Infographic: 2012 Best Days For Holiday Shopping

Source: cdn.savings.com

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Writing Update

There are some occasions when your body and mind need a break. It seems the last couple of months have been one such time for me. These last few months I've been promising myself that I will get back to writing another manuscript and interacting more on the social networking scene. It hasn't been that way. I've sat down many times and thought about what I've needed to do, but in the end my mind and body have told me 'no.' To that end, it has seemed clear that I've needed the break.

Thankfully it now appears the time of abstinence is now over and I am ready to write and interact a little more again. I'm trusting this is a permanent fix and the words will flow freely. If not then I will take a further break from it all until the New Year.

And what will I be working on? I will be continuing the manuscript I started a few months ago, Xannu - The Mayhem, the final installment in my YA epic fantasy saga. I am excited to bring this exciting series to a close. I'll be sure to keep you all in the loop over the next couple of months as to how I am progressing.

The Writer's Toolbox

Today I am pleased to publish my fifth guest blog post. You too can have a post published on my blog. Just read the guidelines HERE. In the meantime, enjoy...

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The Writer's Toolbox

By: Dee Rayson

Every writer has their own toolbox that they use to create their stories or articles. I have a library full of books on writing and have gathered information from all of them, but the most useful tool for my writing has been my life experiences. Mostly, the tools I use have no correlation to good writing practices, but they are uniquely mine. In fact these tools will probably be useless to the majority of you, but I hope to inspire you to create your own writing toolbox.

Tool 1: Color personalities.

I enjoy books with diverse characters that are well developed, and who stay true to their character throughout the novel. This is often difficult and I become frustrated if I’m reading and start thinking, ‘Oh come on, as if she would do that!’ So I wanted to ensure my characters remained true to themselves throughout.

Over the years, working in a completely different field, I created a color personality profiling system. I used it to inspire others to reach their potential. So I divided all my characters into colors, knowing the personality traits of each. This made it easy to keep them in character; all I had to do is remember the color they represented.

This is my tool, but you can find an equally viable way of making your characters diverse. The important thing is that you are aware that it is paramount to any story to have strong characters that are uniquely yours.

Tool 2:Visual Cues

I’m a visual person and I find it hard to write if I can’t instantly bring a character or scene to mind. I had been doing intuitive art for several years and it suddenly occurred to me that I should draw my characters’ faces, because they each have very unique attributes. I did them over months and put them on my wall. Whenever I got stuck I would stare at the faces until they gave me an answer. This worked brilliantly for me. Strangely, I only ever intended the pictures for me, as I’m not an artist, but recently I decided to post a picture each week so the readers may connect to my characters also. You see, you just never know where your simple tools could take you.

I encourage you to look at any part of your life, no matter how far removed it seems from writing and include it in your toolbox. If you are passionate about something it will shine through in your writing.

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About Dee Rayson: Dee Rayson is a retired dance instructor, mentor and intuitive specialist with the goal to inspire others to reach their full potential. Her new book, Arkrealm: The Apprentice, is part of a larger scale Arkrealm Project. Rayson's keen interest in youth development led her to write this novel. It introduces readers to the concepts of color personality types and focuses on a group of environmental superheroes, called Arketykes, training teenager Sandy Miller. Rayson says, 'What better way to inspire readers to embrace their individuality and care for the environment than through a story that is full of emotion, adventure and thought-provoking twists. That's Arkrealm The Apprentice in a nutshell.'

Dee's website: Arkrealm
Dee on Facebook: Arkrealm
Dee on Twitter: @DeeRayson
Dee's Latest Novel: Arkrealm - The Apprentice

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Twitter Experiment - OverTweeting Part Three

In my last article I documented my experiences 'over-tweeting' with Twitter. This time around I want to re-visit the experience and blog about the little twist I put upon the experiment.

Three weeks after my original experiment to over-tweet (sending an extra 2,000 targeted tweets out over the course of one week), I decided to repeat the experiment but this time with a different target audience. The results were mixed.

Firstly I decided to use the list of Twitter followers from another well-known author. As before I stripped out 8,000 Twitter names, split them into groups of four, added a link to my books and sent out tweets every five minutes or so.

When I did this the first time I received a boost of over 50% to my blog page hits and also a small increase in Twitter followers. This time around I only received a 30% boost to my blog viewership and I lost around 100 Twitter followers.

So, my conclusions are that overall over-tweeting is worth the experiment but it does matter just who you target your tweets at. I'm going to try this experiment one more time over the Christmas period with a third set of people and I'll report back in the New Year. Until then, keep trying different things to increase followers and book sales and read my previous article to understand the mechanics of it all.

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Author Interview: Darryl S. Ellrott

Today I am pleased to present to you all the thirty-fifth in a series of Author Interviews. Recently I sat down with my good friend Darryl S. Ellrott and our conversation went something like this:

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Paul:  I like to start my interviews by asking if you have any writing rituals?

Darryl:  When I was a kid I could read a book with a rock and roll record blaring in the background, but now I need silence to compose. I keep lots of paper nearby, like a notepad and stickies, because I like to jot down notes, details, and even outline points while I’m at it. That probably goes back to my days as a schoolteacher, when I taught writing and did all my planning on paper. Though I love my computer, I don’t think I’ll ever get around to a paperless existence.

