Category Archives: interviews

An Interview with Mac Black

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007 (2) Today I am proud to welcome Author Mac Black to Readful Things. If you have not had the pleasure of meeting him yet, here is your chance. Mac truly is an amazing author and has the best sense of humour of anyone I know. Please welcome him and don’t forget to check out his books!
1. When did you first get the idea that you were going to be a writer?
It certainly was not planned in any way nor was it ever a lifelong ambition. About three years ago it sneaked up on me when I bought a new PC. Now, I might as well admit it. I am at a certain age, an age that permits me to look back with wisdom. Yes, Ionia, I am mature (though ‘almost fossilised’ my family think is much more appropriate!) I was given a book on Genealogy and a suggestion, by my elder daughter, that I should read the book and use the internet to create a family tree, and stay out of trouble. So, I did. Now, don’t we all secretly hope that we’ll stumble on skeletons in the family cupboard? And did I? Yes …but that’s another story. Meantime daughter number two had a special birthday coming up. For a present: “Print the family tree …on a tablecloth, please …a plastic one!” (She has three small boys!) With no idea how to do that, I came up with an alternative – I would write a little book about the family, and I did. A tad too creative with my imagination I was. To be honest, this became my first work of fiction, but don’t tell the family; and the book’s title? ‘This is NOT a plastic tablecloth.’ Well… I thought it was clever!

Who or what inspired you to come up with the character Derek? Can you tell us a bit about the books he is featured in?
I found I’d actually enjoyed my first writing experience, and was curious about whether I was capable of doing something more but, this time, non-factual and original. Several attempts at creating a serious story were failures – even I was unimpressed. What about humour? Never in my life have I been able to tell a joke properly but I was involved a while ago in amateur theatre in mainly comedy roles, so the challenge I set myself was to attempt humorous fiction. The nickname for a character occurred first, ‘Sweaty’, not the most glamorous name. I then had to decide why he would be called that. The surname created for him was ‘Toozlethwaite’ and the way ‘Thwaity’ is pronounced by lisping youngsters gave me a reason to be proud of ‘Sweaty’, and so I was started. Would he be a hero; or something else? I chose something else, and because humour usually develops from mishap, I used some fairly basic run-of-the-mill activities as the plot but, in doing so, I have made a poor guy called Derek Toozlethwaite suffer severely …in four stories. Occasionally I feel guilty about that…

How did you choose which way you were going to publish?


When I began I knew little about the business of either publishing or self-publishing. Trying to find someone to become interested in what I’d written would be a real challenge and seemed unlikely to be successful, knowing that some people try for years. So, I was grateful then and still am, when the eighth publisher I contacted smiled, and offered to publish my books without charge, and being a Scotsman… This small independent organisation has taken a chance with me, UP Publications Ltd. and they do not have a large PR system like the larger publishers. It is a small team with the industrious multi-talented manager arranging all the formalities of my publication needs, and an excellent editor to keep me on the straight and narrow, and, a nice one, artwork able to be done in-house. Although I have an editor I do a great deal of the editing myself, and nowadays actually enjoy that part almost as much as the writing.

 Would you have done anything different now that you are able to look back on your publishing journey?
I doubt it. So far, it has been a very interesting and enjoyable experience for me, and I’ve learned a lot along the way but I still lack confidence in my ability to tackle self-publishing. I appreciate the help of experts and prefer to rely on them. In other words, to use a good Scottish term – I am a big feartie! (A coward, for those that don’t know the term…) and sadly my technical expertise is stretched at just producing the words on the computer. ‘Spell-check’ and I have become very good friends.

What is the name of your work in progress and what is it about?
The fourth ‘Derek’ story is completed and is with my editor just now, ‘Derek’s Good Relations’, waiting a publication date. I am giving this established character a rest for the moment, he deserves it, and I am now working on a final edit of ‘Lofty Issues’, a story that does not involve Derek. This one is a tragicomic tale of a Glasgow family and how they stumble on some family secrets, thanks to a ‘Treasure Hunt’ created by a dead Granny, and involves a gun, diamonds and bagpipes, and …skeletons are discovered in this family’s cupboard. Now, how is that for starters?

Who are some of your favourite authors?
Selecting a book for me can be influenced by the cover or the ambiguity of the title and does not have to be by a well-known author, and I am rarely disappointed. However authors such as Ian Rankin, Henning Mankell, Jo Nesbo, Alan Bennett, and Donna Leon give me many hours of pleasure. I enjoy autobiographies too, but not those I suspect to be written by ghost writers for celebrities. A Scottish author of long ago, called Neil Munro, wrote short stories of gentle humour about the crew of a Clyde puffer vessel, and every so often it is nice to re-read these; written in the days when books were created the hard way by authors who had to use pen and ink…

Any advice you can give to others looking to publish?


Try to remain optimistic. The world is a big place and there are lots of people out there who read, so surely someone will take a liking to your masterpiece. I think that luck can play a big part in how you succeed and sometimes you have to create your own. Although I still prefer to read a story on paper, rather than on an e-book, the marketplace nowadays gives plenty of scope (to those who are more technically skilled and braver than I) and gives you the chance to do your own thing, and help you achieve fame, electronically.

How important do you see reviews as being and why?
It gives feedback. It can be difficult to know what readers in general think of your work. How often are readers inclined to comment back to an author? Not often, I’d say, and friends, I suspect, try to be kind and tell you what you hope to hear. Reading what an independent reviewer says about your writing is a measure; a good review and it is a boost to your morale; a bad one, though disappointing, might send you in a better direction, though you could perhaps ignore it. A review might also influence the public to go beyond the book title. That would help and, as writers, don’t our egos require others to read our works and lavish us with praise? (Sorry, got carried away – wishful thinking!)

What has been the most difficult part of your writing journey?
Creating answers for interviews? No… Quite simply, it has been making the world aware that my books exist. Whether the books are well written or not, unfortunately the chances of someone stumbling on them in the web pages of Amazon, or Waterstone’s, or WH Smith’s, or Barnes and Noble, etc. are slight. So how can it be done? Newspaper articles are one way, but another is to find a friendly blogger who might take pity, or better still, one who likes the books and is willing to encourage others? Know anyone you could recommend, Ionia…?

Where can we find your books and personal website?
My website: www.macblack.info/Books/
My publisher’s website: www.uppublications.ltd.uk/ and books can be purchased there.
I can also be contacted at macblack.author@gmail.com.
Each book is available on line as paperback from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Waterstone’s, and WH Smith’s, etc. (and on Kindle from Amazon).
And I might as well give you the book titles too. ‘Please…Call me Derek’; ‘Derek’s in Trouble’; ‘Derek’s Revenge’. As has been suggested, that although each story has been written as a self contained tale, to read them in sequence makes you more familiar with Derek’s disturbingly developing life. You might even get to like him…

Any final thoughts?
As has been suggested many times before by those wiser than me, and even older: Remain optimistic; keep plugging away even though you may seem to be getting nowhere; but most importantly – don’t give up the day job!

Conversation and Tea with J.S. Riddle

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Today I have the pleasure of sitting down with the lovely and talented author J.S. Riddle. She has truly become one of my very favourite people and I am excited to share her thoughts with all of you. Please welcome her to Readful Things.
Tell us a bit about your past and how you came to be an author

My past was supposed to be kept under lock and key!!! How’d you get that info? ;) Seriously though, I was a unique child to say the least. I was born in Oxford, UK and moved around a lot; military family. That gave me a chance to really become and individual in its own right. It was the one part that made me….well me. No matter where I went, tales would spin in the brain and eventually spit out into some for or another. I was going through junior high albums and realized I had some great friends that showed their support for the writing early on. Apparently through some of the other things I was wild,crazy,fun,pretty,and cool to hang out with. GO ME!!!! The question is, what happened? lol In high school I had even better support and the skills kept going. I wasn’t a fan of actual English class. I loved the literature part, but when it came to essay’s? I bombed. Why did I bomb? Because I refused to write in the style they were telling me. It was BORING. I wanted to write the way I knew best. The teacher loved it, but had to give me bad grades. The best thing was that she found out I wrote poetry (can’t do it anymore) so she would give me extra credit for each poem I submitted which gave me passing grades. I thank a certain nameless person that pushed me through close to the end; before the editing part of course. Nobody wanted to be around for that hair pulling event(s).

 

What has been the hardest part of learning this industry and what is the most important thing you have learned so far?

The hardest part I have learned? It’s a tough world out there, even in traditional publishing. The traditional route the take you, give you a small advance, an editor, a cover, high prices and a low percentage. They may promote and market some, but the author STILL has to do the work. But maybe it would be worth it to have some of those other things done for you. As an Independent Author I have learned it is even harder, but the payout is higher emotionally and physically. It is your baby and it’s your decision on what to do with it. Technology now seems to blow though; I can’t keep up. I can’t keep up with the ones who have to have tech right in their face every moment of the day and if you’re not there in front of them they forget quite easily. Even harder is being in their face too much because you become that mosquito in the room they want to squish, so there is a happy medium somewhere.

 

Tell us about your book(s) and where we can find them.

