fury, The Black Rose.
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