Posted: October 7, 2019 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Books, Chatting with the Pros, Dark Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Interview, Writing | Tags: Arcana, Author Interview, Chatting with the Pros, Dark fiction, horror, Paul Kane, Writing to be Read |
This month as we explore the darkness of horror and dark fiction, we have a special treat. This month I have for you, not one, but two “Chatting with the Pros” author guests, which is why this segment is posting on the first Monday rather than the usual third Monday spot.
For today, I have the pleasure of interviewing an award winning, bestselling author of over ninety books, who is also the expert on Clive Barker’s Hellraiser films and his own work has been optioned and adapted for the big and small screen, including for US network prime time television. A former British Fantasy Society Special Publications Editor, he is currently serving as co-chair for the UK chapter of The Horror Writers Association. I’m really excited to present all he has to share. Please help me welcome him now.
Kaye: You began writing comics as a boy. Are there aspects of those comic book characters that can still be seen in your writing today?
Paul: I just drew them first, copying the kinds of comics my dad used to buy me – but it was definitely a way of sorting out in my head how story worked. Later on, I’d write dialogue and action for them as well, so that they looked more like proper comic books, and I’d show them to friends and family. It wasn’t until years later that I learned how to write actual comic scripts, but even then I sketched out the panels beforehand so I could work out what needed to go on the page and where. As for characters, I think that was certainly where I started to create and build characters – as well as making up stories for my toys and acting them out like little films. By my teens, though, I was writing prose and emulating the kinds of books I’d read as well, so I think that was when I learned how to flesh out and develop characters. I still love writing in a comic book style, yes, which is something I did for a story of mine called ‘The Return of Mortis-Man’ in the collection Death. I had such fun writing that, creating my very own horror superhero, and I’m planning on doing a couple more featuring that character.
Kaye: What do you think is the single most important element in a horror story?
Paul: That’s a tough one. I think the single most important element in any story, for any genre, is to tell the best tale you can. That’s your responsibility as a writer – and I take it very seriously. Make sure the characters are there first and people will care about them, because if you don’t do that nobody will bat an eyelid if something horrible happens to them. Make sure the journey they’re on is credible, even if things are happening to those people that are totally out there. For example, in the latest short horror novel I wrote for PS Publishing – The Storm, out in 2020 – I had to make sure the bunch of characters were living and breathing, had their own problems and histories, so that when monsters attack you’re right there with them in the thick of it. You care if someone gets injured or loses a loved one. You have to totally understand their motivations for doing what they do and acting the way they act. If you don’t have that then bad things are simply happening to cardboard cut-outs you couldn’t care less about.
Kaye: What was the most fun interview you’ve ever done? Why?
Paul: You mean an interview I’ve conducted with someone myself? We once interviewed George A. Romero for a magazine and went back to his hotel room, where he regaled us with stories about making the Living Dead movies and his career in general, whilst drinking copious amounts of rum. That was a surreal afternoon, a kind of ‘pinch me’ moment. In terms of live interviews, probably Clive Barker on stage at FantasyCon 2006 – which I did in front of an audience of about 600. That was nerve-wracking, but Clive – lovely as he always is – really put me at my ease and we had a whale of a time. I did a smaller, more intimate interview with he and Simon Bamford – Butterball from the Hellraiser movies and Ohnaka from Nightbreed – later on that day and that was such fun! There were about 30 or 40 people in the room for that and we were able to chat a bit more freely about their careers. In terms of myself being interviewed, then probably my times on Nicholas Vince’s Chattering show. We did one at Christmas once and the guests were me, the Soska sisters, Barbie Wilde, Ashley Thorpe, and Tim Dry. That was a terrific experience, very funny. It’s still online somewhere if you want to track it down.
Kaye: What is your biggest challenge in writing dark works of horror?
Paul: Biggest challenge? Probably nothing to do with the actual writing of dark fiction, but rather getting published in the first place and building a good reputation over the years. It takes a lot of time and effort, but is totally worth it. I was lucky enough to discover the small presses back in the ’90s, who were willing to take chances with who and what they published, and that got me a foot in the door. Organisations like The British Fantasy Society and the Horror Writers Association were also vital in terms of meeting creative people who are into the same things, are on the same page, so to speak. I’ve made so many good friends going to events organised by places like that, and been given so much good advice. I even met my wife, Marie O’Regan – a very talented writer and editor herself – at an FCon in 2003! And now we’re paying it forward, of course, by organising a StokerCon for next year with Guests such as Grady Hendrix, Gillian Redfearn, Kim Newman and Mick Garris – so people can do the same. You can find out all about that one at https://stokercon-uk.com
Kaye: Is there anything unique or unusual about your writing process?
Paul: I’m not really sure, because it’s not something I tend to talk about that much with other writers. I try to work office hours, which comes from my background in journalism I think, but that’s not always possible if I’m on multiple deadlines. Summer 2018, for instance, I was writing a novel in the daytime and then editing an anthology in the evenings, which got pretty gruelling. It’s a weird kind of process, because I go into this fugue state and then come out of it having written 1000 words or whatever, not really quite understanding how I did it. When I’m writing prose I try to do 1000 words before lunch, then a couple more afterwards, to make about 3000 in total. Over this last summer, though, I was managing 4000 words a day, which was taking its toll a bit, but I got my novel done in time.
Kaye: What’s your favorite time of day to write? Why?
Paul: Probably in the afternoon, because I’ll know I’ve got some words under my belt – hopefully – in the morning, so I have that fallback. And by then I’ll have built up a head of steam and it should just be a matter of continuing on in that vein. Sometimes things crop up, like I might have to write a review or something, and that throws you out of what you were doing for a little while – but at the same time is nice and stops you getting into a rut.
Kaye: How do you get into your villain’s head deep enough to transform the words on the page into a visual image for the reader?
Paul: I love writing villains personally, because it gives you a chance to do and say things you wouldn’t ordinarily be able to in life – unless you were an actual villain, of course! A lot of villains I’ve written don’t care what people think, so they can be brutally honest, which is somewhat liberating. The flip side of that is, if they’re doing really terrible things to folks you have to distance yourself for the sake of your sanity. My character Lucas Peck in Before was a nasty piece of work and I found myself wincing at some of the stuff he did, but it was also for the good of the story and you found out why he was the way he was by the end of the novel – rightly or wrongly. The Infinity was the opposite: he was all about the language and just whispering in people’s ears. Messing with them essentially, and that was fun to write.
Kaye: What are your secrets for creating intricate, detailed story lines?
Paul: I plan. A lot. Always have done, I’ve always kept notes on stories and novels, done my research and outlines. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to stick rigidly to those plans and if something comes up that sends the story in a different direction which makes it better, you go with it. But it does means you have a kind of safety net, a rough map to follow. I don’t think I’d be able to even start writing without that, it would send me loopy. I’m plotting and researching quite a bit at the moment for the crime novels I’m writing as PL Kane for HQ Digital/HarperCollins. They’re not something you can just wing, so I do months of prep before even writing one word. You’ll see what I mean when you read the first one, Her Last Secret, which comes out in January 2020 and has just gone up for pre-order (po.st/herlastsecret)
Kaye: What techniques do you use to build or maintain suspense?
Paul: I’m never really sure whether a suspense scene has worked or not until I read it back, and even then I’m not 100% certain. I try to work through a scene like that as if I was in there with the characters, like a chase scene I just wrote in which my main protagonist was trying to hide from the bad guy. Will they catch them? If they hide, will it be a good hiding place? That kind of thing. But you also can’t lose sight of the fact you’re in charge of what these people are doing and can direct matters for maximum suspense. There was something Hitchcock once said I think, and I’m paraphrasing here and might get it wrong… But he said if you show a character finding a ticking bomb under the table they’re sitting at, there’s not as much suspense as showing the audience there’s a bomb and the main character has no idea. So, you might show the stalker getting closer and the victim not knowing a thing about it – or they might even know the person, but not be aware of their tendencies. If the reader or audience know they’re evil but the victim doesn’t, that makes for some great suspense.
