Fresh Voice: Darius McCaskey!

"we do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit." - E.E. Cummings

Welcome to the latest edition of Fresh Voices. We are delighted to share with you the voice of Darius McCaskey!

What is your ultimate writing goal?
Ultimate goal? That almost sounds as if I have a master plan like a comic-book super-villain. To be fair though, Lex Luthor seems like a pretty cool guy. I mean, aside from the megalomania and all-consuming hate of Superman.

Seriously, my ultimate goal is to change someone's life. It sounds egotistical, but it's the truth. When I was young, I escaped an often less-than-pleasant childhood by reading. I read all sorts of books: horror, sci-fi, philosophy, anything (hell, I used to read the dictionary for fun). Losing myself in stories got me through the worst parts of growing up. If my writing gives some kid a brief reprieve from their troubles, I'll consider myself a success.


Why do you write?
I write to avoid the asylum and the tavern. I write to cast my own shadow on Plato's cave wall. I write to leave a legacy for my child.

Have you worked to achieve your voice or is it just a natural style for you?
I think one's literary voice is always changing. No one emerges from the womb a master of the language. Likewise, experience colors one's work. No one's voice is static. It's a work in progress.

That being said, I was pretty happy when I Write Like's (http://iwl.me) analysis showed one of my current projects reads like Kurt Vonnegut.

Who are your favorite authors and why do you like them?
Speaking of Kurt Vonnegut... I can't say enough wonderful things about Kurt Vonnegut. If I had to pick one author as my absolute favorite, it would be him. My worn, dime-store copy of “Welcome to the Monkey House” is one of my most prized possessions. Satire, wit, humor – whatever you want to call it – Vonnegut had in spades and wrapped it in compact, to-the-point prose.

Edgar Allen Poe. Inventor of the modern detective story, unparalleled American poet, complete and utter lush: what's not to love? Poe's dark, evocative imagery and macabre subjects resonate with me. “The Cask of Amontillado” is one of my all-time favorite stories.

Michael Stackpole. Stack's written many sci-fi and fantasy novels, most notably “I, Jedi.” He's an outspoken advocate of the fantasy role-playing game industry, and has been interviewed several times on the subject. Mike's one of the nicest, most articulate and genuine people I've met.

Neil Gaiman. Neil's written comics, children's books, novels, screenplays and more. The breadth and depth of his work is inspiring. He's the Michael Jordan of literature. When I grow up, I want to be like Neil.

What most attracts you to the life of a writer?
Is the answer 42? Wait. No, that was something else. What was the question again?

If you couldn't be a writer but knew you were guaranteed success at a different career, what would you choose?
Music has been as important a part of my life as reading and writing, so if I couldn't be a writer, I'd be a musician. Actually, I played in a few garage bands in high school. Like Paul Rudd's character in “I Love You, Man,” I've been known to slappa da bass. The RIAA will be happy to know, however, that my guitar is safely languishing in a storage unit in northern Illinois.

If you had to describe your writing in one word, what would that word be?
Visceral.

What's the best writing advice you've ever gotten?
Omit needless words. Thank you, William Strunk. I'm trying.

Darius McCaskey is an author, poet, editor and game designer. He lives in northern Illinois with his beautiful and talented wife, Tiffanie, and their precocious daughter, Muirne. Darius can be found (far too frequently) on Facebook Twitter (@vaygh). His blog, Intentionally Vaygh, is ranked # 1 in Google's list of blogs named “Intentionally Vaygh.” You can connect with Darius on Goodreads (http://www.goodreads.com/Vaygh) and read an excerpt from his upcoming zombie story, “Serve Yourself.” His poetry chapbook, “Angst and Wrath,” is available in print and electronically through Amazon, the iBookstore, Lulu, Smashwords and other fine retailers.

Blooming Author: Jonathan Weyer!

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.” ~ George Sheehan

Jonathan Weyer's book The Faithful is coming out from Brio Press in October 2010.

Tell us about your book The Faithful. What is it about and where will it be available?

I'll let the "book flap" speak:

Aidan Schaeffer is a young pastor at a crossroads. Conflicted with his faith in God and the hypocrisy of the church, he feels alone and depressed. His only companion is his dog, Bishop. When he begins to doubt his faith, he knows he is entering a spiritual battleground. He panics and starts searching for answers.

Then he learns his ex-fiancée is murdered in a possibly demonic ritual and he finds himself catapulted into a deeper fight. Tormented by supernatural entities, Aidan becomes a medium that will hold the key to solving this murder mystery. Readers will find that The Faithful tears at the emotions and doubts of humankind.

