It is a Great honor and a Pleasure to bring back Award Winning Author~Alexandrea Weis. Thank you for today's interview Alexandrea. I wish you much success in your writing endeavors.
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~~~Author Interview #3~~~
In your opinion, what does it take to become successful?
A lot of promotion, and some basic good writing. I think the promotion may get you some attention, but to be successful and to keep building a name as a writer, you have to be able to write compelling stories that leaves the reader wanting more of your style and stories.
Are your characters created from people you've known, or strictly from the imagination?
Most of my characters have bits and pieces of people I have known, but some characters I do create. It's the nuances that make a character memorable. How they talk; what they say; how they react;gestures; movements; and their nature all make the reader believe that they are real. As a writer, you have to first make them real to you, and then you will write them as you see them. Every character matters in a story, just as every person matters in your life. A word or gesture can change the course of a character's evolution, just as it can change a person's life.
Do you plan on writing a book every year?
I write at least two or three books a year. Once a story is in my head, I have to get it down, which makes me sound obsessive. But, to get better and be successful, you have to always be writing. I love to get lost in my stories, and I am the happiest on my computer, creating a new world for me and the characters. The saddest day is when the book goes to the publisher for release. I feel like it isn't my baby anymore, and I can no longer tweak it to death.
Have you ever had the pleasure of meeting a fan?
I have had the pleasure of meeting people who love my books. It is an interesting experience, because once they know it is you, their whole attitude changes. I could be a regular Joe on the street, but once they find out that I am a writer of a book they loved, I become like family, and that is always an honor.
What are your goals in the future of your writing journey?
To keep writing, to keep building an audience, and to keep creating stories that I would love to read. Someone once told me to write for myself, don't write to find a publisher, by creating something you think someone else will want to read. That was the best advice I ever got, and as I progress in my career, I am finding that advice to be more true than ever.
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It is an honor to bring back Author Behcet Kaya. Thank you for Today's Interview. I wish you much Success.
Author of: 'Voice Of Conscience' 5 Star Review
Author of: 'Murder On The Naval Base'
~~~Author Interview #2~~~
Has a movie ever inspired you to write a story?
The movie, CONDUCT UNBECOMING, was the inspiration for 'MURDER ON THE NAVAL BASE.'
Did you have favorite books as a child?
All the Mike Hammer books, which were translated into Turkish. I would hide under my bed with a flashlight, so that my father would not know what I was reading.
Describe your perfect reading place.
Starbucks, with a cup of coffee.
Have you ever experienced writer's block?
Not really, as I write at my own pace. When the ideas come, I write until there's nothing left to write.
What does it take to become successful?
The respect of my readers.
It is a Pleasure and a Great honor to bring back Author Ann Gimpel. Author of: 'PSYCHE'S PROPHECY' 5 Star Review, And Author of: 'PSYCHE'S SEARCH.' Thank you Ann for today's Interview. I wish you much Success in your writing endeavors.
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~~~Author Interview #2~~~
Has a movie ever inspired you to write a story?
I'd love to say it has, but since my husband is hard of hearing, we don't see very many movies in theaters. Though, we certainly could watch DVDs at home. It always seems there's something else we'd rather do.
Have you ever experienced writer's block?
I almost hate to say not yet, because it may turn around and jinx me. So far, the ideas keep coming. Like anything else, practice is important. Rather than waiting for inspiration, I sometimes force myself to write. Something always comes. An online critique group that I belong to has something called 'short story in a week.' This group, known as SSIAW, is something we do twice a year. There's a list of words for a prompt, and I write a story, using all the words. Over the course of a month, there are four opportunities to write something. Many of my published shorts started out as SSIAWs that were polished and reworked.
Describe your perfect reading location?
That's easy. In my tent, after a long day on the trail, curled-up in a warm down sleeping bag. E-readers, like my Kindle, are perfect because I'm a fast reader, and that way I can bring several books for long back-country trips. So far, the only glitch has been that Kindles are very temperature sensitive. They do not like being cold. So, I have to drape the down bag over the Kindle to be able to keep clicking the pages. The iPad isn't nearly as devastated by cold, which is too bad, since it's too heavy to backpack with.
What does it take to become successful?
A thick skin, and the ability to be persistent. Other than the odd author, like Diana Gabaldon, who had 'OUTLANDER' sold before she was done writing it, just about everyone else has a wall of rejection emails or letters. Native writing helps too. There's a beauty and cadence to the English language that you either have an ear for, or you don't.
How important is a book cover?
