tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87864197243770386412024-03-12T20:14:06.457-07:00Literary Juice BlogQ & A with Established and Aspiring AuthorsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786419724377038641.post-67798103745337353432018-02-13T12:38:00.000-08:002018-02-13T12:39:21.731-08:00Q & A with Susan Richardson | Poet & Blogger at STORIES FROM THE EDGE OF BLINDNESS<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibDwFx2v4b5lUNcAiw6O-KdjhvSQlj-7htLH-RUH1O_IJxfm9KlkrR8yswXsdPG3M4dpc3_GrpKtm0oNf1RUybbZP6PTrcEaLo6iga8bfHT3tgy9kiY6k-R-5eLxpodAr5WIk6-yDbAq0/s1600/SusanRichardsonLiteraryJuice.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1125" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibDwFx2v4b5lUNcAiw6O-KdjhvSQlj-7htLH-RUH1O_IJxfm9KlkrR8yswXsdPG3M4dpc3_GrpKtm0oNf1RUybbZP6PTrcEaLo6iga8bfHT3tgy9kiY6k-R-5eLxpodAr5WIk6-yDbAq0/s320/SusanRichardsonLiteraryJuice.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Susan Richardson is living, writing and going
blind in Hollywood. She was diagnosed with <a href="https://nei.nih.gov/health/pigmentosa/pigmentosa_facts" target="_blank">Retinitis Pigmentosa</a> in 2002 and
much of her work focuses on her relationship to the world as a </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">partially-sighted woman. In addition to poetry, she writes a blog called</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <a href="https://floweringink.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">STORIES FROM THE EDGE OF BLINDNESS</a></span><a href="http://www.floweringink.wordpress.com/"><span class="Link"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span></span></a><span class="Link"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Her work has been published in <i>Stepping Stones
Magazine, Wildflower Muse, The Furious Gazelle, The Hungry Chimera,
Sheila-Na-Gig, Chantarelle’s Notebook, Foxglove Journal, Literary Juice</i> and
<i>Sick Lit Magazine</i>, with pieces forthcoming in <i>Amaryllis</i> and <i>The Anapest
Journal</i>. She was also awarded the
Sheila-Na-Gig Winter Poetry Prize.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Literary Juice: After
learning of your condition, Reitinitis Pigmentosa, and reading your blog, "Stories
from the Edge of Blindness", one can see you possess a deep perception of
life around you. You notice beauty, or magic, in places most people tend to overlook.
Has this always been a part of you? In what ways has RP influenced your
insight?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Susan Richardson:
</b>Wow! This is the loveliest thing anyone
has ever written about me and asked me. Your questions are so thoughtful and I
hope my answers will do them justice. I
have always been drawn to the beauty of things that are overlooked or perceived
as unusual, and having RP has definitely played a part in enhancing my
perception of the world. When I was told that I was going blind, I spent a long
time thinking about loss and how losing my vision would change what the meaning
of loss looked like. I had experienced loss in the death of loved ones and in
difficult rites of passage, but going blind, slowly as most of us with RP do,
thrust me into the minutiae of loss; losing my vision wasn’t something I could
tuck away and come back to later when I was ready or feeling stronger, it was
happening in every moment of every day. I began to look at the world with more care, patience and
compassion. I started writing "Stories
from the Edge of Blindness", which is, in essence, about what I see on my
journey into blindness; the irony of which is not lost on me. Having RP has
helped me write, live and look at the world more honestly than I ever have; I
look beneath the layers more fearlessly and with new understanding. I love that you use the word magic; I
believe it applies to so much in life, and that it is what you get when you
look beyond the surface of things, when you choose to stop and truly see rather
than step over what might make you feel uncomfortable or afraid.</span><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ: Are there days
where RP challenges you as a writer? What strategies do you employ to overcome
those obstacles?</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>SR: </b>Living with RP
presents me with an array of challenges every day, and some of them are
definitely connected to my writing life. One of my most severe RP symptoms is light sensitivity; this includes
sunlight, bright indoor lighting and the glare from computer and tablet
screens. My writing environments have to be lit in very specific ways, or my
eyes begin to ache and sting within minutes; if it’s too bright, I can’t see,
and if it’s too dark, I can’t see. I am fortunate to be able to work from home
where I have created a good working space for myself. As for the computer, luckily, there are accessibility
options on devices that allow me to invert the colors on the screen; looking at
a black screen with yellow text is much less painful and enables me to write
for longer periods of time. However, I still need to make sure to take frequent
breaks; over- use of my eyes, even in less harsh lighting, can result in a day
of extreme pain and the inability to use my eyes for anything. I also have trouble focusing and have to
increase the font sizes on all of my documents and emails; this can be time
consuming when revising or submitting work, but it isn’t difficult. I can
remember the days when I wrote all of my poems long hand, but my inconsistent
focus makes that impossible. I can no
longer read bound books, newspapers or magazines comfortably, but in the RP
world, I am lucky; with the help of technology, I can still read and write
without the use of a screen reader because, for now, I have relatively good and
usable central vision. </span><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ: Tell us about how
you develop each poem. Are they inspired from within? From the world around
you? What does your writing process look like?</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>SR: </b>I know it sounds
cliché, but I really try and allow my writing process to be as organic as
possible. My poetry happens in a variety
of ways. Some of my poems begin with the
language; a word or a line will come into my head, and from there I look within
to find the emotional origin for the words. Some of my poems are sparked from memory and some from visceral
responses to the world around me. I
have also recently gotten into Ekphrastic challenges; I love the idea of art
inspiring art, and I have been incredibly surprised by what an image can bring
out in me and in my writing. Perhaps, because I am going blind, the act of
seeing takes on new meaning and I translate that into my poems that are
inspired by paintings or photographs. I
have always felt that subjectivity is a big part of what makes art
exciting. When people ask me what (or
who) a specific poem is about, my tendency is to leave them wondering; I am
much more interested in what my writing brings up for the reader, what it makes
them feel. There is one constant in my
writing; I have always lived my life from an emotional place and because of
that, everything I write is, in some way, a reflection of my emotional
responses to being alive.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ: What do you think
is the most difficult part about writing poetry? Do you think there is such a
thing as writer’s block? Why or why not?</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>SR: </b>A couple of years
ago, I finally developed a true writing practice; I write every day. The
writing isn’t always good and I don’t always feel inspired, but I do it
anyway. I realized that being a writer
is in the act of writing, not just in the love of language or in moments of
inspiration. If you had asked me this
question 2 years ago, I would have had a different answer, but now I don’t buy
into writer’s block. I used to use it as
an excuse for not writing, but I believe there is always something deeper that
keeps us from our creative selves. Writing can be scary and isolating; we sit down with our demons and let
them unfurl themselves onto the page. In my experience, poetry, more than other
forms or genres of writing, is a dissection of the self, and that can be
terrifying. The art of poetry is
exacting but also requires fluidity; I find this incredibly challenging, but
ultimately exciting and fulfilling. </span><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ: What do you want to
be remembered most for? What will be your legacy? </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>SR: </b>I always wanted to
be remembered for being a writer whose work inspired people to see beyond the
surface of things, to look at themselves and others more fearlessly and with
more honesty. I still feel this way, but
RP has changed the way I look at the world and now I also want to be able to
leave people with my honest account of what it is like to go blind. I think that the fear of vulnerability is a
human condition, and that is why blindness is so terrifying to so many people;
I want to give blindness a face and a heart. My legacy will be one of words;
words that I hope will make a difference in the way people see.</span><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786419724377038641.post-30130826277417731692017-08-02T10:17:00.001-07:002017-08-02T10:19:47.931-07:00Q & A with Anju Gattani | Author<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Fiction author, international freelance journalist,
and former news reporter, Anju Gattani has been published in
leading publications in the U.S., Singapore, Hong Kong, and India. Her
debut novel, </i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Duty-Desire-Anju-Gattani/dp/193757301X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501693248&sr=8-1&keywords=duty+and+desire+anju" target="_blank">DUTY AND DESIRE</a><i>, was published in 2011. Anju is
represented by Bob Diforio, D4EO Literary Agency, and writes fiction to bridge cultures and break barriers. She is currently at work on her third
novel in the </i>WINDS OF FIRE<i> series.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Literary
Juice: According to your biography, you were first published at the age of
seven. At what age did you know you wanted to be a writer? Do you remember what
it was that commenced this desire?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Anju
Gattani: </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I will never forget that moment, the thrill of
seeing my poem with my name and age printed in Hong Kong’s English leading
newspaper, <i>South China Morning Post</i>!! </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Yes, I was seven at the time and I continued
to write poems, submit entries and win essay competitions too. But I didn’t
realize I wanted to be a writer, a professional writer, until much later… in my
early 20s. I enrolled in a journalism / creative writing course in Australia,
began to get real feedback on my assignments from published authors along with
a lot of encouragement. And that’s when the real journey began.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I was published and received my first check by an
English language women’s magazine in India for short fiction in 1994. I also began
freelancing for <i>New Woman</i> magazine in Mumbai, then added two more (<i>Singapore
Women’s Weekly, Motherhood</i>) in Singapore and an expatriate magazine in Hong
Kong to my list. I was juggling the freelancing while raising two boys and
globe-trotting (because of my husband’s job) from India to Singapore, Australia
and the U.S.A.. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
Your debut novel, <i>Duty and Desire</i>, is
unique in the sense that its story has rarely been done by anyone else. Not
only that, it has been well-received on Amazon, and lauded by New York Times
Best-Selling Author, Haywood Smith. When did you first realize this story
needed to be told, and why? How have your own experiences helped shape its
narrative? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">AG:
</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
story and characters actually found me… back in 2000 / 2001 shortly after we
moved from Singapore to the U.S. I was taking a nap one afternoon (an exhausted
mom of a then 2 and 6 year old boys) when I woke up sweating, my heart ready to
burst from my chest. I’d had a vivid dream that felt like a movie in real-time.
I had never seen or experienced anything like this before and knew it wasn’t
another article or short fiction story waiting to be told. This was different.
Something bigger and definitely more complex. I had no clue what I was dealing
with but since the scope of the visual was colossal, like a movie, I figured it
might be a bigger story. After much research on ‘writing the novel’ I realized
it might well be a fiction novel. However, when I started writing the
manuscript that’s when the novel grew more complex. The story didn’t fit in one
book or two… I learned I was dealing with a series. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
Who is your target audience? What is it you hope to convey through the pen?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">AG:
</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I’d
say women from 18+ since the books fall under cross-cultural women’s fiction.
However, at previous book club meetings I’ve had a few men attend the event and
the topics and discussions have widely piqued their interests. That has been
such a welcome surprise… to know that what you are writing touches the hearts
and lives of men and women from diverse cultures and backgrounds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I hope readers will enjoy Sheetal’s story and
realize never to give up. Sometimes we feel trapped, boxed-in with no way out
of a situation, but there is always a way out and forward. You just have to
take a different approach… a new perspective. <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
What does a typical day writing look like for you? Do you ever experience writer’s
block, or any obstacles that impede your work? What are some strategies you
employ to help overcome these obstacles?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">AG:
</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I
also have a part-time day job so I try to fit the writing in chunks of pre-allocated
time. However, life has a tendency of throwing surprises and that means a lot
of juggling. I’m also huge into fitness and working out so I usually begin my
day with a 1-hr workout at the gym - this also helps get the creative juices
flowing and ideas running. Once I’m showered and dressed I sit down and write.
I’ll take a break for lunch and then continue writing again. But ‘writing’ can
also diverge into re-writing, revisions, edits or research. So it can be a
combination of several different factors and no 2 writing days are the same.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Research can slow down the momentum of the story if
I haven’t sufficiently tackled it or don’t have a good enough handle on the
issue I’m dealing with. I’d like to ‘knock on wood’ when I say I’ve not yet
experience writer’s block. What I continue to battle however, is finding the
right word or combination of words to say exactly what I mean. It can really be
frustrating! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Strategies that have worked for me can range from
dark chocolate to coffee breaks to simply taking a break. Breaking off from the
pressure of the moment, getting out of the hot-seat and doing something else
for a while is usually the best remedy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
Are you currently working on any new projects? What can readers look forward to
from you in the future?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">AG:
</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ve
just signed a 3-book deal with Scarsdale Publishing, NY, and we’re moving
full-steam ahead with the <i>Winds of Fire</i> series. I’m currently working on the
third book and all 3 are slated for 2018 / 2019 releases. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Website: <a href="http://www.anjugattani.com/">www.anjugattani.com</a><br />
Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/anju_gattani?lang=en" target="_blank">@anju_gattani</a><br />
Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Anju.Gattani.Author/" target="_blank">Anju Gattani Author</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Duty-Desire-Anju-Gattani/dp/193757301X/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1501693659&sr=8-7&keywords=duty+and+desire" target="_blank">Purchase this Book</a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Fiction by ANJU GATTANI</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Publisher: Greenbrier Book Company, LLC</span></b></div>
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<b style="background-color: #fafff2; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">ISBN-10:<span style="font-weight: normal;"> 193757301X</span></span></b></div>
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<b style="background-color: #fafff2; font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> ISBN-13: </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">978-1937573010</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">304pp</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">About this Book: </span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">How Can Happiness Survive When Duty Clashes With Desire? Sheetal Prasad has it all: youth, beauty, wealth, and education. But when this modern Indian woman surrenders love for honor and marries into India's most glamorous "royal family," those very advantages turn against her.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;"> </span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786419724377038641.post-84813564677600813452017-04-07T07:06:00.001-07:002017-06-07T07:19:50.451-07:00Q & A with Jack e Lorts | Poet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Jack e Lorts, ex Southern California suburbanite, fled to Oregon in
the 1970’s to teach in rural schools. His poems have appeared infrequently
since the late 1950’s in a wide variety of literary magazines. Much of his
recent work, particularly his “Ephram Pratt” poems, appear on-line in </i>Haggard
and Halloo<i>, </i>Elohi Gadugi<i>, </i>Literary Juice<i>, </i>Locust<i>, </i>Poetry Breakfast<i>, </i>Dead
Snakes<i>, etc. He is the author of three chapbooks including “The Meeting-Place of Words”
(2010) from Pudding House Publications. Lorts has been married 56 years, and has 3 daughters and 21
grandkids. </i></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Literary
Juice: You have been published before in Literary Juice (January 2016; <i>Ephram Pratt Sings from the Word Box</i>).
Who is Ephram Pratt? How is he important to your poetry and everyday life?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Jack
e Lorts: </b>I first met Ephram
Pratt in a poem back in 2008; I didn’t know him previously & he is not
related to a minor historical figure I’ve since found on the Internet. He is in
all likelihood of the Tribe of Ephram in the book of Numbers, and I also think
he may be an alter-ego or doppelganger of mine who talks about things I may
feel somewhat reluctant to deal with in my poems. Since meeting him, he has
assisted me in writing something short of 800 of my “Poems of Ephram Pratt.” I
have been writing seriously since the 1950’s, but the past several years Ephram
seems to be monopolizing the bulk of my writing time.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
What does a typical day of writing look like for you? Do you have a set routine?
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>JeL:
</b>The day after I graduated from college and started
teaching in 1962, my wife and I had twin daughters, add another daughter 18
months later, and our life for the next quarter of a century became teaching
school and raising kids—my writing taking a back seat for many years. However,
over those years I did find time to continue some writing and had poems appear infrequently
in various obscure places as well as magazines like English Journal, Kansas
Quarterly, etc. In those earlier years, my writing took place late at night
when the rest of the house slept; now in more recent times, my writing &
reading time begins 6:00 or 7:00 a.m. and runs through mid-morning. For the
past 15-20 years I’ve written primarily on my computer, whereas earlier it may have
been in longhand or on the typewriter. There’s a well-known story told about
Ruth Stone, how her poems chased after her and it became her challenge to
capture them before they were gone. In similar manner, my poems come when they
come, and I need to be ready to nab them. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
According to your biography, you have been published since the late 50’s. When
did you know you wanted to be a poet? Do you remember the moment specifically?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>JeL:
</b>I began writing poems during my high school years in
the mid 50’s. I found I loved to play with words, I returned to Mother Gooses,
then found Robert Service and Sandburg, and in 1957, I came across Allen
Ginsberg and the beats. Ginsberg blew the top of my head off, and I’ve never
been quite the same since. As obvious, I live a very different life-style than
Ginsberg, but admire his values and the great power & playfulness of his language.
I’ve inherited much from him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">First published in the late 1950’s, in one particular issue of
Nomad, the LA based avant garde journal, I appeared alongside Ginsberg, Cid Corman,
Larry Eigner, Russell Edson, Marvin Bell, Denise Levertov, Gael Turnbull, Ron
Loewinsohn & Clarence Major, also appearing about that time in Ron
Padgett’s White Dove Review. I often wonder what happened to me, when many of
those poets went on to become among the most significant poets of the era. </span><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
What do you feel sets a good poem apart from a bad one? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>JeL:
</b>What a difficult
questions! A good poem for me must have a musicality of joy, which makes me
want to read & read & read it, over & over & over again, sheer
joy in its sound. It also must admit to
some kind of insight, a great insight as in Dover Beach or Anecdote of the Jar
or an insight so slight that it floats lightly on the thin skin of a bubble,
thin as air, but real as the rings of a tree.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
Are you currently working on any new projects? What can readers look forward to
from you in the future?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>JeL: </b>Although all kinds of
poems chase me down from time to time, as I mentioned earlier, most of my time the
past several years has been spent with my Ephram Pratt poems. I consider my
Ephram Pratt poems an extended surrealistic sequence, also being influenced
somewhat by the “language school.” In most cases, the poems come unbidden, they
just begin to happen and they flow in an almost automatic writing manner. They
touch on strange, esoteric and unrelated subjects and have almost exclusively
been arriving in unrhymed couplets. I love to wallow in them, not knowing what
or where or when or why they are going where they’re going, but loving every
minute of them. One of the last projects
Jennifer Bosveld of Pudding House was working on for me before her untimely
death was a chapbook selectio<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>n entitled “The Love Songs
of Ephram Pratt.” The book is again seeking publication in an expanded version,
as is a kind of a retrospective of my 60 years of poetry, “A Space of
Ignorance.”</span><i> </i></span><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786419724377038641.post-56802128649348013072016-11-28T10:55:00.000-08:002016-11-28T10:55:28.829-08:00Q & A with Allen Forrest | Artist<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Born
in Canada and bred in the U.S., Allen Forrest has worked in many mediums:
computer graphics, theater, digital music, film, video, drawing and painting.
Allen studied acting in the Columbia Pictures Talent Program in Los Angeles and
digital media in art and design at Bellevue College. He currently works in Vancouver,
Canada, as a graphic artist and painter. He is the winner of the Leslie Jacoby
Honor for Art at San Jose State University's Reed Magazine and his Bel Red
painting series is part of the Bellevue College Foundation's permanent art
collection. Forrest's expressive drawing and painting style is a mix of
avant-garde expressionism and post-Impressionist elements reminiscent of van
Gogh, creating emotion on canvas.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Literary
Juice: How long have you been creating art? Is it something you would define as
inherent? </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Allen
Forrest: </b>For almost 10 years I have been drawing and painting. Art was
inherent, but I had forgotten my need for it. After going through Orgonomic
(Reichian) therapy, I found I had to get involved in creating art. During the
therapy I started thinking about art until it was on my mind so much of the
time I was compelled to do something about it. I drew and painted naturally as
a child, but lost my way as I grew up.