Kaye: You are an expert on the Hellraiser films, by Clive Barker, and their themes, and in fact you wrote a book on them, The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy. Can you tell me something about Pinhead that the average fan may not know?
Paul: I’m not sure there’s much left that fans don’t know. Clive told me once on the phone that Pinhead came to him in a dream, I’m not sure how widely known that is. I mean, there were lots of different factors that went into the making of that character… Pinhead in the original novella The Hellbound Heart is described as being quite effeminate, which was something we brought back when I adapted it into an audio drama for Bafflegab (https://shop.bafflegab.co.uk/album/the-hellbound-heart). Then when the film was made you had people like effects genius Bob Keen coming up with a certain look, and Doug Bradley’s performance. But, yes, he came to Clive to begin with in a dream. It’s like Clive’s been telling me for years, “Write your dreams, Paul. Write your dreams.”
Kaye: Which of your books would you most like to see become a film? Why?
Paul: Well, one of my stories – a novelette called ‘Men of the Cloth’ – has actually just been turned into a movie called The Colour of Madness by Loose Canon/Hydra Films, directed by Andy Collier and Toor Mian, and starring Barbara Crampton from Re-Animator – so all that’s rather exciting! It’s a Lovecraftian, folk horror deal and should appeal hugely to horror fans.
My Hooded Man post-apocalyptic novels for Rebellion/Abaddon were almost filmed a couple of times, and I would still love to see those made because they’re quite close to my heart – I only live about twenty minutes away from Sherwood Forest, and was taken there every bank holiday when I was a kid. I also think Before would make a cracking TV show along the lines of American Gods, because its scope is so massive. It’s part road movie adventure, part historical drama, part horror, all about past lives. People often tell me they’d like to see my Hellraiser novel Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell turned into a movie, but the rights for that would be a nightmare. Plus the budget would be astronomical!
Kaye: You’re a pretty prolific writer. In the first half of 2019, you published The Controllers, The Dead, Exit Wounds and White Shadows, as well as a Robin of Sherwood novel, The Red Lord. Can you tell me about these latest releases?
Paul: Absolutely! The Controllers was published by Luna Press, and gathers together all of my stories featuring those characters from the whole of my career, and includes a couple of new ones – not to mention scans of handwritten tales, a gallery where artists offer their interpretations of The Controllers and an introduction by Richard Christian Matheson.
The Dead is my third mini-collection for the Black Shuck Shadows series, and gathers together three interlinking zombie stories, the first of which was adapted for TV back in 2008 as New Year’s Day by Lionsgate and shown on primetime US TV as an episode of the show Fear Itself.
Exit Wounds is a mass market crime anthology from Titan edited by myself and Marie and features the cream of the crop: names such as Dean Koontz, Val McDermid, Dennis Lehane, Mark Billingham, John Connolly, Alex Gray… the list goes on. It was recently given a starred review in Publishers Weekly and even favourably reviewed in The Times, so we were incredibly happy about that.
White Shadows is a collection of my dark YA fiction as PB Kane, including the short novel The Rainbow Man and the prequel to that, ‘The Rainbow Coat’. Published by Things in the Well, this was designed to be read by the young and the young at heart alike. The Red Lord is a prose adaptation of my own audio drama for Spiteful Puppet/ITV, which allowed me to expand on a few ideas I had to leave out of the original. I’ve been a fan of the RoS series since it aired, and indeed it inspired so much of my own Hooded Man saga, so it’s a bit of a dream come true this one. That sold out of its print run incredibly quickly, but is still available as an ebook.
Kaye: You also released Arcana through Wordfire Press this year. It has an interesting alternative world where magic is real, but forbidden. Can you talk a little about that book?
Paul: I loved writing Arcana, which one reviewer quite aptly described as ‘Harry Potter vs The Sweeney’. It’s set in an alternate universe where the witch hunts of old never died out and real magic exists. The people who practise this are hunted and imprisoned, tortured, then, more often than not, horribly executed. The division of the police that do this are called Magick Enforcement Officers, or M-Forcers, and we follow one young recruit Callum McGuire as he begins to realise something is terribly wrong with this regime; that the people who are being hunted aren’t what the government say they are. It’s all tied in with a prophecy one magic group – Arcana – have about a hero who will save them all. I was delighted with the way this one was received, and the audio of it has actually just been released on Audible so go and check that out.
Kaye: Describe yourself in three words.
Paul: Hard-working. Loyal. Curious.
Kaye: What’s next for Paul Kane? What do your readers have to look forward to in the future?
Paul: As I say, I’ve signed with HQ/Harper who are bringing out three thrillers under the PL Kane name, starting in January 2020. I’ve just finished the first draft of the second one which will be out a bit later that same year. Marie and I are running StokerCon UK as mentioned, so that’s taking up a lot of time as well at the moment.
There are a few collections coming out in the near future: a Body Horror one from Black Shuck called Traumas; a collection of my ‘Order of the Shadows’ tales called Darkness and Shadows from Shadowridge, introduced by MR ‘The Girl With All The Gifts’ Carey; and a more general one that gathers together my fiction from the last few years called Tempting Fate. Then there’s The Storm from PS, introduced by Rio Youers – a proper ‘creature feature’ of a novel – and I’ve just signed on the dotted line for a post-apocalyptic novella from Silver Shamrock Press.
The Colour of Madness should also be out next year, plus The Torturer – a short horror film I wrote, directed by Joe Manco, starring Paul T. Taylor who was Pinhead in Hellraiser Judgment and Lawrence Varnado from Sin City 2 – and a supernatural drama called Presence, directed by Dave Morgan of DLM Media. Then there’s more comics work, hopefully a theatre production… Plenty to keep me busy and hopefully readers and audiences entertained.
I want to thank Paul for sharing with us today. It has been a pleasure to get a glimpse into Kane and his books on his Shadow Writer website, or visit his Amazon Author page.
As I mentioned at the start of this post, this was a bonus “Chatting with the Pros”, because we have a second author guest who I will interview in the regular “Chatting with the Pros” spot on the third Monday, October 21st. My second CwtP author guest will be bestselling horror and dark fiction author Jeffrey J. Mariotte. You will also find a double review featuring Paul Kane’s Arcana and Jeffrey. J. Mariotte’s Cold Black Hearts. I do hope you all will join me as we explore the darkness together.
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Posted: September 16, 2019 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Author Profile, Books, Chatting with the Pros, Christian fiction, Fiction, Interview, Writing | Tags: Angela Hunt, Author Interview, Chatting with the Pros, Christian fiction, Writing to be Read |
My “Chatting with the Pros” author guest today is both versatile and prolific in her writing endeavors, writing in contemporary and historical fiction sub-genres, as well as young adult and children’s fiction and non-fiction. Though fiction, her historical novels tell the tales that could have been, revealing the women from the shadows of history. But no matter the sub-genre they all have the elements of Christian fiction. She is the bestselling author of over 180 books and winner of the 2000 Christy Award for futuristic fiction. Please help me welcome Christian fiction author Angela Hunt.
Kaye: When did you first know that you wanted to become a writer?
Angela: I had always been drawn to the creative arts—as a reader and a musician—but it wasn’t until I decided to become a mom and wanted a job I could do at home that I thought of seriously becoming a writer. I worked so hard to get my kids (we adopted them) that I couldn’t imagine working without them around.
Kaye: What separates Christian fiction from the rest of the pack?
Angela: I don’t write only Christian fiction, but when I do, I try to make sure there’s a spiritual plot line as well as a general plot line and a character arc. Most of my novels for the Christian market are parables—not preachy, but there is a Christian takeaway if you look for it.
Kaye: You write about historical characters that not much is known about them. How do you complete the picture and create fully developed and well-rounded characters from the little information about them that has been handed down through time?
Angela: I take all the information I can find in every conceivable source, and then come up with a story that does not contradict any known facts. Mostly, I look at the situations my characters are in and ask myself what I’d be thinking and feeling in those situations. Cultures change, but human nature and human emotions are remarkably consistent. Those are the elements that resonate with readers.
Kaye: Which of your characters would you say is your favorite? Why?
