Here is my interview with Neil Randall

Hello and welcome to my blog, Author Interviews. My name is Fiona Mcvie.

 

Let’s get you introduced to everyone, shall we? Tell us your name. What is your age?

Neil: Neil Randall, 43.

Fiona: Where are you from?

Neil: I’m from the north Norfolk coast.

Fiona: A little about your self (ie,  your education, family life, etc.).

Neil: I read law at university but quickly realised that wasn’t for me. And decided that I wanted to write the kinds of books I’d always loved reading

Fiona: Tell us your latest news.

Neil: It’s been very quiet at the moment. I’ve been working on a few different projects, two new novels and a lot of shorter fiction, which has been really pleasing because not only have I been particularly excited with the quality of the stories, it’s been a long time since I’ve written any short stories. I thought I didn’t have any left in me!

Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?

Neil: I was always into writing stuff when I was younger, but I went to the kind of school where if you displayed any aptitude, talent or interest in anything it was roundly and summarily crushed underfoot. Pure discouragement. And it wasn’t really until my late teens, early twenties that I started to read really widely, which inspired me to maybe, perhaps try writing something myself.

Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Neil: I don’t. Even though I get up everyday and write for a few hours, even though I’ve got a hell of a lot of material together (some of which I’m really proud of) since I first put pen to paper, I still feel a million miles away from considering myself a writer. Even though I’ve had some modest small press success, been shortlisted for a few awards, I don’t consider myself to be a published author, even. I don’t mean that in a weird, abstruse, silly way. I just think it’s a constant, ongoing, evolving thing, not a job title or bag or category. I just want to keep doing what I’m doing and see what happens.

Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?

Neil: Like most writers, I had quite a few abortive efforts before I wrote what would probably be called my first book, officially. But personally, I would say The Butterfly and the Wheel (an historical epic set around the Russian Revolution) was my first book. It took me three years to write (the first draft was 250,000 words long). It was inspired by a trip I took to Russia when I was about 19 or 20, a trip which sparked a lifelong interest in Russian literature, history. When the book was finally published by a small boutique press (who have since gone out of business, unfortunatley) I had to make huge cuts to the text (due to printing costs they could only publish books of 130,000 words). My ambition is to go back to it one day, put it all back together (with the 200 pages I had to cut in the end) and publish it properly!

Fiona: How did you come up with the title?

Neil: Trial and error. For a long time it was called The Communization of Delusion. Then The Fraud. Not quite sure how I came up with The Butterfly and the Wheel. Maybe that famous Times headline when Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were facing long jail terms for possession of marijuana in the 60’s – who’d break a butterfly on a wheel. But, funnily enough, there’s a film called The Butterfly and the Wheel (or something very close) and Gerard Butler, the star, his character is called Neil Randall (same spelling). Very random!

Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style? Is there anything about your style or genre that you find particularly challenging?

I write contemporary fiction now. Not sure how to classify style or genre. Literary, maybe, but I now try and tell every story I write as plainly and simply as I can. I revise like a bastard and hopefully that kind of distillation process makes me very readable.

Fiona: How much of the book is realistic and are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

Neil: In general terms, I draw on my own experiences a hell of a lot. In Klingsor’s First Summer (the first short story I ever had published), I documented a summer when I had a brutal job as part of a gang of agricultural workers picking potatoes. I was only about 16 at the time, and it really was a boy trying to do man’s work. And this horrible bloke, a real nasty piece of work, bully, picked on me relentlessly. Or in another short story Hands, another summer job waiting on tables this time. One lunchtime, I walked over to serve a family of four and the mother had severely deformed hands, and I couldn’t stop from looking a bit taken aback, and the family (rightly) took offence. And it started off the chain of surreal events. Anyway, what I think I’m trying to say is that in everything I write I always draw from my own experiences, be it strange jobs, people, events et cetera.

Fiona: To craft your works, do you have to travel? Before or during the process?

Neil: Not really, not intentionally, consciously. Life, whether aboard a vessel or dry-docked tends to throw at you a wealth of interesting things to write about, whether you’re walking to get a paper or strolling along the banks of the Seine. I think Raymond Carver said something along the lines of trying to make a teaspoon interesting in his writing. And he’s right. No offence to teaspoons (who I have a lot of admiration for, both in shininess and functionality) but even the most mundane, everyday things, events can make for the greatest stories known to man.

Fiona: Who designed the covers?

Neil: Not sure. The small presses I’ve worked with have sorted all the artwork.

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

Neil: Happiness is Possible. But you or I will never get close to it.

Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?  Who is your favorite writer, and what is it about their work that really strikes you?

Neil: I recently discovered a Chilean writer called Roberto Bolano – who’s amazing. I love the more unconventional storytellers who produce such intoxicatingly simply prose that their stories almost swallow you whole. Murakami, Paul Auster. I’m currently reading a book by James Baldwin and his sentences are so rich and full, evocative but in a way sparse, you don’t feel like you’re being bombarded with images/information but taken by the hand and walked around (Brooklyn in this case).

Fiona: Outside of family members, name one entity that supported your commitment to become a published author.

Neil: Not sure what you mean. I think I’m driven on, and will continue to be driven on by a desire to write a story that compares to the stories that my literary heroes have written, that one day a young directionless man like I was back in my early twenties might walk into a second-hand bookshop and pick up a one of my novels and be inspired to start writing his own stuff.

Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?

Neil: In so far as I’m going to keep writing no matter what.

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

Neil: Only who published it.

Fiona: Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?

Neil: The sea has neither meaning or pity.

Fiona: If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?

Neil: I wouldn’t mind having a crack at it myself. Think I’m probably either a bit of a frustrated rock star or method actor.

Fiona: Any advice for other writers?

Neil: Preserve, even when it’s not going so well. And always try and finish everything you start, because, in my experience, there is a moveable, elusive kind of eureka moment when things fall into place, and it might be at the very moment you’re thinking of aborting the story – thrash it out until either you or it is dead.

Fiona: Anything specific you want to tell your readers?

Neil: Bear with me. The best is yet/about to come.

Fiona: What book are you reading now?

Neil: As I said: Another Country by James Baldwin

Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?

Neil: I think it was Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household (although I’m sure lots of kids, learning books etc before that) but that sticks in my mind. It was very exciting.

Fiona: What makes you laugh/cry?

Neil: I try and avoid any extreme outward shows of emotion. Save that for the typewriter.

Fiona: Is there one person, past or present, you would love to meet? Why?

Neil: Probably Adam Green.

Fiona: Do you have any hobbies?

Neil: I run a lot.

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

Neil: Not much of a TV person. I prefer music and books.

Fiona: Favorite foods, colors,  music?

Neil: I like spicy food. Blue (of course). Adam Green. Anything with an acoustic guitar and some melancholy words.

Fiona: Imagine a future where you no longer write. What would you do?

Neil: Steal my Dad’s cue and make a living out of playing pool

Fiona: You only have 24 hours to live how would you spend that time?

Neil: Making prank phone calls

Fiona: What do you want written on your head stone?

Neil: I aim to be around for a long time yet. By the time I’m thinking of checking out, death probably won’t exist anymore.

Fiona: Do you have a blog or website readers can visit for updates, events and special offers?

Yes: www.narandall.blogspot.com – I regularly update with new sample material, spoken word stuff and news about upcoming releases. And you can check me out on twitter @NARandall1

Amazon Authors page UK   https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neil-Randall/e/B00JYXI862/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

USA  https://www.amazon.com/Neil-Randall/e/B00JYXI862/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1534943456&sr=1-2-ent

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Here is my interview with Randall Krzak

Hello and welcome to my blog, Author Interviews. My name is Fiona Mcvie.

 

KODAK Digital Still Camera

Let’s get you introduced to everyone, shall we? Tell us your name. What is your age?

Randall Krzak, 62 years old/young, depending on how you look at it.

 

Fiona: Where are you from?

 Originally from Michigan, but have lived in a number of countries.

 

Fiona: A little about your self (ie,  your education, family life, etc.).

I have a bachelor degree from the University of Maryland. I also have two master degrees from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. I’m married to Sylvia, who is from Scotland, and also a writer. We have one son, Craig, and five cats: Oliver, Hope, Charlie, Lola, and Flora.

 

Fiona: Tell us your latest news. Busy working on Dangerous Alliance, the sequel to my debut novel, The Kurdish Connection.

Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?

During my working career I spent countless hours doing technical/expository writing. I began writing my first novel in 2011/12 but put it aside after about 200 pages. It remained in electronic storage until 2015, when I dusted it off, basically rewrote the majority of what I had already completed. By April 2016, I had the manuscript ready to submit to publishers.

Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I would say 2015 when I really began to work on my novel.

Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?

 A longtime friend and work colleague suggested I write a novel when I retired. So I gave it a try.

 

Fiona: How did you come up with the title?

I looked for something not too long and conveyed a bit about the story.

Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style? Is there anything about your style or genre that you find particularly challenging? I try to have a balance of narrative and dialogue, usually leaning more toward having my characters tell the story rather than the narrator. Learning to write interesting dialogue was one of my toughest challenges.

Fiona: How much of the book is realistic and are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

Perhaps half the book is based on historical events, organizations, locations, and personal experiences. The rest was decided by the characters.

Fiona: To craft your works, do you have to travel? Before or during the process?

Although I had no idea I would ever try to write a novel, the main setting for The Kurdish Connection is in Turkey, where Sylvia and I lived for a number of years.

Fiona: Who designed the covers?

The cover used for The Kurdish Connection was handled by my publisher, Moonshine Cove Publishing, LLC.

 

Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?Not a specific one, but readers have pointed out they enjoy learning about the different cultures used in my work.

Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?  Who is your favorite writer, and what is it about their work that really strikes you?

I’m reading several new authors:AJ Wallace, who is working on a mystery and crime series called Sideways Eight (two novels published thus far). Descriptive passages, realistic action, outstanding characters are all traits of AJ’s work. Another is Preston Holtry, who has a four books published under The Morgan Westphal Mystery series. Like AJ, Preston uses vivid scenes, colorful characters, and plenty of action to convey his stories. I go back and forth on who my favorite writer is. The group includes Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, Brad Thor and a few others. They’ve all had a positive impact on how I write.

Fiona: Outside of family members, name one entity that supported your commitment to become a published author.

The long-time friend and colleague who suggested I write a novel in the first place.

Fiona: Do you see writing as a career? At present, I’m treating it as a hobby, but one I must rein in or it will take over everything else. I already have synopses created for additional novels.

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

I don’t think so. I had plenty of guidance as I was writing and I’ve using the advice to continually improve my writing.

Fiona: Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?

 Writing the book is the easy part. Editing, finding a publisher, and marketing take even more time, but all worth the effort. While self-publishing is always an option, I wanted to try the traditional method first.

 

Fiona: If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?

This is a tough one. If they were much younger–Sean Connery or Harrison Ford.

Fiona: Any advice for other writers?

Never give up. Create you first draft, get feedback from others, and edit. Continue obtaining feedback and editing until you think you’re done. Then edit again as you will have missed something.

Fiona: Anything specific you want to tell your readers?

Get ready for a wild journey through different cultures, with characters you can love or hate, and plenty of twists and turns.

 

Fiona: What book are you reading now?

