Today I have the privilege of sharing fellow author R J Mirabal, who lived in the Middle Rio Grande Valley most of his life. Recognized with awards for teaching, RJ taught high school English, speech, and drama. Now retired, he purses writing and music and volunteering. RJ enjoys exploring New Mexico’s wilderness on his four-wheeler, hiking, and hanging out with his wife, Cheryl. The Tower of Il Serrohe (Finalist for 2013 New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards) is Book I of The Rio Grande Parallax series. Extreme Dust Storms May Exist, Book II of the series, was released in 2015 (Finalist for 2016 New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards) while Zero Visibility Possible, Book III, released 2016, concludes the series.

The Rio Grande Parallax series starts with The Tower of Il Serrohe, Book I. After his wife kicked him out of their house, Don Vargas rents a dilapidated casita which – unknown to him –is actually a portal to another world.

A bat, Nightwing, lures Don through the dusty Portal on a quest into the Valle Abajo, where local clanspeople urge him to save them from the wily Soreyes’ and their mysterious Tower. Complications arise, spawning the dramatic conclusion.

Five years later, in Extreme Dust Storms May Exist, Book II,  Esther, a sixteen-year-old honor student athlete and cousin to Don, suffers a mysterious accident and dreams of an ominous valley much like her Rio Luna home.

Esther hears whispers in the darkness when the bat, Nightwing, slams against her window during a wind storm. The bat persuades the resourceful Esther to drive the Soreyes from the Valle Abajo – the valley of her dreams. Once there, new dangers threaten Esther and the clans while mysterious presence lurks in the background. The saga continues, leading to a gut wrenching cliffhanger…

In Zero Visibility Possible, Book III, adventure continues at a breakneck pace to the shocking conclusion of the series. Impossible odds face two companies of comrades who have traveled far to the Mountains of the Sky and the forbidding lava field of the Malpais seeking answers to mysteries.

New Soreye terrors abound. No one knows whether the travelers will return. Back in Rio Luna, Esther’s disappearance continues to confound her parents. New riddles—including those surrounding Don—and unforeseen threats add confusion. Facing challenges more insurmountable than bringing down the Tower of Il Serrohe, can the hapless clanspeople hope for freedom?

Hi RJ , Please tell us, What Inspires and stirs your creativity?

RJ: My main source of inspiration is “walking through the tail of a comet”—a brilliant idea that came out of nowhere striking me almost fully formed in a flash. Several great ideas in my Southwest (USA) based fantasy series either occurred in a moment or in the twilight zone between dreaming and wakefulness.

In a less dramatic fashion I have been inspired by my life, interesting people I have known, and the locale where I have lived my whole life: Central New Mexico—the lush landscape along the middle Rio Grande River that flourishes alongside the high desert and the pine-covered mountains within sight of that well-known river. The small towns and their people near the river are ingrained in my life, memories and imagination. So when I sought out a landscape for my tale, this is the only place I could write about with authority and passion.

Finally, I’ve always been fascinated by the concepts of perception. Everything we know about the outside world, if it truly exists, is through our perceptions and our mind’s ability to make sense (or not!) of what we think is outside ourselves. This idea intrigues me because none of us can prove the universe and everything in it really exists. Or if it exists as we perceive it to exist. My story explores throughout.

Even at the end of the trilogy, the question is implied: did this really happen?

 What do you feel is your best advice to share with other aspiring authors?

RJ: Write. And when you can, write some more. About anything. Any time you can. Only by writing can you find your voice and perfect your style (and the fundamentals of good writing). I’m still working on it. So it’s not a done deal and I suspect that’s true of all writers.

Once you’ve written something you would dare to reveal to the world, find your audience and the vehicle that works for you. It might be a blog, a web site where you publish your work, something like Kindle Direct Publishing (eBooks), CreateSpace, an independent publisher, or a mainline publisher (which includes magazine publishers). There are so many options available to writers, many of them as easy as logging online or as challenging as getting an agent and a major publishing contract.

Start at a more down-to-Earth level and as you elicit positive responses from an audience, work your way up or stay wherever you like.

But… Don’t Quit Your Day Job! Very, very, very few (far less than 1 %) of people who publish anything make any money at it or even enough to live on. It’s a passion, an artistic expression, and a desire to share your vision with the world. If you make the big time—Wow! Good for you! But don’t count on it. Don’t even need it because it’s likely you’ll be disheartened.

If you find some good folks who like what you do, that’s golden. The rest of gravy.

Now quit reading this and start writing! 

When you are NOT writing, what is your favourite pastime?

RJ: Plural pastimes is more appropriate. I love music and took up a new instrument, the hammered dulcimer (HD), a few years ago when I completed my career as a high school teacher. I belong to a “support” group of fellow HD players, I’m on the board of directors for a dulcimer festival (including mountain dulcimers as well as HD) here in New Mexico, and I play with another lady at local retirement homes and folk venues.

Growing up in farm country, I’ve always enjoyed the outdoors. I find satisfaction now days by riding a 4Wheeler all over New Mexico on wilderness roads in the mountains and across the deserts. It’s not only the outdoors but the power and sound of the engine taking me places that appeals to my heart and soul. It was that way when I rode motorcycles all over the USA for many years until a few too many close-calls grounded me from searching out the remote highways.

Today, I’ve also taken up hiking in a way more serious than any other time in my life and I love the exploration, the direct contact with the terrain, and the physical challenge of a great climb. Related to that is urban exploring while walking my dog and watching her take in the environment in ways human beings can only imagine.

Of course, there’s some volunteer work with organizations because all former teachers are great organizers if they are to be remotely successful.

Yet I desire more traveling and mutual projects with my wife, so there’s still a lot of living to do before… “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.” (King James Bible). I’m hoping for five score!

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Thank you RJ for stopping by and sharing a bit about yourself and your writing.

