Strategies for NaNoWriMo - 2013

There is nothing NaNo about this WriMo

So, I'm on the fence this year about actually participating in NanNoWriMo. I haven't taken part since 2008 and find that the time of year just isn't conducive to writing consistently. I'm definitely going to step up my output though and I've developed a strategy for cranking out those 50,000 words. And, while I might not participate, I can highly recommend taking part in NaNoWriMo for the inspiration and challenge. For those of you who don't know, NaNoWriMo is the abbreviation for National Novel Writing Month, which happens every November. Established in 1999, the nonprofit organization aims to motivate writers to produce a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. It's a daunting task, to say the least, as it forces the author to crank out 1666 words a day for 30 consecutive days. But, it's possible. And, having just finished my sequel, I need a goal to recharge my writing engine. The trick to NaNoWriMo is to have a game plan. Here's mine.

In the past, I never approached NaNo with more than a whim and a vague idea. This can lead to burnout and frustration when the initial idea runs out of gas (as they often can). I've been brewing up a story lately that I think will work very well in the NaNo setting. It's a young adult (YA) post-apocalyptic paranormal series that I plan on telling in short episodes. It revolves around a young man who is living in a world changed by a cataclysmic event that wiped out almost all of the Earth's population and left the landscape a smoldering remain. When finished, I'll publish them as an introductory series to my YA writing under my own name.

In a sense, I've been preparing this story for a while. I've been jotting notes down for this story for the last three months, right after the initial idea came to me. It all started with an image. I saw it and thought, "That's got a story in it." At moments, I've thought over scenes and characters and tried to lay them out in an order that makes the most sense. I've now got more than enough to write several "episodes" and have written about 4000 words so far (don't do this if you're actually participating in NaNo... that's cheating).

With several weeks to go until November 1st, you should be using this time to plan ahead. Now is the time to plot, lay out that chapter structure and at least have a game plan in place. Trust me, it's so much easier to approach NaNoWriMo with a plan, than hope something comes up as you're writing. My plan involves having a full outline of each section before starting. Essentially, breaking it down into five 10,000-word episodes. A chapter in a book runs anywhere from 2000-2500 words in my usual writing, so the goal is to have 4 to 5 chapters per episode.

Sometimes it's easier to get a grasp when you see it layed out:

Episode 1 (10k words)
     Scene 1 (2k)
          (Characters, Setting, Conflict)

     Scene 2 (2k)
          (Characters, Setting, Conflict)

     Scene 3 (2k)
          (Characters, Setting, Conflict)

     Scene 4 (2k)
          (Characters, Setting, Conflict)

     Scene 5 (2k)
          (Characters, Setting, Conflict)

Episode 2 (10k words)
     Etc.

Rinse, repeat as necessary until you've reached your goal.

I'm reminded of one of my favorite Neil Gaiman quotes: "This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until its done. It's that easy, and that hard." Writing a novel is a difficult process and NaNoWriMo asks you to take all of that difficulty and try and condense it into a 30-day period. Remember that your goal here is a first draft that reaches 50,000 words. It's often more about turning off your interior editor and putting words to the page than creating something magnificent the first time through. I hope maybe I've given you some direction into how to make the challenge a bit less steep. It's not a bad plan for approaching any story, but when faced with a tight deadline and a seemingly insurmountable word count, it's often best to break it down into more manageable portions.

Good Luck! Are you doing NaNo this year? If so, do you have a plan? Let us know in the comments below!

Giving My First Library Presentation

Several months ago, I wrote an article on Social Media for the Independent Author, so when the
opportunity came up to do a presentation at a local library (actually 45 minutes from me, but now we're splitting hairs), I thought this would be a great topic to discuss. The presentation was to be 2 hours with 1.5 allotted for me to talk and a half hour for Q&A.

When I started putting the presentation together, my first thought was, "How am I going to fill 2 hours?" By the time I was done, I was afraid of going over. Social media is such a dense subject that can often rely on the knowledge of the audience. In this case, I had prepared my presentation with no real idea of who my audience was going to be.