I can’t provide the name right now, as the book hasn’t been released. It’s by Preston Holtry, and it’s part of a historical fiction series he’s working on. I’ll be providing a blurb for his publisher’s use when it’s released.

 

Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?

No—I’ve read hundreds over the years. Some I’ve read more than once, especially those written by Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, and Brad Thor.

 

Fiona: Is there one person, past or present, you would love to meet? Why?

Any of my favorite authors. I’d like to learn more about how they’ve succeeded with their writing careers.

 

Fiona: Do you have any hobbies?

 Candle making, pyrography, traveling/sightseeing

 

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

 I like action/adventure thrillers and documentaries

 

Fiona: Favorite foods, colors, music?

I like trying food from different cultures. My favorite so far is Turkish cuisine. Blue is one of my favorite colors. As far as music, I prefer songs which tell a story (and I can actually understand the words).

 

Fiona: Imagine a future where you no longer write. What would you do?

 Go back to my other hobbies or find new ones.

 

Fiona: What do you want written on your head stone?

LOL. Never thought that far ahead.

 

Fiona: Do you have a blog or website readers can visit for updates, events and special offers?

 Yes. My website is www.randallkrzak.com.

Along the top of the page is a number of categories, including Randall’s Ramblings, which is my weekly blog. New updates are posted to my blog every Sunday.

My Amazon Authors page (I need to get this updated!)

https://www.amazon.com/Randall-Krzak/e/B01MUNB5AI/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

The Kurdish Connection, is available through this link on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Kurdish-Connection-Randall-Krzak-ebook/dp/B01N2AN1KO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1505653877&sr=8-1&keywords=randall+krzak

 

Here is my interview with Charles Cassady Jr.

Hello and welcome to my blog, Author Interviews. My name is Fiona Mcvie.

Let’s get you introduced to everyone, shall we? Tell us your name. What is your age?

My name is Charles Cassady Jr. (although I rather like dreaming up far-out pseudonyms I may likely never use). I am currently 55 but I like to say I have the income of a teenager.

Fiona: Where are you from?

I was born and spent the vast majority of my life in an unfashionable, faded manufacturing town called Cleveland, Ohio. Now better known as the city close to where LeBron James came from.

Fiona: A little about your self (ie, your education, family life, etc.).

Well, when one grows up in a place like Cleveland, one tends to think of other places. And I found early on that books were marvelous ways of getting to those other places – even imaginary ones. I read voraciously on all sorts of exotic and wide-ranging material – I think I might have been ten or eleven when I found William Peter Blatty’s “The Exorcist” at my grandparents’ home and read it through. More to the point, though, was that my family indulged me trips to libraries all over the county. When I wasn’t borrowing books, I was inspecting the used-book sales they held on a monthly basis. For an adolescent such as myself, the idea of going into a marketplace with just small change and walking out with a shopping bagful of amazing books was very empowering. I bought tremendous quantities of books – mostly nonfiction. With my book-buying power far exceeding my shelf space, I soon starting applying arbitrary rules about what books I allowed myself to hoarde. They HAD to have an index. The author could not have written any other previous books that I had not read… Finally, I tried to restrict myself to buying only books I found autographed…So, even before internet-sales sites, I found tons of books that are autographed. My house is filled with them now. I suppose in the end I would either become a bookseller or an author. In the last ten years I’ve managed to produce six works of nonfiction.

Fiona: Tell us your latest news.

In early 2019 my first photo-oriented book comes out “Mardi Gras in Kodachrome,” created in partnership with Mary Lynn Randall. It’s an album of 60-year-old color photographs taken by Mary’s late grandmother at the New Orleans Mardi Gras carnival over a ten-year period in the mid-20th-century and never before published. Mary had offered me use of the photos in relation to some other regional history titles I had been doing, but I felt they were strong enough to support a step-back-in-time book all by themselves. It only took two queries sent out for us to find a publisher, Arcadia, who enthusiastically agreed about the value of the photographs.

Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?

I had decided to study journalism at university. Which was a big mistake; I think I might have done better in library science, as the acquisition, preservation and passing along of arcane knowledge is what really fascinates me. Three-quarters of my way through college I finally read one of those hoarded 25-cent library book-sale books of mine from way back, a standard popular how-to guide on the practice of freelance writing. It taught me all I needed to know, right there. No classes, no homework, no tuition, no getting lectures from laid-off reporters or editors who eagerly fled the profession. So I can date my life as a writing professional to my third year in university. But no thanks to university, unfortunately.

Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I was embarked on a university semester-abroad program in London, England, still making a go of the journalism degree, combined with what I learned from that 25-cent ex-library guidebook (okay, I confess I had to get the updated edition to stay current, so it was more like 12 dollars). I sent out a barrage of letters and stamped return envelopes and International Reply Coupons – this was well before e-mail – to an array of potential magazine and newspaper publishers, so that once I situated myself in London I would have some connections and could market myself as an exotic foreign correspondent. In short order I sold an article (with photos) on the London Stock Exchange to a business magazine for more than $300. Still the best sale I’ve ever had. Pure beginner’s luck.

Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?

It’s complicated. I came away from England, actually, with my first book contract in 1985, but it was as a minor contributor to an ongoing series of international film guides (this detoured me into being a film-critic type for many years). I’d only be published in France – but translated into Dutch! It was still enough to get me credit as a legitimate entertainment writer, so in the USA I formed similar relationships with other film-guide publishers, though I was always just a contributing writer (or editor). I wound up anthologized in perhaps more than two dozen books, some high profile, others quite obscure. My first solo book came somewhat out of the blue. Schiffer Publishing, in Pennsylvania, was running online classified ads soliciting regional writers to compile local ghost stories for their book series. I was now into my second decade of freelance writing, and I possessed file cabinets of such X-Files type material (it always made an easy sale around Halloween). I approached Schiffer with my credentials, and they signed me to write “Cleveland Ghosts,” which came out in 2008.

Fiona: How did you come up with the title?

It had to be called “Cleveland Ghosts”; that was pre-determined by the publisher to be internet-search-engine friendly. I have always had to defer to my publishers on those matters. There was one Schiffer book of the paranormal for which I wanted to use the word “Abcedarium” in the title. I am told top management was horrified, and not in a good way.

Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style? Is there anything about your style or genre that you find particularly challenging?

Schiffer has been very kind (except for book titles!) in letting me have my own attitude in most things. In writing about out-there and paranormal topics I tried to live up to (or down to) the standards of journalistic ethics and present the facts sensibly, even with a somewhat sardonic sense of humor. Of course, the challenge for me is not going to print with bad information and urban-legend fairy-stories passed off as true (unless I specifically describe it as such). After I wrote up the most famous haunted house in Cleveland for my opening chapter, I later met the future author William Krejci, who would later do his own book on the place – the results of some 20 years of study by Bill. But he complimented me that my version was the best account that had so far appeared in print; I only made four major errors!

Fiona: How much of the book is realistic and are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

In the paranormal field (even the true-crime and historical field, that I entered subsequently), it seems a la mode to insert oneself, telling Gilderoy Lockhart stories about personally battling demonic entities or tracking serial killers. But I am a boring Cleveland person to whom very little exciting happened, so it is mainly research and cross-checking varieties of sources and putting all that into something hopefully interesting to read. I have been lucky to talk to some adventuresome people. For my “Great Lakes Folklore” I had a nice, long phone interview with a scuba diver, wreck explorer and Clive Cussler associate, who provided invaluable information on some strange antique submarines lost in the Great Lakes. He said he wanted to make sure I wasn’t a “kook” before I quoted him (but I never heard from him afterwards, so perhaps I did turn out to be a kook after all).

Fiona: To craft your works, do you have to travel? Before or during the process?

I have wanted to, but as a lowly freelance writer-author with a wobbly series of odd jobs keeping me going, I just had no travel budget. One book-in-progress that never seems to get done, about UFO phenomena, would call for some proper travel, at least within the state of Ohio. But that’s been pushed to the margins.

Fiona: Who designed the covers?

My publishers have had final say on that. Sometimes they’ve surprised me and used a photograph or even an illustration of mine (I can resort to myself as an artist when I have to; nobody works cheaper!). For “Great Lakes Folklore” I had a marvelous lighthouse image contributed by Paul Wunderle, a digital-photography wizard I knew through mutual friends. It is my most beautiful cover by far. I submitted a slide of my own as a potential cover image, and I was not at all disappointed that my effort lost out to Paul’s. Funny story about the cover of my first true-crime book, “Crescent City Crimes: Old New Orleans, 1718-1918”; while living in a rotten Cleveland neighborhood I bought my first gun, a 32-caliber antique target pistol that some unknown owner, probably up to no good, had filed down into a sinister snub-nosed thing that fit easily in a pocket. Due to all the wire-brushing, it caught the light and photographed very well. And because the barrel was practically nonexistent, I could photograph the gun head-on with no blurriness. The revolver had a tendency to fall to bits, would probably disintegrate if I tried to shoot it. Nonetheless, my family was terrified that I owned a gun and figured I’d go insane and do something very harmful. I assured them it was only a photo prop, no worries…And so when Schiffer published “Crescent City Crimes” I practically begged them to put my picture of the gun on the cover. It’s only on the back cover, and not very prominent – but it is there. After 20 years, my family can relax.

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

N/A, as I do not write novels; I just don’t possess that talent (or confidence that I have the talent, which is probably half the battle). But what carries all my prose books (I guess even the movie-review compilations, in their louche way) is the sheer thrill of storytelling – whether dubious neighborhood ghost legends, stirring sea tales or New Orleans outlaws passed off as folk-heroes and patriots.

Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest? Who is your favorite writer, and what is it about their work that really strikes you?

Growing up I was transfixed by the fiction of Ray Bradbury. A neighbor girl who owed me a Christmas present almost apologetically gave me a paperback of “The Martian Chronicles.” I was hooked; I still have it. Mark Twain, though, is sublime, everything one might aspire to be in a writer (and equally a pleasure in nonfiction). And in my “Paranormal Mississippi River” I have a piece about the psychic powers that seems to run in Twain’s very talented family; it was a topic he took quite seriously.

Fiona: Outside of family members, name one entity that supported your commitment to become a published author.

Well, my publishers, obviously – Schiffer, and now Arcadia/The History Press. But that’s a very good question because a lot of authors just press ahead and write their manuscripts, in outline or entirely, without assurance of a contract or a publisher, ever. And for some of them, it’s worked out happily in the end. But for myself I just cannot go out on that limb bravely and lonely by myself; if I am going to pour so much time and effort into it I have to know some office is indeed waiting for my manuscript. Maybe that speaks ill of my character, I don’t know.

Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?

I suppose it is what I will be known for in the end (unless I do something really illegal). Though the sad fact is, writing has comprised less and less of my income over time. It did carry me along for a dozen years, even if I lived like a pauper at the time.

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

I keep thinking the introduction in “Mardi Gras in Kodachrome” could have been stronger. But again, this is a book chiefly of images rather than words, so new territory for me.

Fiona: Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?

Unlike my past books, when I was weaving together entire nonfiction narratives, the task for “Mardi Gras in Kodachrome” largely amounted to writing photo captions and arranging pictures sequentially. But there is a real art to that for a project of this nature, if one seeks to maintain a sort of flow of information and artwork. I believe we pulled it off. Arcadia seems to think so!

Fiona: If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?

