With Iowa enduring a July heat wave, I so want to get in my transporter and go to someplace cool to interview this week's author. However, the controls are jammed and I'm stuck. So this week's questions are asked and answered hrough a series of instant messages. Where is my author? I'll let her tell you.
1. Who is Yvonne Eve Walus and what makes you the most fascinating person in your city?
Hi! I’m writing this on my laptop at one of Auckland’s boat clubs. The sun sparkles on the creased silver of the lake, the wind blows strong into the white sails. All New Zealanders are boat-mad and I stick out here like a bookworm at a Halo convention. But then, despite spending the last 13 years on this lush Pacific Island, I’m only a New Zealander by passport. I simply don’t fit in: I don’t drink beer or follow the rugby, I can’t mend a fence, and I’ve been known to wear a little makeup when we go out to dinner. Oddly enough, nobody falls off their chair when they learn I’m a published, award-winning novelist. Fame, talent and success don’t make a person fascinating in this part of the world: catching your own dinner does!
2. Without revealing a deep dark secret (unless you want to), what one thing would people be surprised to learn about you?
For some bizarre reason, I have a lot of James Bond skills: I can scuba dive, skydive, flirt, concoct a poisonous mixture out of ordinary household items, shoot a handgun as well as a semi-automatic. I’m good at poker, know my single malt whiskies and can tell a Dom Perignon from a Taittinger as well as a revolver from a pistol. I have a PhD in Mathematics and speak several languages. I can program a computer… but I cannot, repeat, not, hack into a secure network (and you can quote me to the authorities on this).
3. What interested you to be become a writer rather than something else such as becoming a mountain climber?
Mountain climbing is exercise. Writing I can do sitting comfortably on my bottom. Also, I like telling people that I lie for a living.
4. Writers are readers. With which author(s) would you enjoy sharing dinner? Why?
I love the intelligence, the pacing and the rhythm of Harlan Conan thrillers. If he talks as well as he writes, he’d make an excellent dinner companion.
To make friends with, I’d choose Joshilyn Jackson (Gods in Alabama, Backseat Saints) – from her blog and Facebook page, I’m guessing she and I have a lot in common.
5. If I were stranded on a deserted island (or suffering a four hour layover at the airport), why would your book(s) be great company?
Almost any Discworld Series book (some are brilliant, others merely very good). You can read them for the humour, you can read them for the plot, but what I value about them the most are the multiple layers of philosophy and acute observations about humanity.
6. Share the Walus process of writing in regards to: idea and character development, story outline, research (do you Google, visit places/people or make it up on the spot?), writing schedule, editing, and number of rewrites.
For short stories, it all starts with a single idea: how well would you get along with a clone of yourself (The Seventh Taboo), what if your husband told you you’re too fat to have an affair (Small Price To Pay), what actually happens in teen chat rooms (Witch Hunts on the Internet). It then takes about a day per 1000 words to get the first draft down, and one edit a few days later.
Novels are a bit more complicated. I usually have a setting in mind: apartheid South Africa, communist Poland, planet Qwerty. The theme is usually tied into the setting from the beginning, so much so that sometimes I’m not sure which comes first. I brainstorm the theme and setting until my characters begin to form, then I come up with some conflicts for them to deal with and start writing. At this point, I have no clue what the plotline is, I just write. After about 10,000 words I step back and map out the plot highpoints. Then I write some more. When the book is finished, I will typically need two revisions to get it exactly the way I’d imagined it at the outset.
7. “I think I have a good idea for a story, but I don’t know where or how to begin. Your process may not work for me. Any advice?”
• Start with your core idea and write it down in the centre of a large sheet of paper. Draw a bubble around it and an arrow leading from it. How does this idea make you feel? Write down the emotions – these are the emotions that the characters will experience in your story and the readers will feel when reading your work – draw another arrow and write down a few ideas how to make that happen. Go back to the centre, draw another line. How does your core idea change people’s perceptions and what can the characters get up to in order to convey your message?
• Make a list of all things you’re currently passionate or curious about: interior decorating, parenthood, preparing to run the marathon, hating your boss. Look at the list and select those that will fit your core story. Try to incorporate them into your work, for example, make your heroine an interior decorator who gets distracted from the main plot when her toddler gets chickenpox. She has to stay at home with the child because her husband is training for the marathon, but her boss needs her to….
• Sit down in front of the dreaded white screen. Type in these words: I want to write about…. Keep going. Every time you stop, type in those words again: I want to write about…. You may not end up with any ready passages for the story, but it’ll break your writer’s block.
8. I saw an amusing T-shirt the other day which read ‘Every great idea I have gets me in trouble.” What is your philosophy of life?
Life is too short to read or write mediocre books.
9. Please tell me you’re not going to stop writing? What’s next for you?
Thank you for this insightful question. As much as I love writing, I sometimes wonder whether that’s the best use of my time on earth. Would I be a better wife and mother if I focused more on my family and less on my story people, or would the drudgery make me impossible to live with? Are stories useful, or should I learn to build houses instead? Does the world need novelists as much as it needs nurses?
