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authorsinterviews

~ My interviews with many authors

authorsinterviews

Monthly Archives: March 2014

Here is my interview with Sharon L. Higa

31 Monday Mar 2014

Posted by fionamcvie1964 in Uncategorized

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Name Sharon L. Higa
Age 54 years young
Where are you from Born in Anaheim, CA
A little about your self `ie your education Family life etc
My family did a lot of travelling when I was young. I lived in Europe, visited Thailand and have been to all but 5 of the United States of America. Since I was six years old, storytelling has been a given in my family on both sides. Ghosts, hauntings, horror, the supernatural were very normal for us – I come from a long line of psychics and when I am not writing I currently ply my trade as a Tarot Card reader. I graduated High School at the age of 17 and have some college, but most of my education has been through travel and exposure to all kinds of cultures and people.

 

 
Fiona: Tell us your latest news?
My latest book has just been published by JEA Press; ‘Rose & Steel’, a fantasy/action novel about a shapeshifting detective agency.

 

Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?
I began writing in earnest my sophomore year in high school. My English teacher, Mrs. Tobin encouraged me to write a short story and enter it in a writing completion. I did and took second place. From then on, I began to write my stories down.

 
Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Not until then. My family always said I had the gift of storytelling, but it wasn’t until I actually placed in the writing competition that I began to truly believe it.

 

Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?
The story truly would not let go of me. I had the same dream for 6 months straight and it wasn’t until I sat down and started writing the plotline out that I actually quit having the dreams. Thus, my writing career was born.

 

Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style?
*Chuckling* I call my style ‘folksy’. People have told me my style is direct and honest, like I’m actually standing there telling them the story while they read.

 

 
Fiona: How did you come up with the title?
‘Rose & Steel’ are actually two main characters within the book. Read it and you’ll see why I picked that title! *Wink*

Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
My themes usually run ‘good vs evil’ with the concept that you may do bad things, but you never, ever get away with them. Either in this world or the next, you will pay.

 

Fiona: How much of the book is realistic?
I keep the actual locations realistic. I believe that even though my story is a complete work of fiction, certain things like vehicles of the time or locations need to be real and precise. Otherwise, you can lose the attention and interest of the reader.

 

Fiona: Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
I would have to say a combination of the two.

 

Fiona: What books have most influenced your life most?
All horror, mystery, real life hauntings and the supernatural. Everyone from E.A. Poe’s the ‘Tell-tale Heart’ to the real life crime stories of Ann Rule. I am and have always been an avid reader and I do believe that every book I have read has influenced me in one way or another.

 

Fiona: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Stephen King, primarily because he does what I strive to do in my writing – take the absolutely mundane and give it a horrific twist.

 

Fiona: What book are you reading now?
I read three at a time. Right now, it’s Agent White’ by Michael Kanuckel, ‘Shivers VI’ anthology, and Stephen King’s ‘N’.

 

Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Quite a few of my fellow authors at JEA Press. There are some incredibly talented people there and I am honored to be amongst them. Just to name a few: Mark Woods, Tabitha Baumander, Jim GoForth and Ed Cardillo.

Fiona: What are your current projects?
I’m working on a novel about an Asian Vampire with Narcolepsy (Dark Comedy), a short story about a cat and her revenge (Sisterly Love) and am polishing up a Novella called ‘Z-REGEN (Zombie Regeneration Project)’.

 
Fiona: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members
. My best and dearest friend, Sharon Huth-Sullivan. We’ve known each other since we were 7 years old and she’s always pushed me into writing.

Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?
Most definitely. And I already love every minute of it!

 

Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
I’m bad that way. I’ll write, re-write, re-re-write until I lose all focus of the book if I am not careful. So, at this time I will shut my mouth and say no – it’s good how it is. *smiling*

 
Fiona: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
Oh yeah. I was six years old when an older cousin of mine began to tell me horror stories. We would sit on our grandmothers back steps and he would tell me all kinds of scary stories that absolutely enthralled me. I could never get enough and that is when the writer in me was born.

 

Fiona: Can you share a little of your current work with us?
‘One Night In The Eternity Of…’ is an action/dark comedy/thriller about a vampire named Homer Chao who witnesses a murder. The murder victim is a drug dealer and now the three ‘killers’ are after Homer because they find out he saw the killing. The conundrum for Homer is does he deal with this as an ‘average’ human being or does he decide to allow the ‘vampire’ in him take over and deal with the killers?

 
Fiona: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Having enough time to write! I will get up at 2 a.m. to write for three hours if something about my story literally wakes me up or I will write as much as possible in between doing things around the house – but there never seems to be enough hours in the day for me to write!
Fiona: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Robert McCammon is one of my favorites. He writes incredible back stories into his work and keeps it on a down-to-earth level I like a lot. Another favorite is Brian Lumley – it’s hard, because I don’t have just one! *sigh*

 

Fiona: Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?
No, not at all, thanks to Amazon, the internet and google! *laughing*

 

Fiona: Who designed the covers?
A fantastically talented and wonderful illustrationist. Her pseudonym is ‘Velma Giggle Wink’ but her real name is Charlotte Morgan. She and I hit it off from the very first day we talked and the connection has held through her design and understanding of my visions for each one of the book covers.

Fiona: What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Piecing it all together in one fluid tell. Sometimes I get a little over enthusiastic with commas, exclamation points, etc. and that’s where my wonderful editor steps in.

 

Fiona: Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
Patience and allowing things to come to realization in their own time. I have found this works with people, too.

 
Fiona: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Never stop writing. Do not allow anyone or anything discourage you. Write for the love of writing and write what you know.

 
Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Many heartfelt thanks and blessings to you all for giving my stories a chance. I am both humbled and honored because without the readers/listeners there is no real joy in writing/telling the tale.

 

Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?
Oh yeah. *laughing out loud* – The Webster’s Dictionary at three years of age! Mom couldn’t get it away from me! Words have always fascinated me. I still read it for fun at times!

 
Fiona: Other than writing do you have any hobbies?
Movies, nature watching, animal rescues (10 cats, 1dog and tons of wildlife around our home), food and books.

 

Fiona: What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching?
Action, adventure, mystery, horror, shoot ‘em ups. There are very few romantic comedies that I like. ‘Supernatural’, ‘Celebrity Ghost Stories’ and ‘Almost Human’ are among my favorite tv shows.

 

Fiona: Favorite foods / Colors/ Music
Favorite food is Fried Chicken. Favorite Color is Blue and favorite music is ZZ Top.

 

Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done?
I would simply love to be able to continue traveling around the world.

 

Fiona: Do you have a blog/website? If so what is it?
My Website is http://www.leapingunicornliterary.com Please come check it out. It connects to my books, fellow authors and the two great publishing companies, J Ellington Ashton Press and Sirens Call Publications!

 

Here is my interview with George Rigby

31 Monday Mar 2014

Posted by fionamcvie1964 in Uncategorized

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Name and age.
My name is George Rigby, but I write under the name G. G. Rigby. The G comes from the Gordon Clan. They came from up around Aberdeen somewhere in the distant past. I’m seventy-seven years old in May.

Where are you from?
I was born in a village called Royton, before it got gobbled up and became part of Oldham which in turn got gobbled up by Greater Manchester.

Tell us about yourself.
I’m one of six children, two of whom died in childhood; one at six months the other at eighteen months. I attended Sts, Aiden and Oswald RC School in Royton where I received what I would call at best a minimalist education. College was never mentioned and the only two children to qualify came back because their parent’s couldn’t afford to keep them there. But it was during and just after the war and in those days money was tight all round.

Your latest news.
Not much to tell. Maybe I should get out more. Flowers are coming up. Family are doing well, one grandson and his wife and daughter have just emigrated to New Zealand and good luck to them and another has just had a baby. A normal day in the Rigby family.

When and why did you begin writing?
I didn’t start writing until I was sixty-four, when I had to stop work because of arthritis and realised I had a chance to start telling all those stories stacked up in my head, the ones I said I would write one day but never got around to. Thanks to word I can now upload what’s on my mind and hope people like reading it.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I never consciously considered myself a writer. If writing makes one a writer then I suppose I must be one – good, bad or indifferent.

What inspired you to write your first book?
I read something in the newspaper about a young man overdosing on heroin and the story grew from that.

Do you have a specific writing style?
Again this isn’t something I have tried to cultivate. I doubt many people do. We probably pick up niblets of style from the authors we read in the genre we write in, but to consciously try and copy an author would surely distort our own style. Me trying to emulate the style of famous crime writers would only make me a poor imitation of them.

How did you come up with the title?
The title of my first novel (I have completed nine, five of which are on Kindle) was Street Wise. I later found there were numerous titles with one or both of those words in them and so I changed the title to Who Killed the Candyman? The candyman being an old nickname for a drug pusher

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
I don’t knowingly search for a message to pass on. I would just like my readers to enjoy the moment without having to think I’m preaching or trying to leave a message. However, if the reader takes something meaningful from my writing I trust it’s something good. If any of my novels carry a message it might be the one I’m about to upload to Kindle – “Inhuman Acts” – the message being one of hope amidst an ocean of fear and despair for two homeless children in a world where life is often cruel – and cheap.

How much of the book is realistic?
I think we always put something of ourselves into our work, even if it is subconsciously. A few things are done purposely, but when I read back through my novels after the passage of some time I have to smile at certain parts and think, “I know where that came from”.

Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Most of my writing is sheer fiction, although there are some things that come pretty close to the truth. The novel, “Nowhere Safe”, came to me after a passing remark made by a woman at a dinner I attended. The idea for the novel now in the hands of my editor and which will be uploaded to Kindle soon was sparked by a brutal event in Brazil a few years ago.

What books have influenced your life most?
Discounting the bible, I wouldn’t say books have influenced my life. They have certainly enriched it, but they haven’t persuaded me to go in any particular direction. The stories I have read have encouraged me to write better novels. I have read my share of “How Too” books and taken in the tips I found to my liking. Stephen King’s book “On Writing” is in my opinion the best how to book on the market. At least it’s the best one I have read.

If you had to chose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
I’ve read some good crime writers – Ed McBain, Ian Rankin, Elmore Leonard, Raymond Chandler and dozens more. I think they have all mentored me in one way or another.

What book are you reading now?
Robert Ludlum’s The Osterman Weekend, but I’m making hard work of it. In my humble opinion it’s not one of his better efforts. I personally think the first one hundred and sixty pages could quite easily have been condensed into one hundred. But who am I to tell Robert Ludlum how to write and how long his novels should be. Over the years I’ve had great pleasure reading the man’s work. But as I always say, you pays your money you’re entitled to your opinion.

