Writers and Authors

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When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

You know, I think it’s something that I was always aware I’d love to do. I just never believed I could make a career out of it, so it was off of radar. I did it for the joy of the creation, and the peace it brought me. I would write songs and poetry even in the third grade.

But then, I decided to give it a shot. I thought, life is too short, and why can’t I do it? Why can’t that be me? I was the only person holding myself back.

Once I acknowledged that, I went for it. And I couldn’t be any more ecstatic by the feedback. I’m hooked!

What genre do you write and why?

I enjoy writing Young Adult novels the most. I think, deep inside, I’m still a teen at heart. But above all, I feel that I have certain perspective and voice to my writing that connects to the YA audience. It’s some of my favorite feedback coming from the YA community.

Tell us about your latest book.

THE PHOTO TRAVELER is about a 17-year-old teen, Gavin Hillstone, whom discovers his ability to time travel through photos and images.

THE PHOTO TRAVELER was created after one of the most important individuals in my life lost his grandmother. He was looking at an old black and white photo and said, “I would do anything to jump into this photo.” In that moment the idea came to me. I thought, Oh my god. What if we could?

Can you imagine having the ability to time travel to and revisit old memories or moments in time!? AMAZING!

So I developed the story line for my main character, which ends up traveling to distinct periods in history (The Great Depression and The Salem Witch Trials) for certain answers, and has this fierce, radical group of European Photo Travelers after him (called The Peace Hunters). Click here for more details about the book.

What marketing methods are you using to promote your book?

I am involved in loads of social media. I am very active on certain platforms for authors, such as Wattpad, which is primarily geared towards the YA community. And I host as many giveaways as possible too!

What formats is the book available in?

Currently THE PHOTO TRAVELER is available in all eBook formats and paperback.

Arthur J. Gonzalez

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. I’m pretty big of forming memories.

Who are your favourite authors?

I’m really enjoying John Green. I love his style of writing and distinct voice he has.

What advice do you have for other writers?

Success does not come overnight. It takes hard work. If you want it, you must first define your own interpretation of success and be willing to work relentlessly towards it.

What’s your favourite quote about writing/for writers?

We are each given a gift my God. It is up to us to determine what that is. What we do with this gift, is our gift back.

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

There are no limits. There’s no right or wrong way. If you have a story to tell, no one can tell you that you are wrong. No idea is too over-the-top. On the contrary, the bigger the idea, the better!

Where can people find out more about you and your writing?

They can go to my personal website: www.arthurjgonzalez.com. They can also sign up to my mailing list under the CONTACT tab. Also, any one can visit THE PHOTO TRAVELER official website: www.thephototravelerbook.com.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thephototraveler

Twitter: ArthurJGonzalez

Anything else you’d like to add?

I’m working on the sequel to The Photo Traveler, titled The Peace Hunter. I cannot express how excited I am about this book! This story takes off in directions I, myself, could not believe!

My children’s novel, Monty and the Monsters, will hopefully be ready by end of summer/end of year. The story is about a newborn human boy, Monty, who’s taken from his world and raised by monsters (in a hysterical monster world I created, called Gloomsbury). Monty is raised by monsters his entire life, carrying the burden of feeling different, but never knowing he is actually a human. His life is filled with isolation and loneliness, constantly being the target of heavy bullying.

On Monty’s 15th birthday, he is informed of the truth of his origin and given the opportunity to venture to his human world; where there, Monty will have to decide if he will stay in the world he was stripped of, or stay with the monster parents he has grown to love, in a world that has always shunned him.

The story is about love, blended family, acceptance, bullying, and finding your way.

My young adult superhero series, tentatively titled LADY ELEMENT (a series meant to break passed the typical male superhero mold, by focusing on a female main character, Charlee, who has developed her abilities to summon the elements. She is on the hunt for her scientist parents whom she discovers have been kidnapped by an underground governmental program, designed to create new strands of diseases for population control. Charlee suffers from body dysmorphia, has a hunky gay best friend, and in a matter of words…is quite fierce).

The third novel is part one in a still untitled YA series surrounding the end of the world. This story, though, takes place ten years after the fact, where five 5 teens wake to an earth that has evolved into a completely different planet than they remember.

They are forced to resuscitate their kind and reestablish civilization. But they soon realize why their world ended and discover that earth is still at its mercy.

And then I’m also working on an adult Fiction series surrounding Greek Mythology, The Olympian Chronicles: Hades. Think True Blood with Greek Gods, rather than vampires and werewolves. It’s an edgy, sexy, and modern take on Greek Mythology, with a 21st century twist.