Being my first solo talk outside of a professional environment, I didn't quite know what to expect. Hosted at a library, the presentation was open to the public. I arrived early and set up the room, discovering that the open blinds made the screen impossible to see. Great, I thought, now my audience was going to be in the dark... trying to stay awake during my presentation. With about five minutes left before the start, my first guest arrived. Phew! Worst case scenario, I was prepared to sit and chat with one person. I was not prepared for there to be no one at all. That might have burst my bubble just a little. Then another showed and another until there were 8 people there, looking at me eagerly. Now the pressure was really on.

Two hours later, we wrapped up the last bit of Q&A and they gave me a round of applause. At that point, I actually felt a bit embarrassed for it. Over the course of the morning, I felt more like I was just up there having a conversation than speaking on a particular topic. It was a nice feeling though and the overall response was fantastic. I've been in touch with some of the attendees since and have been a bit overwhelmed by the gratification on their part. It was a great feeling to be able to pass along, what I considered, just a small amount of knowledge and perhaps get people thinking about things in ways they hadn't before.

I really enjoyed every aspect of giving the presentation. My wife just shakes her head and wonders how I can get up in front of people and talk. That's the easy part for me. Stick me on a stage any day. So long as I know my lines, I'm good. When I forget my lines, that's when the nerves kick in. And, while presenting isn't for everyone, I highly recommend adding it to your arsenal of promotional tools. I don't expect to sell many books by presenting, but I hope to create relationships with writers who will recognize that I'm just trying to help and someday might be able to return the good will if they have a chance.

If you would like the 52-page PDF version of the presentation I gave, just sign up for my newsletter and send me an email (andyraneauthor[at]gmail[dot]com) with "Social Media for the Independent Author" in the subject line. Or, if you already receive my newsletter, just send me an email. If you're in the NJ area and are interested in having me give this presentation (or another on the subject of writing or publishing) for your writers' group or library, please let me know.

The Great eBook Pricing Dilemma

I got $3 over here, do I hear $4?

Two years, when I started this great self-publishing escapade, I did my fair share of research regarding ebook pricing. When all was said and done, I settled on $2.99 for the price of my full-length novel. I thought it was the standard going rate and as an unknown, I didn't expect anyone to want to pay more than that. I rated my writing at $3. $3 for a full-length novel. $3 for something that, had I been traditionally published, would command a price upwards of $9.99.

At the time, it made sense. $2.99 was sort of the standard indie number. It seemed that the majority of titles from colleagues were being set at the same price point. I dabbled with free back when Select had the most benefit (early 2012) and even dipped for a while into the $0.99 waters, without much luck. Since then, I honestly hadn't given much thought to pricing my book. Now, with the coming release of my book's sequel, the argument had crept back into my mind:
Am I short-changing myself at $2.99? In short, I felt the answer was "Yes."

So, that's why I'm changing my pricing regimen. I'm taking that leap of faith and asking... for a whole dollar more. I know, it's risky. $4 seems like so much more than $3, but it really isn't. I figure if erotica writers can get away with selling 15 pages "stories" for $2.99, then I can sell a 70,000-word novel for $3.99 and not feel too guilty.

I think the self-published market is experiencing dynamic change. People are recognizing the fact that quality work is coming from independent authors. I think more and more of those authors are taking chances with their pricing schemes and finding success. I'm feeling more confident about my pricing decision. It allows me more flexibility in terms of discounting and better return in regard to royalty rates. Some folks have it broken down to exactly how much they'll charge for a number of words. <10,000 = $0.99; 10,000-40,000 = $1.99; >40,000-<70,000 = $2.99, etc. I'm not producing at a rate where I need to worry about that, but I understand the scheme.

What do you think? Do you have a scheme, or are you still winging the whole pricing thing?

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?

A Return to Truly Social Networking

Isn't it redundant anyway?

Remember when the term "networking" had everything to do with being social, but nothing to do with online "social networks"? It wasn't that long ago (Friendster [Facebook's grandfather] started in 2002). Nowadays, though we appear to be "connected" to more people, for the most part, we are further away in terms of "connectedness." In my arsenal of connectivity, I have 2300 Twitter followers, 3600 Pinners following my boards, 317 Facebook fans, and 80+ blog followers. Now, assuming some overlap, there may be ~4k-5k folks I'm "connected" to. Out of that, there are perhaps two dozen I recognize immediately through various online networks (outside of friends and family, of course) and consider colleagues who converse and share thoughts. That's a pretty poor ratio, methinks, but probably not a rare one. We like connecting, but conversing and actually making a connection is a very different thing. Are you tired of it? Well, guess what? The old-fashioned method still works.