Are there any new authors that have grabbed your interest?
New-ish. Like Michael Connelly, John Connolly, John Grisham, although they aren’t that new are they? But that’s probably my age. I’m biased toward the older writers. They’re writing gives me a buzz. It’s earthy, raw, and draws me in from the first page.

What are your current projects?
I am waiting for my latest novel “Inhuman Acts” to come back from the editor. Meanwhile I’m working on my next book with the working title “The Stranger in the Tea Cup”. And having some fun with my friends on Facebook.

Name one entity that you feel supported you outside family members.
For that I have to go to my lifelong friend, John Moloney who lives on Vancouver Island in Canada. I have known John ever since we started school together and he’s been a constant friend. If anyone has mentored me it is he. He’s the one I send my work to before anyone else sees it. He’s the one who will tell me straight if it isn’t up to scratch. He’s the one who loves the red pen, and when the manuscript comes back I sometimes think he’s had a nose bleed over it.

Do you see writing as a career?
Not at my age, but I am sorry I didn’t begin writing forty or fifty years ago. Now it’s all about enjoyment and if people appreciate my work that will be all the vindication I need.

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
I’ll tell you when it comes back from the editor. I’m only twenty-three chapters into the one I’m writing now and the chapters are usually only four or five pages long. I’ll probably go back and look at things when I’m about thirty or forty thousand words into the novel.

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
Through reading, I think. Over the years I have read some wonderful books – and some not so wonderful. I think it was the not so wonderful ones that gave me the urge to write my own. Funnily enough, after all the crime books I have read the novel that sticks in my mind the most is Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man of the Sea” I wanted to pat him on the back as he struggled up the beach to his house at the end of the story, his heart full of pride in his achievement.

Can you share a little of your current work with us?
I can do better than that. If you follow the link you can see all my work. http://www.ggrigby.com/

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Everything. If it was easy it wouldn’t be worth doing, and the satisfaction you get when you finally write “The End” is the best feeling in the world – although the work has only just begun.

Who is your favourite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
I find it impossible to pick a favourite. As I said earlier, I like so many and they all bring something different to the table. I could throw many more authors into the mix, but in the end they would only be names. To me, though they are stars, every one.

Do you have to travel much concerning your books?
I’m afraid my travelling days are over. In my younger days I travelled the world, now I only do it in my mind. I do like to visit Torbay once a year, though, and in twenty-ten I travelled to London when I was short listed for the Harry Bowling Prize for unpublished authors. Margaret and I stayed at a four star hotel overlooking Hyde Park, it cost us a fortune but we had a wonderful holiday. I didn’t win but the banquet was worth the train fare.

Who designs your covers?
A great cover designer called Kit Foster. I wouldn’t use anyone else.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?
There’s nothing easy about writing a book, although it can’t be as hard as dying, can it? Different people find different aspects of writing a book more difficult than others. Some stumble over the plot, I don’t bother with it. I start with a premise and allow the book to write itself as I get into it. (What if this and what if that) Also characters come to me as I go along, and once I have a character I expand on it to give me something to get my teeth into. For my own benefit I give him/her a name and a form, hair colour, height, weight etc. where they come from, how they talk and a few more characteristics to help me along and off I go until the next character pops up.

Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
I learned never to write another book – but I can’t take my own advice. What writer can?

Do you have any advice for other writers?
If you go into writing, go in whole heartedly, because if you’ve got any writer in your blood you’ll be in for life, and remember, it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Just that I hope my scribblings give you as much satisfaction as writing my novels has given me. If you visit my Blog site I would be pleased if you could drop me a line. I like nothing better than a reader asking a question or commenting on something you liked – or didn’t, and if you take up one of my novels you might like to leave a review on my author page on Amazon. Authors live or die by them; they are the life blood of our writing life.

Other than writing do you have any hobbies?
Not any more. I used to breed tropical fish and exotic birds, but that was many years ago. Now I have it all to do to see my five children, nineteen grand-children and thirteen great grand-children, the latest one hardly four weeks old.

What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching?
Right now I’m enjoying watching reruns of Rebus, Life on Mars and the best thing to come out of Canada since maple syrup – The Murdock Mysteries. I also like F1 racing, football and cricket. The fishing programs, River Monsters and Extreme Fishing are something I rarely miss. The rest of the time I spend in my box room working on my computer (banished there by my wife while she watches her programs). The films I like are – yes, you’ve guessed it – crime films, and you can’t beat a good western. Shane and High Noon were probably the two best westerns ever; with the Magnificents even close behind. I don’t mind the modern films with their special effects but I wouldn’t travel far to watch them.

Favourite foods/colours/ music.
I used to like Rogan Josh, but my stomach won’t allow me to eat it now. I used to like Monk fish, but I don’t fancy taking out a second mortgage to pay for it these days. My favourite colour is blue, the colour of a cloudless sky. My music tastes are not today’s music, I’m afraid, although there are plenty I like, but my heroes are people from a distant era, like Nat King Cole, of who Frank Sinatra one said if he had been white he would have been the biggest star in the world. I love the big bands too, going back to the thirties and forties. I love the voice of Billy Holiday, or Lady Day as she was known. Coming more toward the present the groups of the sixties and seventies, and my top man of that era, Bob Dylan gave me much pleasure. I have many more but that will do for now.

If you were not a writer what else would you have liked to have done?
I haven’t seen the Grand Canyon, the pyramids and a thousand other things. I would have liked to see the Peace River in British Columbia and Alberta, and a little known valley at the tip of BC called headless valley because in the nineteen thirties were found dozens of corpses all with their heads missing, but mainly because now it’s supposed to be one of the most peaceful places on earth. I would like to go up the Amazon River to Manaus and visit the opera house, built with money made from the rubber trees growing there. I would love to visit Machu Picchu in Peru. I could go on all night. There aren’t enough years left in my life to do what I would love to do.

Do you have a blog/website? If so what is it?
My blogsite is http://www.ggrigby.com/ I hope some of you will come and visit me. You’ll all be welcome.

 

Here is my interview with Elvira Bathory

30 Sunday Mar 2014

Posted by fionamcvie1964 in Uncategorized

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Name Elvira Bathory
Age 36
Where are you from New Mexico
A little about your self `ie your education Family life ect
Elvira: I live in a small, modest home with five kiddos and a great husband. I finished high school and have been contemplating going back to school for a creative writing Bachelor’s Degree

 
Fiona: Tell us your latest news?
Elvira: I’m working on a few stories; so far none have been completed and have been playing with the idea of writing a novel

 

Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?
Elvira: I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. It started out as a way to get some frustrations on paper but as I got older those frustrations turned into fantasies 😉

 

Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Elvira: From the moment my pen touched paper and a story was spun

 

Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?
Elvira: Love Story of a Reaper was the first paranormal romance/erotic piece I had ever written, there really wasn’t any inspiration to write per say other than to see if I could do it

 

Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style?
Elvira: I’ve never really thought about that 

 

Fiona: How did you come up with the title?
Elvira: Well, it was a story about a woman who discovers that she’s a Grim Reaper and she is falling in love with the person who has come to tell her this. The fact that the sex in the book is the first time for both characters kind of helped 😉

 

Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Elvira: Nope. Just good old fashioned sexy, steamy storyline 

 

Fiona: How much of the book is realistic?
Elvira: None really. All of it is based on pure fantasy

 

Fiona: Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Elvira: Not in this book. But I can’t say the same for the others that I’m working on

 

Fiona: What books have most influenced your life most?
Elvira: Anything by Nora Roberts or Rosemary Laurey

 

Fiona: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Elvira: There are two writers that I consider a mentor (though I have never met or talked with them, their writing has helped shape mine in one way or another) and they would be Nora Roberts and Rosemary Laurey

 

Fiona: What book are you reading now?
Elvira: Rosemary Laurey’s Keep Me Forever

 

Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Elvira: JR Ward’s Fallen Angel series is pretty good not to mention her Black Dagger Brotherhood

 

Fiona: What are your current projects?
Elvira: I’m currently working on a strictly human novella involving the sin Envy and a few other paranormal romances, one that might turn into a novel 😉

 

Fiona: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.
Elvira: My best friend has been very supportive in all of my choices

 

Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?
Elvira: Absolutely!

 

Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
Elvira: Yes. I would make it a bit longer

 

Fiona: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
Elvira: I’ve always liked creating new worlds that I can step into whenever the mood struck

 

Fiona: Can you share a little of your current work with us?
Elvira: Absolutely! Here’s a snippet from my piece tentatively titled Pink with Envy:
Damn it! Not again, Karen thought as she saw the sock hanging from the door and halted in front of it. She shook her head in disgust. She was getting tired of getting out of class and coming into the dorm only to find that damn sock hanging on the knob.
Where does Tina expect me to go while she’s in there for hours with Raymond? Karen stood in front of their door, shaking in anger and disgust as she contemplated ripping off the sock and just walking in on them. But no, she wouldn’t do that. She was a good girl after all.
She gave the offending sock a dirty look as she leaned back against the wall beside the door. She slid into a sitting position, briefly placing her head on her knees to think. She pulled her psychology book out of her bag. She had a term paper in that class due by the end of the week, so she figured that if she had to be stuck in the hall that she could at least get started on it. She reached into the side pouch on her bag to pull out her MP3 player. Tina was rather loud when she and Raymond were enjoying each other’s company, and the walls of the dorm were paper thin, and Karen needed to concentrate.
She placed the ear buds in her ears, turned her MP3 player on and made sure the music was loud enough to drown out Tina’s crescendo. Every once in a while one of the doors down the hall would open up and someone would come out. She’d give a wave or acknowledging nod to those she knew but she never once took the ear buds out, turned the MP3 player off or stopped writing her notes.
She’d just finished organizing her notes and deciding on how she was going to start her paper, when Raymond emerged from the room with Tina on his arm. Karen jerked the ear buds out of her ears as she looked up. Tina gave her a surprised look as she hurriedly started shoving everything back into her bag.
“It’s about fucking time,” Karen muttered as she scrambled to her feet.
Tina’s face turned red and Raymond offered Karen a sweet smile. Karen wasn’t sure if it was red from anger, embarrassment or shame but figured that she’d find out soon enough.
“’Bye, Tina. ’Bye, Karen,” Raymond said a little breathlessly after giving Tina a thorough kiss.
He passed Karen, ruffling her hair like you would a kid sister, and headed down the hall toward the exit. Karen watched his retreating back, admiring his ass, until she heard Tina clearing her throat. Then the two hours she’d spent out in the hall came rushing back into the forefront of her mind and she spun around.

