Why You Should Definitely Create a Paperback for Your eBook

I've observed, recently, that some authors don't bother creating paperback versions of their books. This surprised me, especially given that they were publishing in standard genres and not something that might merit such discretion (ie, erotica). Apparently, they felt that there wasn't enough potential for sales from that format to warrant the time needed to create the paperback file. While I’ll admit that some investment of time (and probably a little bit of $) is necessary, I’m still a bit boggled at the idea of not making the effort. I mean, if you were selling T-shirts, you wouldn't produce only one size. So, why would you not take advantage of a potential revenue stream by producing your book in only one format?

Because, gosh darn it, I'm worth it! ;)

My first novel (Multiples of Six) is now available in 3 different formats, thanks to recent work with ACX. And, while the audiobook was a bit of a bonus effort, I never had a doubt about creating the paperback version. In a world where ebooks are beginning to dominate, there is still a significant traditional readership market to be had. It might just be a matter of going out and getting them the old fashioned way, but that’s part of the fun!

I've probably given away as many paperbacks as I've sold. I’m hoping that changes this fall, but I won’t hold my breath. It’s not a big deal. To me, the paperback is a marketing tool for the independent author. It’s a means with which to put something tangible in readers’ hands. Some people need that. Some people need to see that stack of paper and the accompanying look in your eye that says “I've crafted something that I think you’ll like.” Only then are they willing to give it a shot.

There’s something also very personal about having a paperback copy of your book created. Sure, it sniffs a bit of the old vanity presses, but today's self-publishing is a completely different animal. You're an entrepreneur now. You worked hard to get where you are. And, even if you can count on two hands the number of paperbacks you've sold in two years (like I can), it’s a physical memento of what you've accomplished. It’s your trophy. That’s how I treat it, at least. I don’t expect anyone else to give me one, so I made one for myself.

Personally, I use CreateSpace for my paperbacks. While there is some monetary outlay at the beginning (cover creation, ISBN), additional cost is entirely up to the author. You can purchase copies at a significant discount and in any quantity you desire. My paperback is listed at $12.95 through Amazon and B&N and they regularly discount that at 10%. However, I can purchase for <7$, which allows me to discount the retail price and still make a little bit in the end. The quality is good, the shipping is usually timely, and their affiliation with Amazon makes it simple to link with the ebook.

If not publishing in multiple venues (eg, other than Amazon) is leaving money on the table, then publishing in a single format should be considered the same. In order to maximize your opportunity for income, you should leave no stone unturned. If you're on the fence about paperbacks, go for it. You'll be happy you did and you'll have a nice addition to your bookshelf.

I think the more formats, the better. What say you?

The Same Six Questions - Axel Howerton

Welcome to today's edition of The Same Six Questions! Give a warm welcome to author Axel Howerton!

Author. Film reviewer. Music writer. Time Lord. Bookhouse Boy. Coffee Addict. Dudeist. Sox National. Enmascarado. Reformed pugilist. Ink Monkey. Best known for his work as an entertainment journalist, Axel is thelong-time Managing Editor of www.eyecrave.net. Axel also recently acted as Associate Editor for the first four issues of the horror fiction quarterly Dark Moon Digest. His work has most recently appeared in Kitschykoo Magazine, Dark Eclipse #4, EWR: Short Stories, Fires on the Plain, Dark Moon Digest #3, and many more. He is also the co-founder (with fellow author Julie Jansen) of the annual "Coffin Hop" horror author online event, which takes place in October and has featured over one hundred of the best Indie writers and artists of at least four continents.

Axel spends most of his time in Calgary, Alberta, traversing the frigid tundra of Canada - usually two steps behind his brilliant young sons, and a wife that is way out of his league.

The Same Six Questions

1.Have you published a book yet?

I have been published in books. I have actually just put the finishing touches on my novel Hot Sinatra which should be available in the next couple of months. I've had incredibly positive feedback from some fellow authors like Red Tash (author of the amazing This Brilliant Darkness) and Scott S. Phillips (Squirrel Eyes, Gimme Skelter). Here's the quick synopsis:


Moss Cole is a private detective. The kind you thought only existed in old movies and afternoon reruns. He's looking for a stolen Sinatra record... one that may be a figment of one cantankerous old bastard's imagination.

Of course, if that were true, Moss wouldn't have so many people busting down his door and threatening his life. He's smart, talented, sometimes even charming. You'd think he could find a better gig than carrying on his grandfather's legacy as a 'Private Dick'.

A vivacious redhead, a foul-mouthed Irish rock star and half the crazies in L.A. add up to business as usual, when all Cole wants is some fresh coffee and a Hot Sinatra...

The first three chapters are available as "added-value material" on the kindle version of my novella Living Dead at Zigfreidt & Roy. Axel's Amazon writing.


2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Can I use the ol' standby of “always”? Like a lot of writers, I was a very voracious reader at a very young age. I started writing stories in some form or another as soon as I had figured out the alphabet. By elementary school, I was putting out my own comic books and books of jokey poetry with my friends. I first had articles published when I was twelve. I focused more on poetry for a long time, just because it was better for wooing. I also gravitated towards screenwriting for a while, making terrifically bad movies in High School.


3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction (say, >1000 words)? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?

Probably a story for grade ten English class. I think it was supposed to be a page or two, mine ballooned to twelve or thirteen pages of prime Steven Seagal-inspired hitman/ninja madness. I remember the teacher was supportive, but duly shocked by the content. There were numerous episodes of dismemberment and beheading, a couple of “creamy white breasts”, and a whole lotta F-bombs. I'm still pretty fond of the F-bombs. I'm sure I probably have it buried in a box somewhere, along with a couple of slasher movie scripts from the era and a few books full of bad poetry inspired by Red Hot Chili Peppers lyrics.


4. When was your first indication, "I can do this (write)"?

Also, like most writers, I am a hopeless feedback whore. I doubt I'll ever be entirely confident or believe I'm accepted as a real writer, but that's just one face of the beast that drives us. Positive comments from writers I really admire and respect goes a long way, so I try to be very open and thankful when I get it. I also try to pass it on when newer writers ask for advice or validation. I know a lot of people who treat this industry as a cut-throat competitive battleground, but I think that is really counter-productive. How much better would it be if we all helped each other get better? How much greater would a world filled with amazing tales and rich, colorful, ORIGINAL stories be? Am I avoiding the question?


5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

Good lord. That's a hullabalooza. I think most characters come from facets of the writers own psyche. So, in a sense, I've met them all because they all are me. That's kind of a dippity pseudo-psychology answer, though. If I was going to hang out with one? Foxy Thunders from Hot Sinatra is a good pick. He's a wild, foul-mouthed, womanizing party-hound. Good-time incarnate. If I didn't have to worry about getting beaten or arrested, I think I'd have a hell of a time with him. Conversely, I'd love to just sit in a room and have a coffee with the old cowboy from Living Dead at Zigfreidt & Roy. He's basically all the best memories of my dear departed Grandaddy, who flavors pretty much everything I do. I miss him something terrible most days.


6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What's on the doorstep?

An army of ghosts, the spirits of legends passed, James Joyce at the fore. A bottle of whiskey in one hand, one of my books in the other. “Well? Come on then.”

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Thanks for sharing with us today, Axel! Be sure to stop back and let us know when Hot Sinatra is finished! You can find Axel at his Web site and follow him on Twitter.

The Same Six Questions is on Spring Break for a week! We'll see you back here on April 16th.

The Same Six Questions - Scott S. Phillips

Hey, Happy April! Can you believe it's here already? Me neither. Give a warm Spring welcome to today's guest, Scott S. Phillips!