I will be honest, there is only one book available right now, but people are loving it because it bring in the “what if” scenerio and bypasses the plots of taking over the world and hiding in the shadows. By chapter two, boom, humans are cattle and slaves, continue from there. This is more about the main character, Tessa and her journey from her tough life as a human, to an insecure young-blooded vampling, to a strong and very justice/vengeful/true vampire style Queen and having to do it alone. She has so much she has to do that it comes at her from all directions. Human rebels she has a very strong connection with, whether she likes it or not. She also has to deal with her maker/King’s past, the whole time keeping the facade up she is capable of holding the title of Queen in her clan. Anyway…..I got distracted. Not the sparkly kind because they won’t even make it into the book, death by pen and helpless young girls are not anywhere to be found.

Rise of a Queen, BOOK I of The Vampire Realm Series. I’m not a one book girl, and I’m completely excited where this adventure is going as I fit things together. I wake up in the middle of the night just to write something down. It’s a great tale I can’t wait to tell.

My book can easily be found at http://www.jsriddle.com for all the links, even to my blog, twitter, and FB

Or Amazon for e-book and paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Queen-Vampire-Realm-ebook/dp/B00BG9KW6G

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rise-of-a-queen-js-riddle/1114675662?ean=2940044325074

Sony:

Kobo:http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Rise-of-a-Queen/book-bXRpziiknUaUY4S0SeowCQ/page1.html?s=pWNfkWJMiUSdkpKlYmVvVA&r=1

Diesel:http://www.dieselbookstore.com/ebook/9781301069859

and even Smashwords:https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/285964

and in the iStore just search for my name or title I should be there. Much harder for me to navigate because I’m not tech savvy anymore

 

Have you always been a reader as well as a writer? If so, what are some of your favourite authors/books?

I’ve been reading the moment a book was set in my hands. I remember beaming so proud when I was informed I read 3 grade levels ahead of me. It wasn’t long after that I was reading The Hobbit and The Hero and The Crown, plus a few Stephen King novels (my mother was a horror fan). Obviously Robin McKinley, Tollkein, King are on the list. I love Anne Rice especially for the realness she brings to her books. Ray Bradburry is a good one too, Wes Craven, Neil Gaiman, George R.R. Martin, and so forth.

 

Who is the most important character in your books, other than your main character and why?

Wow, besides Tessa? I suppose Melinda quite possibly because she is quite essential to the person/vampire/thing has come to be. My favorite though is Liana. Don’t ask me why, she just is.

 

When you started writing, did you have any idea how much work promoting your books would be?

No, no, no, no. I knew there would be some, but I didn’t realize the difficulty it would be in such a technologically dependent world. Private bookstores are shriveling up and it seems the box stores can be a bit snooty to the Independent writer.

 

If you could give a single piece of advice to a new author, what would it be?

Don’t expect to get rich overnight or be that one single success. Strive for it, make it a goal, but be realistic. Your book is your baby and the more people that love it the more love you get in return. Be happy for that and never, ever, give up writing even when you don’t feel like you should. (maybe that’s two. Oops)

 

You have a blog and get the chance to interact with people on a daily basis, how important is this when trying to reach your readers?

I never thought I would be a blogger, honestly. It was one of the steps to start promoting. Then it took off on its own. It is amazing. I think more people are following my blog than my book (although it’d be wonderful to be equal) because it’s not just about my book. Its about my thoughts, ideas, my goofs with technology, my internal being. It’s me. For some reason people like that rawness. I try to reach my reader for sure on it though. There are always updates, and on top of that the website itself has things added to it all the time. I’m always adding more about characters, things like that; and holding dearly to that one decent picture of myself :D

 

Who do you think the target audience is for your work?

I think it’s a bit dark and heavy for a young adult audience given some of the circumstances in part II of the book. My suggestion would be for someone to read it first to make that decision. But anybody older than that would truly enjoy it. I hate putting higher ages on things because I have an aunt who fell in love with it after hearing through the grapevine.

 

Anything else you would like to say or links you would like to include.

Well, I’m me, I’m unique. I don’t believe in sparkly, boohoo the world’s gonna end if I don’t get the love of my life, or anything remotely near it. I like things raw. Passionate but of a different kind; descriptive yet very destructive. Everything I write has a purpose and isn’t just put in for grins and giggles.

Check me out on my website @ www.jsriddle.com, twitter @Riddle_js, or even facebook :https://www.facebook.com/pages/JS-Riddle/314882881968292

An Interview with Kate Policani: Author of “Don’t Judge a Book by its Magic”

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Even though Kate Policani wasn’t born in Seattle, Washington, she’s a native at heart. She should have been born here, but some bizarre mistake started her out in the Midwest. That error was rectified, though, and she’s spent more than twenty years in the rainy, gloomy, chilly land where she belongs, loving every minute of it. The long dark days and unwelcoming weather make for the perfect environment to stay inside and write.
A mom of three and therefore a coffee addict, she writes her books over a hot mocha in the rainy season (Fall-Winter-Spring) and an iced mocha during the six weeks of summer. That is, she writes when she isn’t shuttling her progeny to school or youth group or playdates. In a pinch, she writes while she waits to pick the kids up from school, and sometimes even in the middle of the night when the ideas wake her.
Kate has found her footing with her writing and is no longer interested in just writing a few books. The list of ideas is long, so she’ll be cranking out the Sci-fi and Fantasy (and maybe some others) for the long haul.


Today, I am pleased to sit down and talk with Kate Policani, the vibrant and talented author of “Don’t Judge a Book by its Magic.” Please welcome her to Readful Things Blog:) You can find Kate’s blog at: http://katepolicani.com/

The book trailer: http://youtu.be/Ih7yjpv-_bQ
  Tell us all a bit about your background and how you got started writing.

I have always written as an outlet, ever since I could write. I escape the stress of life and calm myself by exploring story. I also drew, painted, sewed, and other forms of expression. As my family grew, I had less and less time for the messier arts, but writing still happened. Before 2009, I never considered publishing anything. I was busy with kids and life, but I still wrote. One afternoon my dear aunt pointed out to me that I should finish something and think about publishing. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me. I chose and finished my first book, The Disenchanted Pet, right away.

It was with that aunt that I co-wrote the Amputeddy series. This series is very special to me because she has since passed away due to cancer. The Amputeddy books have been my only children’s books so far.

Did you spend much time considering what age group you would write for before you began your book?

I just write. It’s very organic for me. I write what I enjoy. Right now, I prefer writing about the time of a person’s life after High School, so most of my writing focuses on that era. Usually this determines the age group of my readers. My aim is to appeal to all sorts of people, so I try to make my work fun and entertaining for anyone who wants to read, but contain some depth too.

Can you see yourself writing any other genres/styles in the future?

Absolutely. I love to experiment with my writing. I have just finished a YA Science Fiction Novelette, which is with my Beta readers right now. If something that interests me fits better in other genres or age groups, I will write it. I guess I have the indie mentality where I feel free to write what I like.

 What has been the most difficult part of the writing/publishing experience thus far?

The hardest thing has definitely been promotion. There are so many books out there and it is hard to pull oneself out of the sea so readers can see the book. A lot of tactics don’t work at all. So much time can be wasted promoting in the wrong way or on the wrong platform. It’s easy to spend way too much money promoting in ways that don’t get sales. I’m a positive thinker and persistent too so I keep at it. I really want to make my writing career into something and I’m really excited about doing it my own way.

What message do you hope that your books convey if any?

I want my books to counteract the misinformation in society while reinforcing the truth (as I see it) and good things. I write a lot about problems that I struggle with and ideals that challenge me. I like to shake myself up. If I can get myself worked up over my own story, I figure I can pass that feeling on to my readers.

If you could claim any literary work in the world as your own, what would it be and why?

I would really only want to claim my own. Writing is an expression of the individual and I really wouldn’t want to be anyone but me. I also really love to read and appreciate others’ talents. I see reading someone’s book as a privileged peek inside their head. If you gave me and another writer a synopsis of the same story and told us to write the book, we’d both come up with a very different result. That is one of the beauties of literature.

There have been a lot of books about teens/kids with magical powers, how did you make your characters stand out from the crowd?

I put a lot of Seattle into this book. I really love this city and I think that Seattle flavor helps the book gain a different perspective. I also used a lot of actual science (possibly terribly misinterpreted) that I learned through my husband’s adoration of physics. The main difference between Colleen’s experience in The Convergence and other books is that her new experiences challenge her belief in her world and her morality. She has to reconcile her new abilities with her beliefs about them.

Can you tell us a bit about what else you are working on?

A science fiction novelette called Horarium is with my beta readers and will be an editing certification project for my good friend Nadia Riell. I will release it at the beginning of the summer. I’m debating whether or not I will make it free, or if I will put it on Kindle Select right away and see how that goes.

I am currently writing the second book for The Convergence series, Sorcery Loves Company. I hope to finish the story by the end of the summer.

A second book in the ShaZha World is also in the works, to be finished after Sorcery Loves Company. I have probably a hundred other ideas on my hard drive and 5 in the hopper for future development. I’m good with the ideas, it’s finishing them that is my big challenge.

Where can we find you (links etc)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kate.policani

My Examiner column: http://www.examiner.com/writing-179-in-seattle/katherine-policani

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5250693.Kate_Policani

Library Thing: http://www.librarything.com/profile/katepolicani

Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/katherine-policani/a/4a1/23

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KatePolicani

Any final thoughts?

