Perennial Author Pam Stucky!

Pam Stucky's "Letters from Wishing Rock" won both the B.R.A.G. Medallion and the Awesome Indies Seal of Approval!

What have you learned that seemed completely unrelated to writing at the time but has influenced your writing career?
I was listening to a podcast recently, a self-publishing podcast, where the podcaster (is that the right term?) said that he seriously wanted to know from an accountant, isn't his whole life tax-deductible? It feels like that sometimes! Everything works its way into writing in one way or another. In my lifetime I've worked as a web designer, marketer, fundraiser, in contracts and insurance, so many things that I would never have guessed would help me out in a writing career, but which have been priceless to me. I'll go to the fundraising history for a more specific example. In my time in fundraising, I learned the idea that it never hurts to ask. People often want to give or help, but you have to ask them first. The worst they can do is say no! Working in fundraising either gave me a fearlessness, or enhanced it, and I think that fearlessness has been invaluable to me in working in a field where it is so easy to give in to fear. Fearlessness, perseverance, determination. I'm not sure you can succeed as a writer without these.

A toy manufacturer has decided to make you their new superhero action figure. What is your superpower and what are you wearing?
Oh my gosh. I want to have multiple superheroes! Actually, just the other day someone asked what superpower I'd want, and my tongue-in-cheek response was that I want the ability to fold and put away my clothes fresh out of the dryer, just by blinking. I hate folding and putting away clothes! But if I had the chance to have a real actual superpower, I'd say .... oh, gosh, I can't choose just one. I'd want teleporting superpowers, because I love traveling but I hate the getting-there part. I'm so impatient on airplanes, and I fall asleep in cars. For my teleporting action figure I'll wear ... well, whatever it is that would hold all my atoms together because I'd like to be there in one piece. I'd also love the ability to fly, because obviously, awesome! For that I'll wear something warm, because of the wind chill, you see. Sometimes I wish I had the ability to read people's minds, but that one is a double-edged sword, just like invisibility. Although clearly what I'd be wearing as a superhero with the superpower of invisibility would be INVISIBILITY. Awesome.

Do you ever regret deciding to become a professional writer?
Never. Never!! I can't wait until I have more time to write. When I wrote my first book, it was all new and unknown, I had no clue what I was doing or what would come of it. But I so clearly remember that when I finished my second book I had this really deep, emotional moment where I thought, "This is it. This is what I want to do with my life." For a person who had spent the previous XX years trying to figure out what the heck she wanted to do with her life, it was huge, powerful. I get Oprah's e-newsletters, and there was one not long after my second book that came out with an article "How to figure out what you want to do with your life." Out of habit, I clicked on it. And then I thought ... wait. I know. I'm there. I can't wait for the day when I can more easily support myself through writing alone, but I'm so happy to be doing what I'm doing.

What is the best part of being a professional writer?
One time, years ago, I was in this self-help phase. I decided for some reason that something I needed to do was to go away for a weekend and do all these self-help exercises, one of which was to figure out the ONE WORD that summed me up. Now, obviously none of us can be summed up in one word. However, I do think the word I came up with is pretty good. After much thought, I settled on CURIOUS. Discovery, learning, all that. I live to learn. I want to know. At the end of my days, my dream is that I get to know EVERYTHING. How awesome would that be? And writing, well being a writer is like having a passport into everything. People will share their lives, companies will share their business, everyone is just so willing to share when you tell them you're a writer. Writing gives me access and credibility. And stories! People trust me with their stories, which is the most amazing thing. In fact, I'm starting to think of myself less as a writer and more as a person who connects others through stories. Whether fiction or non-fiction, real worlds or made-up worlds, all of it rings true in some way.

