Cozy Mysteries discussion

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Candace Davidson | 833 comments Mod
FINAL DAY JOELLE CHARBONNEAU

Up and Coming Releases

The Testing Trilogy

Graduation Day 6/17/14


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Day 1 JENNA MATTISON

The Chronicles of Liza Radley Housewife Detective series

Eye Spy 2013

The Messianic Age Trilogy

The Tree of Jesse 2013


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I am sorry I totally forgot to post the interview with last week's author. I got a promotion at work and have doubled my hours. Here is last week's author

JOELLE CHARBONNEAU'S INTERVIEW

Mini Interview with Joelle Charbonneau

1 Where do you see yourself as a writer in 10 years?
J.C. I have no idea. Hopefully, I'll still be writing. There are so many "What if" questions in my head that I'd love to explore in stories. Of course, much of where my career goes (or if it goes) is determined by the readers and whether they are still interested in reading the stories I have to tell. I'd love to explore writing midgrade fantasy and work on adult and YA thrillers as well as maybe revisit some of the mysteries series that I am currently taking a break from writing. And if the opportunity to work on film or television came up - I'd love to try that, too. I kind of want to do all things. And the good news is that when it comes to writing the possibilities are endless as long as the motivation to tell stories stays strong.
#2 If you could live anywhere regardless of the weather where and why?
J.C. I love Chicago. I was born here and have lived her most of my life. But I have to admit that I have a huge fondness for the energy of New York City. I'd love to have a chance to live there, even if it is only for a short while. Since so much of publishing and live theater is house in that city - I think it would be a perfect fit.
#3 What genres do you like to read when you are not writing?
J.C. I read EVERYTHING! I love it all. Historical fiction is a huge favorite as are thrillers, mysteries, science fiction, and fantasy. I'm a little pickier with my non-fiction, but there are lots of wonderful memoirs out there that pull me in and keep me turning the pages. Needless to say, I probably need to put an addition on the house just to have enough room for all my books.
#4 Do you do book signings if no do you have plans to, when and where?
J.C. Book signings are one of the best things about being an author. I love doing them and I'm lucky that I often have the opportunity to meet readers face to face at stores, libraries and during school visits. The best way to keep track of where I'm signing by checking the events section of my website or on my author Facebook page. With my young adult books, I am often touring when a new book comes out, but I don't have the details for each tour until about a month before tour begins. The good news is that my publisher is always interested in hearing where readers are interested in having me visit. So feel free to let me know where you think I should come on tour and I'll make sure they know about it.
#5 Do you “base” any of your fictional characters in your books from people in your personal life?
J.C. I'd love to say no and really I don't intend to base fictional characters off of anyone real. However, that being said I often look back at characters and notice similarities to the people I associate with. Case in point - the character of Cia Vale in The Testing trilogy is 5' 2" and has long dark hair - just like one of my students...the same student who happened to inspire the series with her college admittance panic attack. I didn't even notice that was the case until the series was written. I think all authors draw from their experiences to make characters that feel three dimensional. We just can't help it!
#6 What are you working on now?
J.C. I'm currently halfway into writing a young adult (at least they tell me it is young adult) thriller called N.E.E.D. that will be published in Fall of 2015. I think it might be the darkest and creepiest mystery/thriller I've written, but I could be wrong. Only time will tell!
#7 Do you have any talents besides being a great writer?
J.C. Oh - thank you for such a lovely compliment. Um...I'm not sure how great I am as a writer, but I love doing it. I'd like to think I am a good voice teacher. My students are such an amazing part of my life and I feel blessed to be able to work with them. I'm guessing that they would tell you I'm a good singer and actress. I do have two degrees in music (and theater) performance, so I can sing. How well...well that's subjective so you'd have to hear me to be able to tell what you think. But the one thing I am certain of - I make a mean gingerbread cookie! If you're ever in the Chicagoland area during the holidays look me up and I'll share.


message 404: by Candace (new)

Candace Davidson | 833 comments Mod
Day 2 JENNA MATTISON

www.jennamattison.com


message 405: by Candace (new)

Candace Davidson | 833 comments Mod
Day 2 JENNA MATTISON

Here is the interview with this week's author, I didn't forget this time! :)

Mini Interview with Jenna Mattison

#1 Where do you see yourself as a writer in 10 years?
J.M. I'm a screenwriter & a novelist...so in 10 years I'll probably have made a bunch more movies and a bunch more books. I'll just see where this ride takes me. It hasn't let me down yet.