I would love to invite everyone to my other website, http://discoverauthors.wordpress.com . It is a great place to find all kinds of books direct from the authors. We feature a free book listing and giveaways too. The site is a free collaborative book tour for authors, where we all share our books in a quick and easy format. I’m always looking for more great authors to feature.

Here are some Places where you can find Kate’s work:

Buy on Createspace: https://www.createspace.com/3910971

Buy for Kindle

Buy on Smashwords

Buy at Barnes & Noble

Buy on Kobo

You can see my review of Kate’s book HERE

Coffee and Discussion with Briana Vedsted

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picture  Today, I have the immense pleasure of sitting down with Briana Vedsted and talking with her about life, the books she writes and how the journey of publishing her work has been for her so far. Briana is one of my absolute favourite bloggers. She is witty, fun and a very talented young author with a bright future ahead of her.

Without further ado, please welcome Briana:)

You can find Briana at http://whenibecameanauthor.wordpress.com/
Do you have a favourite book genre and do you write in that same genre?

My favorite genres are western and fantasy. I write books from both genre, I love to write fantasy books because every world is better with magic, but have been told my westerns are much more enjoyable.

Do you plan to write series books or will there be stand-alones as well?

I’ve written several unpublished series, as well as half a dozen stand alone books. It is easier to write a series, because I’m always getting new ideas!

Being a younger author in a tough market, have you learned any survival tips you can share? The biggest thing I’ve learned is that you’ve got have people. You need people to know you’re a writer. Surprises are great, but if no one knows who you are, no one will buy your work. You need social media sites, blog/website, as well as letting people in your area know about you. The best way to do this is to write a column for the local paper.

How have you marketed your book so far and what has the experience been like for you?

So far, I’ve been unsuccessful in marketing my books, and that’s because I just started and didn’t know that you really have to, well, advertise. I mean it! You can’t advertise too much. If you have a blog, use it! Talk about your book! Talk about yourself as an author. Have contests and giveaways, post sample chapters, anything to catch the reader’s attention.

When did you know that you were going to be an author?

Well, I’ve always love to write. But I never really though about being an author. I was going to go to school and become and elementary school teacher. Then two years ago my mother pointed out how little patience I have for helping my sister with math. She said, “Why not be a writer?” I though, hey! That could work! So I switched my major and have been trying to get published since then.

How do you deal with negative/rude reviewers?

I haven’t have very many of them yet. But even when my mom would criticize my work, I got mad. I wished I would have listened to her. Criticism stings. One day I hope I’ll be able to let it slide off my back. But for now, the negative has been evened out by the praise from my friends, Ionia Martin and Charles Yallowitz.

What do you do for fun when you aren’t writing?

Well, that depends. In the summer, I’m out working on our 1000 acres of irrigated and dryland hayfields, and in the winter, I’m working with out 350 cow/calf pairs. But in my spare time, I enjoy making cosmetics, cooking, gardening, sledding, and redecorating my future house.

Tell us a bit about your newest book and what you are planning for the future.

My newest book is a modern day werewolf book. It will be part of a series, and I’m hoping to have it traditionally published. But if I cannot find an agent that will accept the manuscripts, I will self publish it on amazon.com

*Thank you so much Briana, for agreeing to be my guest today. I wish you much luck with your writing career and look forward to seeing your name on the front of book covers everywhere!

An Interview with Bianca Sloane, author of Live and Let Die

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Live and Let Die - Book Cover

Today I am happy to chat with the very talented and beautiful author Bianca Sloane. I read this book a few months ago and I have to tell you, it was one of the best books I have had the pleasure of enjoying. If you love puzzles and you like it when the author fools you all the way to the last page, you can’t go wrong with “Live and Let Die.”

Please welcome Bianca!

Head Shot

Bio

Bianca Sloane is a freelance writer living in Chicago. When she’s not writing, she’s watching Bravo TV, Investigation Discovery, reading or cooking. “Live and Let Die” is her first novel.

A Lovely Interview With Bianca Sloane

Tell us a little about your background,  your current life and your most recent book.

              I’m originally from the South – I was born in Little Rock, Ark. and lived in Texas when I was younger.  However, I’ve lived in    Chicago off and on for the past 20 years and consider it my home, blizzards and all.

“>In terms of my professional background, I worked in the PR and advertising industry for about 12 years before striking out on my own a few years ago to try my hand as a freelance writer.  I work mostly with corporate clients, writing a variety of materials such as press releases, bylined articles and speeches.

Currently, I live on the north side of Chicago, am single in a sea of marrieds with a raging shoe addiction, a love of monthly brunches with my girlfriends and an unhealthy obsession with all things Real Housewives.

My debut novel, “Live and Let Die,” which I released in 2012, is a psychological thriller about a woman who disappears and is later murdered.  Her sister, who was out of the country at the time, starts to realize there are a lot of things about her sister’s death that don’t make sense and the more she digs, the more sinister things become.   

                When did you first realise that you were interested in writing and what inspired you to write?

I’ve always been a writer – I was that kid pecking out fanfiction for TV shows, movies and books on an ancient typewriter.  I was always writing stories in my head, jotting things down on random scraps of paper or in a notebook.  I wrote for the school paper in college and even now, when writing press releases, it’s interesting to figure out the best way to tell the story.

I’ve always drawn inspiration from everything around me, from a TV show to a conversation overheard on the street.  You just never know where a good story will come from.

               Did you have any reservations about publishing your work?

I did have some reservations about publishing my work.  Writers, like all artists, have fragile egos, so it can be daunting to open up your soul to scrutiny from the public.  Also, “Live and Let Die,” is quite different from a lot of what is available in the suspense/thriller genre— it’s not about a quirky detective, a police procedural or even romantic suspense.  I worried people wouldn’t “get” it.  However, readers have really responded to it because of how different it is, which has been so exciting for me.

 What has been the most difficult part of marketing your work?

Probably the most difficult part of marketing my work has been training myself to think differently about promotion and marketing.  Since my background is in public relations, I’m used to writing a press release and pitching it to a reporter or inviting a reporter to cover an event or doing any number of “traditional” PR activities.  I’m finding that “PR” works a bit differently in the eBook world – things like blog tours, blog hops and podcasts are huge.  I’m learning more everyday about these methods and am always thinking of ways I can combine them with more “traditional” PR. 

One thing that doesn’t change, is the power of relationships; relationships with your readers, other authors, bloggers, reviewers, etc.  The package may look a little different, but the gift is the same.

What are you working on right now?

Right now, I am actually working on two new releases, both suspense novels; “Every Breath You Take,” is about a man’s obsession with an old girlfriend and the other, title TBD, details an extramarital affair and its deadly consequences.

Why did you choose the genre you picked for your novel?

 I have always loved reading mysteries, stretching back to Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew, right up to Gillian Flynn and Kate Atkinson.  So, when it came to my own writing, I was naturally drawn to stories about crime and mystery.  However, rather than serial killers or straight whodunits, I like to explore the dark side of love; in other words, how people are driven to commit heinous acts, all in the name of this extremely complex emotion.

What is the last thing you read and did you enjoy it?

I actually didn’t care for the last book I read, a mystery novel by a favorite author – it wasn’t their best work, so I don’t want to say – but I will say that I’m currently reading “What the Dead Know,” by Laura Lippman, and it’s just terrific.  She really knows how to get inside the heads of her characters and their motivations. 


What do you think the future of publishing is? Will there always be traditional houses?


I think the future of publishing is exciting; we’ve entered the realm where the reader can decide, vs. gatekeepers in New York, about what is an interesting/commercial viable work, and as a result, some really fresh and original voices have emerged.  Without this brave new indie world, they – and other writers – might not have ever had the opportunity to share their work. 

However, new gatekeepers are in order and I think book bloggers will begin to fill that role.  They are much more accessible and a lot less jaded than the old guard, but are still quite discerning about what they like. 

I think we’ll see more “big name” authors break away from traditional publishing as we know it now and take greater creative control of their careers.   I think way off in the future, traditional publishing houses will function more like distribution houses, rather than production houses.  They have the relationships and muscle to get books on the shelves, because, despite the rise in eBooks, I don’t think print books are on their way out anytime soon.  People still love the feel of a book.   

Any advice for other writers who have not yet taken the plunge and published?

Do your homework and don’t take shortcuts.  Publishing is a confusing business with a lot of nuances and you have to educate yourself about its ins and outs.  At the same time, we’re living in the information age – the resources are yours for the taking.  There’s no excuse to claim ignorance.   J.A. Konrath’s book, “A Newbie’s Guide To Publishing” is a comprehensive and powerful guidebook and I recommend all aspiring authors start there – and read all of it.  Stephen King’s “On Writing” is an invaluable book on the craft and should also be required reading.

Finding a good critique partner and honest beta readers is also key.  Really listen to what they have to say and keep your ego out of it.

I would also say, find the money and hire a professional proofreader.  It’s just not a good idea to proof your own work, because you will miss something.  Also, unless you’re a graphic designer or really good at formatting, hire professionals to handle these tasks.  With a little bit of research, you can find reasonably priced experts who will give you great value for your money.

Be nice to your readers, reviewers and other authors.  Not everyone will like your work and that’s okay.  Resist the urge to send them nasty messages or track them down and slash their tires.