Thanks for letting me step up to the plate, Andy! I've been a professional screenwriter for the last 17 years, and before that I wrote some comics and short stories. I wrote the cult action movie DRIVE (the one with Mark Dacascos, not the one with Ryan Gosling), a bunch of episodes of the CW Network series KAMEN RIDER DRAGON KNIGHT, and a few cheesy low-budget movies. My first published novel was FRIDAY THE 13TH: CHURCH OF THE DIVINE PSYCHOPATH. I love me some Star Trek (Original Series, natch), classic rock, and playing my KISS and Evel Knievel pinball machines. I spend my days dividing my time between writing and serving the whims of my Chihuahua. Greatest achievement: being Lemmy's stand-in for a Motorhead video.

The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?

Several, the most recent being Pete, Drinker of Blood - Part 1, a serial novel in 8 parts. Pete is an idea I’ve been kicking around since 1999 when I was living in Hollywood and feeling sort of adrift and a bit vampiric myself. It’s an oddball take on the genre, about a reluctant blue-collar vampire with insomnia who was “turned” in the early 1970s and has never moved past that. He works nights for the Department of Water and Power, and hates the typical Goth-type vampires, especially the music they listen to. He winds up getting all crushed-out on the cute bartender at the Sunset Strip dive bar he hangs out in, and everything goes haywire when the sinister vampire who turned the L.A. vamps returns to reclaim his children. I’m a big vampire fan and wanted to play with the cliches — there’s a lot of humor but it’s not parody by a long shot.

I decided to experiment with the serial novel format while writing a comic book mini-series recently. I had written Pete as a screenplay, but a year or so ago I started adapting it as a novel, then got sidetracked by other writing projects. When I came back to it I realized it was perfect for the serial approach. Parts 1 and 2 are available now for Kindle, Nook and at Smashwords, with new installments released monthly (part 3 will be out in April).


2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

It sort of happened by accident when I was a kid. I used to make cheesy Super-8 movies, and I discovered that it made for better flicks if I wrote something beforehand, rather than making ‘em up as I went along (imagine that!). These were silent films, so the scripts were little 4 or 5 page things with no dialogue, just bare-bones outlines of the action. It just developed from there, but my original scheme was to be a stop-motion animator like Ray Harryhausen before the writing kind of took over my brain.


3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction (say, >1000 words)? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?

When I was 18 I wrote my first feature-length screenplay. It was this terrible wish-fulfillment thing wherein me and my friends hung out with the Go-Go’s and the Ramones, and all those who opposed us were destroyed. Or something. There was some over-arcing storyline about unrequited love and mean jocks getting their comeuppance, but mostly it was an episodic mess. If I remember right, it was called BRIEF OBSESSIONS. And yup, I still have it but I fear that my friends will find it and do a dramatic reading over my grave during the funeral, so I should probably burn it.


4. When was your first indication, "I can do this (write)"?

I’d say that happened at the exact moment I made my first short story sale. It was a saucy little number called “Truckstop Novel” that was purchased by Chic Magazine when I was in my mid-twenties. I had written at least one other feature-length script by that time, but it was receiving that check in the mail that made me think I ought to keep putting words on paper, especially if there was a chance I’d be able to wangle more people into paying me to do it.


5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

That’s kind of a toughie. I wouldn’t mind sitting around with Pete, talking classic rock over a couple beers (well, a beer for me, anyway) whilst cranking Tommy or Led Zeppelin IV, but I think Boone Butters — a character from my novel Squirrel Eyes, now starring in his own series of stories (the first of which is Roomies) — might be a decent guy to hang out with, too. He smells a little funny, though.


6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What's on the doorstep?

The Woodbooger. Of course. (Editor's note: Bigfoot...Viginia style. ;)

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Thanks for stopping by and sharing with us, Scott! For more of Mr. Phillips and his writing, check out his Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads pages.

Stop back on Thursday when my guest will be Axel Howerton. See you then!

The Same Six Questions - David Kazzie

Another episode of The Same Six Questions is upon us! Welcome today's guest, David Kazzie.

Thanks, Andy! I am a novelist and lawyer in Virginia, where I live with my family. When I'm not writing or obsessing about writing, I like to spend time with the family, read, watch movies, get some exercise, and eat bad food to counter the effects of exercise.

The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?

I published The Jackpot to the various e-reader platforms in May 2011. It's about a young attorney who discovers that her financially desperate boss is planning to steal their new client's huge lottery ticket and her quest to return it to it rightful owner.

After a not-very-great 2011 for sales, I pulled the book from the other retailers and enrolled the book in KDP Select in January. After a successful freebie promotional run on January 25 and January 26, the book took off and became the No. 1 Legal Thriller on Kindle for about 4 days. It was the #1 Mover & Shaker in the Kindle Store on Jan. 27, and it reached No. 34 in the Paid Store on Jan. 31.


2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Looking back, I think I knew all along. As a kid, I wrote short stories, mostly about sports, I wrote my own Choose-Your-Own Adventure books (I used a real book for the template to get the page numbers to line up properly). I got away from it for a while as I pursued the normal grown-up route, but eventually, I saw the light. To be honest, I have no idea how good a writer I am, but I'm probably better at writing than I am at anything else.


3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction (say, >1000 words)? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?

It was probably one of those CYOA books, written when I was probably 11 or 12 years old. I wrote several of them (by hand, no less) -- the one that sticks out was called Escape from Alcatraz. The premise was that you were incarcerated on Alcatraz (for a crime that you, of course, did not commit), and you were trying to escape from the prison.

My first lengthy piece of real fiction was a short story about a lottery ticket called The Winner, which I wrote in 1999. It was published in a now-defunct literary magazine. Although the story is quite a bit different than The Jackpot, I guess you could say the novel had a few of its seeds there.


4. When was your first indication, "I can do this (write)"?

It came to me a little bit at a time. I went for years without ever wondering whether I was any good at it. When I was writing for my college newspaper in the early 90s, I interviewed for a summer internship with a large daily newspaper. After reviewing my clips, the interviewer told me that I was as good a writer as he'd seen in the
college ranks. That stuck with me, and I kept building my confidence from there.


5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

Charles Flagg, the homicidal mercenary from my novel. He believes that humanity has become weak, and that it's his duty to "thin the herd" so that we continue to evolve as a species. I'd be curious to see if he thought I measured up.


6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What's on the doorstep?

A clown. I would probably experience a psychotic break.

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Thanks so much for sharing with us, David! For more of David and his writing, be sure to check out his blog, Twitter, and Facebook.

Swing back on Monday when my guest will be Scott S. Phillips. See you then!

The Same Six Questions - Tessa Stokes

Welcome to another edition of The Same Six Quesitons! Today's guest is Tessa Stokes. Welcome, Tessa!

Thanks, Andy! I am UK born but have lived in many places in the world. I have been heavily involved in community projects to do with literacy and education for many years. I’m an indie author by choice. I’m a technology junkie and can’t seem to stop either buying or wanting the latest computer, smart phone, tablet or whatever. I love to read. Love animals, plants, and music.

The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?


I have published several but the latest book is Devon Ruthin and A Vampire in Love Volume one of The Ruthin Trilogy.

Bliss is lonely and taking chances when she goes off on holiday and meets the man of her dreams, Devon Ruthin. She is trying to replicate the life of a character in a book she has read recently, and without realizing it, she enters a twilight world. A world filled with strange people, beautiful powerful beings who seem to be the saviors of the man she falls in love with.

This is a darker tale than first meets the eye, and as the story unfolds, it becomes obvious that the beautiful people, who are seemingly so wonderful, have secrets of their own.

On her journey, Bliss encounters the pale and attractive Drew. It seems fate has a trick up its sleeve when we discover that he has met the mysterious people before. The chance meeting with Bliss sets off a series of actions by Drew that uncovers a hidden past belonging to Devon.