#2 If you could live anywhere regardless of the weather, where and why?
J.M. New Zealand. Its so natural there. Real food not chemical stuff. Clean air. Gorgeous terrain. And the people still speak English.
#3 What genres do you like to read when you are not writing?
J.M. Just like my writing my reading tastes are all over the map. Nick Hornby, Diana Gabaldon, Chuck Palaniuk, Nora Roberts...I just love books. I devour them. I always have.

#4 Do you do book signings, if no do you have plans to, when and where?
J.M. I plan to do some soon...I believe something is being set up at Barnes & Noble and an amazing little indie bookstore called The Last Bookstore in downtown LA.

#5 Do you" base" any of your fictional characters in your books from people in your personal life?
J.M. No. But I do pull characteristics from friends, strangers...the gas station attendant....a waitress etc.
#6 What are working on now?
J.M. Book 3 of the Eye Spy Chronicles Of Liza Radley Housewife Detective series, it's called Glory Daze. I love writing these characters.

#7 Do you have any talents other than being a great writer?
J.M. I hope so! But maybe not...I'm a workaholic. I do like eating toffee. By the pound full. Does that count as a talent?


message 406: by Christina (new)

Christina | 247 comments Congrats on the promotion!


message 407: by Candace (new)

Candace Davidson | 833 comments Mod
Thanx much, Christina!


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Candace Davidson | 833 comments Mod
Day 3 JENNA MATTISON

The Chronicles of Liza Radley Housewife Detective series


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Day 4 JENNA MATTISON

Eye Spy 2013
Dog Eat Dog 2013

The Tree of Jesse 2013


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Day 5 JENNA MATTISON

Liza Radley is a housewife who has never had a real job. Her life takes her into an Eye Spy store to see if her husband's cheating on her. Using smarts she didn't think she has, she gets a hard lesson in life.


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Candace Davidson | 833 comments Mod
Day 6 JENNA MATTISON

The Liza Radley series is LOL! I was in stitches with each turn of the page.


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FINAL DAY JENNA MATTISON
(for some reason when I posted this yesterday it didn't show)

Up and Coming Releases:
She is currently working in the Liza Radley #3 book!


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DAY 1 VICKIE PETTEE

Fleur deKey 2014
A French Quarter Mystery
Not a Snowball's Chance 2014
A Phenomena series


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Day 2 VICKIE PETTEE

www.vickiepette.com


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Day 3 VICKIE PETTEE

A French Quarter Mystery series

The Phenomena series


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Day 4 VICKIE PETTEE

Fleur deKey

Not a Snowball's Chance


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Day 5 VICKIE PETTEE

A French Quarter Mystery series

Echo touches objects and people and has visions. Though the visions are not always clear. Her and her team run an organization called the Insight Foresight Benevolent Foundation.


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Day 6 VICKIE PETTEE

Her French Quarter series has good mystery, suspense and characters.


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Final Day Vickie Pettee

Her most recent release is:

Not a Snowball's chance 2014


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Final Day Vickie Pettee

Her most recent release is:

Not a Snowball's chance 2014


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Day 1 MICHELE SCOTT

The Nikki Sands Mysteries
Murder Uncorked 2005

Fairmont Riding Academy series
Silent Harmony 2013

Horse Lover's Mystery series
Saddled with Trouble 2006

As AK Alexander
Daddy's Home 2010


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Day 2 MICHELE SCOTT

www.michelescott.com


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Day 3 MICHELE SCOTT

Nikki Sands series
Fairmont Riding Academy series
Horse Lovers series


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Day 4 MICHELE SCOTT

Nikki Sands series
Murder Uncorked 2005
Murder by the Glass 2006
Silenced by Syrah 2007
A Vintage Murder 2008
Corked by Cabernet 2009
A Toast to Murder 2010
A Perfectly Purloined Pinot 2012
A Killer Margarita 2013

Fairmont Riding Academy series
Silent Harmony 2013
Dark Harmony 2014

Horse Lovers series
Saddled with Trouble 2006
Death Rein In 2007
Tacked to Death 2008

Non series
Dog Gone Dog 2011
Happy Hour 2011

As AK Alexander
Daddy's Home 2010
Mommy May I 2011
Covert Reich 2011
The Cartel 2011
Blood and Roses 2013


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Candace Davidson | 833 comments Mod
Day 5 MICHELE SCOTT

Nikki Sands series

Nikki Sands is an aspiring actress. She lands a job as a manger n Napa Valley. While trying to run a vineyard she also helps solve murders.


