Interview with Steve Vernon, and book giveaway!

Today it is my pleasure to introduce to you bestselling author Steve Vernon, author of Sinking Deeper OR My ~~awesome~~ ~~brilliant~~ ~~Questionable~~ Heroic Decision to Invent a Sea Monster. Please read my review HERE.

Steve has published over fifty short stories, as well as the books Halifax Haunts, Wicked Woods, Haunted Harbours, and his children’s picture book, Maritime Monsters. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Steve, it’s my pleasure to welcome you to my author interview corner. 😉 I have been wanting to do this for awhile and now seems a good time. Please get comfy and tell us a little about yourself.

Hi, Lynn. I’m happy to be here.

A little about myself?

I’m a storyteller – first and foremost. I grew up in Northern Ontario, raised by my grandparents, and came to Nova Scotia when I was seventeen years old to get to know my Mom. I fell in love with the Atlantic Ocean from the first time I saw it and have lived here ever since – although I have hitchhiked across Canada a couple of times.

When did you first know you wanted to be a writer? Who or what inspired you?

The problem with a writer’s memory is it is a bit of a stew pot, in that has been constantly stirred. Trying to pinpoint a memory like that is a little like trying to hunt up my favourite chunk of carrot from somewhere within the middle of the pot. I do remember sending a story to Alfred Hitchock’s Mystery Magazine – back when I was eleven years old. I received an actual hand-written rejection letter – because I believe some slush reader had kids of their own.

I also remember the morning that W.O. Mitchell – author of Jake and the Kid and Who Has Seen The Wind – came to our English class as a guest author. I’d say right then and right there I decided to myself that I was going to grow up someday and become an author.

I’m still working on that whole “growing up” part of the equation…

Well, don’t worry, Steve; growing up doesn’t seem to be all it’s cracked up to be (although I still have a long way to go myself). As a writer, do you do much reading? Who were/are your favourite authors or books?

I read every day.

As a writer, I have to.

Whenever someone comes to me and says – “I want to be a writer” – the first thing I ask them is – “What have you read?”

If they tell me – “Well, I’m not all that much of a reader” – I promptly punch them in the nose – or, if they know karate or are of any potential size I might just shoot them once or twice with a ball of high-caliber sarcasm.

Fact is – WRITERS NEED TO READ.

You can’t a drive a car without gas.

You can’t exhale without inhaling good air.

A fire needs good firewood.

Say it again – WRITERS NEED TO READ.

My favourite authors include Stephen Hunter, Robert Parker, Brian Keene, Joe Lansdale, Bernard Cornwell, Gary Paulsen and Conn Iggulden.

I agree about the reading. Have you ever felt like giving up? When did you finally believe in yourself so you can say “I am a writer”?

For me, giving up has always been an exercise in futility.

The fact is – no matter what I tell myself – sooner or later I find myself sitting down and making up a story. I am a born storyteller – it is something that is genetic in me. So saying that I’m depressed and that life isn’t worthwhile and that I’m going to quit writing and storytelling is about as sensible as me saying that I’m going to quit breathing.

In fact – that’s another one of my rules for determining if someone is a writer or not. If they are driven to do this – to string words together and convey ideas upon the computer screen or a piece of paper – then they are most likely supposed to be some sort of a writer.

It’s like a fellow who wants to be a painter. Odds are – if he is any kind of visual artist at all – he will have already established a LONG career of doodling and crayon coloring.

Writing – for me – is a natural obsession.

I’ll give it up on the day that they dump about thirty or forty shovels full of dirt on my box.

Then we can expect many more books from you. 🙂 Do you have a motto or Bible verse or quote that you try to live by and that helps to keep you going?

“He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish.”

And if anyone out there can’t peg that quote then you really need to make time to read a few more books.

I’m glad to say I recognize those words. 🙂 What do you remember about your very first time to be published, how did that happen?

First story I sold was to a biker magazine – “OUTLAW BIKER”. They paid $150.00 and a contributor’s copy – a magazine with more breasts, beards and motorbikes than I had ever seen together at any one time.

Now back then – in the mid-eighties – that size of a check was about the same as I got paid for several days of flipping hamburgers at a fast food joint – where I was working at the time. So I remember thinking to myself – “Wow, I’m going to be rich.”

It didn’t work out quite as easily as that.

Interesting start! What have you had published thus far? Of those, what do you most enjoy writing?

I could fill a book with everything that I have written. I’ve sold close to a hundred short stories. I’ve got seven regional books out through Nimbus Publishing – (Haunted Harbours: Ghost Stories of Old Nova Scotia, Wicked Woods: Ghost Stories of Old New Brunswick among others). I’ve released about thirteen e-books through Crossroad Press. I have also released eight e-books independently.

Besides that I have written – and sold – about one hundred fifty book reviews. I have written and sold about a hundred poems. I have written and sold several dozen author interviews. I have written and sold a couple dozen articles and have written and sold one radio play.

I like to keep busy.

Which do I enjoy the most?

Well – I really DO enjoy the work that I get paid for an awful lot. There is a real satisfaction in receiving an actual cheque in the mail for my words.

I could also tell you that I ALWAYS enjoy the work that I am doing at any point in time. Whatever story, novella, novel or script that I am working on – that is the one that I love the most.

However – if I really had to be pinned down to one particular work – I would have to say that Sinking Deeper OR My awesome brilliant Questionable Heroic Decision to Invent a Sea Monster was my absolute favourite work. I really enjoyed creating that young adult novel.

You are a very prolific writer! What process do you go through when writing and perfecting a book or article?

There are two processes that I can tell you about.

The first is the ideal process.

The ideal process consists of writing a manuscript and then putting it away for the next month while I work on something else. Then – after the manuscript has suitably cooled down and I have had enough of a chance to fall out of love with each little turn and twist of phrase and every single plot entanglement – I stomp through it with an eye for continuity and entertainment value.