Angela: That’s an easy one—my favorite character is Sema, the gorilla in my novel UNSPOKEN. I based her on Koko, the real gorilla who spoke sign language, and Sema doesn’t do anything Koko hasn’t done—with one exception. I’d say more, but I don’t want to spoil the plot.
Kaye: Do you prefer to write series books or stand-alone novels? Why?
Angela: I don’t really have a preference. Sometimes I get an idea that works best as a stand-alone, but publishers usually want a series because readers invest in it. I try to write a mix of both.
Kaye: Which of your novels do you feel is the best writing you have ever done? Why?
Angela: I poured my heart and soul into THE NOVELIST, so I suppose I’d nominate that one. I submitted it and my editor sent it back—it wasn’t up to snuff, he said, because it was “too intellectual.” So I opened a vein, so to speak, and poured out a bit of my real life. Painful, but worth it.
Kaye: Is there anything unique or unusual about your writing process?
Angela: I like to sit and write in the bay window that allows me to watch my chickens. 🙂
Kaye: What is your biggest writing accomplishment to date?
Angela: I have received letters from readers telling me that my books have changed their lives—that’s priceless.
Kaye: What can you tell me about your most recent and upcoming releases: Jerusalem’s Queen and King’s Shadow?
Angela: JERUSALEM’S QUEEN is the story of Salome Alexandra, queen of Jerusalem for nine years before the Romans came in and took over. She was an amazing woman who did a lot for women and girls. KING’S SHADOW is the story of Herod the Great and his sister, another Salome. Fascinating people I enjoyed learning about.
Kaye: What did winning the Christy mean to you?
Angela: BY DAWN’S EARLY LIGHT won the Christy in the first year the award was given. Winning the Christy was an amazing honor and validation, because almost every writer I’ve ever met is a bit insecure.
Kaye: Would you like to say a little about the writing courses that you offer?
Angela: A few years ago I realized I’d been at this career for over thirty years, so perhaps it was time to share what I’d learned over the years. I have regularly spoken at writers’ conferences, but I did my own two-day workshop and taught everything I know, then videotaped it and put it into book form.
WRITING LESSONS FROM THE FRONT is that book, and the video course is available at
writinglessonsfromthefront.com.
Kaye: What can readers look forward to in the future? What are you working on now?
Angela: Ah, thanks for asking! I decided to keep going—King’s Shadow took me right up to the birth of Christ, so I’ve begun a new series, Jerusalem Road, about women we know existed, but we know little about them: Thomas’s twin sister, Jesus’ sister (he had two!), and others. I will be working on these books for the next year or two, with fun projects in between, just to keep things interesting. I think I’ll write about chickens next . . .
I want to thank Angela for chatting with me today and sharing her thoughts on writing Christian fiction and her own works. You can learn more about Angela Hunt and her books on
her website or her
Amazon Author page. Be sure and catch “Chatting with the Pros” next month, when I’ll be chatting with bestselling horror and dark thriller author Jeffrey J. Mariotte.
You can catch the monthly segment “Chatting with the Pros” on the third Monday of every month in 2019, or you can be sure not to any of the great content on Writing to be Read by signing up by email or following on WordPress.
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Posted: August 19, 2019 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Author Profile, Books, Chatting with the Pros, Fiction, Interview, Mystery, Suspense, Writing | Tags: Author Interview, Chatting with the Pros, Gilly Macmillan, mystery, Suspense, Writing to be Read |
My “Chatting with the Pros” author guest this month is a New York Times bestselling mystery author with books translated in over twenty languages. Her success as a writer may have come as a surprise, but I’ll let her tell you about that. She currently has five published mystery/suspense novels, and is working on the sixth, I believe. Let’s see what she has to say on the writing of mysteries. Please help me welcome UK author Gilly Macmillan.
© Céline Nieszawer/Leextra
Kaye: Can you tell me about your author’s journey? How did you get to where you are today?
Gilly: I started to write when I was over 40 and I challenged myself to do 1000 words a day until I had finished an entire book. I faithfully recorded my word count each day until it was done. I polished the first three chapters and send them to a few agents. Two rejections followed swiftly, one agent didn’t reply but the fourth one I sent it to was interested enough to offer me representation. She and I worked on the book together for a year before she submitted it to publishers, and we were lucky enough to sell it very rapidly and in over 20 territories! The rest has followed from there. I write a book a year and try to keep things fresh, compelling and thrilling for myself and my readers.
Kaye: When did you know that you wanted to be an author?
Gilly: For many years I didn’t have a burning desire to write, I think because I was busy doing other things and life got in the way, but once my youngest son started school full time I wanted to see if I could challenge myself to write a novel. The idea sort of came out of the blue but perhaps it wasn’t that surprising because at that point I had been an obsessive reader for 35 years. I had a small window of opportunity before having to get a proper job, so I took it.
Kaye: Why do you write mystery? Why not romance, or western, or horror?
Gilly: I read very widely, but mystery books have always been a favorite, so I write what I would like to read.
Kaye: What element do you think is the most important in a mystery story? Why?
Gilly: That it creates an impulse in the reader to turn pages. This can come from great characters, a thrilling set up, tons of action or an intriguing plot, but it must be there.
Kaye: What is one thing your readers would never guess about you?
Gilly: I have no idea! I’m a fairly straightforward person so there’s probably not much they couldn’t guess.
Kaye: (So, there’s no mystery to the mystery author? Hmmm.) What is the biggest challenge in writing mystery for you? Why?
Gilly: Plot. I don’t plan ahead when I write and creating a well-paced, complex and intriguing plot is always my biggest challenge, especially as I like to keep things within the realms of believability.
Kaye: What is the most fun part of writing mystery? Why?
Gilly: I love creating new characters and devising a challenging scenario for them. It intrigues me to explore how ‘regular’ people might behave if placed in extreme situations and pushed to their limits.
Kaye: Your most recent release is The Nanny. What can you tell me about it?
Gilly: When her beloved nanny, Hannah, left without a trace in the summer of 1988, seven-year-old Jocelyn Holt was devastated. Haunted by the loss, Jo grew up bitter and distant, and eventually left her parents and Lake Hall, their faded aristocratic home, behind.
Thirty years later, Jo returns to the house and is forced to confront her troubled relationship with her mother. But when human remains are accidentally uncovered in a lake on the estate, Jo begins to question everything she thought she knew.
Then an unexpected visitor knocks on the door and Jo’s world is destroyed again. Desperate to piece together the gaping holes in her memory, Jo must uncover who her nanny really was, why she left, and if she can trust her own mother…
Kaye: What is your biggest accomplishment to date in your writing career?
Gilly: Making bestsellers lists! It’s a dream come true!!
Kaye: Of all of your books, which one is your favorite? Why?
Gilly: I love them all for different reasons, but I think my favorite is my debut, What She Knew, because that was the book that launched my career and I put a lot of heart into it.
Kaye: How do you keep tension and suspense in your stories, so that readers will keep the pages turning?
Gilly: I work hard to come up with characters that I hope will be relatable and intriguing and then place them in a compelling situation, which subsequently evolves in a threatening, challenging or terrifying way. At the end of every day of work, I ask myself: will this turn pages? If the answer is ‘no’, I start over and do it again until I’m happy that both tension and suspense are maximised.
Kaye: Is there a common theme running through your books?
Gilly: I like to take a person or people who are in a relatable situation and make something very dramatic or difficult happen to them. A mother with a missing child, for example, or a teenager who has made a fatal mistake in her past which threatens to derail the new life her mother has carefully reconstructed for her, or perhaps a little girl whose nanny disappeared overnight without trace or explanation and reappears thirty years later in very mysterious circumstances. I love to explore dynamics within families, especially the parent child bond.
Kaye: What are you working on now? What is next for Gilly Macmillan?
Gilly: I’m working on a novel that feels like a journey into psychological horror. The main character is a female crime writer. That’s about all I can say for now!
I want to thank Gilly for sharing her craft today. I think it is fascinating that she can plot as she writes. When I try and do that, I find myself exploring avenues that lead to dead ends and have to backtrack a lot. You can learn more about Gilly Macmillan and her books on her website and Amazon Author page.