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Candace Davidson | 833 comments Mod
Day 6 MICHELE SCOTT

The Nikki Sands series is very funny! If the rest of her books are like this series, I know you'll enjoy them. I look forward to reading more of her books!


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Final Day MICHELE SCOTT

She is currently working on her next books. At this time I couldn't find anymore info.


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Day 1 ANNA LOAN WILSEY

Hattie Davish Mystery series

A Lack of Temperance


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Please enjoy this interview with Anna Loan Wilsey

Mini Interview with Anna Loan Wilsey

#1 Where do you see yourself as a writer in 10 years?
A.W. I see myself still writing cozies, maybe with a new series set in England since I’m such an anglophile, in addition to more Hattie Davish adventures. I see myself improving in my craft, becoming more efficient in the process and the research and writing full-time. Sounds pretty good!

#2 If you could live anywhere regardless of the weather, where and why?
A.W. That’s a difficult one for me since I love to travel and have visited some amazing places I could imagine living. Ultimately, I think I would like to live on or near the ocean on the East Coast of the US (New England, Virginia). It would be close to my family, have all the elements of nature I love nearby: ocean, mountains, parks, hiking trails, as well as having the historical roots I can’t live without.

#3 What genres do you like to read when you are not writing?
A.W. I like cozy/traditional mysteries (which is why I write them), everything from Agatha Christie to “Murder She Wrote.” I also like fantasy, having grown up on J.R.R. Tolkien (and have even considered writing one myself). I love the classic British romance novels too, though I’m not sure if they are considered genre fiction, but Elizabeth Gaskell, Jane Austen, the Bronte Sisters are all on my shelf!

#4 Do you do book signings, if no do you have plans to, when and where?
A.W. Yes, I love to do book signings. It’s so much fun meeting readers in person. As I have to set them up myself, I do most of them locally (Iowa). However I have also traveled to more faraway places when specifically invited, including the location of a novel (Eureka Springs/Galena/Newport). I’ve had book signings at bookstores, like Barnes & Noble, at libraries, book clubs, women’s clubs as well as at book festivals like Books in Bloom in Eureka Springs, AR or the Annual Ankeny Author’s Fair (which I just did last week) as well as had book launches, complete with Victorian tea cakes and a steam trunk, in my hometown in upstate New York.

#5 Do you" base" any of your fictional characters in your books from people in your personal life?
A.W. No, but I do “borrow” characteristics from people I know especially if someone has a fun quirky habit or trait. For example, one of my characters in Anything But Civil can’t leave the house without having a drink of water. I know someone very well who does this but who is otherwise nothing like my fictional character. However, I have definitely based some of my fictional characters on real historical figures. Mrs. Edwina Trevelyan, the saloon-smashing temperance leader in A Lack of Temperance was inspired by Carrie A. Nation and Mrs. Charlotte Mayhew, the rich socialite in A Sense of Entitlement, was inspired by Alva Vanderbilt Belmont, a true Newport icon.

#6 What are working on now?
A.W. I am currently working on Hattie Davish’s next adventure, yet untitled book 4 in the series. It is set in Hattie’s hometown of St. Joseph, MO. It differs slightly from the first three in that she isn’t working on a particular assignment but goes home for a funeral. Unfortunately the deceased in the coffin is not who she expected to see!

A.W. #7 Do you have any talents other than being a great writer?
Wow, thanks for the compliment! I do hope readers enjoy my books. As to other talents, I’m a pretty good assemble singer (sang Mozart’s Requiem at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City with my college choir) though I’d never make it on to American Idol. I’ve had jobs training seals, sea lions and monkeys but my dog still jumps up on strangers! I also have to say I bake a pretty darn good loaf of bread (old-school style, of course).


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Candace Davidson | 833 comments Mod
Day 3 ANNA LOAN WILSEY

The Hattie Davish series


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Day 4 ANNA LOAN WILSEY

A Lack of Temperance 2012
Anything but Civil 2012


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Day 5 ANNA LOAN WILSEY

This is a historical mystery. This takes place in the late 1800's. Hattie Davish is a traveling secretary who stumbles across murders and helps solve them.