Until I figure it out, though, I’ll listen to Nemo the Clownfish and keep on swimming… writing, I mean. My work in progress is a humorous thriller for women, think Harlan Coben without balls.
10. Where can people find more information on you and your projects?
Just Google Yvonne Walus. My website should be the first hit.
The wind is picking up and the water doesn’t look like crushed diamonds anymore. Better go… it’s been a privilege.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Around the Globe with OPHELIA JULIEN
Finally, we get a little rain try to cool off things around here, but I'm off to the land of cheese with this week's featured author. She gives me directions and soon we're basking in chairs a stone's throw away from Green Bay (the water, not the town) sipping cool refreshments.
1. Who is Ophelia Julien and what makes you the most fascinating person in your city?
I'm still trying to figure out who I am myself! At the moment, I'm a writer/student/grandmother raising a two-year old who carries stories, characters, scenes, and bits of dialogue around in her head until she figures out what goes where in whatever story. I don't think I'm the most fascinating person in my city, but anyone who wants to know someone who is interested in all things paranormal, lives in music, and bleeds words might find me good to talk to. I grew up in a haunted house, after all.
2. Without revealing a deep dark secret (unless you want to), what one thing would people be surprised to learn about you?
People who know me aren't much surprised by anything I get into! People who don't know me might be surprised to learn that martial arts are important to me (I'm about 4'11" and 108 lbs). I studied Tae Kwon Do for years but shifted over to western martial arts to learn medieval long sword and arming sword. Superficially, I'm short and small and fit nicely into the background.
3. What interested you to become a writer rather than something else such as becoming a psychiatrist?
Ahh, I wish I could answer this as a full-time writer! I'm not, you know. I have a day job and am studying to get another one. I'd like to be a writer when I grow up. But in terms of interest, stories fascinate me. I'm obsessed with ghost stories and cryptozoology. And I've been writing since I still had an eight o'clock bedtime, so I don't know that I chose to become a writer. I think I always was.
4. Writers are readers. With which author(s) would you enjoy sharing dinner? Why?
I've been lucky enough to share dinner with one of my all-time favorite writers, Douglas Preston (NY Times bestseller of both fiction and non-fiction.) So maybe we ought to go back to authors no longer walking the planet. In which case, I'd love to have dinner with Rudyard Kipling, believe it or not. I love the way he writes and cannot reconcile the novelist I admire with the racist/imperialist everyone assures me he was. That's not the take I have on him at all, no matter how many experts and scholars I read, and I would love to ask him how he got painted with that brush and how he feels about it.
5. If I were stranded on a deserted island (or suffering a four hour layover at an airport), why would your book(s) be great company?
Good question! I love books that I can get lost in and that feature characters I wish I knew in real life, so I do my best to accomplish that in the books I write. I think that Saving Jake could take you away from where you were, at least for the time it took you to read it. I think you'd get through it a lot quicker than four hours, though...
6. Share the Julien process of writing in regards to: idea and character development, story outline, research (do you Google, visit places/people or make it up on the spot?), writing schedule, editing, and number of rewrites.
Wow, that's a long question! Ideas come to me in weird ways: from articles I've read, from a bit of conversation I've overheard, from a name. I can't write a character until I have his or her name, so sometimes I get stuck waiting for that inspiration, believe it or not. Even though the story is in my head, I need a character to introduce his/herself to me before we go away together. I never use an outline for fiction; I use a laundry list of "things that need to happen" and I am constantly crossing things off as I use them and adding things in as need be. I also play around with the chronology of the story using my list. My schedule is, I write when I can but as the story gets more urgent I find more ways to squeeze writing time into my day. Editing and rewriting I do as the story needs, and then again at the end of the first draft. I may rewrite entire sections any number of times, but there's only been one time in my life that I've rewritten an entire book, and that was only because I seemed to be missing a character! I forgot about the research part. I prefer to find people to talk to about a chosen subject. To that end, I have interviewed a hospice administrator, an adoption agency worker, a police sergeant, a pastor, an ER doc, and a deputy US Marshall, to name some.
7. "I think I have a good idea for a story, but I don't know where or how to begin. Your process may not work for me. Any advice?"
This is one of those things that's an entire conversation as opposed to one question and one answer, that's for sure. I've had students ask me variations on this and I usually ask them back who the story is targeted at so that they can start to focus on point of view, character, and voice. One of my favorite teaching exercises is to have my students write an opening line. During the course of a three-hour class, I'll have them come up with one opening line every hour. (I tell them them to come up with an opening line that would make a person want to read the rest of the story.) I'd probably tell the person asking me this question to keep that story idea in mind and then come up with a list of about 7-10 opening lines. Hopefully, one of them is going to open the door and let the rest of the narrative out.
8. I saw an amusing T-shirt the other day which read "Every great idea I have gets me in trouble." What is your philosophy of life?