For many years I searched in different creative arenas. Thanks to the therapy, I
got back in touch with art again.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
What is it that influences or inspires your work? What excites you the most as
an artist?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>AF:
</b>Other art inspires me, whether it is painting, music, film-making, photography,
writing, sculpture, any art form can
light my fire. I get the most excited when I see something I am working on
– work. That moment when it jumps off the canvas at you and says—here I am! </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
How, and where, do you work? Are there any techniques or methods that you
practice?</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>AF:
</b>I work both in my room and in my art studio, depending on the size of the work
or the medium. Large paintings are done in my studio, whereas smaller works on
paper are done at a table in my room. I try to draw every day and work in
different mediums. I like to work fast at first, then study the piece for awhile. I especially
do this when I paint. The initial fast sketch, then I slow down and study the
canvas, wait and see when I feel I can do more to it. Step by step I dial in
the completed painting, in stages, getting to know each stage and feeling when
it’s time to move forward.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
What is your least favorite kind of art? Why?</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>AF:
</b>Well, I wouldn’t say that I have a least favorite kind of art, but let’s say
art that I don’t examine and consider as much as I do others. For instance, I
don’t look at pop art that much. I don’t feel there’s much depth there. Even
the photographic representational art style I find more a technical
accomplishment than a creative one. I’d rather spend more time studying Expressionism
in its early forms all the way to its abstract works.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
Is there anything you are currently working on that excites you?</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>AF:
</b>I have been pushing my drawing style into different avenues for the last couple
of years, and I am now getting a look that I like very much. I am using this new
style to create different series work, some of which is for books and
magazines, some just for myself. I have also taking this looser chance-driven
style into my painting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">**You can find Forrest's works in our December '16/January '17 issue <a href="http://www.literaryjuice.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786419724377038641.post-72707508737796572242016-09-25T09:17:00.001-07:002016-09-25T09:17:05.088-07:00Q & A with Addie Scoggin | Poet | Author of CURIOSITY
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_lGjofonXy798TRlBuitjeQXTfGIoPqcEvjY8RZlibdBZP0AkuO4xR-iPOZyP8Tiqnn3nNfS_KcEsJX7DBA2SlqXMNbiMsfaDH2FD6PwixXFEagFBmB4EzyNfE1GacGjL26kx8et6vJE/s1600/IMG_5389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_lGjofonXy798TRlBuitjeQXTfGIoPqcEvjY8RZlibdBZP0AkuO4xR-iPOZyP8Tiqnn3nNfS_KcEsJX7DBA2SlqXMNbiMsfaDH2FD6PwixXFEagFBmB4EzyNfE1GacGjL26kx8et6vJE/s320/IMG_5389.JPG" title="Addie Scoggin" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="color: #222222;">Addie
Scoggin, age 24, is an adjunct English instructor in Southeast
Missouri who enjoys all levels of adventure across the globe. She
finds her greatest pleasure when teaching English collides with
exotic travels; thus, in her downtime, you can find this avid kayaker
floating down the muddy, spring-fed rivers of the Midwest.</span></i></div>
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<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; </style><b>Literary Juice: “Curiosity” is your first
poem published with <i>Literary Juice</i>. Can you tell us about the
inspiration for composing this piece? How long did it take you to
develop its form? What techniques, if any, did you employ as a guide? </b></div>
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<b> </b>
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<b>Addie Scoggin: </b>Liz Gilbert, definitely. When I wrote
“Curiosity” this summer, the initial draft came out in the form
of a two page short story. It existed as my response, or rather my
knee-jerk reaction, to Liz Gilbert’s book, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Big-Magic-Creative-Living-Beyond/dp/1594634726/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474819534&sr=8-1&keywords=big+magic+elizabeth+gilbert" target="_blank">Big Magic</a>. </i>The
concept behind her book was this:<i> </i>in order to live a creative
life, we must repeatedly “choose curiosity over fear.” I had
never heard creativity defined in this way. Through her book, I
developed a metacognitive awareness of my own creativity, especially
in terms of my writing and my way of life. </div>
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In reaction to her book, I immediately
compiled my short story narrative, capturing my feelings and former
creative limitations, and in a mad rush, I tossed the piece in my
Master’s thesis the night before it was due. But it didn’t stop
there. </div>
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I kept re-reading my short story,
frustrated with it. It wasn’t complete. So there I sat,
cross-legged on my couch until at 4 a.m.; and finally, the finished
product. I “smashed it,” (as I like to say), into a poem.</div>
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Now structuring the piece—considering
line breaks, stanzas, punctuation—that was more of a happenstance.
When it hit me, I had been sitting on my couch for a couple hours,
and hanging up on the living room wall in front of me was a map of
the world. It just happened. That was it. </div>
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<i>I could make this into a map</i>, I
thought. </div>
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Considering the subject of my Master’s
thesis, a travel memoir, this poem harmonized with the rest of my
work. But honestly, I haven’t created anything quite like this
before, especially format-wise. Thus, in order to perfect the form, I
chose a digital outline map of the Americas, allowing the text of my
poem to lay on top of the image, and I shaped the words, line breaks,
and punctuation within the boundaries of the map. The biggest
struggle was shaping North America, as it looked disproportionate to
South America. </div>
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<b>LJ: How long have you been writing
poetry? Do you remember how it began?</b></div>
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<b>AS: </b>This is a fun question. I wish I had a
more impressive answer, but I had never written poetry until two
years ago. </div>
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I remember it well. It was two years
ago when I started graduate school, and I was thrust into an advanced
poetry class. Sitting in the corner, downright terrified of the
infinite brilliance of those warming the seats next to me, I
attempted my first poem. They were laughable, mediocre at best. </div>
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About the fourth or fifth poem I wrote
for this poetry workshop, I edged out of my shell. I wrote a daring
piece on the topic of “American Exceptionalism” and how it
relates to my two year relationship with my Muslim boyfriend. The
poem was meant for those who reduced and rejected my association with
Tareq, my boyfriend, largely due to American Islamophobia. And to my
surprise, I received some volatile and explosive reactions from
fellow students in the class. This allowed me to put my
counter-cultural views into perspective and reflect on my lifestyle
in the rural Midwest. From this moment on, I decided to play it
“safe” for the rest of my poetry writing in the class. </div>
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It was the worst thing that I could’ve
done. </div>
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I’ve since written one poem, and that
was “Curiosity.” Thankfully, I feel I’ve somewhat regained my
voice; after all, I remind myself often that curiosity trumps fear.
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<b>LJ: What do you do to prevent
writer’s block?</b></div>
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<b>AS: </b>I like to detach myself from the public
and, in some way, that produces better thoughts, better work.
Isolation works, followed by more isolation. </div>
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If I linger in that mental jam, I
remind myself that it’s not about <i>what</i> I’m writing or <i>how</i>
I’m writing, but <i>why</i> I’m writing. <i>I write to tell
truth</i>,<i> Addie</i>. Often, when I have writer’s block, it’s
a direct result of my fear to be original and creative. I’ve noticed, as writers, we’re
afraid that we have no talent. We’re afraid that we will be
rejected, mocked, or misunderstood. But I simply remind myself to
accept that writing is scary, and I don’t let it petrify myself.
Instead, I write to satisfy only myself.
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<b>LJ: Are you currently working on any
new projects? What can we look forward to in the future?</b></div>
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<b>AS:</b> My largest, most recent project is the
aforementioned travel memoir. Since my thesis was accepted, I’ve
added more pieces to this on-going project. I cannot wait to finish
this massive piece. </div>
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For me, however, writing is the
unscratchable itch. It hits me in the most unexpected moments:
driving, waitressing, showering. And naturally, the inspiration is
fleeting; if I don’t capture the thought right then, it’s gone
forever. Occasionally, I only record half of it and lose the rest.
Therefore, I have several piles of unfinished poems. I’m completing
them slowly but surely.
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786419724377038641.post-75272173263637514772016-07-05T08:16:00.002-07:002016-07-14T10:37:00.345-07:00Q & A with Sun Yung Shin 신 선 영 | Poet & Author | Author of UNBEARABLE SPLENDOR<span id="docs-internal-guid-97c51362-bb85-d728-f841-715a9f781478"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7C2VITNe4GBM7CmJtEq1Z0JWZlleFKJj9uDJkB7oh1bIWC5aL_aNvY99QoIUF-Xn-0JlSAkNWscR6H-Hu5MAB3UAgg4KxSoAzBURDPy0KpuEzORChQdSwlBejGiJQlxhRJnYhikg9Lk/s1600/Sun+Yung+Shin+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7C2VITNe4GBM7CmJtEq1Z0JWZlleFKJj9uDJkB7oh1bIWC5aL_aNvY99QoIUF-Xn-0JlSAkNWscR6H-Hu5MAB3UAgg4KxSoAzBURDPy0KpuEzORChQdSwlBejGiJQlxhRJnYhikg9Lk/s320/Sun+Yung+Shin+photo.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sun Yung Shin </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">신 선 영</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b> </b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is the editor of</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Good-Time-Truth-Race-Minnesota/dp/168134002X" target="_blank">A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota</a></u></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i> the author of poetry collections</i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Unbearable-Splendor-Sun-Yung-Shin/dp/1566894514/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1467731024&sr=1-2&keywords=unbearable+splendor" style="text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Unbearable Splendor</a>,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <u><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rough-Savage-Sun-Yung-Shin/dp/1566893143/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1467731076&sr=1-1&keywords=rough+and+savage" target="_blank">Rough, and Savage</a></u>, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>and</i> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Skirt-Full-Black-Yung-Shin/dp/156689199X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1467731121&sr=1-1&keywords=skirt+full+of+black" target="_blank">Skirt Full of Black</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (all from Coffee House Press). </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>She is a co-editor of</i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Outsiders-Within-Writing-Transracial-Adoption/dp/0896087646/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1467731152&sr=1-1&keywords=outsiders+within" target="_blank">Outsiders Within: Writing on Transracial Adoption</a></u></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>and the author of bilingual illustrated book for children</i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Coopers-Lesson-English-Korean-Yung/dp/0892393610/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1467731180&sr=1-1&keywords=cooper%27s+lesson" target="_blank">Cooper’s Lesson</a></u></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Literary Juice: When did you first realize you wanted to be a poet? Do you remember the first poem you ever wrote? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Sun Yung Shin:</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I wrote a poem in graduate school; I was getting my teaching license. It was a response to an assignment in an education course. The poem was kind of an imagistic lyric that included a goldfish! My professor and his wife were very encouraging and then from there I started reading poetry and writing poetry and fell in love with it. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">LJ: You were originally born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised by a Polish-Irish-German Catholic American family in Chicago, according to your biography. How has your background influenced your identity as a poet?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>SYS: </b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A major strand that influences my identity as a poet is being an immigrant. I have always been more or less on the outside of the nationalistic discourse of who and what America has been. For example, going to the bookstore or the public library and going to the “Asian History” or “Asia” shelf, “Korea” might have half a shelf and most of the books, up until recently would have been Korean War books written from a white U.S. military perspective. There are more books now, but very few that are translated from Korean, if any, in any mainstream book space. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">LJ: Do you tend to incorporate a constant theme in your poetry? Why is that theme important to you?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>SYS: </b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Metal is an important motif in my poetry, that is something that came out unconsciously early on and I haven’t been able to suppress it; it is a major medium, a language, of human innovation and evolution--which includes wealth and war and mechanization. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">LJ: What do you hope to inspire in others through your poetry?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>SYS:</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I suppose if anything I would hope to inspire, or at least share my love of language as well as share my own perspective, my “subjectivity,” which doesn’t exist anywhere else in American culture. The values that are important to me are freedom of speech and ideas, freedom of the press, democracy, feminism, peace-building through justice building, and liberation, in particular of girls and women; but really anyone who is a victim of systematized, historical oppression and marginalization. But I also don’t want art to be propaganda. Just exploring the complexities of the human condition honestly is an act of freedom and an affirmation of the individual. I guess I would also like to honor the collective aspect of life and human solidarity... and explore how we are interdependent, and not just human beings, but all life forms and matter, if at all possible. That all sounds lofty, but I think when it comes down to it all artists need to follow their curiosity and try to do their best work and also understand that all work is political in nature...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">LJ: Recently, you have published a collection of essays called, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Good Time for Truth</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which includes contributions from sixteen writers from Minnesota. Alexs Pate, author and president, Innocent Technologies, LLC, states, “You will not be able to read this book without changing. Minnesota will never be the same.” Can you tell us a little bit about this book? Also, what did you look for in a contributor before publication? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>SYS:</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I was very frustrated with, and anguished by, all of the discourse around race in Minnesota being mostly by white media and white speakers with other white speakers. Those impacted the most brutally were not at the table of these conversations, and not at the leadership tables of so many major institutions in Minnesota. I was certainly inspired to increased urgency by the ongoing, and now highly and instantaneously recorded and visible, epidemic of violence against black and brown bodies--people. I knew that many amazing writers of color had things to say that all Minnesotans could benefit from; I am a believer in anthologies because I believe my first (co-)edited anthology, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Outsiders Within</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, has had a positive impact internationally on the racial and transnational politics of transracial adoption. I myself have benefited from reading many anthologies that have helped me grow politically--especially in understanding the concepts of intersectionality and global feminism.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What I looked for in a contributor was mostly someone who has been writing smartly and boldly about race for years, someone who has been dedicated to telling the truth about racism even though there’s a cost. They also had to be terrific artists (writers) and be able to bring all kinds of readers in through the power and nuance of their language--imagery, metaphor, etc. (a lot of the writers are poets first). They had to be authentic, they had to be fearless, and they had to be committed to making the world a better place. And I found them. I am so happy, and grateful, and lucky to work with these amazing people. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">LJ: Are you currently working on any new books? What can we look forward to in the future?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>SYS:</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I am. My next book comes out in October 2016 from Coffee House Press. It’s a book of essays, fiction, and poems titled</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Unbearable Splendor</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. One of the major themes I explore in it is the politics of hospitality. In the book are all kinds of things: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Odyssey</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, cyborgs, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blade Runner</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, the Minotaur of Crete, Pinocchio, clones, and all manner of fun things! </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-97c51362-bb89-6576-a67d-7023564b349f"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I may also be working on a book about clones as well as new poems loosely based on the figure of Blake’s Tyger. I also want to write a book set in the future--maybe with zombies or cyborgs or both. </span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Unbearable-Splendor-Sun-Yung-Shin/dp/1566894514/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1467731290&sr=1-2&keywords=unbearable+splendor" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Purchase this Book</span></b></a></div>
</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Collection by Sun Yung Shin</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Publisher: Coffee House Press</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">ISBN-10:<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>1566894514</b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Paperback: $14.03</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18.2px;"><b>About this Book: "</b></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.4px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Sun Yung Shin moves ideas—of identity (Korean, American, adoptee, mother, Catholic, Buddhist) and interest (mythology, science fiction, Sophocles)— around like building blocks, forming and</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.4px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">reforming new constructions of what it means to be at home."</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786419724377038641.post-18313278493255806252016-05-15T07:11:00.000-07:002016-05-15T07:30:29.360-07:00Q & A with Truth Thomas | Singer-Songwriter & Poet | Founder of CHERRY CASTLE PUBLISHING<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9cvSG8z8l3ggf4lukiJT0qfUF5oHeXXrfUhWOf6uWPK7uvEdG-9qqjebYCIAga7I_Q4Xaz5w2NlfgQEo_WlArd1ZOpyCnBuD4gJiXN_u-VOMYXbEdn-eTLGf9bhiu9VsmaJVvAEL-0MU/s1600/truth-thomas-photo-by-melanie-henderson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9cvSG8z8l3ggf4lukiJT0qfUF5oHeXXrfUhWOf6uWPK7uvEdG-9qqjebYCIAga7I_Q4Xaz5w2NlfgQEo_WlArd1ZOpyCnBuD4gJiXN_u-VOMYXbEdn-eTLGf9bhiu9VsmaJVvAEL-0MU/s320/truth-thomas-photo-by-melanie-henderson.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 115%;">Truth
Thomas is a singer-songwriter and poet.
He is the founder of </span><a href="http://www.cherrycastlepublishing.com/" style="font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 115%;" target="_blank">Cherry Castle Publishing</a><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 115%;">. His poetry collections
include: </span><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Party-Black-Mouthmark-Truth-Thomas/dp/1905233124" target="_blank">Party of Black</a></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 115%;">, </span><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Day-Presence-Truth-Thomas/dp/0981858406" target="_blank">A Day of Presence</a></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 115%;">, </span><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bottle-Life-Truth-Thomas/dp/0981858422/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1463320471&sr=1-1&keywords=bottle+of+life+truth+thomas" target="_blank">Bottle of Life</a></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 115%;">, and </span><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Speak-Water-Truth-Thomas-ebook/dp/B008B8WKFQ?ie=UTF8&keywords=speak%20water%20truth%20thomas&qid=1463320497&ref_=sr_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Speak Water</a></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 115%;">, winner of the 2013 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work
in Poetry. His poems have appeared in over 100 publications, including </span><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 115%;">The 100 Best African American Poems</span><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 115%;">
(edited by Nikki Giovanni).</span></div>
<br />
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<b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Literary Juice: As someone who is
both a poet and a singer-songwriter, what makes writing poetry different from
writing music? How does your background in one influence your composition in
the other?</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Truth
Thomas:</span></b><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Other than distinctions that mark physical
differences between writing poetry (perhaps on a notepad, or computer) from the
composition of songs on a musical instrument, the creative mindset is not
altogether different -- although there are differences. Success in both art
forms requires the work of yielding to imagination. That imagination does not
exist as an alien in its own body. I am
not the first to say that in music, it often takes a long to time to sound like
yourself. The same thing is true for a poet.
Many times your writing will fail. (I can tell you this from
experience.) And sometimes, after much hard work, you will be blessed to
succeed. Ideally, whatever you write should be unique, allergic to cliché, and
reflect an almost holy reverence to the concision of words. However, when I approach the discipline of
songwriting, in contrast to the practice of poetry, I have to be mindful of
melodic strength, as well as lyric potency.
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Great poems are
complete artistic worlds unto themselves, simply because of their lyric
crafting. No musical accompaniment is needed for them “to work.” They resonate
with renewed meaning with every reading.
A layering of themes and inaccessibility is frequently valued. The same craft elements are not required for
a song to be great -- nor should they be.
Especially, if you are involved in commercial music, the point that a
song makes is something that is intended to be immediately accessible. Where prose is often considered antithetical
to poetry, <i>fresh</i> prose, with poetic
elements is the benchmark of many finely written songs. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Regarding the second part
of your question, songwriting taught me to listen well to life, to write
honestly about it, and about the importance of playing on time. In the context of writing poems of witness,
and honoring the place of rhythm in my poetry, those music lessons continue to
carry over. Fundamentally, I am a
musician. Poetry is just a new instrument that I have learned to play. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">LJ: In 1992, you changed your name
from Glenn Edward Thomas to Truth Thomas. Can you give a little history
regarding your name, and the part it plays in both your life and art today?</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">T: </span></b><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Actually,
I didn’t completely change my name. I revised it to Truth Glenn Edward Thomas.
After that, for spiritual and artistic reasons, I condensed the designation
down to Truth Thomas. The inspiration for the shift came in the form a very
vivid dream. There is more about that
dream that will have to remain a matter only for my pillow to know, but
essentially the change was in response to divine prompting for growth.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Glenn Edward Thomas was
completely a musician, and that was cool. Truth Thomas is a father, musician,
poet, publisher, and many other growing things. Whatever is not growing in life
is moving in the direction of caskets. The post ’92 name -- who I am now --
reminds me of the significance of personal reinvention, and it also reminds me
of the importance of ongoing growth.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It bears mentioning
that to be called “Truth” is not a matter of being particularly candid, either
in relationships or in art -- although, understandably, many people tend to
think so. I cannot say that I am any more direct, pious, honest, or holy than I
have ever been. However, my determination to be a drum major for those
qualities has certainly been more keen since the name change. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">LJ: I’ve noticed that race plays a
significant role in your poetry. As an African-American, have you ever been
faced with prejudices in your personal life or at any time in your career as a
writer? In what ways have these prejudices influenced you as a poet, and how
were you able to overcome them? </span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">T:</span></b><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
I write about all aspects of my life, which, as a black man, includes the
subject of racism. To be sure, the unresolved legacy of slavery, and its
byproduct of ever-expanding race-based hatred, impacts our nation profoundly.