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Day 6 ANNA LOAN WILSEY

Reading her series was a nice change of pace. If you are interested or think you might be in a historical cozy, try one of her books!


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Final Day ANNA LOAN WILSEY

Up and Coming Releases

A Sense of Entitlement 6-24-14


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Day 2 EDITH MAXWELL

www.edithmaxwell.com


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Day 3 EDITH MAXWELL

Local Food Mystery series
Speaking of Mystery series

** I forgot to mention two of her books Monday.
As Tace Baker she writes a Speaking Of series. "Speaking of Murder" 2012
Non series
Riptide 2004


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Day 3 EDITH MAXWELL

Local Food Mystery series
Speaking of Mystery series

** I forgot to mention two of her books Monday.
As Tace Baker she writes a Speaking Of series. "Speaking of Murder" 2012
Non series
Riptide 2004


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Day 4 EDITH MAXWELL

A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die 2013
Til Dirt Do Us Part 2014

Riptide 2004
Thin Ice 2011
Fish Nets 2013

Speaking of Murder 2012


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Mini Interview with Edith Maxwell

#1 Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
E.M I expect to be an award-winning NYT bestselling author of three or four mystery series, one of them an historical. Or at least I hope so. I'm a full-time fiction writer now, and love making this dream work.
#2 If you could live anywhere regardless of the weather, where and why?
E.M. I really love where I live, in the northeastern corner of Massachusetts. Spring and fall are gorgeous, summer is lush, and cross-country skiing on fresh snow can't be beat. That said, I am a fourth-generation Californian and I still miss the west, even though I have now lived longer in Massachusetts than I did in California. I'd love to have a second home in one of the wine regions within an hour's drive of the Pacific.
#3 What genres do you like to read when you are not writing?
E.M. I pretty much only read traditional and cozy mysteries whether I'm writing or not. And the New Yorker. And two newspapers a day, yes, on actual paper.
#4 Do you do book signings, if no do you have plans to, when and where?
E.M. I'm a signing slut: I'll go anywhere I'm invited (if I can afford the ticket). I just got back from three author events in the San Francisco area, and have a bunch booked in New England in the next few months. See the Events tab over at www.edithmaxwell.com for a list. I enjoy attending book club meetings, too, and am willing to Skype in if I can't get there in person.
#5 Do you “base” any of your fictional characters in your books from people in your personal life?
E.M. I do my best to invent characters, because if I use a real person, the character might not have the freedom to do what he or she wants or needs to in the book. However, my sweet mom died two years ago and didn't get to read any of my books, so I have broken my own rule and added her as a secondary character in Farmed and Dangerous, my third Local Foods mystery (out in May, 2015). She's the new girlfriend of my protagonist's great uncle, although Mommy never had a glass of wine and never quite caught onto computers, unlike the Marilyn in the book.
#6 What are you working on now?
E.M. I am polishing Farmed and Dangerous before sending it off to my editor at Kensington Publishing at the end of April. Then I'll get back to Breaking the Silence, an historical mystery set in my town 1888, with Quaker midwife Rose Carroll and intrigue among the mill workers and in the carriage industry. That book is about half written. I'm also working on a proposal for a country store series. 'Til Dirt Do Us Part releases on May 27, and my second Quaker Linguistics professor book, Bluffing is Murder, releases next November from Barking Rain Press (under my pen name Tace Baker).
#7 Do you have any talents other than being a great writers?
E.M. I'm a very good organic gardener and an amateur chef. I can speak several languages, but don't ask me to use my black belt in karate from 1983!
Best,
Edith


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Candace Davidson | 833 comments Mod
Day 5 EDITH MAXWELL

Cameron Flaherty is an organic farmer living in Massachusetts. She solves murders while tending to her gardens.


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Day 6 EDITH MAXWELL

If you like gardening or like to reading about gardening mysteries, take a look at her books!


message 443: by Jeanie (new)

Jeanie Jackson I don't always keep up, but I do always catch up. I want to thank you for doing all the work you do to bring these authors to us. Although I am a cozy reader, many of them are new to me.


message 444: by Candace (new)

Candace Davidson | 833 comments Mod
You are welcome, Jeanie!