You'll be able to get the book anywhere. It's on all the major booksites for pre-order. Plus, there will be an e-version for Kindle and iPad.


What were your inspirations for The Faithful? What sorts of thing inspire you as a writer in general?

There are quite a few different inspirations running through The Faithful. One, would be my experience as a minister and my work with people who struggle with their faith. Plus, not to mention hanging out with atheists the past two years.
Two, I just love scary stories. As a kid, I wasn't really allowed to watch movies like Friday the 13th. I scared myself by reading "real" scary stories about ghosts,Bigfoot and the Mothman. I love novels that really attempt to explore the relationship between the seen and unseen worlds. The novels of Charles Williams have been a huge influence. In fact, he is mentioned in the novel. I really love seeing people (so far anyway) react to the story. It really completes the whole writing experience for me.


Let's talk about your process. How do you approach a story, do you start with outlines or something else? Where did you work when writing The Faithful? Do you think it was the optimal writing environment for you?

I think my stories begin with the "What if?" question. With The Faithful, I started with the question, "what if a Presbyterian minister went around investigating paranormal events?' After I asked the what if question (Thank you, Stephen King), I'll outline a plot in my head. With The Faithful, I outlined the whole plot in a five minute shower. I need at least a loose idea of where I'm going, even if it changes later on.

I work in a coffee house when I write. I very rarely write at home, because of all the distractions. There is an amazing coffee house right near my house in Columbus.

Tell us about your "story of getting published."

I'm guessing this is going to be one of the most bizarre publishing stories you have posted. So, after writing, I did the whole query an agent process. Nothing. I did it for six months and nearly gave up. Then, a friend of mine in Texas met a rep for my publisher at a church small group.

And so, I sent my manuscript to the rep. A few months later, I heard from her boss at Brio Publishing, William Reynolds. Will loved the book and said Brio wanted to publish the book. Brio's business modal focuses on subsidy publishing and I told Will I couldn't swing it financially. He said, "Jonathan, this book is so good, I would hate to see it not be published. Let me see what I can do."

In the next few months, Will talked with his distribution partner, Lerner Publishing in Minnesota. Lerner loved the book as well and gave Will the go ahead. Will sent me in email in January and said Brio wanted to publish The Faithful in the traditional way. I didn't get an advance, but I get a huge percentage of the sales. Plus, with Lerner, the distribution of the book is all over the world. I love being able to tell people my book made a company change their business model.

Plus, given the current state of publishing, I really feel like I got the best of both words. I get creative control while having all the benefits of a publisher. My editor at Brio brought me pain, but it was a good pain. She went over the manuscript many times, more times than she wanted to, I'm sure. The publicist at Brio has been setting up interviews and I have already done two. Plus, she has set up some
fantastic book signings.

In fact, I told a friend of mine all the stuff Brio had been doing for me. She has a few books published by a fairly major publisher. She couldn't believe all the stuff Brio had done for me, especially in the publicity department. I think I made her jealous.


What are the publicity plans you have coming up?

I have a book tour that will start on October 1st. See my website (jonathanweyer.com) for details and stops that include, Columbus, Cincinnati, the Eerie Horror film festival, Philly and St. Louis. I'm adding more all the time, so keep checking back.

I'm also doing a number of radio interviews, especially on paranormal shows. Plus, I'll be doing blog interviews, and of course, Twitter (@spookypastor).

Actually, for authors, I can't stress enough how important Twitter is for your promotion. A Time Magazine journalist has read my book and gave it an amazing review on Amazon. I have also met movie producers and blog people who have given the book a major push. So, moral of the story, get on Twitter and learn how to use it well.

Fresh Voice: Rachel Colina!

"we do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit." - E.E. Cummings

Welcome to the latest edition of Fresh Voices. We are delighted to share with you the voice of Rachel Colina!

What is your ultimate writing goal?
This question is at once easy and scary. I think about writing. I talk about writing. And I certainly write about writing. A lot. But what is my ultimate writing goal?

“Only connect,” E.M. Forster said, and that’s it. That is all. Connect people, connect ideas, connect seemingly disparate times and places. Connect myself.