Paul:  What types of books do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors? Why? 

Darryl:  First and foremost, Stephen King. I’m one of his faithful constant readers. Even though he doesn't write 'em like he used to, the man still has an incredible ability to draw you into the story and make you totally forget about the outside world. The late Ray Bradbury (God rest him!) was another early favorite. His lyrical, poetic prose showed me how to create mood and made me fall in love with language. “A Sound of Thunder” is one of the all time great short stories. I was a fan of George R.R. Martin before Game of Thrones, and of course, Professor Tolkien and his Middle Earth tales are some of my favorite repeat destinations. I never fail to discover something new each time I re-read LOTR.

Paul:  If someone had the power to step into your creative mind what would they see?

Darryl:  Lots and lots of monkeys. Banging away on a thousand typewriters. All smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee. I don’t smoke or drink coffee, by the way.

Paul:  What is a typical day for you? 

Darryl:  A typical writing day means up by 7:30am and going as hard as I can at my current project right after breakfast. Sometimes the words come quickly and I have lots of stamina. Other times my eyesight begins to blur and I can’t focus anymore. When that kind of fatigue hits, I take a short, one-hour break and then move on to other business. Occasionally I’ll write in the late afternoons or evening, but only if I’m feeling good. Otherwise, morning’s the time when my energy’s highest.

Paul:  Do you have a favorite character in each of your series, aside from the lead? If so, which one and why? 

Darryl:  Sergeant Hardesty in Rear Echelon is one of my favorite supporting characters. Sergeants are a lot like school teachers, in a way. They have to be tough so their charges will grow strong, but deep down, they care a lot for each and every one. Hardesty has to keep himself from becoming too emotionally involved, but he’s secretly pleased to no end when Struts and Numbnuts succeed. And of course, who doesn’t love Private Numbnuts?  Every gang needs a Scooby Doo, especially one who kicks so much ass. I also like Brian Mitchell from Longest Night.  He’s a good hero, a man with a lot of layers. You’ll see more Brian Mitchell stories soon.

Paul:  In all the years you’ve been publishing your work, what is the biggest mistake you made that you could share so others can avoid making it? 

Darryl:  Don’t wait too long between books. Don’t wait a year for the sequel, like I did. Write a lot and publish a lot. The more stuff you have on the market, the more you’ll get known, and the more you’ll sell.

Paul:  How do you find the time to write?

Darryl:  You have to make up your mind and do it. I know about busy schedules. When I was a school teacher I regularly put in 12 sometimes 16 hours, and all day on Saturdays. I didn’t write as much in those days, but I’d find a few minutes at a time during planning or in the evenings. Now I work at home and have the freedom to block out the time, but that’s not for everyone. Don’t quit your day job.

Paul:  What is one thing you hope I do not tell the readers?

Darryl:  That Brent Mitchell Wood is the real secret to my success. He’s my writing partner, and we’ve been best friends since we were teenagers. He’s an ex-Marine and a wood-worker. I’ll come into his shop with a new idea and if he likes it, he’ll go wild, spitting out plot lines, characters, and details. He takes my beginnings and tells me how to get to the ends. He’s a voracious speed reader who goes through at least two books a week, and he has an incredible head for the work. He’ll tell me what will work, what won’t work, and what’s been done to death. When I’m writing, he reads all my dailies and gives me support and feedback. He’s tough on me, and won’t let me do everything I want to. Only what he knows will work. He’s saved more than one story from my somewhat undisciplined flights of fancy.

Paul:  If you are self-published, what led to you going your own way?

Darryl:  The writing business is like any other part of the entertainment business. There are millions of us waiting around to be discovered, and the competition’s cutthroat. If it is to be, it’s up to me. I love calling my own shots, and Rear Echelon has sold almost 10,000 paid downloads to date. If a big publisher offered me a deal, I’d take it, but in the meantime, I’ll keep working.

Paul:  Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Darryl:  I’m a school teacher, and school teachers plan everything. When I get an idea, I write it down while it’s still fresh. Some ideas are a paragraph long, some are a page long. When I get ready to write, I do extensive outlining and notes, planning every scene and chapter in detail. I’ll do background notes, character sketches, back stories, and even histories if I’m creating a secondary world. By the time I set pen to paper, I know exactly what I have to write, and I do it in manageable chunks. If I don’t have to think, “Okay, what happens next?” I can use my talents and energies to make the writing better, more vivid, and connect emotionally with my audience. Creating details out of whole cloth slows me down and wears me out. The guys who sit down and just go – I don’t know how they do it.

Paul:  Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

Darryl:  I used to teach writing, and I have a pretty simple editorial philosophy: shorter is always better. I had a standard anecdote I always told my students about how the first draft of Steinbeck’s The Black Pearl was probably 500 pages long, but after he whittled it down and whittled it down, he had 250 pages of pure gem. I’m also a huge fan of Strunk and White’s Elements of Style, and I try to live by its precepts. Write in simple, declarative sentences. Hemingway got it right. Shorter is better.

Paul:  Do you have to do much research for your stories?

Darryl:  As much as I possibly can. Brent and I are fans of realistic details. I loved the recent movie Captain America, but there was a tiny technical error that absolutely ruined it for Brent. At one point our hero caps off 22 rounds from a 9-round pistol without reloading, and that drove my writing partner crazy. I try to do enough research to make sure those kinds of mistakes don’t happen.