You can catch the monthly segment “Chatting with the Pros” on the third Monday of every month in 2019, or you can be sure not to any of the great content on Writing to be Read by signing up by email or following on WordPress.
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Posted: August 5, 2019 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Art's Visual Media Reviews, Ask the Authors, Blog Content, Chatting with the Pros, Editing, God Complex, Growing Bookworms, Jeff's Movie Reviews, Monthly Writing Memo, The Many Faces of Poetry, Weekly Writing Memo, WordCrafter, WordCrafter Press, Writing, Writing for a YA Audience, Writing to be Read | Tags: Art's Visual Media Reviews, Ask the Authors, Ask the Authors Anthology, Chatting with the Pros, Growing Bookworms, Jeff's Movie Reviews, Jeff's Pep Talk, The Many Faces of Poetry, Whispers of the Past, WordCrafter, Writing for a YA Audience, Writing to be Read |
Looking back, I can remember when I first started this blog, back in 2010. I really had no idea what I was doing, or even what blogging was all about, but I knew I wanted to write and Writing to be Read offered a platform where someone might actually read what I wrote. Back then, I really struggled with what to write. I couldn’t imagine why anyone would care to read what I had to say.
Since then, I’ve learned a lot. Acquiring an M.F.A. in Creative Writing, along with my experience as The Southern Colorado Literature Examiner, gave me the knowledge, skills and confidence to imagine that I could create content that people would want to read. I write about what I know. My passion has always been writing, thus that is what I write about.
In 2016, I decided that there was no way that I could produce enough quality content to keep fresh content and keep readers visiting the blog, so I began recruiting other talent. My knowledge was limited to my own writing experience and I wanted to expand the scope of the content. With the help of others who knew more about areas which I wasn’t versed in, I was able to do this.
My first team member was Robin Conley, and her “Writing Memos” are still bringing viewers to the blog, although she is no longer an active team member. Next, Jeff Bowles was added to the team, with two segments. Although he no longer does his “God Complex” segment, you can find “Jeff’s Pep Talk” on the first Wednesday of every month, and “Jeff’s Movie Reviews” posts on the third Friday. Jeff is great at writing motivational posts and he writes killer movie reviews, so if you haven’t checked out his segments, I recommend that you do.
This year, Art Rosch joined the team with his “The Many Faces of Poetry” segments the last Wednesday of each month, and he recently began posting for “Art’s Visual Media Reviews” on the last Friday. Both segments cover subject matter Art was versed in and his reviews are both interesting and entertaining. Also, joining the team in 2019 are Jordan Elizabeth, with her “Writing for a Y.A. Audience” segment on the third Wednesday of each month, which explores Jordan’s inspirations and writing experiences, and Robbie Cheadle with her “Growing Bookworms”, which emphasize the importance of reading for children and explores children’s literature.
In 2018, I ran two twelve week segments of “Ask the Authors”, which was quite popular, where I interviewed an author panel on the various aspects of writing. Although it was fairly successful, it was also a lot of work, and it required a lot of time from each of the authors on the panel in order to respond to my questions with depth and knowledge. The compilation of those segments is currently in process for the Ask the Authors anthology, to be published by WordCrafter Press.
In 2019, we’ve seen a little more structure as I added monthly genre themes to focus on specific genres, and added my “Chatting with the Pros” segment in coincidence with those. We also saw the first “WordCrafter Paranormal Story Contest”, which will result in the publication of the Whispers of the Past paranormal anthology, also by WordCrafter Press. (Jeff Bowles was the winner of the contest for his short story, “A Peaceful Life I’ve Never Known”. He received a $25 Amazon gift card and his story will be featured in the anthology.)
Writing to be Read is growing, and recently had its 500th post. View numbers are up, as well as followers, and I attribute it to the quality content posted by both myself and my team members. Of those 500 posts, 100 of them were made by Writing to be Read team members and I want to take time now to acknowledge and thank them for the quality contributions that they each make to the blog. Writing to be Read is a labor of love and team members don’t receive compensation for the time and dedication they put into their segments, so they really do deserve kudos for the content they provide. To show my appreciation and bring them and the blog segments each one contributes, I’ve created a “Meet the Writing to be Read Team Members” page, and I hope all of you will check it out and learn more about those who provide such great content.
This new page comes along with other new changes as I prepare to launch WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services. I’m happy to say that although some parts are still under construction, the website is now live. Write it Right Quality Editing Services, which used to be found here on this site, is now housed on the WordCrafter site, so if you are looking for it, you can now find it there. Other changes you may notice in the near future include the migration of my “Copywriting and P.A. Services” to the WordCrafter site, where it will become WordCrafter Social Media Copywriting and Book Promotions.
These are the most immediate changes which have taken place or are expected to before the end of the year on Writing to be Read. Closer to that time, I’ll be posting another update that will tell you what you can expect in 2020. Can you believe it? It’s just around the corner. So until then…
Happy Writing!
Kaye Lynne Booth, M.F.A.
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Posted: July 15, 2019 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Author Profile, Books, Chatting with the Pros, Crime, Fiction, Interview, Thriller, Writing | Tags: Chatting with the Pros, Crime Fiction, Jenifer Ruff, Only Wrong Once, psychological thrilers, The Numbers Killer, Writing to be Read |
My guest today on “Chatting with the Pros” is bestselling author Jenifer Ruff. She’s booked as a psychological thiller author, but much of her works falls under the genre of crime fiction, as well. She has a knack for keeping the action moving and throwing in surprise twists, which is always great in crime fiction stories. I’m excited to find out what she has to share, so please join me in welcoming her to Writing to be Read.
Kaye: What elements of storytelling do you feel are specific to the crime fiction genre?
Jenifer: A well-developed and slightly flawed but likable antagonist. An interesting protagonist with clear and shocking or complex motives. A suspenseful, intricate plot with unexpected twists that involves a crime or series of crimes.
Kaye: What is the biggest challenge in writing crime fiction for you?
Jenifer: The most enjoyable parts are creating the plot, the twists, the characters, and the crimes. The hardest part for me is having the patience to go back and edit and rewrite again and again until the writing is the best I can make it.
Kaye: Are there any particular crime fiction authors that you fashioned your writing style after?
Jenifer: There are too many (way too many!) excellent authors and excellent novels out there for me to pick one in particular. I learn a little from all of them. I try and read as much of everything as I can—bestsellers in literature for the two book clubs I’m in, and indie authors in the thriller genre for me. I love it when the book I’m reading sparks new ideas, but that can happen no matter what genre or what author. I do know that when I read literature, I get inspired to create all sorts of similes and metaphors and my editor usually nixes almost all of them.
Kaye: You have also written thrillers, horror and YA suspense. What are the differences in writing crime fiction from the other genres you’ve written in?
Jenifer: All my novel are dark and twisty psychological suspense thrillers with disturbed characters readers often can’t help but like. Each book involves crimes, mostly murders. Each has a different contemporary topic—terrorism, sex trafficking, social media, for examples. I think I’ve been consistent with that character-driven style no matter the story or the genre. They’re more similar than they are different, but each emphasizes certain genre elements slightly more than others.
Kaye: What kind of research do you find yourself doing for crime fiction?
Jenifer: With my Brooke Walton series, I did a lot of research about psychopaths, PTSD, and working in a Medical Examiner’s office. For Only Wrong Once, I researched ISIS, particularly their recruiting techniques, and bio-terrorism. I was a little worried about setting off alarms on the internet because of the type of research I was doing for that one. Pretty Little Girls, the book I’m finishing now, involved research and attending lectures on sex trafficking. I’ve interviewed FBI agents and had a few beta read my books to make sure I wasn’t too far off on anything.
Kaye: You write in several genres. Which genre is your favorite one to write in? Why?
Jenifer: Psychological suspense. I enjoy getting into the heads of my very flawed characters and figuring out how they might react, respond… thinking up actions that would be outrageous for me or any “normal” person, but perfectly normal for them.
Kaye: Besides writing, what are your favorite things to do?