And always, start writing the next book.

  If you could be one of the characters in your book who would it be and why?


Even though she is the total opposite of me, the character of Sondra in “Live and Let Die,” is just such a badass, that I wouldn’t mind stepping into her shoes for a day.  She’s a smoker, a nail-biter and a slob; she’s also smart, tenacious and just cool.  I dig her.

Where can we find you and any final thoughts?

 

Readers can find me at any of the places below; I’m an active tweeter and have been known to waste copious amounts of time on Pinterest.

 I love to hear from readers! 

 Finally, I’m really grateful for the indie author movement and the opportunities it has opened up for so many, myself included.  I’m having a blast.

 

http://www.biancasloane.com
www.twitter.com/biancasloane
www.pinterest.com/biancasloane

*Bianca–Thank you so much for agreeing to the interview with Readful Things. I am super excited to read your next book. You have a permanent residence on my bookshelf!

Taking Flight: An Interview with Sarah Solmonson

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When was it clear that you were going to be a writer?

In early elementary school some high school kids came to our class to help us write our own books. We were supposed to write 1 by the end of their visit. I completed at least 4, and just kept going from there!

 With such a personal book, is it more difficult to accept negative reviews of your work than it would be if it had been a fiction book?

 Thankfully, my negative reviews have yet to be focused on the topic of the book. I know it’s coming, so I think being prepared helps the sting.  I welcome helpful criticism. For example, one”negative” review, which I rather respect, said that though the book was well written she found her mind wandering. I accept that every person who ends up with my book in their hands won’t be my target audience.

What is the single most important piece of advice you have heard about writing?

Just write – don’t edit as you go. I am just now starting to live this practice and it has sped up my writing tremendously!

What is your all time favorite book and why?

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. My cousin and I watched the movie one summer at my grandma’s house, and for my 11th birthday my grandma bought me a copy of the book. It was this book that taught me the book will always be better than the movie, no matter how well done the movie may be! My 18 year old copy of Fried Green is falling apart and yellow, but it’s my comfort food. I read it at least twice a year.

Tell us  little about your inspiration for writing right now, who or what inspires you to keep creating?

Right now I’m wrapping up a travel memoir based on a study abroad course I took  in 2010 which focused on the history of literature and history of post WWII, traveling from Wittenberg to Auschwitz. My inspiration for this project comes from a desire to capture the details before I forget any more than I already have, and from my trip roommate (then a stranger, now a dear friend) Maddie, who nags me at least once a day about when “her” book will be finished!
 
 
Was there ever a point during the writing of “taking Flight” where you thought “this is too hard?” If so, how did you get past it?

It took me over two years to write Taking Flight. I would start on it, then walk away for weeks or even months when I needed a breather. There were other times when I walked away because I felt like my writing was shifting from something that could be beneficial to others to a diary. I worked very hard to write a book that would hopefully be of service to other people, wherever they might be in the grief process. Knowing that my book might someday help another teenager dealing with the death of a parent helped me suck it up and keep writing.

Tell us a little about your life and how it has changed since releasing your first book to the world.

I feel an incredible sense of accomplishment that negative reviews or slow sales weeks will never take away from me. I also feel more validated when I say no to people or plans because I’ve got to honor my writing time.

Are you planning to write forever, or do you have other plans?

I joke that since I’m a writer, I will never retire! God willing, I will write forever – and maybe pay for a few bills along the way!

 Advice for other people who have yet to publish their work?

Your parents/spouse/best friend will always love your book, and that’s great. You need that. You also need an objective person to rip it to pieces, and then you need to be strong enough to rewrite and rewrite until you truly can’t make your work any better. Don’t rush it. Just because you’ve typed “the end” doesn’t mean your book is ready for the world. 
 
 
What has been the hardest part of marketing and what have you learned that you didn’t know before?

The hardest part is feeling like even if you do everything “right” you’re still just one in a billion. It’s also hard – but worth it! – to weed out the people who are focused on spamming tweets and pushing their book without contributing anything to the overall success of the community at large. I’ve learned that what you give away for free you will get back tenfold – just be patient. 
Many of my readers have asked for photographs of N256DN. I’ve just begun posting collages of the plane on my website (www.sarahsolmonson.com), so if that’s something you’re interested in, stop on by! 
 
 
 You can find this book HERE
What price would you pay to touch the skies of your dreams?

David Norton spent his entire life fascinated with flying. With the help of his wife and young daughter, David set out to build his own VP-1 plane from scratch. For six years, David and his family worked on the plane, bringing N256DN from a basement workshop to its first flight in April 2000.

Three months later David was performing a routine take off when the wind beneath him dissipated. N256DN went down, and David was killed instantly.

Told by David’s co-pilot and daughter, Taking Flight is a memoir about love, surviving loss and the importance of following your dreams – no matter what the cost.

Kindle Edition, 145 pages
Published October 8th 2012
ASIN
B009T631WA
edition language
English
My Review:
“Taking Flight” by Sarah Solmonson is tragic, beautiful and real. There are truly no words to really explain the magnitude of emotions this book can cause the reader to experience, but I will do my best.
What do you do when the last words you say to someone you love end up being literally and honestly the last words you ever get to say to them? How many times do you go back in memory and visit the moments you shared and wish you could make them a physical reality again? The answer, all the time. Always.

You always wish it could be that one special day or that single moment, or that fate had not interfered in your dreams and hopes for the future. Some people are lucky enough to have a gift and Sarah Solmonson is one of those people. She is a gifted author who has written a touching and compelling memoir dedicated to the memory of a father she loved dearly and lost early.

Through “Taking Flight” Sarah has managed to show the reality of loss, the long and painful road to healing, and the willpower of the human heart to not only survive, but to repair itself and build new dreams and hopes. This is a courageous debut and one that will linger in your memory after you have read the final page.

I have read a lot of memoirs, and as you would expect, many of them deal with very personal facets of a person’s life. This book is no exception, but the way it is written is never depressing. It is sad at times as one would expect based on the subject matter, but this book is much more about moving forward than it ever is living in the past. Sarah’s voice throughout this memoir was amazingly accurate when describing the thoughts of a teenager, the worries of an adult and the way we all tend to become children again at some point in our life, when tragedy does strike.

This is intelligent, introspective in places and overall one of the most beautiful and heartfelt books I have ever had the pleasure to read. If you are healing from a loss, or if you are simply searching for a well written book with real emotion, you should consider picking up a copy. In a word, amazing.

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Thank you so much for sharing your story with us, Sarah. I am so happy to have met you through this great WordPress experience and wish you every success:)

An Interview with Erin Reese, Author of “The Adventures of Bindi Girl”

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I am very pleased to introduce Author Erin Reese on Readful Things Blog. This fearless lady is truly amazing. She has lived the kind of life that most of us only dream about! She has graciously agreed to an interview with me and I am so excited to share her thoughts! Welcome Erin, and thank you so very much for being my guest:)

Erin Reese

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Erin Reese is a one-of-a-kind explorer.

A self-described “travel and soul writer,” Erin is the author of the immensely popular spiritual-travel blog, Bindi Girl, which appeared online from 2002-2010. Her work has appeared in the business travel magazine, Global Traveler, featuring articles on Varanasi, Kolkata, Malaysia, and Taipei. Erin is also a certified yoga instructor, astrologer, and intuitive consultant for clients around the world.

Erin currently divides her time between India, Europe, and the U.S. She is working on the sequel to Bindi Girl.

 

Interview with: Erin Reese, author of The Adventures of Bindi Girl: Diving Deep Into the Heart of India

 

  Tell us all a little about your life currently and what you are doing.

I’ve just returned from a 5-week trip to India. To tell you the truth, I’ve lost count but I think this was my tenth journey back to the Motherland. This was a very short trip in which I gathered material for my next book. That’s my main focus now: working on the sequel to The Adventures of Bindi Girl. I’m back in the U.S., based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s the first time I’ve had a proper address in over seven years. Even nomads have to land once in a while!

What prompted you to write a book about your experiences?

I always knew I’d be a writer in some capacity. I started journaling in the seventh grade and never stopped. That’s a lot of filled notebooks! As far as writing about India, I simply couldn’t help myself. When I returned from my first trip to India, I was so blown away by the magnitude of transformation within myself that I said, “I want to go back for a year and write a book about my experiences.” India was so overpowering, so rich in sensory input and impact, I couldn’t wander through the country without recording my observations and insights. I started dispatching vignettes and reports to readers before the word “blog” existed. My friends and family back home began clamoring for more stories and over the years of travel through India, I repeatedly heard, “You need to write a book! You need to collect these tales into a memoir!” It was really in response to my readers’ support and encouragement that I decided to go ahead and publish The Adventures of Bindi Girl.

Is there anything you wish you had put in the book that you have thought of since publishing it?

More sex! I have two chapters which discuss the exploration of tantric sex. One is “Guru Disney” in which I describe a visit to the ashram of Osho, also known as the ‘sex guru.’ I attended a tantric workshop there and I withheld from disclosing the details in my book. The second chapter involving sex, “The Garden of Eden,” involves a shared mystical encounter with my boyfriend in which we encounter the serpent of Kundalini via a tantric sex ritual. I didn’t give my readers the erotic play-by-play. A few readers have told me they wanted more, so in future writing, I will work harder to overcome my shyness and reveal all.