(Of course I hope that ultimately this results in publication and readers and long-term happiness…)


Why do you write?
I write in order to make sense of the world. If I’m confused about something or someone, I write about it. I try to understand and explore different points of view. But more than that, I love stories; it doesn’t matter if the story is about my family, myself, or someone I have made up. Flannery O’Connor wrote that “a story is a way to say something that can’t be said any other way, and it takes every word in that story to say what the meaning is.” I relish telling that story, revealing that meaning.


Your writing is both sweet and smart. Have you worked to achieve that voice or is it just a natural style for you?
When I was a child—timid, shy, but oh-so interested in the world around me—I would replay in my head conversations I had listened to throughout the day. I couldn’t wait until I was alone so I could “hear” them again! I would add my own narration and think about what I would have said if I were a little braver.

My writing voice is the one I hear in my head; it’s optimistic and nudges me to be more compassionate and understanding. When I write fiction, I draw from those conversations I’ve been cataloging throughout my life. My writing and language are grounded in my experiences and observations.


Who are your favorite authors and why do you  like them?
I’ve read everything by Flannery O’Connor and love the ugly and flawed characters that populate her stories, from Hulga (born “Joy”), the one-legged woman who believes in “nothing” and who attempts to seduce a traveling bible salesman, to Mrs. Turpin, who gets a book thrown at her and is called an old warthog inside a doctor’s office. I enjoy the short stories of Amy Bloom, Raymond Carver, Tobias Wolff, Lee Smith, and too many others to count!

I also love Barbara Kingsolver and Jhumpa Lahiri, and I’m getting impatient for another book by Jeffery Eugenides. My favorite authors are ones who let their characters drive the action and not the other way around.


What most attracts you to the life of a writer?
I used to joke that I’d love to be a perpetual student; take classes, write papers, and learn tons and tons of stuff!  “If only I could get paid to be a student,” I’d say. But being a writer is even better. I direct my own learning, steer my own education.

Until last month, I taught Composition and Introduction to Literature to nursing students. There was so much I loved about being a teacher. I helped them find their voice and shape their own writing. But while I played an important role, their successes and failures were their own. I think today’s writers are more connected than ever; writing is a less solitary endeavor than twenty or even ten years ago. Still, our successes and failures are our own. My own.


If you couldn't be a writer but knew you were guaranteed success at a different career, what would you choose?
I’m sure I would be an educator of some sort, whether leading a creative writing workshop for older adults or teaching children how to make homemade paper in an afterschool program. My mom teaches third grade and my dad, formerly a principal, is building schools and resource centers in Kenya; education is in my blood.


If you had to describe your writing in one word, what would that word be?
Wistful.



What's the best writing advice you've ever gotten?
In the first writing class I took as a freshman, our assigned text was William Zinsser’s “On Writing Well.” Zinsser stresses the importance of clarity in writing; eliminate clutter, redundant words, the “thousand and one adulterants” that weaken our sentences. I carry that advice with me in all my writing, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, formal or informal, and I’ve passed it on to my own students.


Rachel currently resides in Cincinnati, OH, where she cheers on the Reds and cannot wait to see what happens when Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco line up together for the Bengals. She doesn’t have any pets, but she does have a giant stuffed penguin named Wally given to her during a stay in the hospital as a teenager. Rachel’s blog, Perfect Sand, is named after a holiday she and her best friend made up in 1989, wherein they meticulously filtered a neighbor’s sandbox (“Perfect Sand Day” remains November 3rd). She started the blog two years ago to post pictures from her trip to London and has since been using it to chronicle her journey as a daughter, teacher, and aspiring writer. For a sample of her personal, nonfiction writing, check out this post from January, Communities. (She’s currently building a wordpress site to house her fiction). Follow Rachel on twitter (perfectsand), but beware of tweets about the Reds, politics, and libraries in addition to ones about writing!

Check out: http://perfectsand.blogspot.com/2010/01/communities.html

Blooming Author: Adi Alsaid!

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.” ~ George Sheehan
 
Adi Alsaid is a literary fiction writer with a commercial slant whose book Somewhere Over the Sun will be available from Dog Ear Press in November 2010.


Tell us about Somewhere Over the Sun. What is it about and where will it be available?

The story follows Alan, a spirited young writer with a wandering imagination who has discovered that the stories he writes are suddenly coming to life. At the suggestion of his loving father, Alan embarks on a quixotic journey to visit friends and use his new-found gift to write them all happier lives.

There are a few limitations to his power; he can’t cure diseases, he can’t summon pots of gold, and each story leaves behind some physical discomfort. However, the appreciative and optimistic Alan is not deterred from creating fantastical characters and storylines to give his friends more literary lives.