HOWEVER…

I sometimes end up rattling something off at the very last minute, running my eyeball over the computer screen to see if anything TOO obnoxious happens to stick out, and then throwing it between two pieces of cardstock and calling it a book.

My usual procedure falls somewhere in between those two schools of thought.

What method do you use to keep track of your writing ideas?

I scribble them somewhere, put it under a likely looking heap on my desk and then forget about it. Years later, usually around the January resolution-making season, I stumble across that scribbled note while making an entirely-too perfunctory attempt to clean up this sorry landfill that I call a desk – and I think to myself – “Hey, that would probably make a pretty good story.”

Then I most likely will put that note back under another heap of scrap paper to mature a little longer.

It is – in hindsight – sort of a compost-heap approach to writing.

Funny! 🙂 What inspired you to write Sinking Deeper OR My ~~awesome~~ ~~brilliant~~ ~~Questionable~~ Heroic Decision to Invent a Sea Monster?

That’s an easy question.

Let’s see if I can make the answer a little more confusing than it needs to be.

For starters – I wrote that novel because I REALLY wanted to write something for all of the kids that I visit through the WRITERS IN THE SCHOOL program. My ghost story collections are VERY popular amongst junior high and high school students – but I REALLY wanted to come up with an actual chapter-by-chapter novel for that age group.

So I came up with Sinking Deeper OR My awesome brilliant Questionable Heroic Decision to Invent a Sea Monster.

If you want me to get philosophical about it – the book is actually my ode to the oral storytelling tradition. Granddad Angus is sort of a role model for myself – the kind of storyteller that I would like to grow up to become – assuming I ever get around to actually growing up.

I am VERY proud of this particular novel – especially now that it has made the shortlist of BOTH the Hackmatack and the Silver Birch award. That is an awesome achievement for a writer who really did not know what he was doing at the time that he did it.

You have good reason to be proud of this novel. It looks as if you might have had fun writing this book. How long did it take you to write it? Did you have to do any research?

I had a lot of fun writing this book.

Research was minimal. I had spent a couple of years – off and on – living in the town of Yarmouth. I worked in a fish plant, raked blueberries, worked in a cotton mill and indulged in all manner of small town activity. I woke to bagpipes every morning of the two years that I spent attending Kings College University. I even threw a caber quite a few summers back. Dropped it to a reasonable eleven o’clock position – which isn’t too shabby for a beginning caber chucker.

As for the sea monster – well, I had been thinking about that particular idea since I was a kid.

Did you write a little of yourself into any of the characters? Do you have a favourite?

I’d have to say that I want to be Granddad Angus – and I probably was Roland – as a child growing up.

Did you find any part of the story difficult to pull together? If so, how did you stick with it?

Writing for kids is HARD work.

Don’t let ANYONE tell you that writing for children is easy.

I put more sweat into the creation of that novel SINKING DEEPER and the writing of my children’s picture book MARITIME MONSTERS than ANY of my other works.

I stuck with it because I have bills to pay. If in doubt I ALWAYS apply a working man’s ethic to my craft. My muse wears work boots and punches that time clock like it was a religion.

That sounds productive. How did you go about finding a publisher?

Well – I’ve got several publishers – but I’d have to say the publisher that has done the MOST to help make me the writer I am today is Nimbus Publishing. I connected with them on my very first ghost story collection – way back in 2004 – when I pitched my book at the First Annual Halifax Word on the Street Pitch the Publisher’s event.

Pitch the Publisher was basically a sort of Dragon’s Den for writers. You are given a very few moments to tell three different maritime publishers about your book – and WHY they ought to publish it. The event has gone on every year since 2004 – but as far as I have been told my book Halifax Haunts: Ghost Stories from Old Nova Scotia was the very first book to actually make the leap from a pitch session to a published work.

The book remains my bestselling work – with over ten thousand copies sold to date – which isn’t all that bad for a Canadian regional press.

Fantastic! Tell us what honours this book (Sinking Deeper) has received thus far and what is coming up.

As I mentioned – the book has made the short list for both the Hackmatack and the Silver Birch awards for Children’s Fiction. There is no cash prize involved – but both award committees have made certain that copies of Sinking Deeper have been bought and placed in school libraries across the maritimes and Ontario. That – in itself – is a huge benefit – and I am exceedingly grateful for this opportunity.

As a result I will be taking part in school and library readings across the maritimes – and possibly a few in Ontario – although transportation is an issue. I will be appearing at the OLA Conference this year – at the Follett Table on February 1^st – at 11:30am. Any of you writer-types or librarians attending I’d be happy to meet with you.

I hope someone reading this can take you up on the invitation. Congratulations on making the short lists! Do you have another job you go to daily? If so, how do you find time to write when you are busy with life?

Oh yes – I have a day job.

It pays the bills.

As to how I find the time to write – I get up early and drink a LOT of coffee.

What other interests do you have for a change from writing?

I garden a little, shovel snow – (hey, it’s Canada) – and work out a little. I read and I watch WAY too many old movies thanks to the Turner Network.

Fortunately we don’t have snow all year! I understand about old movies; I like the Turner Network, too. How do you consistently write? Do you have writing goals – daily? Weekly? Monthly? Long range?

Writing goals have unfortunately been relegated to the realm of forgotten New Year’s resolutions.

I write as often as I can – as well as I can – not nearly often enough.

And yet you are an accomplished author. Do you have another project in the works? Any hints you can share with our readers about that?

I’m currently working on completing a young adult serial/series that is available in Kindle and Kobo format. The work is entitled Flash Virus and it consists of six separate episodes that will eventually form a stand-alone book. I am currently halfway through Episode Five. The first episode is free – in both Kindle and Kobo – and I have given away about 8-10 thousand copies through both networks.

It’s basically the end-of-the-world as told by a teenager.