Give us a quick overview of what you write and where we can find it.
"Whether you're looking for an escape to a small island town filled with quirky, lovable characters, or hoping to find adventure around the world through the eyes of a curious adventurer, you have come to the right place! The books I have out currently are fiction - novels with recipes. The Wishing Rock series begins with Letters from Wishing Rock, continues with The Wishing Rock Theory of Life, and finishes in The Tides of Wishing Rock. These books take place in Wishing Rock, Washington – an island town where everyone lives in the same building. Letters between the neighbors and their friends chronicle the twists and turns of the characters' daily lives, and are interspersed with recipes tried and tested by the characters themselves, in these witty and wise novels that explore community, relationships, hope, fear, forgiveness, risk, dreams, trust, and love. Coming this Fall, I will launch a new series showcasing another of my loves: travel! The Pam on the Map series will bring readers an intimate insight into my adventures and misadventures as I travel around the world, near and far, meeting new people and discovering new cultures. These books, filled with wit and wanderlust, are the embodiment of my passions of curiosity and connection. The series will launch with a new look at Iceland, plus retrospective looks at past trips I've taken to Ireland and Switzerland. You can find out everything you need to know at www.pamstucky.com. The first in the Wishing Rock series is Letters from Wishing Rock (a novel with recipes), available in both print and ebook. At Amazon, print is http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Wishing-Rock-novel-recipes/dp/1460960122/ and ebook is http://www.amazon.com/Letters-from-Wishing-Rock-ebook/dp/B004SD2JEK/. Read that first, then move on to the rest of the books in the series! To stay up to date on what's going on with the Pam on the Map series and other publications, follow me on Facebook Pam Stucky, Author, and on Twitter, @pamstucky. I also have some great boards on Pinterest for those who are interested!

Perennial Author Matt Forbeck!

Matt Forbeck has been nominated for 26 Origins Awards for his games and books and won 13. He has also won a number of ENnies for his gaming work. His tie-in novels have earned four nominations for Scribe Awards and won one, although he's still waiting to hear the results of the nominations for Guild Wars: Ghosts of Ascalon, which he co-wrote with Jeff Grubb.

What have you learned that seemed completely unrelated to writing at the time but has influenced your writing career?
The most valuable class I ever took in high school turned out to be typing. This was back in the days before computers were common, and half my class had to work on manual typewriters, while the others were blessed with electrics. You could tell people who worked manual typewriters back then because their fingers had to be strong and sure to make the words happen fast.

Learning to touch type made me a much faster writer than I would otherwise be, and that in turn now allows me to write fast enough to make a living at it. At the time, I hated it, and I got the worst grade in that class of my entire high school career, but it paid off in the end.

A toy manufacturer has decided to make you their new superhero action figure. What is your superpower and what are you wearing?
I'm an immortal traveler of both time and space, who peeks into the lives of other people in fantastic worlds and reports on their most exciting tales. Because of this, I'm dressed in a set of clothes filled with anachronisms that work together but don't quite match up: a bulletproof trenchcoat that projects full-body protection against biological, chemical, and radiological dangers; boots that provide bursts of speed; gloves that are invulnerable to anything; and a hat that links me mentally to a plant of hyperintelligent supercomputers that guide me on my way—when I let them.

Do you ever regret deciding to become a professional writer?
Only when my bills come due.

Honestly, no. I love being a professional writer, and I've been at it full-time now for over two decades, which means I've ruined myself for anything else. There's little like getting paid to make things up for a living, and I'm grateful to all the people who buy my books and games so I can keep doing it.

What is the best part of being a professional writer?
I enjoy the challenge of new and exciting projects, and the chance to entertain people for a living. I love going to conventions and meeting with gamers and readers and other people who do the same kinds of things I do. But on a personal level, the best part about this life is the flexibility it offers me.

As a father of five young kids (a 12-year-old and a set of 8-year-old quadruplets), my children place a lot of demands on my time, but because I work at home and set my own goals and hours, I can always be there for them when they need me. That's worth a lot more than money to me.

Give us a quick overview of what you write and where we can find it.
"I started out as a tabletop game designer, but these days, I mostly write novels and work on computer games. I've had two novels published this year through Angry Robot: Amortals and Vegas Knights. Both have been getting rave reviews.

I have two nonfiction books due out later this year: Star Wars vs. Star Trek and Book of Extreme Facts. Plus I have a novella in G.I. Joe: Tales from the Cobra Wars, a short story in Hot and Steamy: Tales of Steampunk Romance, and a short story in The New Hero 2. On top of that, I wrote the story for the Conduit 2 game for the Wii. I also cowrote and helped produce a film called InSpectres, based on Jared Sorsensen's roleplaying game of the same name.

For details about all this and the rest of the things I'm working on, stop by Forbeck.com or follow me on Twitter at @mforbeck.

Perennial Author Dayton Ward!