What do you hope people will walk away with from reading your book?

A thirst for adventures and the courage to dive off the cliff into the unknown. I hope that Bindi Girl inspires folks to face their fears and follow their hearts, whether that involves intrepid travel, a risky relationship, a new career path, or a spiritual quest. Such major life changes often require blind faith. We can only trust the calling. There are no guarantees, save for the truth that we betray ourselves and our soul dies a little if we don’t take the risk to get out and truly live. Carpe diem.

If you could live one day over again, which day would it be?

The day I landed in Delhi for the very first time. I touched down in the middle of the inky black night during the high festival of Diwali at Indira Gandhi International Airport, solo and scared to death. If I could turn back time, I’d love to consciously and objectively observe how I was so deeply affected. I was floored by the sights, the smells and sensations of that first hit of India-in-your-face. I remember a huge Hindu mandala of colored powders on the floor right next to the baggage carousel. There were hundreds of candles blazing away in the middle of the mandala and I marveled at the safety risk right there in the airport. A mustachioed security guard was perched on a stool nearby with a huge red tikka mark on his forehead. The smell of incense and camphor permeated the musty air. It took my breath away. In the airport! And that was just the beginning. Stepping into the taxi to be whirled through time and space at breakneck speed, narrowly dodging carts and cows, I remember thinking, “I may very well die here.” And I was completely, totally in love with India on the spot. Terrified, and in love. It was like deliberately facing my own death, an experience I would have over and over again throughout my years in India and on my spiritual journey. That first night was just the beginning, and it set the tone that would change my life forever.

What is the funniest experience you have had during your travels?

Definitely my service position as the female course manager in a Buddhist meditation retreat outside Mumbai. I was responsible for time management of over 200 Indian women, an experience described in the Bindi Girl chapter, “Minding Mara’s Daughters.” These women were so obstinate toward my western-minded strictness about getting to the meditation sessions on time, I was about to lose my mind. I finally resorted to herding them like cattle, using the same tongue clucks and clicks and shooing gestures that a cowgirl might use to get a herd to the barn. Due to the sheer ridiculousness of the whole scene, the Indian ladies and I all fell into a heap of hysterical laughter, breaking all the rules and vows of silence. I learned that a bit of child’s play goes a very long way in overcoming resistance to just about anything.

  How has the book been received by your family and friends?

With great gusto! The book has inspired many friends and acquaintances to pack their own bags to take off for a long passage through India themselves. Many folks have reported that it gave them a sense of what to expect, and what to pack, before going. It’s taken a while for the more conventional family and friends to get their head around my enamoredness with India, but they are of course highly supportive of my writing career.

Any plans to publish further works in the near future?

Absolutely. I’m aiming for a sequel to be published later this year. This next book chronicles Bindi Girl’s dive into the spiritual deep-end of India, focusing on enlightening encounters with spiritual masters and pilgrimages to sacred sites.

What is the single most important thing you have learned from your experiences in India?

Staying in the NOW. There is absolutely no way you can control anything in India. It is beyond the beyond. This forces a person to become absolutely still inside. Because of the sheer sensory overload, chaos and unwieldiness, it is totally clear that it is impossible to do anything beyond the immediate moment. This lesson has permeated my life and established me deeply in the present, no matter where I am on the planet. This is the greatest gift India has given me.

An interesting fact about India that not many people are aware of

India is a hugely diverse subcontinent with 28 official states. These states are so vastly different from each other that India is like a conglomeration of culturally unique nations. While the official languages are Hindi and English, there are 22 regional languages as well, such as Punjabi, Kannada, Tamil, Urdu and so forth. A journey through India is an adventure through several different nations in one. India is a world unto itself.

 

If folks have a desire to go to India, I suggest going as soon as possible. While India is not going to lose its unique culture anytime soon, the onslaught of globalization and consumerism is making its mark. Go, and go now.

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You can find Erin’s book here:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Adventures-Bindi-Girl-ebook/dp/B004SBP6X8

 

 

You can visit Erin here and learn more, including finding some excellent travel articles and updates about her and her writing:

www.erinreese.com

 

You can find her on Goodreads by going here:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11205973-the-adventures-of-bindi-girl

 

Thank you Erin, for the fabulous interview and inspiring all of us to take a chance and live life to the fullest!

 

Here is my review of “The Adventures of Bindi Girl”

If you are looking for more of a travel guide about India, then this isn’t your book. However, that being said, if you are looking for a well written and interesting travel log that reads like a personal memoir, this is certainly a good book to choose. I enjoyed reading the stories of this woman’s travels through India and her unique and spiritual perspective on the land, people and customs. There are portions of this book that really made me want to sell my stuff and take off on an adventure as well! Something about the way she brings a carefree spirit of adventure to her readers makes you want to join her on her magical trek through an unknown world.

Erin Reese has a way of using humor throughout her writing that can make you smile from page to page and just have a really good time while you enjoy her work. She has taken the highlights of her experiences and introduced us to a land that is still shrouded in mystery, exposing some of the most unique and interesting little known facts about India. While there are parts of this book that are personal, Erin has written a book that is both touching and absorbing. This book is about life, love, learning and travel.

I was both fascinated by her descriptions and excited by the idea of just getting up and going, with no reservations. This woman has experienced things that many of us will only read about. There is also a travel planning section at the back with some good, practical advice–no matter where you plan to travel. Overall I thought the author had a pretty unique voice and I would read another book by her. It was a journey that I won’t soon forget.

An Interview With the Lovely Carmen Stefanescu Author of Shadows of the Past)

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Today I welcome Carmen Stefanescu to Readful Things so that she may share some of her thoughts on publishing, writing and her first full length novel, “Shadows of the Past.” Carmen is an amazing woman who has overcome much adversity to write and publish her book. She lives in Romania, but speaks fluent English. All around, she is a wonderful person and I am very proud to introduce her.

carmen

   Want a chance to win a digital  copy of Carmen’s book “Shadows of the Past?”

Here’s what you do: share the link for this interview with your favorite social media outlet, come back and leave a quick comment that simply says “I want a copy!” Three winners will be chosen at random next week ( 7 days from now) and will get each get a digital copy of their very own!

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Author bio:

               Carmen Stefanescu was born in Romania, the native country of the infamous vampire Count Dracula, but where, for about 50 years of communist dictatorship, just speaking about God, faith, reincarnation or paranormal phenomena could have led someone to great trouble – the psychiatric hospital if not to prison.
Teacher of English and German in her native country and mother of two daughters, Carmen Stefanescu survived the grim years of oppression, by escaping in a parallel world, that of the books.

      She has dreamed all her life to become a writer, but many of the things she wrote during those years remained just drawer projects. The fall of the Ceausescu’s regime in 1989 and the opening of the country to the world meant a new beginning for her. She started publishing. Poems first, and then prose. Both in English.

What first made you decide to write a book?
I have dreamed all my life to become a writer, my idol being Agatha Christie. I’ve been writing since I was a student. Satirical poems and short stories at that time, in my native tongue, Romanian, as you know I live in Romania, better known as Dracula’s country. All of the things I wrote during those years remained just drawer projects. The fall of the Ceausescu’s regime in 1989 and the opening of the country to the world meant a new beginning for me. I started publishing. Poems in English, first. And now long prose – novels. The trigger point for Shadows of the Past was a small article, in a Romanian newspaper, about a haunted mountain in England.

  How has the publishing process been different than you expected when you first started?
I had no idea what to expect at first. The publishing process was a long road for me as everything was trial and error until I got a clear picture of what I had to do and how to do things in a proper way. And the fact that I finished the novel in two months but I got it published many, many years later was a bit of a shock.

Has marketing been more difficult than you would have imagined?

Absolutely. I thought that most of it is done by the publisher. I was wrong. Most is done by me. I work hard to find blogs willing to host book spotlights or to accept reviewing Shadows of the Past.  I learned a lot along the way and still do.  The positive part is the fact that I’ve made fabulous friends in the bloggers I met in the cyberspace while doing this search. The only thing that is a matter of dissatisfaction is that now I spend all my time in the advertising process, instead of writing.


Advice for other authors who are not located in the U.S.?

Follow your dream. Don’t be discouraged by rejections. They are something to be expected in the process of getting approval for your submission. Roll with the bitter punch of rejection and go on trying. That’s what I kept doing. Do your searching thoroughly and find the best solution for you. E-publishing and now self-publishing offer everyone, no matter where they live, a chance to see their work published.

You have written such a beautiful love story, what was the inspiration for this?

It was that article about a haunted mountain in England. The souls of two sinners, a nun and a priest who break their vows and elope, can’t find their rest. The tourists visiting the haunted area sometimes hear agonizing moans during the night. That was all. The moment I put down the newspaper I experienced a strong urge to write about them. This is how The Ballad of the Priest and the Nun came to life, first. Later, I felt it was not enough. I felt Genevieve’s story must be told in detail. And thus I wrote this novel. On the other hand, I have an attraction for the Medieval Times and for tragically evolving characters.

Do you wish you would have done anything differently with your book?

Perhaps a better Neil character. I am not very satisfied with how I built him. My thoughts were focused on Genevieve and Anne. I am a strong feminist at heart.

