Douglas Siefken#.TyhETIaCx-0.facebook#.TyhETIaCx-0.facebook

Douglas Siefken#.TyhETIaCx-0.facebook#.TyhETIaCx-0.facebook

Interview with Steven W. Johnson!

Bio

I served 3 tours in Viet Nam. And my love of history, the English language, and voracious reading habits have enabled me to develop a voice that is descriptive without being overly verbose. I am a former president of the Oasis Writers Guild, Pahrump, NV and a member of the both the National and Southern Nevada Chapter of Sisters in Crime. I was a computer programmer for fifteen years and moved into website design (learning HTML in two weeks). I have also edited and published a current events magazine before turning to writing full time.

My first novel, Not Much of a Crime, was written in four months. A sequel is in the works.

My latest book is Need A Job? Publish A Book! with OpenOffice. This work illustrates how anyone can become a published author and national distribution for under $100.

I am also a firm believer in bringing back to life important works from the past. These include James R. McConnell’s Flying For France - With the American Escadrille at Verdun, a true story of an American pilot in World War I The Secret Witness by George Fort Gibbs, and "Bring Me His Ears" by Clarence Mulford. Others are on the way.

Bio provided by author's site

We felt extremely honored to have Steve ask us to interview him. He is such a great help with all of us who are new to sites like Kindle Direct Publishing authors community and CreateSpace authors community. Steve has helped many a novice with his charm, wit and wisdom. Steve was one of the first to ask to be interviewed but I held off on posting his until we had worked out all the bugs of posting interviews. We wanted to be just right! It is with great honor that we introduce to you, Steve. Sit back and enjoy~

1. Where does your inspiration come from?

Strange as it seems, I listen to the voices in my head. My muses are anything from dreams, to dialogue at home or on TV, to random thoughts that rattle around in my head at odd hours of the day or night. I also find that if I am attempting to make my characters do something THEY don't want to do, I end up with writer's block. Then it is time to sit down and sort out the voices until the character comes to the front again and tells me what I should be writing.

2. Are you an organized writer?

Not likely.   

3. Do you do things like take notes and make lists of characters?

No. They tell me what is going on.

4. Or do you free write and work it out as you go?

See my answers above. I spend more time with my eyes closed listening to my characters than I do pounding the keyboard.

5. What is your normal writing day like?

That depends on the honey-do list, my mother's honey-do list, MY gotta get it done today list, and reruns on TV. There is no "normal" routine when it comes to writing, other than a couple hours here and there.

6.  Do you write when you are inspired or do you have a schedule? The voices are somewhat capricious. I have actually stopped weeding to spend an hour or two writing and then they evaporate and I am back to doing whatever I was doing before.

7. Who is your favorite author and how did they inspire you to write?

There are several and all in different genres - Tolkien for epic fantasy, Piers Anthony for humorous fantasy, WEB Griffin for fictional history, Sheila Lowe for modern mystery, L'Amour and Clarence Mulford for Westerns, Lindsey Davis for her Falco, her ancient Roman detective character. And too many more to list, but each for their own genres. Oh, and of course JK Rowling for her young fiction.

8. It’s easy to see that you have a passion for writing but is there any part of it you don’t like?

Believe it or not, I miss the big city. I would rather be marketing in a metro area than in a rural area as I am in now. Other than that, not really.

9. Do you make time to read and if you do what are you reading right now?

I am reading all the time. Right now I am working on a marketing book, a Kinky Friedman trilogy, and another author's first draft. Sometimes I am in as many as six books, other times it is down to one.

10. It looks like you have a variety of writing styles, What influences the story? Is there personal life experience in the writing?

It is the characters that influences the most. In The Curious Misadventures of Tubby Wexler, Private Investigator, I have limited him to doing nothing of any significant social value, still he bumbles along solving what he believes are important cases. He's always looking for that one big case that will push him into the big time, but it will never come. I am well into his second book of short stories, Hard Times and Soft Soled Shoes.

Allison King, the former porn star in Not Much of a Crime, is a straight forward cross between a thriller and a detective novel. Someone is trying to kill her and she needs to find out who and why. The twist at the end of the novel has had people stop me on the street and want to know how I came up with it. All I can tell them is "I listen to the voices in my head."

11. Your books have been published with CreateSpace, Does this mean you see the publishing industry headed this way?

Yes and no. Yes, there will be more books published this way in the future, but one has to remember that ebooks are just now coming into their own and that will begin to cut down on print books, I believe. As for Createspace vs more traditional publishers, if an author can market his CS books well enough he can and will be picked up by a traditional publisher. I tend to look at CS as the minor leagues or college football, the cream will rise to the top and get a publishing contract from one of the major publishers. However, I also believe that CS offers writers an opportunity to get their work into print immediately and this will help both the author and the reading public determine if there is a market for the author's work.

12. Do you have any online sites where others can read more of your writings?

Not really. My website, www.stevenwjohnson.com, is an online store and I would prefer to sell my work than give it away for free. But, it just might be a good idea to add a section where people can at least read a chapter or two of a book to help them decide to buy it. Oh, one other thing, when people buy from my website, each book is inscribed by me to the purchaser or to someone they are buying it for.

13. Do you have any more stories in the works? What kinds of stories do you plan to write next?

As stated earlier, I am working on Baffled as well as several others. Not including Baffled and Hard Times and Soft Soled Shoes, I have three others in various stages of completion. I suppose if I wanted to listen to one character who ends up dead (he is trying to keep me from finalizing his demise) I could finish that book in a couple weeks. But I don't really have a good title for that book and until that comes along, it sits on the shelf.