I have a couple of things I try to live by. The first is my 11th commandment: Thou shalt have no regrets. What that means is I try to live my life so that I won't look back and regret...never taking that workshop because it seemed too expensive, never talking to that famous writer because I was too shy, never telling that person "I love you", never taking the opportunity to fence longsword in front of the whole class after only eight weekly lessons. That philosophy dovetails with Eleanor Roosevelt's "You must do the thing you fear." She had it right. We all stop ourselves (as adults) because we worry about feeling/looking foolish, being illogical, being rejected, any number of uncomfortable things. But nothing gets accomplished if we stay comfortable our whole lives. Go for it!
9. Please tell me you're not going to stop writing? What's next for you?
I almost stopped writing, but I can't, actually. I've been writing since second or third grade so I guess it's a little late to pull the plug. I have a book manuscript on an editor's desk at this very moment. If she kicks it back to me, I'm going after an agent. And I have about three books in my head for when school finally ends!
10. Where can people find more information on you and your projects?
I have a website, www.opheliajulien.com That's the best place to find out about me. As for finding out about what I'm up to, since I'm not my own webmaster and don't know how to update my events myself, well, you could just write me care of the website. I answer everybody. Also, I have a blog (opheliajulien.blogspot.com) which I desperately need to update (I know. My bad.) I'm on Twitter somewhere, too. And FaceBook. Because I was told I should be. I'm not the best about keeping up with all of it, but I do get around to things eventually. If someone seriously was looking for me, though, the website is the best bet. I check that daily. Oh, and here's something fun! If you have about two minutes, check out my book trailer! It's at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpBBCNSctjE ; (If the link doesn't work for some reason, just go to YouTube and search for "Saving Jake Trailer".)
1. Who is Ophelia Julien and what makes you the most fascinating person in your city?
I'm still trying to figure out who I am myself! At the moment, I'm a writer/student/grandmother raising a two-year old who carries stories, characters, scenes, and bits of dialogue around in her head until she figures out what goes where in whatever story. I don't think I'm the most fascinating person in my city, but anyone who wants to know someone who is interested in all things paranormal, lives in music, and bleeds words might find me good to talk to. I grew up in a haunted house, after all.
2. Without revealing a deep dark secret (unless you want to), what one thing would people be surprised to learn about you?
People who know me aren't much surprised by anything I get into! People who don't know me might be surprised to learn that martial arts are important to me (I'm about 4'11" and 108 lbs). I studied Tae Kwon Do for years but shifted over to western martial arts to learn medieval long sword and arming sword. Superficially, I'm short and small and fit nicely into the background.
3. What interested you to become a writer rather than something else such as becoming a psychiatrist?
Ahh, I wish I could answer this as a full-time writer! I'm not, you know. I have a day job and am studying to get another one. I'd like to be a writer when I grow up. But in terms of interest, stories fascinate me. I'm obsessed with ghost stories and cryptozoology. And I've been writing since I still had an eight o'clock bedtime, so I don't know that I chose to become a writer. I think I always was.
4. Writers are readers. With which author(s) would you enjoy sharing dinner? Why?
I've been lucky enough to share dinner with one of my all-time favorite writers, Douglas Preston (NY Times bestseller of both fiction and non-fiction.) So maybe we ought to go back to authors no longer walking the planet. In which case, I'd love to have dinner with Rudyard Kipling, believe it or not. I love the way he writes and cannot reconcile the novelist I admire with the racist/imperialist everyone assures me he was. That's not the take I have on him at all, no matter how many experts and scholars I read, and I would love to ask him how he got painted with that brush and how he feels about it.
5. If I were stranded on a deserted island (or suffering a four hour layover at an airport), why would your book(s) be great company?
Good question! I love books that I can get lost in and that feature characters I wish I knew in real life, so I do my best to accomplish that in the books I write. I think that Saving Jake could take you away from where you were, at least for the time it took you to read it. I think you'd get through it a lot quicker than four hours, though...
6. Share the Julien process of writing in regards to: idea and character development, story outline, research (do you Google, visit places/people or make it up on the spot?), writing schedule, editing, and number of rewrites.
Wow, that's a long question! Ideas come to me in weird ways: from articles I've read, from a bit of conversation I've overheard, from a name. I can't write a character until I have his or her name, so sometimes I get stuck waiting for that inspiration, believe it or not. Even though the story is in my head, I need a character to introduce his/herself to me before we go away together. I never use an outline for fiction; I use a laundry list of "things that need to happen" and I am constantly crossing things off as I use them and adding things in as need be. I also play around with the chronology of the story using my list. My schedule is, I write when I can but as the story gets more urgent I find more ways to squeeze writing time into my day. Editing and rewriting I do as the story needs, and then again at the end of the first draft. I may rewrite entire sections any number of times, but there's only been one time in my life that I've rewritten an entire book, and that was only because I seemed to be missing a character! I forgot about the research part. I prefer to find people to talk to about a chosen subject. To that end, I have interviewed a hospice administrator, an adoption agency worker, a police sergeant, a pastor, an ER doc, and a deputy US Marshall, to name some.