Please be sure to visit RJ at his social places: 

RJ’s Blog and web site: http://rjmirabal.wordpress.com/ 

Please contact RJ with questions and comments at: rjmirabal@gmail.com

Watch/Listen to RJ the Story Guy (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC8htvttHV5lKiCgDU6qP0g) read chapters from The Tower of Il Serrohe on YouTube

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rj.mirabal

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rj_mirabal

Google +: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+RJMirabal/posts

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~Morgan~

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Today I’d like to introduce you to fellow Author Leslie Conzatti.  Leslie is an avid writer and a voracious reader residing in the Pacific Northwest. Equipped with a vibrant, active imagination, Leslie has been crafting stories and creating fantasies out of the world around her and the one within her mind since before she learned to read. From the start of the very first book, Leslie has been committed to the production of lasting literature intended to invest in the lives of her readers, motivating them to become more involved in the world around them.

Leslie holds a Bachelor’s degree in English, and when she’s not pegging away at the myriad story ideas she has started in her spare time, Leslie works as an elementary school staff assistant, teaching kids the intricacies of reading and writing English.

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Please Introduce us to your Blog.  What is it all about?  My blog is called “The Upstream Writer.” I chose the title based on a story I heard during a very inspiring discussion.

The story described a river in East India, one full of trash, human and animal waste, and all sorts of disgusting filth. Yet if one were to just station themselves mid-river and attempt to “clean” the river by dredging the garbage from it, there would always be more garbage flowing through from further up-river. To complete the task effectively, then, one must travel upstream and get at the source of the nastiness, and the water flowing down would eventually become gradually cleaner.

I understood this as a very applicable metaphor for what I saw in literary trends in America, particularly after I studied the whole history of American literature in college. I saw the “downstream” trend of “filth” building up on library shelves, with more “garbage” books being produced, and less of the wholesome, “clean” literature that would still be cherished by future generations, centuries later, in the same way many of us still cherish the “classics.” Where are the “classics” today? I wondered.

As an “Upstream Writer”, then, I set out to write literature that would stand the test of time to become “classic.” I welcomed the opportunity to feature reviews and participate in blog hops and interviews to encourage other writers who share the same goal in creating quality literature rather than “flash-in-the-pan”, popular doggerel “that sells.” That’s what my blog is all about, and that is what all of my writing is geared toward.

What kinds of posts can readers expect to find on your blog?  I tend to have quite the variety of posts. I use “The Upstream Writer” as a platform for both reviews and sharing my own writing. As a general overview, I’ll explain the various pages/tabs I have on my blog. Under “Articles”, I have linked all the non-fiction-type posts, such as “Top 3/5/10 Lists”, “Sunday Musings” (different posts I’ve written based on sermons that stick with me), and “How To” posts.

Under “Reader’s Reviews” is where you’ll find all my 70+ featured book reviews by indie/self-published authors, as well as the Reading Lists I compiled during the first 3 years of my blog.

“Flash Fictions” is fairly recent, and it has an assortment of single-scene or mini-series I’ve written, mostly along the lines of “fairy tales with a twist” and usually inspired by someone else.

“Serial Saturdays” is quite hefty because it’s the one kind of post I’ve been able to continue with plenty of regularity for the last four-and-a-half years of my blog’s lifetime. I have everything sorted and linked, categorized by the various complete stories, or excerpts (if I already have the series posted somewhere else), as well as the “Suggestion Box” series I’m kind of known for (among those who know me).

“The Shelf” is a bunch of half-finished or incomplete ideas in various stages—I “store” them here in the hope that sparking interest in other people will help motivate me to revisit and hopefully complete them.

The “Blogs I Follow” page is a list of links to a bunch of helpful blogs I have subscribed to, of other writers like me that I hope to encourage. (It hasn’t been updated in a while, so I’m sorry if there are any defunct links in the bunch!)

The last 2 pages, “The ReBible Series” and “Princess of Undersea” deal with at least 2 ideas that are more permanent and wide-spread than those I’ve listed on The Shelf. “Princess of Undersea” in particular is my first published book, and I made that page to link to all the various posts I’ve made during its development, as well as tie-in stories and reviews on other blogs.

What Inspires and stirs your creativity?  One thing that I’ve never quite been able to get away from is the habit of finding inspiration just about anywhere. A pair of broken eyeglasses in the middle of the road, a simple sentence quoted somewhere, a string of story ideas on Tumblr, or even a single picture with no words—I see it and immediately I want to create a context for the thing’s existence, to explain how it got there, and what might happen next. My “Suggestion Box” series began when I wanted to write new ideas, but I didn’t know where to start. I sent messages to all the friends I knew who either read a lot or wrote books, and I asked them for a list of four things: a name, a place, a time, and an object. I placed no guidelines, allowed them to be as vague or specific as they liked—I assured them that the 4 things didn’t have to have anything to do with one another (what does “a can of orange juice” have to do with “the year 4093”? Absolutely nothing, at first glance… but then again, I managed to come up with something)—and my personal challenge was to write a story or a scene incorporating all four things. This challenge lasted me the whole summer the first time I tried it, and the second year I was able to actually string the lists together to make a continuous story that actually turned out better than I could have hoped, and the third summer I tried it, I got so many responses that it lasted an entire year! All from just random lists from random people of those four simple elements of a premise: a name, a place, a time, and an object.

Conversely, what do you find difficult to write about?  What you would find on my blog is a lot of step-by-step guides to being a professional writer, or a lot of moving passages about social issues or emotional trauma—I admire and I have a lot of blogger friends who can do that, but I just can’t seem to produce it myself.

How has your blog helped you as a writer/Indie Author? What things have you learned along the way that you never anticipated?  My blog has helped me build confidence that my thoughts could be valuable to someone (for example, the all-time-highest performing blog post that still receives hits to this day is the first-ever how-to post I wrote, “How To Write An A+ Essay From Any Prompt In 5 Easy Steps”), that strangers would be supportive of my writing, and to actually to write more than I ever did before. I kind of attribute it to the fact that saying “I have a blog” is a lot easier than saying “I have three different 50-page documents that are stories I wrote, do you want to read them?”

I have learned that “a picture is worth a thousand clicks” (therefore I always try to have some kind of picture attached to the post—definitely it gets more clicks than the posts I have with no pictures!), I’ve learned that “networking is key” (so the more blog hops and book reviews I post, the more hits my blog gets as the author/blog hop participants share my blog around, thus expanding my network further than just the people I know) and that “think first, then write” is always the better option!