This is a love story, a story of revenge, hope, violence, immortality, and fate.


2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve been writing since I was first able to and not just writing stories but writing poems and songs, advertising copy and brochures for various projects. Friends in high school used to get me to write their love notes to their latest ‘squeeze.’ LOL

3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction (say, >1000 words)? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?

I don’t have it although I think it’s online somewhere on my old school website. It was for the first ever magazine the school did and so was different from other writing I had done. It was a story and was a mystery a little like a Nancy Drew story.

4. When was your first indication, "I can do this (write)"?

If we are talking about fiction then it was probably in high school when I submitted to national magazines and had a couple of things published. Fiction writing did not seem to be a way to earn a living and I wrote commercially, and academically for a long time before I let myself go back to fiction and even then I had my work and ideas kicking around for years before I decided to publish.

5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

It would have to be Tristan Dearing from The Seven Spell Saga. He has lived so long and seen so much it would be fascinating to talk to someone like that.

6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What's on the doorstep?

Pizza delivery boy.

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LOL...thanks for sharing with us, Tessa! For more of Tessa's work, check out her Web site, blog,
book blog, trilogy Facebook page, author Facebook page, and Twitter page.

See you all back on Monday when my guest will be Sadie Forsythe!

The Same Six Questions - Heather Jensen

Hi there! I missed out on mentioning my 100th blog post, so I'll just have to celebrate number 101 instead. Woo-hoo! ;) So, welcome to another edition of The Same Six Questions! Today's guest is Heather Jensen! Hi Heather!

Hello, Andy! I'm addicted to Oreos and White Knight drinks from Perks. My favorite color is green and the uglier the shade, the better. I get bored of my hairstyle easily which has resulted in numerous hair colors in the last ten years. My hair is currently red, but who knows how long that might last. I grew up in a small town and was the oldest of three girls. My family took in foster children and by the time I moved out we’d had over thirty in our home over the years. When I'm not writing, I enjoy traveling, killing zombies on the Xbox 360 with my hubby, playing guitar, going to concerts, and spending time with friends and family. I also love to decorate cakes. I now live in Southern Utah with my husband and five-year-old son where I enjoy the sunny weather and the palm trees.

The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?

Yes. Blood And Guitars, a paranormal fantasy read for teens and adults.

Summary: When Aurora meets Trey, a famous singer and musician, she’s only hoping to get her fill of human blood for the week. The last thing Aurora expects is for Trey to make her feel alive for the first time since she was, well, alive. It begins with a casual painting lesson at her art studio, The Waking Moon, and quickly turns into a forbidden romance. Aurora is forced to hide her true identity from Trey, while keeping her relationship with the human a secret from other vampires in her Brood.

Trey’s band is recording a new album and with Aurora as his muse, Trey is writing songs like never before. After being hired by their record label to paint the album cover, Aurora has a legitimate reason for spending so much time with Trey and his band mates. Aurora can’t deny the unexpected connection she has with Trey, which is fueled by glimpses into his emotions every time they share a kiss. Caught between two worlds, Aurora must attend celebrity award shows and vampire rituals, find time to feed, and protect Trey from the dangers of the night, all while preserving her secrets.

For print copies or e-book copies in any format, visit www.heatherjensen.info. The second book in the series, Immortals And Melodies, will be released Summer of 2012.


2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always known that I wanted to write. It’s not something you have as an option in front of you when you meet with guidance counselors in school to talk about your future, but I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. It’s hard to pinpoint a specific moment when I realized I should be a writer because I was constantly making up stories and putting them on paper. In a way, I guess I knew before I was ten for that reason. I started winning awards for my writing in elementary school, which eventually resulted in scholarships for college. Even then, writing was something I thought I just had to do as a hobby on the side. It wasn’t until after I was married that I realized I could do it full-time while being a stay-at-home mom. That’s when I started calling myself a writer, although it really happened long before that.


3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction (say, >1000 words)? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?

I was writing at such a young age that I couldn’t tell you exactly which piece of work reached that length first. I do remember that my best friend and I were constantly making up stories when we were eight or nine years old. We would act them out when we were together, but when we were apart we would write them out. We’d stopped acting them out by the time we were twelve but I continued to write about what was happening. I remember going to junior high school with pages and pages to give her. She would read everything I had written and respond back. This is the part where I throw in an apology to my teachers for writing stories in the back of my notebook during the middle of class. The plots were nothing to brag about, but I learned a lot about writing and character development in those days. I have my friend to thank for sticking with me through my early work when my brain was moving faster than my hand could and my hand-writing left something to be desired. Also, I always wrote in first person point of view because the stories had started out as stuff we’d act out, so I think that’s why I love writing in that point of view still to this day. We still laugh about those early stories but, unfortunately, I didn’t save any of them. I’ve always been especially prolific, so they’d probably require an entire room in my house now if I had.


4. When was your first indication, "I can do this (write)"?

I remember stumbling across a writer named Amelia Atwater-Rhodes when I was a sophomore in high school. Oprah had named her as a teenager that would change the world or something like that. I saw an article about her in a teeny-bopper magazine and I was fascinated by the fact that she had been published at thirteen. Other than Dracula and Anne Rice novels, she wrote the first vampire fiction I had seen, which fascinated me. I realized then that if she could write a full-length novel at such a young age, then I could too. A trip to Europe the next summer inspired my first novel, The Rift. I still remember which parts of the story I was writing on the plane ride home after visiting all the historic castles and taking a boat down the Rhine. My family and friends were very supportive of me writing that book, and that definitely motivated me to finish it and self-publish it. I even have a sequel in the works.


5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

Trey Decker, hands down. He’s one of the two main characters you follow in Blood And Guitars. Not only is Trey an incredible guy, he’s the culmination of the lead singers from my favorite bands all thrown together in one body. If I could meet Trey in person today, I’d hope he’d let me sit front and center at a Catalyst concert, or at least let me come to the studio and watch the band record. As long as it involved him singing and slamming on his guitar in some fashion, I’d be a happy girl. Actually, I might even try to talk him into jamming with me. I love to play guitar and since he’s my ideal rock star he’d play all my favorite songs with me, right? I could go on and on with this answer so I’ll just leave it at that.


6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What's on the doorstep?

Trey Decker ... hehe. (See above answer.)

________________________________

Thanks for sharing with us, Heather! I definitely had to Google "White Knight drinks from Perks". ;-D For more on Heather and her writing, be sure to check out her Web site, Facebook page, Twitter feed.

Be sure to stop back on Thursday, when my guest will be Tessa Stokes! See you!

The Same Six Questions - James Bruno

Welcome to this Thursday edition of The Same Six Questions! Today's guest is James Bruno!

Hello, Andy! I worked for the federal government for over two decades, first in military intelligence, then as diplomat with the Dept. of State. I served in S.E. Asia, Pakistan, Cuba, Guantanamo Naval Base, Australia, and, of course, Washington DC. I speak seven foreign languages. I’ve spent lots of time at the White House and even served in a presidential protection detail abroad. I am currently a member of the Diplomatic Readiness Reserve. I found myself repeatedly facing situations in which I would say, “Fiction can’t beat this.” This is what led me to become a novelist.

The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?


I’ve published three political/spy thrillers, all Kindle bestsellers. My latest is Tribe, about how power, love, and fathers and daughters come into play in conflict-riven Afghanistan, and how the government gets it all wrong. What separates Tribe from its competition is its authenticity - so authentic that the U.S. government censored it. I draw heavily from my service involving Afghanistan, including in the field. I’ve been featured on NBC's Today Show, in the Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, Huffington Post, regional NPR and other national and international media. My other thrillers, Permanent Interests and Chasm, have landed simultaneously on Kindle Bestseller lists, including #1 in Political Fiction and Spy Tales. All three can be purchased in ebook and print form from Amazon, or directly from Lightning Source in print. Havana Queen, a spy thriller set in Cuba, where I’ve served, will be released this year.