Jenifer: Hike with my dogs and exercise classes – Barre, Pilates, Zumba, athletic conditioning – anything where I’m moving and sweating. If I get on a bike or elliptical it’s because I’m really into whatever book I’m reading and I want to be able to exercise and keep reading.
Kaye: Your most recent crime fiction novel is The Numbers Killer, which I reviewed last Friday. What other novels have you written that would fit into the crime fiction genre?
Jenifer: Only Wrong Once, the Brooke Walton series: Everett, Rothaker, and The Intern. And my newest, coming out soon—Pretty Little Girls.
Kaye: Can you tell us a little about The Numbers Killer?
Jenifer: It’s the first in a new series about FBI Agent and heiress, Victoria Heslin. The series will appeal to fans of A.J. Finn, Thomas Harris, James Patterson, Jeffrey Deaver and Karin Slaughter. Most of my early readers have said they couldn’t put it down, which is exactly what I hope to hear.
When a key witness in an organized crime trial turns up dead in his kitchen with liar and the number two scrawled on his forehead, the FBI assumes the murder was a hit to silence him. Then the calls start coming in—more victims with similar markings and no connection to the mob.
As agents Victoria Heslin and Dante Rivera struggle to catch a break in the case, they receive a series of cryptic, personal messages from the killer, complicating the investigation. Something disturbing and frightening is underway, and anyone might be next, including the agents, unless they uncover the common denominator.
Kaye: The old adage is, ‘write what you know’. Obviously, you haven’t lived through the horrendous events featured in your crime fiction stories. In what ways do you draw off of your own experiences when writing crime fiction?
Jenifer: I write about things that might fascinate me – the abnormal and the unexpected. I really admire determined people, but when someone is determined and also misguided, things can get very interesting. I’ve created characters like that in most of my novels.
Kaye: What is the strangest inspiration for a story you’ve ever had?
Jenifer: The idea for Only Wrong Once was inspired by a secure laboratory at my graduate school that held research samples of the most deadly diseases on the planet – small pox, bubonic plague, and Ebola, to list just a few. And also from a quote by National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice in 2004. She said: “And let’s remember that those charged with protecting us from attack have to be right 100 percent of the time. To inflict devastation on a massive scale, the terrorists only have to succeed once. And we know that they are trying every day.” Her powerful, frightening words inspired the book title and the theme for Only Wrong Once.
Kaye: Is there anything unique or unusual about your writing process?
Jenifer: I don’t think there’s anything unusual about it. I sit down in front of my computer for as long as I can, as many days per week as I can. Even though I write most days, I still consider that time a luxury. I write in my house and I can’t get any writing done if I have housework to do, I’m too distracted by awareness of what needs to be cleaned. So cleaning and chores first, then I can write.
Kaye: If The Numbers Killer was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?
Jenifer: I’d love for Blake Lively to be Agent Victoria Heslin.
Kaye: What’s next for Jenifer Ruff? Can readers look forward to more crime fiction from you? What are you working on now?
Jenifer: The second in the Victoria Heslin series, Pretty Little Girls, is almost finished and will be published in the fall. I’m waiting on beta readers now, and next it will go out to ARC readers. In Pretty Little Girls, Agent Heslin is called to Charlotte, NC to consult on a kidnapping case, but what she discovers ends up being much, much worse. Right now, I’m busy working through ideas for the third novel in the series.
I want to thank Jenifer for joining me today and offering a glimpse into her writing process here. I reviewed her book Only Wrong Once last month when we were looking at thrillers. You can see that review here. You can find out more about Jenifer Ruff and her books at the following links:
Website: http://jenruff.com/index.html
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Jenifer-Ruff/e/B00NFZQOLQ?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1563137616&sr=1-1
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Posted: June 17, 2019 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Author Profile, Books, Chatting with the Pros, Fiction, Interview, Suspense, Thriller | Tags: Author Interview, Chatting with the Pros, John Nicholl, Suspense, The Girl In Red, Thriller, Writing to be Read |
It’s my pleasure to have as my guest today on “Chatting with the Pros” bestselling suspense thriller author John Nicholl. His works draw from his own true life experiences as a law enforcement officer and child welfare social worker in Wales. John has written seven thrillers and every one of them has seen the bestseller list. Please help me welcome him now. Maybe we can learn some of his secrets to becoming a bestselling author.
Kaye: Would you share the story of your own publishing journey?
John: I self-published initially. When that went better than expected, I partnered with a literary agent and signed a publishing deal. Further books followed from there.
Kaye: What do you think is the single most important element in a story?
John: The hook is crucial. I try to capture the reader’s attention from the very first page.
Kaye: What time of day do you prefer to do your writing? Why?
John: I write in the morning. It’s when I’m at my most creative.
Kaye: What is the biggest challenge in writing psychological thrillers for you?
John: My books sometimes engender memories that were, perhaps, best left in the past.
Kaye: What elements of storytelling do you feel are specific to the thriller genre? Are there particular elements that are specific to psychological thrillers?
John: Psychological thrillers explore the extremes of human behaviour.
Kaye: Anonymity is described as intense and terrifying; White is the Coldest Color as violent and brutal; Portraits of the Dead as disturbing and compelling; The Girl in Red as haunting and unsettling. Where do you get ideas for your stories?
John: I began my working life as a young police officer, and subsequently trained as a social worker. I worked in child protection for about twenty years after qualifying. My writing draws heavily on those experiences.
Kaye: Thrillers are action-packed and filled with conflict and tension. What techniques do you use to keep the story moving, the readers on the edges of their seats, and the pages turning?
John: I try to keep the stories as fast paced as possible, without too much padding. Quality is more important than length!
Kaye: How do you decide the titles for your books? Where does the title come in the process for you?
John: Inspiration comes from different places. The title of White is the Coldest Colour, for example, came to me when listening to A Whiter Shade of Pale on Radio 2.
Kaye: Is there anything unique or unusual about your writing process?
John: The words come into my head as if channelled from somewhere else entirely.
Kaye: Your latest release was The Girl in Red, which came out in March. Would you like to tell me a little about this book?
John: The Girl in Red is a dark tale of domestic violence, and the extreme lengths that one woman goes to, to escape her tormentor.
Kaye: Every one of your books has been an Amazon bestseller. What’s your secret?
John: I’ve had a lot of luck. And the book blogging community has been wonderfully supportive. I’ll always be grateful for that.
Kaye: Are there any particular thriller authors that you fashioned your writing style after as you approached writing in the thriller genre?
John: I mostly read historical biography and stories of real-life experiences that are out of the ordinary· Castaway by Lucy Irvine is a particular favourite. I’ve read it three times over the years.
Kaye: What are you working on now? What’s next for John Nicholl?
John: My next thriller, The Girl in White, will be published by Bloodhound Books this year. The release date has just been bumped up to September 4. It’s the story of a secret, quasi-religious cult hidden deep in the beautiful West Wales countryside. Hopefully, readers will like it. I’ll keep my fingers crossed!
I want to thank John for joining me here and sharing with us today. You can learn more about John and his bestselling thriller novels on his website, on his Amazon Author page. or on his Goodreads Author page. Join me on the third Monday in July, when we’ll be celebrating crime fiction and my “Chatting with the Pros” author guest will be Jenifer Ruff.
You can catch the monthly segment “Chatting with the Pros” on the third Monday of every month in 2019, or you can be sure not to any of the great content on Writing to be Read by signing up by email or following on WordPress.
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Posted: May 20, 2019 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Chatting with the Pros, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Interview, Western, Writing | Tags: Brock Clemons Series, CAZ series, Chatting with the Pros, Scott Harris, Shotgun Willy series, Six Gun Partners, Western, Writing to be Read |
Today my author guest on “Chatting with the Pros” is a successful western author, who also happens to write his own blog, which ranked in the top 10 western blogs by Feedspot. He has written many western novels and numerous western short stories. His Brock Clemons Series was a finalist in the Western Fictioners Peacemakers Award and is ranked as a top selling series by his publisher, (and mine, as it happens), Dusty Saddle Publishing. According to his website, he grew up on Louis L’Amour. When it comes to the western genre, he really knows his stuff. Please help me welcome western novelist Scott Harris.
