An Interview with Author and Health Advocate Sue Visser

Sue Visser is a health researcher, product developer, and passionately devoted to encouraging people to help themselves to a healthy life.





Her book, "Illustrated Guide to Healthy Happy Eating - For All Blood Types," though currently out of print (Limited copies of the second edition are still available from her for less than 1/4 of that price including postage) sells used on Amazon.com for a whopping $195.00. How's that for a testament to supply and demand? More importantly, that fact should serve to draw notice this lady knows what she's talking about.

Sue's enthusiasm for blood type eating has resulted in a wealth of practical information. She shares this freely with everyone by means of magazines, newspapers, radio broadcasts and workshops. Sue also shows us how to find our own cures in the kitchen for common ailments like coughs and colds, hormonal upsets, digestive disorders, arthritis or aches and pains.

But Sue doesn't stop there. Residing in Cape Town, South Africa, with her husband Jim, Sue treks to remote African villages (and many other parts of the world) where she educates people on nature's foods available around them, and how to grow food sources such as Artemesia, a plant research has shown combats malaria.

Sue can be contacted through her web site http://www.naturefresh.co.za/

Q) The obvious question should be asked first, I suppose. When did you become interested in improving your and others health, and what was the impetus which drove that interest to a passion you have devoted your life to?

Sue) When your baby son nearly dies from a series of respiratory collapses and antibiotics make it worse, you wake up. Homeopathy saved the day, with a few white pills that matched the symptoms. Anton is now a towering slab of muscle in his 30's. He eats for blood type A and so does his father. When they don't, they complain of fatigue and have learnt that they are different from O type Mom and daughter Vivienne. (Thank you Peter D'Adamo for that!)

The black Zulu people called me "Sangoma" as a child. They saw something in me that they recognized as an innate healer. We made porcelain clowns for a living for many years and I loved working with minerals and formulating. After my husband Jim became ill from a bacterial infection and the stress of feeding the family from hand to mouth took its toll, he started to get paralysis attacks and painful joints. A relative who followed the Adelle Davis protocol insisted he needed calcium. He recovered with a concoction of calcium lactate and cider vinegar. Yuk! 14 years ago there were no good calcium supplements on the market, so after that our pharmaceutically pure calcium and magnesium powders used for porcelain were put to good use. In no time I had formulated an ideal supplement and a few years later it showed up in a survey as being the best formulation at the lowest price per dose. I bought and read all the books I could find on homeopathy, reflexology, iridology and nutrition. I became a pain in the ass "authority" on how to fix body parts! It paid off, with a healthy family and now we all walk our talk. I have been accused of being too enthusiastic, too passionate by those who cannot keep up with me.

Q) Sorry, Sue, I have to ask this to satisfy my own curiosity. With private sellers receiving $195.00 for your book, how do you feel about that, since you receive no part of that money which could be used to aid your research?

Sue) Good luck to them! That is nothing compared to doctors who are paid to "practice" on people and then I am asked to sort out the mess. I have devoted my life to research and have a good working knowledge of medical matters. I test out theories, trial formulations, claims and cures constantly even at my own expense to get to grips with how a human being ticks. To me it's not about making money from sick people and causing them to get sicker. It's not about claiming your line of products to be the cure-all. Sooner or later the vendors of "snake oil" trip over their own shoelaces. People feel so bad because they eat so bad. I tried to change that, so at whatever price my book is sold, it provides a few keys to good health. Every page is illustrated with full colour photographs I took myself. I did the graphics, typesetting and the layout. It's a piece of me. Priceless at any price.

Q) In today's world seemingly filled with the philosophy of 'get what you can,' you don't. On your web site you freely share articles on how to improve our lives. The topics range from a deworming recipe to how food can make us feel sexy. Why do you offer so much of your research for free?

Sue) I take no anxious thought for my life: what I should eat or what I wear. We are provided for - however, where ever. I take more anxious thought about gluten, trans-fatty acids and too much sugar! Being a community worker, I have never received direct payment. My life is about love and service. Too good to be true? That is the policy statement for our company called Nature Fresh that we registered in 1997: love and service. The cheapie Chinese porcelain dolls destroyed our livliehood and by then I was already making fluoride free toothpaste and campaigning against killer chemicals in our water supply. When Christ healed the sick did he first ask for credit card details? Do you receive a bill in the post after your prayers have been answered?

Q) Another curious question. What's it like working with small African villages, knowing when you leave, you leave the residents with the ability to increase their chances for survival.

Sue) You don't. Most people are stubborn, lazy, unappreciative and more interested in free hospital medicines. They spend their pennies on white bread and bottles of Coke because they try to copy us. Every 30 seconds somebody dies of Malaria somewhere in the world. But many die every second in ignorance of their Godliness. They kill each other too, just because of a difference of opinion. Can medicinal plants change that? Bill Gates set the stage by trying to provide artemenisin, a synthetic version of the plant extract to help the situation. The mosquitoes became resistant to it. But not to the plant itself. We also use olive leaves. Both these herbs deal with microbes and parasites. I put together a remedy and included them with other anti-microbials. Over the years I have given black people the parasite remedy if they don't feel well. When they come back and demand more, I get curious. I was told that they had been HIV positive, but are now HIV negative. Yes, there is a big parasite problem!

Q) Will we soon see another book by Sue Visser?

Sue) Sure, help yourself, its on my website for free. I did a 16 page book called: "Yummy Yummy" for children. Mom can show her kiddies about fruit and vegetables with the furry characters that really love their broccoli and spinach. You can download the PDF's or read it on the computer screen. I would really appreciate some feedback. The idea of another book never leaves my mind. The camera is always clicking. Exciting cuisine that suits all blood types and is gluten free, helps to fight cancer and boost the immune system rolls out constantly. Articles and recipe pages as well as helpful protocols for just about any ailment are available as zip folders on the website. When it comes to publishing another book and financing it or schlepping around for printing deal? It was a hard time staying out of jail the first time, so probably not in this lifetime.

An Interview with Bestselling Author Catherine Burr

Catherine Burr. Where does one begin to describe her?










Humorist and romance author, businesswoman, entrepreneur, publisher, graphic designer, and blessed with eyes so blue you swear you can see a Caribbean morning in them, I suspect only scratches the surface.

Her work has garnered her the Outstanding Author Award, inclusion in an Author’s Hall of Fame, Blogger’s Choice Award nominee, listed as a Foremost Domestic Humorist in North America, and MOTHERHOOD IS NOT FOR WIMPS, a book she co-wrote with her sister Beverly Rose Hopper, has spawned a motherhood support group of the same name.

Ms Burr holds the distinction of being a best-selling author on both Amazon.com and Mobipocket.com as well as the Best of Silicon Valley Books. She has made repeated appearances on TV and radio, and her writing has been excerpted in national and international magazines and newspapers. Apparently success can be measured by how often others want to ‘borrow’ what you have written.

But what I think stands out about Ms Burr is her ability to relate to not just a woman’s frustrations and turn them into a smile, but to know, understand, and celebrate the inner desires of today’s working woman and homemaker. Her books connect individually with each reader, leaving them satisfied and accepting it is okay to be whoever you are and joyously live life. http://www.catherineburr.com/

Q) What books or stories captivated you as a child and first put the thought in your mind you would like to write? What kind of stories did you initially pen?