Tell us about your book:  “Princess of Undersea” is a fantasy re-telling of the classic fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, “The Little Mermaid.” The young daughter of the king of mer-people defies a long-standing kingdom boundary to walk among the humans and prove that they aren’t as terrible as her father claims—and unwittingly becomes a pawn in a deep-laid plot that could spell disaster for the undersea kingdom as well as the one on land.

What Inspired you to write your book?   I’d always enjoyed Disney’s The Little Mermaid, and I grew up reading the original fairy tale. There were a few things, however, that didn’t sit so well with me—the blatant rebellion of Ariel rewarded with Disney’s signature “Happy Ever After” for one thing, the rather depressing ending of the original fairy tale for another… plus a whole lot of little details in between. I set out to write my own version, with little tweaks and changes that would carry a slightly different, and more worthwhile, message.

What genre do you prefer to write or are you truly eclectic?  I write mostly fantasy—typically of the urban or high-fantasy variety. But there are times when I’ve tried my hand at cyberpunk, a little bit of historical fiction (particularly in the ReBible series), but most of the time, I like inventing my own settings and the rules by which it operates, so fantasy or sci-fi is the name of the game!

Do you painstakingly plot out your story; are you a discovery writer or a bit of both? Why?  I am largely a plotter, but not painstakingly so—at least, not painstaking in my research. Mostly, what I concern myself with is crafting the story that comes across in my head, and with as many stories as I have unfinished at a time, I need to write things down because I don’t want to risk forgetting them. Sometimes, with as long as it takes me to write a story, the plot direction that I have at the beginning of the changes as I go to write it. Just because I have a plan at the outset doesn’t mean I stick to it—sometimes the plan serves as more of a “checkpoint” so that I can stay on track with at least a coherent sense of story.

Do you have a favorite or least favorite character? And Why?  My favorite character would probably be Giles, King Theodore’s steward and the mentor for Prince Nathan. It was really fascinating when I first came up with the idea, because I initially thought that for this “steward” character, I would take the characters Sebastian and Grimsby from the Disney movie and create a combination of them, someone stuffy, arrogant, paranoid, and very critical of Ylaine—but then, out of the blue, this man shows up, “introduces” himself as Giles, and he ends up so kind and concerning and noble that I didn’t have the heart to continue with my original idea!

Share an insight or secret about your book. 

There were two details I changed a whole lot:

• The mermaids. It never sat well with me, the idea of having to describe and justify mermaids in the traditional sense, with the human torso and the fish tail—like why would an aquatic creature have human skin and features? Why does the top half need to be covered if clothes create more drag? If modesty is an issue—how did an aquatic creature develop such human-like tendencies? How does any of this make sense? I decided that a mermaid, rather than just being a combination of half-human, half-fish, would be a hybrid of the two, too human to be rightly classified as a fish, too fish-like to be taken for a human. Merpeople would have scaly, streamlined body, with arms like a person and a single tail like a fish, the face arranged like a humans, but gill slits and fish eyes instead of the human features—things like that. The “skin tone” would vary as much as human skin tone does, only in hues of blue, green, and grey rather than beige and brown tones.

• The mermaid’s voice. In every iteration of the Little Mermaid story I’ve ever encountered, the mermaid yields her voice completely to become human. The iteration “it’s she who holds her tongue who gets her man” was another assertion that didn’t jive with me. I didn’t think it was completely fair for the girl to lose her voice completely and have literally no say in the matter of the relationship that was supposed to develop, and I thought it was kind of stupid to expect a guy to just fall in love with the girl’s looks rather than her thoughts, which she would need a voice to express… So in my story, she has a special gift, a magical singing voice given to her by a fairy, and this is what she gives up. Without the special song, she can still speak, but her voice is flat and dull, and she cannot speak without a pronounced stutter. It made quite a difference in the dynamic between Nathan and Ylaine, my two main characters, when I had to think about him patiently waiting to understand her through the constant stutter—such a thing would force him to listen closely to her, and she wouldn’t be able to sustain talking for long periods, not when every word is a struggle.

So there you have it, two things to look forward to in this adventure, which you won’t necessarily find in any other version on the market!

What do you feel is your best advice to share with other aspiring authors?  My best advice is just to write. Write lots, write often. Don’t let yourself get bogged down with researching absolutely everything into oblivion, don’t let the self-doubt gremlins get you, don’t get stuck in the rut of just one project till you burn out—write a lot, read a lot—don’t worry about crossing genres. Something you read in a crime thriller just might kickstart an idea to help you in your high-fantasy adventure story. Good writing is good writing; the genre doesn’t matter.

Would you like to share an excerpt from the book or a poem or two to give readers an idea what you offer?  Here’s a brief excerpt, just one page of the novel:

“—So you see, that’s why I need more than one day, because I want to find him, Nayidia!” Ylaine’s voice pleaded with her. “I need to find him.”

The timbre resonated with ardent longing that told the merwoman that her goddaughter’s heart was already hovering on the surface of the water. Time for her body to join it.

“And what will you do when you find him, Ylaine?” Nayidia asked carefully.

The fluttering of the gills was the Mermaid equivalent of a blush. “I don’t know.” Ylaine looked as if she wanted to loose her hair and let if float in front of her face to avoid her godmother’s gaze.

Nayidia let Ylaine wonder for several minutes, and then said slowly, as if the idea had just occurred to her, “I am afraid I cannot make the potions last any longer, but I do have some old three-day potion.” Nayidia swam down to the belly of the ship to retrieve the vial of potion.

Ylaine was so excited to receive it that she did not notice the sparkling sheen of fresh-brewed potion. “Three days?”

“Yes; you’ll be human for three days—unless…” Nayidia broke off just long enough for Ylaine to look up expectantly, then shook her head. “Never mind, it’s silly.”

“What is?” Ylaine took the bait as easily as a tarpon.

If you had to describe yourself to someone who has never met you, what might you say?  I’m nerdy, but I’m also introverted. I can be shy at first, but once we find common ground, I will warm up quickly and tend to cover my nervousness by getting really excited over the things I like! I don’t talk much in general, but when it’s a topic I enjoy, I will chat myself hoarse.

If you could meet one person from the past, who might it be and why?  I think I would have loved to meet J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and all the rest of the Inklings—just being in a room with that much literary genius, geeking out over dead languages and alternate worlds would be amazing!