Kaye: What is most challenging about writing western for you?
Scott: Since I am still working full-time running my company, finding the time to write is the most challenging thing. I usually write in the morning and have to drag myself from the keyboard to go to work. I’m hoping retirement fixes that.
Kaye: You have three books out in the Brock Clemons series? What can you tell me about that series?
Scott: There are actually eight books in the series. The six novels (in order) are: Coyote Courage, Coyote Creek, Coyote Canyon, Mojave Massacre, Battle on the Plateau and Ambush at Red Rock Canyon. Additionally, there are two collections of short stories based on the Brock Clemons characters: Tales From Dry Springs and Tales From the Grand Canyon.
Brock was my first series, so it holds a special place in my heart. The characters are more complex than those in my subsequent series, which makes writing the stories more difficult and more rewarding. I will come back to these characters, but probably not for a year or two.
Kaye: What can you tell me about your CAZ: Vigilante Hunter series?
Scott: This series is pretty much the antithesis of the Brock series. It is six books (Slaughter at Buzzard’s Gulch, Never Shoot A Woman, The McKnight Massacre, Fire From Hell, Hell on Devil’s Mountain and A Whore’s Life) about a man named Caz (no last name) who travels the West searching for and killing evil men who have evaded justice. The series was an absolute blast to write.
Kaye: When writing for a series, do you outline the whole series from the start, or do you add books as you go? Are the books stand alone, or do the follow a chronological path which should be read in order?
Scott: I am on my 3rd series now (Stagecoach Willy) and I’m in the middle of the 2nd book. I have no idea where the next books are going to go and won’t think about the 3rd book until I finish this one. As a matter of fact, I do not outline my books at all. When I finish a chapter, I have no more of an idea of what the next chapter holds than the reader will. I know that’s different than most writers, but for me, it keeps the writing fresh.
For the most part, the Caz books can be read as stand alone, there is very little crossover from book to book. The Brock series is different and benefits by being read in order.
Kaye: The most recent book in the Brock Clemons series is Coyote Canyon. Can you tell me a little about that book?
Scott: Coyote Canyon came out early last year and was the 3rd book in the Brock series. The series can be thought of as two different trilogies (Dry Springs and Grand Canyon), so in that sense Coyote Canyon was the last in a trilogy. It was a fun book to write because it wrapped up Brock and his families time in Dry Springs and set the stage for them to move to the Grand Canyon.
Kaye: In addition to your western novels, you have also contributed to several western anthologies. Do you prefer writing book length works or short fiction? Why?
Scott: I think that depends on my mood. My short stories range from 500 words to 5,000 words and sometimes I have an idea that I think is powerful, but requires no more than a short story. It can be freeing to write shorts without having to worry about the continuity that novels require.
On the other hand my novels (Brock averages about 50,000 words per book and Caz closer to 30,000 words) allow me to explore ideas and characters in depth. I would hate to be limited to one or the other.
Kaye: You wrote a collection of short stories together with your son, Justin. How did that work? Did you write each story as a collaboration or did you each contribute stories of your own? Was it a good experience? Would you do it again?
Scott: We wrote our own stories, though we talk 2-3 times per week about what we’re working on. He is my best story editor and muse. It was a great experience and we’re working on some things together right now. He’s also about halfway done with his first novel.
Kaye: What is the most fun about writing western for you?
Scott: Coming up and with sharing my ideas. It is really exciting to be able to create stories and characters and then do with them what you will. I have learned that it doesn’t take long before the character takes over and I find myself saying “He/She would never do/say that”
Hearing from readers that they like my work is tremendously rewarding. And I’m just old fashioned enough to still love seeing my books in actual print, with paper, ink and a cover.
Kaye: Your blog recently received the Feedspot award, ranking it up there with the top 20 western blogs out there. I believe your blog was actually ranked in the top 10. Would you like to talk a little about that?
Scott: It was flattering, of course. I try to write posts that are honest and candid. I share my troubles and mistakes (at least with regards to writing) and I believe that resonates with people. I love getting feedback from readers. I am absolutely certain that I learn as much, if not more, from my readers than they do from me.
Kaye: Since you write one of the top western blogs, and have been a fan of westerns since an early age, what do you see when you look at the genre today? Do you find more male or female western authors? Do you find the genre dominated by independently published authors? Do you find it trending more toward western romance these days?
Scott: The genre certainly leans toward being male dominated, but it’s changing and more and more women are getting involved, which is great. Certainly the 3-4 huge names dominate the book stores and it’s tough for most of us to get any shelf space. But, Amazon opens the world for independent writers and gives many of us a chance to find an audience. Can’t ask for more than that.
I have noticed the western romance genre getting more notice and attention. It’ll be interesting to see if that continues.
Kaye: Where do you see the western genre going in the future?
Scott: Wherever we want to take it, or maybe more realistically, wherever the readers want us to take it. There are plenty of different genres sitting under the Western umbrella, so it’s up to us to write some great books and pull in readers – new and old – and at the same time, we need to listen to what the readers are telling us.
Kaye: What is in store for the future for Scott Harris? Does Brock or Caz have more stories in store for them? You are working on the second book in the Shotgun Willy series? Tell me about that series, if you would.
Scott: I’m done with Brock and Caz for now. I am working on the 2nd book in the Stagecoach Willy series. Willy is a stagecoach driver and keeps stumbling into trouble and then I need to write him out of it. He has a sense of humor, which is fun to write and has a partner, Ten, that he’s been staging with for years. When I finish the 6th book, I plan to do a “capstone” book that brings Brock, Caz and Willy together in one grand book.
Kaye: What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Scott: Spend as much time as possible with my wife, Randi, my son, Justin and my daughter Samantha and her husband Devin. Randi and I travel quite a bit, try to take one RV trip per month. Next month is a 3 week trip to South Bend to watch our daughter graduate from Notre Dame Law School.
Next year, we’re retiring and moving to Tennessee. Very much looking forward to it.
I want to thank Scott for chatting with me here and sharing some of his expertise in the western genre. I very much enjoyed this and hope all of my readers have, too. You can learn more about Scott Harris on his blog and website, or on his Amazon author page. Join me next month on “Chatting with the Pros”, when my guest author will be hardboiled crime fiction novelist Jim Nesbit. I hope to see all of you then.
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Posted: April 15, 2019 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Author Profile, Books, Chatting with the Pros, Fiction, Historical Romance, Interview, romance, Writing | Tags: Author Interview, Chatting with the Pros, Historical Romance, Maya Rodale, romance, Writing to be Read |
Today on “Chatting with the Pros” my guest author is a historical romance novelist, Maya Rodale. She writes strong female characters who stand up for themselves and still manage to maintain their feminity. Her books have appeared on the USA Today bestselling list and have been published in several languages. Her novel, The Wicked Wallflower won the RT Reviewer’s Choice Award for best historical hero, and What a Wallflower Wants was labeled as a romance novel for the #MeToo movement. I’m pleased to have the opportunity to chat with her today and learn her thoughts on romance, female authors and women’s place in the world.
Kaye: Your stories favor strong heroines for your main characters. Do you think romance is usually a female domain?
Maya: Romance has been traditionally a female domain, though 18% of readers today are men! I would love to see more men openly reading romance, but I also hope it never loses it’s focus on the female experience and the empowerment it brings to so many women in publishing.
Kaye: Perusing your website and checking out your book covers, one gets the impression that your romances are a bit risqué. How steamy can you get before you cross over into the land of erotica? Do your books cross that line?
Maya: Romance Writers of America provides the best succinct definition of erotica: “Romance novels in which strong, often explicit, sexual interaction is an inherent part of the love story, character growth and relationship development and could not be removed without damaging the storyline.”
So it’s not a matter of how much sex is portrayed but how the sex engages with the plot. My historicals definitely have some steamy sexy times on the page, but I wouldn’t classify them as true erotica.
Kaye: How do you decide the titles for your books? Where does the title come in the process for you?
Maya: A title needs agreement from both the publishing team and myself; sometimes the title I pitch is the one we go with. Sometimes the story is nearly done and we’re frantically brainstorming at the last minute to find something that works.