Dayton Ward started writing professionally after entering a Star Trek writing contest for unpublished authors. He had stories selected for each of the first three annual contests, which along with the other winning entries were published in that year’s edition of the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds anthology. After he became the first contestant to disqualify him/herself from entering future contests, the editor called him up and asked him if he was interested in writing a Star Trek novel. The rest, as he likes to say, is a frappin’ mystery.

What have you learned that seemed completely unrelated to writing at the time but has influenced your writing career?
It’s going to sound simple and perhaps even a bit trite, but one skill which I already had developed thanks to my prior military and corporate careers and which has been of enormous help to me as a professional writer is time and task management. The ability to juggle multiple projects, each with its own deadline and master and set of issues or hurdles to overcome, is of prime importance if you’re looking to be a freelance writer. Often, you’ll be working on a handful of different assignments and a couple of them will have deadlines that are either relatively close together or even on top of one another. The ability to divide your time and energy so that each project gets the attention it deserves and you hit all your marks is what will distinguish the working professional from the rest of the pack. And in case you’re wondering, editors absolutely value this skill in the writers they hire.

A toy manufacturer has decided to make you their new superhero action figure. What is your superpower and what are you wearing?
Everybody always wants to fly, right? I’ll go with that. No more long lines at the airport! As for the outfit, if it has to be tights, I just want them to give me something that’ll showcase the six-pack abs I’m hoping they’ll mold onto my stomach.

Do you ever regret deciding to become a professional writer?
If I have any regrets about writing professionally, it’s that I haven’t yet found a way to earn a full-time living at it. My next major writing goal is to do exactly that, but I’m a realist. Most writers have some other source of income or support system, so I know it’s not an easy goal to reach. I could spend more time writing, but I prefer not to take that much more time away from my wife and kids, who already put up with me working the equivalent of two jobs, one of which—when you boil it down—is an ongoing passion project that happens to generate a bit of side income.

What is the best part of being a professional writer?
Are you kidding? I get to just make stuff up out of thin air, and people pay me for it! Wait. I suppose I could go into politics and get the same sort of rush, but that’s another subject. Anyway, I love telling stories, be it writing them or even just sitting around a table in a bar or a campfire, and getting reactions out of people. Writing just formalizes the process. In the case of my media tie-in writing, I get to play with characters I already love, and in some cases have loved since my childhood, and share the resulting stories with people who share that affection. And somebody gives me money to do that? Gravy; thick, brown, tasty gravy.

Give us a quick overview of what you write and where we can find it.
I write and co-write a lot of media tie-ins, mostly of the Star Trek variety. I also manage to get some original science fiction published here and there, along with being a regular contributor to Star Trek Magazine and Tor.com as a guest blogger.

Some of my more recent publications include:

• Star Trek: Typhon Pact – Paths of Disharmony – January 2011
• “Into the Abyss,” in Full-Throttle Space Tales #4: Space Horrors – October 2010
• “One Small Step for Bubba,” in A Bubba In Time Saves None! – June 2010
• Counterstrike: The Last World War – Book II – May 2010
• The First Peer, in Star Trek: Seven Deadly Sins – March 2010 (with Kevin Dilmore)
• Star Trek: Vanguard – Open Secrets – May 2009
• “A Fresh Perspective,” in Full-Throttle Space Tales #3: Space Grunts – May 2009 (which I also edited)
• The 4400: Wet Work – November 2008 (with Kevin Dilmore)

Perennial Author Shannon K. Butcher!

Shannon K. Butcher writes romantic suspense and paranormal romance. Her paranormal romance series is called the Sentinel Wars. Book 5 of the series, BLOOD HUNT, comes out in August 2011. The series is all about hot, tattooed, sword-wielding warriors and the magical women who make their lives interesting.

The first book of her new romantic suspense series, LIVING ON THE EDGE, came out in March 2011. It's not your typical serial killer story, but more on the action/adventure side of things. There's lots of mystery and intrigue to go along with a big, overarching storyline. It's similar in style to her first couple of suspenses (NO REGRETS, NO CONTROL) but with a larger cast of characters. The second book of the Edge series comes out in November 2011.

Shannon won the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award for NO REGRETS and BURNING ALIVE. All of her books are currently in print, and can be found at your favorite book store.