Oh, remember I started out as a movie critic. I do not have much faith in cinema for translating the written word, though there have been some noble attempts, even in nonfiction. I like to think that if the unthinkable happens and a property of mine actually goes before cameras, I would have the strength to dictate that the title be changed, so moviegoers realize that a movie and the book are two different creations. But commercially, for me to do that would be suicide (but I’ve made bad business decisions before…like my journalism degree).

Fiona: Any advice for other writers?

First, read the annually updated library book that got me started (“Writers Market” is the title; I know there was a similar book in the UK for a long time). But have a fallback skill in the career field; you’ll probably need it…Also, one piece of advice I received early on is worthy of comment; some gentleman with a gleam in his eye said that women find writers intrinsically attractive, that it is practically an aphrodisiac. And you’ll get that message from a lot of memoirs and pop-culture. Well, allow me to say that such has not really been my experience. Rather the opposite. Maybe it’s a Cleveland thing.

Fiona: Anything specific you want to tell your readers?

I think my books find fresh angles and insights on subjects that are compellingly readable to begin with; no point in my writing them otherwise. But I do not do cleansings, banishings or exorcisms. I know some of the people who do, however.

Fiona: What book are you reading now?

I read several books at once – especially now that I get paid to do book reviews on the side. But the long-ago library booksale hoarding of my youth that I just now finally got around to is notable. “Folkways” is a 1906 volume, once very well known – now not so much – that seemed to represent the life’s work of scholar/lecturer William Graham Sumner. He tries to do nothing less than sum up all human behavior and tradition in quick, sharp strokes. Much of it, I have to say, comes across as disturbing, if not morbid and ghastly (chapters on cannibalism, abortion and slavery in quick succession). I like to think that the grim picture he paints is somewhat tainted by the bias of his times; unverified traveler’s tales, imperialism or racism. But too much, I fear, is more factual than not. Hopefully I can get verification from an anthropologist. And Sumner wrote that he originally planned to focus more on worldwide superstition – that he calls “goblinism” – but mostly left that part out. A ghost-story-monger such as myself really would wish he had done an equally massive job compiling goblinism after all.

Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?

Sadly no. It was probably a bit beyond my comprehension abilities at the time.

Fiona: What makes you laugh/cry?

My royalty checks.

Fiona: Is there one person, past or present, you would love to meet? Why?

I suppose the noblest answer would be the unsung photographer Ruth Ketcham, who died well before her granddaughter Mary Randall gave me a box of her vibrant color slides that will see print now as “Mardi Gras in Kodachrome.” I would have been able to assure Ruth that the work she undertook all those decades ago, so long unseen, was not forgotten and will now be out on the racks and in libraries, available for the enjoyment of countless readers…But I would also have asked her to have taken better notes when she took the photos; I had to painstakingly reconstruct a lot of the caption circumstances under a magnifying glass. I also wish I knew what brand of camera and lens she used. Nobody in the family remembers.

Fiona: Do you have any hobbies?

I have had the privilege of generating an income out of things that other people consider hobbies, such as a watching films, reading books, hearing ghost stories, and so forth, so the line is fuzzy between livelihood and entertainment. I suppose my own photography and video-editing counts as my hobbies, mainly because I have thus far failed to gain any career advantage out of them. And I collect autographed editions, let us not forget that.

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

For sheer entertainment value, I enjoy the cult-movie showcase “Mystery Science Theater 3000” – although I have on occasion been lucky to be paid to review its DVD-release compilations. Otherwise, since my larger film-critic gigs have largely dried up, almost nothing lures me into the cinema any longer.

Fiona: Favorite foods, colors, music?

Out of ethics – and poverty – I have embraced a vegetarian/vegan diet. Give me an all-you-can-eat salad bar and I am content enough. As a photographer I cannot play favorites with colors – Kodachrome made them all glow. I find third-wave ska music immensely appealing, as well as film/TV soundtracks, gothic-industrial dance, and 80s alternative-underground pop. Part of that is rooted in nostalgia for my lost youth; the rest just proved very effective for keeping me awake and up late making deadlines.

Fiona: Imagine a future where you no longer write. What would you do?

I used to think photography was a suitable creative fallback, but in practice I determined it was even more competitive and high pressure than writing. I held a position as a sports videographer for seven years; it was great, and I often wish I could go back to it. Of course, part of the appeal was that I was installed all by myself in a tall camera tower in a wooded area overlooking a horse-race track all evening long. I was unsupervised, and in the downtime when the animals weren’t running I could do anything I wanted. So there in that racetrack tower is where I wrote three of my books!

Fiona: You only have 24 hours to live how would you spend that time?

I suppose I would go to the nearest hospital emergency room!

Fiona: What do you want written on your head stone?

“At Least I Got Out Of Cleveland” (this presupposes that I am able to arranged being interred out of state)

Fiona: Do you have a blog or website readers can visit for updates, events and special offers?

Not at the present time. I keep feeling the time I might take to establish an online presence would sap away energy and opportunity to write more books! Perhaps I’ll get past that block someday.

My Amazon Author Page:

https://www.amazon.com/Charles-Cassady/e/B001QV5QFQ/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2?qid=1546472060&sr=1-2

Link to my books published by Schiffer.

https://www.schifferbooks.com/search/results.html?keyword=charles+cassady+jr.&search-option=author&categories_id=&manufacturers_id=&pfrom=&pto=&dfrom=&dto=&x=22&y=8

 

Here is my interview with J. E. Irvin

Hello and welcome to my blog, Author Interviews. My name is Fiona Mcvie.

 

Let’s get you introduced to everyone, shall we? Tell us your name. What is your age?

My name is Janet E. Irvin. I publish literary and non-fiction work under that name. My mystery/thrillers are published as J. E. Irvin. My path to publication has been very non-traditional. I arrived later than most people and reserve the right to keep my age a secret!

 Fiona: Where are you from?

I was born in Youngstown, Ohio, the oldest of seven children, and grew up in an industrial town called Struthers in the northeast area of the state. I reside in Springboro, a suburban area in southwest Ohio. From this you can tell that I am a life-long Buckeye!

Fiona: A little about yourself (ie, your education, family life, etc.).

I received my undergraduate degree in Spanish and English from Ohio University, hold a Master’s in Education from the University of Dayton and a Master’s in Spanish from the University of Cincinnati. I taught high school and university classes for forty-two years before retiring to concentrate on my writing. My husband and I have been married for fifty-one years and have two daughters. Our oldest lives in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, with her husband and our granddaughter. Our youngest, her husband and their two children reside in Columbus, Ohio. As an avid outdoor enthusiast, I adore hiking and canoeing, especially in the Northwoods of the United States and Canada. The more remote the location, the happier I am.

 Fiona: Tell us your latest news.

My newest manuscript – a women’s literary fiction work titled A Principle of Light- is complete and in the querying process. I have a third mystery/thriller in progress (with hopes of a late fall publishing target) and a paranormal fantasy based on Celtic legends in the early draft stages. I have also recently returned to writing poetry. One of my pieces appears in the spring issue (#17) of Mock Turtle Zine. A non-fiction essay was accepted by the literary journal FLIGHTS and will be published in their 2018 fall edition.

Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?

As so many writers, I started young with plans to write seriously after undergraduate school. However, life throws us curves. Our second child was born profoundly retarded. With no explanation for the disabilities and no recourse, I embarked on a journey for which I had no preparation. After four years of therapy and doctor visits, we had to place him in a care facility. The trauma literally stole my writing voice. After Scott’s death in 1992 from complications of surgery, I returned to the only thing that helped the pain – writing. I took a part-time job as a stringer for the local newspaper, wrote short stories, and began to submit to publications.

Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

The first time I wrote a sentence on those lined sheets of grade-school paper, I felt the magic in recording an idea. However, the first time I saw one of my stories on a page, followed by my by-line, I knew what I was meant to be.

Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?

I have an entire power-point presentation on this topic! Several years ago, a local teacher left her child in the car and forgot the baby was there. The storyended tragically and was carried in the local papers. In an attempt to understand the event, I wrote a short story and sent it off to an editor, who replied back immediately with a lengthy rejection in which he said two things: the story wasn’t believable and that it had happened in his family! Nursing the rejection with wine and chocolate, I asked myself a what-if question: what if the mother returned to the car and the baby was gone? This idea grew into my first published novel – The Dark End of the Rainbow.

Fiona: How did you come up with the title?

In the opening chapters of the novel, two of the main characters – Xandra and Leah – witness rainbows as the tragic circumstances unfold. The symbolism recurs throughout the book. It seemed a natural fit.

Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style? Is there anything about your style or genre that you find particularly challenging?

I am a lover of words, of how they look and sound and feel when we say them. And there are so many wonderful words we seldom use. So, I tend to use them and then must revise and sometimes cut them because my style is not the cut and paste of the Internet or twitter. I’d like to think that my writing has an elegance to it, but I’m not certain that style is popular today. I try to be aware of that as I craft my pieces. However, this style of writing is suited to poetry, so perhaps that is why I am writing more of it now!

Fiona: How much of the book is realistic and are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

Well, both of my mysteries are set in a fictional town that resembles the towns where I live or have lived. A discerning reader will find plenty of references to familiar places. The premise of each story is also based on real-life episodes, but all the characters and situations are fictional. I use detail to make the plots real, but I never use anyone specifically. For example, the character of Joe in The Dark End is based on a beloved uncle who was a detective. I gave my Joe his name as a way to honor the memory, but my Joe isn’t at all like my uncle.

Fiona: To craft your works, do you have to travel? Before or during the process?

I have travelled locally for some of my short stories, but for the two novels, I haven’t need to go far afield. My new manuscript takes place in Turkey, a country I have long wanted to visit. Because of the danger involved in traveling there, I have relied on my Turkish friends to advise, edit, and correct the political, geographic and linguistic parts of the novel. The book is written in honor of one of my longest and closest friends, a Turk, who died recently from ALS.

Fiona: Who designed the covers?

Actually, I did! The editor at the small press that published my novels worked with my design.

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

All my novels concern themselves with keeping secrets, the consequences of keeping those secrets, and the healing power of love. If there is a message, I believe that is the one I would most like readers to take with them.

Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?  Who is your favorite writer, and what is it about their work that really strikes you?

I read three novels a week, so I am familiar with a great many writers. One who has captured my attention is Randall Silvis. He has an amazing ability to make his characters  multi-layered and appealing. I also absolutely love Sarah J. Maas’s fantasy romance series Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses. Barbara Nickless is a new author who has a series about a railroad detective named Sydney Rose Parnell, a veteran who served as a mortuary technician in the Iraq war. When I can’t wait for the next book, I know I’m hooked!

Fiona: Outside of family members, name one entity that supported your commitment to become a published author.

I credit the Ohio Writing Workshop at Miami University and the Antioch Writers Workshop with restoring my voice and my belief in my ability to write. Midwest Writers Workshop awarded me the first fellowship I ever received as I worked on my first novel  I ever wrote, The Magic (still unpublished)-. Each of these entities said to me, “You are a writer.” Their encouragement and support gave me courage to continue. I also credit the original members of the Key Lime Writers group – Rosalie, Jo, Mary Lou – who refused to let me give up.

Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?

I would love to see writing as my career, but I realize I am fighting a difficult battle. The sheer number of people writing, the availability of self-publishing sites, the search for younger talent to make an agent’s career, my own place on the chronology scale, all make it very difficult. But I will not stop.