2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I started out as a news reporter with UPI and CBS-News during and after college. It was great to see my stories disseminated nationwide, or used by news anchors in their reporting. I didn’t get into fiction writing until much later, as a lark. I was detailed for training at the U.S. Naval War College for a year and was bored. So, I wrote my first novel. I, however, didn’t just plunge into it. I read a lot about how to write the novel beforehand and took a workshop with a NYT bestselling author, who, by the way, remains a good friend to this day.


3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction (say, >1000 words)? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?

Permanent Interests is a taut political thriller in which corrupt White House officials sell out to the American and Russian mobs to re-elect a weak President Corgan at all costs. American ambassadors and Russian spies who get in the way are killed. Diplomat Bob Innes falls into this conspiracy of political intrigue and murder and becomes the target of hired assassins and Russian mafia hitmen. He and Lydia, a beautiful Russian escort to powerful men, work with the FBI to bring down the President's men and the Russian mob's Godfather. Al Malandrino, a colorful New York mob boss, becomes their unexpected ally. Permanent Interests authentically captures political intrigue, greed and treachery in the highest levels of government. And it all comes crashing down in face of relentless pursuit of the truth by the system's would-be victims. As you can see, this book has just about everything a good thriller needs.

This is my first novel, written when I was being instructed in how to fight wars by the U.S. Navy. As I said, it’s been a consistent Kindle bestseller.


4. When was your first indication, "I can do this (write)"?

My first-ever query letter actually went to Random House. Jonathan Karp got back to me immediately wanting to read the manuscript. While it didn’t result in a sale (it needed some rewriting), I saw that I could grab the attention of industry pros. I then landed an agent shortly thereafter. I knew I could compete in this field. I had what it takes.


5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

Camilla Loomis, the high-powered Washington socialite in my latest thriller, Tribe. Camilla claws her way from Appalachian trailer trash to Beltway powerbroker through pluck, brains and cunning. My wife, however, might wish to steer me clear of the beautiful and scheming Camilla.


6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What's on the doorstep?

A certified letter from Washington stating, “You will report for duty on {DATE} for service in Iraq / Afghanistan.”

I was put on notice two years ago to expect to be called back up. I’d rather stay home and write my thrillers than to go where the action is and experience them firsthand.

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Thanks so much for joining us today, James! For more of James and his writing, check out his blog.

Swing back on Monday when my guest will be Heather Jensen!

The Same Six Questions - Sean Van Damme

Welcome back to The Same Six Questions! Please welcome today's guest, Sean Van Damme!

Hi there, Andy! I'm a 27 year old TV news video editor who has always loved writing and movies. I grew up moving all over the country in a military family before finally settling down in Richmond, VA. I met my lovely wife while in school, and have now been drawn into her dog sports world. When not writing I'm playing too many video games or watching TV mostly sci-fi, we named our dog Gaius Baltar. I had wanted to do movies for a long time, but couldn't get into film school which is what led me to working in TV and lucky I love it so things do work out. Now, I'm hoping things will work out again.

The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?

Yes. The Long Night came out in October 2011 and is my first novel. I have it up right now on Amazon and B&N. Darkness has fallen over the land, unleashing maddened monsters from the depths of the earth and raising the dead. A group of heroes must come tighter to fight the evil, while at the same time trying to put their past prejudices behind them and work together.

2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I knew I wanted to become a writer in Middle School, even though I had been writing shorts since I was a child, little books with horrible illustrations about pirates and space men. I have always had stories bouncing around in my head, and would just zone out while riding in the car as they played in my head like little movies. Once I started sitting down and writing the stories I became hooked on writing and knew that was what I wanted to do. That and a big handful of loose leaf paper or a screenplay tucked under your arm is a great conversation starter. It wasn’t until early in 2010 that I knew for sure that I wanted to do novels, even though that is what I started with back in the mid 90’s, scripts are a very addictive thing; easy to write hard to prefect.


3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction (say, >1000 words)? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?

My first long piece of fiction was a story that I still haven’t finished, that haunts me to this day. In school I used to draw space ships all over my school work. One day, during a practically dull lecture in health class, I started writing a story to go with those ships. I kept working on it for the rest of the school year, tucking the sheets of loose leaf in my binders, and pulling them out every time I was bored in class which, sadly, was often. I left the story alone during the summer and started working on a sequel during 8th grade, and I kept working on it for the rest of the year, amassing quite a collection of paper covered in my chicken scratch. That story still, to this day, hasn’t been finished, even though I have started and stopped work on it three or four times with a few rewrites. In High School, I outlined it breaking the story into a massive four-book cycle. The last time I worked on it was early 2011 starting from scratch again and blitzing through 40,000 words before being scared again, but I will finish that book, mark my words.


4. When was your first indication, "I can do this (write)"?

For years, I was afraid I couldn’t write a complete novel. I had failed with my sci-fi and gotten into screenplays where I struggled to reach the 90 page minimum to be a real script. After a long drought of not writing, partially because of depression, but mostly because I was completely addicted to World of Warcraft. When I decided I was going to write a novel again, in the fall of 2009, I set an end date for myself and just started working, writing and writing. I didn’t look back. I didn’t stop when I crossed the one hundred page mark in word. That is when I realized that I could do this. I attribute my inability to finish a novel in high school to a lack of maturity, which I have built up over time now so that I can see the end of the road and know roughly how long it will take to get there.

5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

I don’t know if I really would want to meet any of my characters. The people from The Long Night are grumpy and broken from the get go, and Hobbs is a complete cynical basket case. I have learned that I can only stand one grumpy person at a time, and that person is usually me. This question just illustrates the fact that I need to write a cheerful witty person that I would want to get a drink with.


6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What's on the doorstep?

A zombie scratching at the door, moaning for brains, out of everything in this world, real or imaginary, zombies are the one thing that scares me more than anything else, because they are plausible, and they trigger an utterly unwinnable situation.

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Mmmmm...brains. ;-D Thanks for sharing with us, Sean! For more of Mr. Van Damme and his writing, be sure to check out his Facebook page, Twitter account, and blog.

Thursday, my guest will be Jim Bruno! See you then!

The Same Six Questions - Ami Blackwelder

Hello there and welcome to this March 1st edition of The Same Six Questions! My guest today is

Hi Andy! My name is Ami Blackwelder. Yep, Ami with an i. So, google me with an i, or you won't find me. ;) I love cats and dogs and own one cat named Lotus. His name came from the Buddhist belief that life is like a Lotus flower. Some below the water not seeing the truth, some just at the surface about to see truth, and some flowering well above the surface of the water seeing truth more clearly. I lived in Thailand for six years and fell in love with it. I consider Thailand my second home and will return in a couple years. My cat is also a Siamese! Named after the Thailand country which used to be called Siam! Though no one really knows where Siamese cats came from. They are really loud and cry all the time just like a baby, so be prepared if you get one! LOL

Currently, I am studying the Montessori style of teaching and it takes two years! You can do it in one, but I have a life and need two. :) Once finished, I want to return to Thailand and teach there permanently, and also travel and teach in Tibet (which I've been to once and will blog about on my blog) and other Eastern countries.

The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?

Yes and no. I first published through an epublisher named ireadiwrite publishing. That was for The Gate of Lake Forest which was my first full length novel written in 2009. (I've been writing poetry and short stories all my life) . Then she also picked up the sequel Prisoners of Pride. Not sure if that counts, since that is epublishing, not print publishing.