 

Fiona: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Elvira: Making sure that the feelings come across to my readers the way they feel when I’m writing them for my characters

 

Fiona: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Elvira: Hands down Nora Roberts. She is so good at transporting you into her work that you don’t even realize that you’ve been sucked into the work for hours

 

Fiona: Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?
Elvira: Not yet but I hope to someday

 

Fiona: Who designed the covers?
Elvira: Megan J Parker, owner of EmCat Designs is the one I turn to for all of my book covers
Fiona: What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Elvira: Sometimes my head goes faster than my pen or typing and I tend to miss some words so when I go back to re-read it before submitting to my publisher, Tiger Dynasty Publishing, I have to add those words so it makes sense to everyone who reads it. Thank god for my editor, Kristina Gehring.

 

Fiona: Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
Elvira: Yes. That it was possible to express myself through paranormal romance as it is through regular romance

 

Fiona: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Elvira: Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it!

 

Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Elvira: Thank you for picking up my book and giving me a chance!

 

Fiona: Other than writing do you have any hobbies
Elvira: I like to read and watch TV

 

Fiona: What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching?
Elvira: I love the Romance/Comedy movies and I’m a sucker for sappy movies. The ones that make me cry lol. As for TV shows I love Bones, The Originals, The Vampire Diaries (but I read those books WAY before they were turned into a TV show hehe), Reign (I love history!). There are so many that it would take me days to name them all, I think lol

 

Fiona: Favorite foods / Colors/ Music
Elvira: Pizza!!/Emerald Green/Anything with a beat that I can dance too

 

Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done?
Elvira: Children’s counsellor in Elementary School. Kids can be cruel and I would like to help those that are bullied

Fiona: Do you have a blog/website? If so what is it?
I sure do.
http://authorelvirabathory.wix.com/elvira-bathory

 

Here is my interview with Tabitha Baumander

29 Saturday Mar 2014

Posted by fionamcvie1964 in Uncategorized

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Name Tabitha Baumander

Age 54

Where are you from Toronto Ontario Canada

A little about your self `ie your education Family life etc ; I never managed to get into university. I have a massive spelling issue and I was university age pre lap top computer and spell check. I’ve always written but never managed to produce much polished material till I got hold of a computer with spell check and grammar check. With that help I hit the ground running and I haven’t stopped. I’m divorced with adult twin children. I still live with my son my daughter is living in a small city about four hours from here. I don’t have a lot of practical talents so I’ve ended up doing call centre work for the past fifteen years or so.

 

Fiona: Tell us your latest news?

My list of books on Amazon.com is growing. Very soon my adventure fantasy WARRIORS from JEA Press will be added to that list.

 
Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?

I started writing very young when I ran out of stories that I wanted to read. Took a long time to produce anything readable.(see above) but I did write.

 
Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I started considering myself a writer when the quality of work I was producing was as good or better than the work I was reading from published writers.

 
Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?

Personal day dreams that got me out of my real life and into a world of my own. Also I wanted to see if I could do it.
Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style?

I tend to take absolute reality then give it a twist. It’s not particularly surprising to find a dragon in Middle Earth. Find one in the middle of a modern city now THAT is a surprise.

 
Fiona: How did you come up with the title?

Warriors is simply one of the names I give my heroes. I happen to think one or two word titles stick with a person.

 
Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

I try not to do messages. They tend to be there but I don’t worry about them. For Warriors I suppose its; find out who you are and then be that person.

 
Fiona: How much of the book is realistic?

A reasonable amount of the setting is but some bits have been transported out of context. Mind you I have a papal conclave in Warriors that is total nonsense and not according to rules at all.

 
Fiona: Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

Nope Its got monsters and heroes.

 
Fiona: What books have most influenced your life most?

Not sure.
Fiona: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

For several years I communicated with a retired Ltd colonel who had been in the green berets. (us army) He helped with some technical stuff with my book Castle Doom also published by JEA. He taught me how to push through and find a way of finishing things that are hard to write and not give up. He’s gone now.

 
Fiona: What book are you reading now?

To be honest I don’t do a lot of reading at this point in my life. When I do its history or I reread an Agatha Christie or something like that. If I read something connected to my genre I absorb style and that’s distracting and damaging to my own work.

 

 
Fiona: What are your current projects?

Currently I’m adapting a screen play of mine into a book.

 
Fiona: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.

The internet, it’s where I find people I can connect to who understand writing.

 
Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?

It’s what I do, more of a vocation than job.

 
Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
Nope

 
Fiona: Can you share a little of your current work with us?

Not yet. It’ll be a while before its ready to see the light of day. However the work that will be published after Warriors is called TIME WALKER. That one is the first book of an already written four book series. I can’t say too much about it yet but the screen play based on Time Walker has gotten some interest.

 

Fiona: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

Not really.

 

Fiona: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

Don’t really have an answer for this one.

 
Fiona: Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?
I’ve never traveled because of my books.

 

Fiona: Who designed the covers?

I am published with three presses and have two books self published. The presses did the covers for their books though I had input on some of them a friend did the covers for my two self published books.

 

Fiona: What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Not sure at one time I would have said knowing they are finished but I think I can tell that now at least most of the time.

 

 

Fiona: Do you have any advice for other writers?

Get a good day job.

 

Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

If you like what you read please tell someone?

 

Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?

I started reading very early. No clue at this point.

 

Fiona: Other than writing do you have any hobbies ?

I knit.

 

Fiona: What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching?

Dr Who, and most things BBC for television. Action adventure and horror for films though I don’t like slasher SAW type films.

 

Fiona: Favorite foods / Colors/ Music ; Chinese

I don’t have a favorite / not sure

 

Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done?

At one time I wanted to act but I’m really not that good I eventually gave up and went back to writing.

 

 

Fiona: Do you have a blog/website? If so what is it? The best place to take a look at my work is my amazon.com page The link is below.

http://www.amazon.com/Tabitha-Baumander/e/B00F6GJCZ2

 

Here is my interview with Thomm Quackenbush

28 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by fionamcvie1964 in Uncategorized

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Name: Thomm Quackenbush
Age: 33
Where are you from: Upstate New York. I live within an hour and a half from the hospital where I was born, though it is now a parking lot.
A little about your self `ie your education Family life etc
At present, my day job is in a juvenile corrections facility, teaching English (royalty checks don’t stretch as far as I would like and “full time author” doesn’t yet have health benefits). It is both more and less difficult than people assume, though partly because I don’t let myself know what offenses my student committed to end up in my class. Like all children, one just has to let them know one’s lofty expectations and they rise to meet them to the best of their ability, which can be less than stellar given spotty school attendance. Inner city gangs seem to recruit directly outside special education classrooms, unfortunately.
In my personal life, I am a four months away from marrying my artist fiancée Amber and becoming, in the words of one of our friends, a “liberal arts power couple.” Like a good husband-to-be, my part in the proceedings so far involves distinguishing between shades of purple for napkins and occasionally buying plastic cups in bulk. I have 95,000 words of a future novel about the wedding sketched out, because I am an intolerably thorough writer, though I likely will not get to actually writing the book until after the wedding itself.
Fiona: Tell us your latest news?
Last month, I was one of the headliners at No Such Convention in Poughkeepsie, New York. Despite a total blackout during my “Monsters You Don’t Know” panel, it was a rousing success, though the local paper did misspell my last name in the article about it.
I am already lined up appearances at the Pine Bush UFO Fair and Parade at the end of April and Otakon in August (just after my honeymoon), though the latter may only be on the artists’ alley.

Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?
Writing was always how I best expressed myself. My parents and teachers were sharp enough to encourage this from a very young age, so I always pushed myself to excel in my writing.

Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Possibly from the moment in my childhood when I realized I could not realistically become a dragon.

Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?
In part, it was a childhood filled with books on the paranormal. But, no matter how much world-building I did, We Shadows didn’t coalesce into a story I wanted to read (to say nothing of write) until I wrote a story inspired by a friend of mine committing suicide. The story won no prizes, though I have reproduced it in my anthology Find What You Love and Let It Kill You for the sake of completeness. I didn’t want to let those characters, Shane and her boyfriend Eliot, leave. I wasn’t done with them yet, so I slotted them into the world I built. Instantly, I had a plot and protagonist I wanted to discover.

Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style?
I don’t think I do, though I’ve been told it is very easy to see that I have written something. I spent my adolescence trying to imitate better writers (Douglas Adams, Neil Gaiman, David Sedaris, Anne Rice, Tom Robbins, Kurt Vonnegut, etc.). I will never sound like them. They have beaten me with experience. Since then, it was just a matter of learning how to write well for an audience and systematically unlearning all the imitative techniques teachers are trained to drill into you.

Fiona: How did you come up with the title?
We Shadows and Artificial Gods come from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. Danse Macabre came from a French song that I was made to listen to, with accompanying black and white video of Death summoning skeletons from their grave, every October in elementary school. I was unaware at the popularity of the title, however, or I would have chosen something else so people didn’t ask if I am Stephen King or Laurell K. Hamilton. The title for my next book, Flies to Wanton Boys, comes from “King Lear”.

Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
The world is much stranger, more dangerous, and more wonderful than you are allowed to believe, but it is out there. When the strangeness wants you to experience it, there is little you can do to stop it.

Fiona: How much of the book is realistic?
Likely more than readers would think. For example, in Artificial Gods, I attended several meetings of the United Friends Observer Society, a UFO support group in Pine Bush, NY, where my story is set. Many of the stories characters tell are amalgams of what I heard from members during sky-watches. Basically, the only thing whole fictional in that book is the characters. The setting, UFO fair, support group, and much of the UFO lore are verifiable.

Fiona: Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
I try not to base my characters on people I know, since I tend to treat the characters I like best the absolute worst. I wouldn’t want someone I know taking offense to being brutally abused in my fiction.
That being said, I do tend to mine my adolescent awkwardness of laughs and character back stories whenever possible. Someone should profit from them, after all.

Fiona: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Neil Gaiman was the first author I recognized as writing the genre where I thought I best fit, though I was about a decade too immature as a writer to attempt my own inclusion.
Gaiman has given me occasional bits of advice and encouragement through the years and owns my first two books, though I have no evidence they are anything more than shelf-filler.

Fiona: What book are you reading now?
I am finishing up Christopher Buckley’s Thank You for Smoking, which is a very quick and enjoyable satire. I had committed the cardinal sin of seeing the movie before reading the book, but that was so long ago that I doubt it has influences my perceptions of the book beyond picturing protagonist Nick Naylor as Aaron Eckhart and wondering when someone will say “The great state of Vermont will not apologize for its cheese.”

Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
I was given a review copy of Sarah Bruni’s 2013 novel The Night Gwen Stacy Died. I started it reluctantly, not really sure where it would go and a bit uncertain I wanted to deal with main character named Peter Parker. However, I am over a hundred pages in and have a hard time putting it aside each night. Bruni is clever and compassionate. The material she chose to deal with is not easy, but I believe even in the absurdity she throws at the reader.