14. Who would be your first choice to play the Hopalong Cassidy of your book Bar-20 Three?

Actually, that is a public domain book by Clarence Mulford that I republished, and Mulford's character is vastly different than the one played by William Boyd on the silver screen, so being true to Mulford's character I would think someone like Sam Shepard. It has to be someone who looks as if he has lived the life Hoppy would have lived.

15. If you could meet anyone from any time who would it be and what would be your first question?

Hmmm. So many possibilities but I guess I would have to ask someone from the future how well my stories have held up. I don't expect to be a Shakespeare, but I would like to be remembered for some of what I have written.

Our interview with Jason Z. Christie!

                                                                      Bio

Grindcore/thrash metal drummer, nerd rapper turned novelist, Jason Z. Christie writes for the love of his perfect wife, Johnnie Christie, and his family and friends. Startlingly intelligent, insightful and romantic, he tells tales of high adventure via a variety of genres.

                                                 Bio provided by author's site.

Jason graciously agreed to be interviewed by a novice who is trying to help other authors while learning the trade.  I have found through the interview and the bit of research I have done that he is a thoroughly interesting and engaging person! He is a true artist who dabbles in various styles of the arts. It is my great pleasure to introduce Jason!

 1. What makes for a good hook in your stories? Where does your inspiration come from?

I tend to come up with the concept, and write on it for a while. Along the way, I try and come up with the ending. The rest follows from there. I am fully inspired by my fiancée and editor. Were it not for her, I wouldn’t be writing…

2. Are you an organized writer? Do you do things like take notes and make lists of characters? Or do you free write and work it out as you go?

I have always written with a vague scene in mind when I start off, or tried to. But there are entire chapters in Pageburner, for instance, that I had no idea I was going to write until after they were written. I enjoy that sort of writing. The entire cross-country travel section in that novel was entirely impromptu.

But with the Ultimate Hustle series, I went all out. I mapped out the next two novels, Ultimate Hustle and Superlove, when I was writing Penultimate Hustle. I had so much story, I had to add an additional novel to the series.

It’s about the adult film industry, so I came up with something like 150 porn star names, and 100 film titles. I probably used 10% of them, but it really did add a lot of detail to the storyline. Having all the major elements planned ahead of time really allows the story to sort of grow into that framework.

My story ideas are usually a page of characters and plotlines, with lines connecting the various bits. It looks more like someone was designing a webpage than a novel.

3. What is your normal writing day like? Do you write when you are inspired or do you have a schedule?

I do everything I can do to avoid writing, lately. I’m still promoting and editing my first releases and trying to get my name out there. I’m trying to fall back into a schedule of writing at least ten pages a day. Editing is an ongoing process, as well. Life gets in the way…

4. Who is your favorite author and how did they inspire you to write?

Johnnie Christie is my favorite author, and she only writes for me, so far. She is the most inspiring person I have ever known. We manage to have a lot of fun writing poems for each other, as I slowly attempt to get her to write something lengthier.

For more mainstream authors, I really like Stephen King and Tom Robbins. I mention them in almost every interview, and I haven’t even read all of their stuff. I also used to enjoy a lot of classic sci-fi like Heinlein and Asimov. Douglas Adams has always been a favorite of mine, as well. Clive Barker doesn’t seem to get enough credit for the work he’s done.

5.    It’s easy to see that you have a passion for writing but is there any part of it you don’t like?

I’d say the fact that novels are never really done, and that each new editing pass reveals problems in the book you were convinced was finalized. I also regret that I write them by hand, as my girlfriend types them up for me. I enjoy the thought of her doing it, but I know it’s actually a lot of hard work.

6. Do you make time to read and if you do what are you reading right now?

I’m rereading The Door Into Summer by Robert A. Heinlein. I have a bad habit of rereading books I really like instead of reading new ones. In this one, he details automatic vacuum cleaners and AutoCAD thirty years before they hit the market. I do have several ebooks I’d like to read from contemporary authors as well.

7. It looks like you have a variety of styles in which you write. Which do you prefer? Is there personal life experience in the writing?

Yeah, I sort of have this plan to write books in many different genres. I am torn, lately. Ordinarily I like to write simple prose with storylines that aren’t convoluted. The latest I’m working on has a pretty ambitious plot that’s a lot less linear, and the writing is sort of looser, as well. I’m working at integrating the two approaches.

There’s too much of my life in my books, sometimes. But who would believe it? It’s fiction.

8. Your books have been published with Amazon.com and Kindle Direct Publishing, Does this mean you see the publishing industry headed this way?

I actually regret not going this route a year earlier. I was caught up in writing during that time, but after giving the print world long consideration, decided that direct publishing was the way to go. It’s still up to you to do it, but there is no one who can say “no” and stop you. A complete inversion of the literary agent process. But there are a lot of poorly written ebooks out there, to be fair.

If nothing else, I see epublishing as a proving ground where you can work the kinks out of your novels before a live audience before submitting manuscripts. Having sales records to back you may be of interest to some of them, at this point. That end of the industry is going to change soon. Literary agents will come to you, in other words.

9. Do you have any online sites where others can read more of your writings?

You can get Zombie Killa and Six Stories Short and Sweet for free at http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jasonzchristie, along with a link to my blog. I‘m trying to write a poem a day there, and a bit about the ebook industry each week.

10. Do you have any more stories in the works? What kinds of stories do you plan to write next?

I have three that are more or less actively being written, although I’m focusing on one of them lately. One is a construction murder mystery with Renee Hollander of Zen Construction from Hurricane Regina. Another is my attempt at a funny fantasy novel involving, among other things, a city of princesses.

But the one I’m working on the most lately is called Cure for Sanity, and it’s a novel that brings together the Ultimate Hustle series with the Perfect Me series earlier than I had planned. I can’t write Star Hustle until I write two more UH novels, so Cure For Sanity is a workaround for that. It’s a pretty fun story, and sort of complicated for a humorous book. Or, that is my aim, at least. It’s definitely darker than either of those two series.