Very! It's the first decision point for a reader, where they decide if they want to read the blurb. The cover of my first book was one of my photographs. There's a story behind the cover for the second one, 'PSYCHE'S SEARCH.' I couldn't find a photograph that felt right, and I had a specific scene from the book in mind for the cover. My publisher provides covers, but they're so busy, I don't like to bother them. In any event, I hired a fellow who shall remain nameless. He was a pretty big name in the cover design business for science fiction and fantasy books. We had a contract. He was supposed to send me a sketch to comment on. A couple of weeks went by, and he sent me something. I didn't like it, because it had a barely clad woman on a raised platform in chains. Not the feel that I wanted at all. When I asked him to change it, he refused. A pitched email battle ensued. Eventually, I got most of my money back, probably because he'd broken the terms of our agreement. I found another cover artist in Florida, and she did the cover with lots of feedback back-and-forth. I learned a lot from experience. Now, I ask a lot more questions up front.
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It is a pleasure and a Great honor to Interview Author Robert Bangor Today. Thank you Kindly for your time. I wish you much Success.
~~Author of "THE BURNT CITY"
~~A Novel Of Iran On The Eve Of Revolution
~~Author Interview~~
What inspires you to write?
Passing over issues such as ego and psyche, I think I have loved words as I have loved music since childhood, and I have felt impelled to create in both. I started writing again when I was overseas in East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, partly because I could use the money, and partly to share my experience with others. Ideas for short fiction came from situations, some real, some imagined, and some derived from articles I was writing.
When I returned from Iran in 1980, I had just witnessed an historic revolution, the fall of the Pahlavi dynasty. I was caught in crossfire three times and had to run for cover, and felt the need to express myself about it. I wrote a few articles, one or two were published. Also, I remembered incidents and people, and began to think about my experiences in terms of fiction. The first draft of "THE BURNT CITY" was a product of that period. Then I got a job overseas, and my writing was once again put on hold until retirement, when I began publishing translations from classical Persian. Most of my fiction derives from my overseas experiences. I don't know if I could call it inspiration, but I enjoy writing and would like to share my enjoyment with those who care to do so. Perhaps, I write because I cannot conceive not writing.
Who is your favorite author?
My reading taste has always been rather catholic. I enjoy history, from Herodotus through Gibbon to the moderns. I enjoy philosophy, especially Plato and the Greeks. Also, enjoy biography, ancient and modern. With regard to fiction, my favorite author changes from time-to-time. I think I had my first awakening in high school, our English teacher gave us the task of reading "SILAS MARNER" by George Eliot. Most of us groaned when our teacher told us what it was about. I began reading it as a chore, and finished it as a convert.
I quickly went on to Dickens, Hawthorne, Melville, etc. A few years later, I discovered the Russians. Tolstoy's "WAR AND PEACE" is a blockbuster of a novel in more ways than one. I re-read it every five years or so. Then, I ventured to do Maupassant, Zola, Dumas and other French greats. At the same time, I enjoy reading mystery and adventure novels. I think I have read most of the books by Agatha Christie, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Alistair MacLean, and Hammond Innes. Most recently, I have been reading John Grisham, Nelson DeMille, Lawrence Block and Ruth Rendell. I think my favorite author is the author I happened to be reading at the time the question is posed, if I am enjoying the book.
Did you enjoy reading as child?
I was fortunate in having a father, who seemed always to have a book in his hand, when he was home and relaxing. He was fond of history, philosophy, and other series subjects. He didn't read much fiction, but he revered Shakespeare, and the unsurpassed beauty of the 'King James Version' of the Bible. My mother taught me my alphabet, before I started school. There was no pre-school for us in those days. I recall that one of my early teachers read "THE SECRET GARDEN" to us in class, and we were all enthralled. A few years later, in my early teens, I discovered TARZAN, and read every volume of that series that our local library possessed. So, I can say 'yes.' I enjoyed reading as a child very much, just as I do an adult.
How important is a book cover?
I realize that book covers today are a form of high art, and artists work hard to get one's attention with an enticing front cover of a paperback, or the jacket of a hardback. However, when I go to the library or a bookshop to select a book to read, I usually see the spine first with the name of the author and the title of the book, which grabs my attention. Then, I turn to the back cover. It should give the reader a hint of what the book is about, and maybe something about the author. Then, I look at the front cover.
Do you have current work in progress?
I am currently working on "THE SHROUDS OF MOHARRAM." This is the second of the two novels I drafted in the nineteen-eighties. I am also collecting my miscellaneous essays, articles, and short stories for possible future publication.
"THE SHROUDS OF MOHARRAM" is Prelude to Evolution. "THE BURNT CITY" takes place in 1978-1979, while "THE SHROUDS OF MOHARRAM" begins in 1963. I arrived in Iran in 1964.