Fiona: What are your current projects?
I am doing a final polish on Flies to Wanton Boys, fleshing out a short story a friend wrote he can submit it to magazines, and collaborating on an anthology/novella with a few friends. The last of the projects might not come to anything more than a fun activity, but I am enjoying seeing it blossom.

Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?
It has better be, since I tell everyone this is what I do. I have had a lot of jobs and have tried to do the best I could at (most of) them, but writing has always been what I see myself doing decade from now.

Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
I haven’t reread the whole of Artificial Gods since final edits, though I will have to eventually, so it stands as a glowing paragon of virtue. This opinion will almost definitely be knock down a few pegs when I eventually do, since I learn so much in the writing of each book that I find my previous labors a little cringe-worthy. My editor on that book, Patricia La Barbera, was exemplary and exactly what a fresh faced author needs: she questioned every fact I inserted into my story, insisted my character didn’t know words I had used, and overall kept a reign over my artistic disposition. She was my editor for Danse Macabre, but that book was far more fictional and so her touch was lighter.

Fiona: Can you share a little of your current work with us?
02: Men in Black
Jasmine spent her afternoon trying to summon forth company of the non-Kathleen kind before her parents eventually returned home from their respective jobs and put her to work on chores. She guessed most of her friends, the casual acquaintances to the ones who she truly missed, were spending their summers far from Pine Bush. She considered it her own fault for not keeping in touch. She had spent the last two summers hopping from one summer program to another to circumvent requirements at Annandale, ignoring old friends as she was now ignored. Still if someone didn’t rescue her soon, she was doomed to a dull summer.
Around two in the afternoon, someone knocked on the door, three perfect sets of raps like a clockwork woodpecker soliciting entrance. Jasmine glanced through the peephole and saw two men in stiff black suits. Behind them, distorted by the fisheye lens, she saw a black Cadillac. The Jehovah’s Witnesses certainly upped the ante.
She opened the door a crack, leaving the security chain in place. “Sorry, we already have a savior and we aren’t accepting solicitations, but thanks for coming by.”
Jasmine slammed the door, but it didn’t close. She looked for what was blocking it and saw four pallid fingers like maggot sausages squeezed between the door and the frame. Immediately, she slid the chain free and opened the door so the fingers could be liberated. The front-most man slowly retracted his hand and put it at his side. “You are going to let us in.”
“What? Yes, yes, of course! I’m sorry about your hand. I didn’t see it there.”
Both men nodded in unison and walked into her house. There was something about the way each moved that reminded Jasmine of a cheap wind-up soldier she had been given as a little girl, its parts never quite moving in a sensible way. It was as though these men had not grown up with joints and were uneasy about using them now.
The men sat on the couch. The short one fumbled with a curling wire projecting from behind his ear. Jasmine wondered why a Jehovah’s Witness would need that, but then decided it must be for an old hearing aid, though the man was too young to need one. Or was he? It was difficult to settle on an age for either man. Certainly older than her, but in no specific way.
“Let me get you some ice,” Jasmine offered.
“Ice?” asked the taller man. “Yes. Ice. You will get us ice now.”
Jasmine dashed into the kitchen and placed some ice cubes in a Ziploc bag, covering this in a paper towel. How much more than this would be required for mashing some religionista’s hand in her door? It was mostly his fault for putting it there. She would accept a copy of The Watchtower and pretend to care for a few minutes, but then they were out of there.
She returned and asked to see the injured man’s hand.
“Yes. Let us show our hands,” the man said. Both men stuck their arms out, palms up. Jasmine pursed her lips at this strangeness and reached out for the injured man’s left hand. His fingers were long and pale, cool to the touch. The skin around the knuckles was torn but bloodless, and for a moment, Jasmine thought she saw something more beneath the torn skin, something silver or gray. The man retracted his hand to his side.
“What is this?” the other man demanded, looking up at her with his mouth half opened. His eyes were dark and unblinking, the irises almost black.
“It’s ice. For your friend’s hand.”
“Yes,” said the first man, matching Jasmine’s cadence. “It’s ice. For your friend’s hand.”
The two men took the bagful of ice and after a cursory examination, disassembled it on the coffee table into its components: ice, plastic bag, and paper towel. Then they began to put each, in turn, into their mouths. Jasmine backed away from them. Their attention returned to her. Both of their mouths were opened now, a sliver of paper towel sticking to the bottom lip of the smaller man.
“I think you two should leave now. My parents will be back any minute, and my father might shoot you.”
“The only functional firearm in this house is locked in a case five meters from you,” the first one said as though he were trying to mimic the robot from a fifties sci-fi movie. He flashed a badge, but all she could recall once he had put it away was that it was an inverted seven-pointed star with letters between each prong, but no notion remained of which. “We are from your government. We have questions.”
“Then you should talk to my parents.”
“If you want to see your parents alive, you will answer our questions,” the smaller one said. “I am Ensign Donald and this is Vice Admiral Erikson. You will answer our questions.”
Jasmine sat, though her instinct was to run. Donald removed a device from his jacket pocket, a small gray box with lights, and put it on the table between them. “What do you know about UFOs?”
Jasmine wanted to leave the room, to lock herself somewhere until they left, but found herself answering, “I don’t know anything. People see them. I’ve never been interested.”
Erikson jumped to his feet, shifting his weight from one foot to the other and back as though about to topple. “The most important subject in the universe and you are not interested?”
She shook her head. “They were always beneath my radar.”
Donald leaned forward at the waist, his gaze transferred from Jasmine to a blank spot on the table. “You will give us all of your radar readings and your machinery now.”
“I don’t have… It’s a figure of speech.”
Donald unbent himself and looked at her. He tore a piece of plastic bag free and began chewing it, his mouth remaining opened and only his bottom jaw moving.
“You did not see anything last night,” Erikson insisted.
“I didn’t,” Jasmine said.
“You took a photogram of what you did not see last night. You will give this to me now,” Donald said, the plastic bag gone from his mouth and the ice melted to a puddle. He turned his head sharply, up, down, side to side, and then back to her. “Jasmine Woods, you cannot hide your thoughts from us. We are from the center of your planet. You did not see anything last night. You will come with us in our transport vehicle, and you will show us where it was.”
Erikson reached for her. Jasmine pulled away and Erikson moved back into position. He picked a coin up from the table and held it to her. Then he closed his hand around it and opened it a moment later, empty. “Just as this coin is no longer in this dimension, your heart…will not…be if…you…tell…an…y…one ab…out this. Discharging! Discharging! We need to speak to your sister! Bornless, she has no head! Perform the Star Sapphire. Bring the moon! Ka ka ka ka ka,” he said like a cheap electronic toy frying its circuit board.
Donald then sang “Mary Had a Little Lamb” in a falsetto, but skipped back to the beginning after one and a half verses with the hiccup of a broken record. Both men rose and with their awkward gait, hobbled out of the house again without another word. Jasmine looked out the window and saw another man in a black suit standing at the far door of the car, staring back at her. He was about seven feet tall, but the suit seemed tailored for someone a foot shorter. They all entered the car—none in the driver’s seat—and it sped off.
***
When she was sure they were gone, she called Chrys’s cell phone, and when that failed, called Kathleen and told her to come pick her up.
“What’s wrong?” Kathleen asked.
“Nothing. I don’t know. Can you drive me to New Paltz?”
“Um, sure, I guess. When is good?”
Jasmine looked down at her watch, startled her interaction with these men had taken so long. “Three. I just need to get some stuff ready.”
There was a pause on the other end. “In the morning?”
“What? No.”
“I don’t understand. You want to go to New Paltz tomorrow?”
“No, in like fifteen minutes.”
Again, the pause. “So, five o’clock, then?”
Jasmine looked down at her watch, then to the clock on the mantle for confirmation. She peered out the window at the sunlight. “One second.” She turned the television on to the Weather Channel, which stated the time as 4:44.

 
Fiona: Who designed the covers?
The head of Double Dragon Publishing, Deron Douglas, prides himself on creating almost all the covers he publishes. I gave input as to We Shadows and Danse Macabre, but I was as surprised as anyone when I saw the cover for Artificial Gods in my inbox one night in January.

Fiona: What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Deciding I am finally ready to send it off. If left to my own devices, each of my books would be ponderous volumes that tell the back stories and motivations of almost every character, no matter how minor. After chipping the story away to the barest essentials, it’s hard to finally let go and release it into the world (to be edited by someone else). If I could, I would treat my book like wikis, tweaking and rephrasing things I have learned to express better and never actually producing anything new. Instead, I write sequels to prove to myself, if to no one else, that I have improved.

Fiona: Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
I’ve went undercover with UFO support groups, I have memorized the phasing of Pagan rituals, I have read through historical tomes that starkly contradict the sanitized version I was taught in school. The world is messy and curious. I doubt I will ever stop discovering facts that cause me to have to recalibrate my views. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Fiona: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Finish what you start. I frequently talk to aspiring writers who tell me they are halfway through writing a dozen things, but that they never finish. As an addendum to this, write as much as you possibly can in a draft before going back to revise. I would have had We Shadows in the marketplace (and my authorial career begun in earnest) two years prior if I forced myself to stop “perfecting” scenes I needed to cut.

Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
No matter how terrified I may seem when you greet me at signings, I am constantly grateful for your interest and attention. Though I am continually trying to write the book I want most to read, it would be pointless if you didn’t enjoy my work. Whenever I see a new review or a stranger quotes me in their term paper, I squeak with delight. Authors live by your reactions and the best thing you can do is to let us know you are still interested. We are an insecure bunch.

 
Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done?
I had once planned to become a comedic actor, since I excelled at inhabiting foreign heads and making people laugh (I once taught a course in improvisational comedy to the son of a Comedy Central bigwig). As a fifteen year old, I figure that I would go to college in Chicago, join Second City, be hired on Saturday Night Live, leave after a few season for a sitcom gig or motion picture work. This seemed completely sensible to me then, but it should be noted that I was always inclined toward fantasy.

 
Fiona: Do you have a blog/website? If so what is it?
My main website is http://xenex.org, though interested parties can also find me on Twitter (@thommq) and Tumblr (thommquackenbush.tumblr.com).
http://xenex.org/writing/weshadows.php
http://xenex.org/writing/dansemacabre.php
http://xenex.org/writing/artificialgods.php
http://xenex.org/writing/fwyl.php

 

 

Here is my interview with Bret Bouriseau

28 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by fionamcvie1964 in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Name Bret Bouriseau
Age As old as my tongue and slightly older than my teeth.
Where are you from St. Louis, Missouri USA
A little about your self `ie your education Family life etc ( SEE BIO)

 
Fiona: Tell us your latest news?
My new book, Travers McCraken The Prince of Knocknafay release date is JANUARY 2014 !!