When you are NOT writing, what is your favorite pastime?  What do you mean when I’m not writing? You mean when I’m working or sleeping? Just kidding. When I’m not writing, I read. When I don’t feel like interacting with words at all, I usually pull out one of the small collection of art therapy/adult coloring books I have, and color one of those.

Describe Your Dream Getaway Destination.  Have you ever been there?  What makes this place Irresistible to you?  Dream getaway? Well, on my bucket list is to tour all four countries in the UK: England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. I am absolutely enamored with the landscape and the music and the art—I haven’t been, but I very much want to go!

What “Charity” or “Cause” do you feel passionately about & Why?  Literature is quite possibly my greatest passion. I realized it when I studied American Literature for two semesters and it absolutely pained my soul to see the quality of content decline sharply with each successive movement. Writers got angrier and more depressed, stopped seeing the beauty and the hope in life and the world, and instead of being a catalyst for change and motivation and hope, the written word became a platform for complaining and vitriol between cultures and societies.

It needs to change, and I want to be someone who inspires that change. I want to bring hope back into literature, I want to bring quality back to literature. It shouldn’t be just about slapping my feelings onto a page; books are the instruments of change, so what do we want the world to look like? Do we seriously want a world full of filth and degradation—or do we want it to end up differently than the dull, depraved dystopia we are painting? Literature should empower the reader with a sense of purpose, of understanding, and of hope. I want to be and to encourage those writers who produce not just “to sell” but “to improve the world and future generations.”

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Thanks So much Leslie for sharing your insights with BnV today 🙂
Please be sure to visit Leslie at her social places:

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~Morgan~

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Today I am proud to introduce you to fellow Creativia Author Natalie Case.  Natalie Case was born telling stories, or so she says when asked. Words were her first love and she grew up finding new ways to put words together to tell stories. Known to occasionally commit random acts of poetry, Natalie primarily dabbles in worlds where magic exists, where vampires and shape-shifters share page time with gods and demons and characters that are born inside her head find themselves struggling in a world made real through the magic of words.

Refusing to be confined to a single genre, Natalie’s current works in progress span, and sometimes combine, horror, fantasy, sci-fi and more.

Hi Natalie 🙂  Please Introduce us to your Blog.  What is it all about?   What sorts of posts do you lean towards?

I actually have *several* blogs.  I’m a compartmentalizer.  I like to organize things.  My primary blog today is my author’s blog.  I write about writing and reading.  I write about my process, my inspiration.  I introduce characters from my current work.  I am working toward doing book reviews mixed with author interviews, but I haven’t decided exactly what that will look like.

I also have a weight-loss blog that I post to sporadically, documenting my journey from 320 pounds down to wherever I end up, somewhere south of 200 is the plan.  Add to that a poetry blog and my general blog that is where I tend to talk about current events, or other things that are weighing on my mind.  That’s where you’ll find my thoughts on the political world, religion and other weighty subjects.

In order:

www.nataliejcase.com

https://aweightyjourneysite.wordpress.com/

https://weightywordspoetry.wordpress.com/

https://myweightinwords.wordpress.com/

What Inspires and stirs your creativity?

Almost anything.  I like to people watch, and a lot of my stories begin with a character.  Sometimes that character is inspired by a person I know or have seen…sometimes it is an amalgamation of multiple people.  I also like “what if” scenarios….given this character in this situation, what would happen if….

As an empath, I am also drawn to emotional scenarios.  I like to explore emotion, even the darker emotions.  Different people experience emotions differently, which is how two people who live through the same horror can come out completely differently, with different memories of the event, and different feelings about it.

Psychology intrigues me as well, when it comes to characters.  I like to explore the psychological responses of different types of characters to stimuli.

This is why my work is largely character driven.

Conversely, what do you find difficult to write about?

I don’t think I really have any topics I would shy away from, I’d just make certain it goes in the right place.  You won’t see politics on my author’s blog, unless it’s the politics of the world I am crafting.  On My Weight in Words though?  Pretty much anything goes.

That isn’t to say that there aren’t difficult subjects, but I believe in delving into the difficult things and figuring out why they are difficult.

What Message, if any, do you hope to Share through your blog/posts?

I hope that any of my blogs present who I am as a person…what I believe and why.

I hope that people see me as a kindness spreading, equality supporting defender of the innocent and vulnerable who knows that she can only change the world by changing herself…someone who gives you permission to exist exactly as you are, but expects you to take responsibility for yourself, what you believe and how you live that belief.

How has your blog helped you as a writer/Indie Author? What things have you learned along the way that you never anticipated?

Something I told myself when I started to blog was that what I wrote there was for me, and that it didn’t matter if no one ever read it.  That’s a lesson I learned early in my life.  If I write for me, and my work makes me happy, that is what matters.  Anyone else enjoying it is just icing on the cake.  I don’t get a lot of feedback on any of my blogs, and that’s okay.  When I do, I find that it’s mostly people who agree with me, and there’s not a lot to be learned from that, you know?

Tell us about your book(s):

My first book is Forever.  It is a story that began when I was only 16 years old.  It took me more than 20 years to bring to fruition, and another 10 to find its way into the world.  It is the story of a half vampire, and her attempt to reconcile her human half with the monster within.

My second book, Through Shade and Shadow is the first in a series that was originally envisioned as a trilogy, but may end up being more.  It is a paranormal thriller, set in America with a political climate not unlike today’s America.  It tells the story of four tribes of men with extra-human power and the world that seeks to destroy them.

The next book in that series, In Gathering Shade, is currently with my editor and the third is sitting at just shy of 50K words on my laptop.

What Inspired you to write your book?

It began with the first of the four tribes, the Shades.  Anyone who knows me know I love vampire lore, and I always look to find a way to remain true to that lore while also working to make my vampires my own.  That’s where Shades started.  The political part of the story, well, I didn’t need to look far for that.  Of course, when the story first started to be written, more than 5 years ago, the political situation was nothing like what it is today.  In fact, that was why I set the story aside back then, it wasn’t realistic.  I didn’t think I could make it believable.

Last year I realized that reality had outstripped my fantasy completely, so I pulled it back out.