The protagonist – Briar Gamble – has to react when his school is “invaded” by evil cellphones and a creepy pale-faced mad genius whom the kids refer to as Captain Albino.

You want a taste of it – here’s the first sentence.

“So as near as I could tell the end of the world began roughly about the time that Billy Carver’s butt rang – about halfway through the War of 1812.”

Eight to ten thousand free copies? Wow! (I am reading one of those.) And that first sentence is a good hook. 🙂 Finally, do you have any advice for hopefuls?

Read every day – not just what you like to read – but read other stuff as well. Read action novels, political tomes, fairy tales, ghost stories, historical yarns, romance novels.

Feed the fire.

Grow yourself an iron-hard rhinoceros hide. This is NOT a profession for the easily discouraged.

Explore your imagination.

Don’t forget to tell a story.

Beginning, middle, end – save the artistic timelines for Quentin Tarrantino and the like.

Don’t give up the day job and remember to have fun.

If all else fails, go and fly a kite.

Great advice! Thank you, Steve, for this enjoyable and informative interview. You certainly gave us a different slant on things. 🙂

Now for the giveaway: Are you interested in winning a copy of Steve Vernon’s YA novel – “Sinking Deeper OR My ~~awesome~~ ~~brilliant~~ ~~Questionable~~ Heroic Decision to Invent a Sea Monster”? Please leave a comment about this interview for your chance to win. At 6 PM EST on Tuesday, February 5, one name will be pulled from the basket and I will contact the winner for a mailing address so Steve can send the winner a book! Be sure to check back.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Interview with Sue Harrison, and book giveaway

I’m pleased to introduce to you Sue Harrison, author of Mother Earth Father Sky which I reviewed HERE. Please read the review if you haven’t already.

Sue Harrison was born and brought up in Michigan, USA, and graduated summa cum laude from Lake Superior State University. Prior to the publication of her novels, Harrison was employed at Lake Superior State University as a writer and acting director of the Public Relations Department and as an adjunct instructor in creative writing and advanced creative writing. Sue is a Distinguished Service Award Honoree of the Michigan Delta Kappa Gamma Educator’s Sorority. She is a member of the Society of Midland Authors, The Authors Guild, the American Christian Fiction Writers, and the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association. Her novels have been published in more than twenty countries and in thirteen languages.

Sue, I’m honoured to welcome you to my blog! You have been a faithful follower and commenter for some time here, but now we have a better chance to get to know Sue Harrison, the author of bestselling novels, in a more personal way. Please begin by telling us a little about yourself.

Just a rough sketch here, Lynn. I’ve been a Christian since I was five years old when a neighbor girl, about 8 years old, led me to the Lord. How’s that for “child evangelism?” When I was 9, I fell for the boy I’d grow up to marry. We were married when we were 19. We worked our way through college and our children were born when we were in our early 20s. Most of our married life, we have lived in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We have two daughters and a son. Our firstborn, a daughter, died in infancy. Our son is married and we have two granddaughters. Our daughter has just returned from 10 years of missionary service in Europe. I love books, reading them and writing them, and I love the outdoors. I’m a certified scuba diver, enjoy gardening, needlework and weaving, and travel. I play 7 musical instruments, although none of them impressively. I was raised in a very musical family. My mother was a professional musician from age 13, and her brother one of the conductors of the ABC symphony and also a composer best known for his Alaskan Symphony. I have four siblings.

Wow! At 9 you found your life partner? Astonishing! You live a very full life; when did you first know you wanted to be a writer? Who or what inspired you?

I decided I would be a novelist after falling in love with words at age 10. That was when my paternal grandmother introduced me to the work of Laura
Ingalls Wilder.

Another surprising fact! As a writer, do you do much reading? Who were/are your favourite authors or books?

I’m very eclectic reader, am usually reading four or five books at the same time, and read about 100 books a year. I have too many favorites to give them all space here, but at the top of my list is, of course, Laura Ingalls Wilder and also Dorothy Dunnett, particularly her Lymond Chronicles.

Have you ever felt like giving up? When did you finally believe in
yourself so you can say “I am a writer”?

There were times when I wondered if God wanted me to stop writing. That has
been a battle for me particularly in the last ten years, which have been very intensive parent care years for me. I don’t have to explain that to you, Lynn. You know exactly how that impacts your life and your career. For the first four and half years I was the primary caregiver for my mom-in-law who had Alzheimer’s. During that time, my writing was often limited to less than an hour a week. You just can’t write novels during an hour a week. It doesn’t happen. After she passed away, I was still caring for my father-in-law but able to reserve two to three hours a day a few days a week to write. Now I’m also caring for my parents, but that is less intensive. They are by nature more independent and also understand how important my writing is to me, so we’ve been able to bring in other caregivers and preserve much of my writing time.

As to the second part of that question. I first felt like a real writer when my first short story was published in a small college magazine. It happened again for me with the publication of each of my novels. In between and since then, I seem to have to prove to myself all over again – every day – that I’m a real writer.

Strange how even the most accomplished doubt themselves at times. Do you have a motto or Bible verse or quote that you try to live by and that helps to keep you going?

I have a Bible verse taped to my computer screen. It is from Zephaniah 3:17.”The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy, he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.”

I also have two other quotes taped on my screen: Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Never
lose an opportunity for seeing anything that is beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting, a wayward sacrament.”

The last is a business-like quote that my husband gave me by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. “As an artist in today’s society, you are responsible for your own successes and failures. Do your best to capitalize on the former and survive the latter. You won’t always make the right choices, but now, at least, you have choices. And that’s a very, very good thing.”

Excellent quotes, and that Bible verse is one of my favourites! What do you remember about your first book being published, how did that happen?