A) I initially penned parenting humor because as a mom I think it’s important to see the humor in raising children. Moms like to talk about our kids and love to relay stories of our kids from diapers to weddings. As my own children grew, I found myself writing about relationships, marriage, and the suspense of life. I was able to seek out other genres and explore areas beyond motherhood. Growing up, I loved series books, anything that had the same characters from one story to the next. I liked (still do) when you fall in love with characters and you can follow them through from one journey to the next.

Q) Finding conveyable humor within the daily lives of mothers isn’t always easy. Many have tried and failed. A small few have succeeded. You have risen to the top. Where does your ability to smile at the curves in life come from? Obviously, someone very special to you implanted at least a part of that in you and your sister. Who was it?

A) I was blessed with a mother-in-law who gave me some advice I always remembered. She taught me to see the humor in raising children. Believe me, when you are head over heels with laundry, bills, soccer cleats, dinner, it’s not always easy to do that, but humor helps the day go by a little easier when raising kids.

Q) Ironically, being a successful author about families requires your being absent from your own family. How do you cope during those separations?

A) I think authors travel less and less with the new generation of cyber tours, blog tours, and with the lessening of brick and mortar book shops, authors are staying closer to home so the times separated from one’s family is not what it used to be for some writers. I think for authors like anyone that has to encounter traveling and maintaining family life, it’s good to have a support system (and to use an internet phone like Skype!)

Q) DESIRES AND DECEPTIONS, THE MISTRESS FILES, and the Silicon Valley novels are wonderfully woven tales of intrigue, suspense, and love. But ORCHIDS TO DIE FOR broke a new barrier for you. In it you created a female sleuth out to catch a spy. How did that story come about?

A) I created the Catherine Harris character, a female version of James Bond, because I had an idea in my head for this female sleuth to be chasing spies and finding romance along the way. Harris was a romance writer who got involved with spies and generally I was able to explore romantic suspense areas that I previously had not written about. I stayed true to my female characters, spy chaser or not, to be romantic and always with a sense of humor. Strong female characters with a sense of humor is a style that is indicative to my writing.

Q) The publishing world of today is vastly different then the one of even twenty years ago. What advice can offer those who believe they have a story to tell?

A) The publishing world today is so different than 20 years ago, and the options for publishing even in the last couple years has changed dramatically, but the constant is still the love of reading and the love of books, whether digital or print. Aspiring writers should look at all of their options, find great editorial support, network with fellow writers and authors, and go full steam ahead with their goal to be published. While on the road to publication, people will get discouraged but it is the people who do not give up who will succeed.

An Interview with Author Dr. Michael J. Deeb

Education and fiction. Two polar opposites? Not if you’re author, historian, scholar, educator, and artist, Michael J. Deeb.

Dr. Deeb writes tales of the American Civil War. What stands out about his works is his attention to the smallest detail, the minutia. His research in preparing to write a story is impeccably on point and, in my opinion, his novels could easily serve as textbooks for other authors wanting to write about events of that era in our nation’s history.

Yet, research alone does not make for a stirring and moving story. The characters and plot must draw the reader in and sweep them along through the turbulence and emotions surrounding the circumstances the main character finds him or herself in.

Dr. Deeb has the ability to do just that - to captivate the reader in the period, the character, as well as the events, and the consistent reviews his work receives only serve to verify it.

His attention to detail and skillful portrayal of life have been recognized in that he now also writes book reviews for The Civil War News and New York Journal of Books.

You can find Dr. Deeb, his novels, and a few of his paintings at http://www.civilwarnovels.com/.

Q) What were the books or stories that captured your imagination as a child and put the thought in your mind you would like to write?

A) As a pre teen, I used to take the bus in downtown Grand Rapids after school and peruse the 'history book' stacks at the Grand Rapids Public Library while I was waiting for the YMCA to open for swimming. I can't recall any specific title or author. More recently, however, I have enjoyed the works of John Jakes, Bernard Cornwall, and Harold Coyle among others. I would say that Jakes has had the greatest influence on my writing style.

Q) DUTY AND HONOR, DUTY ACCOMPLISHED, and HONOR RESTORED is the trilogy surrounding a youth slapped into manhood by the Civil War. Who is Michael Drieborg, through whose eyes we see America at war with itself? How did this character come to be so vivid in your mind, you had to tell his story?

A) I needed a character; a young 'boy' typical of the time to place in the 6th MI Cavalry. This teenager had to be from a farm and of good character, who made a youthful mistake in his typical MI farm village. The Dutch came to western MI in large numbers just prior to the Civil War. My maternal grandfather was Jacob Drieborg. His father is the patriarch of the Drieborg family in my novels. The challenges faced by this young man were faced by tens of thousands of other young men 'boys' at this time. The challenges faced back home were typical of small town America as well. So, my stories are of both soldiers facing what they had to face and the folks back home dealing with their daily challenges, too.

Q) Amongst your numerous successes there is one that has to be at the top of the list - your wife Sally, five children, and ten grandchildren. You don’t sit. You avail yourself to any group or organization as a guest speaker in addition to book signing tours. How do you ensure your loving family remains number one in your life?

A) The nice thing about writing is that you can do it at home. I rise at 6 AM, work out, have a small breakfast and go to my computer. My wife has her work station alongside mine. We have developed a routine that we find acceptable.
Before I retired a few years ago, my days were spent running my accounting practice. After 20 years teaching US History et al, and earning my degrees, I went into business. Now I am a writer.

Q) As an artist, you tend to paint the serene and tranquil world around you. In your novels, the world is anything but serene and tranquil. Is one counterbalancing the other? Does one give you the inspiration to do the other?

A) My painting is a super challenge. I am frightened to death of putting paint on a canvas. I force myself to do it. My writing is so much more fun, it is 'natural' to me somehow.

Q) You have been a teacher, served on the Michigan State Board of Education, owned and operated an accounting and investment advisory practice, and only now have turned to writing. What advice or encouragement can you offer those who believe they have a story to tell, but have yet to put pen to paper?

A) Enjoy the experience. I must admit that the first time I hit the send key and sent off my first manuscript to strangers, I was petrified. But, I did not perish. Most people in the 'business' understand and are reasonably 'gentle'. Take a chance - take a dive. Years ago, when an accounting/tax client would find an error or complain, I would thank them for bringing it to my attention. I do that now when a 'friend' reader points out a typo or something thought to be better said another way.

An Interview with Award Winning Author, Simon Wood

Engineer turned Anthony Award winning author, Simon Wood, is a former Brit now at home in California with his wife. With nearly two hundred short stories, and four novels to his credit, his latest thriller release, TERMINATED, is receiving rave reviews. On the horizon is ASKING FOR TROUBLE – stay tuned at http://www.simonwood.net/ for its release date.

Q) What was the defining moment or event that sparked your desire to write?

A) Coming to the US sparked my writing career. I worked in the oil and gas industry as a project design engineer for ten years, which proved to be very demanding. I’d work anything from a 60 to 80 hour week for several years straight. There was never any time to think about anything else. When I put all that behind me to move to the US, I found myself in immigration limbo and for the first time in my life, I didn’t have a job or any distractions. I’d always been a bit of a daydreamer with ideas for stories running through my head and for once, I didn’t have an excuse not to entertain them. So I decided to write. I wasn't sure I was going anywhere with it until a short story and what became my first novel both placed in a statewide writing competition. There was no stopping me after that. Who knew the Immigration Service would be responsible for a writing career.