7. "I think I have a good idea for a story, but I don't know where or how to begin. Your process may not work for me. Any advice?"
This is one of those things that's an entire conversation as opposed to one question and one answer, that's for sure. I've had students ask me variations on this and I usually ask them back who the story is targeted at so that they can start to focus on point of view, character, and voice. One of my favorite teaching exercises is to have my students write an opening line. During the course of a three-hour class, I'll have them come up with one opening line every hour. (I tell them them to come up with an opening line that would make a person want to read the rest of the story.) I'd probably tell the person asking me this question to keep that story idea in mind and then come up with a list of about 7-10 opening lines. Hopefully, one of them is going to open the door and let the rest of the narrative out.
8. I saw an amusing T-shirt the other day which read "Every great idea I have gets me in trouble." What is your philosophy of life?
I have a couple of things I try to live by. The first is my 11th commandment: Thou shalt have no regrets. What that means is I try to live my life so that I won't look back and regret...never taking that workshop because it seemed too expensive, never talking to that famous writer because I was too shy, never telling that person "I love you", never taking the opportunity to fence longsword in front of the whole class after only eight weekly lessons. That philosophy dovetails with Eleanor Roosevelt's "You must do the thing you fear." She had it right. We all stop ourselves (as adults) because we worry about feeling/looking foolish, being illogical, being rejected, any number of uncomfortable things. But nothing gets accomplished if we stay comfortable our whole lives. Go for it!
9. Please tell me you're not going to stop writing? What's next for you?
I almost stopped writing, but I can't, actually. I've been writing since second or third grade so I guess it's a little late to pull the plug. I have a book manuscript on an editor's desk at this very moment. If she kicks it back to me, I'm going after an agent. And I have about three books in my head for when school finally ends!
10. Where can people find more information on you and your projects?
I have a website, www.opheliajulien.com That's the best place to find out about me. As for finding out about what I'm up to, since I'm not my own webmaster and don't know how to update my events myself, well, you could just write me care of the website. I answer everybody. Also, I have a blog (opheliajulien.blogspot.com) which I desperately need to update (I know. My bad.) I'm on Twitter somewhere, too. And FaceBook. Because I was told I should be. I'm not the best about keeping up with all of it, but I do get around to things eventually. If someone seriously was looking for me, though, the website is the best bet. I check that daily. Oh, and here's something fun! If you have about two minutes, check out my book trailer! It's at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpBBCNSctjE ; (If the link doesn't work for some reason, just go to YouTube and search for "Saving Jake Trailer".)
Friday, July 15, 2011
Around the Globe with MARGOT JUSTES
Up early on this Friday morning, knew the day would be another hot one, so I dash to my transporter to meet this week's author Margot Justes. Where? Well, I'll let her tell you as an introduction/answer to my first question.
1. Who is Margot Justes and what makes you the most fascinating person in your city?
I’m an author, and while researching my next novel, I found myself in the middle of the Sahara desert surrounded by nomads who cannot speak English. You came to interview me and report on progress of said research. I’m the only one who speaks English, doesn’t that make me fascinating? You had no one else to chat with, except with fascinating…me.
Oh, well, so much for getting away from the heat.
2. Without revealing a deep dark secret (unless you want to), what one thing would people be surprised to learn about you?
Hmmm…the secret is out, I love to belly dance.
3. What interested you to become a writer rather than something else as becoming a Supreme Court Justice?
I love to read and just recently started writing, and find it a magnificent escape from reality. The intrusion back to reality, if you will, is in the process of selling and marketing the manuscript.
4. Writers are readers. Which author (s) would you enjoy sharing dinner? Why?
That is tough, Oscar Wilde would be my first choice, his sense of humor in the absurdity of civility and social mannerism was impeccable. I would love to sit down and chat about his acerbic humor and take on society.
Dorothy Sayers would be another author I would love to have dinner with. Her exquisite and elegant use of the English language I always found enchanting, her perfect hero Lord Peter was captivating. I would have learned a great deal. Alas, they are both gone.
Contemporary author Elizabeth Peters, because she makes reading about archeology informative and exciting and you get a good mystery to boot. She easily reaches her audience even thought the subject of Egyptian archeology is not that common a topic or setting in the mystery genre.
Quite recently I started writing a paranormal romance, and I would love to sit down with Christine Feehan, because her characters are so varied, well developed and just plain fun.
Science is magic to me and I would love to meet anyone who can explain gravity to me (in very simple terms, because it is, after all done with smoke and mirrors.) and why we don’t fall off the face of the earth.
5. If I were stranded on a deserted island (or suffering a four hour layover at the airport), why would your book (s) be great company?
It’s a delightful, adventurous and romantic tale set in Paris. I love the city and got the point across well. I’ve been told by readers that I made Paris come alive for them, and I could receive no better compliment.
The thirty second pitch defines the story…art brought her to Paris, then a stranger’s death changes her life. You have Paris, romance, art, murder and mayhem and of course more romance.