I probably remember every second of it, so I won’t bore you with a blow-by-blow description. I’d been trying to find an agent for my first novel MOTHER EARTH FATHER SKY. In those days there was no internet so I was
limited to finding agent names and addresses in books. I had one little book that I’d purchased. It listed agents in alphabetical order. I started at the A’s and went on through. Almost 5 years (and a complete rewrite) later, I was in the W’s and getting desperate. In November I sent a query to Rhoda Weyr of the Rhoda Weyr Literary Agency. A couple weeks later, she asked for a complete manuscript. In January she called and asked me to be her client. She also asked for some minor changes. I completed those in 3 days and sent the ms back to her. At the end of March she called and said some editors would like to talk to me. The first “editor” was the president of Random House. The second was a VP of Doubleday. My husband was sitting across the kitchen table from me when I took the call from Doubleday and he realized by my side of the conversation that she (Loretta Barrett) was trying to sell ME on choosing Doubleday. I looked at him and he had tears running down his cheeks. His crazy wife was actually going to sell that dang novel she’d been working on for 10 years. MEFS went to auction with 5 bidders. After 3 days, we still had 3 bidders and we chose to go with Doubleday.

How sweet to have such a supportive husband. What are the novels you have had published thus far, and of those, which did you most enjoy writing?

Mother Earth Father Sky, My Sister the Moon, Brother Wind, Song of the River, Cry of the Wind, Call Down the Stars and Sisu. I can’t choose any one of them as my favorite to write. I loved writing them all.

What process do you go through when writing and perfecting a book or article?

With novels and articles, I basically go through the same process. I spend a
certain period of time getting it all in my head. I don’t write an extensive outline, just jot down ideas. I let my characters ride around in my head for
about a year before I begin writing the book, and then I sit down and write,
usually about 5 to 10 typewritten pages a day. At the halfway point, I stop, go back and read what I’ve written. Then I continue on and finish my first draft. With my novels, I rewrite at least 6 full drafts. My research comes before, during and after.

What method do you use to keep track of your writing ideas?

I have an idea folder.

What inspired you to write your trilogies? and stand-alone novels?

A number of factors influenced my decision to write the two Alaska
trilogies: my experience growing up in a woodsy, almost wilderness
environment; my father’s and my husband’s love of the outdoors; my
fascination with Native American cultures; my interest in Native languages;
the research of Dr. William Laughlin. My one stand-alone published novel is
for middle readers. My children’s lives influenced that book and my
experiences as a mom and wife. The novels I’m writing now – romantic
suspense for the inspirational market – are an expression of my faith and of
my love of reading mystery and suspense novels.

How long did it take you to write each book or set? What research
did you have to do? And how did you come up with the titles?

I began the research for all my Alaska books in 1978. I finished writing the
last book in 1999, and I estimate that I spent 9 of those years researching
to write the novels. The rest was writing time. My research included learning about the cultures, lifestyles, art, and languages of Alaskan Native peoples. I also studied influencing cultures, including many of the Native cultures of what is now Canada, the Native peoples in the northern and western parts of what are now the lower 48 states of the USA, and the traditions and some of the legends of Native peoples in eastern Siberia and SE Asia. I also studied geography, geology, the archeological digs in Alaska, and Native survival skills and artwork.

The title Mother Earth Father Sky is from a very well-known Tewa poem. The
other two Ivory Carver Trilogy titles – My Sister The Moon and Brother Wind,
just seemed to fit in with the family theme of that first title. My second trilogy was titled by one of my editors, Ellen Edwards. My titles for that trilogy were cumbersome, and she was afraid buyers might shy away from purchasing the novels. Her titles are Song of the River, Call of the Wind, and Call Down The Stars.

Did you write a little of yourself into any of the characters? Do
you have any favourites?

My favourite characters are both from my first trilogy, both lead charactersand both women: Chagak and Kiin. I think writers can’t help but put a bit of themselves into every character. My main characters are much more courageous and much stronger than I am. They are what I wish I were. My villains are what I hope I’m not!

Did you find any part of the stories difficult to pull together? Was any individual book more difficult to write? If so, how did you
stick with it?

I had the most trouble writing the third book of the first trilogy, Brother Wind. I was working with a new publisher with that book, and they preferred that I first write an extensive outline, which I’d not done with my first two novels. I wrote a 60-page outline, and by the time I’d completed the first half of the novel, I realized that I might as well throw that outline away. My characters had hijacked the story and sent it on a new course. I was a bit discouraged and set the novel aside for about a week. During that time I wrote the first half of SISU, a middle reader’s book, set in Michigan in current time. That seemed to break the gridlock for me, and I was able to finish Brother Wind. Later, my husband suggested that I finish SISU. I did, and, although my publisher William Morrow made an offer for the novel, we decided to go with a small Michigan publisher, Thunder Bay Press, to prolong the life of the book. Now more than ten years later, it’s still in print.

Tell us about the honours/recognition your books received.

The Alaska trilogies were very well received. Several of them have been chosen in top ten “reader’s choice” situations. Mother Earth Father Sky was selected as one of 1991’s Best Books for Young Adults as a crossover from the adult market by the American Library Association. It was also a national and international bestseller and received a boxed review in the New York Times Book Review. The Ivory Carver Trilogy was re-released in an omnibus edition in Sweden. Mother Earth Father Sky was performed as a radio drama in Japan and Norway. Brother Wind was selected as a Book of the Month by my German publisher. Mother Earth Father Sky and My Sister the Moon were both main selections of the Literary Guild. My Sister the Moon was a Baker & Taylor national bestseller and a bestseller to libraries. Sisu has been selected as Accelerated Readers Book in the US.

That is so amazing! How do you find time to write when you are busy with life?

Sometimes I can’t. That’s a great and distressing time for me when that occurs, but I believe it happens with all writers. When I had a fulltime job, I woke up at 5 in the morning, Monday through Friday, without exception other than Christmas and Thanksgiving. Then I wrote for an hour and a half until my family got up. Now I often put in 14- or 15-hour days in order to find time to write despite the care and housekeeping I do for our parents.