Then, I wrote The Day the Flowers Died and sent it off to Whiskey Press which they accepted, but then I looked them over and realized they were pretty much like an epublisher or small press and my book would never see the inside of a brick and mortar store.

So, since 2010 rolled around and Amanda Hocking was making it big and other success self-publishing stories kept coming up as well as the Kindle and Nook, I decided to go my own way and not sign with them. I knew self-publishing would soon be seen as Indie Books, like Indie films are now seen.

Now, I self-publish everything. I love it. My sales have grown from a handful into 100 plus a month. (By the way, I sell just as much or more on my own as I did with my epublisher). I have a team of editors, graphic artists, cover designers, formatters, and a list of distributors which work well. And I work my butt off. I didn't really get serious about sharing my professional work and promoting it until mid 2010. So, I've been actively perfecting my craft and promotional efforts for about a year and a half now.

I realize most writers began writing full-length novels at 18 or 20 and took 5-10 years of hard work to be able to live off their work and so I am willing to put in my full ten years. Three years done and seven more to go. :) I hope to write enough to be able to live off my books come retirement (like social security) which I won't ever see...

I am looking into finding an agent, and have gotten my Shifters of 2040 written into a screenplay which has been circulated at Cannes, Hollywood, and locally in Florida. I am actively sending books or scripts to Hollywood types and am also searching for a GOOD epublisher/small press for some of my future novels. I'm aimed at Entangled Publishing currently. Just to give more 'oomph' behind my name and books.


Here's some info on my latest, The Mers, a YA Mermaid Dystopian (Mer Chronicles Book #1):

Mira always knew she was different. Growing up with Mers, she never quite fit in. When Mira breaks the rules and takes Niren across the border that divides Ellis Island and New Jersey, a border that divides two vastly different worlds, she thought the journey to find out who she really is would be an easy one.

But as the world in Jersey proves to be a convoluted mix of Aristocrats who hate the Mers, Pirates who want to sell them, and Magi who want to use them...finding her true identity will be a challenge, especially when her best friend Niren is a Mer willing to fight to the death.


2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I've always written since I could pick up a pen. But I stuck to short stories and poetry. My novels and full length nonfiction books began in Thailand. Nonfiction at 30 and fiction at 34.


3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction (say, >1000 words)? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?

The best I can remember it was a piece about a paper bag come to life. I wrote it for English class in the third grade. Though I'd been telling stories before that time. I had it for awhile, but then it got lost. I tried to rewrite it as one of my children stories and can be found on my blog for sale. Written by a teacher for children.

4. When was your first indication, "I can do this (write)"?

Well, I've always loved writing and wrote. But I didn't really consider full length novels until I turned 34. After I finished my spiritual journey and wrote three books on that, I wanted to continue writing. Loved it. Then the movie Twilight came out and I had heard of Stephanie Meyers for the first time while in Thailand and she inspired me honestly to just do it. Didn't matter if I made millions or not. Writing has always been a part of me and a forgotten part of me for too long, and so I decided to write full length novels. Self-publsihing also was starting (though not big until a year later in 2010) and so I thought I had everything I needed to get my words and stories out there. A temptation I could't resist.

Plus, many people don't realize this, but writers like Beatrix Potter and Virginia Woolf even self-published. Jane Austen's work took 14 years to see the light of day!

5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

Such a good question! I would love to meet either one of my shifters perhaps April or Brendan, OR a Mer, perhaps Nerin or Nerissa. They would have such interesting physical characteristics!

6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What's on the doorstep?

Its Ed McMahon and I've just won a million dollars! LOL

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Thanks for sharing with us today, Ami! For more of Ami's work, be sure to check out her Web site, Facebook page, and Twitter account.

See you back here on Monday when my guest will be Sean Van Damme!

The Same Six Questions - Kate Ellison

Where is the time going? Another month is coming to a close and guess what? I've almost run out of interviewees! Yep, it's time to open the submissions back up! If you're an author and interested in taking part, please head over to the main Same Six Questions page. In the meantime, welcome this week's guest, Kate Ellison!

Thanks, Andy! I live in Atlanta, Georgia with my husband and our two bad cats. When I'm not writing, I enjoy playing strategy board games like Settlers of Catan, watching NBC comedies like Parks and Rec *fist pump* and gardening. I am a fan of the serial comma, but I couldn't figure out how to gracefully insert it into that sentence. Oh well. I'm not a perfectionist, you see.


The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?

I have! Several, in fact. The first book I published was The Curse Girl, a YA paranormal fantasy. It's a modern, loose adaptation of Beauty and the Beast with a twist. In this version, Beauty and the Beast are trying to break the curse by figuring out a mysterious riddle and outsmarting the witch who cursed him, not by falling in love (although they MIGHT do that anyway). The book is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.




2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Since I was six years old. I've always been scribbling stories down on paper, and I started saying I wanted to be an author when I grew up as soon as I knew what that was.


3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction (say, >1000 words)?

My first lengthy piece of fiction was the mystery series I started writing at age eight. It probably sounds extremely precocious, but it wasn't really. Each "book" had three chapters and was three pages long. I styled them like Nancy Drew, and the adventures were set all over the world. I believe I wrote ten or twelve of them. I've still got them in a box somewhere.

The first one was called The Secret Room.


4. When was your first indication, "I can do this (write)"?

When I was around ten or so, I wrote something for a class and my teacher went nuts over it. She even called another teacher over to read it too, and they got all wide-eyed and told me I was a good writer. Seeing an adult get that excited about my writing gave me a lot of confidence in myself.


5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

Probably Bee, my main character in The Curse Girl. She's not a very girly girl, and she likes to be logical and smart about stuff. We could have some good conversations, I think.


6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What's on the doorstep?

A box from CreateSpace with the proof copy of my latest book!

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Thanks so much, Kate! For more of Kate's work and writing, be sure to check out her blog and find her over on Twitter.

See you back here on Thursday, when my guest will be Ami Blackwelder!

The Same Six Questions - John Mefford

Hi there, and welcome to another exciting episode of The Same Six Questions! ;) Today's guest is John Mefford. Welcome!

Thanks, Andy. At different points in my life you could call me a West Coast person or an East Coast person. I moved eight times by the seventh grade, finally laying roots just outside Dallas, Texas. Being the new kid was somewhat of an albatross, but the plethora of geographic and architectural settings, weather patterns, and cultures of each home city and state resonated with me. Now grateful for the experiences, I use my recollection of people and their lives to help me devise characters and storylines for my writing. Only my family gives me a better high than spending a day creating something that will hopefully evoke an emotional reaction by a future reader.

The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?

My debut novel, Committed (The Michael Doyle Chronicles), is now available on Amazon. It’s about sinful deception, a malicious corporate takeover, a grisly murder, and unrelenting greed. We all have that inner voice, the one who knows all but refuses to let even our closest confidantes inside. The one we must calm when we’re most unsettled. The one who seeks to understand our path, our destiny.

Michael Doyle lives in emotional anonymity, resistant to fully devote himself to anyone or any cause. Without warning, a technology conglomerate acquires Michael’s company, and he quickly sees through the fog of political posturing: false hope, layoffs, and blatant dishonesty.

Then, death reaches up and grabs him. Shaken to the core, Michael leans on his live-in girlfriend, who has touched his heart like no one else. But her haunting past resurfaces, and she’s pulled into a seedy web by an outside force so cruel, so cunning it destroys every soul in its path.

Can Michael rise above his greatest fear to uncover the truth about a murder and save the life of the person he loves most?

Committed is Book One of The Michael Doyle Chronicles.