 
Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?
I started an underground paper in St. Louis Missouri in 1999 called The Spectre –I had a sales background so it seemed like an easy way to make money. Writing was almost an afterthought, “Gee I guess if I’m going to own a newspaper I better write something!”

 
Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I did a lot of editorials, fun stuff, you know, hell our motto was “Everybody talks about my drinking, but nobody talks about my thirst.. but I never really thought of myself as a writer. I had hired a lady to do a cliffhanger serial I called Lamp Down Low Theatre. She was 8 chapters into a 10 chapter story. She would hand them in like clockwork every Thursday –when she didn’t show up for her deadline one week, I went looking for her. Her neighbor said they had her at the city sanitarium sipping on thorzine milkshakes. To be truthful, this came as no big surprise. Anyway, I got her permission to finish the story and SHAZAM – I is a writer!

 
Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?
Well…after that I needed a new serial and that’s when I met Travers…

 
Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style?
I consider myself a storyteller; I enjoy putting the reader in my worlds. I think my writing, like my art, is somewhat surrealistic. The descriptions are the fantasy part, the dialog, hopefully, makes it real.

 
Fiona: How did you come up with the title?
Travers McCraken was a given, but I loved the sound of Knocknafay -I knew it had to be brought out to the front of the stage.

 
Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Many! (laughs) I invite the reader to glean them for themselves.

 

Fiona: How much of the book is realistic?
The loving and the learning part. I hope that the sense of family and friendship also shines through.

 

Fiona: Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Oh Yes! Someone recently ask me “Which one of your characters are you? I replied “All of them!” (chuckle) Most are composites of people I have known. Travers’ self-serving cousin, Oberon, is solely based on my first sales manager; you could smell the snake oil on that guy!

 
Fiona: What books have most influenced your life most?
Dracula, The Chronicles of Narnia the works of Robert E Howard I love Michael Moorcock’s Elric saga.

 
Fiona: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Bram Stoker has been greatly over-shadowed by his famous creation, but his words are so descriptive. To this day going to visit the Carpathians is on my bucket list for that very reason.

 
Fiona: What book are you reading now?
I am currently reading reprints of the old pulp heroes, The Shadow, Doc Savage, The Spider and so on. Some great writers came out of that era.

 
Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Paul Malmount. Talking about the pulps, this guy knows the pulps! He is a genius! In his book The Chinatown Yellow Death Cloud Peril he take the authors of The Shadow and Doc Savage, whom were quite remarkable themselves in real life, and pairs them up in an adventure worthy of the genre. Remarkable writing!

 
Fiona: What are your current projects?
I believe I’ll be in Knocknafay for a long, long time!

 

Fiona: Name someone that you feel supported you outside of family members.
Luke Mansfield -errant nephew and all around great guy. He has been there from the beginning. Along with web-wizard Chris Moreland we formed BonaFide Outlaw Freepress or B.O.F. for short to publish The Prince of Knocknafay. Look for upcoming projects from the B.O.F.!! Also I must mention, my life-long friend Curt Smith. This guy gave me his computer when mine gave up the ghost so I could continue writing! Dean Lisle also has to be mentioned. He was my high school English teacher and one my biggest supporters. The man has more friends than a jail house cat -he is always helping me get the word to the masses. Susan Hutchinson, great friend and author of the social thriller, Never Too Late is a big supporter in the UK.

 

Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?
That is all I see!

 

Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
One of my favorite sayings is “My life is just beyond the windshield, not in the rearview mirror.”

 

Fiona: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
Warren Publishing created a great bunch of black and white magazines in the late sixty’s Uncle Creepy, Cousin Eerie, Vampirella, Famous Monsters ect… I literally cut my adult teeth reading that stuff. Warped me for life!

 

Fiona: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Punctuation!! And when to use who and whom, I usually just rephrase the sentence!

 

Fiona: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
C. S. Lewis. His style is you don’t have to use a large number of words to move the reader, just the right ones.”

 

Fiona: Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?
I HOPE AND PRAY (laughs)
Fiona: Who designed the covers?
I do all my own art – it is kind of part and parcel at the moment. I currently have about 15 pieces for the book that I have done myself. But I would love to see some great artists take on Knocknafay!

 

Fiona: What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Taking the time.

 

Fiona: Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
Yes, my wings are much stronger than the branch I had chosen to sit on.

 
Fiona: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Do something as original as your influences will allow. The world has enough glittery vampires, playing survival games while being dominated by millionaires! (big laughter)

 

Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
READ THE STORY, AND THEN TELL EVERYBODY ABOUT KNOCKNAFAY.COM!!

Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?
Dick and Jane
Fiona: Other than writing do you have any hobbies?
Running a rather boring, but profitable business, but I’m lucky because it could be the other way around.
Fiona: What films do you enjoy watching? The Quiet Man, best movie ever! White O’Morn, the stronghold of the McCraken family was named after the cottage in the movie.
Fiona: Favorite foods / Colors/ Music

Anything savory or flavorful/blue/blues
Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done?
No other options!

Fiona: Do you have a blog/website? If so what is it? http://knocknafay.com/ SHARING IS FUN!!

 

 

BIO
Bret Bouriseau grew up in a small Midwestern town along the Mississippi. As a boy, much of his free time was spent reading and drawing. Not caring for the structure of the public school system, he took his GED test in his junior year while still in high school. After receiving his diploma he promptly left, leaving his home for good shortly after turning 17. Throughout the early ‘80’s he traveled, supporting himself with various odd jobs -including airbrush artist and carnie. In 1985 he joined the U S Navy and reported aboard the USS Enterprise visiting 14 countries before ending his tour of duty in 1989. The next few years he worked a few factory jobs but found out quickly it interfered with his daydreaming and wanderlust. In 1993 he discovered the wonderful world of sales, a profession that combined travel and word skills. It was a natural fit. Around the turn of the 21st century Bret began publishing a bar-patron paper called The Spectre. He sold ads and organized party bus tours to subsidize his income. It was there he began to hone his skills as an artist and writer in earnest. His first short story, The Cool Tile Floor was published in its pages to local acclaim. Many of Bret’s most well-known full-color artworks were inspired by thumbnail sketches which served as black and white covers for the “O so Righteous Rag”. The beginning of the end for printed newspapers was on the horizon in 2006. At the urging of his wife to get out of the “bar business” the couple formed a corporation, Moondance Enterprises. To this day their company manufactures and distributes skin care products nationwide. The business became successful, allowing Bret to invest some money in his long-time dream of starting a publishing company. Along with life-long friend “Cool Hand” Luke Mansfield and web-wizard Chris Moreland they formed BonaFide Outlaw Freepress or B.O.F. for short. Bret’s Travers McCraken, the Prince of Knocknafay, with a release date of January 2015, will be their first title. Bret acknowledges painter and cover artist Frank Frazetta as his biggest single artistic influence. His personal style is more akin to Maxfield Parrish-using many of the artist’s technics in his own work, updated for the computer age. An avid reader of pulp fiction, his two favorite books are Bram Stoker’s Dracula –“the text so rich it seems almost painted rather than written” and at the other end of the spectrum, C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, especially The Last Battle –“proving you don’t have to use a large number of words to move the reader, just the right ones.” He has spent many hours trying to merge these two techniques. Bret Bouriseau currently lives in a never-completely renovated farmhouse with his wife, Marguerite and two sons, Walker and Morgon, in rural Missouri. In the spring and summer he enjoys travel. During the fall and winter he prefers a warm fire, a dark brew and reading stories that were originally printed on pulp. As with most writers, he loves cats and would be eager to exchange recipes.

 

Here is my interview with Michael Fisher

28 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by fionamcvie1964 in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Name: Michael Fisher
Age 43
Where are you from:
I was born and raised in West Virginia, but I call Washington DC home as it is the city that helped mold me into the man I am today.
A little about your self `ie your education Family life etc:
I have done a lot of different things in my life. After high school, I joined the Navy and served eight years as a hospital corpsman with the specialties of Field Medical Technician (Combat Medic) and Psychiatric Technician. While I was wrapping up my time serving our nation, I got my apprenticeship to learn how to tattoo. Once I got out, I had a full-time career which I have been doing since 1995. In addition to those, I have also worked for an electronic security firm as well as helped run and DJed at a gothic/industrial club night in DC for four years.

These days my life boils down to my family and my job, with what free time I have otherwise, devoted to my writing and editing work with J. Ellington Ashton Press. I am a family man with a beautiful wife and three kids who seem to be growing up way too fast.
Fiona: Tell us your latest news?
My first published story with JEA Press, The Return of the Devil Fly, was just released in an anthology called Midnight Remains. This story won the runner-up for short story of the year for 2013 with this publisher. I also have an upcoming collaboration titled Feral Hearts due out this summer, created along with some of the other great minds at JEA. Also, my first novel, DCs Dead, will be coming out this year as well. This looks to be a good year with JEA.

 

Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?
I have been a storyteller for most of my life. I started running Dungeons & Dragons games for my friends when I was 10, and my love of roleplaying, or more specifically, interactive storytelling, was cemented. I first chose to write down my stories in 2002 when I was having a slow streak at the tattoo shop I was working in. I had run a very fun game with some of my friends in DC right before I relocated to South Florida in which I had the players run characters of themselves. I thought that if I could get it down on paper, I could have something for myself. So I picked up a spiral-bound notebook and started writing it out longhand. I still have that notebook in a box somewhere. I never expected to get professionally published, rather that I would have to use a vanity press to have a copy for my bookshelf. I wrote for a while and hit a writer’s block full force. I didn’t look at it for ten years. In early 2013, I saw a call for submissions for a charity anthology called The Tall Book of Zombie Shorts to help out the Wounded Warriors Project. As a vet, I wanted to help somehow. I contacted one of the editors and offered up what I had completed on DCs Dead. I was quickly told that I need to get this story completed and submitted to a publisher, that it was that good. That lit the fire under me and I started writing again. Little did I know, that editor, catt dahman, would wind up running the publishing house that I would sign with a year later.
Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

It just hit me today that I really am an author and not just some fool fumbling around in the dark, spewing the madness of my mind out into the world.

 

Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?
My first novel, DCs Dead was inspired by my love of the zombie and survival horror genres, as well as by a group of wonderful friends in the Metro DC area that I consider family, although many of us have since moved on to other areas of the country.

 

Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style?
Other than trying to stay firmly under the broad umbrella that is the horror genre? Not particularly. DCs Dead is a standard head-shot Romero-rules zombie story, where as Return of the Devil Fly is a first-person descent into the madness that can follow a soldier back from war. I am currently working on a story that is as much murder mystery, police procedural and horror.