There’s a project that we’ve backburnered for now that I hope to get back to researching soon, but I also have my first poetry edition that I’d like to have ready for February. Penultimate Hustler, the sequel to Radar Love, should be out by March 23^rd.

11. Who would be your first choice to play Captain Dan Nolan from your book "Hurricane Regina"?

We used to call Hurricane Regina “Overboard” for a long time, probably nearly two years. So I say Kurt Russell. ; ) Or possibly Dan Dolan, of Captain Dan and His Scurvy Crew, the pirate rapper in Florida. With a portion of the proceeds going to Clive Cussler.

12. If you could meet anyone from any time who would it be and what would be your first question?

I would meet myself from the future and ask, “What took you so long?”

Our interview with Jason Christie!

Our interview with Douglas Cobb!

                                                                Bio
Douglas R. Cobb was born in Illinois and attended the University of Illinois, earning a BA in Rhetoric. Then, at Arizona State University, Douglas earned a Master's in English, and at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, he earned a Master's in Secondary Education. Little Rock is where he met his wife, Beth. He now lives in Fort Smith, Arkansas, which features prominently in his novel Lily and PAWS: The Ghosts of Summer, Book Two of his The Case Files of Lily and PAWS series. Book One is titled Lily, Unleashed.
Douglas and Beth have a twenty-two-year old son, Ben (Dexter Quince in the series), and a seventeen-year-old daughter, Kaitlin (Celeste in the series). He has always had a love for writing, but was finally motivated to write Lily, Unleashed, by his daughter's prompting him to write about her "dog," Lily, who is featured on the covers of the series.
Besides Douglas desiring his readers to have fun reading his novels (that's the most important thing about reading any book), he also hopes he has created a heartwarming series that readers will fall in love with, as well as LOL at.
Enjoy life, enjoy reading, write yourself, and believe in yourself: these are some of the things that Douglas believes are important for everyone! To learn more about the books Lily, Unleashed and Lily and PAWS: The Ghosts of Summer, please visit Douglas Cobb's blog, "What's New In Book Reviews," at: http://douglascobb.wordpress.com/2011/12/17/whats-new-in-book-reviews/

                                                             Bio provided by author's site.

We meet Douglas through Kindle Direct Publishing in our thread asking for people to volunteer to interview. Douglas was very interested in being interviewed! He enjoys life and has a great determination when it comes to something he really believes in. So without further delay, it is my great pleasure to introduce Douglas! Sit back and enjoy.

1. What makes for a good hook in your stories? Where does your inspiration come from?

A good hook? Crazy, crazy predicaments. Lily and PAWS (Lily being the terrier/pterodactyl heroine of Lily, Unleashed and Lily and PAWS: The Ghosts Of Summer)and Lily's heart-warming relationship with her "owner," thirteen-year-old Celeste Quince, are the main focuses of the e-novels. PAWS, of course, is the crime-fighting organization she heads, made up of other crazy animals like Fuzzy Wally MacGee (a Chinese Crested/rhino), Lucy Marmoset Higgins (a Great Dane/orangutan), and Prince Alphonse Saed (a miniature dachsund/Mountain Lion).

For these two novels, I suppose my 17-year-old daughter, Kaitlin, was an inspiration, as she talked me into writing both of them. And, Roald Dahl was in my mind as I wrote. I tried to make the books LOL enough so that parents reading them aloud to their children would crack up (hopefully) in laughter. There are also evil Christmas elves later on in Lily, Unleashed that sing like Oompah-Loompahs. Lily and PAWS: The Ghosts of Summer was also greatly influenced by actual haunted locations throughout Arkansas, and by its Wild West past. The ghost of the "Bandit Queen," Belle Starr, is one of the many ghosts I mention in the book.

2. Are you an organized writer? Do you do things like take notes and make lists of characters? Or do you free write and work it out as you go?

Both. Sort of, kind of. The first book in The Case Files of Lily and PAWS, Lily, Unleashed, I had a very general idea of where to go with the story. I wanted it to be spread out throughout an entire year, as what happens at the very beginning of the novel pretty much demanded that when I picked up that part of the story again, the weather had to be relatively warm again. So, I went through an entier year's worth of adventures to get to the conclusion, and tried to top each chapter with the next one. I don't know for sure if I succeeded, but I tried to do that.

The sequel, Lily and PAWS: The Ghosts of Summer, on the other hand, I actually researched much more in depth. That's because its plot deals a great deal with actual haunted places in Arkansas, and with the history of my adopted state. It takes place, as the title suggests, just over the course of a summer, so it's somewhat shorter, but it's a pretty cool book, also, with some genuinely frightening moments as I got a bit Stephen King-influenced as I wrote the novel.

And, I was very influenced by pop and cultural references. I'm not sure how many celebrity names, moveis, etc., I mention in both books, but it was a lot.

3. What is your normal writing day like? Do you write when you are inspired or do you have a schedule?

I am relatively new to writing novels. Lily, Unleashed I wrote just this past August-September, and it's around 65,950 words. Then, I wrote Lily and PAWS: The Ghosts of Summer mostly this past November, 2011, for the NaNoWriMo event (National Novel Writing Month). I finished it in December. I tried to write around 2,000 words a day. Now, with the YA novel I'm currently writing, My Brother the Zombie, I started off with the best of intentions, to write 3,000 words per day, despite my having a day job, books to read and review, and family that I would like to spend more time with. It's a great book, but I've slowed down, as I've been writing reviews, spending way to much time on Facebook and Twitter, etc. (Tweet Me @DouglasRCobb) You can leave comments/questions for Lily herself to answer at her FB page, http://www.facebook.com/#!/LilyUnleashed
So, I have no "normal" writing day. I wish I could spend more time to my writing, but I need to wait for the public to gain a greater awareness of my writing, I suppose. Interviews like this are a big help--thanks once again!