2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Twice in my life writing has called my name. Right out of college I took a job as a newspaper sports writer. My competitiveness pushed me to consistently “scoop” the competing paper and to hone my craft. I had never written a story prior to that first job. What seems like a couple of lifetimes later, I quit my regular day job, fed up with corporate BS and greedy a-holes who reminded me of The Penguin from the first Batman movie. I needed a creative outlet. I started writing, pouring out my thoughts into something that resembled fiction. That’s when I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up.

3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?

I wrote various magazine articles over the years, but, of course, those were non-fiction. Other than some elaborate fictional doodling (not sure they quite reached 1K words), my first piece of fiction was an early version of my just-released novel, COMMITTED. The difference between version 1 and the published version is similar to comparing a slab of concrete to a piece of sculpture created with a metal-bristled toothbrush. Massive effort and painfully elaborate. But worth it.

4. When was your first indication, “I can do this (write)”?

I remember the day vividly. Parked in what has become my writing chair, I had just completed the first twenty pages or so of my first novel. I slowly read through the draft and took a deep breath. My pulse started to pick up speed and a realization clicked in my brain with the exact quote you have above. “I can do this.”

5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

Without a doubt, Arthur Spanarkel, the publisher. We know enough about Arthur to be intrigued, just by walking into his office. He’s met so many people, seen so many things across the globe. He’s open-minded, but gritty and strong-willed in his own, educated way. Yep, he’s the guy.

6. It’s a dark and stormy night...you’re alone in the house...there’s a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What’s on the doorstep?

A note from Tony the Neanderthal Bastard (character from COMMITTED) that says: I will find you. I will kill you. The paper message disintegrates the moment I finish reading the note and the remnants fall between my fingers like sand. I’m not sure if I scream or if my heart stops!

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Thanks for stopping by and sharing with us, John! For more of John and his writing, check out his Web site, Facebook Author page, and Twitter page.

For more indie author interview goodness, be sure to stop back on Monday!

The Same Six Questions - E. Stoops

Welcome to this President's Day Holiday version of The Same Six Questions! My guest today is E. Stoops!

Hello Andy, I’m a geek from the Pacific Northwest. I work for a small business in the software industry up here and own a fixer-upper house, with a fixer-upper yard. I’m not sure it’s ever going to make it to “fixed up” – maybe just “working condition” – I get distracted by everything else I need to do. Like writing.

The Same SixQuestions

1. Have youpublished a book yet?

Yes. I’m the house author for a tiny start-up called Small Tomatoes Press. The lead editor calls their vision a “confederacy of authors.” That means I also work for them as an editor/reviewer, theoretically. Right now, however, we’re not to that point. They have two of my books, but today I was going to talk mostly about Pocket in the Sea (Pretense of a Paranormal Present) which is a piece of speculative fiction I wrote in 2010. This book stemmed from a conversation I had with a submariner, and then had a lot of later input from my friend who is a retired marine. The book imagines a world where The Great War (WWI) was ended when the allies invaded Germany and brutally broke the country, at about that same time paranormal abilities like telepathy had become a measurable talent in a very small pool of the population. Then it asks, over a hundred years later, where are we? Well, we’re on the verge of a naval war with China and we’re already losing. The book focuses on the events that befall only a few characters, on a single submarine. They are recently sprung from prison, specifically to man this ship that has been hauled out of who-knows-where-the-Navy-stashed-it. They don’t really trust each other except for a few connections, they are utterly lacking confidence in their boat and they universally despise the captain. It’s not a recipe for success. And then it gets worse when the character in charge of keeping everything in order loses it after his best friend dies. It’s a powder keg, and the Navy lights the fuse when they send a seer out to keep a physical and metaphorical eye on things. The characters of course, are cursing their luck, but after the seer arrives, they find the will to power through and save themselves.


2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I always enjoyed telling stories. I knew in high school that I eventually would write something that would be too good to keep to myself. I didn’t know what it was going to be, but it was going to hit the page and take off running. Then I wrote Being Emelle in college. It lived in my bottom drawer for a long time, but my friend and my mother eventually got to me. “You want to be a writer, you have a book, what are you waiting for?” So I threw it out there. I guess that was the moment I confirmed that, yep, I definitely wanted to be a writer. I don’t think I could say, looking back, that I was a writer until I hurled my work into the universe and prayed.


3. What was yourfirst lengthy piece of fiction (say, >1000 words)? What was it about? Whendid you write it? Do you still have it?

The first lengthy piece that I finished was about a modified Nintendo Powerglove that took the users to a digital arena that felt, looked, and even smelled real. I wrote it for a freshman English class, so I actually had to keep it much lighter than I think the story was meant to be. It was really dark now that I think about it. The main character is in what she thinks is a battle to the death with a bully of a classmate, and thinks that he is cheating, because he has more controls than her. Only at the end did she find out that, like all video games, she would have re-spawned if she’d “died.” Unfortunately, I lost my copy in a computer crash, but I do remember it vividly. At the time, it was a reasonable novel idea, but the story seems stale now, so I don’t think I’d rewrite it.


4. When was your first indication, "I can do this (write)"?

I don’t think that I ever had a moment where I thought I couldn’t write. But it was always in the future that I would write a magnum opus. When I was growing up, the fantasy/sci-fi market was pretty well saturated with manly men, corseted, more-or-less mannered women and a lot of magical beasts. Even in Star Trek novels, which were better than most, there were a lot of clichés, and a lot of overused tropes. It came to a head when all I was reading was L.E. Modessit and Robert Jordan because there was just so much junk out there and I was getting bored. That’s when I realized that the market needed new voices, and it looked like it was going to be up to me to write it. Fortunately, other people got the same vibe as I did and did something about it. But it’s up to everyone to make sure it doesn't get moribund again.


5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

From Pocket in the Sea, I'd choose Jensen. I think if I could convince him to talk to me, he’d have wonderful stories to tell me. He’s not a very extroverted character, and that means, in the book, he doesn’t drive the story much, and he’s also a very private individual, which means his background is murky. But I have this feeling that he’d be very interesting and with the right encouragement, very funny. He’s very much a rare breed – a frontier doctor. And I do have some questions, even having written him – why would a talented trauma surgeon go into the Navy? And, why does he have such a lousy relationship with his family? I’d also like to know how he landed himself in prison. He’s the only character I’ve dealt with that is deliberately an unreliable narrator. Usually, if a character tells me their story, they tell me the truth as best they know it. Not Jensen. I think he needs to be nailed to the floor and interrogated.


6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What's on the doorstep?

Well, we’d have to assume I was waiting for someone, because I don’t generally answer the door unless I am. But say I was, so I would answer the door. I think the zombified remains of a much beloved pet would definitely do it. Especially if they were happy to see me. You know, in all ways acting just like themselves, but mold-coated and rotting away. Ugh, and maggots. Don’t forget the maggots. That would thoroughly terrify me more than any demon, monster, or alien.

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Oh my! That's a vivid image. Thanks for sharing with us today, E! For more of E. Stoops' writing, check out his publisher's blog

See you on Thursday, when my guest will be John Mefford!

The Same Six Questions - Paul Price

Hello, and welcome to another edition of The Same Six Questions! Today's guest is Paul Price!

Hello Andy! I've worked as a software developer for the past nineteen years in the DC area. Before that, I was in the submarine Navy for twelve years. I was born and raised in Miami, but I don't speak Spanish very well anymore.

The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?

My latest eBook, When Do I Get to Live My Own Life?, (also available at Smashwords) was published in October. Its theme coincides with a Steve Jobs quote many articles cited following his passing: "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life." The difficulties I've experienced in doing just that are expressed in ten personal stories. Stress and its effects have been a life-changer from my earliest history, and have been the primary obstacles in the way of me living my own life. I published eBooks #6 and #7 during 2011. Books #1 through #5 were published pre-Internet during the late 1980s as consumer education titles, and I sold them primarily to libraries.