Fiona: How did you come up with the title?
DCs Dead is named after a Vampire gaming session my good friend Patrick , who also features in DCs Dead, ran for about three years. The Return of the Devil Fly came to me while listening to the Misfits song The Return of the Fly which is about the classic Vincent Price film of the same name. I wanted to run in a totally opposite direction from the original, so I used the title, as well as character and actor names, as inspiration. The main character’s name is Vince Price, no relation to that actor guy though.

 

Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
That is a good question. There are underlying messages such as loyalty and sacrifice, but overall, it is just a fun romp in the zombocalypse.

 

Fiona: How much of the book is realistic?

I hope my stories are quite realistic. I write from a mix of personal experiences with locales and people combined with thorough research. I have been told that perhaps some of my dialogue is a bit…salty, and perhaps, I should tone it down. My opinion is that it was written with real people’s voices and their manner of speech and I refuse to compromise their voices for propriety’s sake.

 

Fiona: What books have most influenced your life most?
That’s a really good question, Fiona. I have gained quite a bit of wisdom from Robert Heinlein via his character of Lazarus Long, who has appeared in many of his books. Spider Robinson’s Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon series has a wonderful blend of wit and wisdom as well, which is how I like to live my life. Clive Barker’s Books of Blood proved how visceral short fiction can be as well as shining a light on the beauty in the ghastly.
Fiona: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
In scope, I would love to consider HP Lovecraft a mentor but I am nowhere as verbose as the Old Man of Providence. In reality, I would have to say that catt dahman is my mentor as she is the one who saw the possibility in my rough scratchings and has driven me to continue and guided me along the way.

 

Fiona: What book are you reading now?
I am currently reading, and editing, an upcoming book from JEA called Warriors by Tabitha Baumander. It is a great story of the people who have fought the battles against the darkness for millennia.

 

Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Very much so. As I said, Tabitha’s story has my undivided attention currently. Edward Cardillo’s Odd Tales of an Old Man, Saul Tanpepper’s Gameland series and SB Knight’s Game of Straws are at the top of my To Read list

 

Fiona: What are your current projects?
Like I said before, I currently have a second novel in the works that is a police procedural story involving some ghastly deaths in the Washington DC area that are baffling a particular homicide detective. I am writing a story titled Wake Up Dead which I am writing for an upcoming anthology called Axes of Evil II. The story is best described as a heavy metal revenge beyond the grave tale. I am also working on another zombie novel, this one at sea on a cargo freighter.

 

Fiona: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.

Once again, I have to give the props to catt dahman as well as the rest of the staff at writers at J. Ellington Ashton Press. We are all quite supportive of each other and have to qualms about dropping what we are on to help out.

 

Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?
Writing is currently a hobby for me as I do not anticipate being the next King or Rowling, so I will continue with my career tattooing until I no longer can.

 

Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
Of course, I was still making changes the day I submitted it. Now that it is in the editing process, more changes will come. A great man once said, “No work of art is ever completed. It is simply abandoned.”
Fiona: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
I believe we already covered this and I would rather not bore your readers with redundancy.

 

Fiona: Can you share a little of your current work with us?
I’m afraid that I can’t at this moment, Fiona. I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprises to come. The wet, gory surprises.

 

Fiona: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
The biggest challenge to my writing these days is time. There just doesn’t seem to be enough of it. Hell, I am being interviewed when I really should be sleeping. There will be enough time for sleep when I am old.

 

Fiona: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
My favorite authors are HP Lovecraft and Clive Barker. Both firmly grasped the concept of otherworldly horror by the throat. However, Lovecraft held it close and whispered the secrets of the things from beyond our world into the scaly ear of the listener while Barker rips that throat out and paints a visceral masterpiece in the carnage.

 

Fiona: Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?
Not as of yet. I would love to be able to at some point but I need to gain a following first.

 

Fiona: Who designed the covers?
So far, and I hope for the foreseeable future, I have designed the covers for every book that I have been involved in. I highly doubt I will be doing the cover for Axes II, if my story is even accepted.

 

Fiona: What was the hardest part of writing your book?
The hardest part was trying to muscle my way through that ten year deep wall of writer’s block. Little did I know, all I needed was a wonderful woman from Texas and her verbal sledgehammer.

 

Fiona: Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
Even when you think you are done, you are far from it. While going back and double checking DCs Dead for errors, I would decide to add to scenes, flesh out descriptions and give the characters a bit more to say. Next thing I know, I am another 10,000 words in without even thinking about it.

 

Fiona: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Never give up on your dream. No matter how daunting it may seem, if you have that knack for telling stories, I am sure someone out there will want to read them. Don’t get dejected by rejection letters. Remember, Stephen King was rejected by every single publisher when he wrote Carrie and now, he is the King of Horror.

 

Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Take a chance and dive headfirst into one, or more, of my stories. I think it will be worth your time.
Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?
Of course not. My mom tells me that I was reading the Bible at three but I don’t remember. I remember the first book that I became enthralled with. I remember reading Gahan Wilson’s Harry the Fat Bear Spy, Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, and Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators books when I was in elementary school. I also remember eating up an Alfred Hitchcock magazine of horror fiction my mother would get when I was about nine or ten. There was a Chelsea Quinn Yarbro story about a monster baby that tormented a man in his apartment building, which was in one issue. That story stayed with me for years. Combined with the fact that my earliest memory is watching Bela Lugosi’s Dracula with my mom when I was four as well as films like Dawn of the Dead at eight and Alien and Phantasm at nine, it is no wonder that I am so comfortable in the dark.
Fiona: Other than writing do you have any hobbies?
I used to paint and draw in my free time. These days, there is no such thing as free time. I still draw for my clientele. I would say that my cover design work, both for my books, as well as freelance for other authors, is currently my hobby.
Fiona: What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching?
I am currently greatly enjoying the Walking Dead, of course, Boardwalk Empire, Hannibal, the Following and True Detective for the darker side of my mind. The lighter side revels in Two and a Half Men, Two Broke Girls, Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother.

In regards to film, as with my writing, I am a longtime horror nut. Clive Barker’s Nightbreed is my favorite film and I am greatly looking forward to the Extended Director’s Cut Blu-Ray coming out this year. I am also a die-hard Star Wars geek since 1977. Sci-fi and horror films are my longtime friends and companions, through the bad times and the good. I am glancing at my DVD library right now, and seeing the ten foot section of shelving full to the brim with primarily horror films makes me smile.
Fiona: Favorite foods / Colors/ Music
I absolutely love German food. My grandfather was German and I learned to appreciate it at an early age. I also love Italian but it doesn’t love me. Buffalo wings and beer are only slightly beaten out by roast beef with horseradish and a Guinness for something I would want as my last meal. I am pretty sure that sushi would be fighting for its place in the top as well, but I don’t eat it as often as I would like, simply due to the price of good sushi.
Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done?
I have followed many paths in my life and I feel I am on the path I belong upon. I am , first and foremost, a tattooer, secondly, a writer. The day may come where my hand will grow shaky and my vision will blur and those roles may switch.

Fiona: Do you have a blog/website? If so what is it?
I have a few different pages for my writing including my listing and interview on the J. Ellington Ashton site, a Facebook fanpage, and my Amazon and GoodReads author pages.
http://www.jellingtonashton.com/michael-fisher.html
https://www.facebook.com/MichaelFisherAuthor
http://www.amazon.com/author/michaelfishfisher
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7808408.Michael_Fisher

Here is my interview with Susannah Hutchinson

27 Thursday Mar 2014

Posted by fionamcvie1964 in Uncategorized

≈ 10 Comments

Name… Susannah Hutchinson
Age 45
Where are you from? I live in Norfolk, England, but grew up in the northeast of England.
A little about yourself…`ie your education family life etc.
I have been with my long term partner for 23 years, he is an artist and I am his PA. We don’t have children. I`m a qualified chef, and I`m a conservationist and support a lot of wildlife charities. I`m horse mad.
Fiona: Tell us your latest news?
I had a short story accepted for pod cast with ‘The Wicked Library’ which was broadcast on 21st March ‘14. They have invited me back, so I hope to find time to write another short for them. My first novel ‘Never Too Late’ is in its final stages of editing and will be published later this year.

 

Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?
My greatest passion is words and language. Creating pictures with words is fascinating. I adore books. I always wanted to write a novel from an early age. I did write two when I was 13… all about horses.

 

Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I think anyone that writes creatively can call themselves a writer. However, after my work was recognized and accepted it made it seem more real to me.

 

Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?
Although I always wanted to write a book, life and other stuff got in the way. However, my mentor and writing group tutor Caroline Smith was my inspiration. She gave me the confidence and self-belief to fulfill my dream.

 

Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style?
I think all writers have their own style but personally, I don`t like to over describe and fill the reader with unnecessary detail. I think some things can be left to the reader`s imagination.

 

Fiona: How did you come up with the title?
This one is easy. ‘Never Too Late’ has a double meaning, It`s never too late to start your life again, and my main characters husband hates her being late. My book cover has a symbolic meaning too.

 

Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Yes, life is too short to put up with people and things you do not like or want to do. You have to be the star of your own life, not an extra.

 

Fiona: How much of the book is realistic?
For this book I interviewed several women and have a police officer who helps me with the technical stuff. I use a counsellor too. It`s very important for me to keep it as realistic as I can.

 

Fiona: Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Yes, some… but I also had a great team of women who had gone through similar things that are featured in the book.
Fiona: What books have most influenced your life most?
I don`t think books have influenced my life, but the number of books I have read may have influenced my writing style.

 

Fiona: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
I have read and enjoyed many different authors` works, but if I had to pick one it would be Patricia Cornwell. Her research is meticulous, her writing style tight, and she can tell a good story.
Fiona: What book are you reading now?
Karin Slaughter: ‘Indelible’, but I have recently finished James Herbert`s ‘Ash’ and Dan Brown`s ‘Inferno.’ Both of which were brilliant.

 

Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
I have read a lot of up and coming authors. Two that stand out, which are relatively new, are Cait Jarrod who writes romance thrillers’ and Robert J Watson, who writes crime thrillers’.

 

Fiona: What are your current projects?
Editing my novel ready to send to my editor. Continue the research for my next novel. Also, as mentioned previously, I hope to write another short for ‘The Wicked Library’.
Fiona: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.
That`s not easy as both these dear friends and fellow authors have been equally supportive. They are Caroline Smith, and Robert J Watson.

 

Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?
Oh yes!!

 

Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
If I had to do it all over again, I would not change anything.
Fiona: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
I have a saying, “In order to be a good writer you need to read a lot”. I just loved it from an early age. I always had a book on the go. Even now, when I finish reading one, I pick another one up straight away.