4. Who is your favorite author and how did they inspire you to write?

I mentioned one of my favorite MG/YA authors, Roald Dahl. There are many, many more--Catherine Jenks, the author of the Evil genius series, is one, and Katie Milford, who wrote Boneshaker. Then, of course, there are ones like Shakespeare, Dante, and Milton, and I loves me some SF and Fantasy novels, too. Robert Zelazny, P.K. Dick, L.Jagi Lamplighter, John C. Wright, Neal Asher, Alex Bledsoe, and Jim Butcher are just a sampling of the SF and Fantasy authors I love reading.

5. It’s easy to see that you have a passion for writing but is there any part of it you don’t like?

Sometimes pushing myself is hard, and I might prefer to be doing something else. I often need to do other things, like catch up on reading/reviewing books, so I also have to set aside time for that. My own book review web site is What's New In Book Reviews, at: http://douglascobb.wordpress.com/


6. Do you make time to read and if you do what are you reading right now?

I sure try to make time for that--I kinda have to, but I get sent books for free, at least, which helps the pocket book somewhat. I'm reading an anthology by the horror author, Charles Grant, called Nightmare Seasons. It's an ebook (NeCon published it), and the review will appear at my site soon. Also, I'm reading Black Thunder, an Ella Clah Mystery, by the husband and wife writing duo, Aimee and David Thurlo. And, I have stacks impatiently waiting me after those....

7. How did you get started on writing from your dog's point of view?. Is there personal life experience in the writing?

As I mentioned, Lily is our family's--well, my daughter's--"dog". she is definitely real, and my daughter took the photos that are used on both of the covers at a local dog park in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Kaitlin had wanted me to write a book for some time about Lily. I'm not sure what type of book she was expecting, but one week this past August, when Kaitlin was visiting her grandparents in Paris, AR. (which I mention in both novels), I began writing Lily, Unleashed, and emailed Kaitlin the results on a daily basis. She kept writing things like" "LOL!" and "More, more!" so I kept on, not really intending to keep on going, but encouraged by how much Kaitlin enjoyed reading about Lily's, and PAWS's, adventures. Celeste Quince, who is thirteen in the books, is loosely based on Kaitlin, though she has parents who are multimillionaires and inventors of very, very strange things, unlike myself and my wife. There are some eprsonal experiences, quite a few, but
they are fictionalized to fit with the plot.

8. Your books have been published with X company, Does this mean you see the publishing industry headed this way?

Ebooks are the new wave, and are destined to become more and more popular. There were literally millions of Kindles, for instance, sold this past year leading up to Christmas. I will always love books printed on paper, and I truly hope they'll always be around and that I will possibly eventually have my books published in that format, also, but Ebooks just seem to be where the direction of publsihing is currently heading.

9. Do you have any online sites where others can read more of your writings?

Not really other than the ones I mentioned, though I have a couple of hsor stories in the Horror genre that may show up at a couple of online magazines or in anthologies in the near future--fingers crossed. But, please do check out my web site, and Lily's FB page!

10. Do you have any more stories in the works? What kinds of stories do you plan to write next?

Yes, the one I mentioned, My Brother the Zombie. It is more of a traditional YA Horror novel, though with a romantic element, and some touches of humor here and there. I'm almost finished with the ninth chapter, and I hope to have it finished sometime in February. Though unrelated to the Lily series of books, it's set in the same fictional city of Centralia, Arkansas. It has a few fairly grisly scenes in it, and mild (relatively speaking) curse words in it, as well. It is not Twilight, with zombies, though one of the main characters does have a girlfriend, Adele.

11. Who would be your first choice to play Lily from your book Lily?

If you are talking about if Disney or Nickolodean Films ever makes it into a movie, using either real animals or as a cartoon, I don't really know. Someone who is good at playing slightly off-center characters, though, like maybe the woman who sometimes plays the guitar and sings odd but cool songs on the TV series, Raising Hope. I actually was thinking as I wrote it, and the sequel, that it would be great as a movie, and I tried to include lots of Disney and Nick references, among many others.

12. If you could meet anyone from any time who would it be and what would be your first question?

I'm not really sure--probably most people who are famous would be thinking: "Get away from me, you stalker!" or his/her era's equivalent to that. Jesus would be great to meet, I suppose; but, I think it would have been fantastic to have met someone like Roger Zelazny, who wrote Nine Princes in Amber, or Roald Dahl. One person I have met, because he played the Jack Nicholson role in the play of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at the Sullivan Little theater in Illinois (where I lived--in Champaign), is Leonard Nimoy, who was Spock in the Star Trek series. I really liked him in Fringe, also.

Interview with K.T. King!

                                                                                 Bio

K T King was born in South Wales in 1981. At the age of fourteen she began writing fiction as a hobby. It was only after the birth of her first child that she decided to turn her hobby into something more. K T finished her first novel, Always There, in December 2010. After many months of approaching traditional publishers, she decided to take the option of publishing the novel as an ebook through Smashwords and Amazon Kindle. However, she didn't want to sacrifice the possibilities of Always There being available in paperback. After weeks of searching she came across a company that would print her books on demand, Lulu.com. She signed up with them shortly after publishing her ebook and ordered a paperback copy for herself. The quality of the book was everything she expected and more. K T is currently working on a new Drama novel and hopes to branch out into different genres throughout her writing career. 

                                                  Bio provided by author's site.