The cold fact of that bigotry is as significant to the American experience as
was a much storied iceberg to the Titanic. To ignore the reality that race
plays in the cultural currents of the United States is not a luxury that I can
afford. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Yes, I have been called
names far from divine by skinheads on the street. And yes, as it pertains to my
career, I’ve have had poems that deal with race rejected by many “so called”
mainstream publications -- although they would never admit to this. However,
when you take in the thematic scope of what many iconic poetry journals
routinely publish, the notable absence of almost any address of racism -- or
writers of color -- seems far from accidental.
The white gaze in the editorial world often expects writers of color to
either be colorless in their literary work, or write “feel good” poems about
race issues that do not challenge the status quo. The pressure to be a
"poetic good negro," in order to get published, is not foreign to me.
In that way, racism routinely -- albeit unsuccessfully -- tries to repress my
voice and make my humanity invisible.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I confront all
adversity first by prayer, and then by positive creative action. As long as I
know I am writing well, and with forthrightness, modern day Jim Crow
manifestations give me little pause.
Some people climb mountains and write about vistas of nature with
startling beauty. Those writers have great value and I applaud them. I choose
to write about the black experience in America, which continues to confront
mountains of "un-trumped" hatred. Poems that document our problematic
landscape also have great value -- and I know this. Consequently, I have learned to applaud
myself when no one else will.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">LJ: Your midrashic poetry
collection, <i>Speak Water</i>, which has
won the 2013 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in Poetry, is
described as being “framed by both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible…”
Why incorporate the Bible in this collection? In what ways does the Scripture
help communicate the message in your poetry? </span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">T:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Parallelisms, rich imagery, and vivid figures of speech
abound in both the Old and New Testaments.
Acrostics are striking in Psalms. Beatitudes in Matthew resonate with
anaphora. In a sense, the Bible is a
centuries enduring, transformative, bestselling book of poetry. As a writer,
you learn to study the masters and to incorporate the lessons learned into your
own work in order to grow. I studied the Bible as inspiration for writing <i>Speak Water</i> precisely for that reason --
and as a matter of personal transformation. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One of the key themes in Scripture, particularly in the New
Testament, is the idea of overcoming what is disagreeable in the spirit of
love. When I considered the composition of <i>Speak
Water</i>, I wanted to express similar “overcoming” themes, commenting
specifically on racism, sexism, and many other American social ills, by way of
midrashic improvisation. Arguably, framing
poems in Scripture imbues pieces with a bridge to the familiar that draws
readers in and amplifies their impact. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">LJ: You are the founder of Cherry Castle Publishing. Can you tell us about the mission of your company, and what
sets it apart from other publishers?</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">T:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Cherry Castle Publishing embraces the work of all people.
We are actively engaged in reflecting literary art that mirrors the unfiltered
social and political state of contemporary America. What also distinguishes us
is that we esteem the work of writers of color, political poets, and writers
committed to social justice concerns. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Along those lines, next year, we will be publishing <i>Songs for a Passbook Torch: A Nelson Mandela
Poetry Anthology </i>--<i> </i>which is the
first anthology of its kind that I am aware of<i>. </i>This project is
international in scope (and I encourage all your writer-readers to submit their
work for publishing consideration by simply emailing pieces to:
songsforapassbooktorch@gmail.com). The reverence for social activism <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>embodied in the anthology is indicative of the overall
spirit of our press. </span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">LJ: What is the best advice you’ve
ever received from someone on how to succeed in your art? </span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">T:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Work hard. Read, study, and listen to the work of the
masters. Take what you can use, but keep your own voice. Practice daily. Write
daily. Don’t compare yourself with other artists. Be confident in your own
uniqueness. Don’t be afraid to take risks in your work. And above all, cultivate your talents fully.
The winning ticket of these efforts is yours alone to redeem.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwIcv2ixzWcq3YkTh97beUw3c8znTPaUfo-5C34Jb5l0VGtmgkAG_dlTQxN80k04GeQPTz-Knf1o-ZCPhTEu4HRVOwCuwzkDENqa3-VvU9QbXB4kRW4T2BC62pbwM_PVQ-RKcElRImQ_M/s1600/speakwatertruththomas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwIcv2ixzWcq3YkTh97beUw3c8znTPaUfo-5C34Jb5l0VGtmgkAG_dlTQxN80k04GeQPTz-Knf1o-ZCPhTEu4HRVOwCuwzkDENqa3-VvU9QbXB4kRW4T2BC62pbwM_PVQ-RKcElRImQ_M/s200/speakwatertruththomas.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Speak-Water-Truth-Thomas-ebook/dp/B008B8WKFQ?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0" target="_blank">Purchase this Book</a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Poetry by Truth Thomas</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Publisher: <a href="http://us.macmillan.com/smp" style="color: #5e5e5e; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">C</a>herry Castle Publishing</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">ASIN:<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>B008B8WKFQ</b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Kindle: $7.99</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>About this Book: "</b><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.4px;">Truth Thomas' </span><i style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.4px;">Speak Water</i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.4px;"> won the 2013 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in Poetry. It chronicles the human quest to conquer hate with love, a grand and piercing collection of midrashic poetry, written from an African-American perspective. It is framed by both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, as each poem references some aspect of every book contained in Scripture. This homecoming work, Thomas' third full collection of verses, is the first to be published in the United States, and reflects breakthrough poetry from one of America's finest writers." </span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786419724377038641.post-74344519972318874422015-04-09T08:52:00.000-07:002015-04-09T08:52:09.429-07:00Q & A with Joe Moore | Author of the SANTA CLAUS TRILOGY & RETURN OF THE BIRDS<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuS4cN7C0vnOLy8DsKQRROYw6MWTyiUjHI-M7jSSrixFHkxcsxYhf8iy0h5ZH-oA9bAnClzqnGXFgwdpoq1BZiIf8EsxAWvYbzoUGlhxA-WtedqhGSXAdUEAdyoHCTLATdr-YwQYOF_jc/s1600/Mary+&+me+with+children's%2Bbooks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuS4cN7C0vnOLy8DsKQRROYw6MWTyiUjHI-M7jSSrixFHkxcsxYhf8iy0h5ZH-oA9bAnClzqnGXFgwdpoq1BZiIf8EsxAWvYbzoUGlhxA-WtedqhGSXAdUEAdyoHCTLATdr-YwQYOF_jc/s1600/Mary+&+me+with+children's%2Bbooks.jpg" height="213" title="Joseph & Mary Moore - Santa Claus & Mrs. Claus" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe Moore (left) pictured with his wife, Mary.</td></tr>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Joe
Moore is not only a novelist and children's writer, he is also a magazine
feature writer, former business editor and a professional Santa Claus in the
latter part of the year. Having such a diverse background enables Joe to write
on a variety of subjects.</span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Literary
Juice: Your life seems to be brimming with Christmas magic! Not only are you
the author of the <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Believe-Again-North-Chronicles-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00B84JF3K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428593931&sr=8-1&keywords=santa+claus+trilogy+joe+moore" target="_blank">Santa Claus Trilogy</a></i>
and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jamie-Hardrock-Chief-Mining-Elf/dp/0978712978/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank">Santa’s Elf Series</a></i> at <a href="http://thenorthpolepress.com/" target="_blank">The North Pole Press</a>, but you have been a professional Santa Claus for over a decade as
well. What is it about Christmas that has shaped who you are today? Also, how
has your experience as a professional Santa Claus influenced your writing? </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Joe Moore:</b> To say Christmas has shaped my life is an understatement. It
began when my wife and I were building the North Pole from porcelain houses and
miniatures. What began as a quaint village sprung up into a huge display with
four different “sections” of the North Pole each with its own theme (think
Disneyland). What took place shortly after was numerous open houses to see this
spectacle and then the transition to me as Santa Claus in order to give “the
tour”.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Once I started down that path there was no returning. As my
wife, Mary (yes we are Mary and Joseph), and I developed our Santa and Mrs.
Claus personalities, I also began writing about the North Pole and the events
that took place there. While I have deviated from that theme in my last novel,
I still spend the bulk of my time there.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
On your LinkedIn page, you wrote of your 2011 Christmas story, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Hope-Reindeer-Joe-Moore/dp/0978712927/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank">Faith, Hope & Reindeer</a></i>, “Not since <i>Miracle on 34<sup>th</sup> Street</i> has
there been such a vital storyline for the holidays.” What do you feel is
missing in most modern Christmas stories? How does <i>Faith, Hope & Reindeer</i> fulfill what other holiday stories
lack? </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>JM: </b>While there have been some really great Christmas movies
produced on both the big and small screens, this story lines contains all the
magic, all the belief and the hope that represents Christmas bundled into one
beautifully wrapped gift. We all lose faith and hope from time to time, and
many of us will see ourselves in the characters of this story.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What <i>Faith, Hope & Reindeer </i>shows is that we are rarely ever
alone in our journey, and that magic and miracles are all around us if we only
will open our eyes and hearts.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
What does your writing process look like? For instance, when working on stories
with a Christmas theme, do you employ any techniques that help you keep the
holiday spirit alive, even after the season has ended?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>JM:</b> The season never really ends for me. Because I keep my beard and
long hair all year (along with my large frame), whether it is April or August, I
am always stopped by children and adults alike. What is wonderful is that this
always affords me the opportunity to bring my characters out of the closet and
parade them in front of my audience.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Many of my elves and their responsibilities began from talking
to children and answering their questions about me, Mrs, Claus, the reindeer
and the elves. When you can live your story lines, there is no better muse.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
On a different note, you have been working on novels of a different flavor. <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Return-Birds-Joe-Moore/dp/0978712994/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1428594095&sr=1-2&keywords=return+of+the+birds" target="_blank">Return of the Birds</a></i> and <i>The Chindi River</i> venture from the
Christmas nature for which you are known, and enter a realm of horror and
suspense. Can you tell us a little more about these books? What was it like to
make the transition from writing about holiday cheer to stories that are dark
and suspenseful in nature? </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>JM: </b>Light and dark exist in
every one of us. One of the biggest personal challenges I have is that if mood
is not great, I cannot leave the house for fear it may show to children or
anyone else expecting to see Santa Claus.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">By writing in a darker genre, I am able to release some of those
dark tendencies and take on a completely separate personality. Think of Stephen
King's <i>The Dark Half</i>, without the physical acting out. It is a great cleansing
of the soul to be able to write both genres.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
We couldn’t help but notice Mrs. Claus is always right at your side! We are
certain our readers would also love to hear about her as well! Are there any
projects or stories she is working on? </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>JM:</b> Without Mrs,
Claus, there would be no Santa – at least in this Jolly Old Elf's case. In
addition to supporting and playing a starring role in every thing we do as
Santa and Mrs. Mary designs my covers, illustrates the children's books,
formats and publishes the novels, is my
main sounding board, and of course is my first critic and editor. She was there
in the beginning helping me build and shape the North Pole (and subsequently my
ideas for the novels), and she continues to help me with new story ideas and
developing each new character for the <i>Santa's Elf Series</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">She is as much a part of everything I do as joy is a part of
Christmas.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Hope-Reindeer-Joe-Moore/dp/0978712927/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank">Purchase this Book</a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Fiction by Joe Moore</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Publisher: North Pole Press</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ISBN-10:<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>0978712927</b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Paperback: 376pp, </span></b><b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">$16.41; Kindle: $6.95</span></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">About this Book: </span></b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4000015258789px;">Santa Claus has treated many of the Moore's kindly. He inspired Clement Clark Moore into writing one of the most beloved poems in literary history. And now he has asked Joe Moore to write Santa's memoirs about several families who have visited him, the North Pole and its people. But this book is much more then a novel about Santa Claus. It is about families who have struggled through life and its adversities and are in need of a booster shot of Faith. It is about all of us who struggle in life, but never dare to give up Hope.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4000015258789px;"> </span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786419724377038641.post-78618337196591536322015-03-23T08:08:00.000-07:002015-03-23T12:09:47.849-07:00Q & A with Jan Moran | Author of SCENT OF TRIUMPH<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-NF2jwa2hIgnRv8sNXkZeG-5EXVUoTww0p2CxCkKPHA0H2znCl21VrvEBFF5l3DIXrsDWQTGYu-tp63Rv4prLvM9cPOPdLKL23BDFzofANlIC7LIPEm6zrA9hOIz2WBYn4_P7z1xdgY/s1600/Jan+Moran+testing+perfume+on+blotter+strips.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Q & A with author Jan Moran" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-NF2jwa2hIgnRv8sNXkZeG-5EXVUoTww0p2CxCkKPHA0H2znCl21VrvEBFF5l3DIXrsDWQTGYu-tp63Rv4prLvM9cPOPdLKL23BDFzofANlIC7LIPEm6zrA9hOIz2WBYn4_P7z1xdgY/s1600/Jan+Moran+testing+perfume+on+blotter+strips.png" height="200" title="Jan Moran" width="193" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jan Moran is a bestselling and award
winning author. She writes historical women's fiction for St. Martin's Press,
contemporary women's fiction, and nonfiction books. Her stories are smart and
stylish, and written with emotional depth. Jan often draws on her international
travel and business experiences, infusing her books with realistic details. <a href="http://www.midwestbookreview.com/" target="_blank">TheMidwest Book Review </a>and <a href="https://www.kirkusreviews.com/" target="_blank">Kirkus</a> have recommended her books, calling her heroines
strong, complex, and resourceful. Visit </span><a href="http://www.janmoran.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">www.JanMoran.com</span></a></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i> to learn more.</i></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Literary
Juice: With your professional background in beauty and fragrance, we can find
these elements deeply rooted in your writing. For instance, your recent novel, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Scent-Triumph-Novel-Perfume-Passion/dp/1250048907/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427119418&sr=8-1&keywords=scent+of+triumph" target="_blank">Scent of Triumph: A Novel of Perfume andPassion</a></i>, tells the story of a French perfumer who leaves behind her son and
her home in Poland at the brink of the Second World War. In what ways is
fragrance—as well as beauty, if applicable—used to influence this particular
story? How does it help evoke emotion, or convey the message you hope to share with
your readers?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Jan Moran: </b>In <i>Scent of Triumph</i>,
perfume and the natural ingredients from which fragrance compounds are derived
at this time in history figure prominently in the story. Besides being the main
character Danielle’s profession, perfume and ingredients are used in
characterization, mood, and setting. The journal entries at the beginning of
each chapter often relate to something in the chapter, or are used to set the
mood. Indeed, every aroma, plant, essential oil, and perfume was carefully
chosen.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
On Amazon, one reviewer wrote, in regards to <i>Scent of Triumph</i>, “The one word I would use to describe this sweeping
story is passion. Not romantic passion, although there is a wonderful love
story that develops, but a woman’s passion for her family, heritage, and
country.” <span style="background: white;">These
are meaningful words, and there are many more remarkable reviews like it. What
is it that influences, or brings about such passion in your writing? From where
did you draw your inspiration for <i>Scent
of Triumph</i>? <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>JM: </b>We all harbor deep desires, and I think readers
are picking up on these human commonalities.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">For example,
family is vitally important in this story; Danielle’s love and devotion to her
children is really the root of her ambition, as it is with many women who wish
to create a better life for themselves and their children. She is an ordinary
woman, who achieves extraordinary things despite heartache, tragedy, and
setbacks. Often Danielle must make a choice between equally heartbreaking
options. Sometimes she makes mistakes – as any of us might. But still, she
forges on and does the best she can. We admire those who have fine, strong
beliefs and never give up, especially in the face of adversity.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
Not only are you an author, but an entrepreneur, consultant and a major
brand/retailer spokesperson as well, according to <a href="http://thebentagency.com/">TheBentAgency.com</a>. When did
you start feeling the call to write fiction? Have you always wanted to write
fiction? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>JM: </b>I began writing fiction as a young girl, but life intervened.
However, I believe my work now is more layered now due to the experiences I’ve
had in life and in business. <i>Scent of
Triumph</i> was a labor of love, a fifteen year effort – on and off, course –
but like Danielle, I was determined. To me it was a story that must be told. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
What time management strategies do you employ that help you dedicate time to writing
your books while juggling other multiple roles in such a busy lifestyle? How
long does it normally take you to complete one book? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>JM: </b>Ah, time—the ticking clock is the bane of my existence!
Fortunately, I don’t juggle everything at once, though I do love having a grand
idea and seeing it through to fruition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As I mentioned, <i>Scent of
Triumph</i> was a fifteen-year effort, but now, a year is average for my
historical novels, with a few more months for editing. Historical fiction is a
demanding mistress – it involves intricate historical timelines onto which
every action and detail must be pegged and verified. I love including small
details, but the research involved is quite time consuming. Still, I love
writing historical fiction. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My contemporary fiction requires less time. I write it in
between historical novels for fun and as a way to recharge. I like to include
authentic details in these works, too, so many of these books draw on my personal
travels and experiences. Although the setting and tone in my contemporary works
are different from my historical novels, what these books have in common is the
heroines’ determination, values, and creativity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
Since publishing <i>Scent of Triumph</i>,
are you currently working on any other books? If so, can you give a hint of
what readers can look forward to in the future?
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>JM: </b>Right now I’m editing a historical novel that’s near to my heart.
It takes place in Italy, Paris, and California, where I live. Though not set
during World War II as <i>Scent of Triumph</i>
is, the World Wars do impact the story. This saga deals with secrets that often
thread through families, and I’m terribly excited about it. Again, I did a
tremendous amount of research and traveled to get a sense of history and place.