2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I only want to write when I feel that I have information to share that could really help people, and when reliable information on the subject isn't easy to discern.

3. What was your first lengthy piece of writing (say, >1000 words)? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?

I wrote a piece in tenth grade at age fifteen for my English teacher, Ms. Jasiecki. She was a single woman who was being treated for cancer, and did what she could to influence kids' lives by assigning books that challenged us. After my mandatory review of Camus' The Stranger, I continued by rewriting its theme in a hopeful vein. No extra credit, though, for hopeful existentialism. She's still alive 42 years later, and on Facebook.

4. When was your first indication, "I can do this (write)"?

I often wrote long papers in eleventh and twelfth grades for another English teacher, Mr. Obrentz, so I developed confidence in my writing skills during high school.

5. What's your next book going to be about?

I've jotted down a few themes, but none of them are compelling me to start writing my next eBook yet. I'm currently catching up on my reading from all the great indie authors' eBooks I have on my laptop! I get ideas and feelings by reading other authors, though it's not necessarily what the authors intend. For example, about a third of my way into reading a science fiction eBook over last weekend, it dawned on me that, through the interplay of the characters and environment, the author was indirectly describing her feelings about some of her childhood experiences. That got me thinking about the similarities of people in a spaceship with my experiences in submarines, and more specifically, scenarios when someone feels the need to escape from their present circumstances. The difference in the way that I approach feelings when they rise up is that I try to express them directly. A direct expression helps me, and may provide a clearer opportunity for other people to connect with what I express as a shared human experience.

6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What's on the doorstep?

A man on his knees with his guts spilling out! The perpetrator lurks.

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Thanks for sharing with us today, Paul! For more of Paul and his writing, check out his blogs: Getting Well for the First Time and When Do I Get to Live My Own Life?.

Stop back in on Monday, when my guest will be E. Stoops! See you then!

The Same Six Questions - S.M. Boyce

Welcome to another round of The Same Six Questions! Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. Did you remember to get your significant other something special (if not, here's an idea ;)? For today, let's meet our guest author. Welcome, S.M. Boyce!

Thanks, Andy! I’m sarcastic and strange, and I love to hike, rock climb, exercise, and listen to good music. I’ve
lived all over the east coast and have a dual degree in Marketing and Creative Writing from Florida State University, which was a lot more fun than it sounds. Lying out in a hammock with a book, my husband, and a glass of pinot grigio is my idea of heaven.

The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?


I have! The Grimoire: Lichgates (The Grimoire Trilogy) is the culmination of six years of writing, plotting, and development, so I hope you like it.

It’s about a hidden pocket of the Earth and the magic a human girl named Kara discovers when she finds an old book called The Grimoire. It turns its own pages and can answer any question asked of it, so she has no idea what she’s getting herself into when she actually opens it. Because of the Grimoire’s magic, most of the creatures in this terrifying new world want to control her – but everyone is trying to find her. She learns pretty quickly that there is no going back once you open the Grimoire.

It’s a fresh, fun and exciting story about magic and monsters and crazy new things, but if you look a little deeper than just the plotline, I think you’ll like what you see.

It’s available now virtually everywhere, though of course I have a soft spot for Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Click! Click now!

2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Writing was never really a choice. I know that one of the main lessons in The Grimoire trilogy is how life is full of choices , but if I’m not writing, I feel kind of empty. It’s something I have always been driven to do and I’m just not complete unless I’ve written something today.

3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction (say, >1000 words)? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?

Oh man, memory lane. My first story was about a pickle who was the last one in the jar, and the poor little thing just wanted to be eaten. It was weird, I know. I was six. It’s in a box somewhere, and I think we bound it with cardboard and glue. (chuckles)

I should hope that my stories have improved somewhat since then; my illustrations, however, have not. That’s why I have Rob Meridy to do my cover artwork and the assorted character sketches available on the Grimoire Books website.

4. When was your first indication, "I can do this (write)"?

I think feeling as though we’re “good enough” will always be a painful concern for writers, but my first unwavering confirmation that I was at least a decent writer was in one of my writing classes at FSU. A classmate wrote on the bottom of one of my stories:

“You’re my favorite writer in this class. Whatever you do, don’t ever stop writing.”

I kept that piece of paper because it was validation that someone outside of my family (who are a little biased) liked my work, which is always a stellar sensation.

5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

I would want to meet Deirdre, who is a vicious, sexy, evil demon woman and my all-time favorite. There are so many levels to her insanity that I would love to sit down with her and analyze her warped perceptions of reality, right, and wrong, but I know that I probably wouldn’t survive the meeting. It’s probably safer that she’s fictional.

6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What's on the doorstep?

The 50k word story that I wrote for my first Nanowrimo. Holy hot wings, Batman, it was just bad.

Well Andy, thanks so much for your time! And guys, if you want to learn any more about my work or just want a good laugh, I like to throw all sorts of strange (but fun!) things on the internet:
Main website & Blog, Grimoire Trilogy website, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Goodreads.

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Well, my work here is done! Thanks so much for stopping by Sarah!

Thursday, stop back and meet Paul Price!

The Same Six Questions - Robin Reed

Hi there and welcome to the first day of the NFL offseason! ;) I know, what are you going to do on your Sundays now? Well, you could read a good book. My guest today has a few to choose from. Welcome, Robin Reed! In her own words:

Robin Reed was born on the south side of Chicago, lived in Egypt for a year at the age of five, traveled through Europe at eleven, and went to India when she was eighteen. After that, things went downhill. Robin was an avid reader at a young age and started writing while in grade school. She also wanted to be a cartoonist, and drew cartoons instead of listening to her teachers. As as an adult, she cared only about pursuing these artistic fields. She never wanted to enter any career that would be hard to leave when the big break in writing or cartooning came. As a result, she has had only low level, low paying jobs all her life. The big break still eludes her. She currently lives near Los Angeles and, while the entertainment industry ignores her, she has made some progress in writing, with a number of short stories published and five self-published books available on Amazon.com and other outlets.

The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?

I have published several Mama is the story of two families. The Conovers are moving from Los Angeles to Chicago because Jeff Conover's career as an actor has gone nowhere. His teenaged daughter Alison, his nine year old son Michael, who is obsessed with insects, and his wife Lee sit in the car, each stewing in their own resentments. Along the way they attract the attention of Mama and her three kids, who seem to be a slovenly and ugly family, but are truly something else. Mama uses the Conovers as a lesson for her kids, like a lioness teaching her cubs to hunt. When the Conovers start to fight back, Mama gets really mad. Mama is published under my pen name for horror, Robin Morris.

2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I became an avid reader at a young age, and within a few years started writing. I wrote short stories before I was ten years old. Not good ones, mind you, but I wrote them.

3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction (say, >1000 words)? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?

Oh, gee, that's hard to remember. I was also a cartoonist, and I did a cartoon book when I was in high school called "The Cocktail Party." I wrote a fantasy short story around age thirteen that I thought was a devastating satire of the of the educational system I was forced to endure every day, but my parents didn't understand the satire part.

4. When was your first indication, "I can do this (write)"?

Probably when my father, an anthropology professor, showed a story of mine to his colleagues. It was humor, something about an ancient species that was an ancestor of humans.

5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

Xanthan Gumm, from my first novel. He is an alien who comes to Earth to be a movie star. I put a lot of myself into his character.

6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What's on the doorstep?