What would our favorite tales look like if they took place in today’s world?

As the owner of an “indie” recording studio called Straight to Audio Productions, I’m often approached by writers who want to know if they should turn their novels into audio books. The popularity of audio books is on the rise so there is definitely an audience for this form of media. However, there are a couple of things I would encourage writers to consider before heading down this path.

Authors who are working with an agent or publisher should consult with their representatives before making any plans to produce an audio book. For self-published writers or those who don’t have a broker, there are a few key matters to deliberate. First, decide who your audience is. This might sound like a silly issue, but the answer will give you a better understanding of how to best proceed. For example, if you have written a short story which may only be of interest to a small group of listeners, you might want to record it yourself. If you believe your story has mass appeal and you’re willing to invest some money, you could hire a professional to produce it for you. Chances are, there is a studio in your home town which can help you accomplish this, or you can utilize some of the services available on line.

The good news for do-it-yourselfers is that the cost of producing audio books has dropped dramatically. Like many studios, I use ProTools to edit my productions. ProTools is remarkably user-friendly and offers lots of features to help editors achieve broadcast quality audio. Want to try before you buy? Check out the free editing programs offered by Audacity www.audacity.com or Cool Edit Pro www.softpedia.com.

If you’re not oriented towards audio editing, there are lots of great companies to do it for you. I highly recommend ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange) www.acx.com. ACX connects writers with narrators and studios. This is a great place to listen to potential narrators and shop around for the best studio to produce your audio book. Better yet, if your product meets the standards of ACX, you can apply to sell you work as an mp3 download on Audible.com www.audible.com.

Once you have hired the talent to voice your project and a studio to produce it, the next thing is to figure out is how to deliver your audio book to listeners. With Jitters-A Quirky Little Audio Book, I produced it in “wave” format which any cd player will recognize. Jitters was 6.5 hours long which meant it required six cds to accommodate the wave format. The discs were professionally replicated and professionally packaged. The product looked fantastic, but this was an expensive route to take.

When I produced Yikes! Another Quirky Audio Book, I tried a different approach. Once again, I had my product professionally manufactured, but this time I did it in mp3 format which greatly reduced my cost. Yikes! is 10.5 hours long which would have required at least ten discs to be available in wave format. I believe many audio book fans are listening on devices like iPods so making Yikes! available as an mp3 seemed to make more sense anyway.

There’s never been a better time than the present to turn a novel into an audio book. The cost of producing audio books had gone down while the quality of sound has improved. Through programs like Audible.com and Amazon.com it’s easy to make the finished product available to the public. Better still, both Audible.com and Amazon.com offer lots of free tutorials to help you increase the size of your audience. The only other piece of advice I can offer is this: enjoy the journey!

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPotQyyPsuo&feature=g-upl

By Adele Park.

Buy Now @ Audible

Genre – Comedy / Satire

Rating – R (language & theme)

More details about the book

Connect with Adele Park on Facebook

Blog http://adeleparkquirkyaudiobooks.blogspot.com/

Website http://www.yikesaudiobook.com/

What inspired me to write the novel, The Tortoise Shell Code, and its non-fiction corollary, Universal Co-opetition?…

When my son, Dean, was in high school thirty years or so ago he shared an assignment with me that involved a very thought provoking concept. It related to the question of how people can compete for something, yet at the same time help each other– seemingly against self-interest. But sometimes one will gain the thing they competed for – and reach success – often to the exclusion of the other. For example, students often cooperatively study together for the final exam, yet compete against one another to be the best on the bell curve.

That set me to thinking about whether there is something – a paradigm fundamental to nature – that enables such melding of cooperation and competition to happen. Perhaps, for example, this paradigm could lead to avoidance of polarization in politics? I thought.

I read and studied and finally came to the conclusion that this fusion of cooperation and competition is in nature itself, and is even a fundamental law of the universe. It is in music, chemistry, economics, political science, business, snowflakes, everything!

I hired a handful of university graduate students, independently from one another, and gave them assignments to research various fields of thought – such as philosophy, physics, etc. – to find either support for, or invalidation of, my theory. After a summer of research and course correction meetings, to a person they came back and enthusiastically said, “Validated. “

So during the decade of the 1980’s I wrote up a monstrous treatise on my coined word: co-opetition. I did this in scraps, usually in the middle of the night, primarily to get into a zone away from the crowding thoughts of whatever trial I was in at the time. This was how I eventually could get back to sleep. The finished manuscript I titled Synthesis Between Order and Chaos, and I sent it around to publishers and circulated it among many others. Generally, they were intrigued, but in those days they wouldn’t invest in my book unless I went on a speaking tour and commercialized the idea. I was no Carl Sagan, nor did I have the time from my busy law practice to become so engaged.