Who needs to network in person?! That's pretty much how I thought of it when I first self-published two years ago. At the time, I didn't think that actually rubbing elbows with fellow authors was anything more than self-congratulatory excess. It couldn't possibly produce the same results that being connected to thousands of followers could. And, until this year, I had done very little in terms of getting out and meetin my fellow authors.

Then, back in March, I stumbled across Meetup.com and found a local writers' group whose sole purpose was to get together and write. Plain and simple. It might sound strange, but it's exactly what I needed. A place to go and be surrounded by others quietly tapping away on their keyboards. I've met some wonderful folks and, in the process, was directed to another group of local authors.

The New Jersey Author Network is a group of traditionally- and self-published authors from around The Garden State. It's goal is to connect local authors with local reading groups and libraries. By doing so, it provide authors with opportunities to sit on discussion panels as well as potentially present on topics related to writing and publishing. It also seeks out book stores where authors may be able to have signing events. Membership is free and while there are members who are more active at pursuing opportunities, all members are encouraged to go out and create the kinds of events they want to attend.

Since joining a few months ago, I've attended one signing event, have another set for August, and will be conducting my first industry topic solo presentation in September. Outside of the group, I've also scheduled another two signing events for September and October. I've also agreed, tentatively, to be on an independent publishing panel in the Spring of 2014 (check out my schedule of upcoming events here). While most of these events are open to outsiders, the group has certainly made these opportunities more easily accessible. It has also inspired me to seek out potential opportunities at my local library.

So, get out there and rub a few elbows. Trust me, it won't take anything away from your "lone-wolf" author persona. As independent authors, we need to be open to as many networking opportunities as possible. Besides, you might meet some great people and, equally important, you might find some new channels through which you can market your writing.

Have your own story about traditional networking success? Please share!

Busted! - Plagiarism in Publishing

Sigh. Two steps forward one step back. Independent publishing has come a long way, in case you didn't come to light that a certain successful debut novel by a certain independent author was merely a plagiarism of existing content from two previously published books.

know. It's going mainstream. It's getting recognition where it used to get ridicule. And then something happens and you smack your forehead. "But we were doing so well!" Recently, it's

Plagiarism isn't a new problem in the publishing business. Where there is written language, there will always be plagiarism of one form or another. However, in today's day and age of copy and paste and simplified electronic publishing platforms, the task is simpler and, I imagine, much more tempting to the potential perpetrator. Find some successful books, mesh similar plot points together, fill in some blanks, draft up a cover, upload to Kindle Direct Publishing and voilà! You have only to get people to read it. Here is where the potential for success begins to fade. You see, this country (and others) is filled with voracious readers. And those readers like to read the same genres. And, if they read something similar, it doesn't take them long to sniff out a rat.

Some folks are suggesting (some seriously, some not so) that this was a conspiracy to put down independent publishing. While I wouldn't put it past Big Publishing to resort to dirty tricks to get their way, I highly doubt this was staged to besmirch indie publishing. While there was definitely some thought put into the act (and a lot of money spent on marketing to the New Adult bloggers who praised the book just prior to its release), I think it was just someone who thought they could trick the system. Luckily, it's harder to trick the people than it is to trick the system. In this case, the people prevailed. It was caught in such a short timespan that no check was cut to the perp and funds will more than likely (I hope!) be redistributed to those who bought the book.

The whole thing is very disappointing to an indie like myself. I'm not perfect, but my mistakes are mine. I own them and live with them every day. Sure, I use a pseudonym, but it's not to hide behind. It's purely marketing and anyone who wants to know my true identity doesn't have to look very far. So, to those folks out there who think they can cheat their way to the top. Well, go for it. Sure, I'll mourn the black mark you temporarily put on the face of steadfast independents, but I'll laugh when your facade comes down and you're left scampering away naked into the darkness of failure.

For some heated (and inquisitive) discussion on the topic, check out the KBoards.com thread.

Thoughts? Feelings? Please share!

Amazon Buys Goodreads!

Nom nom nom.