From what Point of View do you prefer to write? Is there a reason?

That depends on the story.  Forever is written in the first person.  I felt it necessary to tell Amara’s story in her voice. There is also a lot of me in Amara, so it felt natural.

But Through Shade and Shadow is third person, and that is in part due to the fact that I needed many voices to tell the story.  In the course of the series we see the story unfold from the point of view of several of the characters, starting with Mason and Alaric in the first book, and moving into the rest of the cast in the second.

How would you describe your “Voice” or Style of writing?

Hmm…I’m not sure I have any one voice.  If you look at Forever, it is a very different style from Through Shade and Shadow.  And my short stories all have their own voice, their own style.  I think I find a voice that suits the story.

In truth, I often challenge myself to try new voices, new styles.  I don’t want to fall into a place where my writing is predictable, yet I still want it to be recognizable as mine.

What genre do you prefer to write or are you truly eclectic?

I tend toward the eclectic.  I obviously favor fantasy and I’m working on my sci-fi chops…but I also like to blend genres.  I’ve written horror and romance, mystery (which I’m not very good at), sci fi, urban fantasy, paranormal and political pieces.  Again, I like to challenge myself.

I don’t see myself dipping my toe back into the romance genre, mostly because it isn’t something I’m interested in reading, and I probably won’t try mystery again.  I’m happy to try most anything else.

Do you painstakingly plot out your story; are you a discovery writer or a bit of both? Why?

Hmmm…somewhere in the middle I guess.  Most of my stories begin with a character or a scene and I work out the general plot from there, but I don’t sit down and outline the story at any point.  It’s more of I have these scenes that I know are where I am going, and I might know how it ends…but the journey is often a mystery to me until the words come out of my fingers.

Which is why I sometimes find pieces I’ve started living in some notebook or file on my computer and I don’t even remember writing them.

The last time I sat down and plotted out an entire story, then tried to write that story, I lost interest two chapters in…because I already knew what happened, so there was no joy in the journey.

Do you have a favourite or least favourite character? And Why?

Yeah, I think I develop favorites.  Amara will always have a very big place in my heart.  In my current work, I have developed a very devoted love to one of my most difficult characters.  She’s a belligerent teenager with a broken past and a sharp tongue and a talent for getting what she wants.

I have a handful of characters that I’ve been holding on to for a long time, and soon I will get to tell their stories, and they are precious to me.  But I’ll keep holding on to them until the time is right.

Share an insight or secret about your book(s).

Forever: I had a lot of people correct me when Amara named her daughter Francis, because that is the male version of the name.  The truth is Amara wouldn’t care about that.  She named the girl for her father, and in her mind Francis was the way that he spelled it, so she would do the same.

TSAS: At one time, I knew how the series ended.  Now I’m not so sure.

What do you feel is your best advice to share with other aspiring authors?

Write.  Write every day.  Write your truth.  Write what matters to you.  Write the story you want to read.

AND

Don’t be afraid of the editor.  Find yourself an editor who doesn’t coddle you.  Find a writer’s group that will bleed all over your page.  Learn from them.  It will make you a better writer.

Would you like to share an excerpt from the book or a poem or two to give readers an idea what you offer?

From the beginning of Forever:

I am comfortable in the dark, when the moon slumbers and clouds dim the stars and the smell of the earth rises in the still air.  Perhaps that still moment is the only place I am comfortable.   My years have been long and have seen me travel nearly all of this world, often alone.  I have given life and dealt death, but I offer no regret.  Regret is a waste of effort when justice brings the guilty no peace.  I will see justice in the end, I am certain of that, for all that I have done, and all I have not.

So much has gone now and I am ill at ease with the time, the waiting, here at the end of my life.  The ancient game is played out and three souls, born together in the lost pages of time are as they were meant to be…but to tell that story, my story, I must go back to the beginning, before I came to be, before any of us had come to be.

It begins near to the birth of time, or man’s keeping of it, when three brothers entered into an unholy bond, bound by blood to the night, trading the daylight for eternal life.  The stories tell of their calling, the slaughter of their mortal families, and the beginning of what would be called The Family.  The middle brother, a brutish man named Crenoral, chose my mother to be his first bride.  She had been a farmer’s wife, and was pregnant, only barely so, when Crenoral came and called her into the night.  She followed him, bringing me with her, and leaving behind a mortal family of two sons to mourn her.  It was some time after that when I came to be born.

Our existence and all of its dark burden was new to us then.  There were no rules to our existence, save for the drinking of blood and the death that rose with each sunrise.  The Family was small, those three brothers, their brides and the occasional other whom they adopted along the way.  In all there were no more than twelve in my earliest memories, aside from Crenoral and his brothers.

Now lets learn about YOU.  If you had to describe yourself to someone who has never met you, what might you say?

My brief bio on my blog says, “An overweight, underpaid, opinionated anomaly with internet access- Pagan, Poet, Photographer, Author, Daughter of Morrigan, Lover of Ravens, Healer, Shaman, Friend” but I don’t think that is all of it anymore.

I am many things.  I am me.

If you could meet one person from the past, who might it be and why?

Mary Shelley.  She was a woman who managed to write in a time and place when women weren’t embraced as authors and her work is still mesmerizing to this day.  I would love to talk to her about her inspiration, about the world she lived in.

When you are NOT writing, what is your favourite pastime?

As I said above, I am many things, and I have many hobbies.  I’m a semi-pro photographer and I do craftwork, crochet mostly, but knitting and clay and other fun things.  I am a music hound.  I love live music and will travel great distances to see bands that I love.  And travel itself.  I love to just get in the car and go.

Describe Your Dream Getaway Destination.  Have you ever been there?  What makes this place Irresistible to you?

So many places, for so many different reasons.  Currently at the top of my wish list is Rome.  I am drawn to history, and Roman history is something that fascinates me.

Do you have a Mantra?

Kindness Matters

What “Charity” or “Cause” do you feel passionately about & Why?

I have a few that are important to me.  The top of that list is Equality.  I believe, and will fight for, equality for all, regardless of skin color, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity.  We all deserve to have the same rights and privileges, the same duty and responsibility without regard to things we cannot change.

