Let’s Salute the Week

screenshot-2017-02-26-21-07-53IT has been a month!  I have done a lot of writing and researching this month due to the number book reviews, interviews and face book discussions.  I have also learned a lot through this process.  It involves an incredible amount of time, tools and networking to complete this process.  In addition, my hat is off to the organizers (Vicki, Benjamin and Sherrie) of the Mystery Thriller Week!!

Now:  They awarded me with an award, super excited about that!!

img_0442 Isn’t this great!  I thought so which is why it will be part of my blog.

 

My check list is made, my items need to be completed and now I need to work on my blog a bit more so that my new followers will stay and it will attract more people who will comment and make it very interactive.

 

Have a great week!!!!!

 

P.S. still need to meet for the coffee!!

 

 

Cynthia Kuhn

HI Everyone,

Cynthia asked me to repost her interview, I hope you enjoy it?

Michelle

1.    How old you when you wrote your first story?
In elementary school, I wrote and illustrated many stories about friendly aliens. They wore bows on their heads and lived in hourglass-shaped houses on the Planet Eek. I had a whole world built for them, though I don’t really understand the thinking behind the details at this point.

2.    What genre was that story?
Sci-fi.

My mom has said that, prior to those, I would write stories with only a few sentences, like “Let me go upstairs now. I will see what I can find.” I guess those were my first mysteries? 🙂

According to Goodreads you teach at the Metropolitan State University of Denver and teach English.

3.    How long have you taught in Denver?
I’ve taught English in Denver for 23 years, 14 of which have been at MSU Denver.

4.Have you always taught adults?  If not, what other levels have you taught? (i.e. High school, middle school, elementary

I’ve taught other levels in summer programs: two years teaching literature and creative writing to middle-school students and five years teaching swimming at a variety of levels, from kindergarteners who were learning how to swim for the first time to teenagers who were going through certification to be lifeguards. Great experiences, all the way around.

5. Place in your emotions?

1.    Place in your house? From your organizations?

I wish I could say somewhere cool, like at a cafe or on the subway. But it’s just a place in our house: an office/guest room. The only thing interesting about it is that squirrels like to jump onto the roof right there, which can be quite startling!

6.  How much support do you receive from Sisters in Crime in relation to your writing and eventual publication?
Support comes both from the welcoming of writers into the conversation and from the sharing of various opportunities/resources with members. I’ve taken several classes and participated in critique opportunities; I continue to learn from the email list topics and by reading the newsletters. We also have a new chapter in Colorado, so there are events, field trips, and other wonderfulness happening locally, too. It’s a great organization for anyone who reads or writes mysteries.

7.    What do you enjoy most about the organizations that you belong to?
The community. Writing can be a lonely thing without it.

8.    I really like your characters, I have been a student and a graduate student so some of the characters seem familiar to me.

Are they based on people you know or have met?  Do they just ‘come to

Thank you for saying that—I’m so glad you like them. They are not based on anyone I know or have met. The characters develop as part of the writing process (and I’ll confess: they say or do things that surprise even me).

9.. How much research do you do for your books?
I research as needed, when particular aspects emerge or questions arise (for example, with The Semester of Our Discontent, I did a lot of reading about academic secret societies).

10. What surprised you most about the publishing process?
How much there is to do in addition to writing the book itself!

11.  What do you want your obituary to say? What do you want engraved on your headstone?
Something about how grateful I am for crossing paths with so many lovely people.

And something about how much I adore my family and friends.

And a bookish quip, though I can’t think of one right now…

Mystery Thriller Week: Interview with Ritter Ames

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How old you when you wrote your first story?

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What genre was that ?

Mystery—I was already reading Trixie Belden, and my story was similar to one of those.

Do you think that or do you have another series in mind? Where would it be locate?

I have a new first-in- series I’m doing final edits on now—it’s not published yet—and it’s set in the south central U.S. I have another series I want to start playing around with soon that has a bit of a paranormal slant and Europe is the backdrop for it.

Do you enjoy any sport? Crafts? Other?

I’m a huge basketball and hockey fan, and I used to play basketball but rarely anymore. I walk a lot and enjoy riding horseback. I also knit to relax and I love photography.

 

Where do write from?