Look for it in spring of 2016 from St. Martin’s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the meantime, I have a couple of new novels in my
contemporary beauty series that will be published later in 2015. After <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Flawless-Hostile-Beauty-Novel-Book-ebook/dp/B00MK8Q0UE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427119603&sr=8-1&keywords=flawless+jan+moran" target="_blank">Flawless</a></i> and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Beauty-Mark-Hostile-Novel-Book-ebook/dp/B00N4LO1B6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427119627&sr=8-1&keywords=beauty+mark+jan+moran" target="_blank">Beauty Mark</a></i>, which are available now, the next up is <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Runway-Hostile-Beauty-Novel-Book-ebook/dp/B00RHWHS4K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427119669&sr=8-1&keywords=runway+jan+moran" target="_blank">Runway</a></i>. These stories are drawn from my
experiences in the beauty industry, and from my years of living in Beverly
Hills. I really enjoy writing these, too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Shortly I’ll begin working on my third historical novel. It’s
another idea I’ve had for a long time, and I’ve been doing research on it for
years. I’m thrilled to write this one and can’t wait to share it with readers,
too.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Scent-Triumph-Novel-Perfume-Passion/dp/1250048907/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427119418&sr=8-1&keywords=scent+of+triumph" target="_blank"> <b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Purchase this Book</span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Historical Fiction by Jan Moran</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Publisher: <a href="http://us.macmillan.com/smp" target="_blank">St. Martin's Griffin</a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ISBN-10:<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>1250048907</b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Paperback: 384pp, </span></b><b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">$11.99; Kindle: $9.99</span></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">About this Book: </span></b><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.4000015258789px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">When French perfumer Danielle Bretancourt steps aboard a luxury ocean liner, leaving her son behind in Poland with his grandmother, she has no idea that her life is about to change forever. The year is 1939, and the declaration of war on the European continent soon threatens her beloved family, scattered across many countries. Traveling through London and Paris into occupied Poland, Danielle searches desperately for her the remains of her family, relying on the strength and support of Jonathan Newell-Grey, a young captain. Finally, she is forced to gather the fragments of her impoverished family and flee to America. There she vows to begin life anew, in 1940s Los Angeles.</span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786419724377038641.post-85229383659370706732015-03-05T13:42:00.000-08:002015-03-23T12:08:53.659-07:00Q & A with Amelia Autin | Author of McKINNON'S ROYAL MISSION & CODY WALKER'S WOMAN | Harlequin Romantic Suspense<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8NAOoxc3L4PWSWrVPV22saT4BRvVynG386c15RrGG4vJSl0JRSp04MsdynWyoUjCZEak32qJllUMiBin85pPhl_UvW_2HtCwfzGN46NKYEd3_9ks0gZCe9lUC4hg-kCYrSa2J-UUzqak/s1600/AmeliaAutinFB1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Q&A with Harlequin Romance author Amelia Autin" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8NAOoxc3L4PWSWrVPV22saT4BRvVynG386c15RrGG4vJSl0JRSp04MsdynWyoUjCZEak32qJllUMiBin85pPhl_UvW_2HtCwfzGN46NKYEd3_9ks0gZCe9lUC4hg-kCYrSa2J-UUzqak/s1600/AmeliaAutinFB1.jpg" height="200" title="Amelia Autin" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Amelia Autin is a voracious reader who can't bear to put a good book down...or part with it. Her bookshelves are crammed with books her husband periodically threatens to donate to a good cause, but he always relents...eventually.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Amelia currently resides with her Ph.D. engineer husband in quiet Vail, Arizona, where they can see the stars at night and have a "million dollar view" of the Rincon Mountain from their back yard.</i></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Literary
Juice: According to your website, you have been writing since you were a little
girl. When did you discover your love for writing romance? What was it that
nourished this passion? </span></b></div>
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<b>Amelia Autin:</b> Writing romance was a natural extension of reading romance.
I started reading romance in my teens—Georgette Heyer was my introduction
(terrific author!), and I was hooked from that point on. Then later I picked up
my first Silhouette Intimate Moments in a drug store when the cover caught my
eye (Naomi Horton’s <i>In Safekeeping,</i> a
keeper-shelf book I highly recommend), and I was blown away. Romance <u>and</u>
suspense? Writing from the male point of view? Strong, independent women as
heroines? I read everything I could get my hands on by Naomi Horton, both her
Silhouette Intimate Moments and Silhouette Desire books. That led to reading
other authors in those lines, and…well…you know how it goes. Linda Howard,
Jennifer Greene, Nora Roberts, Elizabeth Lowell—the list is endless. </div>
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I can’t honestly say when the idea first occurred to me I
could write romances myself. I had made up stories all my life, but could I
write something someone else would want to read? I had read hundreds (if not
thousands) of romances by this time, but I really didn’t know anything about
crafting a salable story. I wrote a couple of manuscripts that will never see
the light of day before I learned about Romance Writers of America (RWA). I
dedicated my first book, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gideons-Bride-Amelia-Autin-ebook/dp/B00835RMHS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425578321&sr=8-1&keywords=Gideon%E2%80%99s+Bride" target="_blank">Gideon’s Bride</a>,</i>
in part to my RWA “sisters,” who generously shared their skills with me and
taught me the craft of writing fiction.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
In your <a href="http://www.harlequin.com/" target="_blank">Harlequin</a> blog, <i><a href="http://sold.soyouthinkyoucanwrite.com/2013/11/amelia-autins-return-to-harlequin-romantic-suspense/" target="_blank">Sold! So YouThink You Can Write</a></i>, you talked about the overwhelming joy you felt when
you sold your first manuscript, <i>Gideon’s
Bride</i>, to Silhouette Books; however, upon publishing your second book,
rather than feeling that same joy, you only felt relief that you weren’t a
failure. Due to this fear of failure, you refrained from writing romance for
the next sixteen years. But in February
2013, you sat down and reclaimed romance writing once more. Can you recall that
day in February when you sat down at your computer and started, in a sense,
where you last left off? What was it that helped you eliminate your fear once
and for all?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b>AA:</b> My nephew, John (also my godson, and very dear to my heart),
had given me a journal for Christmas a few weeks earlier. But it wasn’t just
any journal. It was a journal handmade from volume two in a sixteen-book
compilation series from my childhood, entitled The Children’s Hour. (My sisters
and brothers and I always called them “the red books” when we were growing up, because
the covers are red.) Volume two in The Children’s Hour is <i>Favorite Fairy Tales.</i> A note accompanied the journal, and the
combination of the gift and the note reminded me I still had stories to tell…and
I needed to tell them. (I dedicated <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kings-Ransom-Mission-Amelia-Autin-ebook/dp/B00R0GKDUO/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425579268&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=king%27s+ransom+amelia+austin" target="_blank">King’s Ransom</a></i> to John as a way of thanking him for the reminder.)</div>
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I had spent years writing technical documents and how-to
guides in my job, so it wasn’t as if I’d stopped writing completely. And in one
way fiction and non-fiction are the same—both tell a story. But writing fiction
is also very different in that it’s extremely personal—for me, at least. And
when I started writing fiction again it was just for me. I didn’t research the
market, didn’t have a target I was aiming for. I just remembered my editor from
years ago, Mary-Theresa Hussey, telling me that Cody Walker (from <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Reillys-Return-Reilly-Walker-Book-ebook/dp/B0056H7QBI/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425579303&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=reilley%27s+return+amelia+autin" target="_blank">Reilly’s Return</a></i>) was such a strong
secondary character he deserved his own book. And she was right. When I sat
down and started writing Cody’s story it was as if I’d never stopped.</div>
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I won’t say everything was easy after that—it wasn’t.
Sometimes writing is a struggle. Sometimes I trash whole chapters because they
just don’t work after all. But when you get to the end, when you’ve created
something you’re proud of, there’s a sense of accomplishment that’s worth the
struggle. And when you see your book in print—when you see it on the
bookshelves or listed on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books A Million, eBooks,
etc.—there’s nothing like it in the whole world…except maybe holding your baby
in your arms for the first time. Jill Shalvis, a New York Times bestselling
author and one of my favorite writers, still gets a kick out of seeing her
books on the shelf at Wal-Mart…or anywhere. It never gets old.</div>
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This brings me to something I have to get off my chest—negative
reviews hurt. Badly. I don’t think readers understand just how personal a book
is for an author. A harshly critical review is like telling a mother her baby
is ugly—you just don’t <u>do</u> that. I like to follow Thumper’s advice from
the Disney movie, <i>Bambi.</i> “If you
can’t say somethin’ nice, don’t say nothin’ at all.” I’m not asking readers to
be dishonest and say they liked something they didn’t. I know what I write
won’t appeal to everyone. So if you rate my book one star (or less), okay, I
can accept that. I don’t like it, but I can accept it. But please, just say it
wasn’t your cup of tea, give it your honest rating, and move on.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
When you began writing romance again after sixteen years, did you find that the
market evolved since publishing your first two books? For instance, how have
the readers’ taste in romance changed? Are there different personality traits
in the hero/heroine that readers prefer today compared to traits sixteen years
ago? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b>AA: </b>Yes, yes, and yes!</div>
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The market had evolved, and the line I’d first written for
(Silhouette Intimate Moments) no longer existed. Silhouette was already owned
by Harlequin when my first book was published by them in 1995, but now the
Silhouette imprint had disappeared completely, replaced by the Harlequin name
(Harlequin Desire, Harlequin Special Edition, etc.) Not to mention the advent
of indie publishing. Back in the day, indie publishing was considered “vanity
press,” but that’s no longer the case.</div>
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As for readers’ tastes in romance, they’ve changed, but not
as much as you might think. One hero, one heroine, for instance—that’s still
the same. And the HEA—the Happily Ever After ending—that hasn’t changed,
either. True, not every romance ends in marriage these days as they used to,
but the <u>commitment</u> is there between the hero and<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>
the heroine. And readers love to see heroes and heroines from previous books
make guest appearances in follow-on books, proving the HEA for them is real.
That was true twenty years ago, and it’s still true.</div>
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The biggest change I’ve seen is the personality traits in
the hero and heroine. Alpha males were popular way back when, and they still
are…to a certain extent. But a lot of the heroes from years ago could never get
away with the stuff they did back then—women today just won’t stand for it. And
those passive heroines? Uh-uh. As authors we have to recognize we’re not just
writing for our generation—we have to appeal to a wider audience. And that
means thinking the way they think. Putting ourselves in those younger (or
older) shoes.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
What is your writing process like? Do you work with outlines, or do you simply begin
writing at once, allowing the story take control? Also, you mentioned on your
website that you can finish a 60k-word manuscript in a month, and a 75k-word
manuscript in six weeks. What strategies do you employ that help you write at a
swift pace, yet still allow you to tell a compelling story? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b>AA:</b> I write by the seat of my pants. I have a kernel of an idea,
but that’s all I start with. I know where I want to end up (and I don’t just
mean the HEA), but I don’t plot things out chapter by chapter. I let my
characters take the wheel, and as the story develops and my characters reveal
themselves to me bit by bit, the story can change from what I originally
envisioned because my characters have to remain true to themselves. I might
have <u>thought</u> something would work out a certain way, but when I get to
that point in the story I realize the character(s) just wouldn’t do that, so I
have to modify.</div>
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This approach works wonderfully well if you write the entire
story before you try to sell it to your publisher, but not so well if you want
to sell on proposal. I just finished a three-book contract for Harlequin
Romantic Suspense where the first book was finished <i>(King’s Ransom)</i> but the second and third books were just outlines
and the first three chapters. As I told my editor, I could do it this way if
they didn’t hold me <u>too</u> tightly to the story as originally outlined…and
I was right. Books two and three <i>(<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Alecs-Royal-Assignment-Man-Mission/dp/0373279329/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425578722&sr=8-1&keywords=alec%27s+royal+assignment" target="_blank">Alec’s Royal Assignment</a></i> and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Liams-Witness-Protection-Man-Mission/dp/037327940X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425578760&sr=8-1&keywords=liam%27s+witness+protection" target="_blank">Liam’s Witness Protection</a>)</i> bear a general resemblance to the original outline, but that’s
all. Harlequin has been remarkably understanding so far (and I’m keeping my
fingers crossed).</div>
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Speaking of which, I hate writing outlines/synopses. I even
have trouble writing them after the book is written! </div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
Today writers are faced with many distractions, such as social media, texting
and other interferences. What advice can you give writers that will help them
focus more on their creative powers rather than the major distractions that
impede their work? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b>AA:</b> I’m the poster child for allowing myself to be distracted,
so any advice I gave would be along the lines of “Do as I say, not as I do.”
Seriously, though, deadlines are wonderful. External deadlines tied to money
are pretty powerful (i.e., contract deadlines), but internal deadlines can
work, too. Set a goal of so many words per day, or so many pages per day, and
don’t let yourself get up from the keyboard until you meet that goal. Even if
it’s only one page, in a year you’ll have written a 365 page manuscript. (No
one will publish it, but you get my point.)</div>
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I stayed up until 4:00 a.m. one Sunday night into Monday
morning to finish revisions and get the revised manuscript emailed to my editor
before she got into her <st1:state w:st="on">New York</st1:state>
office at 9:00 a.m. Then I slept for an hour, got up and got dressed, and went
to work. My husband said I was crazy. Could I have let it slip a day? Would my
editor have understood? Yes, but…I had made a commitment, and I was going to
meet that commitment come hell or high water. That’s what I mean when I say
even internal deadlines can be helpful if you stick with them.</div>
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I’m extremely fortunate that even though I have a full-time
job I still have plenty of time to write. My husband is very understanding and
encouraging, and there are no little ones underfoot. That’s a huge benefit. But
the bottom line is writers write. That’s what we do. If you don’t feel driven
to write, if you don’t feel there are stories bubbling inside you trying to get
out, then maybe writing isn’t for you.</div>
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But if you do feel driven to write, then don’t let anyone
talk you out of it. And don’t let fear of rejection, or fear of failure, or
fear of any kind stop you. If you have stories to tell, tell them. Follow your
dreams wherever they may lead you.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/McKinnons-Royal-Mission-Man-ebook/dp/B00OYBCRHU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425652665&sr=8-1&keywords=McKinnon%27s+Royal+Mission" target="_blank">Purchase this Book</a></span></b></div>
</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Harlequin Romantic Suspense by AMELIA AUTIN</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: #fafff2; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Publisher: <a href="http://www.harlequin.com/" target="_blank">Harlequin</a></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b style="background-color: #fafff2;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ASIN:<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>B00OYBCRHU</b></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: #fafff2; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Paperback: 288pp, </span></b><b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">$5.50; Kindle: $3.49</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">About this Book: </span></b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The secret princess's bodyguard… </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
As head of a visiting royal's protection detail, Trace McKinnon's focus should be strictly on the external threats against a woman's life. But what happens when he finds Dr. Mara Marianescu—a princess incognito as a college professor—much more intriguing? </div>
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</div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: #fafff2; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Harlequin Romantic Suspense by AMELIA AUTIN</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: #fafff2; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Publisher: <a href="http://www.harlequin.com/" target="_blank">Harlequin</a></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b style="background-color: #fafff2;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ASIN:<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>B00JZFKZRY</b></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: #fafff2; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Paperback: 281pp, </span></b><b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">$5.50; Kindle: $3.49</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: #fafff2; clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">About this Book: </span></b><span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Working undercover with the last man she should trust… </span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-size: small; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Rescuing a "civilian" blew his latest undercover op—but when Special Agent Cody Walker next met the damsel in distress, he was astonished to discover she was a fellow agent! Now they are assigned to the same task force to track down a terrorist cell that has a personal connection to Cody's past…. </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786419724377038641.post-84650568979256364122015-01-27T15:41:00.000-08:002015-03-23T11:53:52.525-07:00Q & A with Fran Orenstein, Ed.D | Author of FAT GIRLS FROM OUTER SPACE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLt6Uw8AxQu4HFBj7DJYwIQnA474UYEyoHClhmNh1NmlBgpTz7l7luxMKB4TiBhT5y8dMo5w-mg_jpvTEIlYNxTk-g4r8lKGu1avWmpARB5Dp7atHp0u-HIsV3vgNHxPl5plLMennP0k/s1600/Headsht+2012+1+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Author of Fat Girls From Outer Space" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLt6Uw8AxQu4HFBj7DJYwIQnA474UYEyoHClhmNh1NmlBgpTz7l7luxMKB4TiBhT5y8dMo5w-mg_jpvTEIlYNxTk-g4r8lKGu1avWmpARB5Dp7atHp0u-HIsV3vgNHxPl5plLMennP0k/s1600/Headsht+2012+1+small.jpg" height="200" title="Fran Orenstein" width="150" /></a><i style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Fran Orenstein, Ed.D., is an award-winning author and poet. Her publishing credits include a contemporary woman’s novel, mystery/romance for adults, middle-grade novels, YA historical romance, YA fantasy adventure, chapter books for younger kids, a book of poetry for adults, plus short stories and poems in anthologies. She has a BA in Early Childhood Education, an M.Ed. in
Counseling Psychology, and an Ed.D. in Child and Youth Studies. Fran lives and
writes in Arizona. Visit her at <a href="http://www.franorenstein.com/">www.franorenstein.com</a>.</i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Literary
Juice: Your academic credentials include advanced degrees in Child & Youth
Studies, as well as Counseling Psychology.
In what ways (if any) has your educational background influenced your
writing for both children and adults?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Dr. Orenstein:</b> The master’s degree in counseling psychology provided insight into human
behavior, which enabled me to delve into the reasons behind a character’s
behavior and why the character thinks, acts and reacts in a certain way as the
plot moves along. The doctorate degree in child and youth studies provided
knowledge of child development and the behavior and understanding of children
at different ages. In addition, the bachelor’s degree in early education gave
me an understanding of children navigating the educational system and dealing
with peers and adults in charge. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
Your book, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Girls-Outer-Space-Fran-Orenstein-ebook/dp/B00PSPXNFG" target="_blank">Fat Girls from Outer Space</a></i>,
is a coming-of-age story about a girl who learns to cope with adversity in
remarkable ways. What was your driving
inspiration for writing this book? Can
you tell us a little bit about the book’s title?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Dr.
O: </b>This story is based on my personal experience as an obese child. I also
interviewed two women of different racial and ethnic backgrounds who were also
obese children to provide a variety so readers could see that self-esteem,
bullying, teasing, humiliation crosses all boundaries. The story is modern for
today’s world, but the incidents and experiences of the characters reflect
actual events in our lives. Bullying today is not what it was when we were
kids, even though we are of varying ages. It is far more deadly and serious,
but the impact on the child remains the same. Their solution to the problem is
based on a family experience when I learned that through using talent and
gifts, a child can overcome adversity and shine in another direction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The
book’s title comes from my personal feelings that I never belonged in this
world. I had an encounter with a UFO sighting as a kid, and believe there are
other worlds and sentient beings out there. It was a simple segue to Freddy’s
thought process that she thinks she might have come from a planet of fat
people. That thinking resulted in the title of the book, which is also the
title of their band. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
You are also the author of a book of poetry titled, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Reflections-Fran-Orenstein/dp/1937260240" target="_blank">Reflections</a></i>, which chronicles the journey of Everywoman’s
life. One reviewer, after reading the
book, reflected, “…this is a true sister at heart.” In what ways does this book relate to all
women? What was the experience like for
you as an author while writing this book? </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Dr.
O: </b>It’s a memoir in verse and my experiences are also other women’s
experiences. We are not very different inside; we all feel, laugh, cry, love,
hate, dream and desire. Our life paths, environment, appearance may differ, but
inside we are women. Writing the book, I laughed and cried, for poetry is the
essence of being and I am glad other women could relate to my poetry, which of
course are my feelings and thoughts, and theirs. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
Can you tell us about any new books you are currently working on? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Dr. O: </b>I
am currently rewriting two books in a children’s mystery series (<i>The Shadow Boy
Mysteries</i>) for republishing and I am 20,000+ words into <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>a
new third book to add to the series. I have most of an older YA to adult Sci-Fi
book in the works, a sequel to <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Duplicate-Fran-Orenstein/dp/1939865468/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422400913&sr=8-1&keywords=murder+in+duplicate" target="_blank">Murder in Duplicate</a></i>, a third book to the Amber
chapter book series, and a completed paranormal short story anthology I hope to
get published soon. I also have a book of children’s poetry seeking a
publisher. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Girls-Outer-Space-Fran-Orenstein-ebook/dp/B00PSPXNFG" target="_blank"><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Purchase this Book</span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Fiction by DR. FRAN ORENSTEIN</span></b></div>
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<b style="background-color: #fafff2;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ISBN-10:<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>1502857103</b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Paperback; 164pp; </span></b><b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">$9.89</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">About this Book: </span></b><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.4000015258789px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Frederica (Freddy) Gold is smart, talented, funny and overweight. She hates her name, her body and the school bully. As if that weren’t enough, her parents are newly divorced and her dad has a young girlfriend. Excited about turning twelve and starting middle school, Freddy meets Dolly, and African-American girl and Eva, a Latina, who are also fat. They discover a mutual love and talent for music and form a band...</span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786419724377038641.post-49821425322599581322014-07-08T11:55:00.000-07:002015-03-23T12:15:30.909-07:00Q & A with Lennie Stanfield | Author of the Zach and Grace Ann Novels<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Lennie Stanfield is a small business owner living in
Oklahoma with his family. The desire to
write a series of novels has long been a desire and an ambition. With the </i>ZACH AND GRACE ANN NOVELS<i>, Lennie
has found the outlet. eBooks made all
the difference as years of traditional publishing proved difficult and
frustrating. A friend ardently pushed Stanfield to look into eBook publishing.</i><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Literary
Juice: You are the author of <a href="http://lenniestanfield.com/books/one-a-new-beginning/" target="_blank"><i>One: A New Beginning</i> </a>and <i><a href="http://lenniestanfield.com/books/halfway-home/" target="_blank">Halfway Home</a></i>, part
of the <i>Zach and Grace Ann Series</i>. Can you share with us a little about this
series and the inspiration behind writing these books? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Lennie Stanfield:</b> Science fiction is my favorite
reading. I love the imaginings of
writers describing what none of us know in reality. My favorite writers make the characters and worlds
come to life. My desire is to achieve
that level of creativity with my own characters, Earthlings or otherwise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>One: A New Beginning</i></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> sets the stage for the series.