 

Fiona: Can you share a little of your current work with us?
Here is a short synopsis to whet your appetite:-
‘Never Too Late’.
Tina suffers at the hands of her husband’s narcissistic, controlling behavior. She plots to kill him – and get away with it:- with an untraceable murder.
Along the way. There are unexpected twists, but despite how careful she is, the police take an interest as well as a blackmailer.
Can she finally be free?

 

Fiona: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Oh, yes, I think we all find things challenging. I love to describe things, so I have trained myself to rein back. (Pardon the horse pun).

 

Fiona: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Apart from Patricia Cornwell, I also really like Lee Child. I love his simple but effective writing. He never gives too much away at once, threading tiny details through the story.

 

Fiona: Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?
It depends, in this book the murder takes place on the Norfolk Broads, which is not that far away from where I live.

 

Fiona: Who designed the covers?
Normally the publisher, but for this novel, a talented illustrator called Bret Bouriseau produced the artwork for me.
Fiona: What was the hardest part of writing your book?
The hardest part is making sure it is as good as I can get it before sending it to the editor. That, and I think its standard practice for authors to beat themselves with a stick now and then, it goes with the territory.
Fiona: Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
Patience and writing technique.

 

Fiona: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Write every day, even if it`s not for long. Never rush to put your work out there. Check, check, and check again! Always take feedback in a professional way – if you don`t want constructive criticism, don`t ask. It is how we grow as writers.

 
Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
A big thank you for reading my work, and if you like it tell your friends.
Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?
Anna Sewell’s ‘Black Beauty’.
Fiona: Other than writing do you have any hobbies?
My list is endless, but particular favourites are; Art, nature, and I have recently developed a keen interest in Astronomy.
Fiona: What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching?
Crime, thriller, horror – again too many to mention them all. I do enjoy ‘Only Fools and Horses’. It was the best TV comedy ever, and written by the late John Sullivan.

Fiona: Favorite foods / Colors/ Music
My favorite colour is green. Music, again I have a varied taste from Lynard Skynard and Credence to Mozart. Food – I like most things but I can`t get on with Sushi.
Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done?
I would have loved to have been a riding instructor or an event rider.

Fiona: Do you have a blog/website? If so what is it?
I have an author page on facebook.
The wicked Library link. http://www.hipcast.com/podcast/H2wgRRyx
My author page link. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Susannah-Hutchinson/185931084897267

 

 

Here is my interview with David P. Forsyth

27 Thursday Mar 2014

Posted by fionamcvie1964 in Uncategorized

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Name: David P. Forsyth
Where are you from?
DPF: I grew up in Santa Barbara, California, and currently live in Malibu.

Fiona: Can you tell us a little about your education and hobbies?
DPF: I attended United States International University where I earned a BA and MA in international relations. I’m a licensed pilot and certified scuba diver, as well as an avid reader. I enjoy skiing and fishing and going to the beach, and I love to travel. I also like to write stories about the end of the world as we know it.
Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?

DPF: I started writing fiction in mid-2011 and released my first novel, Voyage of the Dead, in January, 2012. I followed up with two sequels, Flotilla of the Dead and Deluge of the Dead, later that year. Together they form the Sovereign Spirit Saga: Volume One. I decided to write after getting a Kindle and discovering that it was possible to self-publish. My mother had been a published author and I always wanted to follow in her footsteps, but had seen the angst she went through with agents, editors and publishers, as well as rejection letters, etc… That hadn’t been something I wanted to deal with. Fortunately, the ebook revolution has removed the gatekeepers and allowed writers to reach the readers directly, where our work will be judged on its own merits by the masses.

Fiona: Tell us your latest news?
DPF: I just released “Sedulity (Book One) Impact” and it has been very well received. Within the first few weeks online it has climbed to #640 in the Kindle Store, #1 in Sea Adventures, and #7 in Apocalyptic Fiction, selling over a hundred copies per day on Amazon. Most gratifying have been the initial reviews with a 5.0 Star average on the first 22 reviews. Sedulity is a departure from my zombie apocalypse series. Inspired by Lucifer’s Hammer and other classic works of apocalyptic science fiction, this story features the passengers and crew of a cruise ship en route to Australia when an asteroid strikes the Pacific Ocean. Judging by the reviews, this story appeals to a much wider audience than my early works of apocalyptic horror.

Fiona: How did you come up with the title?
DPF: I found the word “sedulity” in a dictionary many years ago. It means “constant in purpose and intent, assiduous, steadfast, tireless and indefatigable.” I decided that it would be a great name for a boat. Since I never bought a boat, I decided to use it as the name for the ship in my book. Most of my books are set aboard a ship and the vessels play the title role in the series. In my fist series the Sovereign Spirit is a ship full of survivors sailing through the zombie apocalypse. The new Sedulity is a cruise ship caught in the midst of a global catastrophe. The ships are more than a setting, they become characters in their own right and transport the cast through all manner of dangerous challenges.
Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?

DPF: Reading thousands of books. The one I read immediately before starting to write “Voyage of the Dead” was “Tooth and Nail” by Craig DiLouie. So guess you could say it inspired me to actually start writing.

Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style?

DPF: You’d have to ask my fans, but I try to tell direct and exciting tales without too much flowery prose. I give enough description to let the reader picture things for themselves, but not so much that it overpowers their imagination. A couple reviews compared my writing to Tom Clancy and Clive Cussler, but I’m nowhere near as skilled as they.
Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
DPF: Although my books feature horrifying apocalyptic events, I do try to offer positive messages, role models, and moral lessons in the way that most of the characters respond to desperate situations. I try to feature themes of self-reliance and heroism and employ lead characters that have been compared to Heinlein’s model of the “competent man” who knows just enough about everything to face the worst the world throws at them.
Fiona: How much of the book is realistic?
“Sedulity” is terrifyingly realistic. I employed a computer model called an “Impact Generator” to research the effect of the asteroid strike I describe. The geologic record shows that something similar has happened on average of every four million years during the past few billion years and we are currently overdue for another. The “Sedulity is based on real cruise ship and the Sovereign Spirit was also based on a real ship too. All of the other vessels, vehicles, aircraft and weapons described in my zombie books are real too. Of course the zombie apocalypse in that series is a bit fanciful, but I based the outbreak on a genetically engineered form of rabies to keep the scenario as realistic as possible.
Fiona: What books have most influenced your writing most?

DPF: Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Poounelle is the inspiration for Sedulity. The Sovereign Spirit Saga was inspired by a combination of zombie and science fiction books. It’s been described as The Walking Dead meets Battlestar Galactica, or a Star Trek of the Zombie Apocalypse. Those descriptions are apt because I used the theme of a ship sailing through the apocalypse, facing new threats in every port.
Fiona: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

DPF: Hugh Howey is my indie idol of apocalyptic fiction and has set an example I can only hope to emulate. His Wool series is a phenomena and I highly recommend all of his books. He has been very helpful in referring his fans to my books and giving me advice on self-publishing. He’s a great guy. Besides Hugh, I owe a debt to many other indie authors who have helped to encourage and promote my work. The indie author community, especially in apocalyptic science fiction and horror, is a great bunch of people who support each other in many ways. In terms of lifelong influences, Asimov, Tolkien, Pournelle, Bradbury, Frank Herbert and H.G. Wells stand out in my mind.
Fiona: What are your current projects?

DPF: I’m working on “Sedulity #2 Aftershock” and a fourth book in the Sovereign Spirit Saga.
Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?
DPF: I certainly hope so. I’ve changed careers several times in my life and must say that writing is by far the most attractive one at this stage in life. Of course it all depends on the success of my work.

Fiona: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

DPF: My mother was an author and journalist and my father was a magazine editor and publisher. I always loved reading fiction and knew that I wanted to tell my own stories someday. I outlined a fantasy adventure when I was 14, but set writing aside for several decades to pursue my own adventures in the real world. Happy that I finally got around to writing in my 40s.

Fiona: Can you share a little of your current work with us?

DPF: Sure. Here is part of scene from chapter 2 of “Sedulity (Book One) Impact” as the ship is about to cross the equator and the passengers are celebrating on deck:
Kevin and Amanda were thoroughly enjoying the Line Crossing Ceremony. They held hands as they sipped their rum and cokes, watching the crew frolic in the swimming pools and exchanging comments on Captain Neptune and his royal court. They had been informed that each passenger would receive a Line Crossing Certificate declaring them Shellbacks, so had declined the invitation to jump into the pool. They were perfectly happy to enjoy the moment and observe the spectacle. The First Officer, Mr. Crawford, took up the countdown. “Crossing the Line in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three.…” His voice trailed off as the sky seemed to turn from night to day in an instant.
Kevin had already been looking up at the sky, taking in the unfamiliar constellations and hoping for a shooting star to wish upon. He got far more than he bargained for. Luckily he was looking southeast, across the pool, and the Rogue approached from behind him. Otherwise he would have been at least momentarily blinded, as were many others on deck that night. As it was, he had time to raise one hand to shield his eyes and pull Amanda’s head down into his lap with the other. Through slatted fingers he saw a sight he would never forget.
This was no shooting star, it was a falling sun. It streaked across the whole sky in a matter of several seconds, growing in size and intensity as it passed over the ship and descended below the eastern horizon. Before the light could fade, however, it grew and expanded into a brilliant flash that quickly turned into a false sunrise. It reminded Kevin of footage from hydrogen bomb tests that had been conducted not far from this part of the Pacific Ocean, but he knew better.
“Asteroid strike!” he exclaimed, whether to Amanda, himself, or anyone in earshot he couldn’t say. A moment later the echo of his voice was drowned out by the most devastating sonic boom imaginable. It sounded like a dozen simultaneous lightning strikes within spitting distance. Glasses shattered and more than a few eardrums burst, but that was just the shock wave from the asteroid’s passing. Kevin’s eyes went wide and his mind whirled, even as his ears rang. The real blast wave would be coming soon.
Fiona: Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?

DPF: As a matter of fact, I did. To prepare for “Sedulity” I took a two week cruise from Florida to Italy. I did extensive research, including discussions with the Captain, Chief Engineer and other members of the crew. Picturing the layout of the ship and recalling my experience at sea were invaluable to bringing the “Sedulity” to life in the book. I also took a recent road trip along the coast of Northern California and Oregon in preparation for the next book in my “Sovereign Spirit Saga.” Having a laptop allows me to continue writing while traveling and capture the experience while it’s still fresh in my mind. I love to travel and one of my goals is to get to the point as an author where I can do a lot more firsthand research on the road, or seas.

Fiona: Who designed the covers?
DPF: All of my covers were designed by my stepson, William O. Rosenthal. He is very talented and artistic. It’s also nice to be able to direct the concept from over his shoulder, although that can make him irritated. LOL.
Fiona: What was the hardest part of writing your book?