Place in your emotions

I write mysteries because I love to read them. What I love most about mysteries is figuring out the “puzzle,” so I chiefly write from curiosity—if that can be labeled an emotion—to see how my characters use their strengths to solve the mystery. I also love snark and humor, and I write from whatever place draws from the needfor a quick laugh, too—but not a cheap laugh  Most important, I appreciate characters who are smart and think outside the box, and I’m drawn to those kinds of people in real life, too, so it’s only natural I want them in my fictional life.

 Place in your house? From your organizations? if so what organizations)

I have an office in my house where I write and work on the marketing side of my business during the afternoons. But I start each day writing on my laptop in my big comfy reading chair. I get started there with a cup of hot tea to write my sloppy copy of the day and brainstorm on my laptop until I’m ready to get the serious word count that gets completed in my office.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a writer?

I honestly can’t imagine anymore. Probably I would do something that ties with the volunteer work I do now. I work a day each week in our local library, and I’m a certified literacy tutor and work with adults who want to learn how to read.

How much support do you receive in relation to your writing and eventual publication? From where and whom?

I’ve been writing full-time for more than 15 years—nonfiction before I signed my first fiction contract in 2013. So, I have a pretty good idea about the business side of things and don’t need as much help there. But on the marketing side, I belong to a number of terrific author groups with fabulously giving authors who share information that works for them and are quick to answer questions that any authors pose. Those groups are a tremendous support. I also have a terrific editor at Henery Press who is always available to help me work through any snags or plot holes.

If you could do only one form of writing, would you write stories or keep a blog? Why?

Definitely write stories. I’m getting better about blogging, but it still isn’t my favorite thing to do.

 How did you find your niche?

I wrote what I love to read.

How much research do you do for your books?

A Lot! It takes about six months to write one Bodies of Art Mystery, and more than half that time is devoted to research and verifying art work or art history, and firming up my info on settings/locations I use in the books.

What surprised you most about the publishing process?

How much non-writing work authors must do after they turn a book into the publisher. Writing the book is only half the job—marketing is probably even more time consuming. Want to thank you for inviting me to interview, Michelle. I appreciate learning about other mystery authors, and this is a great forum for that. Thanks again for including me.

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Contact Info

There are several ways to send a message to Ritter Ames. Try any of these methods.

By Email at: ritteramesreaders@gmail.com

Or on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/RitterAmesBooks   Or click here

Or on Twitter at: @RitterAmes

And Subscribe to Ritter’s Email Newsletter for special features and contests available only to subscribers for the email newsletter.

Cozy Mysteries: FaceBook Live

Background

My favorite type of mystery is the kind where I have to read the whole book in order to figure out the ending.  My second favorite type of mystery are the kind where I learn something new and interesting.  I am a serious Louis L’amour fan (he is a cowboy/western book author and hardboiled detective author) and I loved his books because they stayed out of the bedroom and provided a tremendous amount of information with regards to the subject of the book.

Most of my favorite authors come from books that I checked out from the library.  I used to get into trouble reading books during my academic classes.  Later on, I released how much it cost when I didn’t return books, (almost as much as the book itself).  About that time I started to review books, which was okay.  I wasn’t able to get that great of books, but they were okay.

Then a Linked connection sent an email requesting that people review her book from Netgalley.  I became addicted and really need to keep up with the books I request.  Now, I discovered that I really needed to know my genre, all of the them.  I review books from several different genres, but we are here to discuss Cozy Mysteries

My favorite and go to site is:

A Guide to Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books and DVDs

Welcome to the Cozy Mystery site!

http://www.cozy-mystery.com/

However, there are several cozy mystery sites that provide countless types of information on upcoming book releases, authors and a variety of series or stand alone books.

I like most cozy mysteries.  I like the format.  I like most of the main characters. I like most of the settings.  I like the various careers and businesses that the characters in the book hold while they solve mysteries.

This fact came to pass the last time I read a cozy mystery.  I realized that I like the fact that most  of the main characters are women and most of these women have relocated to another part of the country.  Most of them have gone back home or close to home and restart their lives.  Some are divorced, some are widowed, some are married and some are single.   They all are starting over after leaving a fairly successful career from which they were laid off, needed at home (death, divorce, money) fired or the job has ended.  The jobs I like best are the ones that are the most plausible and compatible with sleuthing.  Some I have to just laugh at because they have to juggle and still make a living.