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Thanks so much for sharing your insights and writing with BnV today Natalie 🙂  I hope readers will pop by your blogs and say hello 🙂

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~Morgan~

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Please allow me to introduce fellow author Joseph Mulak, author of Haunted Whispers, Burnt Ashes, and Little Angels. He has had stories published in Death Be Not Proud, Dangers Untold, and Dark Things II, among other anthologies. He lives in North Bay, Ontario with his wife, Alicia, and five children. He is currently at work on several new writing projects.

Please Introduce us to your Blog.  What is it all about?   What sorts of posts do you lean towards?   My blog is mostly about topics concerning the genres I tend to write in. Mostly horror. Anything relevant to the genre is fair game. One thing I really enjoy doing is promoting other authors’ work. So I post reviews of books I like in the hopes of garnering the authors a few more readers.

What Inspires and stirs your creativity?  Just about everything. I get ideas from every aspect of my life whether it be work, family, friends, or even conversations I overhear in public. That and reading good fiction. Reading someone else’s work eggs me on to do better and finish whatever I happen to be working on.

Conversely, what do you find difficult to write about?  If there’s something too difficult to write about, I haven’t found it yet. Over the years I’ve had several blogs covering various topics. I’ve written about politics, religion, social issues, anything is fair game. Although I’ve toned down more recently. Now that my work seems to be garnering more of a readership, I tend to stay away from the more controversial topics so as to not alienate my readers. As consumers of art, we often have a tendency to not separate the artist from the art. We can’t support someone that we disagree with. So I’ve put my opinions on religion and politics aside and focus on more general topics.

What Message, if any, do you hope to Share through your blog/posts?  I don’t try to put messages in my work. Usually there’s a theme I deal with such as addiction, poverty, family, etc. But I don’t want to be preachy. As a genre writer, my job is to entertain, so I try to keep that in mind whether I’m writing fiction, a blog post, an interview, or a grocery list.

How has your blog helped you as a writer/Indie Author? What things have you learned along the way that you never anticipated?   I’m not sure if it’s helped me. I hope some people have found my books through my blog, which is its main purpose. As for what I’ve learned along the way? My job, first and foremost, is to entertain. I always try to keep that in mind, which is why I keep certain opinions to myself.

Tell us about your book(s):  I currently have four books in print. Flushed, which is about love and poker; Haunted Whispers, my short story collection; Burnt Ashes (soon to be renamed to Ashes to Ashes, brand new cover and everything) is a zombie novel; and I just recently put out a 10,000 word novella called Little Angels, which is more or less a ghost story.

What Inspired you to write your book?  Depends on which book, I guess. Flushed came out of two failed relationships I’ve had and the fact that I stayed an irresponsible and immature person until my late 20s.

Burnt Ashes started out being about drug addiction and by the end of the first chapter (while keeping the drug addiction theme) turned into a book about my somewhat strained relationship with my older brother.

Haunted Whispers is a collection of short stories and it covers a broad range of themes and styles. It would take a long time to go through all the various influences.

Little Angels was influenced by a family trip to Nova Scotia when I was 12 or 14. My father and I found an old graveyard and everyone buried there was 12 years old or younger. It was also influenced by my lifelong battle with depression.

From what Point of View do you prefer to write? Is there a reason?  My favourite depends on which best suits the story. I’ve written in both and there are pros and cons to each one. I tend to write in third person most of the time, because it’s less restrictive, though I do turn to first person every once in a while since I do like the reader only having the same information as the POV character. Makes the story that much more mysterious.

How would you describe your “Voice” or Style of writing?  I’m told my voice is relaxed and conversational, which is great. People seem to enjoy it.

What genre do you prefer to write or are you truly eclectic?   Horror. I only have one work outside of the genre and I’m pretty sure it was one-time thing. My mind just tends to go in that direction when I’m thinking up stories. But, within the horror genre, I’m all over the place. I’ve written zombie stories, horror-comedies, I’ve had one or two of my stories described as “torture-porn,” I’ve written creepy ghost stories. Readers never really know what they’re getting with my stuff. I love most of the horror sub-genres, so I tend to write in a lot of them.

Do you painstakingly plot out your story; are you a discovery writer or a bit of both? Why?  I typically start with an idea, whether it’s a character I find intriguing or an opening scene, and go from there. I don’t usually know where the story is headed until I’m about halfway through. I like to think of it this way: When you get into a situation where your life is in danger, you have no idea what you’re going to do until you learn more about the situation, the antagonist, etc. That’s how I like to write. I like to learn more about the characters and the situation I’ve tossed them in before I figure out how they’re going to respond to it and ultimately win. Or lose, depending. I know a lot of authors recommend not doing this. I just read an article by John Grisham recently where he states that even authors who say they don’t outline really do. This isn’t true and I’m not sure where he gets this idea. But doing it this way seems to be working for me so far.

Do you have a favourite or least favourite character? And Why?  Probably Todd Wright, one of the two brothers who are the main protagonists in Burnt Ashes. Todd is a musician, suffers from depression, is a recovering addict, is divorced, has a poor relationship with his brother, feels like a failure most of the time, and has a sarcastic sense of humour. These are traits Todd and I both share, so I relate to him more than most of my other characters.

Share an insight or secret about your book(s). Readers can’t put them down because I lace the covers with superglue.

HA HA HA Thats Great 🙂  What do you feel is your best advice to share with other aspiring authors?   I really don’t like this question. When I first started out writing, I read a lot of how-to books on how to write bestsellers, how to get published, how to get an agent, how lace the covers with superglue so readers can’t put them down, etc. The one common thread I’ve noticed in all these books, is there is no common thread between them. They all have different advice. The reason for this is every writer’s journey is different. Some books that shouldn’t be bestsellers are, and some that should be, aren’t. It has nothing to do with talent (though talent is important), it’s not about hard work (thought that’s important too). It’s a lot about luck. Why is Stephen King one of only a handful of horror writers on the bestseller lists? He happened to write a book that filled a need and got it in the hands of enough readers. There are better writers than Stephen King who still have their day jobs. The only advice to give to aspiring authors is Ass To Chair, Fingers To Keyboard. Write. Write. Write. Edit. Edit. Edit. Work hard to write the best book you can then hope someone wants to read it.