Q) You are a pilot afraid of heights, racecar driver, soccer player, comedy club enthusiast, have skied in Transylvania with wolves, and pretty much traveled the world on foot. Yet you author, besides nonfiction and literary fiction as Simon Wood, superb tales of horror under the name Simon Janus. What draws you to that genre since your thriller novels are so engaging?

A) I know there's the old adage, “write what you know,” but I think you have to write what you love. I grew up reading horror and pulp novels and watching Hitchcock movies and Twilight Zone, so naturally when it comes to writing, I want to emulate the genres I enjoy, so I have to write crime stories and tales of terror. Anything else just wouldn’t be right. :-)

Q) Society, in general, still fails to understand dyslexia, and some people continue to misinterpret the condition as ‘illiteracy,’ failing to understand it is society’s own prejudices, which border on ignorance. You not only are dyslexic, but take a stand of publicly declaring it, and for that I truly commend you. For those still hiding or embarrassed by their conditions, what encouragement can you offer them?

A) Essentially, dyslexia is an input-output communication error. Something misfires in the brain so what comes out on the page or what someone thinks has come out on the page are two different things. However, dyslexia has no power over imagination, dreams, desires or drive. If someone really wants to succeed at something, there's nothing stopping them. Whatever limitations dyslexia or other learning disabilities hinders a person, they can be circumnavigated. It’s all about addressing the problem and coming up with a solution. Personally, I’ll be damned if anything will stop me from attaining my goals.

Q) Lovers of longhaired dachshunds, you and your wife have also adopted five cats. As an advocate of the ASPCA, you have personally raised over $30,000 for that organization. Where does your affinity for animals come from?

A) I think the affinity comes from the love and companionship the animals in my life have shown me. Show an animal any kind of affection, and you'll get it back in spades. It’s something we don’t see in people, and we’re considered to be the superior species. I think it’s for those reasons that I find it hard to see an animal in distress and not do something about it, especially when they're being mistreated. Sometimes, animals are not in a position to help themselves, so I have to step in. Their power to forgive and move on is humbling.

Q) What advice do you have for those who think they would like to write?

A) Write. Revise. Submit. Repeat.

You’ve got to be writing every day, making sure it’s as good as it can possibly be, sending it out there and, regardless of whether it gets accepted or knocked back, doing it all over again. There's no other way.

An Interview with Multi-Talented Mike Ricksecker

Author of DEADLY HEIRS, the first novel of the Chase Michael DeBarlo mystery series, Mike Ricksecker is a versatile and talented writer who sees mystery in all aspects of the world around him. “Give me a bare room with a box, and I’ll have a field day. What’s in the box? Why is the room bare? What I love about writing mystery fiction is that it’s one big puzzle, and I enjoy challenging other people to figure out the solution.”


But while Mike is receiving acclaim in his mystery prose, it is his latest venture into the realm of factual paranormal activity drawing an ever-expanding fan base. http://www.mikericksecker.com/

Q) What was the defining moment or event that sparked your desire to write?

A) I've had a desire to write ever since the second grade. I loved the Encyclopedia Brown books and I tried to mimic them with little mystery stories of my own. I also wrote a few stories about the American Revolution at that time that were recognized by some of my school's leaders. With encouragement from my mother and an opportunity to read a few of the stories in front of the class, which garnered a positive reception, my interest in creative writing was propelled forward.

Q) I have to ask the obvious here. The leap between private investigator Chase Michael DeBarlo and documenting ghosts and spirits is so vast Evel Knievel couldn’t jump it. What was the driving force that caused you to investigate and write GHOSTS of MARYLAND, and with your current work in progress about ghosts in Oklahoma, do you foresee a trend here created by the public’s increasing interest and demand for your works in this nonfiction genre?

A) I've been interested in the paranormal for quite some time and have written a couple paranormal short stories (one is available to read for free on my web site). Like a good PI novel, I see a number of mysteries within the field: What are the spirits around us and why do they exist? How might hauntings and other paranormal activity be explained? What happens to us when we die? People are starting to feel more comfortable in talking about the paranormal and their experiences thanks to the increasing popularity of the subject, so the demand for information continues to rise.

Q) A husband of 16 years with four children, how do they feel about Dad ‘digging up the dead?’

A) They have their own questions about the paranormal and generally find it interesting. My 15-year-old daughter will watch Ghost Hunters and other shows with me, and she'll ask me questions about what I've discovered and details about investigations on which I've taken part.

Q) You’re an ‘everyday guy.’ A former baseball player (we’ll forgive you being a Red Sox fan), Air Force vet, network administrator; your hobbies include wine making, baseball card collecting, rock hunting, playing the guitar, and you create computer games. Nothing is more important to you than your family. Being a published author requires you to be on the road with personal appearances and book signings. How do you juggle it all so your family remains at the top of that long list?

A) I secretly pray for more hours to be added to the day. You're right that it is a juggling act and I try to minimize the hobbies as much as I can right now. I figure that there will be more time for those once they're grown and out of the house, but I will still dabble in them when I find some extra time. In fact, I've been working on some pomegranate wine and I need to find a few moments to rack it. I will also try to involve them with my passions to introduce them to other aspects of life. For example, my wife and I have taken the kids rock hunting a few times (the Morefield Gem Mine in Amelia, Virginia is wonderful) and a couple of the boys collect different trading cards.

Q) What advice do you have for those who think they would like to write?

A) Write, write, write! And read. The best way to hone your passion is to keep working on it.

An Interview with Enigmatic Author Poppet

By writing magazine articles about the health benefits of bananas and coconuts, to methods of overcoming erectile dysfunction, to the use of mistletoe as a possible weapon in the battle against cancer, author Poppet has devoted many years of her life to bettering the health and well-being of the world around her.
So, how does an individual go from writing articles of such goodness, to suspenseful and terrifying tales such as the novels DARKROOM and WOMANISED?

I wanted to know too.

Visit Poppet, her stories, articles, and recipes at http://authorpoppet.wordpress.com/category/author/

Q) What first spurred you to begin writing?

A) I wrote my first book at age twelve. It was appalling. I gave up the dream of being a writer, until I became paralyzed by the Guillain-Barre virus. I was one of the lucky two percent that only have one side of their body paralyzed; this left me with my left hand to do work. I lost my job and considered my options as a halfling. One thing I could do slowly, and in my own time, was sit as half a vegetable at my computer, and type. I am naturally right handed, so learning to write and do all the usual things was humorously challenging with my left hand.

I have always been interested in food as a key to health, and became quite passionate once my mother was cured of cancer by a homeopath after the doctors had given up on her. So I took my time and started writing for two magazines, and was surprised that they both took me on without hesitation. I research my health articles thoroughly, using only medical science as my reference. I like to provide my readers with proof, and “The Journal of Natural Medicine,” who I wrote for, lists all references, as they target people in the health industry. I'm not qualified as a health specialist; I'm just really good at research.