What have you learned that seemed completely unrelated to writing at the time but has influenced your writing career?
My engineering career has been a huge help to my writing. All of the time and project management skills I learned, as well as organizing large amounts of information like what is created during world building, have really helped me stay on track.

A toy manufacturer has decided to make you their new superhero action figure. What is your superpower and what are you wearing?
I'd be the Magnificent Multitasking Lass. My cape is a calendar. In one hand I carry the spatula of infinite hamburger flipping to feed my hungry boys, and in the other I grip a magical jug of detergent that can clean clothes and surfaces at 100 yards. My tiara is imbedded with Bluetooth technology, allowing my mind to connect to my laptop, which is strapped to my chest, recording chapter after chapter of the next book. With a phone in one ear and a glitzy earring dangling from the other, I'm ready for whatever my nemesis, the Evil Schedule, throws at me.

Do you ever regret deciding to become a professional writer?
No. There are times when it's harder than others. There are times when it's harder than being an engineer, but it was a good decision. I get to make people happy with what I do, and that is a rare opportunity. The fact that I can do so in my jammies is just an added benefit.

What is the best part of being a professional writer?
The dress code is great--definitely makes up for the long hours. I love being at home with my husband and my dog. The flexible hours are nice, though sometimes I wish there weren't quite so many of them. :)

You can find Shannon on her website and on Twitter.

Perennial Author Christian A. Dumais, a.k.a. DRUNK HULK!

Christian A. Dumais, or Puff Chrissy as we know him on Twitter, is an incredible writer, humorist, and University lecturer. Writing Insight was lucky enough to track him down in Poland (via email) and interview him.

What have you learned that seemed completely unrelated to writing at the time but has influenced your writing career?
The best thing I can think of is how when I created Drunk Hulk, I was fully expecting it to be a small writing exercise I could use for distraction from my bigger projects. I had no idea how popular Drunk Hulk was going to become.

Most writers have that huge epic story in their head that will change everything. Or that great American novel that's going to make you so famous people will want to steal your eyeglasses. I've published stories I felt were mind-blowing and incredible, and I was convinced that I'd get a positive response from readers and agents alike. And while I've gotten some wonderful feedback, I've never gotten the response I imagined I would.

It's taken me a long time to realize that just because the idea clicks in your head doesn't mean it's going to click with everyone else. And the most important part of writing is the process of discovery of getting that idea out of your head and on the page. If you can focus on that part alone, and not predict, second-guess and worry about what happens later, then you'll find yourself a much happier writer at the end of the day.

And if that story does change everything and if you find out your glasses were stolen and are now being held for ransom, then you can consider all that a massive bonus.

The point is you can't predict what's going to connect with your audience. So try a little of everything and be ready adapt. So when readers respond to your ALL CAPS 140 character tweets over your 3,500 word short stories, consider hitting the CAPS LOCK key and seeing what happens next.

A toy manufacturer has decided to make you their new superhero action figure. What is your superpower and what are you wearing?
I'm assuming the toy manufacturer either close to bankruptcy and desperate for ideas or my parents have inexplicably been made in charge.

I suspect that my action figure would look suspiciously like Charlie Brown with a goatee. My superpower would be the ability to sunburn easily ("Hey, kids! Hold the Puff Chrissy Action Figure under the light and watch it turn red like a poor man's Zartan!"). Accessories include a laptop, a pair of Hulk hands, and a Starbucks Frappuccino.

Hey, not all superheroes can be winners!

Do you ever regret deciding to become a professional writer?
Well, I'm not a professional writer, to be honest. Hopefully one day I'll be able to find out if I'll regret becoming one. That said, as a university lecturer and teacher, I get to spend days talking about my favorite writers and stories with some amazing students. Even if I was making good money writing, I don't think I'd be able to stop teaching. It's just way too much fun.

What is the best part of being a professional writer?
I'm going to guess what it's like being a professional writer. ""Get into character,"" as they say in all the writer workshops. I imagine getting up early in the morning and clearing my workspace. This includes cleaning the cocaine off my desk and the bits of mushrooms stuck between the keys of my keyboard, asking the previous evening's ""goddesses"" to go home, and then meditating for an hour like Master Splinter did in the cartoons. Once that's out of the way, I go online to catch up on the news, answer my e-mails, and then call my attorney to discuss suing someone who spoke critically of my work. High on power and motivated by the cost of legal fees, I take off my pants, sit down at the desk and write while listening to the music of Super Mario Brothers 3. And that's when the magic happens...