6. Share the Justes process of writing in regards to: idea and character development, story outline, research (do you Google, visit places/people or make it up on the spot), writing schedule, editing and number or rewrites.
I really don’t have a process. I try to write a little every day. I still work full time. Weekends, if left alone are my most productive times. If I’m stuck I go back and read the previous chapters, make changes and that usually allows me to continue. Editing and rewrites are all part of that same process.
I love to travel and because I set my books internationally, I visit the places. Google can provide facts but not the essence of a place…that you must experience.
A writer should have a personal touch, a connection to the place and a certain attention to detail. You should feel the pulse of the place, that intimate experience of walking in the Luxembourg gardens, hearing the crunch of gravel beneath your feet. Or visit the Rodin museum and walk through the gardens, stop by and visit the Thinker, sit on the bench and assume his stance and ponder your own existence. Goggle will provide the facts and images, but I need that personal connection to a place I write about.
7. “I think I have a good idea for a story, but I don’t know where or how to begin. Your process may not work for me. Any advice?"
That is a difficult question to answer. I’ve never written anything ‘paranormal’ but an agent said can you write about a vampire and art? At first I thought no, I’ve never done anything like this. But I do love a challenge, came home and thought about it, and came up with an idea. Leonardo da Vinci, the incomparable Renaissance man meets an obsessive art collector who happens to be a vampire. I think you just need to think about it a bit and start somewhere, you can always go back and change. Nothing is cast in stone, just a computer, key board with an easily accessible delete button. Although, I never delete my scenes, I just save them for future use.
8. I saw a great T-shirt the other day which read, ‘ Every great idea I have gets me in trouble.’ What is your philosophy of life?
Wow. Do you want an answer in one sentence or less? This could be a thesis. Take a chance and do what you most want to do. Fear should not lead you and failure should not guide you. Do not be afraid of failure, if you don’t try, you will never succeed. I’m sure someone said that at some point, somewhere. Just because you haven’t done it before doesn’t mean you can’t. Challenge is a terrific learning experience.
9. Please tell me you’re not going to stop writing? What’s next for you?
I love writing and have no intention of stopping. I finished my second novel A Hotel in Bath, a novella that will turn into a novel very soon, A Fire Within and I also hope to finish with my vampire story Blood Art by year end. I have started A Hotel in Venice but put it on hold for a bit. I want to finish the paranormal story.
10. Where can people find more information on you and your projects?
I have a website www.mjustes.com I have a blog http://margotsmuse.blogspot.com
I am on Facebook, Twitter, all the required social networks.
Stephen, thank you very much for the interview, it was fun to do. Once I’m done with my research in the desert, we can meet in Cairo, go to Giza and ride a camel on the way to see the Pyramids. Something I will be doing next year…
1. Who is Margot Justes and what makes you the most fascinating person in your city?
I’m an author, and while researching my next novel, I found myself in the middle of the Sahara desert surrounded by nomads who cannot speak English. You came to interview me and report on progress of said research. I’m the only one who speaks English, doesn’t that make me fascinating? You had no one else to chat with, except with fascinating…me.
Oh, well, so much for getting away from the heat.
2. Without revealing a deep dark secret (unless you want to), what one thing would people be surprised to learn about you?
Hmmm…the secret is out, I love to belly dance.
3. What interested you to become a writer rather than something else as becoming a Supreme Court Justice?
I love to read and just recently started writing, and find it a magnificent escape from reality. The intrusion back to reality, if you will, is in the process of selling and marketing the manuscript.
4. Writers are readers. Which author (s) would you enjoy sharing dinner? Why?
That is tough, Oscar Wilde would be my first choice, his sense of humor in the absurdity of civility and social mannerism was impeccable. I would love to sit down and chat about his acerbic humor and take on society.
Dorothy Sayers would be another author I would love to have dinner with. Her exquisite and elegant use of the English language I always found enchanting, her perfect hero Lord Peter was captivating. I would have learned a great deal. Alas, they are both gone.
Contemporary author Elizabeth Peters, because she makes reading about archeology informative and exciting and you get a good mystery to boot. She easily reaches her audience even thought the subject of Egyptian archeology is not that common a topic or setting in the mystery genre.
Quite recently I started writing a paranormal romance, and I would love to sit down with Christine Feehan, because her characters are so varied, well developed and just plain fun.
Science is magic to me and I would love to meet anyone who can explain gravity to me (in very simple terms, because it is, after all done with smoke and mirrors.) and why we don’t fall off the face of the earth.
5. If I were stranded on a deserted island (or suffering a four hour layover at the airport), why would your book (s) be great company?
It’s a delightful, adventurous and romantic tale set in Paris. I love the city and got the point across well. I’ve been told by readers that I made Paris come alive for them, and I could receive no better compliment.
The thirty second pitch defines the story…art brought her to Paris, then a stranger’s death changes her life. You have Paris, romance, art, murder and mayhem and of course more romance.