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Recently I was reading “Haunted is Always in Fashion” and  this woman owns and operates a vintage clothing shop, has a ghost or two who are always around and she blogs.  I like this because this is what I would like to be doing.  I would like to have a successful blog and career that I can maintain at the house or while we are traveling.  I know it will happen, I believe to be eventually something that will happen because it is God’s plan.  Right now I have to get  straighten out.  Anyway, I really enjoyed the book and like her style.

In addition, I learn a lot.  As stated in the above paragraph the main character provides information about vintage clothing, another tells me a lot about herbs, another emends me how much I like crocheting and knitting, then there is cozy mystery that deal with embroidery and another concerning quilting.  I tell you there are so many crafts that an individual can do at home and make a living.

While I enjoy certain aspects of my job, I would like to be writing about it, and not just teaching.  I am applying for work as a curriculum writer and instructional designer.  I am very excited that I am not getting interviews and publishers are requesting samples of my work.

Some day I may be writing about a curriculum writer who blogs, while the main character sleuths in her free time.

Mystery Thriller Interview: Judy Penz Sheluk

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How old were you when you wrote your first story?

I’ve been writing stories in my head as long as I can remember. I’d walk to school and think up a story, and then finish it on the way home. Some stories I would keep going for a week or more. I actually thought everyone did that. It wasn’t until many years later I found out that’s not the case. I remember, in grade 10, having to write a story based on a picture the English teacher showed us. It was a picture of the jungle, very dark and gloomy. I don’t remember the story, any longer, but I remember the first line I wrote was Loneliness…

What genre was that?

 I suppose it would be considered literary fiction, though the feelings evoked were definitely influenced by the recent death of my father. He was 42 when he died of stomach cancer, and I was just 14. I really was lonely. Your friends don’t really know what to say or do, and back then, there was no counseling, you were just supposed to suck it up and get on with it. My mom was ill prepared to deal with her own grief and a hormonal, rebellious, and angry teenager. It was a very dark period in both our lives.

Do you have another series in mind? Where would it be located?

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 I currently write two series. The Glass Dolphin Mysteries are set in the fictional town of Lount’s Landing, Ontario, Canada. The Glass Dolphin is the name of an antiques shop on the town’s historic Main Street. The protagonists are Emily Garland, a journalist, and Arabella Carpenter, the shop owner. The first book in the series is titled The Hanged Man’s Noose and Barking Rain Press released it in July 2015. I’m just finishing the second book in the series. Lount’s Landing is loosely based on Holland Landing, where I lived for many years.

My Marketville Mysteries are set in the fictional town of Marketville, Ontario, Canada (loosely based on Newmarket, which is a larger town just south of Holland Landing). The protagonist is Calamity (Callie) Barnstable. In book one, Skeletons in the Attic (Imajin Books, August 2016), Callie leaves Toronto to move into a house in Marketville left to her by her late father. The condition of inheritance is that she find out who murdered her mother thirty years before. When she finds an actual skeleton in the attic, she begins to have her doubts about her decision to move there. I’m currently writing the sequel.

I have a third series idea in mind, but it’s not fleshed out enough to talk about it. I’m thinking along the lines of a novella, vs. novel, for that series, and my hope is that it will be a comedic mystery series.

Where do you write from?

 When I’m at home in Alliston, Ontario, I write in my home office on my iMac. When I’m at our cottage on Lake Superior (near Sault Ste. Marie) I tend to handwrite my stories in a notebook while sitting on the deck, and then transcribe the notes later on my iPad, or first thing in the morning. It’s a very different experience, writing by hand, and my handwriting is atrocious, but it’s quite liberating.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a writer?

 I’ve had a lot of different jobs, from Credit Manager to Office Manager to Sales & Marketing Coordinator. I left the corporate world in 2003 to take up freelance writing and editing. I’ve never looked back. I can’t imagine a life without writing, but I also enjoy teaching creative writing, and did some of that online for a while. I may do that again.

How much support do you receive in relation to your writing and eventual publication? From where and whom?