The word co-opetition, obviously a contraction of “cooperation” and “competition,” has since been used by others– usually in the field of business theory, but I frankly don’t know where they got it, or whether someone also independently came up with it. It all has the same meaning, however: a synthesis of the behaviors of cooperating and competing.

But in my view, I expanded the co-opetition idea to apply universally. Order, I likened to cooperation. Chaos, I likened to competition. My conclusion: to achieve the highest level of success in any system, a melding of cooperation and competition – in varying proportions – is necessary. If we recognize that both behaviors to some extent are necessary to any equation for success, we are better able to achieve that success, or to resolve whatever problem may be under consideration.

A very brief example from my books, among many is that: Capitalism has built into it a healthy element of cooperation, i.e. ethics, fair dealing, trust. Such is necessary in order for the competition of free enterprise to work with optimum effectiveness. That was part of Adam Smith’s invisible hand.

In 1989, I sent an outline of the manuscript to best-selling author Spencer Johnson M.D. (Who Moved My Cheese, One Minute Manager), who six months later, called from Hawaii and wrote me a letter, dated February, 9 1990, telling me that I must write and publish the book. Thus, I wrote Universal Co-opetition. Later, I figured that the best way to get the concepts across was to novelize the theory – a la the genre of Huxley, Orwell, Rand, and Burdick et al. So I put a story together, calling on what I know – the law and the courts and maritime issues. The Tortoise Shell Code came to life – a saga of high seas crime, ship sinking, romance, courtroom drama, fisticuffs, prison break outs, revolution, sea-going gun battles, all with the spice of co-opetition theory interwoven though the plot.

And that is the inspiration

V Frank Asaro is a lawyer, musician, composer, inventor and philosopher who authored the non-fiction book, Universal Co-opetition, published Oct. 2011. He began developing the theory of co-opetition not long after he was selected out of law school as lawyer-clerk to the California Courts of Appeal. He went on to receive the highest-category law career peer review, Martindale Hubbell rating, and appeared in Who's Who in American Law, and Who's Who in the World.

Engaged in litigation most of his career, he honed skills proving or disproving facts and stories--a handy talent for a novelist. Moreover as a patent holder, he shows a creative knack. This he calls upon in weaving this most exciting tale of The Tortoise Shell Code, a fiction work in Admiralty--one of his fields. In those early days when he was an Appellate court law clerk, his creativity became a major component in developing the theory of the products liability holding of Greenman v Yuba Power Products--further expanded by the California Supreme court. A major part of the Greenman opinion is now the law in the English speaking and European Union countries of the world.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Legal Drama

Rating – PG13

More details about the author & the book

Connect with V Frank Asaro on GoodReads & Twitter

You’re a writer. You love words. And sometimes, when you’re really on, you put words together in such a way that you could cry because they read so beautifully. And if you’re like me, you read them again and again and again. You read them until your eyes are crossed and you’re fairly certain you’ve read them eleventy billion times. And then on the next read, for some reason, the words don’t sound as awesome as they did before. They don’t look as pretty and maybe the cadence is a bit off. Maybe all along during those reads, they didn’t really come together to make The Most Amazing Metaphor of All Time.

So, you ask a friend to read it. And your friend, being your friend, tells you that it’s awesomeamazingspectacular. It’s The Most Amazing Metaphor of All Time. And she also tells you that you’re pretty. Because she’s your friend.

When I’m writing, I don’t need friends. I need Mean Girls. Capital M. Capital G. Mean Girls who wear pink every day—not just on Wednesday. Poke holes in my plots, tell me to dump the purple prose, point out that I have a blatant disregard for the semi-colon and an obsession with starting sentences with And. Help me make my words the best words they can be before I send them off into the world to fend for themselves.

This is why workshopping works. My very first workshop experience was terrifying. I wasn’t allowed to speak for the first half hour of the meeting while the participants ripped apart my latest chapter. Sure, there was a lot of positive feedback, but it was very difficult listening to criticism without jumping to my own defense. It took a lot of work on my part to sit back and really listen to what was being said. Even if I didn’t agree, who’s to say that other readers wouldn’t have the same reaction? I needed every questionable action my characters made questioned. It gave me the opportunity to go back and solidify anything shaky.