It was my pleasure to get the oportunity to interview K.T. She is like a lot of people who seemed to have loved writing since she was old enough to hold a writing utensil. So please give a warm welcome to K.T. and sit back and enjoy the interview!

1. What makes for a good hook in your stories? Where does your inspiration come from?

Plenty of drama and keeping the reader in the dark slightly, so it encourages them to read on. My son is my main inspiration and also my love for writing.

2. Are you an organized writer? Do you do things like take notes and make lists of characters? Or do you free write and work it out as you go?

No. I am definitely not an organised writer. I regularly begin with taking notes and making lists of the characters, then I seem to get caught up in the story and all notes and lists are forgotten. I prefer to free write initially as I feel I get a better flow with the story. I am, however, a little more organised when I edit it.

3. What is your normal writing day like? Do you write when you are inspired or do you have a schedule?

I write as often as I can. I try to stick to a schedule but sometimes life can get in the way. More often than not I write for a few hours staggered throughout the day.

4. Who is your favorite author and how did they inspire you to write?

Jodie Picoult. It amazes me how she begins with a question and writes an entire book based on that one question. I don't think I have ever been inspired by other authors as such, I just love to write.

5. It’s easy to see that you have a passion for writing but is there any part of it you don’t like?

No, I love everything about writing. It is hard work, but it is something I have always wanted to do so it is worth it.

6. Do you make time to read and if you do what are you reading right now?

I always make time for reading. I am a great book lover and read whenever I get the chance to. I am currently reading The Serpent in the Glass (The Tale of Thomas Farrell) by D.M. Andrews.

7. How did you get into writing in this style of tragic love story? Is there personal life experience in the writing?

The idea came to me one day, quite unexpectedly, and I had a strong urge to write the book. I had initially focused on the genre of romance but it turned out quite differently in the end. There is no personal life experience in the writing, but my personal circumstances at the time helped motivate me to write it.

8. Your books have been published with Amazon.com, Does this mean you see the publishing industry headed this way?

I don't think traditional publishing will ever disappear completely. I do think they have to consider taking more risks with first time authors though. Ebook publishing has given any writer the opportunity to fulfil their dreams and a lot of authors, who are successful, will be forever grateful for the chance they had to achieve those dreams.

9. Do you have any online sites where others can read more of your writings?

Always There is the only book I have out at the moment. I do have a blog and a website which contains more information about my work.

http://www.ktking.co.uk/

http://ktkingsblog.blogspot.com/

10. Do you have any more stories in the works? What kinds of stories do you plan to write next?

My next book is also a Drama and I am hoping to release it in March. I have plans for writing more books and writing in different genres.

11. Who would be your first choice to play Kelly and Jake from your book "Always There"?

I wouldn't want anyone famous to play them. I would rather new, fresh talent to have the opportunity.

12. If you could meet anyone from any time who would it be and what would be your first question?

I had to have a really good think about this question. I came to the conclusion it would have to be J.R.R Tolkien and the question would have to be, "Wow! What a story. How did you do it?"

Comment?

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Our book, "Kai's ...Journey" is about a young man whose father created zombies that destroyed the world as we know it. In this journey he comes across a clan of werewolves and a new visitor to our planet. Together they all try to find a way to destroy the disease that has taken over the world. Please give it a look see and maybe leave a comment. Thank you very much. it can be found at this link.
http://www.amazon.com/Kais-Journey-World-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B0067RJZS8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327859791&sr=8-1

Interview with Linda David!

                                                                       Bio
My name is Linda David and this is my first children's book. I am a single mother of two and currently work as a college lecturer in Childcare. I was born in Cyprus in 1967 to parents who both hail from the Caribbean island of Nevis, and   have also lived in Germany as well as St Kitts and Nevis in the West Indies.
The idea for this book came about about 10 years ago when I was on maternity leave and needed something to do to fill my time.  It started off as a short story that I would be able to read to my children when they were older and it just continued to grow as I continued to add a chapter here and there as the years went by.
I have always enjoyed reading and was encouraged to do so from a very early age, and that is partly what inspired me to write. Even today I can remember the excitement and wonder I used to experience as a child when reading fantasy and adventure stories, so I hope that through my own writing, I will be able to inspire and encourage other children's interest and pleasure in reading as well.
I hope you enjoy reading my book as much as I enjoyed writing it.
                                                 Bio provided by author's site.

It has been a great pleasure to interview Linda and find out more about her and her story. With Linda, as it is with most authors, they have a love for reading. Whether it be from the time they could pick up a book or later in life when they discovered the joys of reading. So sit back and get comfortable with your favorite warm beverage and please give a most warm welcome to Linda David!

1. What makes for a good hook in your stories? Where does your inspiration come from?

My inspiration for my story (right now there's only the one!) came about because I know the kind of books I used to love as a child (mostly Enid Blyton stuff) and I tried to imagine the kind of book I would like to read now if I was a child. Fantasy fiction has always been a favourite of mine, so I've always heard people say 'write what you know' so I decided to write a story about a character loosely based on myself as a child and the kind of adventures I would have loved to have had as a child, if that makes sense. I was the kind of child who would try to stay up to see if my toys came alive or searched in vain for fairy rings in the garden, so a story about actually visiting another planet and having alien friends, seemed an ideal choice (I'm also very into Star Trek, Stargate, etc!)