Zach Manlin is a young man suddenly subjected to grievous loss and the
discovery that will change his life. In
an eastern Tennessee cave, there is an accident: Zach’s father falls to his death. The situation awakens a being long dormant upon the earth. One, the
creation of Cronan science, meets the young earth male known as Zachary Gene
Manlin. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Interactions between Zach and One
quickly evolve into a relationship.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Zach
now lives two lives, which, for him, is difficult to deal with.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The large family of friends that surrounds
Zach further </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8786419724377038641" name="_GoBack" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">complicates matters as he deals with his
father’s funeral and the accompanying aftermath.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Grace Ann Ridgeway enters the story at this
point.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The people and relationships fascinate
One, as do the changes on Earth. The
interactions of Zach, Grace Ann and One with the worlds around them are the
story. One supplies unimagined
opportunities and options that Zach and Grace Ann must consider. The second book, <i>Halfway Home</i>,
capitalizes on these opportunities and is the primer for [the] biggest adventure the
young couple could imagine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The relationships are a key driving
force of the stories for me. I want to
demonstrate that people can stay true to themselves, their beliefs, and to one
another, no matter the race of beings.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
Who is your target audience for the <i>Zach
and Grace Ann Series</i>? What message
do you hope to convey through these books?
<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>LS:</b> I wrote the books with an adult
audience in mind. What I have discovered
is that there is an appeal with a young adult audience. The ‘growing up’ of Zach and Grace Ann is attractive
to their character development.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In my writings, there is no cursing,
gratuitous sex, or violence. I have
received criticism for this approach.
Living is hard enough, but there are people who live this way. The character set that I use comprises these type
individuals. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Faith in God is an element that weaves
consistently through the writings. It is
my belief that there is one and only one God.
What I muse over, however, is the possibility that He has created other life
forms. I explore this very specifically
with the Cronan race and in <i>Halfway Home</i>, the return of the Martians to
their home world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The message the novels convey to my
readers is that being true to yourself and your beliefs is living. In the good times and the bad times,
character is what defines us. To that
end, Zach and Grace Ann repeatedly discover that living is the journey<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
The intriguing character of One is defined as an entity who is “neither male
nor female,” but someone who “simply is.”
How did you develop this character?
Also, you have described your faith as one of your interests woven into
your story. How has your faith
influenced, or even helped to develop One’s character? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>LS:</b> As I
outlined my characters, I knew that One would be something different. One is a constructed being of another
world. The technology is incredibly
advanced compared to present day Earth.
While it is true that One has a hardware component, what separates One
from computers or artificial intelligence is the concept of a soul. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In <i>Halfway
Home</i>, Zach and Grace Ann discover a component of One’s construction that is
pivotal to One’s personality. That
discovery convinces Grace Ann that One has a soul. In fact, she argues that One has evolved into a
sentient, self-aware being. This concept
specifically I am evolving over the course of the series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My desire
for One was to be an equal part of the relationship with Zach and Grace Ann,
individually and separately. I wanted
One to be so much more than robot or a benevolent super-being. One has desires as well. Very specifically, One desires to fill the
emotional void that was severed in a tragedy eons ago on Earth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
The third book in your series, <i>Generations</i>,
is scheduled to be released December 2013.
Can you give readers a little taste of what they can look forward to in
the third book? </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>LS:</b><i> Generations</i></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> is pushed back to first quarter 2014. In <i>Generations</i>, Grace Ann’s parents,
Marcus and Elizabeth Ridgeway, are integral to the story, as are the six
Martian survivors. There is so much
happening in this book. Telling each of
the individual stories is challenging.
The overall story line is the terraforming of Mars by the Martians. The characters meld into the plot to support
the Martians even as elements of various governments attempt to interfere. The big news is the arrival of the twins
Grace Ann carries! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b> Here is a small excerpt:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“Do you really think that this will work?” Elizabeth asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“I do,” Zach answered.
“The fastest way for our two groups to understand each other and to
communicate, let alone trust each other, is for One to be accepted by our new
friends. He can explain details that we
can’t. If Mena Arlay will allow One to
scan them, we will know what they are thinking and wanting.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Zach and Grace Ann sat on the couch next to Marcus and
Elizabeth. They watched on the large
display as One moved through the barrier, where the atmosphere was to
accommodate the six visitors. “I hope
that Mena Arlay is willing, I truly do, Zach,” Marcus commented. “From their perspective, that small area
could feel like a prison cell. None of
us wants them to feel as if they are being held against their will.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">On the bridge of the Renaissance, Renie, the four humans watched
as One maneuvered behind the company of Martians. The round blue orb that was the projection of
One, floated at eye level to the Martians.
As a group, they turned to face the blue orb now in their space. The humans had just transported out of the
presence of the Martians, without any warning.
Zach had caught the others off guard with this move. On the bridge, he had explained that he
wanted to remain a mystery to their new friends until they were ready to
interact. Hand upon his chin and nodding
his head, Marcus affirmed his agreement to Zach’s way of thinking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Grace Ann thought silently to Renie. The vessel responded by morphing a table up
from the floor. The time of day was late
afternoon, Friday afternoon. The family
had been waiting expectantly for the waking of the six Martians. The table completed resolution with three
glasses, pitchers of water and tea, and, of course, a Dr. Pepper can for
Zach. He smiled and nudged his young
wife with his elbow. Along with the
drinks, there was an assortment of bread and other items to create sandwiches.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“Going home to cook and clean is going to be very difficult from
now on,” Elizabeth moaned. For Elizabeth
and Marcus the wonders of One’s world continued to amaze. Unlike Zach, and their daughter, Grace Ann,
they had not become familiar with all the workings, given their recent
introduction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Marcus and Zach were half watching the display while they made
sandwiches. One had not said
anything. The Martians simply stood in
place. The situation did not change for
many minutes. “One, what do you think is
going on,” Zach asked aloud.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Before One responded, Marcus replied. “This is a test of wills. Our friends are not certain how to react to
One, or us, given what happened in space.
From what Elizabeth and I understand of your interaction with Gantoo,
there is baggage to deal with as well.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“I concur with Marcus,” One offered in his spoken voice. Though One remained with the Martians, his
essence was all aware within this place.
“Not only is this situation a test of wills, but also a high degree of
mistrust given the strained relationship of Mena Arlay and her father. Perhaps we will one day learn the true nature
of what happened.” One became silent
again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There was no sound at all until Zach’s stomach let it be known
that food was required. Everyone
laughed. The tension seemed to melt
away. Deep under the ground, below the
lake of this east Tennessee property, three races were meeting. Only a few short months ago, this realm had
been dark and silent as One was dormant.
Escaping from interaction to this far-flung place, half a world away
from the submerged island where Malon lost his life. The agonized cries of a young man, Zachary
Manlin, awoke One. James Manlin had lost
his life in this very place, a fateful accident that was now the defining
moment to all that was now happening.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sandwiches made and drinks poured, the group of four settled
back to observe the forward display.
Grace Ann focused on Zach; she ‘felt’ his excitement as well as an
emotion she was still struggling to define.
To her, she thought that it was confusion. Zach didn’t act confused however. Since their joined training in the pods,
Grace Ann’s perceptions and connection to Zach had manifested in her the
ability to ‘feel’ Zach’s moods. To her,
his young and pregnant wife, it was exhilarating. Zach stirred within her the strongest of
emotions…love, complete and unconditional.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“What are you thinking, Zach?” she asked quietly at his
ear. Without turning, Zach surprised her
with his answer. “I’m wondering about
our involvement with the Martians, now and in the future. How is this going to affect Wyatt and
Presley?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Grace Ann gulped. Zach
wasn’t confused, he was contemplating, and he was right. Grace Ann envisioned their life on the
country homestead now that Zach had determined to farm and raise cattle as
their source of income. She knew that
both of them could choose to forego any Earth-bound entanglements, but they so
wanted a normal life. As normal a life
as possible with One in it, of course. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“We’ll talk later,” Grace Ann replied. Zach simply pushed himself more tightly
against her. Sipping at her water, Grace
Ann struggled against her anxiety. She
had Zach, and One, and now her parents with her. Once Mena Arlay began to communicate, they
would all have a clearer picture of their futures. As it stood, a small armada of automatons was
unloading the great Martian vessel, tens of millions of miles away, in
preparation to bring new life to the Martian home world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Elizabeth watched the two of them from the other end of the
silver couch. She was so proud. Her only child, now married and pregnant, had
at times, frightened her. Grace Ann’s
determination to marry Zach and then his proposal, had hit Elizabeth hard. Zach calmed her fears. The young man had strength of character, and
a powerful attentiveness to Grace Ann, that was unmistakable. Soon, the twins that grew in her daughter
would be her own grandchildren!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Marcus moved forward, catching Elizabeth’s attention. On the display, Mena Arlay had taken a step
forward. She made the sign of greeting,
and this time, gave a small bow toward One.
“Here we go,” Marcus whispered to no one in particular.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
Have you learned anything surprising about yourself while writing these books? </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>LS:</b> Quite a bit, actually! The most startling, however, is the depth of
emotion that writing this series evokes in me.
I read the books often. I am
laughing and crying at the same points.
The characters are so real to me.
When a character passes away, for example, I am a wreck over it! </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ve already said that life is
hard.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The events cannot be perfect in
the books or the realism would vanish.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Writing the hard parts, such as a death, is tough.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">On the cooler side, the characters
surprise me. I’ll be writing a scene and
one of them will go off and do something that even surprises me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
How long does it take you to complete each book? What challenges have you faced while writing <i>The Zach and Grace Ann Series</i>? How did you overcome these challenges? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>LS:</b> That is a tough question. The first book took me over a year to
write. I then went through the
publishing gauntlet for another year.
During that time, I made edits and improved the storyline. This is when a friend introduced me to eBooks
and pushed me to ‘go for it’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The second book took me only four
months. I literally could not stop
writing! The story line with the
Martians coming home was so much fun. Of
course, Zach, Grace Ann, and One are my friends and I wanted to see what life
held for them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Generations started very fast but has
slowed down. This book is my most
difficult challenge. Not only are there
a million off-shoots, the increasing number and complexity of the characters
can get overwhelming. I’m much more
careful to give the characters adequate time and space to grow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I still have a business to run to keep
food on the table. I’m thankful that my
family not only gives me space, but also helps with each book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
For aspiring authors interested in writing science fiction, are there any
authors or specific sci-fi/fantasy books you would recommend in order to help
these writers get their creative juices flowing? </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>LS:</b> I love Larry Niven’s creative
mind. I found his work while I was in
high school and could not put his books down. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">J</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">ules Verne and H.G. Wells were so far
ahead of their time.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">These two authors
had a window into the future that far surpassed others of their time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I like Orson Scott Card. It is amazing that it took Hollywood so long
to get to <i>Ender’s Game</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO-LIfaXMzQSYdrU7sK-TiDoPx88ho8XeAm10ew1MNhO8TBCkk92vl8dE9IKD0lW3fG2hunjtLcBZb_Bz0y-sxu_ArNGOJdl-SNvyqB17wuxQUmJb_XCdJ14E4EheFb_H51Na-BJWTGXM/s1600/one-a-new-beginning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO-LIfaXMzQSYdrU7sK-TiDoPx88ho8XeAm10ew1MNhO8TBCkk92vl8dE9IKD0lW3fG2hunjtLcBZb_Bz0y-sxu_ArNGOJdl-SNvyqB17wuxQUmJb_XCdJ14E4EheFb_H51Na-BJWTGXM/s1600/one-a-new-beginning.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://lenniestanfield.com/books/one-a-new-beginning/" target="_blank">Purchase this Book</a></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: #fafff2; clear: both; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Fiction by LENNIE STANFIELD</span></b></div>
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<b style="background-color: #fafff2; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ISBN:<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>9781626752115</b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">277pp; </span></b><b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kindle Price-$6.49</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: #fafff2; clear: both; margin: 0px; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">About this Book: </span></b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The trip to the cave started out like so many before, Jim was giving Zach a hard time about being late. Jim Manlin, Zach’s dad and a widower of less than two years, liked to be on the road early. Their father and son trips started over a year ago as walks through the woods, hikes, and then 5K runs. They've spent a lot of time together filling the void since their lady had passed away. They had both discovered caving while on a hike near their home. A fissure in the ground was simply too much to pass up one afternoon...</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786419724377038641.post-37266475842648874862014-03-10T10:57:00.004-07:002014-03-10T12:21:41.991-07:00Q & A with Simon Perchik | Poet | Author of ALMOST RAIN<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><st1:personname w:st="on">Simon Perchik</st1:personname> is an attorney whose poems have
appeared in </i>Partisan Review<i>, </i>The Nation<i>, </i>Poetry<i>, </i>The New Yorker<i>, and elsewhere.
His most recent collection is </i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Almost-Rain-Simon-Perchik/dp/0983553068/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394473810&sr=8-1&keywords=almost+rain+perchik" target="_blank">Almost Rain</a><i>, published by </i>River Otter <st1:personname w:st="on">Press</st1:personname><i> (2013). For more information, including free e-books, his essay titled </i><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/9t9y4alokgxbs0x/Magic%2C%20illusion%20and%20Other%20Realites-1.pdf" target="_blank">Magic,
Illusion and Other Realities</a><i><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/9t9y4alokgxbs0x/Magic%2C%20illusion%20and%20Other%20Realites-1.pdf" target="_blank"> </a>please visit his website at </i><a href="http://www.simonperchik.com/">www.simonperchik.com</a><i>.</i></div>
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<st1:personname w:st="on"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Literary
Juice</span></b></st1:personname><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">: When did you first begin writing poetry? Who/what inspired you to become a poet? </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>Simon Perchik: </b> I
began in 6<sup>th</sup> grade, public school. Also, in high school. Then the
other students at NYU wrote poetry and so I thought I’d give it a try again.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
According to your website, your father was a silk weaver until the Great Depression,
in which he then became involved in the grocery business. Has living through the Depression, as well as
serving as a pilot in the Army Air Corps during WWII, still influence your
writing today? In what ways? </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>SP: </b>Yes,
both poverty and WWII have a great influence on what I write about. Many images
are from the service. Fear of the ordinary is a common theme in my work. And
yes, it’s almost 70 years ago and I still can’t shake that experience. Am still
trying to write my way out. Poetry may do much for the reader but it does more
for the poet.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
How many rejections did you experience before publishing your first poem? Where was your first poem published? </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>SP: </b>Not
sure about the rejections. Must have been many, but I wasn’t writing all that
much or sending out that much. My first poem was published in a magazine called
<i>Golden Goose</i>. It was a rather important magazine at the time, and it was a bit
heady for me as a beginner. WCW published there, as well as other big names.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
Your poetry is beautifully abstract and ignites a sense of nostalgic emotion in
the reader, sometimes warm and sometimes somber; how do you integrate so much
emotion in your writing? From where do
you find your inspiration? Additionally,
what is it that draws you to this style of poetry? </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>SP: T</b>hanks for the kind
words. What draws me to abstract the work is that by doing so I can create more
powerful poems. If a writer can bring a reader to tears though the reader can
find nothing on the page to explain why the tears, that’s powerful. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
Your poems are usually without titles.
Why? </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>SP: </b>I’m not sure how that happened but since year one I’ve never
titled a poem. I think it’s because I
like to think there are many facets to my work and that a title might direct
the reader to one to the detriment of the others. Hey, if Nelly Sachs can pick
up the Nobel without any titles, I can’t be too far amiss.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
What is your writing process like? Is
there a certain formula you follow when writing poetry? </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>SP: </b>Thought you would never ask. I have a
great process which others may find helpful. I start with nothing on my mind,
not a thought. I find a photograph and describe it: this is a photo of a horse,
a man holding reins, etc, etc, until I have described everything in the photo.
Then I read something on myth or on science, and as I’m reading I keep asking
myself what has the myth/science got to do with the photo. The images in the
photo and the images from myth/science are seemingly disparate and
contradictory, but if I keep at it after 40, 50 pages they have everything to do
with each other. Brutal way of going about this work, but it works and I’m
willing to pay that price. I go into this in more detail in my essay <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/9t9y4alokgxbs0x/Magic%2C%20illusion%20and%20Other%20Realites-1.pdf" target="_blank">Magic,Illusion and Other Realities</a> on my site<a href="http://www.simonperchik.com/" target="_blank"> www.simonperchik.com</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
How long does it typically take you to complete one poem? </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>SP: </b>I write 2 to 4
hours every day. I average 50 poems a year. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
Your poems have appeared in many reputable publications, including <i>The New Yorker</i>, <i>The Partisan Review</i>, and <i>The
Nation</i>. How many attempts did it
take before finally receiving an acceptance letter from such publications? What advice would you give poets who are
currently trying to break into any of these magazines? </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>SP: </b><span style="font-size: small;">For the </span><i>New Yorker</i> I have been trying
there since 1980. Three, four times a year sending 3 poems and a return
envelope. Nothing. Then, 20 years later and I get a phone call asking if they
could use the first line for a title instead of the asterisk. The moral is to
treat submissions as an unemotional, ministerial act that means nothing.