So, is it wrong to send the new short story you wrote to your mom, your sister, your bestie, your Aunt Carol? No. Of course not. We all need positive reinforcement. But have a team—people who will tell you that they’re just not into you when they’re just not into you. They’ll tell you that your main character isn’t just stuffy, she’s bordering on unlikable. They’ll tell you that you’re swearing too much and you need to buy Eats, Shoots and Leaves and if you’re really, really lucky like I am—when all is said and done—they’ll still tell you that you’re pretty.

Tracy Sweeney lives north of Boston, Massachusetts with her two young boys. Her short stories have appeared in Literary Juice, Solecisms and Slice of Life Magazines. When she’s not letting her seven-year old beat her in Angry Birds, she’s working on her second novel.

Buy Now @ Amazon

More details about the author & the book

Connect with Tracy Sweeney on Facebook & Twitter Website http://www.tracysweeney.net/

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I've always written poetry: My parents say I was making up poems before I could read and write. I was first published at the age of thirteen and was regarded as one of the bright young things of British poetry, but poetry doesn’t pay the bills and I had to focus on my career. For over twenty years I had a very demanding job working with disadvantaged people and loved it, but a few years ago it all became too much and I changed my career. I decided I would follow the dream of writing novels. I had always made up stories but up until then they were for my enjoyment only.

What genre do you write and why?

I have been told I write magic realism. I had never heard about magic realism before – but basically it's realistic but with something magical or strange in it. My books are set in an unspecified place and time, which some people find disturbing, but it means that readers are encouraged to think about what happens to Judith without bringing preconceptions. The book is also women’s fiction – I write about women, all my books have strong heroines. There’s some romance in the book, but it’s not the only thing by any means.

Tell us about your latest book.

Love of Shadows is the second book in The Healer's Shadow trilogy. It follows the story of the young perfume-maker Judith and her Shadow, Sarah. At the opening of the book Elma, their employer and Judith’s mentor, has just died and Judith is trying cope with her grief. In the city of Pharsis, where Judith lives, women healers are being persecuted in favour of the university-trained male doctors. Judith is accused of making medicine for Elma and then of killing her, but she escapes prosecution. Judith’s mother was a healer and Judith more and more feels that she is called to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Then scarlet fever breaks out and Judith must decide whether she will risk the gallows to help others. The second element in the novel is whether Judith, who has been badly damaged by past relationships, will be able to trust a man enough to let him get near to her emotionally.

What marketing methods are you using to pro mote your book?

I've used several methods. The first was sending the book to book reviewers who reviewed the previous book in the trilogy. The second is writing interviews like this one and guest posts on blogs - this interview is part of a blog tour with Orangeberry Blog Tours. The third is using Kindle Select - I offered the book free shortly after it was released. But the best promotion is that the book is part of a series: if people like the first book they will buy the second.

What formats is the book available in?

It is currently only available on Kindle via Amazon, but it will be published on Kobo and Nook shortly.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I spend half my life in the Czech Republic, where I have a semi-restored farmhouse. It's where I do my writing, but I also have a business bringing English-speaking tourists to the country that I love. In my free-time I love walking so I can enjoy looking at nature. When I was a little girl my mother used to take me for long walks and she taught me how to look at the world. That sounds strange but a lot of people when out won't see anything. My mother taught me how to see flowers and animals and how to use my imagination. Now I've caught the Czech obsession about foraging for wild food. There are raspberries and wild strawberries in the woods above my Czech home and best of all lots of mushrooms.

Zoe Brooks

Who are your favourite authors?

That is a difficult question to answer as I like so many authors. The first adult author I read was Charlotte Bronte. I read and reread Jane Eyre when I was a teenager. This trilogy has been influenced by that book, they are both about strong women who have been orphaned and abused by an aunt. Another author I adore is Ursula Le Guin. My son introduced me to her writing. I love the way she writes good stories which make you think. The worlds she creates are totally believable.

What advice do you have for other writers?

Finish the first draft. They say everyone has a book in them. I think that should be changed to a half-finished book. There is a point (at about 30,000 words) when I get stuck. I've run out of the adrenalin that comes from starting a book and there are an awful lot of words left to write. It's then that I have to force myself to continue. From what I've read nearly all writers have this pain barrier to go through and it is painful. You just have to find a way of getting through it that suits you - maybe it's locking yourself away somewhere, maybe it's taking a break from writing.

What's your favourite quote about writing/for writers?

"The act of reading is a partnership. The author builds a house, but the reader makes it a home" - Jodi Picoult

What's the best thing about being a writer?

When you get a review or feedback from a reader who clearly has completely understood what you were trying to do with your book. Good reviews are lovely, but the review which shows that the reader has really thought about your book, that is really rewarding. All my books have been about people on the edge of society. I used to work with such people and one of my reasons for writing is to tell their stories.

