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!

Fresh Voice Jamie Righetti!

What is your ultimate writing goal?
Sustainability. I think as a writer you constantly examine the world in terms of stories to be told. But even still, my biggest fear is that one day I'm going to run out of ideas and have nothing to write about. This keeps me reading, pushes me to learn more and in turn, helps me continue writing.

Why do you write?
As a kid, I would pencil my name into my Nancy Drew books and pretend I had written them. Glaring plagiarism aside, I felt there was sense of pride in being an author. The more I read, the more I yearned to create. When I was 12, I stumbled onto my dad's old H.P. Lovecraft books and I was done. I started writing; I haven't looked back since. I think I write in part because I've always felt the pull, but also because I can't turn off my mind. I see my world as a something ready to be described, a story itching to be told, voices waiting to be heard.

Have you worked to achieve your voice or is it just a natural style for you?
Writing has always come so naturally to me so I've never had to consciously craft a voice, but I have learned how to adjust the tone of my writing simply through practice. Although I do believe that great writers have a gift, writing is also something that gets better with persistence. The more you write, the better you become.

Who are your favorite authors and why do you like them?
I'm a huge fan of Russian literature, specifically Dostoyevsky. For me, no other writer has truly mastered such complex, dark, psychologically tormented characters. There are scenes in each of his novels that still haunt me, even when I've read them numerous times. I take my lessons from between his pages and do my best to apply them in my own work.

What most attracts you to the life of a writer?
I think it's twofold: first, the love of books has been with me since I was a child. And I think the more you read, the more you yearn to create. And so you do.
But writing can be a very lonely pursuit. There are times when you stare at the computer screen and reach an impasse. What keeps me coming back are those magical days where your hands can barely keep up with your creativity, when you sit back and know you've just written the best sentence of your life and yearn to write another.

If you couldn't be a writer but knew you were guaranteed success at a different career, what would you choose?
I think writers, much like actors, have a visceral need to crawl into someone else's skin and find out what makes them tick. Before I start to write, I sit down and think about who my characters really are because for me creating a character is becoming that character. So even though a life without writing seems impossible to me, I think acting would be the closest thing to it and something that I might have gravitated towards. Then again, I do have a degree in human evolutionary biology, so who knows?

If you had to describe your writing in one word, what would that word be?
This is such a tough one but 'honest.' I hope that when people read my novel they are able to relate and commiserate with my characters. I hope this story breaks their heart. To me, that's achievable if honesty pervades the work. If you can sense how much I love these characters and how much I poured into each of them, then to me I've achieved something special.

What's the best writing advice you've ever gotten?
I had a writing professor at Columbia who once told me that no matter what I pursued in life, I would always be a writer. There was a beautiful duality in that for me. I think all too often writers are dissuaded from pursuing their passion because of money. But the soul of a writer isn't something that can be easily deleted from the equation. No matter what your day job, a writer will always be a writer.

Jamie Righetti is a writer, journalist and musician from New York City. After graduating from Columbia University in 2009, she spent two years as a freelance journalist with CNN. Jamie is currently completing her first novel, a female adaptation of Cain and Abel set in 1960's New York City.

Follow Jamie on Twitter: @JamieRighetti
To read some of Jamie's work, please visit: http://jamierighetti.tumblr.com/

Blooming Author Sue London!

Sue London's book Trials of Artemis was published by Graythorn Publishing on May 12, 2013.

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

Trials of Artemis is the first book in a Regency romance series called ""The Haberdashers."" Our narrative starts in London in 1815. Currently you can buy it on Kindle or in a variety of ebook formats via my website.

The "blurb" for the series and first book is:

In 1805 three little girls decided to create a “boys club” because boys have more fun. Their childhood was filled with sword fighting, horse racing, and archery. Now in 1815 they are all grown up and expected to join Society. Who will marry such independent and deadly misses?

Trials of Artemis
Loving Lord Lucifer...
An independent bluestocking sneaks into a library to read rare Greek texts and ends up with a husband instead.

Jacqueline “Jack” Walters loves archery and Greek military history. In her third season she has failed to inspire so much as one marriage proposal and is planning to settle into the quiet life of a spinster.

Gideon Wolfe, Earl of Harrington, has been avoiding marriage but a case of mistaken identity in the library has left him saddled with an argumentative and unwilling fiancee.

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

I've been reading romance for about twenty years and since discovering Mary Balogh have been principally interested in historicals. Entertainingly, one of the reasons I preferred Regencies at first is that they were often ""sweet,"" meaning much more like a straight up Jane Austen with nothing explicit or naughty. Well, the genre has gotten naughtier and I hopped right on board. Please be aware that this book is, um, explicit. Recent authors that have particularly inspired me include Diane Farr (her Fortune Hunter is my favorite), Grace Burrowes, Danelle Harmon, Rose Gordon, Elizabeth Rolls, and Lauren Royal. All fabulous.

Everything inspires me as a writer in general. Doing things, not doing anything, thinking, not thinking...

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 your book? Do you think it was the optimal writing environment for you?

I approach it quietly. They spook easily. Then I lay a trap around it, common referred to as an "outline." And then, if it's still there, I TYPE AS FAST AS I CAN TO COMPLETELY CAPTURE IT BEFORE IT ESCAPES.

The answer to "where" is almost anywhere. In front of the tv at night, at the cabin on vacation, in the bedroom late at night, at the coffee shop on the weekend. My mom gave me a tiny Toshiba netbook that has been my savior because I can take it anywhere and it is easy to use in bed at night.

If I think about the "optimal" writing environment I can come up with all sorts of fabulous ideas, but honestly it doesn't matter where I am or what's going on around me. The whole point of reading and writing is escaping from what's going on in the environment. What's the point of wasting a beautiful interior design on my writing area? 90% of my first book was written while other things were going on. The other 10% I got to sit on the porch staring at the river and enjoying the beautiful nature. The fact that I can remember that means that I WASN'T WRITING ENOUGH. See? Nice environment might equal bad writer productivity."

Tell us about your "story of getting published."

I wrote a blog post about that on one of my blogs. Basically last year I decided that author Sue should query publisher Sue and see if they couldn't get together and make this thing happen. Although they've had their moments of frustration with each other it seems to be working out.

What are the publicity plans you have coming up?

I've done a few things (interviewed on Lindsay Buroker's blog about it) but for the most part I plan to stay quiet until the third book comes out. The most fun thing we've done so far is doing a livetweet with @erinscafe May 19th on the #haberdashers tag. Hilarious.