This is fresh off the presses, folks. That's right, Amazon.com has purchased Goodreads. If you don't know what Goodreads is, it's only one of the biggest social reading networks around. This purchase raises some very interesting questions. What will happen, if anything, to Shelfari? Does this blur the line between Amazon book reviews and Goodreads book reviews? Safe to assume that Goodreads book pages will no longer link to other book sales sites? Will this cause an exodus of readers from Goodreads? Is this a good thing or bad thing for independent authors? Does it make Goodreads a more valuable tool to the indie author (and does it make the top 10 now)? Would love to hear your comments below.

The Same Six Questions - C.W. LaSart

Hello there, and welcome back to The Same Six Questions! Today's guest is C.W. LaSart. In her own words:

A lifelong horror fan, C.W. LaSart resides in the Midwest with her beloved Lou, 3 young children, and 2 neurotic dogs. A mother with a love for horror movies and a father who read her Poe from an early age, fostered in her a love for the horror genre and she has done her best to do the same for her own children, often warning teachers at conferences that it's Halloween at her house every day of the year, and not to worry too much about their gleeful darkness.

The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?

Yes I have. My first collection of short stories,
Ad Nauseam: 13 Tales of Extreme Horror, was released in early March by Dark Moon Books and is doing quite well. I entered a contest for extreme horror and the publisher liked my submission so much that he closed the contest and contracted me for the whole book. I'm excited by the responses I've gotten from it, and it's just fun to be able to share my stories with so many others. The stories are extreme in nature, so they aren't for everyone, but if you're tired of the same old slasher/
zombie/vampire stuff, it may be just what you're looking for.

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

I can't remember a time when I didn't want to be a writer. I didn't necessarily dream of being an author when I grew up, but I always enjoyed writing and planned to continue on. It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I even entertained the thought of publishing what I wrote. Until then, I wrote just for the fun of it.

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 think it was probably an essay in Jr. High School. Something dreadful about teen suicide and depression. Before that I only wrote poetry. I have a folder full of everything I've ever done, but most of it is embarassing in its immaturity. I used to make little books for my mom in elemetary school. They were blatant plagiarism, but I think she still has them somewhere.

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

I submitted my first short story about two years ago and it was accepted at the first place I tried. Over the next twelve months, I had a phenomenal acceptance rate wherever I tried, but it wasn't until I got contracted for Ad Nauseam that I started to think I may be able to actually do this for a living. I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the three winners of the Cemetery Dance Amatuer Writing Contest, which qualified me to become an Affiliate member of the Horror Writer's Association, which also cemented my resolve that I may be able to do all right.

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

Oh lord. None of them! They are all such twisted and miserable creatures. I suppose in a way I have already met all of them, since I tend to borrow bits and pieces from people I know, but in their entirety, they are a bit too horrific for my tastes. I would much prefer to meet someone else's characters. Maybe someone from Stephen King or Robert McCammon.

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 huge spider, selling Avon and wearing toe-socks. I hate toe-socks!

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LOL...thanks for sharing with us today! For more of C.W. and her writing, be sure to check out her Web site, Facebook page, and Twitter profile.

The Same Six Questions is always seeking independent authors to interview. If you're a fan and you know someone who might be interested, please be sure to send them my way.

The Same Six Questions - Aliya Anjum

Hi there and welcome to this special birthday edition of The Same Six Questions. Whose birthday, do you ask? Why, mine! :D Give a warm welcome to today's guest, Aliya Anjum.

Thank you, Andy! Thank you for this opportunity to engage readers on your blog. As for me, I am from the coastal city of Karachi, Pakistan, which happens to be quite like NYC as it's the commercial capital of Pakistan, oozing with diversity. As of now, I am a full-time author, but I have briefly owned the avatars of an international banker, university lecturer, and government employee. Wanderlust runs in my blood and I simply love to travel. I love cats, shopping, chocolate, and reading. I am an avid swimmer and I enjoy the outdoors a great bit. One day I hope to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, explore the Amazonian rain forests, and see Yeti on Tibetan mountains!

The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?

I have published more than one book, but since I am to discuss one of them I'd talk about my short story An Arranged Marriage. It is based on true events in the lives of four Pakistani women Physicians in the US. The story is close to my heart because it was the first adult fiction I wrote. It touches upon many themes, including immigration, diversity, assimilation, diaspora socio-economics, and, last but not the least, relationships.