Interlaced by the lovely and true to life vignettes he writes for his friends, the narrative takes us inside the imaginative Alan’s thoughts and those of his hosts; college friends, a childhood chum, his editor and a former love.

It will be available on Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, borders.com and all other major online retailers. It will be distributed by Ingram, so it’ll be available internationally at brick-and-mortar stores.


What were your inspirations for Somewhere Over the Sun? What sorts of thing inspire you as a writer in general?

Like pretty much everything else I’ve ever written, it started as just a thought while lying in bed one night. I maneuvered through my dark room to turn the computer back on and write down the thought, then left it alone for months. By the time I was ready to write the novel, the idea had changed into what is now the basic synopsis.

I like to think that I can be inspired by anything. At some point in Somewhere Over the Sun, Alan, who as I mentioned is also a writer, talks about how writing is by and large waiting for inspiration to come, much like a surfer waits for a wave to form. I don’t think writers ever have a choice when it comes to inspiration. It’s just about being out in the ocean for long enough, waiting for the wave, and hoping to ride it as best as you possibly can while it’s there.

Unlike surfing, though, a writer can always be attacked by a silently approaching wave, even when you’re not aware that you’re in the ocean, so it’s crucial to always have a surfboard with you (in a writer’s case, pen, paper, a note-taking application on a cell phone).


Let's talk about your process. How do you approach a story, do you start with outlines or something else? Where did you work when writing Somewhere Over the Sun? Do you think it was the optimal writing environment for you?

I wrote the outline for Somewhere Over the Sun while I was living in Las Vegas. That was a pretty big deal for me, because I usually just get a sentence in my head and try to form a story from that, which results in me never finishing anything I start writing.

But I knew I wanted to take a more organized approach to the book, so I got an outline together, threw a going-away party, and left everyone I know to go live on the coast of California. I’m a social guy, and having friends around would be too much of a distraction. So I moved to Monterey, CA, armed with an outline, free time, and an array of coffee shops to write at.

It turned out to be a good decision. I was writing 1,100 words a day for the first month, mostly in coffee shops during the day or on my inflatable mattress in the middle of the night. It gave me the opportunity, for the first time in my life, to fully submerge myself in my writing. I made it my full-time job, and in 3 months the book was done. I spent another month doing rewrites before I began sending out queries to agents.


Tell us about your "story of getting published." How long did you submit before you were accepted? How did it feel to get accepted?

I queried dozens of agents for a couple of months. Two of them requested my manuscript, and both of them passed because they felt it was not the right project for them, although they did have good things to say and assured me that the project would be right for someone else.

Unfortunately, time wasn’t on my side, and I could no longer sit around and wait for agents to respond. I am not a citizen of the U.S, and currently on what’s called an OPT visa which expires at the end of 2010. To ensure that my book would be published in time for me to get a new visa, I chose to go the self-publishing route. I’m thankful that the option exists. This way I can make some agents regret their decision to pass me up, and hopefully stay in the country to be able to promote my book.


What are the publicity plans you have coming up?

I’ve got my blog running at www.somewhereoverthesun.com and have been steadily increasing my audience by promoting on my Facebook page and on my Twitter account @adialsaid. I recently held a writing contest in which I had readers submit a story that they would like to see come to life. The winner got to read my manuscript prior to publication.

The book will be announced by a press release to 1,000 targeted media outlets. I’m also putting together a virtual book tour which will hopefully lead to a non-virtual book tour. My plan is to mix guerilla marketing efforts with my ability to take rejection lightly. Even if the chances are slight, I’ll be sending emails or placing phone calls to everyone from local newspapers and book stores to Oprah and Jon Stewart.

I studied Marketing in college, and I am in talks with one of my former professors to present my case to his class in order to get some more input on promotional efforts. Because I went with the self-publishing route, there is even more pressure for me to conduct my own publicity. I’m up for the challenge, and confident I can succeed. This interview is one of the first steps, and I’d like to thank you and your readers for the opportunity. I try to be prompt with email responses, and welcome all questions or comments to adi.alsaid@gmail.com.

Fresh Voice: Anne McCarron!

"we do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit." - E.E. Cummings

Welcome to the latest edition of Fresh Voices. We are delighted to share with you the voice of Anne McCarron!