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

Because I won an award that included publication with a small press, I did not have the advantage of multiple editors. They are so important to the final product. I wish I had had that extra set of eyes looking things over. The first run ended up with a small but important error I swear I corrected on my final proofs but which ended up not being changed until the second printing. That would never happen with more steps in the process.

Fiona: Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?

So very much! I studied Turkish. I read OrhanPamuk and Kemal Ataturk and several modern Turkish poets. I plotted routes through the countryside and found a history so fascinating, I can’t wait to learn more.

 Fiona: If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?

David Harbour would make a good Joe. Millie Bobby should be Xandra. Carla Gugino would be a possible choice for Leah. I would have to hold a casting call for J.J.

Fiona: Any advice for other writers?

I’ve written columns on my web site that address this, mostly culled from my own experience. The first thing is you have to write and you have to submit. The second thing is perseverance. Don’t give up, ever. Third, find your ‘tribe,’ the people who will continue to support you as you struggle to attain your goals. I also believe it’s important to be a good literary citizen, to give back to the writing community by being supportive yourself. A good motto to write by — “A rising tide lifts all boats.”

Fiona: Anything specific you want to tell your readers?

If you like what you read, please leave a good review somewhere. The best way books find an audience is word-of-mouth, so spread the word. One of my readers told me she loved my book and thought sure it would be a bestseller if everyone knew about it. But she didn’t post that anywhere…so no one will know how she felt. BTW, if you didn’t like it, message me and tell me why so I can make the next one better.

Fiona: What book are you reading now?

I just this morning finished “The Extraordinary Life of Joe Hill” by Robert Dugoniand am reading Baldacci’s “No Man’s Land” and “All the Castles Burned” by Michael Nye.

Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?

No. But I remember the first book I read over and over again: “The Mystery of Camp Laughing Water.” Loved that story…got me hooked on mysteries.

Fiona: What makes you laugh/cry?

Literate and witty comedy, corny jokes, a baby’s laughter, my grandchildren’s brutal honesty and my own clumsiness at times – all these things make me laugh. What makes me cry? Weddings, beauty in all forms, the knowledge that time sweeps us all in its passage and we lose the things we love…

Fiona: Is there one person, past or present, you would love to meet? Why?

Mark Twain, for many reasons but mostly because he married comedy and tragedy so skilfully. Charles Barkley, because he’s such a character!

Fiona: Do you have any hobbies?

I am a gardener – vegetables and wildflowers.I walk and work out as often as possible. And I love to bake!

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

Again, I enjoy literate, witty, well-written, absorbing, thoughtful shows, something it’s difficult to find on network television. Lately, I’ve enjoyed the limited series “Howard’s End.” I am catching up on “Grace and Frankie” and watching “Westworld.” Love “The Big Bang Theory,” although it may be reaching the end of its run. Can’t wait for the return of “Outlander” and “Game of Thrones.”

Fiona: Favorite foods, colors, music?

Pasta in all forms, cheeseburgers with everything on them, a good filet mignon. My favoritecolors are winter: red, white, black, blue. My taste in music is more eclectic, from symphonic to blues to folk. We attended a festival over the weekend that featured a group called Over The Rhine. Beautiful lyrics and harmony. But I am a good old rock ‘n roll fan as well – Eagles, Stones, Bob Seger.

Fiona: Imagine a future where you no longer write. What would you do?

I would be a photographer or a park ranger. Or I would return to the classroom. I love the magic that happens when one teaches.

Fiona: You only have 24 hours to live how would you spend that time?

 With my family paddling a river, followed by a cookout and a hike to see a waterfall.

Fiona: What do you want written on your head stone?

Interesting question, and difficult…Loving Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Writer…Her words were as beautiful as her soul.

Fiona: Do you have a blog or website readers can visit for updates, events and special offers?

I do. My web site is https://janetirvin.wordpress.com/  . I also have a facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/darkendoftherainbow . I can be found on Goodreads and Amazon Authors as well.

https://www.amazon.com/J.E.-Irvin/e/B018FG7CL0/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1527686770&sr=1-2-ent

 

Here is my interview with Ryan Lieske

Hello and welcome to my blog, Author Interviews. My name is Fiona Mcvie.

 

Let’s get you introduced to everyone, shall we? Tell us your name. What is your age?

My name is Ryan Lieske, and I am 44 going on 31.

Fiona: Where are you from?

I am from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Fiona: A little about yourself (ie,  your education, family life, etc.).

I had fairly normal childhood, I guess. Raised in Church, but no longer attend or practice. Went to public school. Grew up in a rural part of Michigan, close to Caledonia, the township where I attended school. I had a lot of friends, but still felt lonely most of the time. Tim Burton once described his childhood as “a surreal, bright depression,” and that describes mine as well. It was a lot of fun, but I was also very sad and afraid most of the time. Tried to hide it, with mixed results. I never had the words to explain it, but often fantasized about killing myself, and was obsessed with death. Would later learn I had depression and generalized anxiety disorder, which explained a lot of my behavior and emotional make-up as a child. Movies, music, and books were, and remain, a very vital part of my life.

Fiona: Tell us your latest news.

My debut novel, Fiction, was recently released by Burning Willow Press. I have two novellas, another novel, and several short stories in the works.

Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?

I always wrote stories as a kid: mostly comic book-style stories of a couple of pages in length. Sometimes sold them for a nickel in little book order forms I would give to friends and my parents. Started taking writing seriously in middle school, around age 14. At age 15 I wrote my first novel, and vowed that writing would be my career someday.

I began writing, a) because I loved reading, and loved the look and feel of books, and I wanted to make something like that, be a part of that “world,” and b) I had so many stories and ideas in my head that just had to go somewhere.

Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

As mentioned above, age 15, when I wrote my first novel: a whopping one hundred-page horror fantasy story, scribbled in notebooks during my free time. I know it was at that point that I began calling myself a “writer.”

Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?

Since my first novel was never published, I will talk about Fiction instead. There’s a long story behind this book, as it began life as a screenplay back in 2001. However, in essence, I wrote it for two reasons: 1) I had just gotten out of a relationship with someone I was deeply in love with, and at the time I couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t take a chance on us. I was still young, 26, so you’ll forgive me. But I wanted to put myself in her place, and tell a relationship story from that POV, so I could maybe learn more about myself and what I had done wrong. In the story, the relationship changed quite a bit, but the essence of it is there. And 2) I was—and still am, somewhat—terrified of death. So I wrote a screenplay out of that. It mutated quite a bit, as these things do, but those were its inspirational starting points. Now, over 15 years later, it’s a novel. Which has mutated even more.

Fiona: How did you come up with the title?

Well, the novel deals with a writer whose characters are coming to life. However, to really get the full meaning of the title, you would have to read it. (Tease! Haha!)

Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style? Is there anything about your style or genre that you find particularly challenging?

I think every writer has a specific writing style, but I’ll be damned if I could actually explain mine. This isn’t dodging the question, but I honestly just write things down the way they sound in my head. I have a few tics I’ve probably stolen from other writers over the years (who doesn’t?), but I would hope that I’ve made them own. I want to write stories people can enjoy, and don’t need a Rosetta Stone to decipher. I like to be a bit literary, for want of a better word, but I’m still a student of Stephen King at heart. I could never write like Joyce, and, frankly, have no desire to.

Fiona: How much of the book is realistic and are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

I think I covered that above. But everything I write is autobiographical in parts. I base characters on people I know, oftentimes more than one in one character, and of course throw a bit of myself into each character. And I often take experiences in my life and work them into stories. But for the most part I would say that none of this comes out overtly in the stories. I blend and stir so much to the point that you would really have to know me to know what’s what. I’m writing fiction here, not non. Because it fiction I can be more honest about myself and the world I live in. I have no interest in every writing a true autobiography. My life isn’t that interesting, however I like to think I can take bits of that relatively prosaic life and make it interesting.

Fiona: To craft your works, do you have to travel? Before or during the process?

No. I usually write either at the desk in my office, or sitting on the couch. I do hope to one day do the whole “isolate myself in a cabin for a week” thing, though.

Fiona: Who designed the covers?

Using photos I supplied and my concept, Lorine Van Tonder created an absolutely gorgeous cover. I nearly cried when I saw it.

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

No, not really. I’m not big on “messages.” At least not ones that are overt. I come from a philosophical and psychological perspective when I write, not a political or sociological one. Although, subconsciously, those things do tend to sneak in, I suppose. Ultimately, I just wanted to tell an entertaining, and hopefully frightening, story. There is some commentary there, if you look for it. I’ll admit that Fiction is a bit of a commentary on the nature of creation in an artistic sense. The idea of artistic wish-fulfillment on the part of the author. So if there’s a message in there, that’s it.

Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?  Who is your favorite writer, and what is it about their work that really strikes you?

I recently discovered Kameron Hurley; her novel The Stars Are Legion completely blew my mind. (I hate the expression and rarely use it, so that should tell you a bit about how unable I am to really express how much that novel affected me.) I don’t write SF, but I’m a huge fan of it. And as far as I’m concerned she changed the game with that novel.

I’m a fan of, and indebted to, Stephen King, Clive Barker, Kathe Koja, Elizabeth Massie, Toni Morrison, Ursula K. LeGuin, ZZ Packer, Charles L. Grant, Poe, Brian Hodge, Ray Bradbury…I could go on forever. Each of these writers, and every writer I read, has shown me new ways to think about the world, express what I think about the world, and how to put it into words and make stories out of it.

Fiona: Outside of family members, name one entity that supported your commitment to become a published author.

My friends from high school, which, gods bless them, have remained my friends for over 30 years, all told. Rick Reed, Jamie Thompson, Randall Dunn, Kate Kerkstra, Diana Lamphiere…to name a few. Plus, my significant other, Leah.

Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?

I do, absolutely. We’ll see what the readers and book-buyers think, though.

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

Sure, of course. I’d rewrite it another five or six times. But that wouldn’t necessarily make it any better. I trust my publisher, Burning Willow. If they have faith in it, then I do. I’m the type of person that, once a piece I’ve written is out, I’m ready to move on to the next.

Fiona: Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?

Yes, how to write a novel. I’d done it before, but this is the first time that I actually feel like I did it properly. But I’m still learning. And I want to keep learning until I die. Perfection is not something I worry about achieving. It’s impossible. So I say, always be learning.

Fiona: If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?

I honestly don’t have anybody in mind. I would love to see an unknown, and this be the role that introduces her to the world.

Fiona: Any advice for other writers?

Read. A lot. And not just one genre. Read as much of everything as you can, and make sure there is a lot of nonfiction in there, too. I taught myself how to tell stories by studying how others did it. The mechanics are easy to learn; and even if you fail at the mechanics, a good editor can help you with that. But what’s most important is the story, and how you tell it. You can only get that by studying what others have done, and then find out a way to make it your own.

Fiona: Anything specific you want to tell your readers?

I love you for reading my stories, and I’ll keep writing them if you keep reading them.

Fiona: What book are you reading now?

I’m a reading polygamist, so I’m in the middle of seven or eight books at the moment. I’m currently reading classic mystical and spiritual texts like the Tao te Ching, The Bhagavad-Gita, The Tibetan Book of the Dead, etc. I’m also reading Ready Player One, A Head Full of Ghosts, the first book in Kindra Sowder’s Permutation Archives, and a couple of books on North Korea. A whole slew of different things. I’m good at keeping them straight, though.

Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?

Not really, but I know that the first book that really had an impact on me, in both good and bad ways, was the Bible. I was obsessed with all the Bible stories as a kid. Especially the Crucifixion. That was my first real exposure to violence in literature. Big impact. Though I no longer follow it or believe that all of it is true, it remains a huge influence on me.

Fiona: What makes you laugh/cry?

As I’ve gotten older, I find myself getting emotional about a lot more than I used to. I don’t often cry on the outside, but inside is a different story. Anything to do with animals suffering kills me. Loneliness in others, that always hurts too. I know what I can handle, but when I see someone who isn’t handling those things as well it really upsets me.

Laughing? I laugh at life, at death, and everything in between. When appropriate, of course. However, you really want to see me lose it, catch me watching my cats fight. Slapping each other with their silly paws. I can’t handle it. Makes me want to pee my pants.

Fiona: Is there one person, past or present, you would love to meet? Why?

Any figure of which religions or spiritual teaching have been based around. Jesus Christ, Siddhārtha Gautama, Muhammed, etc. I mean, if they actually did exist, and did what it’s said they did, it would sure answer a lot of questions, don’t you think?

Fiona: Do you have any hobbies?

Reading, watching movies, cooking, hiking, eating ice cream. Worrying. I used to play tennis and golf, and wouldn’t mind getting back into either of those someday. I also collect coffee mugs, even though I don’t drink coffee. Did I mention worrying?

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

I’m not a big TV show person, but I catch bits and pieces of shows here and there. I don’t binge. The last show I was obsessed with was Six Feet Under. Recently, the best thing I’ve seen is American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson. I thought that was brilliantly done. I’m still a junkie for old Outer Limits and Twilight Zone, and will watch those whenever I can. I also like a lot of the shows on Food Network. I really love RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Movies? Well, as with books, my tastes are extremely broad. I gravitate to SF and horror, but really, I’ll give anything a chance if it’s a good story. I’ve seen so many damn movies that originality is what lures me nowadays. Honestly, though, I don’t get excited about too many newer movies. Even from directors I’ve followed my whole life. For instance, I love David Cronenberg, but I feel like I’ve probably seen the best he’s going to offer. And that’s perfectly fine. I’m not as obsessive as I was when I was younger with having to consume everything a certain director or actor or writer puts out. My true passion is horror and SF movies from the silent era until about 1995 (with special emphasis on the 50s and 60s). But I assure you I’m not a snob or an elitist hipster douchebag. It’s just that I have so many older films I still want to see that I’d just rather give them preferential treatment because, frankly, I don’t really care for the way movies are made anymore. Not that I still don’t fall in love with newer films, it’s just that when given the time to watch a movie, I’m going to gravitate to something older.

Fiona: Favorite foods, colors,  music?

I’ve recently become a foodie, after years of thinking Arby’s is the epitome of cuisine. I love good food, period, and have become rather obsessive about seeking out new things to try.

Music? I love industrial and am a die-hard rivethead. I’m also into new wave, punk, post-punk, ambient. I’m a collector of film scores and often write to them. Also a big hip-hop fan, especially the classics like Run DMC and Public Enemy. Dig metal, too. If it sounds good to my ears, I like it. There is no irony in my love of certain bands or songs. Life’s too short. If you dig it, jam it.  

Fiona: Imagine a future where you no longer write. What would you do?

I don’t envision such a future, because I don’t intend to ever let that happen. Gods-willing, I will die, sometime around age 120, after finishing the last sentence of my last book. However, to play the game fairly, if I was to ever give up writing, I would probably spend the remainder of my life either being a librarian or working in a museum. Preferably part of the Smithsonian. I can think of no other way I’d rather waste away my hours. I’m also open to living in a Buddhist monastery somewhere far away from every place I’ve ever known, meditating and hanging out with critters in the forest.   

Fiona: What do you want written on your head stone?

“I tried.”

Fiona: Do you have a blog or website readers can visit for updates, events and special offers?

Twitter: @ByRyanLieske

Facebook: Ryan Lieske – author

WordPress: ryanlieske.blog

Website: RyanLieske.com (although it is currently under construction)

Instagram: ryan_lieske_writes

Amazon authors page

USA   https://www.amazon.com/Ryan-Lieske/e/B00JFP2NAG/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1

UK    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ryan-Lieske/e/B00JFP2NAG/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1519380987&sr=1-2-ent

Here is my interview with Joan Livingston

Hello and welcome to my blog, Author Interviews. My name is Fiona Mcvie.

Let’s get you introduced to everyone, shall we? Tell us your name. What is your age?

Hello, Fiona, thank you for inviting me to your blog. My name is Joan Livingston, and as for my age, let’s say I am une femme d’un certain âge and leave it at that.

Fiona: Where are you from?

I have lived in different parts of the U.S., including 11 years in Taos, New Mexico. Recently, I returned to the rural hilltowns of Western Massachusetts, which is the setting for most of my fiction. It’s also where we raised our family for 25 years before moving to the U.S. Southwest.

Fiona: A little about your self (ie, your education, family life, etc.).

I grew up beside the ocean in Massachusetts, where my grandparents arrived from the Madeira and Azores islands of Portugal. I was a studious, sheltered child who was the first of my family to graduate from college.

From college on, I broke loose and chose an alternative lifestyle. I am the mother of six children, which although rewarding, took up all of my creative energy. I just couldn’t write during those years. So I did the next best thing — I read.

My spouse, Hank, and I are proud of our kids, who are now adults, and our two granddaughters. They are good people.

Fiona: Tell us your latest news.

My novel, Chasing the Case, is set for a May 18 release. Published by Crooked Cat Books, it’s the first in a mystery series featuring Isabel Long, a journalist turned amateur P.I. Her first case is solving a 28-year-old mystery about a woman who went missing in her small town of a thousand people. It was her first big story as a rookie reporter and now her first case as an amateur P.I.

The book will be available in paperback and to pre-order in Kindle before May 18. I will spread the news when that happens.

Its sequel, Redneck’s Revenge, will be published by Crooked Cat Books in the fall. Currently, I am working on the third.

Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?

I began writing as a child and continued through college and a bit afterwards, when I fancied myself a poet. But as I hinted above, I had a rather lengthy writer’s block as I mothered six kids. Being a reporter got me back into using words. Being an editor freed me up to do my own writing. Suddenly, writing fiction became a part of every day. That was 19 years ago.

Despite countless rejections, I kept writing. I’ve completed thirteen books, including a middle-grade series, a bilingual series for children, and seven adult novels. I am in the process of writing two more — a mystery and the fourth in the middle-grade series.

I tried self-publishing — Peace,Love, and You Know What,The Sweet Spotand The Cousins and the Magic Fish/Los Primos y el PezMágico—but I really wanted to be part of a team that oversaw editing, design etc. and helped with promotion. I am so happy to have signed with Crooked Cat Books last fall — and that Laurence and Steph Patterson took a chance on me.

Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Definitely as a child when I had teachers who encouraged me to write. But being an author took many, many more years.

Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?

Actually, my first book, The Sacred Dog, hasn’t been published. I was inspired by the small town of 1,200 people in Western Massachusetts, where we livedfor 25 years.

Fiona: How did you come up with the title?

The Sacred Dog is the name of a bar that has a prominent role in the book. It was the nickname we used to call one of our dogs that would sit regally and composed in a household of six kids.

Thetitle for my most recent book, Chasing the Case, just popped into my head like so much of my writing. Or as I say, as a journalist, Isabel never lost a story she chased. Now as an amateur P.I., she’s not about to lose a case she chases.

Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style? Is there anything about your style or genre that you find particularly challenging?

I believe being a journalist for thirty-plus years, gave me the opportunity to observe people closely. It’s an experience that has helped me create realistic dialogue and scenarios. I sit at my laptop and let the words flow. I never work by outline. In one of the best books on the topic, the author Stephen King calls writing “telepathic.” That’s the way it works for me. Then there’s rewriting. But I liken it to taking up a really good daydream and making it better.

Fiona: How much of the book is realistic and are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

I take what I know and have my way with it. In Chasing the Case, I will admit the main character, Isabel Long, is a lot like me, kind of sassy and determined. Isabel and I are Portuguese in what is truly Yankee territory. Like her, the first job in my thirty-plus years as a journalist was reporting on small, rural towns. Isabel’s 92-year-old mother, Maria Ferreira, is her Watson. My own book-loving mother is the inspiration for that character, and I borrowed a bit from three of my kids to create Isabel’s adult children. The rest of the characters, the setting, and storyline are pure fiction.

Fiona: To craft your works, do you have to travel? Before or during the process?

The only travelling I do is in my mind.

Fiona: Who designed the covers?

I have self-published two adult novels: Peace, Love, and You Know What (a romp through the early ’70s with a group of hippie friends from college) and The Sweet Spot (a woman tries to persevere after her small town turns on her). Michelle Gutierrez, a designer who I worked with at The Taos News, created those covers.

For Chasing the Case, my publishers Laurence and Steph Patterson, of Crooked Cat Books, created the design with my input. I believe it captures the mystery well.

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

Hmm, I hadn’t thought of any messages. Perhaps that there’s a lot more going on in small towns than people realize.

Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?  Who is your favorite writer, and what is it about their work that really strikes you?

I am currently reading the novels of my fellow authors at Crooked Cat Books. As for favorite writers, I am fond of those who write about rural areas such as Annie Proulx, Russell Banks, Richard Russo, Larry Brown, Larry Watson, etc. I am a huge fan of Sherman Alexie. I can’t say I love everything an author writes, but my favorites are the ones who make me forget I am reading.

Fiona: Outside of family members, name one entity that supported your commitment to become a published author.

Definitely my friend, Teresa Dovalpage, who is an author. Her latest book, Death Comes in Through the Kitchen, a mystery set in her native Cuba is being published in March. We met in Taos and became fast friends.

Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?

I haven’t had the good fortune yet to make enough from my fiction to count as a career, but being a long-time journalist was pretty close.

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

Ha, I did many times while I was rewriting it.

Fiona: Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?

This was my first attempt at writing a mystery. I found I enjoyed the genre very much.

Fiona: If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?

I believe Jennifer Connelly or Kate Winslet, if they were willing to let their hair go silver, would do Isabel justice.

Fiona: Any advice for other writers?

I will pass on advice from one of my college professors: Write it like nobody else has written it before.

From me: Write because you love doing it.

Fiona: Anything specific you want to tell your readers?

I hope you enjoy what you read, and if you do, please kindly leave a review.

Fiona: What book are you reading now?

I am finishing up Ninja School Mum by Lizzie Chantree and will read Neil Randall’s The Girl in the Empty Room next. Both are Crooked Cat Books authors.

Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?

I read a lot in school, the usual beginner books. But I recall being quite taken by The Diary of Anne Frank.

Fiona: What makes you laugh/cry?

I’m a bit of a stoic, so I tend not to cry. Laugh? Oh, the absurdity of life gets me all the time.

Fiona: Is there one person, past or present, you would love to meet? Why?

Only one? Crap, there are so many great people to choose from.In the present, I would love to have a beverage with Barack Obama. In the past, a smoke with John Lennon.