2. Are you an organized writer? Do you do things like take notes and make lists of characters? Or do you free write and work it out as you go?
I'm a 'free writer' and yes, I find that the story does unfold as it goes along. Once I've got a main character to work with, the story builds around them. I might have a main idea for a plot or storyline, but how and when I get to it is never set in stone. I work towards it and it eventually falls into place.
3. What is your normal writing day like? Do you write when you are inspired or do you have a schedule?
I prefer to write when inspired as it makes the writing more authentic and not 'forced' as it were. I have to admit I get most of my ideas when I'm relaxing in a hot bath, but as long as I scribble them down as soon as I get out, I'm fine. I also wake up in the morning with ideas spilling out of my head and have to make sure my notepad is always available. If I don't jot it down straight away, it usually disappears. I'd love to be able to write every day, but having a full-time job does not make it easy. I write during holidays and at weekends mostly when I can write uninterrupted.
4. Who is your favorite author and how did they inspire you to write?

5. It’s easy to see that you have a passion for writing but is there any part of it you don’t like?
My favourite author has to be Stephen King - I've been reading his books for years and years and he never stops suprising me. My favourite book is The Stand, and my favourite series is The Dark Tower. He's a amazing writer, however, my inspiration for writing is actually J K Rowling, possibly because we write for the same genre and definitely because I identify with her back story - single mother, teacher, etc, etc.
I love writing, period - devising and developing the plot, the characters, revising and reviewing the story, adding bits, cutting bits out, reading an re-reading to see if the improvements are working...I could go on and on. If there was a part I didn't like, it would be proof-reading! No matter how many times you go through your work, there will always be something you missed. That's why it's important to get someone else to proof-read for you.
6. Do you make time to read and if you do what are you reading right now?
I'm currently re-reading The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. I read all my books many times over and usually discover something new each time that I may have overlooked or missed, or make a connection or reach a new understanding on a certain point.

7.     What inspired you to write in this style? Is there personal life experience in the writing?
The main character in my book as I said, is loosely based on myself as a child (some might even say there are still some similarities!) though I hope I've grown out of most of it. My sister also says the character sounds exactly like her. Of course, I've never actually been to another planet (!) so the only other similarity with my life is the fact that my family do come from Nevis in the West Indies. I will actually try to incorporate more of that in my next book.
8. Your books have been published with Kindle Direct Publishing, Does this mean you see the publishing industry headed this way?

I published on Kindle because having done the rounds of mainstream publishers and agents, and in some cases, getting some positive feedback, I joined several writers websites where the general concensus seemed to be that e-books were probably the future and that there was a whole untapped market of people that were looking for my kind of writing, and the fact that a particular publisher or agent didn't feel they could make any money from your book didn't mean that it wasn't something that people didn't want to read. I did very well from a 3-day free promotion and will soon be publishing in paperback as a print-on-demand book. 

 9. Do you have any online sites where others can read more of your writings?
I have a website with my sister who also writes as follows: http://www.eternalrainbows.moonfruit.com.

10. Do you have any more stories in the works? What kinds of stories do you plan to write next?
I am currently working on a sequel to The Firestone Crystal which follows the main character, Agathea Fulstropp through more adventures on Planet Aruuliah. Since this is the kind of book I enjoy reading as well as writing, I'll stick with it for the time being, and if and when something else takes my fancy, I'll write about that.

11. Who would be your first choice to play Agathea Fulstropp  from your book The Firestone Crystal?
I have absolutely no idea - I haven't thought that far ahead, but I'd probably follow J K Rowling's example and give an unknown actor/actress a chance. It's all about providing opportunities to people who wouldn't ordinarily get them, so I'd love to be able to do that for someone.
12. If you could meet anyone from any time who would it be and what would be your first question?
My dream has always been to meet Oprah Winfrey, another person who inspires me every day. I would ask her how she knew she was on the right path prior to her fame and who or what inspired her to keep going. 

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Our Interview with Daniel Peyton!

                                                 Bio


My name is Daniel Jo Peyton. I was born in 1982 in Stillwater Oklahoma, home town of OSU. My life there was as basic as anyone living on the flat lands of the Midwest, baking in the sun, freezing in the winters, running from tornadoes in the between, and enjoying the vast expanse of life around you.
I grew up with an older brother who was more into sports than I, a father who was a pastor and also a human resource manager at a factory in town, and a mother who went back to college when I started first grade. I spent a lot of time with mom at the University, mostly in the music department. I loved being on stage and being around others who were as stage friendly as I. That eventually led to me joining a Dance company when I was in fourth grade. I was a large kid, still am, and I towered over everyone. But, no one could deny that I was an enthusiastic dancer. I tapped mostly, I tried Jazz dancing, and a little ballet, but soon enough I knew that Tap was my passion. I loved it. As I grew up, my friends, mostly guys that is, would ask me why I would want to be a dancer. That seemed so girly to them. My answer was always the same, If I want to be around half naked, hot sweaty men, I would play sports. In the dance school, I was one guy in a whole company of girls, all of which were very easy on the eyes. Of course, I was always first a dancer, but I didn't argue with the side effects.
Also in fourth grade, I encountered something knew, writing. My fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Rogers, had us write for half an hour each day. It could be anything from poetry to catching up with school work. Just write. I started with some poems and tongue twisters, then I delved into novels. Okay, so my first novel was four pages long, and that was pencil on wide rule paper, but for a fourth grader, that was pretty good ( If I do say so myself). The story I remember to this day, The Adventures of Private Eye Peyton. A fan of the 80's detective shows, I decided to try my hand at one. It was silly to say the least, but it started me on something that I couldn't put down. I wrote, and I wrote. I wrote every time I got the chance. First on basic paper, the on a typewriter. Yes, computers existed, but they were pretty expensive at that age, and we simply didn't need one. But, I didn't care. I started off trying to write my own stories for my favorite show, Star Trek. To this day, I have written well over 9 novels about a cast of characters set in the Star Trek universe.
In 2001, my father got a job at a company in Morristown Tennessee, ( East Tennessee that is) and we up and moved out east. It was a culture shock for us, as we had lived in the flatlands for years, for me it was my entire life. Now, we were in the mountains of smoke and history. We settled in as best as we could. There I started my junior year of high school. After that, I went on to the little community college here in town for a while and decided that I wasn't clear on a path for college just yet, and went to work at a Video Store. All the while, I continued to write.
After a number of years working for the video store, a new manager decided he didn't quite like me and found a reason to fire me. It was devastating, but I found inspiration in it. I started to write a novel that was outside my normal genre, it would be pure fantasy. Using details of my life in both Oklahoma and East Tennessee, I constructed a simple, yet fun little fantasy that centered around a character based on yours truly. The book got published and is currently available, The Jalan Chronicles: The Eyes of Amaterasu.
This was not the success that I had hoped for. I did book readings, went to speak at schools, and eventually translated it into an ebook on Kindle.
In 2002 I joined the EGA, the Embroiders Guild of America. I like to stitch now and then and found friends among the ladies. In 2008, the president of our local chapter announced that the theme for the Share-a-Stitch convention would be Stitching Magic. I knew that they meant magic like Vegas, not Merlin, but I was inspired none the less. So, I started to craft a novel about all new characters set around a small, fictional town in New England called Featherville. The key Character was an old lady who happened to be a Stitching Witch. I let the story take a life all its own and started to write. It was a blast. For those who aren't into embroidery, they will still find a fantastic story, ( If I do say so myself). Unfortunately, I found that publishers were uncertain of a book about magical stitching. Who has ever heard of such a subject? So, I decided to try and prove them wrong, and put it on Kindle.
Faith. I have faith in god and I have faith in my stories. I am a Baptist, which I found a plethora of in East Tennessee. I am still a dancer. After moving out here, I found little in the line of tap that I was accustomed too. But, I did encounter a person that has changed my life, a nice Japanese woman who introduced me to Okinawan culture and dance with the Miyagi Ryu School of dance and music. Since 2001, I have been training and performing classic and modern styles of Japanese dance all over the south, and even out in California.
I am still a writer, I always have been, I always will be. I trust in that part of me, as I know that God put it in my makeup before I was even born. My prayer is that my books elicit a little joy, a smile, even maybe a tear, in the lives of those who read them. And that, in a large nutshell, is me. Daniel Jo Peyton.
                              Bio provided by author's site