What do you hope your readers get from Shadows of the Past, other than enjoyment?
That things in life are never only black or only white but we must always take what’s good from our short stay here, in this existence. Choices can be made and true love can really be found. I also want my readers to enjoy themselves while reading my books and, above all, to connect to my characters.

  Tell us something we don’t know about you?
I am a great coffee, pets and role play games addict!

What are some of your favorite books/authors?
A difficult question because I have many favorite books/authors. I love thrillers as much as psychological paranormals or action packed romance books and mysteries. I don’t want to do wrong by naming one book or one author when there are so many I’ve read all along my life and which marked my existence. I have respect for each and every writer who enhanced my life and made me cry or laugh or dream, who enabled me to imagine different worlds, alternative realities, paths not chosen, cities not yet built. Catherine Cookson, Th. Hardy, Jeffrey Archer, M. H. Clark, Alexandre Dumas, Balzac, Somerset Maugham, Mihai Eminescu, Liviu Rebreanu, A. Tennyson,  F. Forsyth, Stephen King, Agatha Christie. And many, many others.

  If you could visit one place in the world where would you go and why?
I would escape to a paradise island. Somewhere where the temperature is never too cold or too hot. With no earthquakes or strong tempests! No dangerous insects and no predators – either four or two-legged.

Anything else you would like to say to your readers/ links etc. that you would like included.

      A last piece of advice: Get quickly Shadows of the Past and read it! If not, you don’t know what you are missing! Ha-ha-ha! And stay tuned for my soon coming novel Dracula’s Mistress!

Thank you Ionia for hosting me. It was a lovely day for me.

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Author, Carmen Stefanescu’s  Site: http://shadowspastmystery.blogspot.ro/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Carmen-Stefanescu-Books/499245716760283

Trailer: Shadows of the Past

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LmY-9yDl5s

Find her on:

 http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6624397.Carmen_Stefanescu

http:// www.goodreads.com/book/show/16249401-shadows-of-the-past#other_reviews

http://askdavid.com/reviews/book/paranormal-romance/3196

http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewwork.asp?id=56296

https://plus.google.com/117216040843648957646/posts

http://www.amazon.com/Carmen-Stefanescu/e/B00APVDGAA/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

http://openbooksociety.com/article/shadows-of-the-past-by-carmen-stefanescu-book-release/

http://awesomegang.com/shadows-of-the-past/

Buy Link: Wild Child Publishing

http://www.wildchildpublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=84&products_id=410
Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-of-the-Past-ebook/dp/B00AK2D9I8/ref=sr_1_15?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354874514&sr=1-15&keywords=shadows+of+the+past

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=shadows+of+the+past+carmen+stefanescu
Buy Link: Barnes & Noble

http://   www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shadows-of-the-past-carmen-stefanescu/1113910162?ean=2940015715026

**Thank you Carmen for the interview and just for being you!

An Interview with David Hudnut, Author of ‘Night Walk’

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 Today I am happy to welcome author David Hudnut to Readful Things. I recently read a horror novel by this man, and he certainly knows what he is doing! His most recent work and first full length novel, Night Walk is available now. You can find a link for it at the bottom of this page. David has a very unique writing style that will leave you at the edge of your seat!

TERROR WALKS AT NIGHT…
Like any cookie-cutter suburban family you know, the Wistfells appear fresh from the oven with their Tic-Tac smiles and formica hair styles. On the inside, beneath their Sears Family Portrait exterior, lies a pitch black heritage. The Wistfell family knows a thing or two about the Devil’s business. They also know how to hide their dark secrets, just like every other Joe and Jane American. They put on the same masks we all do every time we go out to meet the world.
Rob Wistfell, his wife Amelia, and their four-year-old daughter Eva are all set to enjoy the weekend. But a run-in with a menacing bunch of locals over a parking space sets off a disastrous chain reaction. No matter where the Wistfell family goes, trouble follows.
Rob and Amelia don’t realize that their daughter Eva has blossoming telepathic powers and she’s messing with people’s heads.
THEY ARE BEING HUNTED…
When the Wistfell family accidentally crosses paths with two thugs bent on murderous destruction, they will face the toughest struggle of their entire lives…

You can see my review of Night Walk here

Please tell us a bit about yourself

 Well, I like traveling, candle-lit dinners and walks on the beach, and um, oh wait…that’s my Match.com profile. Sorry. I’ll try to stick to the pertinent information. Let’s see…I used to obsessively build recreations of the vehicles from the movie Road Warrior out of LEGOs, I prefer first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons over all the new crap, and I think the hedge-maze scene at the end of Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” is one of the greatest and creepiest moments in cinematic history.

 

 You have a lot of varied interests. You are an author, an artist/illustrator and a musician, how do you find the time to do all of these things?

 Besides using my time machine every night to travel backwards by four hours, I do it the usual way: I have no life. Well, not in the traditional sense. I work, work, work. Some people aim for day-to-day balance in their lives. I shoot for long-term balance. I’m making up for the vast laziness of my youth by spending all my spare time as an adult engaged in creative activities.

 

 I love the horror genre, but feel in some ways it has lost the terror factor it used to have. What do you think about this?

 In my opinion, a lot of the new horror books (and movies) should be called Gorror. In literature, people call it “Splatterpunk” but that always makes me think of Cyberpunk characters falling off of tall buildings and smashing to their deaths on the pavement below. Splatterpunk equals frequent eviscerations and enough blood to fill a swimming pool. I’m not a fan of the Splatterpunk genre, but I can’t deny the enjoyment that a very vocal readership takes from such books and movies. For me, there’s too much calculated sadism. Too much of that serial-killer thing of “I’m going to kidnap you and torture you and keep you as my sex-slave until I murder you.” For that reason, I’ve been telling people my novel Night Walk is a paranormal thriller. Horror no longer means Stephen King-style books. It means the “Saw” movie franchise.

When I think about your term “terror factor” and terror in general, I think of the ANTICIPATION of violence. Coincidentally, I just watched the film “Return To Oz” last night, and it has plenty of terror in it. Before Dorothy goes back to Oz, her Aunt & Uncle send her to a modern (as in 1899) brain doctor because Dorothy has been unable to sleep through the night since returning from Oz. The brain doctor shows off his electro-shock machine to Dorothy as if it were nothing more than a wonderful marvel of modern medicine that will “fix” her sleeping troubles and make her all better. Dorothy’s Aunt is 100% on board with the idea. The doctor shows Dorothy how the machine, with its dials and knobs, resembles a smiling face. I was seriously CREEPED out by this scene. And it’s in a G-rated Disney movie! THAT is what I call terror. And no serial killers or blood.

 

 What first inspired you to start writing?

 A creepy Halloween mask I saw at Gemco as a grade-schooler. (Anyone out there remember Gemco? For the youngins who don’t, imagine old-school Target or Walmart, but with a snazzy membership card (like Costco, but free.))

The Halloween mask was this scary evil clown with flaming orange hair, beady green eyes, and ghastly purple lips. A few days later, my grade-school teacher asked everyone in class to write a short story for Halloween. Perfect timing! I was all fired up about that mask, and wanted to capture in words the feelings it had evoked in me. I wrote a story, but it didn’t recreate the spirit I’d hoped for. My writing firefly died off for awhile, but flared up again some years later when I read “On A Pale Horse” by Piers Anthony. That book drove me to bang out a number of story fragments on my dad’s neglected electric typewriter, but I was too young and impatient to finish anything. Then Stephen King barged into my life. Reading “Salem’s Lot” enhanced my nightmare night-life significantly. That novel has a magic that made me want to be a writer, no matter what it took. I had read mainly fantasy up to that point, but Stephen King combined the real world I lived in with the otherworldly quality I loved about fantasy, a powerful combination. I instantly became Stephen King’s number one fan, and would have gladly chopped off his feet in exchange for his story-telling talents.

 

Who are some of your favourite authors, musicians and influences?

 the-Hudnut-Imp-2012-05-05

 

Of course Stephen King, who I’m pretty certain made a deal with the devil to gain his writing talents. Metallica (who obviously sold their souls for rock ‘n’ roll). And the movies of Clive Barker (and to a lesser degree his books). Hellraiser did a very important thing for the horror movie genre: it added an element of fantasy. In Hellraiser, Frank and Kirsty literally open a gateway to another dimension with the puzzle box, allowing Pinhead and the Cenobites show up. That blew my teenaged mind. I hate to spoil the terror here, but don’t you think “Pinhead and the Cenobites” sounds like the name of a bar band in the bar scene in Star Wars?

“Now Playing at Mos Eisley Space Port:

PINHEAD & HIS CENOBITES!!

Fridays and Saturdays.

No Kids.”

 

What do you hope to accomplish with your writing and do you feel you are getting there?

 Pay for my retirement.

No.

Check back with me in five years on that one. :-)

But seriously, entertain people with my stories by stirring up their emotions. I want my readers to laugh, cry, shout, bite their nails, stay up all night reading, then sleep only during the daytime because my books are so scary. Hopefully, some small number of people will find my novel Night Walk entertaining enough to tell a friend. And they’ll tell two friends, and they’ll tell two friends, and they’ll tell…you get the idea.

 What advice about marketing can you offer to other authors?