 My husband, Mike, is super supportive. He reads all my work before I send it out and he can find the smallest plot hole. My mom was really supportive, but she died in September 2016. She was handing out my bookmarks to the doctors and nurses in the hospital until the end, and the last book she read was Skeletons in the Attic. My friends are also very supportive, and I’ve had two Friends and Family Book Launches that were well attended and filled with love. But I think to be successful, as a writer, you have to be self-supportive. There’s a lot of rejection in this business, and for every great review, there’s someone who just doesn’t get your writing. This is true, even for runaway bestselling authors. At the end of the day, you have to go the tough stuff alone.

If you could do only one form of writing, would you write stories or keep a blog? Why?

 Stories. I enjoy writing my blog, but it could never fill the void if I stopped writing short stories and books.

How did you find your niche?

 My go-to genre to read is mystery. When I started writing The Hanged Man’s Noose, the goal was to write a book I’d like to read. That’s remained my goal. I also read a lot of mystery novels, and I learn from all of them, those I love and those I don’t. To quote Stephen King, if you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to write.

How much research do you do for your books?

 Anything factual, I do a lot of research. Get a fact wrong, and you’ve lost the reader. I’ve also been the Senior Editor for New England Antiques Journal since 2007, and so a lot of the antiques side of things in the Glass Dolphin Mysteries comes from that knowledge base.

What surprised you most about the publishing process?

 I knew it would be slow process, but I didn’t realize just how tough it would be to find a publisher. I thought my publishing history as a freelancer (magazines, newspapers) would make a difference but it didn’t. I did self-publish a collection of short stories, and found that process to be very simple, but selling them has been a challenge. Either way, there’s a lot of marketing involved, and very little is taken on by the publishers, so I’d certainly consider self-publishing in future, for another series.

What do you want engraved on your headstone?

THE END

Bio

Judy Penz Sheluk’s debut mystery novel, The Hanged Man’s Noose (Barking Rain Press), was published in July 2015. Skeletons in the Attic (Imajin Books), the first book in her Marketville Mystery Series, was published in August 2016.

Judy’s short crime fiction appears in World Enough and Crime, The Whole She-Bang 2, The Whole She-Bang 3, Flash and Bang and Live Free or Tri.

Judy is a member of Sisters in Crime, Crime Writers of Canada, International Thriller Writers and the Short Mystery Fiction Society.

Find Judy on her website/blog at http://www.judypenzsheluk.com, where she interviews other authors and blogs about the writing life. You can also find Judy on Facebook (facebook.com/JudyPenzSheluk) and Twitter (@JudyPenzSheluk) and on her Amazon author page, amazon.com/author/judypenzsheluk.

Judy lives in Alliston, Ontario, Canada, with her husband, Mike, and their 14-month old Golden Retriever, Gibbs.

 

Mystery Thriller Week Interview: Rose Fedele

 

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How old were you when you wrote your first story?

screenshot-2017-02-12-17-51-31-pngOther than some creative writing as a child, I didn’t sit down to write seriously until about five years ago.

I think I needed a trigger, and it came in the form of a beautiful old house. But it was more than a house; the magnificent old building riveted and mesmerised me and in the following weeks I was drawn back to the site, over and over. The mansion was fronted by a brightly painted door, a glossy façade, and I imagined what the door might mask and what it could have concealed over the last 150 years: nasty, shameful secrets, possibly a poor family’s misfortune and tragedy, rotten crimes and heaven knows what other unholy messes … and a story began to form.

Funnily enough, when first I started, I had no idea what I was doing. In fact, I was so embarrassed that I started the project in secret, waiting until the house was empty and I was sure to be completely alone.

What genre was that?

Being a great lover of psychological thrillers and suspense, it wasn’t going to go any other way!

Do you think that or do you have another series in mind?  Where would it be located?

My books are set in Sydney and always built around a central theme: an iconic old house or building in need of restoration. THE RED DOOR is the story of a woman who purchases and restores a beautiful old mansion ‘Rosalind’, but soon begins to believe that one of her tenants is watching her; a reclusive man who happens to share his name with two teenage sisters, victims of a sinister and brutal murder.