Paul:  What is your most recent book? Tell us a little about it

Darryl:  Our latest thriller is a piece of short fiction called Vengeance.  It’s a “mouse that roared” story of a lifelong pacifist who loses everything and is forced to confront the terrifying darkness that lives in the heart of every man. When a psychopath posing as a policeman murders his wife, Nathan Cotter has to choose between acceptance and vengeance, and also bear the costs of his decision. Who’s to say what any of us would do in his place?

Paul:  What inspired you to write this book?

Darryl:  Vengeance is a loving homage to all those great, twisted short stories Stephen King used to write, like “Donlan’s Cadillac,” “Children of the Corn,” “Survivor Type,” “The Running Man,” and many others. It’s tightly plotted and all action, but with a heart. You won’t believe what happens to poor Nathan Cotter at the end, and it’s worth investigating to find out.

Paul:  Do you also write any poetry, non-fiction or short stories?

Darryl:  You know, when I was a teacher I used to love teaching poetry, but I’ve written very little. I also used to love playing guitar in a garage band, but I could never write lyrics worth a damn. I love and respect the form, but I think in prose, not verse.

I have written one non-fiction book, 30 Secrets to Recruiting Middle School Wrestlers, made up of wisdom and advice from my twenty years as a wrestling coach. I also have another short story, Longest Night, about a man who has to kill his way out of a European castle to save his wife and child. My biggest work so far is a short novel in the military science fiction genre called Rear Echelon. It’s about a group of rag tag support platoon mutts who go from being in the rear with the gear to the forefront of an interstellar conflict during the course of an aborted rescue mission. I’m busy writing a full-length sequel right now, and eventually I’ll expand the original novella before completing the trilogy.

Paul:  Do you have any pieces of work that will never see the light of day?

Darryl:  I’m about to begin another story called Snuff that’s so dreadfully violent I’m considering a pseudonym. Somehow, though, I think I’ll end up putting my name on it.

Paul:  Do you enter competitions? Are there any you could recommend?

Darryl:  I used to submit my kids’ work to student competitions, but I haven’t put my own stuff up for judgment yet.

Paul:  How much marketing do you do for your published works or for your ‘brand’?

Darryl:  I have a small side business as a social media account manager, and for the past 2½ years I’ve been diligently studying that trade and figuring out how to make the engines of commerce run in my favor. Even now I’m working on a major revamping of my blog page, which will feature writing tips and social media instruction for the novice. I’ve got over 3,000 Twitter followers now, and soon I’ll be opening a Facebook page, a Pinterest account, and maybe even a YouTube channel in addition to a monthly e-newsletter. I do so much marketing now I have to block out specific times, days, and hours to get the writing done. Well, I wanted to be a writer…

Paul:  What’s your favorite / least favorite aspect of your writing life? Has anything surprised you?

Darryl:  Well, sometimes I’d like to have that regular, monthly teaching check back, but I don’t regret any of my decisions. As a teacher, I loved making plans, solving problems, and calling my own shots. Now I work for myself, set my own hours, and I’m not a slave to any man’s clock. I thought for many years I might have the chops to “go pro” as a writer, and now I’m proving it. People are paying me for what I write, and that tickles me to no end. I find creating and writing stories to be immensely gratifying in a deep-down, primal way. Working with Brent just makes it so much pure fun. It’s like being a kid again.

Paul:  What do you do when you’re not writing? Do you have any hobbies or party tricks?

Darryl:  Like former heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, when I’m not writing I eat cold eels and think distant thoughts. What the hell does that mean?  I don’t even think Johnson knew.

Paul:  Thanks, Darryl. That was great. Here's to a successful future!

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About Darryl S. Ellrott: As a child, Darryl S. Ellrott used the sport of wresting to rehabilitate his body and spirit from the effects of cerebral palsy. This led to a twenty-year teaching and coaching career that culminated in his 2009 induction into the Georgia Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. He’s the author of 30 Secrets to Recruiting Middle School Wrestlers, the military sci-fi novella Rear Echelon, and the short stories “Longest Night,” and “Vengeance” with Brent Mitchell Wood. All are available from Big Rock Publishing and Amazon Kindle.

Darryl's Blog: Darryl S. Ellrott
Darryl on Twitter: @DarrylSEllrott
Darryl on Facebook: Darryl S. Ellrott
Darryl's latest book: Vengeance (Amazon)

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Infographic: Turkey and Travel (Thanksgiving)

Source: Nationwide.com

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Juice Fast - Round Two Update

Two weeks ago I published a post on my latest upcoming juice fast (the second one this year). This time around I managed to juice for 5 days and during that time I lost over 7lbs in weight. I had hoped to hold out for two weeks, but it wasn't to be.

So the question is why? Well the simple answer is that it was too boring. I really missed eating normal food this time around. So after spending a week at work taking juices with me and then religiously carrying on juicing in the evenings, I decided that 5 days was enough. Besides which, I had achieved my objective of re-booting my body and kicking off some dead weight. I also used the week to lay out my longer term objectives for weight loss. After the end of my juice fast I have approximately 5.5 months to lose a further 22lbs. That ought to be totally possible, even with Thanksgiving and Christmas in between.