It was my pleasure to interview Daniel! I found him to be quite engaging on many different topics. He has lead a varied and interesting life. So, without any further delay, please give a warm welcome to Daniel Payton.

1.What makes for a good hook in your stories? Where does your inspiration come from?

Inspiration comes from just about anything. Music is one of the most crucial points of inspiration for scene work. Some characters are developed by borrowing the likeness of a friend and then altering him/her into a character. Though some characters, such as Elsabethe, are complete fabrication. When writing The Crystal Needle I was first inspired by my Embroiderers Guild. They held a stitching convention that had a theme of 'stitching magic'. It made me consider the idea of writing a fantasy novel that involved stitching. While writing the book I listened to a lot of Copland and Gershwin. The moods and story within the music seemed to highlight the thoughts and moments of the book. Andante con Moto-Adagio by Gershwin set a dismal mood for moments of the book, while Appalachian Spring by Copland seemed to make me think of the moments of history in the book. I can honestly say that even Miley Cyrus inspired a part, when I wanted to put myself in the mindset of a girl in love I used Dream from the Hannah Montana Movie Soundtrack.

Last: I draw my characters. Well not all of them. But, I love to draw with a pencil. At times I have come up with a person that I want to write about. The picture gives him life and helps me know a little more about him for the story.

2.Are you an organized writer? Do you do things like take notes and make lists of characters? Or do you free write and work it out as you go? 

All of the above. I take notes, I free write, I brainstorm. Often I come up with the idea for the story, as long as I have an ending in mind, and just start writing. Then, after heading into the story, I keep a blank paper book with me that I scribble down notes in whenever a thought crosses my mind. Usually when I am traveling long distances I will have a really good thought for a particular scene and I will grab the book and jot it down. I also like an organic story. I know where the characters are, and I know where I want them to be in the end, but how they get there is undecided until it happens. I know the world they are in and put myself there to see what they are doing.

3.What is your normal writing day like? Do you write when you are inspired or do you have a schedule? 

 I do not normally have a daily schedule, though I tend to write late in the evening for about an hour. Yet, when I have a thought that I really want to get down and I am free to write, I will sit and write. Of course writing isn’t necessarily putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. Sitting on your bed and thinking is writing. Pacing around is writing. Sitting for 12 hours in the backseat of a car is writing. So long as you are focused on the story and ideas, you are writing. I try to not let it build up too much before I do put finger to keyboard, or I might miss something. ( Or a nasty explosion ensues)

4.Who is your favorite author and how did they inspire you to write?

Charles Dickens. I love the way he can set a setting. You know where the character is and what he/she feels at that moment. If they are cold or hot. If they are angry or happy, you are not left wondering. I also love the how he can find unique ways to describe something, or someone. You know that place or person by the abstract way he introduced them.

Note: I don’t consider myself half the author he was. Charles Dickens is a master, I am an amateur.

5.It’s easy to see that you have a passion for writing but is there any part of it you don’t like? 

Editing. Okay, I love to re-edit my own work. Sometimes I seem to go through it too many times. But, what gets tedious to me is when I am handed the edited work and have to put that in myself. My chief editor hates using anything but basic pencil. So, for me it can be a bit of an eye-strain finding the marks and making sure that I don’t miss something.

6.Do you make time to read and if you do what are you reading right now?

 I try to read every day. What I have become interested in recently is reading bios. I love classic television and have been reading some of the older stars books that have come out recently. Betty White, Dick Van Dyke, Bob Newhart. At this moment I am reading Jeanie out of the bottleby Barbara Eden. It is a well written work that has a good deal of first hand Hollywood history in it.