Fun behind the scenes story: I wrote The Tattooed Duke thinking the title would be Brave New Lord which I LOVE but my pub team thought The Tattooed Duke had better sales potential, so that’s the one we went with.
Kaye: Your books feature strong female heroines, who stand up for themselves and what they believe against the men around them and societal beliefs. Why do you think your readers relate to them?
Maya: I think this is the experience for most women: we are constantly having to stand up and assert our humanity. I like to think that my heroines help real women have the courage and confidence to do this. And for those readers who don’t feel it’s necessary, I hope they see that it is.
Kaye: What are some tips for writing strong female characters in a time period when there weren’t many to be found, and making them believable?
Maya: The more I dig deeper in my research of history the more I believe that this is a myth. Women have always gotten out of the house and done great, wonderful, terrible things; but it hasn’t been recorded, or their stories haven’t been told, or (male) historians deemed it unimportant. Women have never been boring, silent bystanders to the world.
I think we’ve been (maybe deliberately) shut out of history books and as a result we don’t know the long and full history of women being active participants in the world. Start with a look at the New York Times Overlooked Obituaries, for example.
The problem isn’t that strong historical female characters aren’t accurate, the problem is that we have been made to believe they are. And in the name of “historical accuracy” we unwittingly perpetuate that in our novels.
My tip for writers: find those stories, write those stories! And then explain your research in the author’s note. And my advice for readers: check your biases and preconceived notions and let yourself get swept up in the story. You may just learn something new about history too.
Kaye: What’s the biggest challenge in writing romance for you?
Maya: Protecting my time! It’s my day job and still there are so many demands on my time and energy that make it hard to focus on my books.
Kaye: You wrote a nonfiction book titled Dangerous Books for Girls: The Bad Reputation of Romance Novels Explained. Can you explain briefly why romance has a bad rep and it is justified?Maya: Romance novels have a bad reputation because they’re so powerful—they are the only art that consistently portray women triumphing in a world that doesn’t want women to triumph. Mocking them as “trashy books” or just “mommy porn” or “unrealistic” is a way to diminish their power. If we valued women and women’s work more, we’d value romance novels more!
Kaye: How many different countries and languages are your books sold in?
Kaye: What’s the most fun about writing romance?
Maya: I do love being the all powerful Goddess of fictional worlds. And not having to get dressed up for work 😉
Kaye: What do you think is the single most important element in a romance story?
Maya: The development of the romantic relationship! And the happy ever after, of course.
Kaye: Where does inspiration for your stories come from?
Maya: Story inspiration is everywhere if you open your heart and mind to it! Right now I’m finding the New York Times “overlooked obituaries” of historical women to be a gold mine of story ideas for historical romance. I just need more time to write them…
Kaye: You have a new book in your Gilded Age series coming out in June, Some Like it Scandalous. Would you like to tell us about it?Maya: Longtime enemies embark on a sham engagement and end up falling in love! The only way for society darling Theo Prescott to survive his most recent, unspeakably outrageous scandal is marry someone respectable. Someone sensible. Someone like Daisy Swan. But she has plans that do not include a loveless marriage to anyone. Instead, she aspires to sell cosmetics that she has created. But this brainy scientist needs a smooth talking charmer’s flair for words and eye for beauty to make it a success. Before long, Daisy and Theo are trading kisses. And secrets. And discovering that despite appearances, they might be the perfect couple after all.
Kaye: As a romance writer, what kind of research do you find yourself doing for your stories?
Maya: I do A LOT of research. Everything from reading biographies, non-fiction, histories, other novels to trips to the library or visits to museums. Or just googling. There’s general research to do about the time period—for example, I had to learn all about the Gilded Age (1860-1900) in Manhattan for my new seriesThe Gilded Age Girl’s Club.And then there’s research necessary for each particular book. For the next book in the series, Some Like It Scandalous I had to do a deep dive into the invention and popularization of cosmetics, since the heroine launches a cosmetics company with the hero.
Kaye: What advice do you have for aspiring romance authors?
Maya: My best advice I think comes from Nora Roberts: “Ass in the chair. Words on the page.” Also, my friend once told me “If you’re not getting a rejection once a week you’re not trying hard enough.” Brutal, but effective.
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Posted: March 18, 2019 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Books, Chatting with the Pros, Collaboration, Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Interview, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Teaching Writing, World Building, Writing, Writing to be Read | Tags: Chatting with the Pros, Fantasy, Kevin J. Anderson, Writing to be Read |
My guest today on “Chatting with the Pros” is an award winning and best selling author who has written countless novels and over 56 national and international best sellers. A majority of his works fall into the science fiction or fantasy genres, but he writes across many genres. In a recent introduction for “The Big Idea: Kevin J. Anderson“, an article about the latest release in his short fiction collection, Selected Stories, John Scalzi calls him, “one of the most prolific authors working today”, and one look at his immense book list on Amazon would leave no doubt that this is an accurate assessment. (You can find my review of selected stories here). He’s written a lot of books, 56 of which have hit the national and international best seller lists, and he’s been writing for many years, and I’m sure we will find his knowledge and experiences enlightening. Please help me welcome Kevin J. Anderson.
Kaye: You have written at least 56 national or international best sellers. What makes a good story in your mind?
Kevin: People want to read a good story with an exciting/interesting plot, a well-developed setting, and engaging characters. Make it a story you WANT to read, with clear prose and action. I don’t like muddled, glacial-paced stories where the prose is just too precious.
Kaye: Why science fiction and fantasy? Why not western or romance or mystery? What’s the attraction?
Kevin: Well, I’ve also written plenty of mysteries, and some of my work has been set in the old west, and most good stories have a strong romance component (though I don’t write category Romance or Westerns). I like to tell an interesting story, and I move around a lot among genres, even though I am primarily known for science fiction or fantasy. I grew up in a very mundane small town in rural Wisconsin, and I was captivated by SF/F from an early age, because it showed my imagination what was possible. I wanted to go to exotic places, whether they were filled with aliens or dragons. Science fiction took me to a much wider universe. (And as a skinny, nerdy kid with glasses and a bad haircut, “romance” wasn’t much of a possibility, so I stuck with spaceships and swords.)
Kaye: You wrote several Star Wars and X-Files novels. Is it difficult to immerse yourself in someone else’s settings and characters enough to pick up a thread and run with it in the same tone and writing style? How do you go about getting yourself into that mindset?
Kevin: It’s no more difficult than trying to immerse yourself in the old west or ancient Japan for a historical. A writer’s job is to absorb the story, characters, voice, and setting. I was already a big fan of Star Wars, Star Trek, X-Files, and Dune, and I enjoyed going to work in those universes. In each instance, I would completely surround myself with the property — whether that meant watching the Star Wars films over and over again, or the episodes of the X-Files, or repeatedly rereading DUNE and its sequels. You pick up the manner of speaking, the “look and feel” of the world, and you make it into your own story.
Kaye: You’ve done several collaborations, including books of the Dune series, with Brian Herbert and the Clockwork books which you collaborated with Neil Peart, drummer for the band Rush. What is the biggest challenge when collaborating on a book?
Kevin: You both need to have the same vision for the book—which means a LOT of talking and brainstorming ahead of time—and you both need the same work ethic (so each partner puts in the same amount of time and effort…a tortoise and hare collaboration will just cause a lot of friction), and you need to be flexible. There’s never only ONE way to write a sentence or describe a scene. I would never want to collaborate with a diva!
Kaye: Do you belong to any writing organizations? If so, which ones? Do you feel your membership in these writing organizations have been helpful in your writing successes? How so?
Kevin: I belong to the Horror Writers Association (and edited three anthologies for them, the BLOOD LITE series), IAMTW (International Association of Media Tie-In Writers), and SFWA, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, although some of their recent decisions have made me so upset that I would not renew my membership if I wasn’t already a lifetime member. The problem with such organizations is that you can become to engrossed in the politics and bickering that you forget your real purpose, which is to WRITE.
Kaye: You’ve written several series, including Saga of the Seven Suns, Dan Shamble P.I. and the Clockwork books? Are any of your books stand alone? Why do you lean toward series?