As the tale unfolds, you’ll find paintings and drawings I’ve created to illustrate exactly how our main protagonist appears in my mind, to show what the chair in Beadles’ shop window looks like or the iconic Balmain Garage, before developers tore it down.

Here’s one:

The second book, again based on an historic building, is in editing stage and I’m preparing the illustrations now, hopefully to be released later this year. And yes, there will be a third.

Do you enjoy any sport? Crafts? Other?

My passion, and a significant part of my life, is art: by profession I am an artist and portrait painter, with a quirky penchant for painting vintage cars.

I don’t play sport but walk for miles every day, and it’s during my walks that my stories germinate.

Where do you write from? Place in your emotions?

My stories are drawn from life, from observation and from experience.

Visually: I love old architecture, and sometimes my heart profoundly aches at the sheer beauty of a building and I will stop and stare dumbly at the shimmering tarnished Gothic copper roof of a turret, the sun flashing off stained glass windows or the swirling ochres and russets of a Sydney sandstone wall. This is why my stories are always centred on a building.

Emotions: With every experience there is an emotion attached, whether it’s joy or excitement, nostalgia or yearning, anger or fear, and I try to tap into those emotions, using them to illustrate the story.

Observation: Having a portraitist’s eye helps, watching how people integrate with their environment and each other, the inter-personal dynamics, mannerisms, the tilt of a head, a finger rubbed nervously across a philtrum.

I believe everyone could sit down and spin a yarn based on their experiences, if they chose to.

Place in your house? From your organizations? if so what organizations:

I write in my studio, where I also paint and prepare the illustrations for the books. It’s a lovely room, south-facing with a big window and, although I live in inner city Sydney, it has a beautiful tree-filled vista. The walls are covered with paintings and sketches, an easel that holds a large board covered in post-it notes for storyline plotting, and a few vintage cars waiting to go to the next exhibition. Here’s a photo:

What would you be doing if you weren’t a writer?

As explained, I’m actually an artist and that’s what I’d do if I wasn’t writing.  Also, I’ve always fancied the idea of being a landscape gardener!

How much support do you receive in relation to your writing and eventual publication? From where and whom? 

Emotionally – my family are my greatest supporters and cheer squad (and my biggest critics!)

Financially – THE RED DOOR was self-published and self-funded.

If you could do only one form of writing, would you write stories or keep a blog? Why?

If I could only do one form of writing, I would probably keep writing my stories. Now that I’ve started, I’ve unleashed a monster and words are spilling out of me.

My blog is a very visual medium, keeping my followers up to date with new works as well as sneak peeks and excerpts from the next book. Many also follow me on Facebook or Instagram @rosafedele where I invite my readers/art lovers to come along on the journey, watch the images develop, laugh with me as I discard the rejects, and encourage feedback.

How did you find your niche?

I have always known that one day I would write and illustrate my own books, so I think my niche found me!

How much research do you do for your books?

Because my stories are based on actual historic houses in Sydney, much research is needed about the building, architectural drawings, style etc. I explore the process of building and renovation, interior design, fittings, fixtures and furnishings and draw on my own knowledge and tales from the art world. Also, as do many other mystery writers, I study crime, forensics and legal proceedings. I would hate for anyone to look at my Google search history – it would be quite horrific!

What surprised you most about the publishing process?

Two things:

The amount of editing, re-writing, re-editing, proofreading, over and over, required to produce a high quality book; and

The exhausting amount of self-promotion required. The thing is, Australians are a humble and self-effacing lot; in our culture any tendency to “blow your own horn” is sneered at, almost considered abhorrent. It took a long time to overcome that.

What do you want your obituary to say? What do you want engraved on your headstone?

Probably something silly, like: “I told you I was sick.”

Contact Information:

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Michelle Dragalin


 Freelance Writer and Educator

 

http://michellewrite.com/2014/03/07/its-time/

 

Let’s Salute this Week

This is a new week.

I read three books this weekend and one of them was By John Maxwell . He discussed how we must learn from our fallers and keep on keeping on.  I have been experiencing failure in all of my careers since I have moved here.  Those failures have always been someone else’s faults.  No matter what I was not to blame.

Great philosophy if it’s true, most of our failures are our fault.  Some our are 100% our fault.  I have come to realize my issues are the result of fear, lack of faith and diligence.