 I can best articulate my thoughts on my experiences thus far with the following cartoon strip:

 

In a word: persistence.

A good friend of mine works in high-tech marketing. He reads a lot of how-to marketing books by people who are success stories in a range of business categories. His observation is that most people who have freaky overnight success don’t really know how they got there (even though they think they do and want to sell you their method), or have had a unique and unrepeatable journey to instant riches. Often, the groundwork to such riches takes years of work that no one ever hears about.  Think Amanda Hocking, and Hugh Howey. Both wrote a lot of books over a number of years before BLAM! They suddenly started raking in cash. There are of course exceptions like Colleen Hoover.

There’s three aspects to marketing I think about constantly:

1. Hard Work

For most of us, it all boils down to hard work, constant experimentation, and a critical analysis of your methods. You can’t just throw money and time at marketing. You have to asses what works and what doesn’t. This is the scientific aspect of marketing.  A simple example: I spend $100 on an internet banner ad that will run for one month. At the end of the month, have I made at least $101 in profit? If the answer is no, you need to adjust. This serves up the canned worms of a bigger discussion of course, one I’m dealing with right now. Is there a minimum amount of money that must be spent on ads for them to have any effect? For example, must one spend at least $2,000 (or $5,000 or whatever) on banner ads to see a 1% profit (e.g. $2,020 or $5,050) in sales? I don’t yet have the answers to that, but I’m sure entire departments at the Big 6 talk about this all day long.

2. Strategizing

From the first day I told my good friend in high-tech marketing that I was working on my first novel, he said “Start developing your marketing plan NOW. Better yet, before you write your book, you need to figure out WHO YOUR TARGET MARKET IS.” I, of course, ignored him. I knew who my target market was: Me, and all Stephen King fans. Ha. Ha. Ha. I laugh at myself now. Such a target market is far too broad. At the time, my logic seemed impenetrable, and focusing on writing an entire book was more than enough of a challenge. But you can bet as I write my second novel, I’m thinking about my target market in very specific terms the entire time. Who reads books like mine? How and where do they discover new books? Where do they actually buy them? Where and when can I place ads that I can actually afford, and my potential readers will see them?

3. Pre-planning

I don’t know to what degree Amanda Hocking was thinking “I’m going to go after Stephanie Meyer’s market with my own series of Vampire books two years after Breaking Dawn’s release, while her fans are clamoring for more, AND ebooks take off.” But that’s what happened. I know Hocking has mentioned how much time she puts into marketing. I also know that quite a few Amazon reviewers describe her books as being highly derivative of Twilight. With Hugh Howey, I wonder: did he want to write more light sci-fi/space opera like his Molly Fyde books? Or did the blow-up success of “The Hunger Games” shift his writing focus to post-apocalyptic dystopia?

I think it’s safe to say that, yes, you can chase trends and perhaps be successful. But there’s no guarantee. You have to ask yourself: do you WANT to chase trends over the long term? I recently watched Howard Stern’s 2011 interview with Lars Ulrich, the drummer from Metallica. Stern emphasized the fact that Metallica has always done things their way. Having followed the band’s career from the early days, I can attest to that. They were not mega-stars for a LONG time. While I’d like to be rolling in self-published riches like Hugh Howey, there’s no guarantee that trend-chasing will get me there. So I’m sticking to my guns. Bang, bang.

 Tell us about some of your other projects besides writing.

 Well, for the metal-head inside all of us, I’m working on recording my first solo album, titled “HateBall.” I’ve got two tracks finished and posted on Youtube. A bunch of other tracks are in various stages of recording and mastering. With any luck, the album will be finished by the end of 2013.

I’m also in the process of finally putting together some art books. I’ve got mountains of art that have never seen the light of day, plus some dusty old work I did for Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, and some now-defunct Wizards of the Coast game lines. Anybody remember Hecatomb or Dreamblade?

 

 

 How do you deal with negative reviews of your work?

 I tend toward the classic Kübler-Ross model of “The Five Stages of Grief.” First, denial. I tell myself that reviewers don’t know what they’re talking about. Second, anger. I call all of my friends and rant about how reviewers miss the point and that reviewers don’t GET me. My friends respond by telling me I’m awesome. Third, bargaining. I convince myself I must change my work to address ALL reviewer complaints, so that the reviewers will also tell me how awesome I am. Fourth, depression. I cry a lot in private. When the tears are gone, I realize that maybe there’s something to the criticisms. Fifth, acceptance. I look at the reviews as objectively as possible to see what I can take from them to improve my work. Every criticism, no matter how seemingly negative, usually contains something valid and relevant. I’m grateful for those.

In some cases, bad reviews are truly not relevant. As I’ve said in the past, never hand a Tom Clancy novel to a Danielle Steel fan and expect a positive–or even constructive–review. Scathing reviews of this nature can safely be ignored. On the flip side, I’ve learned that if you give a reader a story within their preferred genre (e.g. your early draft of a techno-thriller to a Tom Clancy fan), readers will forgive all manner of problems: typos, poorly constructed sentences, even lackluster plots AS LONG AS IT’S THE RIGHT STORY. You know the type: die-hard romance fans, fantasy fans, zombie fans, etc. They want their genre. Period. Give zombie fans a story with guns, knives and human-on-zombie violence, and those fans will be happier than pigs in zombie sh–! Ah, I mean refuse. Pigs in zombie REFUSE. That poses an interesting question: since zombies eat, do zombies sh–! I mean, do zombies, you know, digest? And does that mean they take zombie dumps? Do zombies use toilet paper? Or not wipe at all?

If a zombie sh!ts in the woods, does anybody hear it? Or clean it up? Do the bears clean it up? Does it turn the bears into zombie bears? Do zombie bears eat human zombies? Or only regular bears? Is there cross species zombie violence?

 

.  What are your plans for the near future? Any more books yet to come?

 Aside from World Domination? Marketing, marketing, marketing. And yes, working on my next novel, which I’m well into. I will say only that it’s not a post-apocalyptic dystopian YA thriller and has no zombies in it. Crap, there went half my fan base. But it does have demons. Lots of them. Grab your holy water and crucifix!

 

 Anything else you would like to say to your fans, about life in general etc. 

 First and foremost, thank you to everyone who has supported my art, books, and music over the years. As many of the writers who visit your blog know, we often work in a vacuum while sweating over our creative works of love. Until we release our art out into the world for others to experience, it can be a lonely business. Knowing that there are people out there who actually look forward to our efforts makes it much easier to tolerate the lonely journey. Thank you to all of you guys.

And thank you, Ionia, for hosting my book and interview. You are a Woman amongst Women.

NIGHT WALK, the novel, by David Hudnut

http://www.amazon.com/NIGHT-WALK-ebook/dp/B0089E40B4

The art of David Hudnut

https://www.hudnutart.com/

Songs from the album HateBall by David Hudnut

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23Q3GvwxMwQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QkyQeP__sc

The bloggy shenanigans of David Hudnut

http://davidhudnut.blogspot.com/

Thank you David for the interview! Enjoyed having you on the blog:)

An Interview I couldn’t Wait to Post (Attention Parents!)

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My guest today Is author Jim Gibson. He has written an excellent series of books for kids (of all ages even I fell in love with them!) I could go on all day about how great they are, but I will allow him to tell you more about them. Let me warn you though, Perdita Whacknoodle will earn her way into your heart and once she does, you can’t leave her behind!

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Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came to write your first “Perdita” book.

 

First, thanks for the chance to talk about writing and reading–and my books, of course. And thanks for your blog, which I think provides a welcomed service to readers everywhere.

I’ve fortunately always been a reader, and ended up being an English major and teaching high-school English for a while. My mother was a piano teacher, and I’ve always played the piano, so while I was teaching, I started playing music jobs in Atlanta’s social and corporate world. Though I loved teaching, I was stretched pretty thin, and working in music gave me more free time. So I’ve mostly been a full-time musician since the 1980s.

Along the way I self-published a book on music marketing. This was before the internet or desktop publishing, so I was happy when Writer’s Digest Books offered to republish that book. I eventually wrote several more practical books on the music business for them.

From that self-publishing experience, I realized that I could start my own record label and produce my own piano CDs using the same marketing skills needed for self-publishing, and that’s what I did for the next decade or so. I now have 16 piano CDs that sell in the gift-shop and museum-store market (and on Amazon, of course).

I also produced a video study-skills program with my wife, a college professor. When the Kindle came along, we rewrote and updated that video into a Kindle book—Making A’s in College, which is selling well.

As an aside, we produced that book a couple of years ago and paid to have it formatted. Now the writing program, Scrivener, can create both epub and .mobi (Kindle) editions in less than a minute! That removes a big technical hurdle for self-publishers.

Our two kids were astoundingly early risers, and when they were little they would jump in bed with me every morning. Somehow I started telling a completely outlandish story as part of our morning routine, and when we found a hapless dog up in the country, the stories began to involve her.

Before long “she” (Perdita Whacknoodle) was the voice of many of these stories, and they were clearly intended (by Perdita, that is) to enhance her standing in our family, since our original dog was an Australian Shepherd with official papers (which Perdita, of course, did not have).