So here I am a week after finishing my juice fast and my weight only rebounded 0.5lbs. That's very reassuring because if you're not careful you can quickly put all the lost weight back on again. Now I just need to stick to my vegetarian diet, be careful about eating out, and keep shedding those extra pounds on a regular basis. I'll report back again in the New Year.

Supporting Authors One Read At A Time - November 2012

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Twitter Experiment - OverTweeting Part Two

In my last article, I wrote about the pros and cons of overtweeting. In this article I will relate my experiences when I took overtweeting to another level and increased my blog hits by 50%!

I have long since known that targeted tweets produce better results than non-targeted tweets. What's a targeted tweet? Well quite simply it is a message to a particular person using @name. I know that when I send out a tweet to all the Indie Authors I know, referencing an Interview with a link, I will receive about 100 hits to my blog (out of approximately 188 total @names). That's a 53% hit rate using targeted tweets. So I got to thinking, what if I took this idea to another level? What if I targeted 8,000 of my followers with a direct message? Would it work on that level? Of course, there was only one way to find out and that was to try it.

First of all I found a site online that would download 10,000 of my followers into a spreadsheet (more about that in another post). Then I sorted those followers by number of tweets they had sent (figuring less than 100 and they were not very active), and I dropped off the bottom 2,000. That left me with 8,000 @names. I further sorted these into four columns of 2,000 names, concatenated them together, added a tweet header and exported the whole list of 2,000 tweets into another spreadsheet. A sample tweet was as follows: FREE book to download http://bit.ly/VN9Y8y @MusicByStan @VisionFord @VintageDTSP @musixmouth. The link leads directly to a post on my blog that lists all my books including one for FREE.

Following along? Good. After this it was just a case of using AutoTweeter Pro to schedule them (at approximately 5 minute intervals). I figured that sending 2,000 tweets at 12 tweets an hour would take about a week to complete. Hopefully that was spreading them out enough and these new tweets were interspersed with the regular tweets I was sending out (as mentioned in my previous article). I was interested to see whether I could achieve another 50% rate of @names to page hits. To be successful I would need to achieve 4,000 page hits from my 2,000 tweets.

The results were amazing. I achieved greater than my targeted 50% - my blog page hits increased by over 600 per day - and I also doubled my book sales for the month in one week! My net loss on Twitter followers was actually negative. I increased my followers during the week by 85. So all in all, I have nothing but positive things to say about this whole overtweeting experiment.

Watch out next month for Part Three in this series - 'Afterthoughts and Summary.'

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Author Interview: Hamilton C. Burger

Today I am pleased to present to you all the thirty-fourth in a series of Author Interviews. Recently I sat down with the relaxed wannabe chef Hamilton C. Burger and our conversation went something like this:

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Paul:  I like to start my interviews by asking if you have any writing rituals?

Hamilton:  No, I don’t have rituals, unless sleep deprivation is one.

Paul:  What types of books do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors? Why?

Hamilton:  I love legal thrillers. Rebecca Forster is very good and I have read several of her books. She has an incredible grasp on the legal system and that lends to the realism of her books. Also, her character development is amazing.

Paul:  If someone had the power to step into your creative mind what would they see?

Hamilton:  Hah! Do you mean besides Moe, Larry and Curly? They would see a lot of slapstick type things, I guess.

Paul:  What is a typical day for you? 

Hamilton:  I’m up at 5:30. I watch the news and check Twitter, make a few tweets, etc. I check e-mail, and see how many books I’ve sold. Then I have breakfast, and I’m out the door at 7:20. I drop my daughter at school and make it to my day job by 8:30. At noon, I take lunch at an internet cafe. I check Twitter, e-mail, trying to keep the ball rolling. I’m off at 5:00pm, get home at 5:30; I cook dinner for my wife and daughter. By 6:30, I’m writing. Some social media and correspondence is intermingled. Around 10:30pm I work on marketing and do other housekeeping relative to my books. I usually finish about 1:30am. Then off for a good night’s sleep.

Paul:  Do you have a favorite character in each of your series, aside from the lead? If so, which one and why?

Hamilton:  Well, not really. The characters are sort of like my kids. You never have a favorite.

Paul:  In all the years you’ve been publishing your work, what is the biggest mistake you made that you could share so others can avoid making it? 

Hamilton:  Get yourself a good editor, and take this business seriously.

Paul:  How do you find the time to write?

Hamilton:  There is a trade-off. If I can’t find time, I have to make time. When I do that, something gets put on the back burner.

Paul:  What is one thing you hope I do not tell the readers?

Hamilton:  How my book Gold Fever ends!

Paul:  If you are self-published, what led to you going your own way?

Hamilton:  I have a friend who is an author and I was advised that indie is the way to go.

Paul:  Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Hamilton:  Both, I throw out a handful of dots and then begin connecting them.

Paul:  Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

Hamilton:  I do quite a lot of re-writing. Sometimes after a night’s sleep, things sound quite different.

Paul:  Do you have to do much research for your stories?

Hamilton:  Not really. I do try to be accurate with dates and places. With Middle Grade fiction as I write, it’s all about setting the reader’s imagination free.

Paul:  What is your most recent book? Tell us a little about it

Hamilton:  My most recent book is Gold Fever, book #2 in The Apple Grove Gang series. The gang tries to make their fortune mining for gold. They have an earth shaking experience and the fun and adventure begin.