At least that's how Joe Hill makes it sound like on Twitter.

Give us a quick overview of what you write and where we can find it.
Despite all my best efforts, most people only know my writing from Twitter's Drunk Hulk.

My first book, Empty Rooms Lonely Countries, collects a lot of my nonfiction short stories published between 1997 and 2005. If you know me only as the writer of Drunk Hulk, I think there's enough laughs and alcohol in this collection to keep you entertained.

Last year I contributed to and edited a collection of euphiction (fiction inspired by music) called Cover Stories. I'm extremely proud of this book. You'll not only find 10 short stories I did, but 90 other stories by 9 other fantastic writers. You get a lot of bang for your buck with this one. Also, Volume 2 will be out later this year.

Other than that, you can find my work in magazines like GUD, Shock Totem, Ha!Art and more.

Even though I'm working on a novel, I'm beginning to suspect I'm really a short story writer.

Perennial Author Elizabeth Rolls!

Elizabeth Rolls is an historical romance author who has won the HOLT Medallion twice, and the Laurel Wreath as well as CataRomance's Best Harlequin Historical for 2007, been nominated twice for Romance Writers of Australia's Romantic Book of the Year Award, the Romantic Novelists' Association Romance Award, and an RT Reviewers' Choice Award. The major thrill last year was the RITA nomination for Lord Braybrook's Penniless Bride. If you are at all a reader of historical romance you should definitely check out Elizabeth's stories. She took a few moments from her busy schedule to tell us about her work.

What have you learned that seemed completely unrelated to writing at the time but has influenced your writing career?
I studied music at university, and while I was writing my first term paper on 16th century vocal music, I made the earth shattering discovery (sarcasm fully intentional) that what drove the music on was dissonance, or discords, which were then resolved. Simple really. Dissonance equals tension, or conflict. So create tension, then resolve it. Of course you have learn where to place the tension and what to use as tension, but the principal is very much the same for writing a story. You need those builds of tension and resolution threaded through the music or story, with the final resolution leading to the final cadence, or in the case of a romance the HEA. Oddly enough, much later when I was studying for my Masters in Musicology, I found a book comparing the works of Mozart to the novels of Jane Austen in much the same way!

A toy manufacturer has decided to make you their new superhero action figure. What is your superpower and what are you wearing?
Dead right I'm a superhero/ine. What working mum isn't? And let's face it, all mums are working mums, whether they work outside the home or not. My superpower would be to get my kids to endless soccer training sessions on time and still have a meal on the table when we all get home. I'm keeping very quiet the fact that for one of those sessions I have a standing arrangement with another soccer mum to sneak off for coffee, pizza and talk about what books we've been reading! No one seems to have noticed that I rarely eat dinner on Wednesday nights ...

As for what I'm wearing ... I think I have a Team Steward's vest on (fluorescent green) and I'm clutching a container of orange quarters for half time and an umbrella.

Do you ever regret deciding to become a professional writer?
I never regret it, but there are times when I'm stuck that even the housework looks tempting. Times like that I go and work somewhere else. Working at home can be difficult because there are so many things to distract you. The phone, email, housework, making a pot of tea. So when I need to refocus I go out and work in the local library, or even a cafe. There's a great cafe across the road from the local laundromat and if it's too rainy to get the clothes dry I go there and work while the clothes look after themselves. I try not to do it too often because we have dogs as well as a baby magpie who still needs feeding, but every so often it helps to put me back on track.

What is the best part of being a professional writer?
Getting that box of author copies in the post and thinking, "Wow. This is real. I made it." Getting a revision letter from my editor that focuses my thinking and helps me bring the best I can out of a story. I actually love revision letters because they make me think and inspire me. And hearing my kids say casually, "Yeah, Mum works. She's an author."

Give us a quick overview of what you write and where we can find it.
I write Regency Historicals for Harlequin. The best place to find my back list is either at eHarlequin, or Amazon.

My most recent release was the Historical Undone, A Scandalous Liaison, released as an ebook last year and now available in the anthology Delectably Undone. Also I have another short ebook coming out next month called A Princely Dilemma. This is a Royal Wedding special in honour of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Several of us have written stories celebrating royal marriages through the ages.

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.