6. Share the Justes process of writing in regards to: idea and character development, story outline, research (do you Google, visit places/people or make it up on the spot), writing schedule, editing and number or rewrites.
I really don’t have a process. I try to write a little every day. I still work full time. Weekends, if left alone are my most productive times. If I’m stuck I go back and read the previous chapters, make changes and that usually allows me to continue. Editing and rewrites are all part of that same process.
I love to travel and because I set my books internationally, I visit the places. Google can provide facts but not the essence of a place…that you must experience.
A writer should have a personal touch, a connection to the place and a certain attention to detail. You should feel the pulse of the place, that intimate experience of walking in the Luxembourg gardens, hearing the crunch of gravel beneath your feet. Or visit the Rodin museum and walk through the gardens, stop by and visit the Thinker, sit on the bench and assume his stance and ponder your own existence. Goggle will provide the facts and images, but I need that personal connection to a place I write about.
7. “I think I have a good idea for a story, but I don’t know where or how to begin. Your process may not work for me. Any advice?"
That is a difficult question to answer. I’ve never written anything ‘paranormal’ but an agent said can you write about a vampire and art? At first I thought no, I’ve never done anything like this. But I do love a challenge, came home and thought about it, and came up with an idea. Leonardo da Vinci, the incomparable Renaissance man meets an obsessive art collector who happens to be a vampire. I think you just need to think about it a bit and start somewhere, you can always go back and change. Nothing is cast in stone, just a computer, key board with an easily accessible delete button. Although, I never delete my scenes, I just save them for future use.
8. I saw a great T-shirt the other day which read, ‘ Every great idea I have gets me in trouble.’ What is your philosophy of life?
Wow. Do you want an answer in one sentence or less? This could be a thesis. Take a chance and do what you most want to do. Fear should not lead you and failure should not guide you. Do not be afraid of failure, if you don’t try, you will never succeed. I’m sure someone said that at some point, somewhere. Just because you haven’t done it before doesn’t mean you can’t. Challenge is a terrific learning experience.
9. Please tell me you’re not going to stop writing? What’s next for you?
I love writing and have no intention of stopping. I finished my second novel A Hotel in Bath, a novella that will turn into a novel very soon, A Fire Within and I also hope to finish with my vampire story Blood Art by year end. I have started A Hotel in Venice but put it on hold for a bit. I want to finish the paranormal story.
10. Where can people find more information on you and your projects?
I have a website www.mjustes.com I have a blog http://margotsmuse.blogspot.com
I am on Facebook, Twitter, all the required social networks.
Stephen, thank you very much for the interview, it was fun to do. Once I’m done with my research in the desert, we can meet in Cairo, go to Giza and ride a camel on the way to see the Pyramids. Something I will be doing next year…
Friday, July 8, 2011
Around the Globe with MARTIN BARTLOFF
This week's featured author had no specific destination in mind for our interview, so seeing he was from Germany, I kindly asked him if he'd mind if we visited several places of interest in the old country. He graciously agreed and while we talked, we enjoyed various local delicacies.
1. Who is Martin Bartloff and what makes you the most fascinating person in your city?
I'm a 44 year-old, parent, automotive shop owner and author. People are always fascinated when they hear I immigrated from Germany in 1991, not speaking a word English :)
2. Without revealing a deep dark secret (unless you want to), what one thing would people be surprised to learn about you?
They are always surprised to hear that I'm not married and never was. They know I have a son assumed I would be happily married. My son was adopted when he was only 6.
3. What interested you to be become a writer rather than something else such as becoming a NASCAR driver?
In all honesty, becoming writer was never on my wish list. I wanted to entertain by becoming a musician or film producer, or stuntman because my abundance of imagination and entertainment always fascinated peers, even when I was a child. Writing is the more convenient way to entertain people and reach a broad audience world wide.
4. Writers are readers. With which author(s) would you enjoy sharing dinner? Why?
I would enjoy having dinner with Jay Asher. That would give me a chance to ask him what makes him so arrogant when it comes to fellow authors :-)
5. If I were stranded on a deserted island (or suffering a four hour layover at the airport), why would your book(s) be great company?
There are several reasons I can think off. TORN FROM NORMAL is not only a great story, the book has also a very strong message for young and old people, globally speaking. The most important fact is, and this is what readers say about TORN FROM NORMAL, The story is told very deep and real, it reads like watching a movie, you see the images, identify with Andy Riley, my main protagonist. The emotional involvement is unlike anything they ever read. This comes from my readers and fans, in form of reviews and email.
6. Share the Bartloff process of writing in regards to: idea and character development, story outline, research (do you Google, visit places/people or make it up on the spot?), writing schedule, editing, and number of rewrites.