That’s commitment! What other interests do you have for a change from writing?

I’ve mentioned some of these above. I love to read, knit, sew, weave,garden, and I walk for exercise. I play 7 musical instruments: piano, flute, baglama, viola, double-bowed psaltery, mandolin, and mountain dulcimer. I have a hammered dulcimer, but make no claims yet to be able to play it. I participate weekly with a jam group. Lots of fun, and I’m also a vocal performer. I love to travel, and my husband and I try to get away for a week at least once a year. Prior to our parent care responsibilities we traveled extensively in Europe, the Caribbean and, of course, Alaska.

How do you consistently write? Do you have writing goals – daily?
Weekly? Monthly? Long range?

My writing goals are more along the line of trying to write at least 3 and preferably 5 days a week for 2 or 3 hours in the morning. I also spend quite
a few evenings writing blog posts. I try to finish at least one of my romantic suspense novels each year.

Do you have another project in the works? Any hints you can share with our readers about that?

I have two novels – BILLIONS and PRODIGY – with my agent, Rachelle Gardner of Books & Such Literary Agency right now. I’m hoping she can find publishers for them in the inspirational market. BILLIONS is about a billionaire and a waitress who are both hostages in a con game for millions. PRODIGY features a young woman who is a luthier known for her exquisite handmade violins. Here’s PRODIGY’s “hook” – A kidnapped child. A violin. A closet.

The novel I’m working on at the moment is in the first-draft-half-finished stage. The working title is WARP. It’s about a young widow who has two young children. She weaves tapestry copies of masterpieces, but against her will has been drawn into criminal activity by her dead husband’s family. It’s all about survival, and I’m having a ball writing it.

Intriguing! I’ll have to watch for your new titles. Finally, do you have any advice for hopefuls?

Three simple things: 1. Read, read, read. 2. Write, write, write. 3. Learn
to believe in yourself by reaching out to the One who made you.

Oh, what excellent advice; thank you, Sue! And thank you for this wonderful interview.

Check out Sue Harrison’s website: www.sueharrison.com and click on “Appearances 2013” to find out where she is speaking. Perhaps she will soon be somewhere near you, or you can book her for a speaking engagement or writers’ workshop.

Now for our first giveaway of 2013. Are you interested in winning a copy of one of Sue’s books? Please leave a comment about this interview and also mention which of her books you would like to win if your name is drawn. At 6 PM EST on Tuesday, January 22, one name will be pulled from the basket and I will contact the winner for a mailing address so Sue can send the chosen book! How great is that! 🙂

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Interview with Christine Nolfi and book giveaway

I won’t keep you waiting for this interview any longer.

I’m pleased to introduce to you Christine Nolfi, author of the adult fiction The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge. Be sure to read my review.

In 2004, Christine Nolfi began writing fiction full-time. Her debut, Treasure Me, is a finalist in the 2012 Next Generation Indie Awards and appears on the Midwest Book Review’s Bookwatch as, “A riveting read for those who enjoy adventure fiction, highly recommended.” Her second contemporary fiction novel, The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge, continues to earn 4- and 5-star reviews on GoodReads and Amazon. Her third release, Second Chance Grill, was released October 30th.

Christine, welcome to my blog! I’m delighted you agreed to this interview. Would you please begin by telling us a little about yourself? And do you have a family, a job outside the family?

Lynn, thank you for the invitation to visit today! I’m a full-time novelist and a recent transplant to Charleston, South Carolina. Three of my adopted children are now in college; the baby is a high school senior. I remarried last summer on a beach – Barry and I both feel blessed to have received a “do-over” in our fifties. Prior to writing fiction full-time, I owned a small PR firm in Cleveland, Ohio.

You seem to lead a full and satisfying life. When did you first know you wanted to be a writer? Who or what inspired you?

Honestly, I can’t recall a time when I didn’t write. Vignettes in childhood and later, short stories. In high school, I usually received top billing in the annual literary magazine. I wrote my first novel at age nineteen and turned down an offer to sell it at age twenty-two. Don’t ask why. Thirty years later, the reason seems silly.

Aw, darn. Now you know what question I really want to ask next! *sigh* Okay, I won’t. Instead: as a writer, do you do much reading? Who were/are your favourite authors or books?

I read several hours each day, whether it’s The Economist or Wall Street Journal, or the latest novel to catch my eye. Presently I’m reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Heart of the Matter by Emily Griffin and The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff. My taste in fiction runs toward literary, but I read across genres and can’t imagine choosing a favorite author.

Have you ever felt like giving up? When did you finally believe in
yourself so you can say “I am a writer”?

Some weeks the sheer volume of promotional work on my “to do” list becomes quite intimidating. I’ve never suffered from doubts regarding my abilities because I worked as a freelance writer for so many years.

Do you have a motto or Bible verse or quote that you try to live by
and that helps to keep you going?

I use “Bible flipping” daily: open the Bible, and read the passage that first catches my eye. The practice brings both comfort and hope. Frankly, I couldn’t have survived all the years of single parenting without my faith.

What do you remember about your very first time to be published,
how did that happen?

In my early twenties I sold a short story entitled Night Hour to Working Mother Magazine. The editor called to say she loved the over-the-transom submission about a mother who finds the courage to march into the basement rec room and confront her teenage daughter before the girl and a teen boyfriend have sex. The editor was convinced I was a working mother who’d written a story about experiences with my own teenagers. Needless to say, I was happy to let her think what she wanted – and was even more delighted when the magazine’s two million subscribers read my first published work.

Now, that’s an exciting start! Do you mind mentioning some of what you have written thus far? Of what you have had published, what means the most to you? Of those, what do or did you most enjoy writing?

I’ve published three novels with two more currently under edit. My debut Treasure Me was cited by USA Today as among the best of the indies and recently became a finalist in the 2012 Next Generation Indie Awards. The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge has even higher scores on Amazon and GoodReads but hasn’t yet reached the contest circuit. My third novel Second Chance Grill was released October 30th.