Nothing. Then I close the door and the knock comes again. I open it and see nothing. I close the door. Knock knock. Now I am afraid to open the door. The knocking continues. I fling the door open and only the rain and wind greet me. I stare into the heart of the storm for a while, daring who or whatever has been knocking to face me. After a while, I close and lock the door. I am sure I have rid myself of the mysterious knocker. I sit down and relax. I almost fall asleep. Knock knock, harder and louder than before. That's when I scream like a little girl.

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Thanks for stopping by and sharing with us today, Robin! Be sure to check out more of Robin's work on her blog and Facebook page.

Be sure to swing back on Thursday when my guest will be the Wingers, Charlie and Diane! See you then!

The Same Six Questions - John Blackport

Hi there! Today's guest on The Same Six Questions is John Blackport. Take it away, John!

Thanks, Andy! I'm a New England attorney who likes to keep his professional identities separate from one another. I have three kids, including two 1-year-old twins. My hobbies include history, math and gaming.

The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?

Yes, I've published Raingun.

Here's the blurb:

Rick Rivoire is flush with money, women, and prospects. He protects his country as one of the Rainguns, an elite regiment of spellcasting cavalry.

But national policy drifts ominously into slavery and religious persecution, sparking rebellion. Joining the rebels could land Rick on a prison ship, in slave-irons--or atop the same gallows where he watched his father hang.

The alternative looks no brighter. The status quo imperils Rick’s hard-won self-respect. Supporting tyranny would doom his dream to emulate the valiant swordswoman who braved a den of monsters to rescue the lonely, terrified nine-year-old boy he once was.

Rick can’t stay above the fray forever. He must either defend a government whose actions disgust him--or risk everything he has.

This story unfolds in a world of bloodthirsty pirates, brave musketeers, and vile monsters. Its target audience is anyone who has ever wrestled with questions of whether, and how, to risk opposing the actions of their country.

Half of this e-book's royalties will go to the Scleroderma Research Foundation. The book is dedicated to my late brother-in-law Perry, and I'd like the book's revenue to help fight the disease that killed him.

If Raingun has a target audience, I guess it's for anyone who's ever loved their country, and taken pride in it, but also been disappointed by their country's actions--and wondered what exactly to do about it. America's wars of the past ten years polarized the public, provided an inspiration for a story set in a fantasy world. I think a lot of this polarization comes from the tendency of human beings misusing Occam's Razor--preferring easy answers over the hard ones. It's always tempting to believe that the world is very simple, and that all of its evil comes from one place. When it comes to the interaction of religion, politics and money, I feel that the world truly is as complicated as it appears. There is no single source of evil (or all good, either). I thought at first that a fantasy setting would put me a great disadvantage in addressing this--a lot of readers like their fantasy enemies to be monolithic Dark Lords that are simply pure malevolence--but that preference isn't as strong as it used to be.


2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Oh, I think I always wanted that. Well, I must have been at least eight. Before that I wanted to be a veterinarian.


3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction (say, >1000 words)? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?

My first lengthy piece of fiction was inspired by Battlestar Galactica. It involved me shooting evil robots with lasers mounted on my sled while speeding down the hill in my backyard.


4. When was your first indication, "I can do this (write)"?

Hmmm . . . I'm not sure that's happened yet!


5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

I'd like to meet Colonel Altiro, the commanding officer of the hero --- and cajole him into teaching me magic.


6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What's on the doorstep?

Hmm . . . I think it's those nanite spider minng robots, methodically breaking up all the planet's solid matter to re-make into copies of themselves with the same mission.

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Thanks for sharing with us today, John! For more of John and his writing, be sure to check out his Web site, Facebook page, and check out a sample of the book at Kindleboards.

Come back on on Monday when my guest will be Robin Reed! Have a great weekend!

The Same Six Questions - Eileen Granfors

Another round of The Same Six Questions! Today, my guest is Eileen Granfors. Welcome!

Thanks, Andy! I live in Santa Clarita, California. A former army brat born in New Orleans, we lived in Germany after World War II. Our family settled in Imperial Beach, California, where my mother’s love of body surfing turned me into an avid surfer girl. I am a proud UCLA alumna, who taught high school English for many years. When not reading or writing, I can be found walking my dogs or taking them to the dog park, scrapbooking, or traveling to see friends, family, and our darling grandkids. My husband and I hope to retire to our home on Table Rock Lake (Missouri) in the coming year or two.

The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?

I have published four books. Two are anthologies (1 poetry, 1 short stories).

My most popular novel is a YA multicultural, Some Rivers End on the Day of the Dead, perfect for learning about the Hispanic Day of the Dead while following the journey of a plucky, kind, ninth grader (Marisol) in the midst of some snarky classmates and a California wild fire.

My newest novel is Stairs of Sand (All of my books are available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions). This is the book I wanted to write from the beginning, but it took me five years to get the two main characters right: a perfectionist mother (Jolene) and a free-spirited, adult daughter (Zoozle), a woman who continues to make bad choices. The title comes from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, about how outer appearances deceive, how what’s underneath could be as false as "stairs of sand.” Readers have written to me the honesty of this portrayal and the emotional link they felt about the family’s problems. I love hearing from fans.

2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

As a child, I had a love for books before I could even read. I would pour over books looking for words I might know. All my life, my love of books has grown. The summer my mother died, I wrote a brief memoir for family members about my mom. I found that helped me with grieving her loss. Once I retired from teaching, I felt an urgency to write more, beginning with poetry and short stories and moving on to the novels. I still write flash fiction as a means to capture a scene and give it muscles.

3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction (say, >1000 words)?

My first short story, Side by Side, was a memory of childhood in Germany where my father was stationed after World War II. I remembered our German maids and the deep forests and our big house. I focused on my busy parents. My brother and I were left in the care of our German housekeepers more often than not at a time when the Germans had no great love for Americans.

I wrote the story in 2005. I still have it, and now that I have more writing experience, I can see where the story needs editing and focus. I sent it out to a few hundred magazines. I think I’ll have better luck with it when I get time to edit and re-submit. One major literary magazine wrote a note, “Interesting, but not there yet.” I think I can get it there!

4. When was your first indication, "I can do this (write)?"

My UCLA Extension teachers in the Writers’ Program encouraged us to “submit, submit, submit.” I had two short anecdotal pieces accepted for the Cup of Comfort series, edited by Colleen Sell. The first, Bruised But Not Broken, is the story of how my first marriage fell apart. The second was published in the Military Families anthology and focuses on my father’s strict discipline. Once those were published, I could see what editors were looking for and how to achieve a stronger storyline and more vigorous prose. I also learned a lot about how my family reacts to my writing—some fans, some infuriated.

5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

Wow, this is a very difficult question. I feel as if I know Marisol and her whole cast of characters from Some Rivers End on the Day of the Dead, so I’m ruling out that book. I like Chloris a lot from Stairs of Sand. She is a Somali immigrant to the United States. She works at a hospice. Her spirit of gentle strength encourages everyone she befriends. She has a charismatic humor, a beautiful singing voice, and likes to wear loud colors. I would like to spend more time with Chloris because there are days when I really need her optimism and kindness, her belief that the world can be made a better place by one person acting in a hopeful, supporting way.

6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What's on the doorstep?

On the doorstep of a dark and stormy night, I answer a knock at the door. I scream and scream and scream, each scream higher and shriller. In front of me stands Sydney Carton (from A Tale of Two Cities), holding his head in his hands (he was beheaded at the guillotine). Once I stop screaming, I welcome him in with a towel under his dripping neck, because he is the subject of my next book, a historical novel, and I really need some information from him about his cryptic words of time spent in Paris (“. . . picking up some French law, some French, and some French crumbs.”)

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Thanks so much for sharing with us today, Eileen! For more of Eileen and her writing, be sure to check out her book blog, review blog, and Amazon author page.