What is your ultimate writing goal?
Ultimately, I'd like to be read after I'm dead. Well, not exclusively after I'm dead, of course. I think it would be great fun to be read while I'm still alive. In fact, I'm busy trying to make that happen. But I love reading a book or exploring a painting or listening to music and getting the feeling of connection to a person who lived in another time, a different world. I'm sharing the mind of someone I'll never know, yet in some deeper sense, know better than most people I see every day. I believe that's what Art can do. It makes the world a bigger place.

Why do you write?
It's cheaper than paint and canvas. No, that's not the only reason. That wouldn't explain why I write every day, why I care so much about the people who inhabit the stories, why I want to share the experience of the story with everyone. When I was younger, writing was work, and I abandoned it. Since I started writing again three years ago, I've discovered that writing is play, and now it's all I want to do.

Your writing is lyrical and rich. Have you worked to achieve that voice or is it just a natural style for you?
My high school writing teacher used to complain that my writing style was archaic. Well, I couldn't help it, I was reading Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle and Tolkien, among others, and I was a devout Anglophile. I think I must have been writing with a British accent. Now, I have a better sense of who I am, and I think the voice that's emerging in my writing is the product of my own experience, although I use the term loosely since I've lived my whole life in Wisconsin.

Who are your favorite authors and why do you like them?
I've fallen in love with many writers, but the first was Ray Bradbury. His stories are poetry to me. I would get swept away to exotic places like Mars or Venus or Waukegan, Illinois on a river of words, perfectly buoyant and maybe a little soggy at the end, but exhilarated and thankful for the ride, and wanting to run around to the back of the line and do it all over again.

And then there was Daphne DuMaurier. A friend and I took a road trip through Devon and Cornwall, looking for Dame Daphne. We ended up in the middle of Dartmoor at the Jamaica Inn on a day when the wind was howling and the rain was blowing sideways over the tops of the hedgerows. I think we found her there.

I bumped into Mark Twain while I was in college. That man could make a sentence sit up and bark. He was such a powerful writer. He could drive a needle-sharp point home with a delicate tap from the sledgehammer of his talent, and you'd only feel it when it got to your heart.

And for the past twenty years or so, I've enjoyed the teeth-to-the-wind stories that Stephen King rides into the world. Everything he writes is so true and seems so real (glad it's not). What terrible fun his stories are, especially at their darkest, and what a joy when the clouds part and the sun shines out again. And he shows up in his own stories, too -- how cool is that!

What most attracts you to the life of a writer?
Freedom.

Oh, I know that being a professional anything requires commitment and obligation and deadlines and tax forms, but that's the business of writing. As a total amateur, I can get away with ignoring that part to focus on the good stuff.

Writing is something I can do wherever I am, whenever I want to, I don't even have to write it down as I'm doing it, although if I want to share it with anyone, that would be best. It's in me and of me and purely me, and as long as I'm speaking a language that others understand, I only need my experience and my imagination to call the stories out into the world. No one can take that from me and no one can stop me. That's freedom.

If you couldn't be a writer but knew you were guaranteed success at a different career, what would you choose?
Oh! Definitely! Japanese ink and wash painter, sumi-e. It's all very Zen and indescribably beautiful! When can I start?

If you had to describe your writing in one word, what would that word be?
Metamorphic (and I mean that in the geologic sense. Lots of heat and pressure and bending and folding going on).

What's the best writing advice you've ever gotten?
The old standby, "Write what you know", is still good, but I would up it one. Write what you love. Love is the thing that lasts.


Anne McCarron is a middle-aged (well, she doesn't know any hundred-year-olds, so guesses she's past it, in many ways, alas) woman who has been a good little worker bee for long enough. Time to soar with the eagles! To do that, she's gonna really have to muscle-up on her flying skills, but if you'd like to read any of the stories she's finished so far, they're at The Shining Line. She'll be adding new ones as they get rejected by the literary magazines she sends them to.

Blooming Author: Jason Beymer!

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.” ~ George Sheehan

Jason Beymer's dark comedy Rogue's Curse will be available from Lyrical Press on August 16, 2010.

Tell us about Rogue's Curse. What is it about and where will it be available?

Rogue's Curse is a dark comedy set 2000 years after the Rapture. When Doban, a nasty rogue, discovers the talisman responsible for the Rapture, it embeds itself to his skin. Now the ancient prophet who created the talisman wants it back, and he manipulates the king into launching a manhunt. And (just to sweeten the pot) Doban must turn to the only woman who ever loved him—a woman he once left to die in a tomb—for help. Rogue's Curse has tons of sex, monsters, palace politics, romance, humor and adventure.