I've been a vegetarian from the age of twelve and did bodybuilding as a vegetarian, so my own experience and research for my own ends have come in handy as a health writer. My passion is obviously food and how food contributes to illness or good health. Ignorance is the biggest cause of disease. I've always felt that if I could save just one person from unnecessary death, the work is worthwhile.

Three years ago I turned my attention to writing fiction, returning to the dream. I wrote four books in a series and joined Authonomy. My work lacked polish and professionalism and the brutal opinions from other writers gave me quite a shock. But they were priceless in my growth as a writer. The fifth full length novel I wrote is “Womanised.” I decided to go back to one of my passions, helping humans, and “Womanised” examines how women get caught in abusive relationships when they are too young and have no reference to compare Mr. Perfect with. A young girl is a prime target to get caught up with a bad seed. “Womanised” follows a young woman's journey through what she considers love, until she discovers what love really is. It's a rite of passage story, which most women should be able to identify with, but it serves as a warning inside fiction, for a younger and older audience to recognize the signs of domination of a detrimental kind in a partner. It's told in a humorous way because the content at times is quite heavy.

This book received a gold star on Authonomy, and at the same time, I got an agent for it. Leaving it in the agent's hands, I continued writing as my health was greatly improved and the bug had once again infected me (the writing bug). “Seithe” followed, and after that “Darkroom.” I write a novel in approximately three months, so these all received peer reviews on Authonomy, and most were complimentary and favorable. And here I am, still writing, and signed with Rebelepublishers. However my agent didn't get me signed, and I continued submitting queries myself.

Q) Well, let’s get right to it. What was the impetus that drove you from writing about healthy lifestyles to the satirically romantic WOMANISED and the psychological thriller DARKROOM?

A) My muse wanted me to write fiction. So I trusted this urge and am so very happy I did.

Psychology fascinates me. My father was abusive and I've known many women in abusive relationships. I partially answer this in my previous answer. I believe fiction should mirror reality. Thus, I wrote “Womanised” as a “Bridget Jones” meets “Nine and a Half Weeks” type read, with a serious moral and message beneath it all.

”Darkroom” was a challenge. I love horror and was afraid of being typecast as a one-genre writer. I especially love psychological thriller / horrors and wanted to see if I could write one. It did originally have a contributing author, but we chose to go our separate ways, and I rewrote the sections he wrote so it would stand alone as my own work. The concept and plot were both mine, so this wasn't a problem. “Darkroom,” I find, is all the more horrific because it's plausible and examines two mindsets. That of a victim, and that of the psychopath, and how two people can view the same incident with completely opposing viewpoints. I found the *two minds* and points of view, both challenging and intriguing to write.

”Seithe” is my step outside reality book. It's the tale of a fallen angel trying to become mortal, wrapped up in a dramatic love story.

They do say that variety is the spice of life, and I do love spice.

Q) You are a poet. And that fact shines through with a pleasant effervescence in your novels. Each sentence is carefully designed to flow… to merge with the next. It has been said; the best novelists were once poets. Would you agree? And why or why not?

A) I have to agree simply because I am a poet. For two years I had poetry published in “Mobius Poetry” magazine in NY. I ranked well in the Bookhabit international poetry competition in 2008 (run in New Zealand). I came 27th worldwide overall. And I was just approached by “SNM Horror Mag” to publish my dark poetry. August is the first month that my work will be in their zine, and they have enough material from me for a year. They are apparently publishing one of mine a month. Although I never expected to become known for my poetry because I indulge in it just for fun.

Q) You are so talented, and have such diverse interests in writing, where do you see your prose taking you in the future?

A) Honestly, I have no idea how to answer this question, and thank you so much for your kind praise. I would like to continue writing edgy romance; and separately, horrors. I like books that make the reader think and feel a part of the tale. Which is why I can't write straightforward romance. I like to address issues that matter. My book “Pieces” for example examines a cougar with a younger man who cuts himself when stressed. It addresses AIDS and how it affects a couple. Sticking to my creed that fiction should mirror reality. I hope to keep writing novels that my publisher will want to publish.

One day I also hope to write a recipe book, which includes the health information from my articles. But right now it's just one step at a time.

Q) What advice can you offer those who believe they would like to write a book?

A) Write where you feel passion. If you feel strongly about the subject, your work will connect with the reader. Never give up. Seek the reviews of your peers because their insight is invaluable. Never see rejection from an agent or a publisher as a reason to give up. Rejection should simply spur you to keep knocking on doors. The more you knock, the greater the odds of one of them finally opening. However, look for agents that specialize in the genre of your book.

It takes months, sometimes years, for someone to write a book. The fact that you did it means you have the will to succeed. Polish your work, go back to it again and again and remove excess words, make sure it's original, keep trying to outdo yourself. And in this day and age, you can publish yourself. If your work is polished, and you believe in your product, and you aren't afraid of hard work, there is no reason why you shouldn't succeed. Keep writing, and keep shooting for the stars, because you just may catch one that lights up your life.

An Interview with Erotica Author Evanne Lorraine

In Seattle, Washington, a gentle, demure lady quietly goes about the business of lovingly tending her flower garden. Her dog, having taken refuge from the sun under a tree, idly watches. Knees sore, back strained, she leaves her gloves on the gardening table, trades shoes for soft slippers, hangs her straw sunhat on a hook, pours a glass of lemonade, and sits down at her computer. The tranquil, flower horticulturist immediately transforms to Evanne Lorraine, a leading author of the books you don’t tell your friends you read.
Whether the characters are lonely businesswomen in search of what can’t be found from 9 to 5, dangerous men and the women who deserve them, or water demons who taste like chocolate, Evanne’s skillfully written novels capture the imagination, steal your breath, and set your heart racing.

You can find Evanne, her flowers, and her novels at http://www.evannelorraine.com/

Q) When did you decide you wanted to be an author?

A) During the process of planning for retirement, I realized the thing I would miss about working as an accountant was the work. Although I love numbers and am very fond of money, I wanted to do something different. Something involving words and reading. I seriously considered a career in library sciences, but found the challenge of writing even more seductive.

Q) You truly possess an affinity for flowers and spend hours researching them and tending to them. Given your expertise, have you considered writing a book on horticulture?

A) I like to keep my hobbies and my work separate. Tending the landscape refreshes my spirit, If I wrote about my passion for gardening the process would become work rather than play.

Q) Your characters are solidly constructed, barely fictional. Where do you draw inspiration from for them?

A) Everywhere and anywhere, while the fictional people may be a tad larger than life, and their outsides a little more than ordinary, on the inside they are everyman.

Q) As well as the “Enyo Chronicles” series, the “Wicked” series, and the “Dangerous” series, you have written numerous single novels such as "Pirate Rules" that take us from the bedroom next door to ethereal worlds we could never envision ourselves. Please describe for us the process you use to construct your settings, be they our hometown, or a race of lusting demons searching for love.

A) Many of my stories are set in places I've been fortunate enough to visit. It's a personal treat to return to a tropical paradise. I usually write those stories during the rainy season. In Seattle the rainy season is most of the year, leaving plenty of time to write about exotic locations. The futuristic story settings are imagined terrains, constructed of dreams.

Q) What advice can you offer those who believe they would like to write a book?

A) Write the story you want to write. Really. There's no substitute for writing. There is also much benefit to reading--widely and often, English degrees, and creative writing courses.