Change does not come in a day, it comes in years.  Satan wants us to fail and fail again.  That is why when you are making gains he hits you hard.  He hits you through all aspects of your life, through your children, family, jog, money.

It won’t be easy, but the next five years will b interesting!

Mystery Thriller Week Interview: Dawn Barclay

 

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Dawn Barclay is writing as D.M. Barr

 How old you when you wrote your first story?

I wrote poetry when I was 10 and wrote parodies starting when I was around 11. But I’m not one of those writers who has a desk drawer full of unpublished stories. I haven’t written a lot of fiction but every piece of fiction I’ve written, I’ve published.

Do you think that or do you have another series in mind?  Where would it be located?

I might turn “Expired Listings” into the first of the “Rock Canyon Chronicles.” I have another series in mind but it’s YA and the location would likely still be the Hudson Valley.

Do you quilt?

No but I’ve knitted, crocheted and done rug hooking and needlepoint.

Where do write from? 

This doesn’t apply to my current book but my best songs and poems were always written when I was sad and/or devastated.

Place in your house? From your organizations? if so what organizations?

I usually write on the family room couch or at Starbucks in New City, NY,  in a big comfy chair in the corner.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a writer?

I’m doing it now, I’m a Realtor.

How much support do you receive in relation to your writing and eventual publication? From where and whom?

I think the greatest support I’ve received from my husband was an open checkbook as far as editing and promotion was concerned and a pass on house work so I could write. I also get support from my RWA Critique Group and some beta reader friends.

If you could do only one form of writing, would you write stories or keep a blog? Why?

I’d write fiction. I try to blog and since I used to write exclusively nonfiction, it should come easily to me but I always feel it’s a chore and an afterthought.

 How did you find your niche?

That psychological thriller/kink/satire niche? I fell into it and there’s lots of room since most writers focus and therefore more easily sell what they write. I guess I just hate being formulaic.

How much research do you do for your books?

I studied the BDSM scene for a few years, thanks to some friends who brought me to parties and clubs and also were very open with me. The real estate part, I’ve lived for the past 17 years. Anything else is thanks to Google, my bestest best friend.

What surprised you most about the publishing process?

The glacial speed of publishing. You can wait months to hear back from an agent, and then months more before you hear back from publications. And then you could wait another two years to see the thing in print. Also how diligently both agents and publishers are about staying “within the lines” when it comes to genre—they look at cross-genre as if it’s a person with two heads. In a world where most books are sold online and not on bookstore shelves, why is singular categorization so important?

 What do you want your obituary to say? What do you want engraved on your headstone?

I’m a control freak so no doubt I’ll write my own obituary (and it will say something about never believing anything is impossible) and maybe have a headstone with one of those solar powered video thingies so I can pre-record the story of my life and bore all future generations. Or, if I’m buried next to my husband, I will have an arrow with an engraving that says, “I’m with Stupid,” and I’m sure he’ll have an arrow pointing back at me with the same engraving. But it’s all moot, I want to be cryogenically frozen and then defrosted when it’s easier to get readers to review your books on Amazon.

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Contact Infomration:

Dawn M. Barclay
Award-Craving Author, Writing as D.M.Barr
 
Expired Listings is now available!!
 
 
Buy Links:
 
Amazon and Kindle Unlimited: http://amzn.to/2asggIM
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2gXLSVs
Indie Boundhttp://bit.ly/2hL8iZW
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Literary Exhibitionist Bloghttp://www.theliteraryexhibitionist.com
Punctuated Publishing Website: http://www.punctuatedpublishing.com

Mystery Thriller Interview: Christine Hoag

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How old you when you wrote your first story?

hoag-headshotWhen I was six years old, I won a prize for “writing interesting stories.” I still have the little certificate but I don’t have any of those stories! In high school, I was about 14-15, I wrote a story that made it into the school literary magazine.

What genre was that?

It was a contemporary literary piece about a comic book artist who gets tired of drawing superheroes. I have no idea where I got the inspiration for it!

Do you have a series in mind? Where would it be located?

I’m currently writing a book with series potential about an investigative journalist who travels the world unraveling mysteries. One of the things I love about it that each book would be set in different country tackling a different issue.