But mainly the focus is on the relationship between Mona and Doban. What has happened in the two years since he left her to die in the tomb? How did she survive and escape? And most importantly, can they set aside their differences long enough to stop a second Rapture? At its heart, Rogue's Curse is about second chances, and whether or not we repeat past mistakes when presented the opportunity.

Bottom line: 2000 years after the Rapture, the world still sucks.

Rogue's Curse will be available as an eBook for purchase on 8/16/10 from Lyrical Press (as well as other fine eBook distributers).


Click here for an excerpt.


What were your inspirations for Rogue's Curse? What sorts of thing inspire you as a writer in general?

Characters. Sitting at my local coffee chain, I see so many characters. Can I say the name of the chain? Star-blmmm. The employees are very nice to me, and allow my ass to fester on the comfortable, plush chair. Some writers sit on the county transit and fill up pages while glancing around them. Not me. I'm a coffee voyeur. There's lots of us, actually. Bet you didn't know that. See that guy sitting on the chair typing? He's typing about you. Oh, I see you decided to wear your sweatpants with the word "Love" stretched across both cheeks. Bad choice. You just made it into my zombie-fashion story. Be warned: if you walk into my field of vision while I'm writing, you are fair game. I'm especially fond of inattentive parents whose precious darlings hover around my precariously perched laptop.

Before I wrote Rogue's Curse, I'd written stories for my World of Warcraft guild (yes, I brought up Warcraft. I went there), and decided it was time to write a book. Several character ideas buzzed inside my head, so I took out the laptop and turned them loose in a first draft. This was my favorite part of the process.

In general, I just want to make people laugh. If it's funny to me, I hope to God it's funny to you, too.


Let's talk about your process. How do you approach a story, do you start with outlines or something else? Where did you work when writing Rogue's Curse? Do you think it was the optimal writing environment for you?

My optimal environment is a loud, busy coffee house; my optimal time is morning. I get up at 5am every day and hit the coffee barn when they open. My creative batteries keep a good four-hour charge, then my head becomes a mucky mess as the day's responsibilities take shape. Oh, if I could spend all day writing! What worlds I would create (or I'd just play more xbox… Meh. It's probably better this way).

When I start the process, all I want to do is build a foundation for later drafts. I type as fast as I can, trying to stay one step ahead of my inner-editor. Once I have a solid first draft, I fill a big poster board with index cards for every chapter, juggling them into some sort of order. Then edit, edit, edit. I've found that editing on a Kindle works best for me—I use the notes feature and end up with hundreds of changes each day. Paper is good when you're still in the embryonic stages, but Kindle rocks for sentence-level edits and read-throughs.


Tell us about your "story of getting published." How long did you submit before you were accepted? How did it feel to get accepted?
I sent several query letters to big literary agents and publishing houses; I received several form-letter rejections in return. Then I sent the same query to a few small e-publishers; they sent back personalized rejections and feedback on how to improve my query letter. So I tried a new strategy: Send my queries to e-pubs, get feedback on why my queries suck, fine tune and start hitting the big names on the Writer's Market again. But suddenly…BANG…Lyrical Press accepts my query, spoils my plan and offers me a contract. I was like "What the f@#$ is this?" when I opened the email. I was accustomed to receiving "Sorry, but we are….", "Please excuse this form rejection, but…" and so on. I was elated. I hired a lawyer to review the contract, negotiated a few minor things with Lyrical (they were very flexible), and signed a contract I was happy with.


What are the publicity plans you have coming up?

Blog, tweet, beg, dance. I'm new to this. I have to rely on the kindness of strangers like you. I'm a recluse, a shelled turtle. But I'm trying to extrovert myself. Currently I'm doing a "101-Word Daily Stupor" experiment on my blog to drum up attention. Come check it out! Also I contribute reality TV show rants to Moronlife.com.

I've signed a contract with Lyrical for another book, Nether, which will release next summer. It's an Urban Fantasy this time, but also a Dark Comedy in the same vein as Rogue's Curse.

Thank you for this opportunity to discuss my novel, Sue!

email: jason@beerandtv.com
Blog: http://www.beerandtv.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/beerandtv

Fresh Voice: Linda Grimes!

"we do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit." - E.E. Cummings

Welcome to the latest edition of Fresh Voices. We are delighted to share with you the voice of Linda Grimes!

What is your ultimate writing goal?
To have someone pass me on the street, do a double take, and say, "Hey, I know you—your books always make me laugh." Bonus points if it's not my mom.