An Interview with Rising Star, Laura Whitcomb

“Someone was looking at me, a disturbing sensation if you’re dead.” Thus begins the journey into Laura Whitcomb’s novel, A CERTAIN SLANT OF LIGHT.

Pigeonholing Laura as an author of ‘Young Adult Fiction’ in the paranormal/fantasy genre is a misnomer committed by those who have not read her work, though that is the bookstore shelf where a seeker will find her.

In reality, she is an artist. The English language is her brush, and the blank page her canvas. She paints a mural of love and how nothing - be it time, distance, or even death – can wither our need for it, or prevent us from finding it.

That constant theme is the basis for her second novel, THE FETCH, as well.

If you believe in love, if you long for love, if you seek love, I urge you to read the unforgettable works of Laura Whitcomb. http://www.laurawhitcomb.com/

Q) What was the defining moment or event that sparked the desire to become a published author?

A) There wasn't an exact moment. I always wanted to be a writer. When I was three my mother let me dictate stories to her. I remember in elementary school hoping that a story I was writing about a witch would be on display in the children's section of the library someday. I probably wanted to write books because we had so many books around our house and because I was read to every night when I was little. What could be a better job?

Q) Your life transformed from “this” (this needs to be done now, this needs to be done next…) to “dis” (disorganized, discombobulated, ‘dis’ ain’t gonna happen) with the birth of your son. Congratulations by the way. He, obviously, and rightfully so, holds your heart and occupies a place in your every thought. How will he affect your writing? Will he influence the themes and paths of future novels?

A) I'm sure Robinson (I call him Binny) will indeed influence my work, but it's hard to tell this soon because the project I'm rewriting (a sequel to A CERTAIN SLANT OF LIGHT) was already drafted before he was born. My guess is that he will make everything in my life more joyful, vivid, and meaningful. (And fun.) One added aspect I already notice is that I think, "I better get writing so I can afford formula, diapers, wipes, and eventually college tuition." =)

Q) Writers write about what they know. You pen tales of love. But your tales incorporate emotions spanning the void between life and death. Where does that inspiration come from?

A) That's hard to answer. I'm a romantic, so I enjoy spending time in a love story. And I've loved tales of the supernatural since early childhood. As a storyteller, I've probably been inspired, and influenced, by tales I read or heard or watched through the years. Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Daphne du Maurier's REBECCA, Henry James' TURN OF THE SCREW, etc.

Q) Youth and innocence play a part in your works. What is it about the pre-twenties age group that draws out of you the desire to use that assemblage as the basis for your main characters?

A) I actually didn't start out to write SLANT as a YA novel. My agent sent the manuscript to both adult and YA editors. But when it sold as a teen book, it made perfect sense. The ghosts are trapped in the world of teenagers and have to deal with those teenage problems, limits, challenges. Also, being a teen is a little like being a ghost -- you feel invisible and powerless at times. You want to be seen for who you really are. Often you are drifting in the margins of life, heavy with emotions and passions unexpressed, waiting for that one person who can truly understood you to look you in the eyes and love you.

Q) What advice can you give to a struggling writer trying to become published? (Feel free to plug your ‘how to’ books here)

A) Well, yes, I did co-author YOUR FIRST NOVEL with my agent Ann Rittenberg and a couple years later I wrote NOVEL SHORTCUTS -- there's plenty of useful advice in those books, but the short answer is . . . read a lot, practice writing a lot, read the kind of books you want to write and read writers you admire. Rewrite and refine your manuscript until you love every part of every page. Get an agent rather than sending your work directly to publishers. Research the agents you query before you write to them. Make your query letter no more than one page long -- make sure that it tells the agent who the story's about, the setting (place and time), and what the main problem of the book is. Don't wait to sell the first book before you start writing your next one. (You'll just keep getting better and better.) And don't give up.

An Interview with Award Winning Author Barbara D'Amato

Barbara D’Amato’s many Awards include a Mary Higgins Clark, a Carl Sandburg, a Macavity, 2 Readers Choice, 2 Agathas, and 2 Anthonys. Her current novel, Foolproof – co-written with Jeanne M. Dams and Mark Richard Zubro- is a tale of suspense centering on a plot to steal the Presidency of the U.S. Barbara’s web site is barbaradamato.com.


Q) What was the defining moment or event that sparked the desire to become a published author?

A) Early on, I was an avid reader of Agatha Christie, then when I had read them all, Ellery Queen and John Dickson Carr. I loved the puzzles. But Joseph Wambaugh became a favorite, too. After a while I wanted to try writing traditional puzzle mystery, and wrote two, THE HANDS OF HEALING MURDER and THE EYES ON UTOPIA MURDERS, published in 1980 and 1981. The Cat Marsala mysteries sometimes involve puzzles--HARD TACK is a locked-room mystery. I got interested in police produrals later on. But it started with the challenge of producing a puzzle that was fair but hard to solve.

Q) As a writer you have penned numerous graphic and riveting murder mysteries, which include Death of a Thousand Cuts, one we could easily discuss for hours on end. As a musical playwright you cater to children with successful efforts such as The Magic of Young Houdini. What within you draws you to such extreme genres of writing? And how do you remain focused without allowing one to infuse into the other?

A) My husband composes music and he got me into writing the books [scripts] for musicals. The requirements of keeping audience interest between acts and between scenes is more urgent than keeping a book moving. A book has to make the reader want to turn pages, but there is nothing as urgent as keeping interest going when the lights go down between one scene and the next at intermission. Doing plays made me more conscious of forward motion, which helped me in writing books.

Q) Naturally I have to ask, as a playwright, novelist, and crime researcher, which one, if any of these three, are your ‘first love?’

A) I am happiest writing novels. Plays and musicals are subject to the input of actors and directors. There's nothing more exciting than hearing an actor give more meaning to a line than you even knew was there. But in writing books you have more control over what the reader sees.

Q) A prolific and gifted writer, you aren’t shy about making it clear that it is hard work that produces success. Amongst the many experiences in your resume is ‘assistant tiger handler.’ Would you share with us how that came about?

A) I became an assistant to our tiger handler during the run of "The Magic of Houdini," a musical comedy that my husband and I wrote. The stagehands didn't want to get near the tiger--actually a black leopard, one of the stars of the show. He was used in the illusion where the young lady enters the cage and is turned into a leopard. We've all seen this performed, I think. With the stagehands unwilling to help, I learned how to be the handler's aide. But I have to emphasize I was the assistant. The handler was the person who really knew how to handle the animal.

Q) What advice can you give to a struggling writer trying to become published?

A) It would be great to have magical advice to give unpublished writers, but I haven't any. Maybe this, though: 1. Every published writer was unpublished once. 2. Write every day, even if you have to throw it out. 3. Edit. Not necessarily right away. Write the whole book and then edit, if you like to work that way. But rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. I don't remember who said "Easy reading is hard writing," but it's true.

An Interview with Multi-Award Winning Author, Robert J Sawyer

I know what you had for breakfast and what your friends think about you. I know your schedule, your bank account passwords, what your home looks like, what you look like, who your children are, and I know all of their dreams and fantasies. I'm the World Wide Web... and I just woke up.