Paul:  What inspired you to write this book?

Hamilton:  My characters told me at the end of the first book that they wanted to have more fun! I had to write the second book.

Paul:  Do you also write any poetry, non-fiction or short stories?

Hamilton:  I have written a little poetry, in the past. I also have written a couple of short stories as well.

Paul:  Do you have any pieces of work that will never see the light of day?

Hamilton:  I’m working on a couple of novels, thriller types. They may never see daylight.

Paul:  Do you enter competitions? Are there any you could recommend?

Hamilton:  I haven’t yet. I would like to in the future.

Paul:  How much marketing do you do for your published works or for your ‘brand’?

Hamilton:  I do quite a lot of marketing. I do social media, blog, interviews. It’s a full time job to get your work out there.

Paul:  What’s your favorite / least favorite aspect of your writing life? Has anything surprised you?

Hamilton:  I love interacting with readers and other authors. The blurry lines between genres, let’s just say that I’ve seen books for 9-12 yr. olds that would make me blush.

Paul:  What do you do when you’re not writing? Do you have any hobbies or party tricks?

Hamilton:  I love to cook. It is a source of relaxation.

Paul:  Well thanks, Hamilton. I wish you the best of luck for the future.

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About Hamilton C. Burger: Always a reader, I inhaled books during my days of extensive world travel. Before the Nook and Kindle, even before laptops became the norm, I would pack six or eight paperbacks for an extended trip.

I had never, ever considered writing until I contacted an author about a fabulous book of theirs. It was suggested that I should try my hand writing. Here I am! I can never thank this person enough for the joy I recieve from writing.

I have been married 32 years. My wife and I have two beautiful daughters, Katie and Maddie.

Besides writing, I love to cook, travel and drive my Corvette. I have a dog and two cats.

Hamilton's Blog: Hamilton C. Burger
Hamilton on Twitter: @HamiltonCBurger
Hamilton on Facebook: Unknown!
Hamilton's latest book: Gold Fever (Amazon)

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NotDone Book Progress #5

Tomorrow is the day! I have procrastinated too long and now I need to buckle down and get this book written. My pencils are sharpened and my music is cued up. Speak to you soon!

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.Help
..Help!
...Please Help Us
....Everything is NotDone


Coming in 2013 - A new Sci-Fi novel from author Paul Dorset

...NotDone

http://NotDone.us

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Author Interview: Susan Jean Ricci

Today I am pleased to present to you all the thirty-third in a series of Author Interviews. Recently I sat down with the don't you dare touch my pen Susan Jean Ricci and our conversation went something like this:

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Paul:  I like to start my interviews by asking if you have any writing rituals?

Susan:  I can only write after gulping 2 cups of tea in the morning and checking my email. I ALWAYS have a mug of tea by the keyboard, even if it's 5pm. I need peace and quiet to compose anything decent, and since I'm very distractible to outside stimuli, I'm considering buying some earplugs.

Paul:  If someone had the power to step into your creative mind what would they see?

Susan:  One would see a kaleidoscope of vibrant colors and my thoughts swarming about like a hive filled with worker bees--there's always something buzzing around my brain.

Paul:  In all the years you’ve been publishing your work, what is the biggest mistake you made that you could share so others can avoid making it? 

Susan:  I once wrote a rebuttal regarding a piece my brother submitted to our local newspaper. Essentially I publicly called him a hypocrite and told him to live and let live. This caused a rift between us lasting almost a decade, so I wouldn't do that again--ever. Even though I still believe my opinion was way more fair than his...

Paul:  How do you find the time to write?

Susan:  I'm not working a day job now, so writing time comes easier for me than most writers who still have 9-5's. When I was downsized from my job, I thought, Wow! Now I have all the time in the world to write! It doesn't work that way, though. I have self-imposed goals and deadlines, because, as I said, I'm very distractible and I have to be very strict with myself. (The vacuum cleaner is in the hall beckoning me, so I must get up and close the door… There, that's better!)

Paul:  What is one thing you hope I do not tell the readers?

Susan:  Yikes! (Blush) I have a little OCD going on. I won't use anyone's pen but mine, and if I have to shake hands with a stranger, I always retrieve a wipe from my purse and discreetly wash my hands when no one's looking. This won't stop me from trying to have a book signing at my local book store, though! (Without gloves.)

Paul:  If you are self-published, what led to you going your own way?

Susan:  I joined a few online groups of authors who publish independently, right after attending a writer's conference consisting of mostly traditionally published authors. I even won an award for a piece I submitted for a contest at the conference, but I was curious about the hoopla surrounding self-publishing, so I sat on the fence with how to go, for two years. I read posts, asked questions, and explored this fantastic avenue of having total control over one's work, which pushed me over the edge to self publish. Plus, I didn't want to publish posthumously…

Paul:  Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Susan:  The story I'm working on now is a rewrite from a manuscript I began about 8 years ago, so I will be just running with it, accompanied by my worker bees. Dinosaurs & Cherry Stems was born after I wrote an article about the woes of Internet dating services. (Hate outlining.)