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Candace Davidson | 833 comments Mod
Final day EDITH MAXWELL

Up and Coming Releases

Bluffing is Murder 11/2015
Farmed and Dangerous TBA
Breaking the Silence TBA


message 446: by Candace (new)

Candace Davidson | 833 comments Mod
Part 1 of Interview (for some reason this is limited to how many characters)

Mini Interview with Natalie Roberts

#1 Where do you see yourself as a writer in 10 years?
N.R. Well, I really enjoyed writing the Jenny T. Partridge Dance Mystery series so I would like to be able to write humorous novels like Janet Evanovich does. I enjoy the lightheartedness, and the comedy. To write dark suspense, as I have done for St. Martin’s since 2004, I must go to the dark place and stay there for months. It used to be easier, but now I cry over puppy videos, and how mean people are on Goodreads, so the dark place is not my friend so much. You can’t come out of that so easily. You have to feel your characters to make them real, and sometimes in dark suspense my characters are going through so much that I find myself crying as I write their stories. I have tried guiding a story away from that, and I have learned that the story is already written, because it comes to me. Even when I have done an outline. The characters talk and if you don’t listen, the book stops. So, yeah, let’s get Jenny on the NYT Bestselling list and then I can just play with the humor. The older I get, the worse my night vision gets. I’m getting a little fearsome of the dark. Hurry, before I go night blind! Save Natalie from the dark place. And between it and aging, my brain is not following along like it should. I get older and it goes the other direction! My editor for the Jenny novels once said to me, “Well, I’m not sure we want to move the series likes that, but you never follow your outlines anyway, so I’m not worried about it.” Truth. And my St. Martin’s editor sent me a note that said, “Really, Natalie?” when I sent in a manuscript and wrote “blah blah blah more talking here” and forget to put the dialogue in before I sent it back. Mortifying. Perhaps there is no saving Natalie.


#2 If you could live anywhere regardless of the weather, where and why?
N.R. I love Hawaii, but am concerned about the radiation poisoning the waters coming from Japan. I am very much an environmentalist and very anti-Nuclear anything. If there is a devil, he comes in the form of nuclear power and nuclear bombs. Nothing about it is safe. Of course, I feel the same way about algebra, which might be why I am not a leading expert in this area. I would probably pick the Cayman Islands or Tahiti. I love tropical climates and the ocean (which is one of the reasons I am so disturbed about the radiation poisoning the Pacific Ocean). I think I should have been a mermaid. I don’t have good balance, due to some health issues, but throw me in the water and I’ll swim or snorkel or float until they drag me out and wring me dry.
I think Alaska is fascinating, but I only like to watch it on television, when I’m safe and warm. I’m not a fan of snow or being cold, which is why I live in Southern Utah. I certainly grew up with it, raised just outside Salt Lake City. The Jenny books are actually set in Ogden and my hometown is closer to Ogden than it is Salt Lake City. But it’s all cold in the winter. I personally feel that it should stop snowing the day after Christmas and be spring. So far, I have been ineffective in getting this to happen. So it was just easier to move to the desert. We are closer to Las Vegas, now, then we are to Salt Lake, and live just 20 miles outside Zion National Park. That works for me.


#3 What genres do you like to read when you are not writing?
N.R. I enjoy suspense, dark suspense, some romantic suspense (particular authors), literary fiction, well-written women’s fiction, and some YA fiction, particularly dystopian. I enjoyed Divergent, but haven’t had the chance to read the other two. I didn’t care for Twilight, and by the second book was ready to push Bella off the cliff for Jacob, so she would quit whining and the story would move along. I know, I know, I’m impatient. I loved The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (no relation, unfortunately. I’m the poor writer). I’m not really a fan of science fiction, although I put a sample of my writing into one of those online, very scientific, evaluators (yeah, right) and it said I write like Isaac Asimov. A friend who IS a science fiction fan told me that Asimov was known to have three or four typewriters set up with different stories going, so now I’m wondering how the online quiz knew that. I am currently working on three different books, which can be confusing, especially since one of them is written under another name. And I spend far too much time worrying about the stupid quiz, and how it knew, and it’s eating into my writing time. Do you suppose the NSA… Nah. Particular authors: I have read everything John Irving, JD Salinger, and Lisa Gardner ever wrote. Interesting trio, isn’t it? I’ve also read everything I’ve ever written, about 42 times per book, and sometimes I scare myself. By the time the book comes out I never want to see it again. It takes me about a year to open one up, and I only do it if someone makes me.