Such is the genius of best selling author Robert J Sawyer in his latest novel and the first of a new trilogy, WWW:WAKE. With twenty novels, dozens of awards including a Hugo, Nebula, John W. Campbell Memorial, and ten Auroras, in addition to other top honors in the United States, China, Japan, France, and Spain, as well as his home country of Canada, Mr. Sawyer is without a doubt not just a premier science fiction author, but one of the truly great literary talents of our time. http://www.sfwriter.com/

Q) What was the defining moment or event that sparked your desire to become a published author?

A) The very first science-fiction book I ever read, back when I was 12, was a novel called Trouble on Titan by Alan E. Nourse. My older brother gave me a used paperback he'd acquired somewhere. It began with an essay by Nourse (whose last name was pronounced "Nurse," and who was a medical doctor) entitled "I've Never Been There," about the joys of being a science-fiction writer. In that essay, he encouraged others to give it a try -- so from the very first time I read a science-fiction novel, I knew it was something I wanted to do, and indeed was being encouraged to do. I regret that Dr. Nourse passed away without me ever getting a chance to thank him.

Q) Your wife, Carolyn Clink, is a published science fiction poetry writer. Dinner conversation at your house must be an event most of us would buy tickets for in order to have the opportunity to listen in. What activities do the two of you enjoy together when you want to 'step away' from the chaotic world your writing and research immerses you in?

A) The publishing game is so competitive and in such dire straits these days that I really don't feel I can relax too much; you've got to make hay while the sun is shining. But my job does let us travel a lot, and we often try to tack on a few extra vacation days. We both love visiting archeological sites -- whether it's a Native Canadian dig in Saskatoon or Greco-Roman ruins in Turkey. And we both like live theatre; just yesterday, we went to see a gripping production of Glengarry Glen Ross here in Toronto.

Q) Your work is not "classic" science fiction. It is a rational analysis of our past, present, and the future we mold daily. In my opinion, cataloging your writing as "science fiction" is as accurate as saying da Vinci was nothing more than the Jules Verne of his era. If you had the power, what new literary category would you classify your writing as?

A) Thank you for the kind words. I like to think that what I write is philosophical fiction -- "phi-fi," not "sci-fi." It's a rational, intelligent exploration of ideas and very fundamental questions, such as where did we come from, where are we going, why are we here, and what, if anything, does all of it mean. That said, I'm proud to be known as a science-fiction writer. My website is sfwriter.com, my corporation is SFWRITER.COM Inc., and my vanity license place says SFWRITER.

Q) As one of the few authors able to rely on and enjoy the income from your writing, you do not rest on your laurels. Instead, you make yourself available as a guest speaker around the world, readily communicate with fans, and openly share your interests and life with anyone interested. How do you maintain that level of frenetic activity, find the time to write, and still stay sane?

A) Sanity fell by the wayside long ago! Seriously, I remind myself every day of just how lucky I am. Yes, I work hard, and yes, I'm talented -- but so are lots of other science-fiction writers. I was lucky to win the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America's Nebula Award for Best Novel of the Year back in 1996; any of the other nominees that year -- John Barnes, Nancy Kress, Walter Jon Williams, and Gene Wolfe -- would have been an equally credible winner. I was lucky that ABC actually made a prime-time TV series out of my novel FlashForward; that virtually never happens. And so on. So, whenever I find myself complaining about having to take another trip, or give another talk, or go to another Hollywood pitch meeting, I remind myself that there are thousands of other people who would kill to have the problems I have. I'm a lucky son of a gun, and I know that.

Q) What advice can you give to a struggling writer trying to become published?

A) First, the tough-love: if you can think of anything else that would make you happy, do that instead, because just about everything else is easier and has a higher likelihood of success; writing fiction is a business in which there is no clear career path, and no correlation between how good you are and how much you'll make -- it's practically random.
Next, the pep-talk: write every day. Don't talk about writing, don't read books about writing, don't take courses about writing. Just write -- lots. Make the sacrifices -- give up vacations, or lunches, or nights out with friends -- so that you can find the writing time. Nothing is more effective at improving your writing than actually writing large amounts of material.
Finally, write things you're passionate about. Don't write to make a buck, write to change the world -- and, if you're good, and if you're lucky, the money will follow.

An Interview with Best-selling Author C.J. Box

Award-winning author C. J. Box is the author of eleven novels including the Joe Pickett series. He’s also won the Anthony Award, Prix Calibre 38 (France), the Macavity Award, the Gumshoe Award, and the Barry Award. BLUE HEAVEN, Box's first stand-alone novel, won an Edgar Award for Best Novel of 2008 and has been optioned for film. THREE WEEKS TO SAY GOODBYE, was published in January of 2009 and debuted on the NY Times extended bestseller list. BELOW ZERO, Box's ninth Joe Pickett novel, was published in June of 2009 and has become the biggest bestseller to date.


And this international fame allows him to do what he loves best… fish, ride horses, and spend time with his wife and three daughters.

A world traveler at home in the mountains, I met Mr. Box in Muskego, Wisconsin, where he had sojourned to do that which most of us think an internationally renowned figure wouldn’t do. He was there to meet and shake the hands of his fans.

C.J. is a gentleman and one of the nicest people any of us could ever hope to meet.
http://www.cjbox.net/


Q) What was the defining moment or event that sparked your desire to become a published author?

A) In high school, I was reading Joseph Heller's Catch-22 at the same time I saw a movie at the drive-in theater in Casper, Wyoming with a screenplay by Thomas McGuane. The combination of these things made me think for the first time that maybe I could do this.

Q) You are in reality a very quiet and reserved man whose love of the outdoors is second to none. Yet you make yourself available across the country to your fans. How do you balance that part of you that relishes the solitude of fly-fishing and the open spaces of Wyoming with the demands of public appearances?

A) Trout rivers and streams ice up over the winter in the Rocky Mountains, and there is no fishing -- or anything else except skiing -- to be had. That's a good time to get out and about and meet readers, which I love to do. 

Q) Your latest release, NOWHERE TO RUN, which once again has garnered you a much-deserved place on the NY Times Best Seller list, is the tenth Joe Pickett novel. What is it about this character that inspires such marvelous tales of mystery and suspense within you?

A) I always start with an issue or controversy: from eco-terrorism to hunting ethics to global warming to (in the current book) the encroachment of a growing government on citizens. When I've researched the issue I figure out how to build a plot that will, in effect, pull the reader through that concern in an interesting, page-turning way.

Q) This question is a bit contrite, but I have to ask it to satisfy my own curiosity. Your books have been translated into twenty-four languages. How does it feel to know you have works out there that you wrote, but can’t read? Also, did you have to make changes to any of your books in order to be published in certain countries?

A) It is strange to hold editions of my books published in Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Bulgarian ... and hope the translator I've never had any contact with has translated the work well. No, I've never made any changes in the manuscripts to adapt to overseas markets.

Q) What advice can you give to a struggling writer trying to become published?

A) Read! Read widely and deeply and don't confine yourself to a genre. Figure out what it is when you read your favorite writers that grabs you. Break it down and study it. Then write the book.

An Interview with e-published Author Ali Katz

Ali Katz is a writer. That statement is an absolute. Her stories titillate, inspire, and pulse emotion into the reader through carefully crafted characters and settings the reader ‘feels’ all around them as she guides them on a journey into the scintillating realm of erotic romance. Take the first step towards your own romantic odyssey at a-katz.com.