Would you like to share an excerpt from the book or a poem or two to give readers an idea what you offer?  Sure. Here’s a scene from Little Angels:

Gary hated hospitals under the best of circumstances. Nothing good ever happened in them. It’s where people went to die. Every one of his family members who went into a hospital didn’t come out until it was time to be transferred to the morgue.

The waiting was the worst part. He sat in the waiting room while the doctors examined Beth. He tried to insist on going in. No doctor was going to tell him to wait outside while his wife and child were in danger. But the doctor threatened to call security and Gary realized he was being more of a hindrance than a help so he reluctantly stayed behind, unable to find anything to occupy his mind except to imagine every worst case scenario his mind could conjure.

An eternity and three minutes later, the doctor emerged, walking straight toward him. The man’s face was deadpan, no sign of emotion to indicate to Gary what was going on until the doctor started to speak.

His mind was in such a fog, he barely heard a word the doctor said to him.

“….very sorry for your loss…these things happen…no way of telling the cause…be fine in a day or two…”

The one thing he did remember the doctor telling him was there would be no need for surgery in cases like this. The foetus would expel itself shortly.

Foetus. That very morning it was “the baby” or “our daughter.” Suddenly, it wasn’t only the child that had died. Its identity died with it and was now known as “the foetus.” Gary thought about how strange it was that people could distance themselves from something just by changing its name. “Child” was too personal. “Foetus” meant you got to sleep later that night.

But neither Gary nor Beth got to sleep that night. Or for several nights thereafter. Gary spent the late evening hours consoling his sobbing wife while he wished he could cry with her, but felt the need to at least appear strong for her. If they both lost it, who would be there to keep them together? Gary had to keep control of the situation, no matter how lost he felt.

The late night crying sessions went on for months. Gary had taken time off work to be with his wife, but he knew he would have to return soon. His employer’s patience would only go so far, but Beth’s mood was nowhere near improving and he had no idea what the couple was going to do once it was time for him to go back.

And still they waited for the dreaded day when the foetus would expel itself from Beth’s body, but after several months, that day still hadn’t come.

Gary felt they had waited long enough and took Beth back to the hospital to see what could be done. There was no way he could be sure, but he felt there was a possibility carrying a dead child inside of her could be affecting Beth’s mood. It was worth a shot, at least.

They arrived at the hospital and this time Gary didn’t bother trying to force himself into the room with the doctor and his wife. He already knew from experience what the outcome would be so when the nurse asked him to stay in the waiting room, he obliged and found himself once again feeling alone and helpless.

More waiting.

Gary was told he would have to wait until the doctors were able to remove the child from Beth. It was dead tissue and dead things encourage bacteria, which could cause Beth some serious problems.

Gary braced himself when the doctor came into the waiting room. He’d been bracing himself the entire time he’d been sitting there. But it was futile. He could have spent a million years preparing himself, but it wouldn’t have made him ready to hear what the doctor was about to say.

“There’s no foetus.”

“What do you mean there’s no foetus?” This wasn’t asked in a tone that expressed concern or curiosity. Gary was downright pissed off and was screaming at the doctor.

“Just that, Mr. Becker. We figure your wife must have expelled the foetus and either didn’t notice or didn’t tell anyone.”

“How does someone not notice they’ve expelled a foetus? I’m pretty sure that’s the kind of thing you fucking notice.”

The doctor shrugged.

Gary punched him.

And now for the hard part.  Lets talk about you 🙂  If you had to describe yourself to someone who has never met you, what might you say?   Short, bald, and ugly. Well, I’m a writer. I’m married. I have five kids, four biological and one step-son. I live in a town called North Bay, Ontario, which is in Canada, for the geographically challenged. I’m not sure what else to say about myself.

If you could meet one person from the past, who might it be and why? Anyone, just so I can tell them to quit living in the past.

When you are NOT writing, what is your favourite pastime?  Spending time with my family. We play a lot of board games with the kids. I’ll play Mario Kart on the Wii with the boys. My wife and I spend our evenings on the couch binge watching TV shows. Right now we’re making our way through Republic of Doyle, which is about a family of private investigators in Newfoundland. We’re also watching the current season of Game of Thrones and we just got caught up on American Horror Story’s last season.

Describe Your Dream Getaway Destination.  Have you ever been there?  What makes this place Irresistible to you?   Don’t really have a dream getaway destination, but my wife and I have talked about going to Ireland. Next year. The history of that country is amazing and she wants to see the castles.

Do you have a Mantra?  Is that like a Pokémon?

LOL Not quite…lets try again.  What “Charity” or “Cause” do you feel passionately about & Why?  Autism. My step-son is autistic and there is still a lot of ignorance surrounding it because it’s difficult to understand. People with autism range from very high functioning to very low functioning (which is where my step-son falls), which is why it’s called Autism Spectrum Disorder. My wife was the president of the North Bay and area chapter of Autism Ontario and it’s an organization we’ve done a lot of volunteer work for.

Thanks So Much Joe for sharing your time and insights with BnV 🙂   It’s been great getting to know you and having some laughs!

Please be sure to look Joe up at his social places:

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Today I have the honour of sharing with you fellow blogger Debbie Pierce from Musings by an ND Domer’s Mom blog and author of her first book Unplayable Lie.

Hi Debbie!! Thanks for Sharing your story with BnV today.  Please tell us all about yourself!

About my blog 

My blog, Musings by an ND Domer’s Mom, started for two reasons: to capture my son’s college experience and to follow recommendations I’d received at a writer’s conference to build a platform for my writing.

To say it’s evolved would be an understatement!

I post once a week (more often when I can). Once a month, I share information gleaned from research into healing gemstones. That’s an extension of one of my hobbies, jewelry making. A few years ago, I challenged myself to step out of my comfort zone and try writing poetry. The result is an eclectic mix of haiku, limericks, free verse, ballads, and more catalogued on my Poet’s Page. The bulk of my posts are “slices of life” revolving around seasonal nature photos, travels, parenting, or humorous incidents (some narrated by my Sheltie). And lately, I’ve been including updates from my writer’s journey.