Paul:  Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

Susan:  I have a bad habit of editing as I go, which I'm trying to shake free from. I have a great editor now, so I'll be leaving the editing to him. (You can't see this, but I'm editing this interview as I go, tsk-tsk!)[Paul - I know, I had to edit a few pieces later, myself :-)]

Paul:  What is your most recent book? Tell us a little about it

Susan:  Dinosaurs & Cherry Stems is the story of a jaded woman's quest to put her past mistakes into what she calls, 'her memory cemetery' and begin life anew on her own terms. She has plenty. Boy, was she in for some surprises!

Paul:  Do you also write any poetry, non-fiction or short stories?

Susan:  I've been published in a number of magazines over the years, regarding topics I'm passionate about, like disabled people, raising teens, that sort of thing. I contribute to my local newspaper , but poetry eludes me...

Paul:  Do you enter competitions? Are there any you could recommend?

Susan:  I enter the Writer's Digest contests sponsored every year. In 2009, one of my essays won third place for Inspirational--that meant my name was published in the magazine, I received a year's subscription free, some Writers Market books, and $250!

Paul:  How much marketing do you do for your published works or for your ‘brand’?

Susan:  Online, I'm working it via Twitter and Facebook. Now that my book is available in paperback, I'll be pounding the pavement and soliciting all over the place.  

Paul:  What do you do when you’re not writing? Do you have any hobbies or party tricks?

Susan:  I love watching football, specifically the NY Giants, visiting my grandchildren, kayaking. Playing with Emma the Lab, and just being with my husband. Emma the Lab knows all the tricks. The only tricks I know are the trick or treat kind… ;)

Paul:  That was great, Susan. Many thanks and all the best for the future.

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About Susan Jean Ricci: Susan Jean Ricci has won several awards via the Writer's Digest 78th Annual Writer's Contest and the Philadelphia Writer's Conference. Her articles and rants have appeared in the Asbury Park Press, Parenting Teens Magazine, Good Dog Magazine, and Aim Intercultural Magazine. Susan is currently revising a contemporary novel called Slick Trespass and penning the sequel to Dinosaurs and Cherry Stems, The Sugar Ticket. Her eBook, Heart Marks the Spot: Three Short Stories, can also be found on Amazon.com.

Susan and her husband, Joseph, live in a little town in New Jersey near the sea. Together they have seven children and nine grandchildren. .

Susan's Website: Susan Jean Ricci
Susan on Twitter: @susanjeanricci
Susan on Facebook: Susan Jean Ricci
Susan's latest book: Dinosaurs & Cherry Stems (Amazon)

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Author Interview: Ani Chibukhchyan

Today I am pleased to present to you all the thirty-second in a series of Author Interviews. Recently I sat down with the review worrying Ani Chibukhchyan and our conversation went something like this:

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Paul:  I like to start my interviews by asking if you have any writing rituals?

Ani:  Not really. When, where and how depends on my creativity and excitement level of that moment. I do my best to write on a regular basis but that is not always the case.

Paul:  What types of books do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors? Why?

Ani:  I love books that make you feel and think. If the book evokes any kind of feelings then it is good enough for me. I especially like 'emotional' writers, such as Erich Maria Remarque, Somerset Maugham, Yanush Wishnevsky, Nicholas Sparks and Cecelia Ahern.

Paul:  If someone had the power to step into your creative mind what would they see?

Ani:  Ah, I wish I was able to step in there whenever I wanted to J They would most probably find many different and un-arranged thoughts about life, love, success, stars, people, etc. as well as ideas of many unwritten books and stories.

Paul:  How do you find the time to write?

Ani:  I did not have time to write at all. That is why I decided to give up the biggest time consuming component from my life – my full-time corporate job. Now I do not have the excuse of not having time anymore.

Paul:  What is one thing you hope I do not tell the readers?

Ani:  Shhhh... Don't tell them that I feel intimidated by negative reviews.

Paul:  If you are self-published, what led to you going your own way?

Ani:  Independence is of high value for me. Self-publishing was the best way of bypassing many barriers and not depending on anyone but myself. Besides, I would not like to share the credit of my future success with anyone else but the people who encouraged me and the readers.

Paul:  Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Ani:  It depends on what I write. In the case of short stories I have no idea what I will be writing about when I start. I just write a sentence, which comes to my mind and it flows by itself. I just type fast to make sure I match the speed of my thoughts.

With the novel it is more complicated. Here I come up with the global story-line and major plot points and start from there.

Paul:  Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

Ani:  I hate editing although I realize that at least minimum editing is required before writings get published. Let's say it's more a proofreading than editing – simply polishing the grammar and correcting spelling mistakes, that's all. After all if the muse had dictated that specific word or phrase that is one which needs to be in there.

Paul:  What is your most recent book? Tell us a little about it

Ani:  My recent book is actually my first and only book for now. It is called Emotional Moments and it is collection of 23 stories, which were written in different periods of my life. Stories are pretty short but quite deep. I hope that they make readers feel and think. Most of the stories are about love, memories, time, changes and life in general.

Paul:  What inspired you to write this book?

Ani:  Hmmm... Life and some beer I guess.

Paul:  Do you also write any poetry, non-fiction or short stories?

Ani:  Actually I started from poetry, although I have not published my poems yet. Short stories are the most comfortable format for me so far. My first novel is still in process so I cannot tell you about it yet.

As to non fiction – I am the author of Life Probabilities blog (www.lifeprobabilities.com), where I write posts about how to increase possibilities of fulfilled, happy and successful life.