Where can people find out more about you and your writing?

On my blog Zoe Brooks - Books and Things - http://zoebrooks.blogspot.com

On my Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/ZoeBrooksAuthor

Anything else you'd like to add?

First of all I would like to say thank you for the interview. I would also like to say that I welcome feedback. If anyone has any questions, please write a comment and I will reply.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I was a very active girl scout when I was in elementary school and my scout leader, Mrs. Ford, brought a gift of a notebook for me to one of the meetings. When she handed it to me she said, "This is for you, Debbie. I noticed that you like to write." I was flabergasted that she knew that. I wondered what it was that she noticed about my actions that made her believe that I was a writer. I often think back to her words when I am writing and especially when I have published something. She defined for me a direction that, up until that time, was not in my full awareness.

What genre do you write and why?

The Sister Nun cozy mystery series were inspired by my family, my former life as a nun, and my life as a psychologist after I left the convent. In Sister Nun psycho-social mysteries, psychologist and former nun, Kathy Carpenter always finds out something in her clinical practice that she must bring to light without breaking confidentiality. Her gregarious sister, Tina, helps her to uncover the truth. Together these amateur sister sleuths uncover suicides and accidental deaths as murders.

The Sister Nun psycho-social mysteries include a great deal of pop culture. Pop culture provides the context for what influences the characters in the story. As a psychologist, understanding the psyche and motivations of the characters is important to me as a writer; thus, the stories have more background and character development than typical mysteries that are more driven by plot. Sister Nun series are cozy mysteries. In cozy mysteries violence and sex are downplayed or treated humorously. I am squeamish about blood and gut stuff and I can’t imagine crime scenes let alone write about them realistically. As you can imagine being a former nun, writing great sex scenes would not be my strong suit; although, who knows, I may make that a stretch goal as a writer.

Tell us about your latest book.

In They Still Call Me Sister, former nun and practicing psychologist, Kathy Carpenter, knows something is off when a patient is found dead and it's claimed a suicide. Enlisting the help of her gregarious sister, Tina, they set out to prove her patient was murdered. But with the only suspect a shadowy fiqure known to them by a nickname, the answers seem well out of reach. As Kathy gets closer to the truth, political intrique begins to surround her and her own life becomes in danger.

The Family That Stays Together will be released in Spring 2013 with some of the same characters. When Atlanta TV celebrity, Jessica Davis , becomes the main suspect in the murder of her ex-fiance, Don Davenport, Kathy and Tina rally to support their long-time family friend. Support takes on new meaning as Kathy learns that Don is also the secret love interest of a patient she has relunctantly accepted into her practice. Sister sleuths, Kathy and Tina get themselves in trouble with the law as they get closer to the truth.

What marketing methods are you using to promote your book

Having had the experience of being published in a traditional manner and by self-publishing, I realized that the essential component of book sales, beyond good writing and a good story, are authors who can promote their book. I have done the tradtional book store signings, virtual book tours, radio and television interviews. So much has changed in the world of marketing books over the past five years. Using social media is a critical component of attracting readers.

What formats is the book available in?

Both Sister Nun Psychosocial mysteries are available in soft cover and e-book.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I love to cook and enjoy great restaurants with family and friends. I also love movies, and, of course, I am an avid reader.

Deborah Plummer Bussey

Who are your favourite authors?

I greatly appreciate the writing style of Ann Patchett. I have loved all of her books. Anna Quindlen inspires me. I love the literary strengh of Alice Walker and Toni Morrison. Jhumpa Lahiri is an amazing writer. Wally Lamb is very high on the list. My favorite new authors are Carol Rifka Brunt who wrote Tell the Wolves I'm Home, Junot Diaz author of This is How You Lose Her, and John Greene, author of The Fault in Our Stars. My favorite beach book authors are Jennifer Weiner and John Grisham.

What advice do you have for other writers?

Read a lot, get feedback on your writing and write a lot. The more you write the better you get.

What's your favourite quote about writing/for writers?

"The singlest biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." George Bernard Shaw It reminds me that just because I think I am writing with intention and clarity that it means readers will get it as I have intended it.

What's the best thing about being a writer?

The ability to be able to get some of your thoughts on paper and have readers respond to them.

Where can people find out more about you and your writing?

They can visit http://www.halfdozenpublications.com/ and http://www.dlplummer.com/ Also twitter @sisternun and Facebook www.facebook.com/DeborahPlummerBussey

Anything else you'd like to add?

Thank you for this opportunity to have this conversation with you and your readers.

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