DPF: The hardest part of writing is writing. By that I mean having the discipline to write daily, even when other things in your life are distracting you. I failed at that for much of 2013, following the death of my Mother. It took close to six months for me to get into a creative mindset again. Even then I only put out three novella length prequels to my earlier books. It wasn’t until I started writing Sedulity in November that I really felt the creative juices flowing again. I think I’m back on track now.
Fiona: Do you have any advice for other writers?

DPF: I think the best training for any aspiring writer is to read and read and read until you feel the need to write. Then write something you would want to read. Also, while you bypass the gatekeepers (publishers) and reach readers as an indie author, you should still get a professional editor (or at least a competent group of Beta readers). There are plenty of good stories being told that bomb due to lack of editing and proofreading.

Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
DPF: Thank you!

Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?
DPF: I remember books that my mother read to me before I could read. Then I read the entire collection of the Hardy Boys by the time I was 10. At age 11 or 12 I read my first post-apocalyptic science fiction novel. It was “Starman’s Son” (also titled Daybreak 2250 AD) by Andrea Norton.

Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done?
DPF: I’ve done, or at least tried to do, a lot of the other things I wanted to. When I got my Master degree in international relations I thought I wanted to go into diplomacy or politics, but there were no want ads for Ambassador.

Fiona: Do you have a blog/website? If so what is it?
DPF: Yes, you can visit me at http://www.davidpforsyth.com and I also run the ApocaCon page and group on Facebook. I founded ApocaCon in 2012 to promote apocalyptic fiction as its own genre. It includes an annual event at the Long Beach Zombie Walk in October with a network of likeminded authors who promote each other and the genre.
My latest release is available only on Kindle (for now) at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IVE3IUQ and http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00IVE3IUQ
I can’t tell you how happy I am with the response!
Thanks for inviting me to be featured on your page.
Be my friend at https://www.facebook.com/david.p.forsyth

Here is my interview with Sue Barnard

26 Wednesday Mar 2014

Posted by fionamcvie1964 in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Name Sue Barnard
Age Closer to 40 than to 30. Draw whatever conclusion you like from that.
Where are you from? Originally from North Wales, but I spent my formative years in Manchester, UK

A little about your self `ie your education Family life etc
I have a degree in French from Durham University and have also done a series of short courses on Creative Writing with the Open University. I’m married with two grown-up sons (one of whom once described me as “professionally weird”).

Fiona: Tell us your latest news?
Sue: My debut novel The Ghostly Father (a new interpretation of the Romeo & Juliet story) is due to be published in February 2014 by Crooked Cat Publishing.
Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?
Sue: I’ve always dabbled with writing ever since I was a child, but it’s only in recent years that I’ve begun to take it more seriously.
Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Sue: A couple of years ago, when I first started doing freelance copywriting assignments and started earning money for what I was producing.
Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?
Sue: I once heard that everyone should write the book they wanted to read. I’ve always wanted to read a version of R&J which has a more satisfactory outcome. So I wrote one!
Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style?
Sue: No, not really; it depends on what I’m being asked to write. But I do try to keep it grammatically correct. I can’t stand bad English!
Fiona: How did you come up with the title?
Sue: It’s based on a quotation from the Shakespeare play.
Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Sue: Don’t harbour grudges. There’s a strong sense of forgiveness in the story, for reasons which I hope will become apparent to anyone who reads it.

Fiona: How much of the book is realistic?
Sue: In terms of sentiments, almost all of it!
Fiona: Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Sue: One of the secondary characters, and the way in which his actions affect the main character, is based on a real person.
Fiona: What books have most influenced your life most?
Sue: One of the most influential books I ever read was That Devil Called Love by Lynda Chater. It’s a modern reworking of the Faust legend, in which the heroine learns the hard way that youth, beauty, fame and wealth don’t necessarily hold the key to happiness.
Fiona: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Sue: My friend Sally Quilford. I’ve done several of her writing courses and I feel that my writing has improved considerably as a result. She’s a great writer and a truly lovely person.
Fiona: What book are you reading now?
Sue: A Christmas Moon by Sally Quilford
Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Sue: Yes, lots. Since I was signed by Crooked Cat Publishing I’ve had great fun discovering all their other authors!
Fiona: What are your current projects?
Sue: Trying to make some kind of sense of my pile of scribbled notes!

Fiona: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.
Sue: I have a great network of friends who have all been wonderfully supportive.
Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?
Sue: It would be good to think so!
Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
Sue: Pass!
Fiona: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
Sue: No. I think it’s something which has always been there.
Fiona: Can you share a little of your current work with us?
Sue: My current WIP is still very much in its raw state, but you can find some of my poems on my blog (see below).
Fiona: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Sue: I don’t like being nasty to my characters – which can be a problem when you can’t have a plot without some kind of conflict!

Fiona: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Sue: I can’t really single out one particular author as being a “favourite.” I read all sorts of genres and enjoy all of them.
Fiona: Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?
Sue: For The Ghostly Father I had to visit Verona and Mantua (where the initial story takes place) and also Venice (where some of the scenes in the book are set). Purely in the course of research, of course…!
Fiona: Who designed the covers?
Sue: Crooked Cat Publishing’s in-house designer.
Fiona: What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Sue: Finding the time to keep going with it. The first draft took me about six months to finish.
Fiona: Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
Sue: I found that the feedback and advice I received from sympathetic friends was invaluable. There is always a danger of losing all sense of objectivity with one’s own work, so a fresh pair of eyes can pick up typos, or holes in the plot, much more effectively.
Fiona: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Sue: Believe in yourself and don’t give up.
Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Sue: I hope you enjoy reading what I’ve written!

Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?
Sue: The Swish of the Curtain by Pamela Brown. It’s the first of a series of novels about a group of children who set up their own theatre company.

Fiona: Other than writing do you have any hobbies ?
Sue: I enjoy walking and birdwatching, reading, listening to music, and I’m a member of my local Amateur Dramatic society. I’m also very interested in Family History. My own background is stranger than fiction; I’d write a book about it if I thought anybody would believe me.

Fiona: What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching?
Sue: Good-quality comedy, crime dramas, and anything involving travel or nature.

Fiona: Favorite foods / Colors/ Music
Sue: I love Italian food; I could quite happily live on pasta!

Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done?
Sue: I’d like to think I might have been an actress.
Name Sue Barnard
Age Closer to 40 than to 30. Draw whatever conclusion you like from that.
Where are you from? Originally from North Wales, but I spent my formative years in Manchester, UK
A little about your self `ie your education Family life etc
I have a degree in French from Durham University and have also done a series of short courses on Creative Writing with the Open University. I’m married with two grown-up sons (one of whom once described me as “professionally weird”).
Fiona: Tell us your latest news?
Sue: My debut novel The Ghostly Father (a new interpretation of the Romeo & Juliet story) is due to be published in February 2014 by Crooked Cat Publishing.

Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?
Sue: I’ve always dabbled with writing ever since I was a child, but it’s only in recent years that I’ve begun to take it more seriously.

Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Sue: A couple of years ago, when I first started doing freelance copywriting assignments and started earning money for what I was producing.

Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?
Sue: I once heard that everyone should write the book they wanted to read. I’ve always wanted to read a version of R&J which has a more satisfactory outcome. So I wrote one!

Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style?
Sue: No, not really; it depends on what I’m being asked to write. But I do try to keep it grammatically correct. I can’t stand bad English!

Fiona: How did you come up with the title?
Sue: It’s based on a quotation from the Shakespeare play.

Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Sue: Don’t harbour grudges. There’s a strong sense of forgiveness in the story, for reasons which I hope will become apparent to anyone who reads it.

Fiona: How much of the book is realistic?
Sue: In terms of sentiments, almost all of it!

Fiona: Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Sue: One of the secondary characters, and the way in which his actions affect the main character, is based on a real person.

Fiona: What books have most influenced your life most?
Sue: One of the most influential books I ever read was That Devil Called Love by Lynda Chater. It’s a modern reworking of the Faust legend, in which the heroine learns the hard way that youth, beauty, fame and wealth don’t necessarily hold the key to happiness.

Fiona: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Sue: My friend Sally Quilford. I’ve done several of her writing courses and I feel that my writing has improved considerably as a result. She’s a great writer and a truly lovely person.

Fiona: What book are you reading now?
Sue: A Christmas Moon by Sally Quilford

Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Sue: Yes, lots. Since I was signed by Crooked Cat Publishing I’ve had great fun discovering all their other authors!

Fiona: What are your current projects?
Sue: Trying to make some kind of sense of my pile of scribbled notes!

Fiona: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.
Sue: I have a great network of friends who have all been wonderfully supportive.

Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?
Sue: It would be good to think so!

Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
Sue: Pass!

Fiona: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
Sue: No. I think it’s something which has always been there.

Fiona: Can you share a little of your current work with us?
Sue: My current WIP is still very much in its raw state, but you can find some of my poems on my blog (see below).

Fiona: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Sue: I don’t like being nasty to my characters – which can be a problem when you can’t have a plot without some kind of conflict!

Fiona: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Sue: I can’t really single out one particular author as being a “favourite.” I read all sorts of genres and enjoy all of them.

Fiona: Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?
Sue: For The Ghostly Father I had to visit Verona and Mantua (where the initial story takes place) and also Venice (where some of the scenes in the book are set). Purely in the course of research, of course…!

Fiona: Who designed the covers?
Sue: Crooked Cat Publishing’s in-house designer.

Fiona: What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Sue: Finding the time to keep going with it. The first draft took me about six months to finish.

Fiona: Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
Sue: I found that the feedback and advice I received from sympathetic friends was invaluable. There is always a danger of losing all sense of objectivity with one’s own work, so a fresh pair of eyes can pick up typos, or holes in the plot, much more effectively.

Fiona: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Sue: Believe in yourself and don’t give up.

Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Sue: I hope you enjoy reading what I’ve written!
Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?
Sue: The Swish of the Curtain by Pamela Brown. It’s the first of a series of novels about a group of children who set up their own theatre company.
Fiona: Other than writing do you have any hobbies ?
Sue: I enjoy walking and birdwatching, reading, listening to music, and I’m a member of my local Amateur Dramatic society. I’m also very interested in Family History. My own background is stranger than fiction; I’d write a book about it if I thought anybody would believe me.
Fiona: What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching?
Sue: Good-quality comedy, crime dramas, and anything involving travel or nature.
Fiona: Favorite foods / Colors/ Music
Sue: I love Italian food; I could quite happily live on pasta!
Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done?
Sue: I’d like to think I might have been an actress.
Fiona: Do you have a blog/website? If so what is it?
Sue : http://broad-thoughts-from-a-home.blogspot.co.uk/

Fiona: Do you have a blog/website? If so what is it?
Sue : http://broad-thoughts-from-a-home.blogspot.co.uk/

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