I will reveal a favorite pastime: Visiting the homes where famous authors lived. I try to get a feel for their creativity.

Fiona: Do you have any hobbies?

Making things grow.

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

Anything that makes me forget I’m watching. For TV shows I’m hooked on mystery/crimes series from the U.K. and Scandinavia. As for movies, I have the same criteria. Sorry to say there haven’t been many of those lately.

Fiona: Favorite foods, colors, music?

I like foods that use honest ingredients and clean cooking methods. I am fond of ethnic cuisines, especially Japanese and New Mexican.

I would say 80 percent of my wardrobe is black. But I do like turquoise.

As for music, I enjoy blue grass, folk, some rock ’n’ roll and blues.

Fiona: Imagine a future where you no longer write. What would you do?

Well, I suppose I would spend it travelling, reading, and gardening in that order.

Fiona: What do you want written on your head stone?

Not sure there will be one, but here’s an idea: She had her way with words.

Fiona: Do you have a blog or website readers can visit for updates, events and special offers?

Yes, you can catch me at www.joanlivingston.net . I also have a Facebook author page @JoanLivingstonAuthor and Twitter account @joanlivingston. On Instagram: JoanLivingston_Author.

https://www.amazon.com/Joan-Livingston/e/B01E1HKIDG/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1519308290&sr=1-2-ent

Here is my interview with A Isobel Sutcliffe

Hello and welcome to my blog, Author Interviews. My name is Fiona Mcvie.

 

Let’s get you introduced to everyone, shall we? Tell us your name. What is your age?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: A Isobel Sutcliffe. I’m a baby-boomer.

Fiona: Where are you from?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: I live in outback Queensland, Australia.

Fiona: A little about your self (ie,  your education, family life, etc.).

A Isobel Sutcliffe: I am married and have two adult children. I spent 33 years in the music industry, ten of those years I played professionally.

Fiona: Tell us your latest news.

A Isobel Sutcliffe: My second novel, Dal Segno is in the final edit stage, we hope to have it published in the next month.

Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: In late 2014 I broke my leg in five places and found myself growing very bored with watching TV and reading other people’s books. I decided to try my hand at writing my own book and I haven’t stopped.

Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: When my novel, Georgie Angel was in the publishing phase.

Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: I was inspired by many years of reading. I feared I never had sufficient imagination to write a book but I gave it a go anyway and I’m glad I did.

Fiona: How did you come up with the title?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: For Georgie Angel, it is the name of the main protagonist. Dal Segno—well you’ll have to read it to find out.

Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style? Is there anything about your style or genre that you find particularly challenging?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: My adult novels have a rough edge, violence, bad language and sex scenes (though they’re by no means classed as erotica) When I write my young adult, fantasy novels I try to use a style that fits with the genre.

Fiona: How much of the book is realistic and are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: Georgie Angel is a story about a rock star and his journey. Throughout the book, I called on my knowledge of the music industry quite a lot.

Fiona: To craft your works, do you have to travel? Before or during the process?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: I wish I could but that’s not always possible. Mostly I research using the internet, documentaries and books, both fiction and non-fiction.

Fiona: Who designed the covers?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: I belong to a Facebook group called Writers World and another member, Karen Brosinsky-Edwards did my cover art. I found my (brilliant) editor on Writers World too.

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

A Isobel Sutcliffe: Not especially—I just want them to be entertained.

Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?  Who is your favorite writer, and what is it about their work that really strikes you?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: I have so many favourite writers, it would take me all day to list them. The main reason I pick up a fiction book is to be entertained.

Fiona: Outside of family members, name one entity that supported your commitment to become a published author.

A Isobel Sutcliffe: Randall Andrews and the people of Writers World.

Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: That would be wonderful but in today’s world, a privilege enjoyed by precious few.

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

A Isobel Sutcliffe: There’s this one little typo…

Fiona: Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: Where do I begin? I have learned so many things since I began writing in January 2015.

Fiona: If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: Don’t know. He’d have to be impossibly handsome. 😀

Fiona: Any advice for other writers?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: Join a writer’s group; listen and learn. If you’re lucky enough, study writing at university.

Fiona: Anything specific you want to tell your readers?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: Enjoy—and leave feedback.

 Fiona: What book are you reading now?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: A non-fiction book All Fall Down by Matthew Condon. I’m reading it as research into a novel I have planned. (I’ve written the first draft)

 Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: No. I come from a large family and my older brothers and sisters read together a lot—everything from encyclopaedias to cowboy yarns—so I learned to read very early in life. The greatest gift you can give your children is the love of reading.

 Fiona: What makes you laugh/cry?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: Cruelty makes me cry. I’m a person who laughs easily and a lot. Everything from my kids and their wacky humour, my brothers and sisters (all 10 of them)

Fiona: Is there one person, past or present, you would love to meet? Why?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: David Attenborough. What an interesting man he is.

Fiona: Do you have any hobbies?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: Writing. I’m also a musician and a visual artist.

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

A Isobel Sutcliffe:  Monty Python, Shrek 1, 2, and 3. British comedy is my favourite.

Fiona: Favorite foods, colors,  music?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: Mangos. Fetta Cheese. I love all colours. The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Tame Impala (and many more) I have a special love of bluegrass music.

 Fiona: Imagine a future where you no longer write. What would you do?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: Drawing and painting.

Fiona: What do you want written on your head stone?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: I was hoping for a pyramid.

Fiona: Do you have a blog or website readers can visit for updates, events and special offers?

A Isobel Sutcliffe: Yes, the best place is my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/A.IsobelSutcliffe/ .

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Georgie-Angel-Isobel-Sutcliffe/dp/1946675040/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512380155&sr=1-1

Here is my interview with RaShell Lashbrook

Hello and welcome to my blog, Author Interviews. My name is Fiona Mcvie.

 

Let’s get you introduced to everyone, shall we? Tell us your name. What is your age?

Thank you, Fiona! I’m RaShell Lashbrook. Do I have to tell my age? (I’m older than most of the other moms in my seven-year-old daughter’s class, but younger than your grandma.)

 

Fiona: Where are you from?

I grew up in Mulvane, Kansas. I lived for a while near San Antonio, Texas. When I was pregnant with our twenty-one-year-old son, we moved back to Wichita, Kansas.

 

Fiona:A little about your self (ie,  your education, family life, etc.)  

I have a large, crazy family – three boys and three girls. Our house is never quiet between the comings and goings of our children and their friends. I can’t wait to buy a huge plot of land and build each of them a tiny house to live in. Seriously though, I would love to keep my children, and eventually their spouses and grandchildren near me. Some would call that a compound, but I prefer to think of it as our own personal village. I am a bit OCD at times, but I’m working on mellowing out as I’m growing older. I own a commercial cleaning business which allows me a certain amount of flexibility in my writing schedule.

 

Fiona: Tell us your latest news.

My newest book is over half-way finished! Also, our dog recently had nine (yes, NINE) puppies. So, if you know anyone that would like an adorable Australian Shepard/Tennessee Brindle mix, feel free to give them my number!

 

Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?

I began writing in 2011, first a DIY blog, and then my first novel. I have always had the dream to write; but in 2011, I realized that it could be now or never. Writing is therapeutic to me, and a fine way to entertain myself. If someone else enjoys my work, then that is a bonus.

 

Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I used to by shy about admitting that I was writing. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be that impressive. In 2014, I had a major, life changing event. I had to work on being my own good friend. Believing in myself, and owning my dreams were two very important lessons that I took away from the event. After that time period, I pulled my thoughts together enough to complete the first book, and to shout it from the rooftops. One thing that I learned was that if you state your intentions, doors will open, and people will help you along the way.

 

Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?

It was a way to express my frustrations when I didn’t have a voice in my own life. The story developed on its own, and still feels divinely inspired.

 

Fiona: How did you come up with the title?

Originally, the title was Genevieve Carter, the Getaway Driver. Unfortunately, none of my beta readers got the meaning. They were a very intelligent bunch. I figured if they didn’t get it, the title had to change. I don’t want my readers to have to work that hard. Reading should be a treat! The end title, Hidden in the Dark: Every Family Has Secrets – Some Are Worth Dying For, was a group effort from multiple suggestions from my beta readers. They were so good to me. I couldn’t have done it without them.

 

Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style?

Is there anything about your style or genre that you find particularly challenging?  I have no idea if I have a particular writing style. I find my writing to be too verbose, so I’m always cutting away the excess. Then, I wonder if it’s too straight-forward. My biggest challenge is starting each sentence. I detest starting a sentence with “He, She, They, or The”, but it’s super hard for me to start the sentence in any other way. Also, I am always mindful of balancing dialogue, action, and description. It’s very easy for me to get lost in dialogue and thoughts of the characters. Description is the most difficult of all for me.

 

Fiona: How much of the book is realistic and are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

I didn’t think the book was realistic. In fact, I worried that it would be labeled as dramatic trash. Feedback has been excellent though, often with the compliment that I nailed the dynamics of an abusive relationship right on the head. I will say that almost none of the awful things that happen to my characters occurred in my life. I may have taken a seed or two from my own life and grew it in a big way.

 

Fiona: To craft your works, do you have to travel? Before or during the process?

Only in my mind. I’m a typical Midwest mom with all the ordinary responsibilities. I rarely travel. At this point in my life, I travel vicariously through my best friend, Andee and my sister, Lisa. My sister has lived overseas, and my best friend is going to Europe later this month.

 

Fiona: Who designed the covers?

Hidden in the Dark’s front cover was designed by my nephew, Travis. I designed the back cover. With the upcoming book, How a Monster is Made, the cover idea is swimming around in my head, but hasn’t been presented to a designer yet.

 

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

I wrote Hidden in the Dark as an outlet for my creative energies and frustration. At the time, I had no thoughts of creating a message.

Now, stepping back and looking at the project from I distance, I realize there are messages. To me, what sticks out the most is the story of Genevieve. Without a doubt, she was a victim (of domestic abuse); but in the process of coping in the best way she knew, Genevieve also became an abuser. Out of fear, she allowed her children to be abused as well. She looked the other way. She neglected her daughters, and allowed repeated abuse by not standing up for them.

Also, each of the daughters have dealt with the abuse in completely different ways. Lilly is a control-freak who feels like a fraud, Randi uses drugs and sex to cope with her low self-esteem, and the most extreme of all, Raine, develops alternate personalities to cope with the pain. This story tells of each daughter’s journey.

 

Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?  Who is your favorite writer, and what is it about their work that really strikes you?

Gillian Flynn has really caught my attention, primarily because she isn’t afraid to depict women as cruel, mean, and capable of bad things. Men don’t have the market on being the bad guy. My absolute all-time favorite writer is Anne Rice. Her works have an amazing amount of detail in them, and are full of captivating characters. Also, I feel that the biggest message in most of her works is “Is there a god?”.

 

Fiona: Outside of family members, name one entity that supported your commitment to become a published author.

Oh, my goodness, there are too many to mention! I don’t have a big social media following (yet), but I’ve been touched and surprised by the number of people that have been willing to read, and support my journey. My children’s high school French teacher, high school classmates, life-long friends, and new friends alike have cheered me along, given advice, and bought my book. I am very fortunate!

 

Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?