Its available through Amazon, Smashwords, Apple iTunes, Barnes&Noble, Sony Books, and Kobo books.


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

I was always the writer. I used to write short snippets and poems when I was barely seven years old. They did'nt make it to print, but my family did appreciate my efforts. I wish I still had those small notebooks but, unfortunately, I don't. Till recently, when I was pursuing a regular career, I did write for newspapers as a freelancer and I had plans to one day write books, after retirement maybe. Then, one day, after a tiff with my boss in 2008, I got motivated to write fiction and I wrote 8 horror short stories for YA. I sent them off to the National Book Foundation's Competition and ended up receiving a Commendation Certificate. I was then encouraged to write more and ever since then I have penned down adult fiction and non-fiction. I am now a full time author.


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?

As I already mentioned, my first piece was a horror short story for YA. Titled The Farmhouse, I plan to publish it on Amazon soon and it may be available in print by the time this interview is published. I find that when I write about a character, I find myself playing that character in my head. In this story, the protagonist is a 14-year-old boy and I could feel his adventurous spirit enter me as I wrote about his tryst with the supernatural. I may add, that I borrowed a part of the story from two real unexplained encounters I had heard from a friend and an acquaintance, respectively. Quite likely they were making up the stories, but even then it's good matter for my story.


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

I never had a Eureka! moment, as far as writing fiction is concerned. However, I have been a creative person all my life. I could improvise stories that I would tell my younger cousins when I was 14. During my undergrad, my advertising project was top rated, so much so that years later my professor remembered me and my project, when I ran into him. Even my graduate thesis in the US was linked to animated characters, and the thesis committee was impressed with my creativity. As I stated that I had a tiff with my boss, and it stoked the flames of creative expression in me, as I felt I was not being appreciated. In hindsight, it was a blessing in disguise, since now I do what I enjoy doing!


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

I am writing my first novel these days. If there was one character I could meet in real life, it would be the hero of my novel. I am in love with him! He's just so likable! :)


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 mouse or, even worse, a wet rat! I can see myself not just screaming, but also quickly shifting on my feet, lest it touches me. Its a black rat, I see its eyes, they seem to be looking at me. Eeek! its moving towards me at lightening speed. Good God! how can such a small thing move so fast. Better close the door before he comes in. Hurry! hurry hurry! Still shifting on my feet *phew* door closed. Safe at last!

_______________________________

Thanks so much for sharing with us, Aliya! For more of Aliya and her writing, be sure to check out her blog!

Stop back in on Monday, when my guest will be C.W. LaSart! See you!

The Same Six Questions - Jennifer Word

Welcome back everyone! I just spent a week in sunny Arizona. Beautiful state, but we were running around like crazy and I'm glad to be home, sleeping in my own bed.

Jennifer Word is an award-winning poet and editor inSouthern California. She holds a B.A. inPsychology from Pepperdine University. Her short fiction and poetry has been featured in The Storyteller Magazine, The Klondike Sun, Dark Moon Digest, Dark Eclipse e-Magazine, and the Frightmares and Slices of Flesh anthologies. She is also the author of The Poe Toaster, All Because of the Cat, and Higher Love.

Jennifer lives with her two beautiful children. When she's not busy writing, she enjoys Yoga, and taking care of her two cats, two guinea pigs and a plecostamus in a homemade aquarium.

The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?

The Society - Book One: Genesis is my debut novel. It is a Science Fiction/Speculative Fiction novel, and it's book one of a trilogy now available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I have also published three separate stories through Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing.

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

I knew I wanted to be a writer from about age nine or ten. I had a fourth grade teacher tell me I was a writer, and it inspired me to dream big. It was a teacher that started all my dreams of wanting to be a writer.

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 story, I wrote in the fourth grade. It was a horror story about a black cat and a curse. I'm not certain how many words long it was, but it won first place in the Make-A-Book contest in my elementary school. Later, I just jumped in and began writing, at age 34, and I wrote five novels in four months!