Otherwise you get into a bind and think your work is not worthwhile. Did I
mention it helps to live long? </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786419724377038641.post-8649436570565443722014-01-27T10:47:00.001-08:002015-03-23T11:54:30.404-07:00Q & A with Meg Collett | Author of the END OF DAYS Series<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaYNFtmFBOytKLkpEZ4Fzg2D5D4I8lRMH1hF_3r9tiA2u5zS6KVxgvpRGbHIz1sIUdixkXG-fs3bqEx0jq0yy_RUA6mNu6G1bPYVmyruaprPChDS4RQmIpxPx4nKgxoOlkWBY_MMEc8tY/s1600/MegCollet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Author of the End of Days Series" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaYNFtmFBOytKLkpEZ4Fzg2D5D4I8lRMH1hF_3r9tiA2u5zS6KVxgvpRGbHIz1sIUdixkXG-fs3bqEx0jq0yy_RUA6mNu6G1bPYVmyruaprPChDS4RQmIpxPx4nKgxoOlkWBY_MMEc8tY/s1600/MegCollet.jpg" title="Meg Collett" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: italic;">Meg Collett lives deep in the hills of Tennessee where there
the cell phone service is a blessing and </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: italic;">internet</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: italic;">
is a myth of epic proportions. She is the mother of one giant horse named Elle
and two dogs named Wylla and Mandy. Her husband is a saint for putting up with
her ragtag life. </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hunted-One-Days-Volume/dp/1494754835" target="_blank">END OF DAYS</a></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: italic;"> is her
first series.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Literary
Juice: On your website, you mention that
Michaela, the heroine of your novel, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hunted-One-Days-Volume/dp/1494754835" target="_blank">The Hunted One</a></i>, began as a “paranoid schizophrenic girl with a drug problem”;
however, as you wrote your book, her character evolved from drug addict to an
archangel instead. What was it that changed
your mind about the kind of character you wanted to create? Why an archangel? <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">When I first started writing, I really just needed
an outlet for all those overwhelming, negative emotions I was feeling. I think
that just naturally manifested as a character with severe problems. But I’ve
always wanted to write a story about redemption, and I kept asking myself, “How
can I give this troubled girl an opportunity to redeem herself?” I was laying
in bed one night when the thought of using angels popped into my head. What is
more pure than an angel? But what if that angel made a mistake, an awful
mistake? What if they were disgraced and hated? Could that angel ever redeem
themselves enough to return home to Heaven? Those were the questions that were
running through my mind as I wrote and rejected draft after draft of the book. Eventually,
the drug problems and schizophrenia fell away as I uncovered the true story I
wanted to tell. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">LJ:
How much has your faith/religious beliefs shaped your book? What message are you hoping to convey through
the story? <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">My dad was a Baptist preacher when I was younger, so
religion definitely had an influence on my life. I knew this story would be
very close to religious lines, but I wanted to stay away from drawing lines in
the sand. I wanted my faith to be an undercurrent in the story, not a theme. I
wanted Michaela’s actions to reflect those of a strong woman with faith. Not
just faith in God, but faith in herself, and faith in the man (angel) she
loves. That falters some in the story, especially faith in herself. But she
will find a way to redeem herself, and that’s the message I wanted to convey in
the story. I hoped readers will take away the feeling that some fights are
worth fighting even if you find yourself lost and faithless. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">LJ:
Has writing <i>The Hunted One</i> influenced
your faith in any way? In what ways? <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I think it’s strengthened my own faith. I have
prayed so many times during this book. Begging for inspiration, for strength,
for the right words. But I think art always bring us closer to the core of ourselves,
to the deepest parts of our soul, and for me, writing transported me there. And
there, I found my relationship with God. I think when writers or artists or
musicians get to that part of themselves, it’s a really raw, vulnerable place.
It can tear you apart, I think. Or at least bring you to your knees. But there
I found God. And I found my strength at a time when I, like Michaela, needed to
redeem myself and restore faith in myself again. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">LJ:
What do you believe audiences find most appealing about the story? <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I think readers like the originality. I tried to
take the typical fallen angel story and turn it on its head. But I think
readers also appreciate Michaela’s rawness. They identify with making
life-altering mistakes, like Michaela, and they see the strength she has to
pull together within herself even if that strength wavers. I think that is a
powerful thing. More powerful than happily ever after sometimes. Even though I
hope Michaela can find that happily ever after. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">LJ:
Are you currently working on any other novels?
What can your readers expect in the future?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I am currently writing the second book in the <i>End of
Days </i>series. I plan for this series to have three books. After this series, I
doubt I will write about angels again. I want to try something different, to
find ways to enhance the reader’s experience while reading. That would be my
ultimate goal. I like those stories that haunt you afterwards. I want to write
something like that. So I think in my next book or series, I will try to push
the envelope a little. We will see how that goes! Fingers crossed!</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hunted-One-Days-Volume/dp/1494754835" target="_blank">Purchase this Book</a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Fiction by MEG COLLETT</span></b></div>
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<b style="background-color: #fafff2;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ISBN-10:<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>1494754835</b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Paperback; 302pp; </span></b><b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">$9.55</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">About this Book: </span></b><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 22.400001525878906px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The fallen have trespassed into Heaven for the first time in eternity. Prepared for battle, Michaela and her Archangels open Heaven's gates to confront the fallen. Only, Michaela's Archangels--her brothers and sisters in Heaven--betray her. And when the fallen attack the sanctuary in the skies through the gates Michaela inadvertently left open, the holy angels accuse Michaela of planning the invasion.</span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786419724377038641.post-63326956952025756282013-12-30T15:49:00.000-08:002015-03-23T11:55:04.914-07:00Q & A with Rayne Hall | Author of Horror Fiction and Fantasy<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAkE4UoQ7vvayZQgX5es9cIhWiq7PNXlZXM6lK5Sg9tXYeg2BMx2bd6XOtKbEGKa1uumdBLksxKd33zoyJsIuUQjQjud_7_bhSaXaKoPGJ3VWt6hACUXUM7AdjdmHIZa-xsnSG51kTqcw/s1600/RayneHall+-+Fantasy+Horror+Author+-+Portrait+by+Fawnheart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Rayne Hall is author of horror fiction and fantasy" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAkE4UoQ7vvayZQgX5es9cIhWiq7PNXlZXM6lK5Sg9tXYeg2BMx2bd6XOtKbEGKa1uumdBLksxKd33zoyJsIuUQjQjud_7_bhSaXaKoPGJ3VWt6hACUXUM7AdjdmHIZa-xsnSG51kTqcw/s200/RayneHall+-+Fantasy+Horror+Author+-+Portrait+by+Fawnheart.jpg" height="195" title="Rayne Hall" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Artist's impression by Fawnheart</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-style: italic; text-indent: 0in;">Rayne Hall has published more
than fifty books in several languages under several pen names with several
publishers in several genres, mostly fantasy and horror. She is a trained
publishing manager and holds a master's degree in creative writing & personal development. She is the editor of the </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=ten+tales+rayne+hall&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Aten+tales+rayne+hall" target="_blank">TEN TALES</a></span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> <i>fantasy and horror
anthologies and the author of the </i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=writer%27s+craft+rayne+hall&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Awriter%27s+craft+rayne+hall" target="_blank">WRITER'S CRAFT</a></span><span style="font-style: italic; text-indent: 0in;"> guides.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Literary Juice: As the author of horror and fantasy
fiction—which, according to your website, the stories are described as quirky,
disturbing, and mostly dark—what is it that draws you to the “dark” and
“disturbing”? When did you first take an
interest in horror and fantasy fiction? </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>Rayne Hall:</b> I didn’t set out to write dark and
disturbing fiction...but whenever I wrote something dark or disturbing, the
stories sold, earned critical acclaim, and won awards. After a while, I accepted that this was my vocation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Dark fiction, like perhaps no other genre, allows me
to challenge readers' perceptions of good and evil, and to make them think.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Sometimes I write other genres, but the stories
often acquire a dark slant. Whatever
genre I intend to write, it often turns into horror. Some years ago, I started
a light-hearted Regency Romance novel. At first, all went well, with lots of
funny situations and witty banter, but then I discovered that there was a
centuries-old curse on the family, the hero had a guilty secret, and the
vengeful housekeeper was on a serial killing spree. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">My attempt at writing a contemporary romance set in
China went well until I got to Chapter 4. A mine shaft collapsed, trapping the
heroine in total darkness with an armed murderer and little oxygen. Another
time, I had this idea for a cute story for children, but by the time the
story was finished, all the cute children were dead, sacrificed to an ancient
god. This happens all the time. Even my lightest, funniest stories have an
element of macabre humor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">My interest in horror fiction dates back to my teens
when I discovered the stories of Edgar Allan Poe. The psychological intensity
of Poe’s horror tales gripped me and never let me go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">With fantasy fiction, my interest grew more
gradually. An early influence was the novel <i>Krabat</i> by Otfried Preußler.
Although little known in the English-speaking world, it’s a celebrated
children’s book in Germany, with a magic story that subtly shows how a whole
generation of young people – including the book’s author - came to fall under
Hitler’s spell and realized the truth too late.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ: Are there any authors, past or
present, who have greatly influenced your writing? In what ways?</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>RH:</b> In my early teens, I loved the
historical novels by Rosemary Sutcliff and Hans Baumann. I also read a lot of
Karl May. Although Karl May (1842 - 1912) is almost unknown in the
English-speaking world, he is popular in Germany. I loved his atmospheric
descriptions of exotic places where he had never been. His approach has
definitely influenced my novels, especially <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Dancer-Dark-Epic-Fantasy-ebook/dp/B005MJFV58/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1388419820&sr=1-1&keywords=rayne+hall+storm+dancer" target="_blank">Storm Dancer</a></i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">I was about fifteen when I discovered a book with
stories of Edgar Allan Poe. They were so exciting! At once, I started writing
horror stories. They didn't have much plot and blatantly copied Poe's style,
but at the time I thought they were really good. Poe has remained an influence
on my short fiction, especially my psychological horror stories. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Later, I was influenced by the Gothic stories by the
Victorian writer Amelia Edwards. Although her stories ooze suspense from the
start, the horror builds slowly. One of Edwards' suspense techniques is to
place the protagonists into an unfamiliar environment and isolate them from
their companions. For example, the narrator of <i>The Phantom Coach</i> has gone grouse
hunting, alone, in a bleak wide moor in the North of England, got caught in a
snowstorm, and must seek shelter where he can.
Above all, I love Edwards' vivid descriptions of location, climate and
weather (in this story, the approaching storm and the moor landscape covered in
deep snow). Her skillful use of descriptions (e.g. coach with its mould-crusted
leather fittings) to drive the plot and
create a spooky atmosphere is the work of a horror genre master. Surprisingly,
Edwards’ stories don’t feel dated to the modern reader, the way many other
Victorian stories do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">When I read Amelia Edwards' stories, I immediately
recognized a kindred spirit. This was how I wanted to write, and here was a
master I could learn from, someone I could strive to emulate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The late David Gemmell influenced me in a more
practical manner. He was a kind of mentor, although that word suggests a more
formal relationship than we had. Sometimes we chatted about our writing – his
fabulously successful epic fantasy novels, and my largely unpublished efforts –
and he shared what he was working on, what creative decisions he had made for
his work in progress and why. He also pointed out where he felt I was going
wrong with my stories, and suggested techniques for me to try. At the time, I
liked to create twists by letting the reader expect something, and then
twisting the plot in other ways. David warned me against this. Whenever readers
think they know what will happen, they lose interest in the story; and even if
what happens is not what they expect, that moment of lost interest is fatal to
the book’s tension. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">I've</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> taken his advice, for my novels anyway. You may see
David Gemmell’s influence in my epic fantasy novel <i>Storm Dancer</i>.</span></span><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ: Are any of your stories drawn from
your own life experiences? </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>RH:</b> I like to blend real life experiences with a big
dose of imagination. Many contain a grain of something that happened to me, but
in much-changed form. </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">I've</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> often visited the ancient stone circles in Cornwall,
but I never witnessed a human sacrifice like in Druid Stones. The train journey
across the Swiss Alps happened, but unlike the story <i>Night Train</i>, there were no
vampires on board. My experiences as a bellydancer and museum guide inspired
parts of <i>Turkish Night</i> and <i>The Painted Staircase</i>. The events in <i>Black Karma</i>, with the shaggy
dog pursuing me night after night, occurred almost exactly as </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">I've</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> written
them. As a young woman in London, I was really molested by a would-be rapist
and had the wits to pretend I was a dominatrix – but the rest of <i>Only A Fool</i>
happened only in my imagination.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><i>Storm Dancer</i> is set in a fantasy world loosely based
on the cultures of the Bronze Age period and the climate and geography of the
Middle East, so my travels in the Near and Middle East and in North Africa
inspired many colorful details. A few
elements from Asia - including Mongolia - have also found their way into <i>Storm
Dancer</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">I also used personal experiences of what it's like
to work in a distant Third World country, cut off from all support, at the
mercy of an employer who doesn't honor the terms of the contract. My
experience of performing and teaching bellydance has found its way into this
novel, too, so when Merida learns to bellydance in the harem, and when she
entertains in a tavern, those scenes have authenticity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ: Apart from describing that spine-tingling
thrill they experience from your stories, many readers have also defined your
stories as “thought-provoking”. What is
the message you are hoping to convey through your writing? What do you believe your audiences find most
appealing about your books? </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>RH:</b> Through the medium of an exciting story, I can get
messages across without sounding preachy. I’m inviting my readers to think, to
probe their own consciences, to ask themselves what they would have done in
this situation, to explore what is right and what’s wrong – but I’m not forcing
them to. Each reader decides for themselves if they want to simply enjoy the
surface thrill or if they want to go deeper. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">There’s no single message I want readers to carry
away after reading my stories. Each story has a different message, and each
reader’s psyche is different. However, I like to challenge people’s
perceptions, and to shine a light into the dark grey areas between good and
evil.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">I don’t provide ready-made answers – I guide the
readers on their own explorations. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ: Have you learned anything surprising
about yourself when writing horror fiction? </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b>RH:</b> I've</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> learnt that by fictionalizing something,
putting it on paper and shaping it, I gain control over it – especially the
things that frighten or disturb me. Cowards make good horror writers, because
we know what fear feels like, and because we never run out of ideas what to
write about. But it’s the process of writing that gives us control – it’s a
form of empowering therapy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Let me give you an example. I used to have a
terrible fear of fire. It was so bad, I could never bring myself to even light
a match. Once when I was about seven, my
father forced me to watch a house burn, and I had nightmares about it for three
decades, and the experience increased my fear. As a teenager, I heard about
disturbing fire-related events that had happened in my neighborhood,
some recent, some of them long before I was born.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Another house burned down, and I heard afterwards
that the Turkish family who lived there had not been able to get out. Their
charred skeletons told how they had cowered in the corner as the flames
devoured them, and the father had shielded his daughters with his own body for
as long as he could. This moved me deeply, and then I heard someone say, “They were
only Turks. Good riddance to the vermin.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Then I found out about the atrocities committed
against Jews during the Nazi period. This was in the 1980s, and the prevailing
attitude was still that these were things best not talked about. But some
things filtered through. In the town of my birth, locals burnt the synagogue
and then built a church on that spot. In a nearby town, the eager citizens went
even further: they locked the Jewish population into the synagogue before they
set it on fire. The fire brigade, instead of putting out the flames, fanned and
fed them, and made sure none of the Jews could escape. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">One day I took a sheet of paper and wrote down
everything that scared or disturbed me in connection with fire. Burning houses, churches, racial hatred,
hypocrisy, a scared child witnessing events she cannot understand...these
elements clicked together. Into a disturbing tale of human evil. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">That story – titled </span></span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Burning</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> - was the most difficult
piece </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">I've</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> ever written. Several times, I had to set it aside because I was too
upset to continue. But I persevered, and during the process of putting my
thoughts on paper and shaping them into fiction, I gained control over my fear.
When it was finished, two amazing things happened: My phobia vanished, and the
story won awards. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ: What are some marketing strategies
that you use to successfully promote your books? What advice would you give writers who are
interested in publishing their own horror fiction or fantasy? </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"></span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>RH:</b> My main advice to writers of any genre,
whatever publishing path they choose, is to make your book as good as you
possibly can. Promotion, perseverance
and luck all play a role in success, but the most important factor is quality,
and that is in the writer’s control. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Learn the writing craft to the highest possible
standard. Use instruction books, study the works of the masters, take online
classes, join critique groups, or whatever suits you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Write the kind of fiction you enjoy reading. What’s
your favorite kind of fantasy? Sweeping epics set in imagined lands, or gritty
urban fantasies set in modern cities? What kind of horror pleases you? Gory
splatterpunk, creepy ghost stories or psychological horror? That’s the kind of
story you’ll be good at, and that you’ll enjoy writing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">For successful promotion, be aware who your target
readers are. Then consider how and where to reach them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">With social media, it’s best not to bombard your
fans and followers with automated “buy my book” messages. Instead, use social
media to interact with people who share your interests – and who are interested
in the kind of topics your book is about – and [be] helpful and genuine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-see_W8Oqe35N2bXt2YQbh0vY8G5DlwSZtifPheXAFSfBrm8ZlXhbueepNA2-fsjxj8E9XPm280OaHhD2Nrioc3AYFwnkpvN41CkTm101Ijs7gHYB3Bp-gSZ2iTm0LfvgphyWKl83iOo/s1600/STORM-DANCER-Rayne-Hall-724x1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-see_W8Oqe35N2bXt2YQbh0vY8G5DlwSZtifPheXAFSfBrm8ZlXhbueepNA2-fsjxj8E9XPm280OaHhD2Nrioc3AYFwnkpvN41CkTm101Ijs7gHYB3Bp-gSZ2iTm0LfvgphyWKl83iOo/s1600/STORM-DANCER-Rayne-Hall-724x1024.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Dancer-Rayne-Hall/dp/1482567229/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388425158&sr=1-2&keywords=storm+dancer" target="_blank">Purchase this Book</a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Fiction by RAYNE HALL</span></b></div>
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<b style="background-color: #fafff2;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ISBN-10:<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>1482567229</b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Paperback; 458pp; </span></b><b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">$9.41</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">About this Book: </span></b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.386363983154297px;">Dahoud is a troubled hero with a dark past. As a siege commander, he once razed, raped and killed...and he enjoyed it. Now he needs to atone.</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.386363983154297px;"> </span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786419724377038641.post-18959910462520079382013-12-10T17:00:00.000-08:002015-03-23T11:55:35.320-07:00Q & A with Michelle Isenhoff | Author of the Divided Decade Trilogy<b><br /></b>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDJBCs-cibcp0gNIeokfWsLg3Vkk6l4fsyf3ojrMDW0HpFjsCZwwq13RmvuzEqEOcg0rMY3-V-0r_6p6TqyI8uOadjrhMa2fJ-2DCotwfdgHV-K7m-yF9jg3m0QN8Y6D41r5Kf2Lo_OfA/s1600/045111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Author of Divided Decade Trilogy" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDJBCs-cibcp0gNIeokfWsLg3Vkk6l4fsyf3ojrMDW0HpFjsCZwwq13RmvuzEqEOcg0rMY3-V-0r_6p6TqyI8uOadjrhMa2fJ-2DCotwfdgHV-K7m-yF9jg3m0QN8Y6D41r5Kf2Lo_OfA/s200/045111.jpg" height="183" title="Michelle Isenhoff" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>When Michelle Isenhoff isn't writing imaginary adventures, she’s probably off on one. She loves roller coasters and swimming in big waves. She’s an avid runner. She likes big dogs, high school football games, old graveyards, and wearing flip-flops all winter. Her dream vacation would include a lot of castle ruins. Once an elementary teacher, Michelle now homeschools two of her three kids and looks forward to summer break as much as they do.</i></span></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Literary
Juice: You have mentioned that your historical fiction series, the <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Divided-Decade-Trilogy-Boxed-Set-ebook/dp/B00C8YDWTW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386457854&sr=8-1&keywords=divided+decade" target="_blank">Divided Decade</a> </i>trilogy, is set in your home state of Michigan. In what ways has the
state’s history, as well as your experience living in Michigan, influenced this
series and its characters? Additionally, how has your role as both a former
elementary teacher and homeschool teacher influenced the series?</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I went into teaching because I love children’s
literature. I started writing novels after I became a teacher, so education has
played a very important role in the process. I write the book I’d want to read
in my classroom, be it public school or homeschool. I put in all the literary
elements I love—vivid imagery, dynamic characters, and layers of meaning—which
often draw adults to my books. Kids probably read them more for the adventure. My
aim, for my historical fiction as well as my other novels, has always been the
classroom.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">My <i>Divided Decade</i> series began because I spent a
winter reading up on the Civil War in preparation for a family vacation to
Gettysburg. In my reading, I discovered an account of a Detroit inn-keeper who
often housed slave-catchers while harboring the runaways in his barn. That
prompted me to dig further into Michigan’s role in the war, and the <i>Divided
Decade</i> trilogy was born.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">LJ: Not
only have you written historical fiction, but fantasy, adventure/comedy, and an
early chapter as well. Is there a set formula that you follow when writing
different genres? If not, what is the writing process like when working with multiple
genres?<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">While I still love historical fiction, it has some
rigid parameters. After writing three HF novels, I wanted to explore some plots
not dictated by historical fact. <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Quill-Pen-Michelle-Isenhoff/dp/1466496916/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386457924&sr=8-1&keywords=quill+pen+michelle+isenhoff" target="_blank">The Quill Pen</a></i> and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Song-Mountain-Michelle-Isenhoff/dp/1480213780/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386457950&sr=8-1&keywords=song+of+the+mountain" target="_blank">Song of the Mountain</a></i>
still contain a strong historical flavor, but their fantastical elements let me
spread my wings. The only formula I followed is a very general one: conflict, bumps
and bruises that mold and change a character, and resolution. The getting from
one end to the other was simply freer.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Writing my <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-Davis-Flame-Findul-Series/dp/1484927923/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386457975&sr=8-1&keywords=taylor+davis+isenhoff" target="_blank">Taylor Davis</a></i> series, however, was a
vastly different experience. This was a chance to stretch my writing, to
experiment with a new style and method. I sacrificed some (not all) of the literary
depth for humor, fast-moving action, and wild imagination. They are much more
commercial in nature. They are also more structured. The first book was
originally intended as a serial, so it was written in six “episodes”. Readers
won’t recognize where they begin and end, but the divisions helped me pace each
story during its creation. They've been very fun to write. The second book
releases on January first. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">LJ: Have
you ever looked back on one of your published books and regretted anything
about the story, whether it was the ending, something about a character, or a
specific outcome in a chapter? If so, what would you change if you could?<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Some of my books were written several times before
I published. But <i>Song of the Mountain</i>
was actually published and pulled within a week because it still didn't feel
right. It underwent one more major revision and was republished several months
later, to my complete satisfaction. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">My biggest regret, however, is jumping in before I
understood how to <i>present </i>a digital
novel. While my books had all been critiqued by several quality beta readers
and the stories were sound, I quickly realized I needed to hire an editor and
learn how to create a more readable interior. Fortunately, digital publishing
is very fluid. I simply re-uploaded the retouched files and the worst damage was
fixed. Since then, I've also been replacing my cover images with professional
ones as funds allow. The experience has prompted my commitment to publish only high
quality products and to help other newbies arrive at that same conclusion a
little sooner than I did. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">LJ: What is
the worst criticism you have ever received regarding any of your books? How did
you overcome that criticism? Also, what is the best compliment you have
received?<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">First, I evaluate the source of the criticism. If
it comes from someone who routinely gives poor reviews or isn't’t interested in
my genre but “read it anyway,” I take it with a grain of salt. When it comes
from more knowledgeable sources, I learn all I can from the experience.