Why do you write?
Here's where I should wax poetic about my love of the written word, and how I've lived and breathed literature since I was a tot, right? Which is true, of course, but that's the reason I read. I write mainly because I can't sing, and I'd go crazy without a creative outlet.

Also, I can't draw, paint, or sculpt, except metaphorically with my words. So, really, I had no choice. It was write or go crazy. (My family might argue the "or" in the preceding sentence should be "and." I'm forced to concede they might have a point.)

Your writing is witty and fun. Have you worked to achieve that voice or is it just a natural style for you?
Thanks! Being a smartass comes naturally to me, but I've worked to hone my delivery. Growing up with three brothers helped. We weren't allowed to beat each other up, so we had to learn to "use our words." Eventually it got to the point where my brothers would all say, "Please, just hit me!" whenever I opened my mouth, but by then I'd realized words were a lot more fun than physical violence.

Who are your favorite authors and why do you like them?
Gaah. That is probably the most difficult question for a writer to answer. There are so many! How about a sampling?

Diana Gabaldon (author of the Outlander series) is a perennial favorite. Her books are the most flavorful genre stew you can imagine—romance, historical, sci-fi, fantasy…you name it, it's in there. All seasoned with enough tragedy, humor, love, and derring-do to keep you reading, whatever your literary taste.

Harlan Coben—all his books, but especially his Myron Bolitar series. Pure mystery mastery. Plus, I have a crush on Win, Myron's semi-psychopathic sidekick.

Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series keeps me hungry for more. Harry Dresden is a smartass's smartass, and a wizard to boot. What's not to love?

Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series is always a treat to read. There's a surprise for me in every book—I like that.

There are tons more, but I'd better stop before I put a strain on your bandwidth.

What most attracts you to the life of a writer?The POWER. Bwah-ha-hah! I may not be able to control every aspect of my real life, but gosh darn it, in my books what I say goes. Frankly, it can be addictive. If I had that kind of power at my fingertips in actuality, I'd be a despotic monster. But mostly benign. Or maybe not. No telling how that kind of power might warp me.

If you couldn't be a writer but knew you were guaranteed success at different career, what would you choose?
Other than singer, you mean? Since that one's been ruled out by my *ahem* singular lack of musical ability. Let's see…I've outgrown "jockey" in both height and inclination. Though I do still love horses.

Hmmm. Maybe a tabloid journalist. Or is that cheating, since it's still writing? Wait, I know! A tabloid television reporter. That way I could still tell outrageous stories about strange characters.

Or I could just go back to being an actress. Since I'd be guaranteed success, I wouldn't have to stress the auditions.

If you had to describe your writing in one word, what would that word be?
Popcorn. Light, fluffy, and a little salty. Snack food for the brain.

Does that sound self-deprecating? I don't mean to be. Popping up the perfect batch without burning it, or leaving behind too many "old maids" (the unpopped kernels), is harder than you'd think, so I'm really not exhibiting low self esteem by making the comparison. Plus, everyone needs a little indulgence in life—it's healthy. When you think of it that way, it's downright humanitarian of me to write the fluffy stuff.

What's the best writing advice you've ever gotten?
Diana Gabaldon's stock reply springs to mind: 1. Read. 2. Write. 3. Don't stop. (Which is remarkably concise advice, given the length of her novels.) The "don't stop" is the most important part. Because as long as you keep going, you will get better.

Linda Grimes is an ex-actress who also used to teach high school English. Now she channels her love of words and drama into writing escapist ("popcorn") fiction. She grew up in Texas, and currently resides in Virginia with her husband, AKA the theater god, whom she snagged after he saw her rousing rendition of "If You Wanna Catch a Fish You Gotta Wiggle Your Bait" at the now defunct Melodrama Theater. The fishnet stockings apparently helped camouflage her awful singing.

You can find her on Twitter (@linda_grimes) and her blog Visiting Reality. If you'd like to sample the popcorn, check out an excerpt of her writing.

Blooming Author: Tibby Armstrong!

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.” ~ George Sheehan

Tibby Armstrong's contemporary erotic romance Sheet Music will be available from Ellora's Cave today!

Tell us about Sheet Music. What is it about and where will it be available?