Whether I’m writing lighter books like Treasure Me and Second Chance Grill or a darker, closer to literary work like Tree of Everlasting Knowledge, I invariably fall in love with the characters. The work-in-progress becomes my favorite book.

Congratulations on your success so far! What method do you use to keep track of your writing ideas?

I rarely veer off course once work commences. Compelling fiction begins with deep characterization, and I spend months researching and fine-tuning the characters destined to populate a book. If I’m not satisfied with the completed manuscript after several revisions, I file it away. Some books need a cooling off period and fresh perspective before final revision work and publication.

What process do you go through when writing and perfecting your work?

I’ll write a chapter or two then return to the beginning and edit. Then I’ll write several more chapters and edit again. After the first draft is complete, I take the Word document and create a landscaped version resembling a paperback novel and edit, revise, cut, and add new passages in longhand fashion.

Very interesting! What inspired you to write The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge?

Tree explores problems related to the U.S. foster/adopt system. As an adoptive mother, caring for the world’s abandoned children is an issue dear to my heart. The idea for Troy’s dilemma in the novel—which I’d rather not give away here—came about after I conducted interviews at an adoption network in Cleveland, Ohio.

How long did it take you to write The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge? Did you have to do any research?

The work required extensive research into foster/adopt law in the United States. I also conducted interviews with social workers, a birth mother, and coordinators at an adoption network. The novel went through extensive revision on at least three occasions. I set the work aside when Treasure Me gained notice in The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards then picked Tree back up for one last revision in early 2012. All told, the novel took three years to write.

It was worth it, I would say. Did you find any part of it hard to write about or pull together?

Writing scenes from child Emma’s point-of-view proved gut wrenching. And Troy’s pivotal scenes with Buck took many months to write.

Why did you decide to write about such a difficult topic, that of violence in varying degrees?

Originally I planned Tree as another book in the Liberty series with the much lighter Treasure Me and Second Chance Grill. A literary agent on the West Coast had put me in contact with an amazing private editor who quickly concluded that Tree was much more literary than my other works, and deserved to release as a stand-alone novel. Her advice set me free to write a book both heartbreaking and uplifting.

I agree, it is both of those. Did you write a little of yourself into any of the characters?

Certainly the children Walt and Emma are inspired by my experiences as a mother of adopted children of color. Troy and Ourania? I’ve probably put some of my personality in both of them. I hope I don’t share any traits with the loathsome Buck Korchek, the most difficult character I’ve ever written.

How did/do you go about getting published? Why did you choose the route you took?

I worked with two literary agents, had two “almost sales” to Random House then New American Library. The problem? My books incorporate features of the romance, mystery, suspense and literary genres – never a good thing when a NY editor needs to decide where to place your debut on a bookstore shelf. My critique partners finally convinced me to try indie publishing. Naturally I’ll happily embark on a traditional publishing career if the right deal ever comes along.

How do you write consistently? Do you have writing goals? daily?
weekly? monthly? long-range?

Having owned a PR firm for many years, I still work as if I’m in the Marine Corps. Early start, break at noon for a workout at the gym, return to my office to edit the morning’s pages. I stop at dinnertime. Writers who burn the midnight oil or put in 18-hour days are asking for an early death. Any artist needs to recognize that her body is as sacred a gift as her boundless creativity.

That’s something to seriously consider. What other interests do you have for a change from writing?

I love to cook, garden, stroll the beach with my husband, walk my sweet mutt in Charleston’s early morning sunlight – and read. In between books, I try to read as many novels as possible.

Do you have another project in the works?

I’ll publish two shorter romances in early 2013 then release the third book in the Liberty series. Or I’ll release a longer, literary novel set in Istanbul. It’s a real dilemma. I’ve already written a portion of the Istanbul book, but the amusing antics of the characters in the Liberty books are hard to resist!

That’s just the kind of dilemma I imagine a lot of writers would love to have. 🙂 Finally, do you have any advice for hopefuls?

My best advice for hopefuls? Join a critique group. Read often and well. Write an entire first draft then revise. And revise again. Research the publishing industry before submitting your first query to a literary agent, or uploading your first novel independently. And always believe in your singular gifts.

Thanks, Christine. That’s great advice. Thank you for the insight into your writing life.

Readers, here are some links Christine invites you to check out:

Author Christine Nolfi’s website: http://www.christinenolfi.com

Find her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/christinenolfi

Find her on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4811669.Christine_Nolfi

Find The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Tree-Everlasting-Knowledge-ebook/dp/B007IO78QK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1340741334&sr=1-1&keywords=the+tree=of=everlasting=knowledge

Now leave a comment and your name will be in the draw for your chance to win a copy of Christine Nolfi’s The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge. Tell us what you found most helpful or interesting of what she had to share. On Saturday, November 10 at 6 PM EST one name will be drawn out of the basket. I will contact that person for his or her mailing address and when the winner gets back to me I’ll inform Christine who will send a book to the winner. So, leave a comment to enter the draw!

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Reminder: Book Giveaway on August 12!

This is just a reminder in case you planned to add your name into the draw and haven’t done so yet.

Tomorrow, Sunday, August 12, the names of those who left comments on my last post will be put into a little basket, and at 6:00 PM EST one name will be drawn out. That person will be notified via email that he or she has won a copy of The Lion Is In, written by Delia Ephron. Once I receive a reply with your mailing address, I will contact Blue Rider Press who will mail a book to you.

At the time of my writing this post, you have less than 21 hours to enter the draw. If you want a chance to win a book, then get your name in by leaving a comment after reading my interview with Delia Ephron. That’s all there is to it. Oh, and you must live in either Canada or the USA to win. (Sorry, that’s the stipulation this time.)

You can also read my review of The Lion Is In.