My writing process is a story by itself. My visions and images come when I listen to music. Don't get me wrong, I could never listen to music and simultaneously write. No, I disconnect from the world by shutting my curtains, turning phones off and become one with my stereo, the music and myself. I do this several times a week, in complete dark. I begin to see images, triggered by either a part of the lyrics, or simply by the melody. In order to complete an entire book, I must keep the order of songs, during the which the images started. Torn From Normal was re-written 4 times. I'm kind a picky and don't turn my stuff lose unless I myself am 100% satisfied with my work. I don't visit places in order to write, but many places I happen to visit throughout my life, appear in my stories.
7. “I think I have a good idea for a story, but I don’t know where or how to begin. Your process may not work for me. Any advice?”
Very good question, my favorite one :-) Begin by believing the story at first. Ask yourself if you would believe it if someone told you! Think yourself into the skin of the characters you're writing about. Does that work? You're on the right path. If you're having difficulties thinking, seeing like the characters, scrap the idea or try a different approach. Don't be led by a particular order, begin writing with images and ideas you have. Even if that means writing the end of the book first. I began writing TFN with its end and worked my way back to the beginning of the story.
9. Please tell me you’re not going to stop writing? What’s next for you?
I don't intend to stop writing. In fact, there is another, strong story in the making. The rough draft is already finished and the clean up and structuring has began.
10. Where can people find more information on you and your projects?
I maintain a strong web presence, such as Facebook, twitter etc. My website www.MartinBartloff.com is frequently updated.
1. Who is Martin Bartloff and what makes you the most fascinating person in your city?
I'm a 44 year-old, parent, automotive shop owner and author. People are always fascinated when they hear I immigrated from Germany in 1991, not speaking a word English :)
2. Without revealing a deep dark secret (unless you want to), what one thing would people be surprised to learn about you?
They are always surprised to hear that I'm not married and never was. They know I have a son assumed I would be happily married. My son was adopted when he was only 6.
3. What interested you to be become a writer rather than something else such as becoming a NASCAR driver?
In all honesty, becoming writer was never on my wish list. I wanted to entertain by becoming a musician or film producer, or stuntman because my abundance of imagination and entertainment always fascinated peers, even when I was a child. Writing is the more convenient way to entertain people and reach a broad audience world wide.
4. Writers are readers. With which author(s) would you enjoy sharing dinner? Why?
I would enjoy having dinner with Jay Asher. That would give me a chance to ask him what makes him so arrogant when it comes to fellow authors :-)
5. If I were stranded on a deserted island (or suffering a four hour layover at the airport), why would your book(s) be great company?
There are several reasons I can think off. TORN FROM NORMAL is not only a great story, the book has also a very strong message for young and old people, globally speaking. The most important fact is, and this is what readers say about TORN FROM NORMAL, The story is told very deep and real, it reads like watching a movie, you see the images, identify with Andy Riley, my main protagonist. The emotional involvement is unlike anything they ever read. This comes from my readers and fans, in form of reviews and email.
6. Share the Bartloff process of writing in regards to: idea and character development, story outline, research (do you Google, visit places/people or make it up on the spot?), writing schedule, editing, and number of rewrites.
My writing process is a story by itself. My visions and images come when I listen to music. Don't get me wrong, I could never listen to music and simultaneously write. No, I disconnect from the world by shutting my curtains, turning phones off and become one with my stereo, the music and myself. I do this several times a week, in complete dark. I begin to see images, triggered by either a part of the lyrics, or simply by the melody. In order to complete an entire book, I must keep the order of songs, during the which the images started. Torn From Normal was re-written 4 times. I'm kind a picky and don't turn my stuff lose unless I myself am 100% satisfied with my work. I don't visit places in order to write, but many places I happen to visit throughout my life, appear in my stories.
7. “I think I have a good idea for a story, but I don’t know where or how to begin. Your process may not work for me. Any advice?”
Very good question, my favorite one :-) Begin by believing the story at first. Ask yourself if you would believe it if someone told you! Think yourself into the skin of the characters you're writing about. Does that work? You're on the right path. If you're having difficulties thinking, seeing like the characters, scrap the idea or try a different approach. Don't be led by a particular order, begin writing with images and ideas you have. Even if that means writing the end of the book first. I began writing TFN with its end and worked my way back to the beginning of the story.
9. Please tell me you’re not going to stop writing? What’s next for you?
I don't intend to stop writing. In fact, there is another, strong story in the making. The rough draft is already finished and the clean up and structuring has began.
10. Where can people find more information on you and your projects?
I maintain a strong web presence, such as Facebook, twitter etc. My website www.MartinBartloff.com is frequently updated.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Around the Globe with JO ANNE ALLEN
On this very hot (but sunny) day in Iowa, I quickly get into my air conditioned transporter, set the controls for Grand Junction, Colorado, to pick up this week's author, Jo Anne Allen. Then we do a short skip over to Vail. I haven't been here in over three decades. Oh, the memories...breaking the car key off in the ignition (Dad and I couldn't lock the door the entire trip); tennis; white water rafting (Dad fell out of the the boat); and a very weird memory of the longest lasting strawberry dacquiri (ask me about it sometime).
Anyway, it's cool enough so Ms. Allen and I can sit outside and enjoy a few drinks (non alcoholic, of course. I'm driving) outside a small cafe with an excellent view of the mountains.