Sheet Music is a contemporary erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave coming out on August 4^th! It’s about musical superstar with secrets to hide, and the journalist determined to find them out at any cost. Here’s the blurb:

Music journalist Kyra Martin faces the toughest assignment of her career—to write a cover story about enigmatic heartthrob David Tallis. Deadline looming, Kyra plans to go undercover. When she ends up under the covers with the sexy superstar instead, can both her career and their budding relationship survive?

With a closet full of skeletons to hide, and a paparazzi-fueled divorce behind him, David Tallis despises the press. When Kyra Martin bribes her way into his life, her sexy assets have him composing a duplicitous seduction. Ensnared in a media maelstrom of his own making, can David face the music? Or will he lose Kyra, along with another piece of himself?

**OVER 18 WARNING**You can read a sexy excerpt at http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-8533-50-sheet-music.aspx.**OVER 18 WARNING**

What were your inspirations for Sheet Music? What sorts of thing inspire you as a writer in general?

Sheet Music was inspired from an experience I had wrangling an all-area-access backstage pass to a Peter Gabriel concert in the mid-1990’s. Although the hero in the story isn’t based on Gabriel, I had the seed of the idea when I realized just what lengths I was willing to go to in order to get inside the music scene for a publishing class assignment. I talked to people I should never have had access to, including one of Gabriel’s long-time band mates, Tony Levin (of King Crimson fame), all because I was too naïve to realize I shouldn’t be able to have access to them. I guess you could say my heroine, Kyra, gets her chutzpah from me, for better or worse!

Let's talk about your process. How do you approach a story, do you start with outlines or something else? Where did you work when writing Sheet Music? Do you think it was the optimal writing environment for you?

First drafts, I usually invest a lot in critique partners’ comments and edits. Second draft is for layering in character back story—because the back story is often revealed to me more richly as I’m writing. As I get to know my characters better, they confide more in me. It’s impossible to have the richness at the beginning of a draft that I have at the end, so that has to be layered into the first half of the novel later.

Sheet Music was the first story I wrote from an outline. Well, I wrote the first three chapters, and then wrote an outline. I was amazed when I actually stuck to it! I think the story is all the better for it. Tighter and more focused than anything I’d written previously.

I can’t write longhand on paper. It interrupts my flow. Usually I’m at the Barnes & Noble two minutes from my house, headphones on, music blaring, enjoying a decaf, skim, mocha. I have to watch out for kindly-meant questions from local grandmothers on what I’m writing though. So the headphones help. *grins*

Tell us about your "story of getting published." How long did you submit before you were accepted? How did it feel to get accepted?

Well, this is kind of funny and kind of embarrassing. Lol. Last year I saw that Ellora’s Cave issued a call for music themed submissions. Knowing I had Sheet Music’s  plot in my back pocket, I took it out of the drawer, so to speak. The word count for the submissions was 30k. While I was writing it, I posted comments on my blog about not knowing how the story could possibly fit into 30k words. Yet, I shoehorned it into the allotted space and sent it off in April. Well, turns out I should have listened to my inner editor. The very encouraging letter I received back—very quickly—asked if I would be willing to add more to the story—it seemed like there was more story than I’d written. (Talk about a perceptive lady, my editor!)

I think it took me two weeks to add another 14k words to the novel. Those 14k were some of the easiest words I’ve ever written, I think because they needed to be in the story. By that time I also knew Kyra and David inside and out. I think it took about two weeks upon resubmission for Sheet Music to be accepted, with the comment that there had definitely been too much story for the 30k limit! So, if I’d listened to myself in the first place, I wouldn’t have had to suffer an almost rejection! Let that be a lesson to me! You can read all the sordid details on my blog at http://www.tibbyarmstrong.com.

When I got the acceptance? Oh-my! I was silent for about ten seconds and then let out a whoop the likes of which had my family running to see if someone had broken into the house! I bounced around (literally) for about twenty minutes and then proceeded to call and email everyone I knew. I was high on happiness for days. Weeks even! I still get little thrills now when I think about it! It never gets old.

What are the publicity plans you have coming up?

On August 4^th I’ll be giving away a copy of Sheet Music to a randomly drawn person who posts on my Facebook wall! Other plans:

• 4^th of August, I’m blogging with K.J. Reed at http://www.authorkjreed.com. 
• 6^th of August is with Kristin Daniels (the woman and author to whom Sheet Music is dedicated) on Fierce Romance at http://fierceromance.blogspot.com/. 
• 18^th of August, I’m blogging for Delilah Devlin at http://www.delilahdevlin.com/blog/.  

Thank you for having me. It was a pleasure to chat with you!

Tibby Armstrong