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

When I received a publishing contract through Stony Meadow Publishing for my trilogy, I said, "Wow, I can really do this!" It was so unexpected, but I was floored! My debut novel is so meaningful to me, and the series means a lot to me. I hope it will inspire many readers to realize that there are no insignificant people in this world. Everyone is here for a reason, and everyone plays an important role in the lives of others, simply by existing.

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

I would like to meet my main character from my trilogy, Jessica Wembly. She is so lost, yet so important in the role of humanity. I wouldn't mind meeting all the characters from The Society. They are all amazing people, and I have wished so many times that they were real. My children think I am crazy, because I talk about my characters as if they are real people, but to me, they are. They are a conglomeration of people I have met in real life, friends, family. They are everyday people that anyone can relate to.

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?

Vampires, werewolves, all the B-movie monsters. I would say, "Bring it on," and I would have the Monster Squad to back me up, including Rudy with his bow and arrow!! And Stephen King would be right there to chronicle and write about the War that would ensue.

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Thanks so much for sharing with us today, Jennifer! For more of Jennifer and her work, be sure to check out her Web site.

Stop back in on Thursday when my guest will be Aliya Anjum! See you then!

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.”

_________________________________

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. ;)

__________________________________

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.

________________________________________

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 - Cora Buhlert

Welcome back Same Six faithful! And a rousing Monday-morning Hello! to all the newcomers to this ongoing interview series, The Same Six Questions! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Please say hello to today's guest, Cora Buhlert!

Thanks, Andy! I live in Bremen in North Germany – after time spent in London, Singapore, Rotterdam and Mississippi. But don't worry, I write in English. I have an MA degree in English and am currently working towards my PhD. When I'm not writing, I work as a teacher and technical translator.

The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?

Several books actually. At the moment, I'm at fourteen and counting. But before you get too awed, most of those are reprinted backlist short stories and novelettes. I have published several historical shorts and novelettes, a series of short thrillers in the style of the pulp magazines of the 1930s about a pulp writer who fights crime in the guise of a masked avenger called The Silencer (the first story is called Countdown to Death (The Silencer) and has The Silencer facing the electric chair) as well as a scattering of other stuff. Jack – or rather Jane – of all genres, that's me.

You can buy my books at Amazon, OmniLit/All Romance, DriveThru Fiction and XinXii.


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

I've been telling stories all my life and I wanted to tell stories for a living since elementary school. However, I have a very visual imagination. And so I wanted to tell my stories in film form for many years, first as an animator and - once I realized that I couldn't draw for the life of me - as a director of live-action movies. I even went as far as joining the local amateur film club, until I realized that: a) movies were a team effort and b) I wasn't much of a team player.

I had already written my first stories at that point and even had a short story published in the literary magazine of my university, so I thought, "Forget the movies! I'll become a writer." And here I am.


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?

In high school I penned and composed an opera called Sino and Sana, because I happened to love opera. The libretto for that opera, a standard fairy tale plot of royal twins lost in the woods, was most likely longer than 1000 words, though the credit would have been shared between me and my then best friend.

A bit later I started my first novel, a science fiction tale of which I remember nothing except that it started with a flying red sportscar kidnapping two teenaged girls with a tractor beam and flying them out over the San Francisco Bay. Why San Francisco? I haven't the foggiest idea, except that I somehow thought it was a cool setting. Again, I'm pretty sure I got further than 1000 words before the idea fizzled out.

My first finished piece of fiction, which exceeded 1000 words, was a short story called Neverending Nightmare which I wrote in twelfth grade. It was a bizarre story about a girl who was turned into a plant by a mad scientist and then chopped up and served as salad and somehow managed to stay conscious through it all. There was also an ambitious circular structure, which I remember sketching in my notebook during German class.

Thankfully, all of those early attempts have been lost during countless computer updates.


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

During my second semester at university, when I wrote a short story for a writing/composition class and the teacher suggested that I submit it to a British newspaper which had a regular short story feature. Of course, my little story was rejected, but the fact that the teacher believed enough in my writing abilities to make me mail the story proved to be invaluable encouragement.

The next indication was when one of my short stories was published in New Leaf, the literary magazine of my university. Of course, I didn't get paid and I didn't even get my contributor's copies until several months later, because I happened to be doing a semester abroad when the issue with my story came out. But seeing my name in print for the first time was still a great feeling.