1. Who is Jo Anne Allen and what makes you the most fascinating person in your city?
I was very blessed to be born from Myrtle and Lawrence Stolte. I have the best genes anywhere in my energy level and excellent health. I am very fascinating because I can run circles around anyone, especially those that are 20 years+ younger than myself. I am 53 but you'd never know it by my heart rate...it's actually 53 beats per minutes. I am a dedicated athlete.
2. Without revealing a deep dark secret (unless you want to), what one thing would people be surprised to learn about you?
I have a black belt in TKD.
3. What interested you to be become a writer rather than something else such as becoming a NASCAR driver?
I have always loved to write...even in the very early years of 8 and 9. I loved telling stories and keeping people's interests with the subject. I have never had another dream of any other profession.
4. Writers are readers. With which author(s) would you enjoy sharing dinner? Why?
Og Mandino. He has changed my life with his books and I will always think of him as the greatest out there!
5. If I were stranded on a deserted island (or suffering a four hour layover at the airport), why would your book(s) be great company?
Because you are totally surrounded by God in my books.
6. Share the Allen process of writing in regards to: idea and character development, story outline, research (do you Google, visit places/people or make it up on the spot?), writing schedule, editing, and number of rewrites.
The process? I only listen to my heart and write what it tells me to do. I rarely change anything once I write it because the process takes place in my head, along with all the editing and story line before I transfer it on paper. All my characters are based on people who have crossed my path. It's very easy to write what you know.
7. “I think I have a good idea for a story, but I don’t know where or how to begin. Your process may not work for me. Any advice?”
No. You totally have to know where to begin. I think it's natural for some people. I always like to start any story with something that would keep you reading from that point on. Something totally "out there."
8. I saw an amusing T-shirt the other day which read ‘Every great idea I have gets me in trouble.” What is your philosophy of life?
Treat everyone you meet like you know a big secret about them. They will die at midnight. You will find yourself going that extra mile to be kind, to make this moment happy for them, etc...your life will never be the same.
9. Please tell me you’re not going to stop writing? What’s next for you?
Are you kidding me? I can't find the time for complete books now but I never stop with the short stories. I recently won 2nd place in a national prose contest. Two years ago, I won first.
10. Where can people find more information on you and your projects?
If they call me, I'll send them some of my self published books. I do have a website for my Marine book from Echelon Press. www.mysonisamarine.com
Anyway, it's cool enough so Ms. Allen and I can sit outside and enjoy a few drinks (non alcoholic, of course. I'm driving) outside a small cafe with an excellent view of the mountains.
1. Who is Jo Anne Allen and what makes you the most fascinating person in your city?
I was very blessed to be born from Myrtle and Lawrence Stolte. I have the best genes anywhere in my energy level and excellent health. I am very fascinating because I can run circles around anyone, especially those that are 20 years+ younger than myself. I am 53 but you'd never know it by my heart rate...it's actually 53 beats per minutes. I am a dedicated athlete.
2. Without revealing a deep dark secret (unless you want to), what one thing would people be surprised to learn about you?
I have a black belt in TKD.
3. What interested you to be become a writer rather than something else such as becoming a NASCAR driver?
I have always loved to write...even in the very early years of 8 and 9. I loved telling stories and keeping people's interests with the subject. I have never had another dream of any other profession.
4. Writers are readers. With which author(s) would you enjoy sharing dinner? Why?
Og Mandino. He has changed my life with his books and I will always think of him as the greatest out there!
5. If I were stranded on a deserted island (or suffering a four hour layover at the airport), why would your book(s) be great company?
Because you are totally surrounded by God in my books.
6. Share the Allen process of writing in regards to: idea and character development, story outline, research (do you Google, visit places/people or make it up on the spot?), writing schedule, editing, and number of rewrites.
The process? I only listen to my heart and write what it tells me to do. I rarely change anything once I write it because the process takes place in my head, along with all the editing and story line before I transfer it on paper. All my characters are based on people who have crossed my path. It's very easy to write what you know.
7. “I think I have a good idea for a story, but I don’t know where or how to begin. Your process may not work for me. Any advice?”
No. You totally have to know where to begin. I think it's natural for some people. I always like to start any story with something that would keep you reading from that point on. Something totally "out there."
8. I saw an amusing T-shirt the other day which read ‘Every great idea I have gets me in trouble.” What is your philosophy of life?
Treat everyone you meet like you know a big secret about them. They will die at midnight. You will find yourself going that extra mile to be kind, to make this moment happy for them, etc...your life will never be the same.
9. Please tell me you’re not going to stop writing? What’s next for you?
Are you kidding me? I can't find the time for complete books now but I never stop with the short stories. I recently won 2nd place in a national prose contest. Two years ago, I won first.
10. Where can people find more information on you and your projects?
If they call me, I'll send them some of my self published books. I do have a website for my Marine book from Echelon Press. www.mysonisamarine.com
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