#4 Do you do book signings, if no do you have plans to, when and where?
N.R. I have in the past, but have found that the opportunities now are very slim, and most often, unless you are on the New York Times list, you can’t even get bookstores to schedule you. Barnes and Noble started offering all their author signing slots to nationally-touring authors, and despite the fact I’m a Utah author who is New York-published, by legacy publishers, the local chains won’t schedule me for a signing. So, until I have a new book coming out, I’m not worrying about it. The advent of e-publishing, and Amazon creating their own imprints has changed the publishing game so incredibly much that it’s hard to even say what will happen in the next half hour, let alone the next year. So many books are being published it’s overwhelming. Literary agents used to take on clients rarely, and only when they really believed in their writing. Now they are circling Amazon like buzzards, but instead of waiting for books to die a lonely death, they are fighting it out over the few indie books that rise to the top. I know many NY Times bestselling authors who are choosing to indie publish and a few who even walked away from their very lucrative contracts. For the most part, though, only a few books rise to the top, and the rest languish unread and in crowded quarters. The indie publishing success stories are established authors with a fan base, and a few books that sell through word of mouth. And it’s not the author’s mouth that is talking about them. Blatant self-promotion has become a huge problem on the Internet, and some authors are so obnoxious people just shut down. Other authors try to trade links with other authors. That’s preaching to the choir, ladies and gentlemen. I told one author that, when he requested I like his page, and he told me I would regret it, because he is doing big things and thinking outside the box. I think his box said “tinfoil” on it, because it is pretty rude to say that to someone who politely declines your request.
Why would I want my fans and readers to think I am supporting something I’ve never read? Everybody is thinking outside the box. That’s why we got published. And I will certainly never read his work now. But of course I think this goes both ways. I think authors need to be approachable and kind, especially to newer authors. I have volunteered my skills to a few that are very kind and quite obviously need some help and guidance. They return the favor by promoting my books. So there’s my rant for the day. Oh, and also, with the advent of e-books the sales of print books are dwindling. Even big publishers are opting for e-publishing first, testing the waters, before they do an expensive print run. This is a technology they should have been using for years. But e-book signing is in its infancy. I honestly think we are moving to a future where you only have copies of your most favorite books, and the rest will be read electronically. I do not believe that paper books will disappear. There truly is something about holding a real book in your hands, and when I love the writing, I want to stroke the pages. That really raises havoc on a touch-screen Kindle, let me tell you. So, there are definitely still books that I want a real, physical copy of, but the rest I need in Kindle.