Kevin: I’ve written many standalone books. The one I just finished last week, a vampire/serial-killer thriller STAKE, that’s not part of a series. But I like to tell big stories, and once you’ve done all the effort of world building and character building an entire universe, you want to spend some time. To me, a trilogy is perfect — a beginning, middle, and end, with enough room to tell the story and describe the world in all its glory. Pragmatically speaking, it’s a much better decision commercially to build a series, because readers will want more and more, and each new book will help sell copies of previous volumes. Can you imagine if A.C. Doyle had stopped after writing only one Sherlock Holmes story?
Kaye: Science fiction authors create whole worlds from their imaginations, often with new languages created in their own minds, and you have created many. How do you go about creating a new language?
Kevin: Hmm, creating languages? I’m not really a linguist and I don’t know that I’ve developed full languages (though I do use weird words). I just make up the words by making what seem to be the appropriate sounds, linguistic flavors, scary sounds for monsters or villains, softer or ethereal sounds for pleasant things. I can’t really explain it more rigorously than that.
Kaye: Your work has won many prestigious awards. Which award are you most proud of? Why?
Kevin: Awards are awards, and it’s nice to have them, but I really prefer READERS. That’s what makes your writing worthwhile. It’s not terribly prestigious, but the award I value most is one I received very early in my career, when I received a trophy with an engraved brass plate and everything, naming me “The Writer with No Future” because I could produce more rejection slips than any other writer at an entire conference. To me, that didn’t mean I was a failure as a writer or that my work was awful—it proved that I was more persistent, that I kept trying, kept getting better, and never gave up. I still have that trophy.
Kaye: In addition to being an author, you and your wife, Rebecca Moesta, are publishers at Wordfire Press, but originally you were traditionally published. Why the switch to being your own publisher after being traditionally published for so many years?
Kevin: Survival. No choice. The publishing industry has undergone a tremendous upheaval equivalent to the Industrial Revolution, and I could either be a mammal and evolve or stay a dinosaur and go extinct. I am still traditionally published (four books released in 2018, in fact, and a new 3-book contract from Tor Books for an epic fantasy series), but I also have a lot of backlist titles that were out of print and my fans wanted to read them. So I started releasing them myself with all the innovations of new technology. It’s just another alternative.
Kaye: What does Wordfire press offer as a publisher for other authors?
Kevin: We are nimble and flexible, and we can produce books and get them to market far quicker than a traditional publisher can manage. But when you work with an indie publisher, or if you do it yourself, then you have to do all the work, all aspects of it. It’s another income stream and another way to get your book in front of your audience.
Kaye: Is Wordfire taking submissions? What type of fiction is Wordfire looking for?
Kevin: Not really, I’m afraid. When we are open, we’re looking for established writers who don’t need their hands held, writers who already have their own platforms, fanbases, and marketing efforts because we have to rely on them to do the work that a whole department at a traditional publisher would do.
Kaye: You recently signed on as an adjunct professor at Western State Colorado University and you are a finalist candidate for the director of their Certificate in Publishing program. What prompted you to venture into the world of academia?
Kevin: Actually, I’m now a full professor and I run their Masters program in Publishing. I will start the first group of MA students this coming summer. There’s a LOT of paperwork and bureaucracy in academia! I have taught writing and publishing quite often at countless writers’ conferences and conventions, most notably our own Superstars Writing Seminars, which is just hitting its tenth year. Becoming a professor and teaching at a beautiful university in the Colorado mountains is great, offers a little more stability than freelance writing, and (the bane of all freelancers) it gives me health insurance and benefits I wouldn’t otherwise get.
Kaye: Any writing pet peeves?
Kevin: I don’t like artsy-fartsy stuff, dense prose and opaque plots. Tell me a great story with a cool setting and interesting characters!
Kaye: Creating characters, developing plot, world building – what is the most challenging part of writing for you?
Kevin: Those are all fun, but if I had to choose I would say I have most difficulty with building rich, fleshed-out characters. Plotting and worldbuilding—that’s what I excel in.
Thanks to Kevin for sharing with us today. He’s given us food for thought with some really great answers. You can find more about Wordfire Press here: https://wordfirepress.com/. Kevin and his wife, Rebecca Moesta, head up the Superstars Writing Seminars each year in February, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, for those interested in learning the business of writing. If you’d like to become a member of the Superstars Tribe, or would just like more information about Superstars, visit the folowing link: superstarswriting.com. Visit the links below to learn more about Kevin J. Anderson and his works.
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Kevin-J-Anderson/e/B000AQ0072/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1545798018&sr=1-1-fkmr1
Wordfire Press: http://www.wordfire.com/
Blog: http://kjablog.com/
Join us next month on “Chatting with the Pros”, when I’ll be chatting with romance author Maya Rodale. You can catch the monthly segment “Chatting with the Pros” on the third Monday of every month in 2019, or you can be sure not to any of the great content on Writing to be Read by signing up by email or following on WordPress.
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Posted: February 22, 2019 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Blog Content, Book Review, Chatting with the Pros, Fiction, Film Review, Interview, Nonfiction, Paranormal, WordCrafter Press, Writing, Writing Contest | Tags: Book Reviews, Chatting with the Pros, Film Review, Jeff Bowles, WordCrafter, WordCrafter Press, Writing to be Read |
The entries are rolling in for the paranormal fiction contest and each one must be read. Stories good enough to recieve invitations to the anthology will also need to be edited. In order to accomodate a time budget for all this contest judging and anthology compilation activities in addition to my other life responsibilities, you can expect to see a few changes in the Friday Reviews.
One good change is we’ll be seeing more of Jeff Bowles. Last week he stepped in with a movie review of Glass that was brutally honest, but captivating. That review was so well recieved that he’s agreed to share a movie review with us on the third Monday of every month. His review of Glass was knowledgeable of the genre and written well enough to be mistakeing for one of the top critiques. If book reviews are hugs for authors, then Writing to be Read wants to hug the film industry, too. If you want to keep up on many of the latest movies, be sure to catch Jeff’s Movie Review (working title) each month.
I also plan to make two reviews each month instead of four, for books in the genre to go along with the monthly theme set by the genre the “Chatting with the Pros” guest author for the month. In February my guest author was nonfiction author Mark Shaw, so the February theme was nonfiction. My supporting author interview was with nature writer Susan J. Tweit and my supporting post was about my own nonfiction endeavor with the first post in my new bi-monthly series, “The Making of a Memoir“. My reviews were both of nonfiction books of different sub-genres: Mark Shaw’s How to Become a Published Author and a compilation of poetry artwork and writings about mental illness, the Letters of May anthology.
March’s theme will be science fiction and fantasy, and the “Chatting with the Pros” guest author will be national and international best selling author Kevin J. Anderson. He’s written more best sellers than there is room to list here and I’m thrilled to have him on Writing to be Read. My supporting post will be about my science fantasy series, Playground for the Gods. I’m still searching for a author for my supporting interview, but my reviews will be for Kevin J. Anderson’s Selected Stories and Jordan Elizabeth’s Rogue Crystal. If you want to be sure not to miss any of these great science fiction and fantasy segments, be sure to sign up to email or follow on WordPress to get notification of new content.
Before I wrap this up, let me just remind you all that there is still time to submit your short story to the WordCrafter paranormal fiction contest. The deadline is April 1, so don’t drag your feet on this one. The entry fee is $5 and the winner will recive a $25 Amazon gift card and a guaranteed place in the WordCrafter Press paranormal short fiction. Email your submissions to kayebooth (at) yahoo (dot) com and I’ll send you confirmation instructions for submitting your entry fee.
Your submission can be any genre, but your story does have to include a paranormal element, so get those stories in. Other entries may be included in the anthology by special invitation, and all anthology authors will recieve a small royalty share if the book makes any money. You can get the full submission guidelines here: https://kayelynnebooth.wordpress.com/2019/01/28/short-fiction-contest-paranormal-stories-sought/
I do hope you’ll all join me in the exciting changes ahead. I’m always interested in reader feedback, so leave a comment and let me know what you’d like to see on Writing to be Read.
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