Probably my most difficult criticism came from a peer who gave me a two-star
rating. This was someone I admired as a writer, and her comments stung. But she
had some valid points. My writing has grown stronger from her insights. I
actually asked her to publish that review.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">My greatest compliment comes every time a child emails
me, whether to discuss part of a book, ask a question, find out when a sequel
will be released, tell me he or she wants to become an author, or whatever. That
contact means my book impacted a reader and that I did my job well. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I was also tickled when a 79-year-old man wrote to
encourage me to “keep writing for us kids.” <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">LJ: What is
the most surprising thing you have learned about yourself when writing?<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">That I can do it and do it well! I love to watch my
skills improve. I've learned I can work under pressure, meet deadlines, and
persevere when it gets tough. Writing a full-length novel and selling any
copies at all is a huge accomplishment, and I’m thrilled to say I've done it
eight times. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">LJ: Your
books have received fantastic praise on Amazon. What advice would you give
aspiring authors looking to receive positive feedback for their own works as
well? What can they do to captivate audiences and start building a fan base?<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">First, READ! You cannot be a good storyteller if you never
come to understand the elements that make a story great. Second, don’t expect
too much. There are hundreds of millions of digital books out there now, and
it’s tough to make even a ripple. Keep in mind that if your Amazon sales
rankings are in six figures, you’re still in the top 10% of books being sold on
the site. But unless you write in the popular adult genres, you’re in for a
tough slog. Do not expect to quit your day job. Third, don’t give up! Your
books can gain a following. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Building a fan base is plain old hard work, but first you
have to make sure your story is good (see above comment about READING). Get
involved with an author group and take advantage of critiques. Learn the
fundamentals and keep improving. Then invest in making your publication the
best it can be. Hire help if you need it. At the very least, hire an editor. If
you publish junk, any attempt at marketing is moot. Once you’re producing
quality, network with others authors and with bloggers. Engage with your target
audience. Ask for reviews. Use social media to your best advantage (which
doesn't necessarily mean doing it all). Gaining a following is a long, slow
crawl—one I’m still working at. I've met too many success stories to believe it
can’t be done. But the first step, the very first step, is to give the readers
something worth purchasing.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsUb1ilmdM4FeZa2nbUsPpZyC5ZhfON9bTArHIwpLMQlgrJmAaXww8PgyOGHHnXeR_u-m5rQVdeJjF4CLx83hf9ICyXM0-vOAdx4INB3rn2tGndn_I6TssBpEUcHnlqxuGpoGUNyFUgGY/s1600/divideddecade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsUb1ilmdM4FeZa2nbUsPpZyC5ZhfON9bTArHIwpLMQlgrJmAaXww8PgyOGHHnXeR_u-m5rQVdeJjF4CLx83hf9ICyXM0-vOAdx4INB3rn2tGndn_I6TssBpEUcHnlqxuGpoGUNyFUgGY/s1600/divideddecade.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Divided-Decade-Trilogy-Boxed-Set-ebook/dp/B00C8YDWTW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386458062&sr=8-1&keywords=divided+decade" target="_blank">Purchase this Trilogy</a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Historical Fiction by MICHELLE ISENHOFF</span></b></div>
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<b style="background-color: #fafff2;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ASIN:<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>B00C8YDWTW</b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">434pp; </span></b><b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kindle Price-$7.99</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">About this Trilogy: </span></b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This set contains <i>The Candle Star</i>, <i>Blood of Pioneers</i>, and <i>Beneath the Slashings</i>.</span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786419724377038641.post-84001822705384404292013-11-21T07:06:00.000-08:002015-03-23T11:56:34.225-07:00Q & A with Nicole Conway | Author of The Dragonrider Chronicles<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4FaOra0vkfjxiJRPZqbb0EXKMubUSk1DbVxGvaxyijfQ6JBilBqMqV-puqNjf4HVNqEW4CUm-rt0zsduNJ1FWciwbHKdMmPoj7w6jfcdiCYc-oDGTh3Oms0ctnIQjI4Xb9PBXKf8EZIM/s1600/430629_4494705859293_1773163189_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Author of The Dragonrider Chronicles" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4FaOra0vkfjxiJRPZqbb0EXKMubUSk1DbVxGvaxyijfQ6JBilBqMqV-puqNjf4HVNqEW4CUm-rt0zsduNJ1FWciwbHKdMmPoj7w6jfcdiCYc-oDGTh3Oms0ctnIQjI4Xb9PBXKf8EZIM/s320/430629_4494705859293_1773163189_n.jpg" height="320" title="Nicole Conway" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Nicole Conway is an author and freelance illustrator from
North Alabama. Currently she lives in Valdosta, Georgia, with her husband. She
has a bachelor’s degree in English from Auburn University, and is a member of
the SCBWI. Her most recent work, </i>FLEDGLING<i>, was released in October 2013 as the
first installment of her new children’s fantasy series: </i>THE DRAGONRIDER CHRONICLES<i>. </i><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Literary
Juice: Your book, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fledgling-Dragonrider-Chronicles-Nicole-Conway/dp/1492993786/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1384977764&sr=1-1&keywords=fledgling" target="_blank">Fledgling</a></i>, a fantasy about a boy who embarks on a
dangerous adventure to rescue his instructor, has received outstanding approval
on Amazon. What do you feel readers find
most appealing about this book?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="line-height: 115%;">Nicole Conway:</b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Based on the reviews and feedback the book has
received so far, I feel that people are very drawn to the characters. The main
character, Jaevid Broadfeather, </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">isn't</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> what you’d imagine a hero to be. He’s not
big or strong. At the beginning of the book, he </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">isn't</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> even very brave. But it’s
his journey and his experiences with his new friends that begin to shape him
into someone worthy of being called a hero. I feel that his journey is one all
of us can relate to.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">LJ:
You are also the author of <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dervyshire-Park-Nicole-Conway/dp/1936442159/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_2" target="_blank">Dervyshire Park</a></i>, a paranormal romance, which is a
completely different genre from <i>Fledgling</i>. In what ways was the process for developing
the plot and characters different for each book? Did you adhere to any strategies or formulas
for these books respectively? <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="line-height: 115%;">NC:</b><i style="line-height: 115%;"> Dervyshire Park</i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> was my first novel, and definitely a
shot in the dark for me. I didn’t know anything at all about the publishing
industry when it was released. It was a learning experience, but a very
valuable one. Since then, </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">I've</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> definitely become more focused, but I don’t
adhere to any strategies when writing. I do keep a journal where all my books,
characters, and details are tracked, but I try not to limit myself to a strict
formula. My philosophy has always been that if something isn’t fun to write,
then it isn’t going to be fun to read. Each book is like an adventure for me,
as well. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">LJ:
Which genre are you most comfortable writing?
Why? <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>NC:</b> Children’s fiction is, without a doubt, my favorite
genre. I absolutely love writing children’s books. They are just a blast to
work on. I guess my inner child has never really grown up!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">LJ:
What is the biggest challenge you face when writing? How are you able to overcome these
challenges? <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>NC:</b> Life has always been my biggest challenge when it
comes to writing. I’m o</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">ne to have a million irons in the fire at the same time,
and life always gets in the way. My husband’s career is very time consuming for
both of us, and it requires us to pick up and move every year. It’s insanely
stressful. But for me, writing has always been a coping tool to help me deal
with stress. So I always make time to write, even if it’s only an hour or two.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">LJ:
Have you ever received outside criticism concerning your writing<i>? </i>If
so, how did you handle this criticism in a way that has benefited you positively? <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>NC:</b> Of course I’ve received criticism! That’s just part
of being an author, though. We put a piece of our hearts out there for the
world to criticize, and so naturally there are some people who just aren’t
going to agree with everything we present. When dealing with criticism, I try
not to take it to be destructive even if it’s meant to be taken that way. I try
to take it as an opportunity to improve and do better the next time. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">LJ:
The sequel to <i>Fledgling</i>, <i>Avian</i>, is set to debut this summer. Can you give us a little sneak peek into this
book?</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>NC:</b> I’m so thrilled that people have enjoyed <i>Fledgling</i> so much, but it’s really just the tip of the iceberg. There’s a lot left in
store for Jaevid and his friends.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">In the sequel, we’re going to start delving deeper
into Jaevid’s past, and uncovering all the buried secrets that have shaped his destiny.
We’re also going to get our first glimpse into the horrors of the gray elf
kingdom of Luntharda, which is something </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">I've</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> been eager to write about from
the beginning. This year of training will present a whole new spectrum of
challenges for Jaevid and Felix. It will test them in ways no one will be
expecting. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">When reading this book, my hope is that readers are
going to start to see how much Jaevid has started to change from a frightened little
boy into a man—both physically and emotionally. I’ll be posting a special,
unedited preview chapter on my author page in January. <i>Avian</i> will be a whole
new adventure, and I can’t wait for people to read it!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">LJ:
If there is one lesson you hope readers can learn from your stories, what would
it be?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="line-height: 115%;">NC:</b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> I would hope that my readers, especially the
children who read my work, would learn not to judge people based on face value.
You can’t tell what someone has been through, what their destiny will be, or who
they really are just by how they look. This is a mistake that even I am guilty
of making. It’s so easy to judge others, but doing that </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">doesn't</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> just hurt that
other person. It closes a door for you, as well, because that person might have
something amazing to offer you in a friendship or relationship that you’ll
never get to experience if you are quick to judge them. </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUUphAifPN66R_9A8u1qfBcmWrk_nMZTv5UGAZbQYL-VJSQLa3SjYHUsWpGavnnepHDrzr4bCZtL-9iNFJQ83uLRxrB-MZfAmOD5Xxoo8IcYZOpALdbFMHjjXKZD3i80ZjPsIk0H-uWks/s1600/fledglingnconway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUUphAifPN66R_9A8u1qfBcmWrk_nMZTv5UGAZbQYL-VJSQLa3SjYHUsWpGavnnepHDrzr4bCZtL-9iNFJQ83uLRxrB-MZfAmOD5Xxoo8IcYZOpALdbFMHjjXKZD3i80ZjPsIk0H-uWks/s1600/fledglingnconway.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fledgling-The-Dragonrider-Chronicles-Volume/dp/1492993786/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384978546&sr=8-1&keywords=fledgling+conway" target="_blank">Purchase this Book</a></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Fiction by NICOLE CONWAY</span></b></div>
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<b style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">ISBN-10:<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>1492993786</b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Paperback: 296pp; Kindle-$.99; Paperback-$8.95</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><b>About this Book:</b><i> </i></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.390625px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Jaevid Broadfeather has grown up as a wartime refugee, hiding from the world because of his mixed racial heritage. He feels his future is hopeless, until a chance encounter with a wild dragon lands him in Blybrig Academy—a place usually forbidden to anyone but the rich and royal. But Jaevid’s case is special; no dragon has voluntarily chosen a rider in decades, so the proud riders of Blybrig must begrudgingly let him join their brotherhood despite his bloodline. Lieutenant Sile Derrick, a sternly tempered man with a mysterious past, becomes his instructor and immediately takes a peculiar interest in Jaevid’s future. While struggling through the rigorous physical demands of training, things begin to go awry. Jaevid witnesses the king’s private guards kidnapping Sile in the dead of night. When none of the elder riders are willing to help him, Jaevid begins a dangerous adventure to save his instructor.</span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786419724377038641.post-39423239921801041642013-11-20T12:24:00.000-08:002015-03-23T11:57:00.824-07:00Q & A with David Tish | Author of Madame Charmaine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglH9PJ_CLaXtiH-hGXCnhw8k0CpeSmDNCRaboh6RUNtbEFV_X8hhxWnPgMJbon96DW8bzo3dO4MsmI8Rc51N4JIDbHklsbzANNYhMBgFy4pR-WZmvEnsg_EvsODEWSv4pV9E2DuqNMnVE/s1600/david3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Author of Madame Charmaine" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglH9PJ_CLaXtiH-hGXCnhw8k0CpeSmDNCRaboh6RUNtbEFV_X8hhxWnPgMJbon96DW8bzo3dO4MsmI8Rc51N4JIDbHklsbzANNYhMBgFy4pR-WZmvEnsg_EvsODEWSv4pV9E2DuqNMnVE/s320/david3.jpg" height="320" title="David Tish" width="198" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">David Tish</span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">
is a retired newspaper reporter, editor and columnist who has won numerous writing
awards. He is a Nebraska native and a graduate of the University of Missouri
School of Journalism. He has four sons and nine grandchildren, and he lives on
an acreage near Tieton, Washington, with his wife, Mary, and their four dogs.</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Literary
Juice: Your children’s book, <i><a href="https://www.createspace.com/4479952" target="_blank">Madame Charmaine</a></i>, tells the gripping story of four youths who discover a mysterious
chest half buried in the Missouri River shore following a flood. After reading the brief description of the
story, <i>Madame Charmaine</i> seems like a
tale which would not only captivate young readers, but adult readers as well. Where did you find inspiration for writing
this book? What aspect of this
particular book do you believe appeals most to child and adult readers alike? </span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>David Tish: </b>Well, I’ve been told by several adults that they
enjoyed the book, so I’ll take them at their word. I can tell you that I
certainly enjoyed writing it. I hope that shined through. When I first was pondering
the possibility of writing fiction, after almost five decades of writing for
newspapers, children’s books were at the top of my list. I had a wonderful time
growing up in a small town in Nebraska. I made lifelong friends. When I
returned to Nebraska for a high school reunion several years ago, I saw people
I had not seen or heard from in nearly 50 years. My wife, who hails from
Washington state, told me after the reunion that she was amazed at how my
friends and I “picked up right where you left off all those years ago, as if
you had been seeing each other every day.” It was that connection, that bond,
that inspired me to write <i>Madame
Charmaine</i>. I KNEW those kids I wrote about in the book. They are like
brothers and sisters to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">That bond is responsible for something else,
something in the book that I think can appeal to kids as well as adults, and it
is this: <i>I did not talk down to those
kids</i>, the characters in <i>Madame
Charmaine.</i> I treated them as real, intelligent people, just the way I treated
them in real life when I was growing up with them.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">As a result, I think <i>Madame Charmaine</i> comes across as a “real” story, something that I
think can appeal to adults as well as kids. There are no zombies, wizards, or
space aliens in <i>Madame Charmaine</i>. I’m
not knocking fantasy books; my point is that stories about real people can be
kind of refreshing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">My last point also has to do with being real and
respecting the people you write about. I spent almost 50 years interviewing
people, listening carefully to what they had to say because I had to tell the
public what they said, and I had to be as accurate as possible. After all that
experience, I know how people talk. That might sound silly. But writing
dialogue that is real, literate, convincing, and lively is an art. If the
dialogue in <i>Madame Charmaine</i> is all
of those things, and I have been told that it is, it is because of that
experience. I think kids and adults alike will appreciate that about <i>Madame Charmaine</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
Are there any authors (or specific works), past or present, who have taught you
to think differently about storytelling?
In what ways, if any, have they influenced your way of writing? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>DT:</b> I think the best way to answer that is to quote a
character in a play I wrote called <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shakespeare-Is-Dead-Comedy-Three/dp/1482042533/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384007998&sr=8-1&keywords=shakespeare+is+dead%21+david+carmichael" target="_blank">Shakespeare Is Dead!</a></i> (Which, by the way, can be found on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/" target="_blank">Amazon</a> under the pen name
David Carmichael.) The character, who is called The Master, is talking at the
end of the play to the great Russian playwright, Anton Chekhov. She says:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">“Before you speak, let me say something to you. <i>(Pause)
</i>Everything Ibsen said about you is true. You died too young. Your early
death robbed the world of so … much. Beyond that, well … I wanted to tell you,
I dropped in for a performance of <i>Uncle Vanya </i>not long ago, more than a
hundred years after you died – a hundred years! – and all it took was a couple
of minutes into the play and I was enthralled, mesmerized. And I remained so
for the rest of the play. And I thought, what is it that after a hundred years
this play – this man Chekhov – can still punch me in the gut, can still shake
me to my very core, can still touch my heart, can still make me laugh, can
still make me weep? When I watched and listened, I could somehow see <i>you</i>.
I could hear <i>you </i>in a very personal way. I could have been sitting a
thousand miles away and I would have known that you were talking to <i>me</i>.