Definitely! I see my cleaning business as something to pay bills right now, and eventually pass on to my children. My writing career is long-term (and my retirement fund)

 

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

No, except finish it more quickly. It is what it is. There will be readers that aren’t interested, and that’s okay. For the right reader, my book is exactly as it should be.

 

Fiona: Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?

I’m learning so much during this process of writing How a Monster is Made! It’s a prequal, set in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The book is the story of the abusive father in Hidden in the Dark. I love the journey. I’ll be writing a chapter, and the character leads me into a scene that I hadn’t planned. So, I’ll research to make sure the history jives with the chapter. I just learned this week that San Antonio, Texas was the first American city to voluntarily desegregate!

 

Fiona: If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?

That’s always a difficult question for me to answer. Believe it or not, I still don’t have the faces of my characters in my mind!

I think Diane Lane would be perfect for the character of Genny. Although she isn’t old enough to play the part in the end of the story, I believe she could play the part of the older Genny with a great makeup crew. Young Genny would need to be a lookalike (perhaps Diane Lane’s daughter).

Lillian should be played by Katherine Heigl. Miranda (Randi) would be perfectly portrayed by Rachel McAdams. I think casting Raine would be the most fun. She has multiple personalities, the most prominent being Serenity (her sexual side) and Shanti (her murderous, dark personality). She is much younger than her sisters, so I think Dakota Johnson would be perfect. She has a cool beauty about her and I think she could switch through the personalities easily. Their monster of a father, Randall, should be played by Jack Conley.

 

Fiona: Any advice for other writers?

Yes, just write. There is no magical door that you can walk through to be a writer. If you write, you will eventually create something worth keeping. There are times when I have no idea what will come out of my fingertips. The process of writing, whether I feel like it or not, is where it’s at. Now, I schedule times to write, just like I would an appointment. This practice has really increased my production.

 

Fiona: Anything specific you want to tell your readers?

I promise I’m not psycho. Please don’t be afraid of me after reading the murder scenes! After reading “Hidden in the Dark”, my own mother said she hoped that she never made me mad. I had to reassure her that I am not my characters!

 

Fiona: What book are you reading now?

The Power of Alpha Thinking

By Jess Stearn

 

Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?

I think it was The Little Engine That Could.

 

Fiona: What makes you laugh/cry?

Everything! I laugh a lot. And I cry happy tears over sappy television commercials. What makes me cry sad tears? Watching someone else suffering. I’m a bit of an empath (according to my wise mother), and I tend to feel another person’s pain easily.

 

Fiona: Is there one person, past or present, you would love to meet? Why?

Dr. Wayne Dyer. His works, his teachings, are so inspirational. He passed away in 2015, but his messages will live on.

 

Fiona: Do you have any hobbies?

Not so much. I’m a bit of a “do-it-yourselfer”, so I go through phases of learning to master a skill, such as making soap, gardening, herbal medicine. Recently, I’ve been so focused on writing that I’m not doing much else.

 

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

I don’t watch much lately, but periodically, I’ll binge watch on Netflix. Most recently, my guilty pleasure was “Shameless (the American Version)”. A few others that I’ve really gotten in to – The Shield, Limitless, Ozark, Grace & Frankie, and American Horror Story. Some of my favorite movies – Rosemary’s Baby, The Shining, A Walk in the Clouds, and best of all, Pulp Fiction.

 

Fiona: Favorite foods, colors, music?

Some of my favorite foods are beef steak (cooked rare) and mushrooms, Greek yogurt, and fruit. Oh, and coffee – lots of coffee. I don’t have a favorite color, but lately, beach and ocean colors really sooth me. I don’t really have a favorite genre of music, but I love the classics (Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles). Equally, I listen to new stuff. Cage the Elephant is one of my favorite current bands, along with Twenty One Pilots (I’ve been to two of their concerts so far).

 

Fiona: Imagine a future where you no longer write. What would you do?

Work as a detective. I love researching and nosing around.

 

Fiona: What do you want written on your head stone?

That’s another tough question! RaShell Lashbrook – January 12, 1970 – January 13, 2070  “Beloved mother, grandmother and author. Gone too soon” I’m half serious. One hundred years doesn’t seem like enough time in this life.

 

Fiona: Do you have a blog or website readers can visit for updates, events and special offers?

Yes, thank you for asking! My author website is https://rashelllashbrook.com/ where readers can sign up for email updates. I tend to post more regularly on my Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/RaShellLashbrook/. I’m also on Instagram, Goodreads, and Twitter. Find one and you can find links to the others.

https://www.amazon.com/RaShell-Lashbrook/e/B06X15W983/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

Thank you for the interview, Fiona! I had a lot of fun!

 

Here is my interview with R.L. Andrew

Hello and welcome to my blog, Author Interviews. My name is Fiona Mcvie.

 

Let’s get you introduced to everyone, shall we? Tell us your name. What is your age?

I’m Robyn Lee Andrew and I write under the name R.L. Andrew. I’m not middle aged I’m mid awesome.

 

Fiona: Where are you from?

I’m from a regional town – Shepparton, in the Australian state of Victoria. In six months I will move back to where I grew up which is around where some of my book series is set.

 

Fiona: A little about your self (ie,  your education, family life, etc.).

I’m a chronically ill former legal executive who re-discovered her love of writing. I also like to bake/cook, garden and watch horror movies. I have a loving husband of 12 years and three adult daughters with two grandchildren. I have a couple of amazing close friends who keep me sane.

 

Fiona: Tell us your latest news.

My first book, and also the first in a series of eight – ‘A Lunatic’s Guide to Interplanetary Relationships’ has been published by JaCol Publishing Inc. An American publisher based in Southern California. I’m learning all about marketing while finishing my editing on the second book before I send it to my editor/publisher. I’m also plotting the third book.

Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?

From a young age I wrote short stories and poems. When I became chronically ill with a couple of autoimmune diseases and associated ailments I needed something to do. My mind is still 100% okay even though my bodies stuffed. I need a challenge and a way to push myself while achieving something despite being sick and writing ticked all those boxes. It’s made an incredible difference to my mental health and even being in pain I’ve created something out of it. It’s not easy and it involves sacrifice and determination.

Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

After I began taking it seriously and wanted more than writing for myself or the odd short story published in an anthology.

Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?

I have a huge crazy imagination and I’m inspired by making everyday events completely unordinary. Something grabs my attention and I see what I can do with it. One day I opened my pantry and wondered what would happen if a big wormhole appeared and sucked me up. I then pushed it to the next level and wondered what would happen to a chronically ill middle aged woman if that happened. I made her a combination of troubled people but a good person inside albeit deep down.

 

Fiona: How did you come up with the title?

That came to me in a flash of brilliance one day while thinking about it.

Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style? Is there anything about your style or genre that you find particularly challenging?

I write everyday day and make time and allowances for it. If you don’t take it seriously then none else will either. Like anything you undertake you should do it to the best of your ability which includes learning about the craft, push and challenge yourself. Also a professional editor is absolutely imperative.

 

Fiona: How much of the book is realistic and are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

I feel the characters are realistic in their flaws but aside from a few minor traits they and the story are all fabrication. Except perhaps for the Annunaki.

Fiona: To craft your works, do you have to travel? Before or during the process?

I have and will travel for book fares and time out to write without distractions.

Fiona: Who designed the covers?

Katie

 

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

Yes! Firstly if you think your life sucks – your life sucks. People self sabotage and blame others for what’s happened in their life instead of accepting responsibility for it or learning from their errors. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and get out and do something, there’s always someone worse off than you.

Make this life of yours count. Nothing will come to you, if you want it you go and get it.

Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?

I’m constantly in awe of the amazing talent in the Indie world. Not one person stands out, there’s a number.

Who is your favorite writer, and what is it about their work that really strikes you?

I’d say Edgar Allen Poe. I started loving his work from a young age and a poem by Lord Byron.

Fiona: Outside of family members, name one entity that supported your commitment to become a published author.

Randall Andrews from Writer’s World Facebook, and a number of other members. Randall’s also a professional Editor.

Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?

Yes I do. While I may not be making much money at the moment I aim for that to change. I now consider myself a writer who’s chronically ill, not a chronically ill writer.

 

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

No. I allowed it to go through its layer by layer evolution process and then worked with a professional editor. I know my first book is the best it can be.

Fiona: Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?

Writing and finishing off a book are only the beginning. Among other things I learnt there’s still plenty of work left to do on it including marketing, creating a cover, make every scene drive the plot forward, you not only have to kill your darlings but you have to slaughter, maim and annihilate them. And you can’t stop at just one, you’ve got to start writing your next etc. Be willing to challenge yourself to get your best work out.

 

Fiona: If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?

Claudia Karven (Australian Actress) as Shayne and Idris Elba as Annu.

Fiona: Any advice for other writers?

Dont make excuses why you shouldn’t write you’ll always find plenty but don’t make excuses why you shouldn’t write. Sit your butt down and write. Be a writer not a wrote.

Fiona: Anything specific you want to tell your readers?

Strap yourself in and enjoy the ride. There’s plenty more to come.

 

Fiona: What book are you reading now?

A couple of non fiction books:

A Day with an Extraterrestrial by Lou Baldin

Forbidden Science

The Hidden History of the Human Race by Michael Cremo and Richard L. Thompson

and Slave Species of the Gods by Michael Tellinger

 

Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?

Ah no but I suspect it was something like ‘See Spot Run’.

 

Fiona: What makes you laugh/cry?

I have a sarcastic, dark sense of humour so anything related to that.

 

Fiona: Is there one person, past or present, you would love to meet? Why?

mmm, maybe Jesus. I’d love to ask him everything and maybe stop him being killed. And Mya Angealou. (not sure I’ve spelt that right)

 

Fiona: Do you have any hobbies?

Aside from writing I love baking, cooking, gardening and watching horror movies.

 

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

I love the Great British Bakeoff, The Australian Bakeoff, Murder She Wrote, Miss Marple and good horror movies.

 

Fiona: Favorite foods, colors,  music?

I love lots of foods though I can’t eat most of them anymore due to digestive issues. As to colours I love blues, greens and soft orange. I’m very diverse musically. I love anything from Eminem to some jazz and classical.

 

Fiona: Imagine a future where you no longer write. What would you do?

I’d be dead. So not sure what I’ll be doing lol.

 

Fiona: What do you want written on your head stone?

She came, she saw, she conquered. Long live Queen Robyn.

 

Fiona: Do you have a blog or website readers can visit for updates, events and special offers?

Social Media Links:

Amazon Author Page – includes short stories in anthologies

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00R0OY14A

Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/robyn.andrew.9

Blog:

rlandrewauthor.wordpress.com

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/RAndrewAuthor

Website

https://rlandrew.com

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/46603326-robyn-andrew

Articles & Reviews:

CrypticRock.com

A Lunatic’s Guide to Interplanetary Relationships by R.L. Andrew

Soft Science Fiction

Release date: 20th August 2017

To order your copy: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074YCZDK5

if you’d prefer a signed paper back – they will take a couple of weeks but you can register your interest here:

Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/robyn.andrew.9

Website  https://rlandrew.com

Here is my interview with Kathy Picard

Hello and welcome to my blog, Author Interviews. My name is Fiona Mcvie.

 

Let’s get you introduced to everyone, shall we? Tell us your name. What is your age?

Kathy Picard, age 55

Fiona: Where are you from?