Over time, Perdita’s character in these stories—and there were probably hundreds of them—evolved to a lovable but arrogant commentator on almost everything, who concocted elaborate and outlandish tales of her (completely theoretical) family’s background. The part the kids liked best was that Perdita was completely sure she was correct about everything, while in truth, she was completely wrong.

For years, my kids (who are now adults) told me to write the Perdita stories, so when the Kindle appeared on the scene with such wonderful opportunities for writers, I started working on the books. As they’ve developed, Perdita’s “translator” is Laura (our actual daughter) whose character is that of a very practical fourth-grader trying to tether Perdita, at least a little bit, to reality. (Laura is now a business consultant, so that pragmatic characterization is accurate.)

There are a LOT of Perdita stories waiting to be written, and as long as people seem to like them, I’m going to keep doing them. My favorite thing, so far, is that people seem to enjoy the books, and that kids write lots of reviews—which means they are reading!

And if people continue to let me know that they are using Perdita’s vocabulary, or identifying their own dogs as Whacks or Noodles, then I think my life will be complete.

  What is your favorite part about writing?

I really like the fact that writing starts with a blank sheet of paper, and a story can go in ANY direction. That’s gives us astounding freedom—but the real task is to create something interesting.

I luckily found Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird some time ago, and I follow her advice to just write a lousy first draft, with your internal editor turned off. When I can get in the right ‘creative place,’ I’m astounded at how a story will just write itself, but even on bad days, I’m learning to just plow ahead and write something.

Of course, on later reading, that story that came so quickly may be truly lousy, but I also really, really enjoy the editing and shaping stages, which is where I try to turn the rambling first draft into something interesting. It’s a struggle, but a creative one.

Hemingway didn’t use extra words. Mark Twain talked about poetry being harder than prose. Jazz trumpeter Miles Davis told young musicians to “leave out the extra notes,” but that is a lifelong battle that is very hard to do, both in writing and in music. Staying away from cliches, for me, isn’t easy.


If there was one message in your books you feel parents should understand what would it be?

 

I’ve read a lot of children’s books recently in educating myself about the genre, and I’ve found that I don’t like the books with overt (or even more subtle) messages. So I’m NOT pushing any hidden agenda in these books.

However, if parents and children read the Perdita books and enjoy them enough to want to read more, and if Perdita’s upside-down approach to things encourages readers to realize that other people (or even dogs) might see the world differently, then that would make me very happy.

And, of course, if kids and parents would make up some words (like your blog’s recent contest, and creatify and besnazzle their language, then I think Perdita Whacknoodle would be very pleased.

If you could claim any literary work in the world as your own which one would it be and why?

 

As an adult reader, I think my current favorite would be Michael Malone’s Handling Sin, which is a hilarious and rambunctious tour de force that delivers serious messages through the humor.

But as a new writer of children’s books, I’m awed by Roald Dahl’s astoundingly creative stories. Maybe I’d claim Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as an inventive masterpiece that shows what happens when the imagination is unfettered. What a writer!

Tell us about your upcoming projects.

The fourth Perdita book, May Contain Nuts! will be out soon. It’s Laura’s attempt to wheedle some real answers from Perdita, but as it turns out, Perdita is a master at changing the subject. After that, I have a book planned about the time Par Whack (Perdita’s trouble-prone father) rode the train from Dahlonegee, Georgia to New York City and invaded the Wurstminister Dog show to free the dogs. That one will take a while to write, but it’s shaping up in my head.

I’m also pondering another non-fiction project or two, since the Kindle (combined with Scrivener’s power) offers such limitless opportunities.


Child literacy is important, and we all know this. Books like yours make reading fun for kids and for parents. Did you design your books this way on purpose or was it just a natural progression after you started writing?

 

This is an interesting question, and the short answer is that I did hope the books would be fun to read.

I also really hope that they’ll be read aloud. Since the stories, as I mentioned earlier, came from my creating them every morning for my kids, I think that in my mind, I ‘hear’ them as I write, and that may make them easy read aloud.

My wife, as it happens, is a professor with a Ph.D. in reading, so our house was always very reading-centric as the kids came along. I can’t think of a better gift to give any child than the habit of reading, and if my books can help make reading FUN, then I couldn’t think of anything better.

As we all know, we’re living in an insanely fragmented world, where attention spans are shrinking, and lots of writing is done in 140 characters or less. I truly believe that the world is divided (and will be even more in coming years) into those who DO read, and those who don’t (or can’t).

So, anything parents, teachers, and writers can do to encourage the habit of enjoyable reading will benefit children for the rest of their lives. I don’t want to sound like I’m pontificating, but I really believe this, and I suspect that readers of your blog would agree.

Perdita is such a stubborn character, and yet she is so lovable. How did her personality develop in your mind. Was the character there before the story?

 

I know this sounds odd, and I assure you that my family is all sane—yet Perdita’s persona as an arrogant (but always wrong) ‘commentator’ on our family activities has been a continuing (and possibly bizarre) part of our family life for many years. Maybe it goes back to my childhood when I found that I could ‘talk’ through a stuffed animal and get away with saying things that I, as a human kid, couldn’t say.

So, when I started writing these books, Perdita’s stubborn wrong-headedness was already well established in our family. What I needed to do in the books was develop Laura’s character as the practical foil, and that wasn’t hard.

The trick, as you identified it in the question, is keeping Perdita likeable despite her stubborn arrogance, and I think that depends on her vision of the world being (sort of) plausible. Because, while Perdita is wrong about everything, she is consistently sure she’s right. So her world makes perfect sense to her.

Tell us about your own dogs if you have any– how have pets influenced your writing in these books?

 

We’re currently dogless because we try to travel a lot, and it just simplifies things. Both our children have dogs, though, and they often come to visit, so we have plenty of canine inspiration and chaos when needed.

As our kids were growing up, we had two dogs—the Australian Shepherd I mentioned earlier was the one Dave Barry would call the ‘main dog.’ Then we found Perdita, and she somehow, though absolutely no fault of her own, took on the persona I’ve talked about.

Of course, everyone talks for their dogs and cats. I think I took it to an unusual extreme. (And, for a long time, I was careful not to mention this around non-family folks. But now the cat is out of the bag . . . )

What does your writing process include? Do you follow a specific routine?

 

I try to spend a couple of hours at San Francisco Coffee in Atlanta every morning. I’ve done this long enough now that it just ‘feels like’ my place to write, and I usually have no trouble getting into the spirit.

Another book on writing I really like is Stephen King’s On Writing. He talks about how the story will just tell itself, and though I couldn’t tell you how it works, that’s true. I just start with a situation and a rough idea of where the story might go and start writing. Sometimes I write myself into a dead-end, but that’s OK. I know lots of writers use extensive outlines, but that’s not my approach. (Of course, we’re talking about talking-dog books here, not great literature or complex plots, so I have it easier than many authors.)

I’m not sure I’m really qualified to talk about writing this way, but I can speak about music with confidence. Sometimes I sit at the piano or the computer and feel really creative, and sometimes I feel utterly unspired. I can’t figure out why the inspiration sometimes comes, but I think it’s important to just work through the spots that don’t feel motivated. You can’t wait for a muse to alight. From years of playing for events I’ve learned that the gig must go on. The inspiration will (we hope!) arrive soon. And that works in my writing, too.

How has the journey of writing, publishing and marketing your books been vs. how you expected it to be when you first began?

 

Before I started on the Perdita project, I think I had a good idea of what would be involved for two reasons. First, I self-published a book the hard way back in the 1980s, so I knew the process. And I’ve run my little record label for years, and it’s very much like self-publishing in the sense that you do everything yourself.

Second, when I take on a new project, whether it’s writing for the Kindle or learning to make YouTube movies, or anything else, my lifelong practice is to first immerse myself in ‘how-to’ information. I always over-do it, I’m sure, but in the process I learn a great deal about the project I’m about to begin.

So, before I started writing Perdita’s books, I was reading widely about ebook publishing and writing. I watched YouTube tutorials (which can be astonishingly useful, though not always, of course), and found very informative blogs.

I knew, then, that writing the book is really the easy part—just like recording the CD is the easy (and fun) part. Marketing the thing is 90 percent of the game, and that’s where much of the effort must be focused.

But marketing can itself be creative, and it can be fun. Since it’s absolutely necessary, that’s good. The hard part, which we’re all trying to figure out, is how to balance all the marketing chores and opportunities with creating our books. We have to understand how important marketing is, figure out how to do it on a continuing basis, and try not to let it take over our lives. (And when I’ve figured out how to do THAT, I’ll write a book about it!)

 

Perdita’s twitter account is @WhackNoodle and she writes tweets (usually) as a dog-author.

Her blog, which isn’t always as active as I intend, is www.whacknoodle.com.

I’m currently planning for the next book, May Contain Nuts! to be on all ereader platforms and to remain free forever as an introduction to Perdita’s world.

Since I’ve mentioned the piano a few times, and my record label has helped me understand the self-publishing process, I thought I’d include a link to one of my YouTube videos. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pPKr-RF8Wg

Thanks again, Ionia, for the chance to talk about all this with folks who love books. What could be better?

***

Thank you Jim for the incredible interview. The kids and I can’t wait for the release of the new book!

You can see my reviews of Perdita’s books by following these links

Thanksgiving Pageant

Flying Watermelon

Two Christmas Stories