Q) What was the defining moment or event that sparked your desire to become a published author?

A) Hi, David. Thanks for having me.

You know, I don’t think that ‘defining moment’ has happened yet, if it ever will. Being a published author is a lot of work: blogging, book tours, signings, uh hum interviews, schmoozing. Who has time for all that? I just want to write. Writing e lets me do that. I’ll never make the New York Times Best Sellers’ List, but I’m happy for the chance to get my work out there for a few people to enjoy. I do love my fans – all six of them.

Q) Each story you pen has new, unique characters totally different than the previous novel. Where do you draw inspiration for such varied voices?

A)How does one answer that without sounding cliché? Writer’s take their inspiration wherever they can find it. I found Glory and Connor in my love of dance – or they found me. A location, a challenge, a cause I believe in – each of these has awakened a character with a story to tell. Learning who these strangers are and what they have to say is only a matter of listening. To get to know them, start writing their story. They’ll soon become old friends.

Q) You are living proof that regardless of the genre, “superb” writing will be read. Your words flow with the comfort and ease of a country stream while drawing in and capturing the reader in the exotic world you have woven. And your ‘worlds’ are varied. From DAMON’S PRICE in ancient Rome to GATO NEGRO inspired by the cloud forests of Costa Rica. How do you match the proper location and era for the story you want to tell?

A) Thank you, David. It’s wonderful to know my voice reaches you on some emotional level.

In many ways, setting is less a conscious decision than an integral part of the story. The story for Damon’s Price, the love of a slave for his domina, arose while I was researching women in ancient Rome. Information is sparse. No documents written by women have survived, and what I was finding led me to consider that slaves, in many regards, had it better than women, regardless of the woman’s class. So, the idea an intelligent, sophisticated, but uneducated woman might fall for a brilliant, handsome, younger man who treated her as if she had a brain, in spite of their class differences, is not farfetched.

A week in the cloud forest inspired Gato Negro, my shifter story. You can’t visit a place like that without feeling surrounded by God and history. I’ve always been interested in the culture and beliefs of ancient peoples.

I did consciously choose the location for The Highwayman. My guys needed a setting, and in researching the highwaymen of the 18th century I ran across the Hungarian outlaw, Juraj Janosik. It was only a hop, skip and a jump to the southern Carpathian Mountains, where my father grew up. The location added a unique perspective to what could have been a very mundane story.

Q) Writing has become more competitive with the advent of the Internet and the availability of reaching out to agents and publishers from the comfort of home. Yet you spend hours a day helping authors hone their craft and prepare their work for consideration. What motivates you to help your competition improve?

A) Your question seems to imply I’m being selfless -- far from it. Working with others to improve can only help me do the same. It’s much easier to find problems in someone else’s writing, which gives me the opportunity to see the same in my own. Competition doesn’t bother me. There are plenty of stories to tell and plenty of readers anxious for them.

Q) What advice can you give to a struggling writer trying to become published?

A) Write. Write. Write. Clean it up. Send it out. Repeat.

If this is what you want to do, rejection won’t stop you.

"For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can." ~~ Ernest Hemingway

Rosellen Brown - One of the Greatest Literary Talents We Shall Ever Have the Opportunity to Read

Conducting interviews with authors has allowed me to come in contact with some of - not just great literary talents - the finest human beings currently living. Rosellen Brown epitomizes and exemplifies that point.

Q) What was the defining moment or event that sparked your desire to become a published author?

A) I can’t speak for others (about anything I have to say!) but I certainly didn’t think of publishing when I began writing – I was a child and I loved reading; it felt natural to want to do that thing myself. I suppose that later I showed my writing to others and enjoyed the strokes I got for it, which I suppose you could call a kind of publishing. Actually, the whole idea of publication as a motivation is one of the things I like least about the current literary world: Too many people think “Oh, I can become a famous and maybe even a rich author” instead of writing to satisfy an internal need. For “real” (at least what I’d call serious) writers, writing is a necessity, not a career option.

Q) You have one husband, two daughters, two cats, and too many books (read and unread). Your life appears to be as unordinary as the next-door neighbor’s. Yet your novels of life are filled with anger, bewilderment, doubt, and ethical principles in relationships - and masterfully so I might add. Where do you draw inspiration for such inner turmoil?

A) Good question and thank you for the compliment. I’ve always thought I dream up those terrible situations so they won’t happen to me – sort of, sacrificing my characters to the gods so that they’ll think, “Oh, yeah, she already experienced this… if only in her imagination.” Seriously.

I also, of course, find the conundrums that arise in many lives simply interesting because those moral questions are challenging and people’s responses are difficult, unpredictable, not necessarily pleasing; I only hope that I can report them realistically. Saul Bellow said about one of his less admirable characters, “I came to represent him, not to recommend him.” Because my people don’t always react as my readers might like, I find that I have to defend them very often (and, of course, since I made them, I have a kind of sympathy for every one of them.) “Do you recognize this response?” I ask. “I didn’t ask if you approve of it, only if you think it’s plausible under (whatever) the circumstances.” Readers, of course, tend to think their behavior, even under duress, would be impeccable.

Q) In Street Games your voice is powerful and Anglo, Puerto Rican, African-American, male, female, parent, and child. The Chicago Tribune calls it “An American classic.” Who are these characters? You gave them life, but they obviously were not born from you.

A) I lived on a block like that one in Brooklyn for a few years and found myself fascinated by my neighbors there. I didn’t “study” them to write about them, only discovered – mostly – after the fact, after we’d moved away, that many, in vastly different form, might generate stories. I’m very bad at coming up with plots, so a lot of these are really more about the small ways in which people make themselves known to others and to themselves. Only one arose identifiably out of a real person and because I made up a lot so that my character was an amalgam of real and imagined, I felt I needed to beg her approval. (She was highly amused and gave me her blessing.) Usually as close as I get to anyone real is as a stimulus: I sort of narrow my eyes to make someone really blurry and then I fill in my own details. As for myself – I never write about my very unremarkable self; I like to be transparent. Of course everything that gets down on paper has gone through my head – into and out of it! – but you won’t learn anything more about me than what I’ve concentrated on.

Q) Because your writing is so strong, so relevant, and so contemporary, would you be willing to come to a community such as Freeport and meet with fans at either the library or bookstore?

A) Yes, absolutely. In fact my favorite part of any reading I give (you obviously know that we do a lot of those at colleges and bookstores) is the Question and Answer time at the end when I get to really engage with my listeners, who often surprise, delight and enlighten me with their insights and observations. There are a lot of myths about writers being too lofty to “relate,” but you’re right to want to prove that we’re actually ordinary folks who (as you said, lacking either intelligence or sanity!) work to make something very difficult look simple.

Q) What advice can you give to a struggling writer trying to become published?