Do you enjoy any sports or crafts?

I’ve never been a sporty type person. I like to swim, and I walk as much as I can to take a break from the computer. I have a whole bunch of orchids that I love to coax into bloom.

Where do you write from? Place in your emotions?

I draw from experiences in my own life and things people tell me, as well. I find that works well and gives fiction a realistic grounding.

Place in your house?

My desk is located in my bedroom because it’s quieter. I do most of my writing there. I have written in coffee shops and sitting on the couch, too.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a writer?

I would be some type of designer, such as interior design. Many people have told me I have a good eye for that. Or I’d be a comedienne. I love comic acting. I find being zany and way out a huge release. It’s weird because I love reading, writing and watching drama.

How much support do you receive in relation to your writing and eventual publication? From where and whom?

Honestly, while friends and family have been generally supportive, it’s mostly just been me, delving deep inside myself to keep going despite rejection and disappointment.

If you could do only one form of writing, would you write stories or keep a blog? Why?

Definitely stories because I love making stuff up! Writing fiction is both challenging and stimulating.

How did you find your niche?

I think it found me! I like to read character-driven books with crime and drama, especially those with exotic settings, but written in a literary style. So that’s what I aim to write.

How much research do you do for your books?

Quite a bit. The internet is a writer’s best friend. I often look stuff up as I’m writing. I love doing research and find out stuff, so that’s one of my favorite bits of the process.

What surprised you most about the publishing process?

How important knowing your genre is. I thought writing a good story was enough, but it is not. You need to be able to neatly categorize it into a genre because that what publishers use to market your book. If they can’t categorize it, they shy away from it.

What do you want your obituary to say? What do you want engraved on your headstone?

Something simple: “A chronicler of life,” that’s it.

 

Biography:

Christina Hoag is the author of Skin of Tattoos, a literary thriller set in L.A.’s gang underworld (Martin Brown Publishers, 2016) and Girl on the Brink, a romantic thriller for young adults (Fire and Ice YA/Melange Books, 2016), which was named Suspense Magazine’s Best of 2016 YA. She is a former reporter for the Associated Press and Miami Herald and worked as a correspondent in Latin America writing for major media outlets including Time, Business Week, Financial Times, the Houston Chronicle and The New York Times. She is the co-author of Peace in the Hood: Working with Gang Members to End the Violence, a groundbreaking book on gang intervention (Turner Publishing, 2014). She lives in Los Angeles.

For more information, see www.christinahoag.com.

AUTHOR SOCIAL MEDIA:

https://facebook.com/ChristinaHoagAuthor

https://twitter.com/ChristinaHoag

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7341116.Christina_Hoag

https://www.instagram.com/ChristinaHoagAuthor

 

BUY LINKS

Skin of Tattoosscreenshot-2017-02-12-18-27-17-png

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2bSRjqP

 

 

Girl on the Brink

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2aRFsVZ

Smashwords: http://bit.ly/2b8rgGA

girl-on-the-brinkKobo: http://bit.ly/2bFrCGQ

 

Mystery Thriller Week: S.W. Frontz

logo1 How old you when you wrote your first story?

I was twelvesherrie-fontz

  What genre was that ?

Crime Fiction

Do you think that or do you have another series in mind?  Where would it be located?

No, no plans for another series now, and I have no idea where it would be set

 Do you enjoy any sport? Crafts? Other?

.I played softball, flag football, basketball, and volleyball as a teenager.  Up until this last year, I participated in half marathons and other road races.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a writer?

What I’m doing now when I don’t write-I’m a domestic goddess

How much support do you receive in relation to your writing and eventual publication? From where and whom?

My husband is very supportive and helpful.

If you could do only one form of writing, would you write stories or keep a blog? Why?

I would write stories.  Blogs are too much work.

How did you find your niche?

My kids use to call me “Inch High Private Eye” so I decided that mysteries and thrillers were perfect for my inquisitiveness.

How much research do you do for your books?

I do what research is needed.  No more than necessary.

What surprised you most about the publishing process?

How stinkin hard it is to self publish and market.

What do you want your obituary to say? What do you want engraved on your headstone?

I don’t care what my obituary or tombstone would say, I’ll be dead.  I won’t know or care.

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