I strive for a conversational tone, like I’m writing a newsy letter to a dear friend. The thing that surprised me most about blogging was how supportive and encouraging this community is. I was a shy child and still tend toward introversion; it required a BIG leap of faith to put my poetry online for others to read. Imagine my delight when they said they enjoyed it!

I’ve written since I could hold a pencil. When I was a kid, I’d check out immense stacks of library books, then tuck myself away visiting new worlds until I was called to chores. I remember starting (but never finishing) novels over most summers. To me, inspiration is all around! Whether it’s a news story in the paper or an overheard conversation or a snippet of research into something interesting, I find ideas plentiful.

On my blog, I avoid contentious discussions about politics, and I keep things family-friendly. I’ve found it next to impossible to write sex scenes in my novels, too. There’s enough of that sort of thing out there without me. Being true to oneself, I’ve found, is the best policy.

My book

My book, Unplayable Lie, is a fiction/thriller about a journalist who faces danger when he allows himself to become emotionally drawn into a story he’s following.

Here’s the premise:

Texas journalist Josh Griffin lives for scoops, but he’s never faced real danger to get one. Nor has he ever been emotionally drawn into his stories. Then he gets an anonymous tip that teenaged golf superstar Lexi Carlisle has been kidnapped, and Josh embarks on an investigation destined to change his life forever.

Lexi Carlisle is the daughter of Josh’s college sweetheart; watching Amanda agonize over her missing daughter while refuting police insinuations that she had something to do with the crime is more than Josh can handle. And when he unravels the web of lies spun by Lexi’s crazed kidnapper — who has killed once and isn’t afraid to do so again — Josh realizes the story takes second place to the girl’s rescue.

The book is being published by Waldorf Publishing and is scheduled for release on Oct. 15, 2017. For now, it’s available for pre-order online at Amazon and Target. (Shameless marketing plug!!)

https://www.amazon.com/Unplayable-Lie-Josh-Griffin-Mystery/dp/1684192633/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1502750215&sr=1-7&keywords=unplayable+lie

https://www.target.com/p/unplayable-life-paperback-caleigh-o-shea/-/A-52028159#lnk=sametab

The spark for my story came one day as I was golfing with my son. One of the holes lay parallel to a tangled overgrown area, and the idea of a kidnapping took root, refusing to let go.

I gravitate toward third person Point of View. Like Mary Higgins Clark or Mary Jane Clark, I prefer to pick out a set number of characters to tell the story, and I rotate POV among them based on what they’re seeing and experiencing. I tend to write short chapters that end on a cliffhanger, and I love throwing in a variety of twists and turns.

I’ve tried to outline, but I don’t like to because I’m not good at it. I think that’s because as a kid, we had to outline everything. So even though I don’t do a formal outline, I’d be lost without making notes about plot points, scenes, characters, and so forth. I’ve never done NANOWRIMO (the write-a-book-in-30-days challenge) because I’m not a writer who tosses together a rough draft, then edits to tidy things up. Nope, I tend to edit as I go along, making for a slow go initially (but when I get to the end, it pretty much is!)

A secret about my book – I changed the hero’s name three times before I was happy with it! The first name I selected was actually the name of a living athlete, and I knew that wasn’t going to work. It took a while for me to get comfortable with the final choice, but I think this one fits him.

Have I written characters I don’t particularly like? Sure, but I hope I’ve concealed that and treated them kindly!

Best advice for other writers? Butt in chair, hands on keys, and start putting your ideas down. Writing a novel is lots harder than some would have you believe, especially for those of us trained in journalism. Sure, you’re telling a story, but the author is a puppet-master while the journalist is quoting facts, documents, and other sources. While I was writing Unplayable Lie, I often felt like I was living in two worlds, my reality and the novel’s fiction. It got to where someone in real life would ask me a question and I’d mentally weigh my response based on which character I was thinking about at the time!

About me

I write under a pen name, something my mom is still having a hard time with!

For years I was a working journalist, so I got used to seeing my real name in print. And it worked for factual stories. However, this novel is fiction, so it just made sense to write under a “fictitious” name. I gave my pseudonym a great deal of thought and I’m pleased with the decision. It honors my Irish heritage and solves the quandary of being christened with a common name.

I guess I’ve always been a creative person. My hobbies and interests have evolved, just like my writing. As a child, I played piano, picked up clarinet and a bit of sax in school, and now am learning the flute. I love most sports, though golf and tennis hold a special place in my heart. I’ve done needlepoint, embroidery, and crochet. I taught myself to bead one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces, including Rosaries. I zone out with mindless coloring of mandalas and such while talking on the phone, I’m an avid reader, and I write.

Because I’m the sole caregiver for my aging mom, I constantly struggle with time (or, rather, a lack of it!). I’ve found that having interests all over the board keeps me sane and helps me cope with the stress. While hobbies add to my enjoyment of life, sometimes pursuing them makes it hard to find the time I need to write. Having a deadline (one that’s self-imposed or from my publisher) helps immensely.

My day job is designing Web pages. It fulfils a need to express my creativity through color and design, as well as to work for myself. I also make time to take long walks or enjoy a bit of retail therapy. I don’t need crowds of people around me; rather, I gravitate to solitary activities. Because I can always find something to do, I’m rarely bored.

While I’ve been from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico, I don’t really consider myself well-traveled. My favorite place for a getaway is close to water. I find the rhythm of waves very soothing, and there’s something about a salty climate that makes me sleep better. My ideal destination is Ireland, a place I briefly visited a few years back.

People who don’t know me don’t know how independent I am. I need plenty of time alone to regroup, daydream, and create. I don’t like lots of drama (except on the page or stage), and I avoid people who can’t accept boundaries. I have lots of acquaintances but few in my inner circle. There’s a BIG difference between being lonely and being alone. The former can happen in a crowd; the latter is a necessity for creatives (writing isn’t a spectator sport!)

Please do stop by and visit Debbie through one of her social Links:

Blog (https://domermom.com/)

Twitter (https://twitter.com/CaleighOShea)

Author website (https://www.caleighoshea.com/)

LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-pierce-36943b49/)

I’m also on Goodreads, Pinterest, Google+, and have an author’s page on Amazon.

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Thank You so Much Debbie for sharing so many insights and giving us a peak into your first book.

~Morgan~