A) Sometimes I think the only question struggling writers want the answer to is “How do I get an agent?” and though I don’t want to mock the difficulty of breaking into publication, I have to go back to my first answer: If you don’t write for yourself, and learn your craft before you take it to “the market,” you’d better be okay with the fact that you’re going to be rewarded for doing what somebody else has already done. There are “genre” writers – purveyors of romance, mysteries, police procedurals, etc. which can be done by following a pattern, and that’s okay if that’s what you’re interested in; there are some terrific books in all those categories. But for what’s called “literary” writing, which I’d compare to a hand-tooled piece of furniture as opposed to something extruded from a machine (except at its best), there are no shortcuts: read a lot, imitate your betters (purposely, knowing that you’re imitating) and take your time. Find a reader who is willing to be honest with you and not just love you as a friend or spouse. Find a mentor if you can. Find a group that will also enjoy what’s working in your writing but crack it open and look inside, challenge you, demand revision, etc. There are plenty of ways to connect, these days, with helpful peers and mentors. And when it looks most discouraging – because the publishing world has been torn to pieces by many forces – take notice of all the books by new writers that nonetheless continue to emerge. Many of the best of them come from small presses your mother will not have heard of but that doesn’t matter; try to get the work between covers when it’s ready and keep on moving toward the next story or book or poem and the next and the next. Publication ought to be a reward, not a lure, and when you’re writing it shouldn’t take up more than an atom of space in your brain.

Dedication + Integrity + Talent = Sandra Jackson-Opoku

Twenty years. Two decades. What did you do with your last twenty years?

Sandra Jackson-Opoku used hers to write one of the most stirring accounts ever written recounting the plight of African women and their abduction from their homes to the "New World."

I sincerely thank her for taking the time to answer some questions for me. Ms Jackson-Opoku is a woman of dignity and grace and it was my honor to have shared a moment in time with her.


Q) What was the defining moment or event that sparked your desire to become a published author?

A) I seem to trace that impetus back as far as my pre-reading days, around the age of four. Mine was among the first African Americans to integrate a public housing complex called Trumbull Park. One of our neighbors was a steelworker and writer, Frank London Brown who wrote a novel about the experience, appropriately titled Trumbull Park. I recall being inspired by that an ordinary person, someone who lived nearby could write a book and have it published.

I was also inspired by my father, Roscoe Jackson Sr., who wasn't a writer, but a great storyteller. He told these colorful (sometimes off-color) stories about people like Shine and Joe the Grinder. I didn't know it at the time, but these were bawdy figures from African American folklore. I thought Daddy was making it all up!

The character of John the Baptist Wright from my second novel, Hot Johnny and the Women Who Loved Him was modeled somewhat on Jody, AKA Joe the Grinder, who was a legendary lover and ladies' man.

Q) Your debut novel THE RIVER WHERE BLOOD IS BORN won the Black Caucus of the American Library Association Award for Fiction. While a motivating and dramatic epic of a family of women spanning three hundred years and the water that ties each generation to the previous, it is the story of its telling that I personally find intriguing. That story spans two decades. For this novel to become reality, it took an inextinguishable flame deep within you. Please share with us what fuelled your soul to place a beating heart within this book.

A) The novel's origins were very different than what it eventually became. It began after my first trip to Africa in my early twenties. I spent a year in Lagos, Nigeria as an exchange student and got to travel around the country and other destinations in West Africa. My main interest in writing in those days was journalism and poetry. When I returned I started doing travel writing, and thought I'd do some pieces on my experiences in Africa. Those pieces started morphing into short fiction about black women travelers. One of those stories was published in a feminist journal called Heresies, and went on to win the CCLM/General Electric Award for Younger Writers in 1983. I eventually was able to acquire a literary agent and a book deal.

Cheryl Woodruff, my new editor at Ballantine/One World encouraged me to develop what was then a collection of themed short stories into a novel. My challenge then was to figure out a connection between these characters from different places and times. I discovered that they were a family, all descended from the same woman who'd been born in 18th century West Africa, captured into slavery, and transplanted to the Americas. I also had to find some kind of "connective tissue" to stitch these fragments into a whole cloth. That became a storytelling frame between two otherworldly narrators -- the Gatekeeper of the Great Beyond, and Ananse, the storytelling spider from African and Diasporan folklore.

Q) Your duties as an educator keep you extremely busy. Your writing weaves ‘real life’ into a tapestry – one that we long to enjoy with an artist’s eye. Can we look forward to another novel from you?

A) I recently took a year off to write and to roam. I gave up my apartment and stayed in various artists' communities throughout the country, where I worked on three novels. I'm still doing some polishing on them. I can't yet say when will they appear. Hopefully soon.

Q) What advice can you give to a struggling writer trying to become published?

A) That's a poignant question. With the current economic crisis and the changes in the publishing industry, it is a challenging time for writers right now. All I can say is "be encouraged," and stay the course. When the dust settles, I suspect there will be even more opportunities for writers to become published. It may go without saying, but "don't be quick to quit your day job." There are certainly exceptions, but few writers are able to support themselves fully from their writing. Most of us have to do other things.

Marcus Sakey - The Next Household Name in Crime Drama

If there is any writer who fits the preconceived mold so many of us seem to erroneously possess about authors, it would be the literary talents of Marcus Sakey.

His debut novel THE BLADE ITSELF was released internationally and the film rights were purchased by award winning actor and producer Ben Affleck.

A fluke? His second and third novels received the same acclaim with the film rights to both being purchased immediately, the third, GOOD PEOPLE, by Toby McGuire’s production company. And his fourth novel, THE AMATEURS, is on the same fast track of ensuring Sakey’s well-deserved position as one of America’s best known authors.

Back at home in Chicago for a brief respite, Marcus was kind enough to take a few minutes to share some thoughts with me.

Q) What was the defining moment or event that sparked the desire to become a published author?

A) Learning to read. I remember the moment, the exact instant when the squiggles became words and I could see Spot run. That was it, I was hooked.

Q) Many authors in the crime/mystery/thriller genre hang their hats, hopes, and careers on one protagonist. You haven’t, though I am aware there have been those suggesting you write a book series. Will there be a series and if so, what type of character will your protagonist be?

A) Hard to say. I certainly wouldn’t rule out the possibility. But right now, I really like coming to each book fresh. I have some overlapping characters—most very minor, although there is one in my upcoming novel that is a pretty big figure—but you still couldn’t really call the books a series.
If I do write a series, I’ll likely follow the model of people like Laura Lippmann and Harlan Coben, where I write one in the series, then a standalone or two, then return to the series.
For me, after I spend a whole year with a group of characters, I’m just not interested in diving into another year with them right away. I wouldn’t bring the energy that I need.

Q) Even though your first three books were snatched up for potential films and your fourth is receiving critical acclaim, you remain one of the truly nice guys. I personally have seen you taking time to speak with fans when you didn’t have to. How do you keep yourself grounded and not let your success get in the way of who your are?

A) Kind of you to say. I guess the thing is, I don’t really think of myself as any sort of big shot. I love talking to fans because we’re talking about books and writing, and those are two of my favorite subjects. Not only that, but it’s an incredible feeling to know that someone out there really dug what I created, that it kept them up past their bedtime, just as so many books have done for me. So it’s not any sort of sacrifice.
And on a general level, I believe you get out of life what you put in. Being an asshole may let you win in the short-term, but it’s a pyrrhic victory.

Q) What advice can you give to a struggling writer trying to become published?

A) Ass in chair, fingers on keyboard. If you want to be a writer, you need to write. Thinking about it and talking about it are hobbies—if you want to make a living at it, it needs to be a job.
As far as specific, tactical advice, I have a tome on my website (MarcusSakey.com), from how to write a query letter to some of my day-to-day tips on crafting a story and polishing your prose.