You are the simplest of writers, and you are the most complex of writers. You
are conservative, and you are radical. You are pessimistic and you are sad, and
you are optimistic and you are joyful. Your depth is revealed in your
simplicity, and you are to be assimilated slowly, like a fine wine. Even after
a century you are new to me every time I read or watch your work. And every
time it is as if you are speaking directly to me, and only to me. I see and I
feel your presence. You are in the room, and you are holding my hand. We are
the only two people in the room. You are precious to me, and I cannot imagine
being without you. And now I want to share you with the world, which so <i>desperately
</i>needs to hear your song.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">Sometimes as I am writing I like to wonder what it
would be like to channel Anton Chekhov. What a wondrous day it would be if that
should ever come true.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
What is your writing process like? Are
there any special routines you practice before, during, or after the writing
process? Do you have any superstitions? What do you do to overcome writer’s block?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>DT: </b>My writing process probably is like none other. Now,
whether that’s good or bad is for others to decide. But it works for me, and
here is more or less how it goes: I take an idea – it could be almost anything
coming from almost anywhere – and I internalize it. That is, I think about it,
and sometimes the thinking goes so deep as to resemble meditation. Mostly I am
looking for characters that I think can realistically and effectively carry out
the idea. This process can last a week, two weeks, a month or more. I don’t
write a word during this time. I don’t do any research whatsoever. I simply tap
into whatever internal resources I have after – at this writing – 74 years of
living on this planet. Sometimes the idea will work out and become something
that would make a good story. Sometimes it </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">doesn't</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">. But when it does, I first
write a </span></span><i style="line-height: 115%;">short</i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> synopsis. I’m not an
outliner, but I don’t totally fly by the seat of my pants either. By the time I
write the synopsis, I already know my characters so well that I don’t need,
much less want, a detailed guide map. My characters will tell the story, so I
don’t have to. Any research I might do generally comes as I am writing, that
is, when the story requires it. It seldom comes before I begin writing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">Special routines? No. Superstitions? No. Writer’s
block? I refuse to accept writer’s block. Therefore, I have never had to
overcome it. However, there have been times, rare, but they do occur, when a
second cousin twice removed of writer’s block drops by, and the characters are momentarily
unsure of their next step. When that happens, I simply leave them alone for a
day and go on with other business. When I return, they have made up their
minds, and we go on from there. This process has never failed me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
Have you ever looked back on one of your published books and wished you could
have made changes, such as to the ending or to certain characters? Have you ever rewritten a book or created a
new book based on these desired changes? </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>DT:</b> I have never looked back at a <i>published</i> book, but I have looked back at an <i>unpublished</i> one. About 12 years ago, before the age of indie
publishing, I wrote a book I called <i>Bury
My Heart Along the River: A Nebraska Journey</i>. After it was written, I
promptly put it in a box, stored it somewhere and forgot about it until early
this year. That’s when I decided I would like to try my hand at writing
children’s books. And I remembered that in that old, dusty novel was a story
that eventually became <i>Madame Charmaine</i>.
I didn’t have to do too much to make <i>Madame
Charmaine</i> the story it is today. Incidentally, there are other story ideas
in that old book, and I plan to get to them as soon as I can. In fact, I
already am at work on a full-length romance novel based on some of the material
in <i>Bury My Heart</i>. It has the working title
of <i>The Mention of Her Name</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
Have you learned anything surprising about yourself when writing a book? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>DT: </b>No.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
What is the harshest criticism you have ever received as a writer? How did you receive that criticism? Additionally, what is the best compliment you
have received as a writer?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>DT:</b> I haven’t really received any harsh criticism, but I
am awfully new to this business, and I fully expect some one of these days. I
think it’s inevitable. I am not well known at this point, and as my name
becomes familiar to more people, the negative comments are bound to follow. One
of the best compliments I’ve gotten since I became a fiction writer came just a
week or so ago from a woman when I asked her if she would like to read <i>Madame Charmaine</i>. “Yes,” she wrote, “I
want to read ANYTHING you write – grocery lists, a 2,000-page novel, a letter
to Santa Claus – just let me know how to get my eyes on it.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8786419724377038641" name="_GoBack"></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
For aspiring writers who may still be struggling to find their voice, what is
the best advice you would give them?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>DT:</b> That’s easy. Know thyself. In my opinion, all good
writing comes from within. And if you don’t know who you are, it’s going to
show up in your writing. Furthermore, know thy characters. If an unexamined
life is not worth living, then surely it is not worth writing about. Finally,
never, never, never ever give up. Not ever. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Fiction by DAVID TISH</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">ISBN: 1492968420</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Paperback: 76pp; $8.87</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>About this Book:</b><i> Madame Charmaine</i> chronicles the adventures of three boys and a girl, all 12 years old, who discover a “treasure chest” half buried in the sandy shore of the Missouri River following a spring flood. As they play detective and try to find out who buried the chest and what its mysterious content means, they soon find out they are playing a dangerous game and are nearly buried alive in a grave of their own digging. </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786419724377038641.post-55390032805716741882013-11-19T04:59:00.000-08:002015-03-23T11:57:33.892-07:00Q & A with Ryan and Rich Brousseau | Authors of Battle For Honor: Gates<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy9s9xtpzDc2CHat2c3MQJ3yQCxsCzdFeUtQ1iLXwlHWnqlTTncPQEcuFEKK2AOPDUyh8-yZD55j9Cl7glAouX6uYzlHao3kJPVep1QPwGBPUweqYBGzF1Zog7hW6WrEJHWL-a3nCd81w/s1600/BattleForHonor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Battle for Honor Gates" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy9s9xtpzDc2CHat2c3MQJ3yQCxsCzdFeUtQ1iLXwlHWnqlTTncPQEcuFEKK2AOPDUyh8-yZD55j9Cl7glAouX6uYzlHao3kJPVep1QPwGBPUweqYBGzF1Zog7hW6WrEJHWL-a3nCd81w/s1600/BattleForHonor.jpg" title="Ryan and Rich Brousseau" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><i>Rich Brousseau is a huge fan of fantasy and science
fiction and is able to totally immerse himself into whatever world the subject
matter is focused upon. Computer gaming unleashed his imagination like nothing
else he has experienced before. He is
always asking the question "why", and searching for an answer.</i><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><i>Ryan Brousseau i</i></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><i>s married and the
father of two. He can be found immersing
himself in many different books and enjoying some of his favorite TV series:
</i>Dexter, Breaking Bad <i>and </i>The Walking Dead<i>.
When lucky, he occasionally gets out for a round of golf, which is a remarkable
skill set his grandfather taught him many years ago, and has carried with him to
this day.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Literary
Juice: You have written the book, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Battle-Honor-Gates-RJ-Brousseau-ebook/dp/B00EI0RECK" target="_blank">Battle for Honor: Gates</a></i>, as a father-son team.
What was your driving inspiration for teaming up on this book? </span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Rich:</b> I have had this book idea bouncing around in
my head for years. Once I started it I
realized I was going to need some help.
I asked Ryan for his thoughts one day, and I was so impressed with what
he did I knew it would be a great match.
Besides, what father </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">wouldn't</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> want to have his son working by his side?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>Ryan:</b> At first I was apprehensive about writing a
book and it seemed like a very daunting task, so I started out slow with just
giving suggestions here and there. But once I got into it, I found that I had
numerous ideas floating around and was eager to advance the story. Overall, it
was a great experience and I learned a lot from the process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
What was the writing process like for this book? How did you contribute to the book
respectively? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>Rich:</b> I think of myself as the idea man, the one
with the off-the-wall thoughts. I get
the chance to write what I’m thinking about and Ryan applies the color and
polish. After that, we pass the updates
back and forth between each other until we have something we like. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>Ryan: </b>It was a pretty straightforward formula for <i>Gates</i>, since my father had most of the
core of the book written; it just needed that extra added dimension to it,
which is where I came in. Basically he would get the ideas on paper then
forward it over to me; I would touch them up, reword and rework the chapters
while adding that extra depth to them. This process may change a little for
book two, but so far it has been a successful formula for us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
Did you face any challenges when writing this book? For example, were there any disagreements
regarding the direction of the story, the disposition of certain characters, or
possibly even differences in writing style, etc.? How did you overcome these challenges?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Rich:</b> I can’t say we agreed on everything. We will often discuss the direction we want
to go with a character, and at some point we agree. I think it is very helpful that both of us
are open-minded, willing to listen to the other, and adjust to make a better
story. I like to think we respect each
other and value a different opinion. </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">I've</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> never had to pull the “because I’m your father” line.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Ryan:</b> Of course there were disagreements throughout
the writing and editing process, but it was always with the sole purpose of
giving more </span></span><i style="line-height: 115%;">life</i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> to our novel. Our
writing styles are definitely different but I feel that </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">they've</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> evolved for the
better throughout the creation of </span></span><i style="line-height: 115%;">Gates</i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">. Also, every discussion we had regard<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8786419724377038641" name="_GoBack"></a>ing the book was productive, and bottom line is, our end goal
was the same: put the best novel out there we can. The key for us is to
maintain an open mind and just ask ourselves, “How does it advance our story?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
<i>Battle for Honor</i> has received
outstanding praise on Amazon. What
aspect of this book do you believe is most appealing for readers? </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>Rich:</b> I like to think that the readers see there is
more to this story than a simple fantasy adventure. We tried to make the characters have a bit
more depth, and not just a cookie cutter of what people expect. The story takes a few turns that are not
expected, and there is room for each character to evolve, some for the better,
some not so much. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Ryan: </b>I feel that </span></span><i style="line-height: 115%;">Battle for Honor</i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> is not your run-of-the-mill fantasy novel and there are many aspects of the book that many
people will find appealing. We have a lot of the same characters that many
other novels have but we don’t necessarily use them in the traditional sense,
which is very unconventional for this genre. Also, the novel gives the reader
the ability to make their own judgments in regards to the characters' life
choices, good or bad. But in my opinion, the best comment </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">I've</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> read in one of
the reviews was that it was unpredictable. To me that is very important in the
entertainment field, whether it’s reading or watching a movie/TV show. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
Are you currently working on a sequel?
If so, when can readers expect it to be available?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>Rich:</b> The sequel is being written now. It continues some time after the end of <i>Gates</i> and many of the same characters will be returning. We are hoping to have the sequel available
spring/summer of 2014, with the final of the trilogy late that year or early
next.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>Ryan:</b> Yes, we are working hard on the sequel and we
are shooting for a late spring, early summer of 2014 release. Look for the
return of some of the characters with the addition [of] new ones. Be sure to check
out our website, <a href="http://rjbrousseau.com/">rjbrousseau.com</a> for updates and possibly a new section titled <i>The Lost Chapters</i>, which will be an evolving section of short side stories
that further expand on the storyline. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
Are there any authors—past or present—who have greatly inspired you as a
writer? Who?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>Rich: </b>I really like Dan Brown’s stories and his
writing style. Beyond that, Tolkien,
Heinlein, Herbert, Clarke, Asimov. Do
you see a pattern?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Ryan:</b> I am a huge fan of Dan Brown’s writing style
and Michael Crichton’s technical detail. Other than that, I enjoy Stephen King,
Brian Rathbone, Harlan Coben, and of course Tolkien. Lately, though, </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">I've</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> been
reading a lot of indie authors via Wattpad and Goodreads. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">LJ:
What advice would you give writers who are considering teaming up on a book?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>Rich:</b> Be open to ideas that are not your own. Respect the opinion of your co-author. You are both trying to create something to be
proud to call your own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>Ryan:</b> Determination and open-mindedness will [be] the key
to your success; your opinion is not always the right one. Above all else
though, make sure you are proud of your work and make it a true representation
of yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Battle-Honor-Gates-RJ-Brousseau-ebook/dp/B00EI0RECK" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Purchase this Book</span></a></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Fiction by RYAN & RICH BROUSSEAU</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Page Numbers Source ISBN: </span></b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>1492160083</b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Paperback: 331pp; Kindle-$2.99; Paperback-$13.34</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>About this Book:</b><i> </i><span style="background-color: white;">Three thousand years ago, Agora was brought to the brink of annihilation by the Third Great War. Since then, all has remained peaceful, until now. Challenges present themselves daily and their response is paramount to survival. </span><span style="background-color: white;">Marcus awakens in a world he does not know. Possessing the skills of a seasoned warrior with the ability to unleash devastating magic, he ventures into the unknown to discover himself, the world and answers to the mysteries surrounding him. Who are these Guardians guiding him on this life’s mission? What do the Gods want?...</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786419724377038641.post-42783471685158571182013-11-09T09:13:00.000-08:002015-03-23T11:58:03.447-07:00A Young Talent | Poet | Alex Greenberg<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcxJHABq6FaXAdCxEUumt2raO8PQ642NCJoOkjuYtFjs06XI4pojqHaJx1P9flK8tmu4MG7j_W3rqU5Aq4oXhyphenhyphen3w9vWayW0gDakdxNvucP7n680BuLAY8nRs-M-mg4_jmUCSjdQg-ZVLc/s1600/Photo+on+2013-11-03+at+20.57+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A Young Poet Alex Greenberg" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcxJHABq6FaXAdCxEUumt2raO8PQ642NCJoOkjuYtFjs06XI4pojqHaJx1P9flK8tmu4MG7j_W3rqU5Aq4oXhyphenhyphen3w9vWayW0gDakdxNvucP7n680BuLAY8nRs-M-mg4_jmUCSjdQg-ZVLc/s1600/Photo+on+2013-11-03+at+20.57+(2).jpg" title="Alex Greenberg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Alex Greenberg is a 14-year-old aspiring
poet. His work can be found or is forthcoming in journals such as </i>The Louisville Review,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Burningword
Literary Journal, Spinning Jenny, My Favorite Bullet,<span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-style: italic;"> </span>and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Able Muse<i>. Greenberg
has won a gold key in The Scholastic Art & Writings
Awards and was named a Foyle Young Poet of 2012 and 2013.</i><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Literary
Juice: Because you display such an incredible talent at the young age of 14, we
would like to know: who/what inspired you to start writing poetry? What is the earliest memory you have of
writing? Also, can you tell us a little
bit about your first-ever published piece?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I remember a few
years ago, when I was around ten or eleven, having my first graded poetry unit
in English. Frankly, it bored me—I found no excitement in, nor was I good at,
identifying the “right” message of a piece of Shakespearean writing. Our class
studied older works of poetry, texts that were shrouded in arcane </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">vocabulary
with metaphors that, although original at the time, seemed clichéd in the 21</span><sup style="line-height: 115%;">st</sup><span style="line-height: 115%;">
century. I found it difficult to relate to people who had passed away centuries
ago and to connect with their experiences and beliefs. Then, one day, we had an
assignment where we were allowed to bring in poems that we liked and talk about
them. I think when I got home, fed up with all the abstruse poetry from class,
I searched </span><i style="line-height: 115%;">simple poetry </i><span style="line-height: 115%;">in my
computer. Over time, that search stretched its way to </span><i style="line-height: 115%;">modern poetry </i><span style="line-height: 115%;">and </span><i style="line-height: 115%;">fresh
poetry</i><span style="line-height: 115%;">—that was when I came across Tracy K. Smith. I found her poem </span><i style="line-height: 115%;">Duende</i><span style="line-height: 115%;">
on PoetryFoundation.com and it enthralled me. I saw this 40-year-old, very
modern-looking African American woman, achieving more insight with plain
language than the men with beards from my English class were with their </span><i style="line-height: 115%;">thy’s </i><span style="line-height: 115%;">and </span><i style="line-height: 115%;">o’ers.</i><span style="line-height: 115%;"> I ordered her books, </span><i style="line-height: 115%;">Duende
</i><span style="line-height: 115%;">and </span><i style="line-height: 115%;">The Body’s Question </i><span style="line-height: 115%;">(and more
recently, the Pulitzer Prize winning </span><i style="line-height: 115%;">Life
on Mars). </i><span style="line-height: 115%;">I found an unparalleled exhilaration in the simplicity of her
work—it was the same exhilaration one feels when in the presence of a simple,
natural phenomenon such as a rainbow or a sunset. And so I began writing,
trying to emulate her style. I submitted to small press journals. Overreaching
somewhat, I even tried submitting to </span><i style="line-height: 115%;">The
New Yorker</i><span style="line-height: 115%;"> and </span><i style="line-height: 115%;">The Paris Review.</i><span style="line-height: 115%;">
And then, around my 13</span><sup style="line-height: 115%;">th</sup><span style="line-height: 115%;"> birthday in January of 2013, I received a
letter from the editor of a journal called </span><i style="line-height: 115%;">The
Literary Bohemian.</i><span style="line-height: 115%;"> They had accepted my poem, </span><i style="line-height: 115%;">A Clip From Tomorrow</i><span style="line-height: 115%;">, for
their 17</span><sup style="line-height: 115%;">th</sup><span style="line-height: 115%;"> issue. Now, my zeal for writing was no longer living
solely in the intellectual and spiritual discoveries I made, but was part of
this new game of getting published.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">LJ:
Where do you find your inspiration for your poetry? Is there a specific message you hope to
convey through your poems?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I find inspiration in my surroundings. It’s really
what it’s all about. As a poet, I feel I need to squeeze out all the meaning
behind the ordinary before attempting to understand the metaphysical. I can
write my most vivid pieces when in the presence of what I’m writing
about—imagining a situation to write about creates work that is disingenuous,
often the kind of work that lacks conviction and truth. I try and write about
my family, my house, the pens and the coins that lie scattered on the floor.
For me, poetry is a learning experience. All of the adornments of
poetry—language, format, white space—are all beautifications and only necessary
if they are used for teaching. Teaching a new way of looking at the world or
teaching how two things are interconnected. A lesson is what comes from poetry.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">LJ:
Do you have a favorite author/poet? Who?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I won’t rave more about Tracy K. Smith, but she is
definitely on the list of my favorite and most electrifying writers. I actually
had the privilege of exchanging a few emails with her, sending her a few of my
poems. The other writer who I owe my love for poetry to is Billy Collins. He is
the doyen of American poetry, and embodies what “simple poetry” is—or at least
what it should be. His book, <i>Horoscopes
For The Dead, </i>holds some particularly thoughtful poems and demonstrates
Collins's incisive way of thinking. He once said that the key to writing good
poetry is the same key that achieves a good performance of a song: start low
and end with a bang. This process of starting with the obvious and relatable, and than moving into the more powerful and obscure is what I model my own
writing after.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">LJ:
Your poem, <i>Spring Conjuring</i>, published in our October/November 2013 edition,
is very vivid and exposes a deep awareness of nature. Tell us more about the story/inspiration
behind that poem. Are many of your poems
nature-oriented? <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Much of my poetry is geared to nature
for the very reason I talked about above—the strongest poetry is about what you
can see. The most glaring and extensive thing I see day in and day out is
nature. The trees, the sky, even my pet cats. <i>Spring Conjuring</i> was a
particularly personal poem. It considers nature’s process of life, death, and
rebirth in relation to the human experience of simply, life and death. The
speaker is a little envious of what the flower is capable of, how it will grow
back next summer, but how he will not grow back. The poem is dedicated to my
grandmother, who died a year before I was born. I like to think that I see some
of her in my mother, that maybe she didn’t completely leave us, but managed to
pass down a little bit of herself to my mom. There is a line in the poem that
reads, “One day I will have to snip it<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">from my stomach/like an umbilical
cord/and toss it to the soil/where it will sink/and be reborn.” In other
words, as much as death is a time of separation and detachment, it is the time
when we bring the memories and feelings of those who died that much closer to
our hearts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">LJ:
You are a Foyle Young Poet (2012-2013).
What do you think drew the editors to your poetry? What was their reaction like?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Just to clarify, I was one of the 85 commended poets
of the year—I didn’t quite make the top 15. But, the poem I submitted was
called <i>The Grass Grows Greener on My Side of The Fence</i> in 2012, and it was a
light-hearted poem with an internal rhyme scheme. It was about how two
individuals can’t create something as great as a unified whole can. It
encouraged teamwork and finding common ground to work harmoniously. Being
commended as a Foyle Young Poet was my first achievement in the poetry world.
It felt great. In the end, I think my poem was chosen frankly because it was
fun to say out loud—it had a nice lilt to it. Never did I consider it one of my
more profound pieces, but it just goes to show how truly subjective the writing
world is. Sometimes the philosophical and scholarly approach is best and
sometimes the cute and funny ones are just the right fit.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">*You can read Alex Greenberg's poem, </span><i><a href="http://www.literaryjuice.com/#/poet-tree-october-2013/4580444233">Spring Conjuring</a></i><span style="font-size: small;">, in the October/November 2013 edition of </span><a href="http://www.literaryjuice.com/">Literary Juice</a>.</span></span></div>
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