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Part 2 of interview

#5 Do you" base" any of your fictional characters in your books from people in your personal life?
N.R. Um… no! No, never! Why would I do something like that? Okay, fine, of course I do. Look out. Don’t make me mad or you might end up a dead character in my book. If any of you have watched the show Dance Moms, you will know what I mean when I say psycho dance moms. But the dance teachers are sometimes a little loony, too. I put my daughter through dance training working for studios, running their Websites and email notification programs. I was the first line of defense. I could teach the Secret Service methods for keeping the crazies out. No, not really. If a mom is crazy, she will somehow get her daughter to any studio where she wants her to be. I’ve heard of mothers driving their child to studios two hours away four times a week. That is insane. Haven’t they heard of carpools? Heh. We did end up doing some driving in car pools, because the ballet program was 45 minutes away. But the teachers do not bend to the psycho moms, the best dancers do rise to the top, so lots of stalking and favoritism goes on. Moms get in fights at the dance competitions. One mom attacked a dance teacher and studio owner at a competition, just like in the show! And the teacher was like a smallish version of Abby Lee Miller, so I kinda get why it happened. We were there for far too long, and they manipulate you to keep you when there is no competition or quality studios around. Luckily, one of the best studios opened up in our area and we moved away from the screaming whacko teacher, quietly, only to find most of the psycho dance moms moved with us. Especially after they found out we moved. I wanted to tell them “No, no, go back to the other studio. You will be happy there. Now your daughter will be on the front row! My daughter will be on the back row here. Everybody’s good. It will be terrible, terrible.” (Placement is very important to psycho dance moms). And they all think it’s so important for them to be crazy about their kid and dance, but they will find out that it wasn’t worth all the time, money, and sanity they lost doing it, because when the dancer graduates and go to college they will try out for the dance team and make it. And hate it. And discover they danced with other girls far too long and they just want to take English classes, or go to law school. And there are very few careers in professional dance, unless they involve a pole and pasties. Two girls from my daughter’s dance team made the 5A High School Drill Team. My daughter and one other girl. They were the same two girls, and the only two despite how many tried out, who made a college dance team. And now the other girl is married and my daughter is aiming for law school. Neither one is currently dancing. People have asked if my daughter is trying out for So You Think You Can Dance. The answer is no. I’m sure she thought about, for maybe ten seconds, but there is so much talent out there that there is a whole tier of dancers who are better than the girls and guys who think they are the best. I think it’s great to let a child follow their dreams, and make opportunities available to them, but they have to be the one who wants it, and again, both parent and dancer need to stay grounded. Grades should not suffer because of it, and the parent needs to be realistic with the child. It keeps them out of trouble, because in order to remain on the teams they have to have the grades and not get involved in anything that will attach a bad name to the team. Plus they barely have time to do their homework, so smoking crack is not high on their agendas. And my daughter had some wonderful experiences in dance like the opportunity to dance with Ballet West in The Nutcracker, as a party girl, and Odyssey Dance in some of their programs, but she also wanted to be involved in school. She cheered in Junior High, and made the drill team at the local high school as a sophomore, which meant cutting back hours at the dance studio. Dance teachers do not like this. Drill instructors do not like this. It’s like playing tug-o-war with your child as the rope. So you have to make choices and the child has to make choices. (Drill is HUGE in Utah. Those moms are just as crazy. But if I told you the stories it would turn into a book. Hmmmm.) I would tell any mom whose child wants to dance, or do any sport competitively, to remember these three things.
1. It is your child who is dancing, not you, therefore you need to make sure your child wants to be dancing, and wants to take all those classes instead of doing things with friends or trying other hobbies.
2. If your child dances pre-professionally or on a team, you don’t get to pick the costume, and you don’t get to fight with the Holder of the Costumes (HoTC) over which size fits your daughter best and try to convince said HotC that you need to take said costume now, to ensure that your daughter gets the best costume. And please don’t send your child into the bathroom to try it on three times to convince said HoTC when she is trying to lock up the studio and go home. Said HotCs would rather face your wrath than the widely-known wrath of the studio director. And you need a hobby. Just saying.
3. Be realistic. Love your child. Teach them to follow through, but recognize when enough is enough. Dancing through injuries can cause lifetime problems. And most importantly, bullying can come in many shapes and forms, including that of a dance teacher to a student, and what Abby Lee Miller does on television IS bullying. It is your job, as a parent, to pull your child out of that environment.



#6 What are working on now?
N.R. Did I mention the Asimov quiz? I am currently ghost-writing a book. I have a partial out with a publisher, via my agent. I have a book sitting at St. Martin’s. I am writing a new adult novel, and I am writing a partial and proposal for another Jenny book! We’ll see what happens.

#7 Do you have any talents other than being a great writer?
N.R. Oh, nice words. Thank you. I don’t know if this is a talent, but I love graphic design so I decided I needed my bachelor’s degree in it. Now I am going to college again when I should be settling down with the grandbabies. At my age! I know, crazy stuff. I actually design covers for real people’s books. Somehow I passed college algebra and statistics with an A, and am scheduled to graduate in October! Meanwhile, I am writing three books. It’s an interesting life. I also design other graphic design designing stuff. I bet I could find another way to use the word design. See? I did it.

Seriously, thank you for asking me to do this. It was fun, and everybody chant Jenny…Jenny…Jenny. Everybody needs a little humor in their life


message 448: by Candace (new)

Candace Davidson | 833 comments Mod
Day 2 NATALIE M ROBERTS

www.nataliercollins.com


message 449: by Candace (new)

Candace Davidson | 833 comments Mod
Day 4 Natalie M Roberts

Tutu Deadly 2007
Tapped Out 2007
Pointe and Shoot 2008

Twisted Sister 2007

As Natalie R Collins
Wives and Sisters 2007
Behind Closed Doors 2007
The Ties that Bind 2012
Sister Wife 2010
Killer Instincts 2010
Latter Day Secrets 2012
Lost Innocent 2013


message 450: by Candace (new)

Candace Davidson | 833 comments Mod
Last day NATALIE M ROBERTS

Up and Coming Releases

She is ghost writing a book, a new adult book and there is a new proposal for another Jenny T Partridge book.


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