I hope you win! I wish you all could.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Hurry! You could win a book today!

This is a friendly reminder of the BOOK GIVEAWAY I’m offering TODAY – November 12 – courtesy of Red Deer Press.

Please refer to my October 22 post and read my review of A Hare in the Elephant’s Trunk – an amazing story written by Jan L. Coates.

Then, following my October 28 interview with Jan, you have the opportunity to win a copy of A Hare in the Elephant’s Trunk by leaving a comment.

Please be sure to let others know about this, too, and get the word out about this heralded novel. There’s not much time left until 9:00 pm (8:00 EST). Tweet about it, mention it on Facebook and in your own blog .. use your imagination to get the word out there! I know Jan will appreciate the publicity for Jacob and Wadeng Wings of Hope. Don’t know who Jacob is? Read my blog posts of October 22 and October 28.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings!

Interview with Billy Coffey & book giveaway

I won’t keep you waiting any longer for this interesting and informative interview. You can read my March 22 post for my review of Snow Day – but now I am pleased to introduce Billy Coffey, author of Snow Day.

Billy was born and raised in Virginia, USA, where he and his wife are now bringing up their family. Billy is a prolific writer and quite the philosopher. You may wish to check out his blog (link at end of interview) and be inspired by his insights.

Billy, welcome to my blog. Please start us off by telling us a little about yourself.

I am a proud country boy. Cities scare me, and I do my best to avoid them. I’ve learned more in the mountains than I ever have in school. I hate adverbs. The best storyteller I’ve ever known was a hillbilly named Cracker. I love my family, and I worry about the world we’re all growing up in. I can hit a knuckleball and throw a tomahawk. Clowns scare the heck outta me.

I agree about the clowns!
When did you first know you wanted to be a writer? Who or what inspired you? Or discouraged you?

I was your stereotypical jock in high school, which meant I tried much harder on a ball field than I did in a classroom. By my senior year, seven of my classes were study halls. My plan was to coast into either college or the minor leagues.

My English teacher had a different plan. She told me one day she wasn’t about to let me sit around doing nothing, so she assigned me a weekly column in the local newspaper. My baseball career ended a few months later with a shoulder injury, and I poured out my frustrations in a column a few weeks later. A week after that, I received an anonymous letter from someone who said what I’d written had convinced them not to commit suicide. I’ve been writing ever since.

Wow! That one person whose life you impacted certainly was great encouragement to continue.
As a writer, do you do much reading? Who/what were and are your favourite authors or books?

The general consensus is that a writer has to read, and I fully embrace that. I’ll read anything I can get my hands on, from Dr. Seuss to the Stoic philosophers. I love Flannery O’Connor and John Steinbeck. Tolstoy’s always been a favorite. And I think Stephen King is a genius.

Have you ever felt like giving up? When did you finally believe in yourself so you can say “I am a writer”?

I think every writer’s biggest enemy is his or herself. That little whisper deep in your secret places will always tell you to give up, that you’re just a pretender. And honestly, I think that’s a voice to prove wrong rather than silence. There were times when I actually did give up. I was tired of rejection slips and thought I’d be happier without them. But not writing offered much more misery than writing ever could. I think that’s the mark of a writer—you want to give up sometimes, but you know you never can.

As far as believing in myself so I can say “I am a writer,” that’s a tough one. There are still plenty of days when I don’t think I’m a writer at all.

Do you have a motto or Bible verse or quote that you try to live by and that helps to keep you going?

I’ve always liked Psalm 66:16: “Come and hear, all who fear God, and I will tell of what He has done for my soul.”

Oh, nice one.
What have you had published thus far? Of those, what do you most enjoy writing?

So far, one book, more articles than I can remember, and a few years’ worth of blog posts. By and large, writing a book is the most enjoyable. There’s a freedom in building a full story that you can’t get anywhere else.

What process do you go through when writing and perfecting a book or article?

I’m big on planning, whether a book or an article. I like to think things through before I start writing, let things stew for a while. I’m a firm believer that most writing gets done well away from a computer or a sheet of paper.

I wish I were one of those people who can write a first draft straight through. I’m not. I revise as I go, writing today’s words only after picking through yesterday’s. That takes some extra time, but the upside is that by the time I finish a first draft, I actually have the second as well. I’ll let that sit for a while, then go through the whole thing one more time. Sometimes, three drafts is enough. Oftentimes, it isn’t.

What method do you use to keep track of your writing ideas?

Despite all attempts at change, I’m still the most disorganized person I know. I have notebooks everywhere, ideas written down on napkins and receipts. All of that resides on a corner of my desk I refer to as My Mess. It really is sad. The only comfort I have is that if an idea is written down, I’ll rediscover it eventually.

What inspired you to write Snow Day?

I went through a job scare during the winter of 2005. I was working in a factory that handled textiles, and the textile industry is usually ground zero for a recession. Horrible, horrible time. A man has to feel like he’s providing for his family, and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to do that anymore. It hollowed me out inside.

Snow Day began as a series of journal entries. I couldn’t understand what was going on and why God would allow such a thing, but I had the idea the answers would come if I just paid attention to what was happening around me. The things Peter Boyd learns are the things I learned.

When did you realize it would be an adult Christian novel, or was that your plan from the start?

I was never sure it would be a CBA novel, though there was little doubt Christianity would be an integral part of the book. I prefer to think of myself as a Christian who writes rather than a Christian writer. Deep down, I feel like a career in Christian publishing would mean a career preaching to the choir. I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that.

How long did it take you to write Snow Day? Did you have to do any research? And how did you come up with that title?

From start to finish, a little over five months. I was lucky in that the only research I had to do was pay attention. The title pretty much suggested itself. The day I found out I would likely be laid off was the day a snowstorm hit our town.

Did you find any part of the story difficult to pull together?