Paul:  What do you do when you’re not writing? Do you have any hobbies or party tricks?

Ani:  What I do mostly when I am not writing? – I am being a wife and mother.  Besides that I love reading, blogging, travelling and daydreaming.

Paul:  Well thanks, Ani. I wish you every success for the future.

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About Ani Chibukhchyan: I have been writing since my teenage years. Back then I did not realize that it was more than a period, interest or hobby. That is why I listened to the left part of my brain and studied business instead :-)

Finally I left my 10+ year career behind and decided to follow my passion. At present I am in the transitional period of transforming my writings from hobby to career. I am writer and blogger now.

Still can't believe that I am Amazon bestselling author of Emotional Moments - book of short stories about life.

At present I am working on my first novel.

Ani's Blog: Life Probabilities
Ani on Twitter: @Ani_LifeProb
Ani on Facebook: Life Probabilities
Ani's latest book: Emotional Moments (Amazon)

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Author Interview: Stewart Spaull

Today I am pleased to present to you all the thirty-first in a series of Author Interviews. Recently I sat down with the optimistic Bee Gee singing Stewart Spaull and our conversation went something like this:

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Paul:  I like to start my interviews by asking if you have any writing rituals?

Stewart:  I really had to think about this one. Does having a pad of American yellow legal notepaper open on the desk, to scribble on, count? Come to think of it, I also prefer to use Pilot Hi-Tecpoint V7 pens, although V5s are acceptable at a push.

Paul:  What types of books do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors? Why?

Stewart:  Crime fiction is my favorite and I like Henning Mankell, Raymond Chandler, Ian Rankin, Peter James and – a recent discovery – Peter Robinson, who writes the Detective Chief Inspector Banks stories. My favorite author is David Peace -- I would take his Red Riding Quartet to my desert island. Peace takes real events and writes top-flight fiction based on them, and in the Red Riding Quartet, he covers the Yorkshire Ripper, the Stalker Affair and the Stefan Kiszko case. I also enjoy non-fiction immensely and read biographies, historical books and true crime (especially Gordon Burn and Joseph Wambaugh).

Paul:  If someone had the power to step into your creative mind what would they see?

Stewart:  Absolute chaos. Too many ideas floating about, many of which go missing because I can’t write them down or type them fast enough. It’s very difficult to pick things out and focus, but somehow, I just about manage.

Paul:  What is a typical day for you? 

Stewart:  I’ve just started freelancing, so I get up, get ready, then have a coffee and sit at the dining table to do some work. I break to walk the dog in the park, then get back to the laptop. I’m essentially a night owl but I’ve had it knocked out of me during several years in the conventional working world. My creativity is heightened at night, so I’ll gravitate towards the novel I’m working on, perhaps with some wine and jazz. My wife is an academic and an artist, and also works from home. It’s wonderful to be able to take breaks, relax over dinner together and make each other laugh.

Paul:  Do you have a favorite character in each of your series, aside from the lead? If so, which one and why? 

Stewart:  I’ve just written the first book in this series, which I am calling the Northern Quartet, since it centers on the Northern Quarter, an area of Manchester. I’m rather fond of Detective Constable Wetherall. Some of his vocabulary is the sort of stuff you’d find in the Viz “Profanisaurus”, as are certain things I say myself in social settings. Wetherall says these things in more polite settings, which I wish I could get away with myself. Don’t worry, though – we’re not talking Duke of Edinburgh level gaffes here. He’s basically got the mind of a fourteen year old boy!

Paul:  How do you find the time to write?

Stewart:  I couldn’t find much, until recently, when I was mentally and physically exhausted and had to take time off work. I opened my laptop and looked through the first chapters of a detective novel that I had started writing in early March -- at a slow rate. I decided to continue, and found it therapeutic. My GP was pleased I was engaging in something giving me some structure to my day, and my wife was – and is – tremendously encouraging and supportive. I now write all the time, having decided to go freelance.

Paul:  What is one thing you hope I do not tell the readers?

Stewart:  That I’m a fairly well-adjusted guy with a happy life, and I’m an optimist. It doesn’t go with the image of a crime fiction writer really, does it? Best keep it under your hat. Far better that people think I’m a morose character full of intractable demons.

Paul:  If you are self-published, what led to you going your own way?

Stewart:  Probably my intense fear of rejection letters! I wanted to put my work out there and let the reading public decide whether or not to buy it. The alternative was to submit it to publishers and probably get knock-backs because it’s not marketable or what they’re looking for at this time.  Writers don’t have to do that, these days. There’s a beautiful egalitarianism about self-publishing: it doesn’t matter who you are; if you can write something that people find engaging, you can do well out of it. Or at least have a better chance than you might through conventional publishing.

Paul:  Do you plot your stories or do you just get an idea and run with it?

Stewart:  I have to have a plot, but I don’t follow it slavishly. I tried writing novels for years during my twenties and would sit and write, just thinking and hoping it would go somewhere, but every attempt petered out after twenty-odd thousand words. I need the structure there. Once I had plotted Steps In The Shadows, I followed the structure but improvised around it. I’m planning to do a James Ellroy-style superstructure for the next novel. He referred to this in an interview for The Paris Review (http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/5948/the-art-of-fiction-no-201-james-ellroy). I get the feeling it will give me some comfort.