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

Probably Stella d'Anvers, singer, dancer and sorceress (in that order), from an upcoming story called Cartoony Justice. Why? Stella is fun to hang out with and unlikely to cause trouble or get me killed. Besides, she's one of my all-time favourite characters and I haven't done anything awful to her yet, therefore she is unlikely to harbour a grudge against me.

The Silencer, a.k.a. Richard Blakemore, would certainly be fascinating to meet, but he does have the tendency to get himself into trouble and bullets are likely to start flying whenever he's around.


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?

It's my three favourite writers, Jane Austen, Isaac Asimov, and Thomas Pynchon. That is, I think it's them, since Asimov and Jane Austen are rather decomposed by now and no one knows what Pynchon actually looks like.

________________________________

Thanks for stopping by today, Cora! Find Cora online at her author and publisher Web sites.

See you back here on Thursday, when my guest will be Steve Kazzie!

The Same Six Questions - Kathy Lynn Harris

Hello and welcome to this first Spring edition of The Same Six Questions. I hope the weather wherever you may be is particularly Spring-like. My guest today is Kathy Lynn Harris. In her own words:

Kathy Lynn Harris, a native Texan, has written children's books, poetry, short stories, newspaper and magazine articles, and personal essays. Blue Straggler is her debut novel. Kathy likes to play in the snow year-round, which is easy since she lives in a log cabin in the high mountains of Colorado at 10,500 feet above sea level. Stellar mountain playmates include her husband, her son, and two fairly untrainable Golden Retrievers who own both couches.

The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?

Yes! My novel, Blue Straggler, is available as an ebook (also at B&N) and a paperback from 30 Day Books of Seattle. Here’s what the book is about in brief: Being a 30-something, fairly directionless single female in South Texas is a world all its own. Blue Straggler is a laugh-out-loud, yet poignant, exploration of that experience — from the quirky, memorable characters who make up Bailey Miller’s circle of family and friends to that feeling of your makeup sliding right off in the humidity. Readers will easily identify with Bailey’s sometimes humorous, often semi-tragic, choices that eventually lead her out of Texas, to a small mountain town in Colorado, and back. Along the way, she searches for not only herself but also answers to long-held secrets from her “legitimately unbalanced” great-grandmother's past. Bonus: She may even find love with a moody mountain man along the way.

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

I was around age 9. I had already been writing in a “diary” complete with the lock and key for a year or more. I got bored one summer and asked my dad if I could use his old manual typewriter. I proceeded to write my first book, which was then stapled together and had a great cover made of pink craft paper accented with red yarn. I think that’s when the writing bug bit. I loved that sense of accomplishment and seeing MY words on paper. Even if it was that really thin, awful typewriter paper from the 1970s.

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 first began trying my hand at real fiction writing after college, I wrote a short story about a young woman who had just lost her husband in a climbing accident, and her mother-in-law was staying with her after the funeral. Each blamed the other for the death in some way, and neither knew how to grieve. I loved the tension in that story so much that I eventually came back to it and shortened it into a flash fiction piece. It was actually published online back then in PIF magazine and is still out there.

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

Ha! Some days I still don’t know if I can do this. But I have to say that it was the encouragement of friends that made me think that maybe I wasn’t just barking up a fruitless tree. I would share things that I wrote with a few close friends, some of whom were writers themselves, and they made me believe in myself … that I had a little bit of talent that might be worth honing. And then, when I enrolled in the creative writing master’s program at Texas A&M University, and began to get positive feedback from professors and fellow workshoppers, I began to really dream about life as a writer.

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

Oh! That’s a hard one. I think it would likely be Idamarie from Blue Straggler. She’s this feisty old Texas gal who owns a comfort-food café in San Antonio. She says what she thinks. She’s funny and grounded and would be someone I’d love to talk to every day, just to remind myself of the good people out there in the world. Plus, she sings Loretta Lynn songs and watches old Dallas reruns.

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 lost, disoriented hiker, dripping in blood, who has stumbled to our log cabin in the backcountry mountains after being attacked by a mountain lion.

______________________________

Yikes! Thanks so much for taking the time to share with us, Kathy Lynn! For more of Kathy Lynn's writing, be sure to check out her Web site, blog, and Facebook and Twitter pages.