Ludlow, Massachusetts

Fiona: A little about yourself (i.e., your education, family life, etc.).

Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, raised with Bio Mother and Stepfather who sexually abused me from 7-17 years old. No College background, Graduated from Cathedral High School in 1981. Grew up with 3 half-sisters. My Aunt Judi was the Mom in my life that gave me the love and care that I lacked from my bio mother.

 

Fiona: Tell us your latest news.

Our book that me and my husband Gary wrote has received a Gold Medal in the Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews and Award Contest for 2017 International Book Awards.

 

Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?

Six years ago, to share my story to all that I can. I truly believe it will help many survivors of sexual abuse along with others such as educators, teachers, therapists, nurses and doctors and all students going to school in these fields. Colleges and University’s too would be benefited by hearing me speak and having the opportunity to purchase my book to take home with them. Police Officers it would help them in both their profession and some in their personal lives.

 

Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

When starting to work with my husband Gary and Editor Valerie Utton on this book 6 years ago.

 

Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?

My speaking out and knowing that I could continue my message of having a book to share more detail of my personal life.

 

Fiona: How did you come up with the title?

My Mother always called us “Idiots” or “Assholes so it’s amazing we girls even knew our first real names, then the subtitle is exactly what the story is about.

 

Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style? Is there anything about your style or genre that you find particularly challenging?

I always believed to be honest and tell the story EXACTLY as it was done! I didn’t “beat around the bush”.

 

Fiona: How much of the book is realistic and are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

In my own life-unfortunately

 

Fiona: To craft your works, do you have to travel? Before or during the process?

No just to travel to where I speak which I wish it was daily to be able to help even more.

 

Fiona: Who designed the covers?

This was done by the Editor of the book Valerie Utton but the Flower girl picture is me when I was a young 5 years old.

 

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

It’s NOT your fault this happened to you, You’re NOT Alone, and You can survive and maybe even get the Justice I did by going to court.

 

Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?  Who is your favorite writer, and what is it about their work that really strikes you?

There are many NEW Authors out there today that tell their story of their abuse and I am glad that so many are sharing their stories to help others. Lisa Zarcone being one of them!

 

Fiona: Outside of family members, name one entity that supported your commitment to become a published author.

Our Editor Valerie Utton along with Former Police Chief Louis Barry along with so many of my supporters and friends.

 

Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?

No not a career as I am a public speaker but with this book it has become my career in life as I don’t work any longer this is my passion-job.

 

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

Wouldn’t change anything but if I could have made the book longer. But this wouldn’t happen due to expense and time along with people don’t need a long book to read to be able to understand my life and get what they seemed out of it.

 

Fiona: Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?

That writing a book takes a lot of time and patience with writing with your husband-soulmate.

 

Fiona: If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?

Play me? Reese Witherspoon or Meg Ryan

 

Fiona: Any advice for other writers?

Just do it! YOU CAN!!!

 

Fiona: Anything specific you want to tell your readers?

Thank you for reading my story and to please share to help many more. Do a review for me on Amazon for my book please/

 

Fiona: What book are you reading now?

Honestly right now-nothing as I really have no time to do so.

 

Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?

I think The Three Bears

 

Fiona: What makes you laugh/cry?

My 4-legged girl dogs Abby and Sophie some of the things they do crack me up! Sad stories that I read/hear about in the news, tv, and social media.

 

Fiona: Is there one person, past or present, you would love to meet? Why?

Oprah Winfrey, to share my book with her to bring to her girl’s academy in South Africa and other places. We all know that a “known” person like her could definitely help to bring my book to light to so many!!!

 

Fiona: Do you have any hobbies?

Walking, exercising and relaxing!!!

 

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

True stories of course!

 

Fiona: Favorite foods, colors, music?

Desserts, and more Desserts!!! Chocolate. Colors blues and pinks and country music!!

 

Fiona: Imagine a future where you no longer write. What would you do?

 Speak!!! Relax and my husband wants to live on a lake!!

 

Fiona: What do you want written on your head stone?

Not totally sure but something about my hubby and soulmate Gary and me.

 

Fiona: Do you have a blog or website readers can visit for updates, events and special offers?

http://kathypicard.com/public_html/ and can ALWAYS write to me at Kathychildadvocate@gmail.com

 

Kathychildadvocate@gmail.com

 

A Story ofSurvival, Courage & Justice

The Story of One Remarkable Woman’s Transformation From Victim to Survivor,

And Her Tireless Quest to Bring an End to the Sexual Abuse of Children

“Life with My Idiot Family: A True Story of Survival, Courage, and Justice Over Childhood Sexual Abuse” by Kathy and Gary Picard

 

“Kathy Picard’s book, Life with My Idiot Family, is a must read for anyone who finds themselves

doubting the ability of the human spirit to overcome extreme obstacles.  Ms. Picard not only

overcomes, but uses her childhood pain as fuel for a life of activism with astonishing

accomplishments in the service of others.”

• Rebecca Street

Author, “You Can Help: A Guide for Family & Friends of Survivors of Sexual Abuse

and Assault”

(Western Massachusetts – March 20, 2017)  There is no denying the disturbing statistics of childhood sexual abuse. According to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, with children 18 years and younger, one in four girls and one in six boys is a victim of sexual abuse. For author Kathy Picard, the pain and lasting impact of this horrendous crime was an inescapable chapter of her life, one that shamed her into silence for many years. In her new book, Life with My Idiot Family: A True Story of Survival, Courage, and Justice Over Sexual Abuse (Lake Town Publishing – February 2017), co-authored with her husband Gary, Kathy Picard chronicles her abusive childhood, and the process of how she found her voice and used it to become a dedicated activist and educator, playing a transformative role in the way other survivors are able to seek justice.

A compelling read with disturbing twists and turns, Kathy Picard tells the story of how, at the age of seven, her sexual abuse began and became a painful and relentless part of her life well into her teens, robbing her of her innocence and childhood. Gradually, Kathy was able to find the courage to speak openly about what she had endured, in spite of the pressure and repeated denials of the family she grew up in, and became even more determined to seek justice.

One pivotal development in Kathy Picard’s question for justice required the monumental task of challenging the outdated statute of limitations for sex abuse crimes in the state of Massachusetts, an obstacle that “stacked the deck” against abused individuals who were unable to find the strength they needed to come forward by their 21^st birthday. Too many victims and survivors need decades to confront the painful events they’ve suppressed and denied simply to get through their everyday lives. Kathy Picard’s persistent and tireless work of reaching out and petitioning legislators and other influential figures has been acknowledged by many leaders in the fight to protect victims of sexual abuse.

As an advocate for education designed to encourage children to speak out when they are confused, scared, or being victimized, Kathy Picard has formed alliances with other courageous survivors of sexual abuse, including individuals affected by the widely publicized sexual abuse of children by clergy of the Catholic Church system in Massachusetts.

“Life with My Idiot Family” will inspire people to speak out and add their voices to the nationwide cry for reform in the way sexual abuse is investigated and prosecuted in the U.S., and remind us all that one person can make a difference when it comes to preventing incidents of this kind from occurring and robbing innocent young people of their confidence, self-esteem and ability to trust.

Kathy Picard is an accomplished speaker who has made a difference in the lives of countless victims of sexual abuse crimes. With the publication of her book, she looks forward to connecting with an even wider audience, joining many notable celebrities and politicians in the fight to ensure that the victims of this terrible crime are treated with the respect they deserve.

About Kathy Picard

Kathy Picard is an author, speaker, educator and survivor of childhood sexual abuse. She has been honored for her advocacy work by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women, received a citation from former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and was the recipient of the 2014 Pynchon Award, which is bestowed on individuals who have demonstrated exceptional community and civic service. Kathy also received the prestigious Founder’s Day Award from Zonta International, an organization dedicated to empowering women around the world. For the past fifteen years, she has organized and hosted numerous public events designed to raise awareness in all areas of child safety – and has spoken at police academies, colleges, universities and correctional institutions. She has been featured in numerous radio and television interviews, and was featured in Western Mass Women Magazine and other publications. Kathy Picard and her husband Gary, co-author of “Life with My Idiot Family” live in Western Massachusetts.

 

 Speaking Engagements

AIC College Adjustment Counselors Master Program

Asnuntuck Community College

Boy Scout Troop 138 Chicopee

Carl Robinson Correctional Institution

Chicopee Women’s Correctional Center

Cyberstation USA with Jon Lieberman

Domestic Violence, “In the Eyes of a Child” Event

Granby Auxiliary Police Department

Hampden County Correctional Center

Hampden County District Attorney Task Force

Holyoke Community College

Joanie Winberg Happy Wednesday Talk Show

Ludlow Community Center/Randall Boys and Girls Club

Ludlow School Committee

Monson Free Library

Northwestern County District Attorney’s Staff

Palmer Police Department ~ Community Development

Smart Start Preschool Presentation for Daycare Providers

Springfield College Presentation for Intervention Crisis Class

STCC Police Academy

StoryCorps Archived at Library of Congress

Track180, a higher degree of news

Western Mass Women’s Magazine

Westfield State College

Westfield State University

WHYN AM with Brad Shepard

Zonta Club of Quaboag Valley

Awards/Achievements

 2006 Unsung Heroine Award at the Boston State House from the Massachusetts House of Representatives

Enough Abuse Campaign Trainer Certification 2012

Amberwhistle Program 2008

Citation from Governor Deval Patrick for the Children’s Safety Events I hosted2008

Started Non Profit organization Little Voices Matter Inc.2010

Award for 10^th Annual Massachusetts Missing Children’s Day  5.10.10 from John and Magi Bish

Talking About Touching Safety Curriculum Certificate 2009

Stewards of Children Certificate 2011

Early Childhood Conference Certificate 2011

Professional Development Training “Love, “Love, Limits & Lessons” 2009

American Red Cross Hometown Heroes Nomination 2009

Recommendation letters from…

 Senator Edward Kennedy

Senator Scott Brown

Senator Stephen Brewer

Senator Stephen Buoniconti

Senator Gale Candaras

Congressman Richard Neal

Congressman John Olver

Speaker Pro Tempore Thomas Petrolati

Representative Rosemary Sandlin

Representative Todd Smola

Director for Governor Patrick, Elizabeth Cardona

Former Colonel /Superintendent of MA State Police Tom Foley

Victim Services Coordinator for Hampden Sheriff’s Dept, Monica Dominique

Assistant District Attorney, Maria Rodriguez

Palmer Chief of Police Robert Frydryk

Ret Granby Chief of Police Louis Barry

Sergeant Mark Smith of Granby Police

Recommendations from Reserve/intermittent Police Officers of GranbyPolice

Counselor Supervisor Carl Robinson Correctional Institution, Linda Kendrick

Male Inmates of Carl Robinson Correction Institution

School Psychologist Margaret Scully

Instructor Joe DeMars American International College

Adjunct Professor/Psychotherapist Audrey Murph-Brown

Counselor Kathleen Conley

Co-worker, Robert Tremble

Priscilla Pires, Licensed Social Worker

Members of Zonta Of Quaboag Valley Organization

Springfield Mayor Dominic Sarno

Author, Prosecutor of child abuse, Jill Starishevsky

Student attending Intro to Human Services class at HCC

A neighbor of mine

Other Survivors,parents…

 Thank you for this opportunity!!!!!!