Fresh Voice Debora Silkotch!

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

What is your ultimate writing goal?
I'd love to write and illustrate a series of children's books for the 9 to 12 age group, but the novel I'm currently working on is adult sci-fi. The fun thing about writing is that you can never really predict where it's going to take you.

Why do you write?
I'm not sure writers necessarily have a choice about that. We write because we're writers; take away our computers and typewriters and we'll scribble out our stories in pencil on the back of the electric bill envelope. It's a compulsion, it's how the voices in our heads find an acceptable outlet.

Have you worked to achieve your voice or is it just a natural style for you?
My early writing style was as awkward and self-consciously overwrought as my teenage and young adult self. Lots of creative writing exercises helped me polish my skills in a supportive, low-pressure atmosphere. Play-by-email RPG's were my drug of choice for many years, and later blogging helped me practice the art of telling very short stories in an engaging "voice."

Who are your favorite authors and why do you like them?
George R R Martin. He's a master storyteller, but I think his greatest gift is creating characters so real and painfully human that it's easy to forget they're fictional.

J R R Tolkein. Epic tales of glory aside, I love his pro-green-sustainability, anti-industrialist-greed philosophies.

I loved Stephen R Donaldson's earliest works, up to and including the Gap Cycle. Not a big fan of his later stuff, it feels like somewhere along the way he forgot how to tell a story.

Neil Gaiman. I only recently discovered his books and I need to read more of them...like, all I can get my hands on! Great stuff!

What most attracts you to the life of a writer?
Being paid to do what I would do anyway for the sheer pleasure of it? There's no downside here!

If you couldn't be a writer but knew you were guaranteed success at a different career, what would you choose?
My other passion is homesteading. I grow most of my own food, and I'm constantly finding new ways to remove more of the negative aspects of modern civilization from my life. I'd love to be completely self-sufficient, or as close as possible. I don't feel deprived of anything; this simple lifestyle is incredibly liberating!

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

What's the best writing advice you've ever gotten?
"If you're getting bored writing it, people will get bored reading it." Also, "Begin as close to the end as possible."

Debora lives on a small work-in-progress homestead in Southern California with her two children, two horses, two dogs and many cats. She writes a weekly column, Tuesday Talesfor the Ideology of Madness website, in which she serializes the adventures of her favorite World of Darkness RPG character. She also has a personal blog,"I'm Probably Overthinking This," and a mild Twitter addiction (@Dsilkotch). In her spare time she continues to make preparations for the Zombie Apocalypse.

Blooming Author Thomas Drinkard!

Welcome to the latest edition of Blooming Authors. We are delighted to share with you the voice of Thomas Drinkard!

What is your ultimate writing goal?
To tell stories so fascinating that many readers will be anxious for sequels.  If I achieve that goal, all else will follow.

Why do you write?
Because I have always loved telling stories.  In my first-grade report card, Mrs. Patterson wrote, "Thomas entertains the other children with his stories."

Have you worked to achieve your voice or is it just a natural style for you?
I haven't consciously worked to achieve my voice.  I have tried to make sure that I always seek improvement.

Who are your favorite authors and why do you like them?
Too many to count.  I learned many things from John D. McDonald, Robert B. Parker and James Lee Burke. I learned much about dialogue from the first two and how powerful scenes can be developed from prose that flows like poetry from Burke.

What most attracts you to the life of a writer?
I can walk down the hall from my bedroom to my office; boot up the word processor and enter a different world.


If you couldn't be a writer but knew you were guaranteed success at a different career, what would you choose?
The choice: a writer.

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

What's the best writing advice you've ever gotten?
"If you can write five *good* pages in a day, that's all you need." From my friend, the late Anne Carroll George.

Thomas Rowe Drinkard, also known as Tom, was born and reared in the Deep South—Alabama. He graduated from the University of North Alabama with a degree in English.  At graduation, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army and went on active duty eight days later. Within two years, he volunteered and was accepted into the Special Forces (Green Berets) after Airborne and Special Forces school, he’d found a home. With a few other assignments in between, he spent ten years with the fabled unit. He was unhappy with the Army’s plans for his future, left active duty and moved into the reserves.  He is now a Major, retired reserves. After the Army, he found his way into teaching and writing in the securities licensing preparation business.  His textbooks, articles and CE courses are in use today. His poetry can be found in a number of literary magazines, including Negative Capability, Cotton Boll/Atlanta review and a several others. Piety and Murder published by LazyDay Publishing is his first piece of long fiction to be published. Thomas is currently working on a prequel. 

Author site: http://www.thomasdrinkardwrites.com/
Blog: http://www.brinson1.wordpress.com

Twitter: @thomasDrinkard
Facebook: Thomas Drinkard

Perennial Author Bruce R. Cordell!

If you are at all involved in role-playing games or fantasy fiction you have probably run across the name Bruce R. Cordell. As well as being a fabulous game designer and writer Bruce is a really great guy. He's also a very busy guy, but we managed to catch him for a few moments to help us kick off our new Perennial Authors series.

What have you learned that seemed completely unrelated to writing at the time but has influenced your writing career?
The thing I learned that most influenced my writing career was a lesson my dad taught me: if you practice something long enough, no matter HOW AWFUL you are at it, eventually, in time, you’ll not only improve, but master it. You see, I joined the wrestling team in grade school. Even though I wanted to quit every year on account of how bad I was, my dad convinced me to keep it up. After 8 years of this, in junior high, I was the best wrestler on the team, and the 2nd best wrestler in South Dakota (in my weight class /qualifier).

The great thing about that lesson is that it applies to everything in life. Reading. Juggling. Computer programming. Martial Arts .... and WRITING.

Whether physical or mental; he made me realize that Talent Is Practice. Sometimes long grueling practice, but so it goes.

A toy manufacturer has decided to make you their new superhero action figure. What is your superpower and what are you wearing?
I've indicated on my website that my superpower is: animals like me. However, I doubt that a toy manufacturer would make much money on the Animal Whisperer. So, since you're giving me a blank check, I'd love to have the power of teleportation--just think what a boost I could be to the space industry! With that last in mind, I'd probably wear one of those new-fangled bodyweave spacesuits, bright red of course.

Do you ever regret deciding to become a professional writer?
I don't. I regret I don't have enough time to do other things I'd like to spend a lot of time on, like programming, or volunteering at an animal shelter or with a wilderness society, or even reading as many books as I'd like. But no, writing is great. It can be hard and lonely, but its also rewarding and ultimately satisfying to me.

What is the best part of being a professional writer?
The act of creation. Pulling threads together slowly and surely, first with the outline, then with the first draft where things may go off-outline in a surprising way, then with the 2nd draft when you've got some good input from editors and readers. The completed work stands on its own. It might be better or worse than your last creation, but it is something, and you've made it from the labor of your own mind.

Give us a quick overview of what you write and where we can find it.
I write "swords & sorcery" Forgotten Realms books and short stories. During my day job, I design games. My novel and Short Story Credits include:

Sword of the Gods, Wizards of the Coast, 2011
Key of Stars, Wizards of the Coast, 2010
"Wandering Stones", Realms of War, Wizards of the Coast, 2010
City of Torment, Wizards of the Coast, 2009
"Black Arrow", Realms of War, Wizards of the Coast, 2008
Plague of Spells, Wizards of the Coast, 2008
Stardeep, Wizards of the Coast, 2007
Darkvision, Wizards of the Coast, 2006

A full list of my publications, including my game publications, can be found here.