I'll see you all back here on Monday, when my guest will be Cora Buhlert. See you then!

The Same Six Questions - Sadie Forsythe

Welcome back to The Same Six Questions! I hope you didn't drink too much green beer or eat too much corned beef and cabbage this past weekend. Say hello to today's guest, Sadie Forsythe!

Thanks Andy! I’m the classic American abroad, totally enamored with life on ‘the continent.’ My family and I currently live on the cusp of the Pennines in NW England (think Wuthering Heights), but Tennessee will always call to me. When it comes right own to it I’m a Southern gal at heart. I spent more years than I care to count in university, and seven tough, but enlightening, years working with abused children. I think I learned more from them than any of my lauded professors.

The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?


I have, and I’m pretty excited about it. The Weeping Empress is my first novel. It’s about the difficult personal sacrifices people have to make to ensure the continued growth of the humanity as a whole. But not everyone is so thrilled about the idea, not least of which the main character, Chiyo, who is asked to give up more than most. I have a real appreciation for the Japanese idea of Bushido, the idea of tempering violence with wisdom and civility, and this comes through in my writing. The world my characters inhabit is not a peaceful one, but Chiyo’s two companions negotiate it with a certain enviable grace born of a lifetime of disciplined familiarity. Together the three of them test the bounds of friendship, and the resolute nature of fate. It’s available at Amazon and such.


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

Since I was a tween, twelve maybe. I can almost remember the exact moment. My best friend had just introduced me to Anne McCaffrey’s books, and I was burning through the Pern series at light speed. We all know the feeling; bated breath, racing heart, trembling fingers fidgeting with the edge of the page impatient to turn it and see what happens next. I fell in love with that experience, and thought ‘I want to make others feel like this.’ There would be no better praise I could receive as a writer than to know that one of my stories prompted such a physiological response in a reader.

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’ve spent a lot of time in university, which meant no time to write fiction. I told a lot of stories that never made it to paper. A notable exception was in my youth. While stuck in the backseat on a cross-country road-trip I wrote 90 or so pages of a story about a concubine who became a warrior. I don’t remember much about it. I think the only reason I remember it at all is because of the embarrassment I endured reading a story about a concubine aloud to my parents in the front seat. The birds and the bees had yet to be broached, and the last thing I wanted was to be asked to further discuss the nocturnal responsibilities of my character. I don’t have it anymore, which is a shame. It’s the kind of character I adore, and I’d like to try and make something of it.

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

It was with The Weeping Empress, but my order was a little bit off. I never sat down and thought ‘I am going to write a book and this is my plot.’ I like to tell myself stories, especially during rote, boring moments like exercise or the shower. This one just kept coming back up. I kept expanding on it and developing characters until I couldn’t keep track of the names and locations in my head anymore, so I started jotting them down (hard to do in the shower). Eventually I looked at my poor bedraggled moleskine, and realized this wasn’t a story anymore, it was a book. It was then that I thought ‘I can do this. I can keep this up and finish it.’ But that decision came with a responsibility too. At that moment I gave The Weeping Empress life, and became accountable to her. After that it became work, a labor of love to be sure, but a task that had to be finished.

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

I think it would be Valdis from The Weeping Empress. This might seem like an odd choice since she isn’t a main character, but she’s made a painful decision that the whole story hinges on. She knows it won’t be understood even though it affects everyone dear to her, and she makes it based on nothing more than her unshakable faith. She’s strong in a quite, overlookable fashion. I’d like to know how it feels to believe in something like that; to have a faith that you don’t question—not because you fear the answers or are too naïve to seek validation, but because you don’t need them. There must be a real comfort in that, and I’d love to delve into it. I’d also like to opportunity to congratulate her on the courage it takes to make such tough decisions. Sometimes even if you make the wrong choice, just choosing makes you the bravest person in the room.

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 real-life, full-fledged, diamond encrusted, pink to the max Disney princess. When that fairy godmother gives Ella back her cinders I may invite her into my home. Until then I think the princessification of a generation of little girls is the most frightening thing I have ever seen.

_________________________________

Thanks for stopping by and sharing with us, Sadie! Find Sadie on the web at Facebook, her
Web site, and Twitter.

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.

_______________________________

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.)

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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!