Paul:  Do you do a lot of editing or do you find that as time goes on your writing is more fully-formed?

Stewart:  In the early stages of the first draft, I had to fight the urge to edit too much. I found that, in the last few chapters of that draft, I was writing in a more fully formed way. When it came to the second draft, I did extensive rewriting of the first few chapters and had to add about ten chapters in the first half, just so everything would make sense. But later on, the chapters didn’t need as much editing and I inserted only one or two extra scenes.

Paul:  Do you have to do much research for your stories?

Stewart:  Even though it’s a detective novel and therefore it’s important to get things right, I probably don’t need to research as much as I do, but I have an obsessive personality. The internet makes it easy to conduct research. For example, Google Street View enables you to walk in the shoes of your characters. I know Manchester city center very well. I’ve walked along most of its streets, but when I was writing one of the chapters, I needed to check whether the route I was taking would be plausible under the circumstances. I went on Google Street View and tracked it.

Paul:  What is your most recent book? Tell us a little about it

Stewart:  Steps In The Shadows is a book about the murder of a young woman, whose body is found on a building site. The copper working the case is Detective Inspector Molyneux, and it’s his first case at this rank – he’s only been promoted recently. So he’s thrust into this case, having to find a killer while he’s only just finding his feet. He’s a decent guy with good values, dealing with some horrific stuff. He’s not entirely comfortable wearing the cloak of authority, his personal life’s a bit chaotic and he doesn’t enjoy the healthiest of relationships with his boss.

Paul:  What inspired you to write this book?

Stewart:  David Peace once said he “[didn't] really see the point of making up crimes.” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/feb/10/writers-true-crime-david-peace). It’s definitely true crimes that inspired me. In early 2010, the remains of a woman were found when builders were working on the new Co-op headquarters in Manchester. (http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1191952_murder_hunt_after_skeleton_found_on_building_site). There was another case at the start of this year, when the body of a young woman was found on the Sandringham Estate. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jan/08/sandringham-body-identified-latvian-student). So I had a crime based on these that my detective character could investigate. There was a series of attacks in central Manchester’s Northern Quarter in late 2011 and early 2012 (http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1581139_my-terror-at-hands-of-northern-quarter-sex-beast-brave-victim-speaks-out-as-attacker-is-jailed), which inspired the quartet’s overarching theme. In addition, society inspires me -- especially how the media reports crime, particularly crimes against women. (Yes, there is a journalist character in the series!)

Paul:  Do you also write any poetry, non-fiction or short stories?

Stewart:  I haven’t written any poetry since school. I have written a short story on my blog. I would love to write non-fiction. I plan to write about one of my favorite bands, which will take a massive amount of research but I’ll love it. I also want to write true crime. A few years ago, I started scribbling some notes about a particular case that fascinated me. I wanted to turn the notes into a book as good as Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood”, or Gordon Burn’s “Happy Like Murderers” -- a psycho-sociological study, but in my own voice. I didn’t feel confident that I could pull off such a task, so I shelved it.

Paul:  Do you enter competitions? Are there any you could recommend?

Stewart:  I don’t, although I’ve not ruled out having a go. My wife bought me a subscription to Writers’ Forum magazine and their monthly fiction competition looks good. I’ve enjoyed reading some of the stories in there, and they give the winning writers a pretty thorough critique.

Paul:  How much marketing do you do for your published works or for your ‘brand’?

Stewart:  A few weeks before publication, I started tweeting, blogging about it and I even made a Facebook page. I think there are only so many tweets people can read about a certain book, or album, or product, before they get sick of the sight of it. People reading and recommending it to others is probably the best marketing – I just hope the recent “sockpuppeting” scandal will not hurt indie writers. I’m sure there must be many genuine reviews out there. With e-books, you can read sample chapters anyway, so you can see for yourself and decide whether to buy the entire thing.

Paul:  What’s your favorite / least favorite aspect of your writing life? Has anything surprised you?

Stewart:  I’d say probably the editing, especially when you find a massive hole in the plot – something you didn’t think through properly but is essential to the story, so you have to write a lot more to deal with it. I don’t think anything has surprised me, although I would have hoped for greater uptake of the pre-release marketing I did!

Paul:  What do you do when you’re not writing? Do you have any hobbies or party tricks?

Stewart:  When I’m not writing, I enjoy life with my immensely beautiful and talented wife and our incredibly cute dog. I love cooking and entertaining. I read voraciously and I am addicted to jazz, especially jazz fusion – I listen to jazz constantly and I co-presented a jazz radio show every two weeks for three years on a community radio station in Manchester, ALL FM. (http://allfm.org/) I also enjoy running. Party tricks? Probably funny voices, accents and impressions – a passable Alan Partridge and, in keeping with my appearance, a bit of Bee Gees style falsetto. But only after a few drinks.

Paul: Thanks Stewart. That was most entertaining. Good luck!

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About Stewart Spaull: Stewart Spaull was born in Chesterfield in 1980. Following years of experience in every possible sector after his graduation, it seemed only natural to become a freelance writer and editor. He lives in Manchester with his wife and their dog. Steps In The Shadows is his first book.

Stewart's Blog: Stewart Spaull
Stewart on Twitter: @StewartSpaull
Stewart on Facebook: Stewart Spaull
Stewart's latest book: Steps In The Shadows (Amazon)

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