I think the most difficult part was deciding what to leave out. So much happened during that time. If I would have put everything in, the book would have easily been over 100,000 words. I pared it down to a little over half that, which I think is a manageable length for a first novel.

Did you write a little of yourself into any of the characters, perhaps the main character? Do you have a favourite?

I wrote a lot of myself into Peter Boyd, the main character. He’s a smarter version of myself. My favorite, though, is probably the character of Bobby Barnes. He seems so tragic to me, but at the same time ready for some kind of redemption. He makes another appearance in the manuscript I just finished, and he’ll be the main character in the one I’m getting ready to start.

Oh, that sounds very interesting.
How did you go about finding an editor? A publisher? An agent?

I’d been querying agents and publishers without success for what seemed like forever. An editor at a New York house finally expressed interest but said I needed work on my platform. She suggested I start a blog.

Building an online audience took so much time and effort that querying went by the wayside. I finally just surrendered my writing career to God. And as is usually the case, when I gave that to Him, He gave me something back. One of my readers was a client of Rachelle Gardner’s and offered to introduce us. Rachelle signed me a month later, and I had a book contract a month after that.

From what you’ve said so far regarding your writing career, it seems that from the very beginning it has been a step by step process in God’s plan for you.
Tell us about the exciting publicity Snow Day has received thus far.

I can’t say enough for the work FaithWords has put into Snow Day. They hired a PR firm to handle publicity, which opened up avenues I didn’t think were possible for a first-time author from the sticks. There have been ads in both Library Journal and Book Page, a mention in Writer’s Digest, a dozen or so radio interviews, and a television appearance in the Washington, D.C. area. It was all fun, though a bit nerve-wracking at times. I’m much more comfortable being the guy watching everyone else from the corner of the room. Being comfortable in the middle of that room has taken a lot of effort.

As a writer do you also have a job to go to every day? If so, how do you find time to write when you are busy with life?

I have a full-time job, Monday through Friday from 7:30-4:00. That makes it tough to write every day. I’ve learned to be flexible. I’ll write when and where I can and forgive myself for that being all I can do. I’ll admit it’s aggravating at times.

What other interests do you have that you turn to for a change from writing?

I love sports, always have. And there are about 30,000 acres of wilderness outside my front door, so I’ll often either hike or ride my bike through some trails. My kids are my main interest, though. It’s tough being a parent in a Lady Gaga world.

How do you consistently write? Do you have writing goals – daily? Weekly? Monthly? Long range?

When I’m writing books, it’s 1,000 words a day, every day, any way I can get them. That rule is unbendable. Over 1,000 is fine, but never less than that. If I’m not writing books, I’ll concentrate on my blog. I only post twice a week, but I try to write a post a day. That way when it’s time to start another book, I have the luxury of being able to concentrate on that with a healthy backlog of posts ready.

That is very smart thinking and a great tip for other writers.
Do you have another project in the works? If so, any hints you can share with our readers about that?

My second novel is Paper Angels and will be out in November. It centers on a man named Andy Sommerville, who loses his parents as a child and prays that God will send someone to help him. God answers, and Andy spends the rest of his life trying to figure out if that answer is a blessing or a curse. It’s much like Snow Day as far as the country flavor, but it’s completely different in many ways.

I look forward to reading it!
Finally, is being a writer/author all you had hoped or thought it would be? Any advice for hopefuls?

For years I suffered under the false assumption that landing a book contract with a major publisher would solve all my problems. It didn’t. Many went away, of course, but that just made room for a whole new set. That said, there’s nothing that can quite match the sight of your book on the shelf at Barnes & Noble. It’s an exciting time, but it’s also a humbling time.

The best advice I can give? I’m a firm believer in the power of perseverance, so my advice is to always try once more. If you write a story you decide is awful, try once more. If you get a rejection, try once more. In the end, it doesn’t matter who gives up on you. All that matters is that you don’t.

What helpful advice. Thank you, Billy, for this enlightening interview. It has been interesting learning more about you and your journey. I wish you much continued success as you continue your writing.

Readers, I hope you enjoyed getting to know Billy Coffey better. You can read more of his insights (and his amazing testimony) here: http://www.billycoffey.com/

Also, FaithWords is generously donating a copy of Snow Day to one of you. Check them out here: http://www.faithwords.com

If you would like a chance at winning a copy of Billy’s book simply post a comment here on my blog, telling what you most enjoyed in the interview. Enter only once, please. I will put the entries into a basket and at 9:00 pm (8:00 EST) on April 8 my husband will draw out the winner’s name. I will contact that person for his/her mailing address. If I do not get a reply by 8:00 pm EST on April 14 we will select another name – so check back!

Thanks for reading this interview, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Just a little Foxy!

This is a quick post while waiting for the February 14th draw. (Read post of January 26.) I hope you have left a comment there to be in the running for Laura Best’s book Bitter, Sweet.

In the interim I am writing, and reading, and thinking about what I will say in my review of the book I read just last night.

Right now I want to mention something neat that happened yesterday. My husband and I were on our way home from church and dinner, and upon driving up the road to our house we slowed to turn into our driveway. But, we stopped instead because, to our surprise, there at the end of our driveway stood — a red fox! A beautiful, bright-eyed, healthy-looking fox! Unalarmed, it just stood there looking at us a few moments. Then, seeming to realize we were going to turn in, it calmly strutted out of our way and trotted up the hill by our yard. The people in front of us turned and drove back to watch this gorgeous animal, and another van also stopped when they realized we were watching something. The fox must have found an interesting little critter to its liking because not long after that it was on the side hill digging, with its back end up and head and shoulders hidden in the snow. Amusing. It mattered not to the fox who was watching.

Gotta love rural/country life! Here I have the privilege to see all kinds of wildlife, including eagles nearly every day, and also hawks, many other birds, white-tailed deer, foxes, coyotes, and other animals. Yes, I love God’s creation!

What do you like about where you live?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