 7.How did you come to write about this genre of fantasy with the mixture of Japanese Folk lore and the Salem Witch Trials? Is there personal life experience in the writing?

I am a member of the Okinawan Kenjin-kai, I am a performer of traditional Japanese Dance and music. My hometown has a sister city in Japan and so I grew up with a lot of Japanese influences. Logically, this inspired me to bring that into the story. I am also the son of a history major. I grew up with a lot of history studies. When I started writing this book, I wanted to find a place in American history that I could put this, so I choose early colonial. Of course what I wrote is mostly fabrication. I studied up on bits and pieces to keep it believable, but it is in no way a historical fiction. It is just a fiction that has a little history in it.

Person life experience: The only personal part in this book is some of Joseph. I was a dancer too. I brought an ounce of that to put into him. Otherwise, that is as far as I personally go into this story.

8.Your books have been published with Amazon.com, Does this mean you see the publishing industry headed this way?

  I can believe that the publishing industry is heading toward the e-book market and Amazon is definitely the leader in that at this moment. But, they will have to keep up with the market. Blockbuster was the leader in the fledgling movie rental market, and once thought to be too big for its own britches. Look at it now, it did not keep up and is facing its own end. Books will never go out of fashion. How we get them and read them changes all the time.

9.Do you have any online sites where others can read more of your writings?

I have a blog that I try to keep updated weekly: http://thunderchicken-outofmyhead.blogspot.com/

10.Do you have any more stories in the works? What kinds of stories do you plan to write next?

I am in the process of finishing a new novel. It is a Christian fiction written in hopes of publication through Lifeway. I also have a series of books I have worked on for years based in the Star Trek universe. Unfortunately, that is a difficult genre to get into as a new author. And, I am writing some short stories for a game on Facebook. But, these stories are just fluff so I can get some writing in while I am editing the Christian Novel. ( I write all the time, even if I doubt anyone will read what I am working on.)

 11.Who would be your first choice to play Elsabethe from your book "The Crystal Needle."?

Vicki Lawrence.

 12.If you could meet anyone from any time who would it be and what would be your first question?

Michelangelo. First question: Will you teach me to sculpt?

Interview with Robert Collins

                                                                           Bio

I've had three SF novels published: "Monitor," "Lisa's Way," and "Expert Assistance." I've also had a coming of age novel published called "True Friends." I've had stories and articles appear in periodicals such as Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine; Tales of the Talisman; Space Westerns; Sorcerous Signals; Wild West; and Model Railroader. I've had two biographies published, one of "Bleeding Kansas" leader Jim Lane, and the other of a Kansas Civil War general. I've had six Kansas railroad books published by South Platte Press.

                                                          Bio provided by Author

It was my pleasure to interview Robert and get to learn a bit more about him and what he likes to write. He has written quite a bit of published works on various subjects and genre's. So please give a warm welcome to Robert Collins!

1. What makes for a good hook in your stories? Where does your inspiration come from?

A story. My job is to tell a story.

As to inspiration, it comes from anywhere. Lisa Herbert was partly inspired by young women I knew. Her effort to rebuild society came from my research into the Santa Fe Trail for a series of travel booklets I published.

2. Are you an organized writer? Do you do things like take notes and make lists of characters? Or do you free write and work it out as you go?

I need to have some outline of the plot. Characters can be short descriptions or just names. I find that figuring things out in advance keeps me from getting blocked.

3. What is your normal writing day like? Do you write when you are inspired or do you have a schedule?

I write in the morning, after I eat, shower, and so on. I have a goal of writing 4 pages a day. That goal keeps me going. I might not write every day, but that goal keeps me honest.

4. Who is your favorite author and how did they inspire you to write?

I don't a favorite author. I'm more a story person, in the same way that I don't have a favorite music artist, but I have songs that I like. That said, it was inspired to write by Asimov on Science Fiction. That book showed me that writing could be an outlet for my creative nature.

5. It’s easy to see that you have a passion for writing but is there any part of it you don’t like?

Waiting. Waiting to hear if a story's been bought or rejected. Waiting for sales. The waiting is not fun.

6. Do you make time to read and if you do what are you reading right now?

I try, though I can't afford to buy much. I've gotten into Wattpad, and I'm trying to read material I writer I know has posted, and some other things on my reading list. Since I'm not researching any nonfiction books at the moment, my reading has slackened a bit.

7. You have several different styles of writing, which do you prefer to do? Is there personal life experience in the writing?

I don't have any preferences. Either I want to tell a story or I don't.

As to personal life, no. My life is pretty dull. What sometimes goes into my fiction is my nonfiction research. I've gotten story ideas that way.

8. Your books have been published with Smashwords and Amazon.com, Does this mean you see the publishing industry headed this way?

If you mean ebooks, yes. It seems that ebooks are replacing the mass-market paperback. Ebooks make it easy to have lots of books easy at hand. They're also opening up avenues for novellas, short novels, and even short stories and short-story collections.

9. Do you have any online sites where others can read more of your writings?

Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/

10. Do you have any more stories in the works? What kinds of stories do you plan to write next?

Always! I'm working on sequels to Lisa's Way and to my first novel, as well as new works.

11. Who would be your first choice to play Lisa Herbert from your book "Lisa's Way"?

It used to be Amy Davidson, Lauren Ambrose, or Felicia Day, but they're way too old now. I don't know of any young red-haired actresses today who would fit. Molly Quinn from Castle is close.

12. If you could meet anyone from any time who would it be and what would be your first question?

Maybe Jim Lane, since I wrote a biography of him. I don't know what to ask first. I'd just like to figure the man out and make the definitive statement on him.