Author Spotlight: Thomas Knight

Thomas Knight

Books By Author

The Time Weaver

Biography

Book Review (Coming Soon)

Links

Website

Interview

1. Please tell the readers a bit more about you.

I grew up, and currently live in Southwestern Ontario. I have a wife, two daughters, and two cats, and I love them all to death. I'm a full-time software developer and write in my spare time (what little I have). I'm also an avid role player, and usually spend Sunday afternoons with a group of friends playing D&D.

2. What types of books do you write?

I like to think of myself as a fantasy author, but if you're the kind of person that wants it finer grained than that, I've seen my book described most often as a blend between epic and urban fantasy. Some people even see a scifi twist to it, though any relation to scifi was not intentional. (Not that I don't like scifi, but that wasn't what I was going for.)

3. Who's your main audience?

If I was to take it back to basics, I would say people like me, but that's far too general. If you're looking for Tolkein or Martin style fantasy, you won't find it here. Instead, you'll get intense action, a fast pace, and distinct, relatable characters. People who like urban or epic fantasy, or even steam punk, are likely to enjoy my work.

4. When it comes to writing- what are your strong points? What are your weaknesses?

My strong points? Definitely my action scenes. I've had a lot of good comments about my pacing and my action. Also, the way I blended two worlds together, Earth, and my alternate world Galadir. My weaknesses tend to be more technical, and are usually solved during editing. I'm not the strongest speller, and my over-use of hyphens and under-use of apostrophes has frustrated my editor more than once.

5. What do you think of this term- Writer's Block? How do you overcome it?

Ahh, the bane of every writer's existence. Everyone, during the course of writing a book, will hit the proverbial wall and get blocked. I tend to go around the wall, and move on to another scene. It gets the gears in motion again, and I can always come back to the blocked scene later.

6. How many books have you written?

The Time Weaver is my first book, and I'm about half way through writing my second.

7. How many are published?

All of my completed books are published in eBook and Paperback form.

8. Are you self published or traditionally published?

I'm self-published, and unless a traditional publisher comes busting down my door, I will always be self-published. To me, self-publishing wasn't a last resort. It was my first choice. I like to have control over my book, to do things at my pace, rather than somebody else's.

9. What's the hardest part of the writing process for you?

Writing the book was actually the easy part for me. Editing was hard. Choosing what to keep, what to cut, and accepting that when people tell you something isn't working, that it needs to be changed? That's terribly difficult. Marketing as well, because regardless of what type of publishing you are in, marketing your book will become a big part of the effort.

10. What type of books do you enjoy reading?

I've always been a fantasy reader, though lately I've spent some time branching into new territories with some literary fiction, some crime dramas, and even a young adult novel or two. I've found that as I get older, I find the stories are more important to me than the genre.

11. Who's your favorite Author?

This is such a tough question to answer. I like a wide variety of stories, and it depends in large part on my mood. I different favorites for different types of books. For scifi, my favorite is clearly Anne McCaffrey. In epic fantasy, I lean towards Weis and Hickman. If I'm looking for something full of action I turn to J. Robert King. It all depends.

12. What's your all time favorite book?

I simply can't answer this. The number of books I've read is so large, and the range of books so varied, that it would be nearly impossible to find a single book that wins out in all categories. However, some books that stand out at the top of my list are, in no particular order, All the Weirs of Pern by Anne McCaffrey, A Warrior's Tale by Lorna Suzuki, The Dark Tower series by Stephen King, and The Thran by J. Robert King.

I'd like to take a moment to thank you, Raebeth, for having me on your site for this interview. I appreciate it.

The Writer and the Writing Schedule

The Writer and the Writing Schedule 

- Carrie Nyman

        When setting out to write my WWII historical novel "Why Aren't You

Sweet Like Me?" I felt that I needed to have certain writing goals in

terms of time and length. These became difficult to satisfy, but their

presence helped me complete my 110,000 word manuscript in a little

less than a year. You already have a writing schedule that works for

you? Stick to it! But keep in mind that every process can be perfected

just a little more!

Since I can only write at night, sticking to a schedule is crucial

(since sometimes I'd rather just relax with a Pepsi and The Walking

Dead than go over chapter summaries or work on my synopsis!) but the

commitment to a writing schedule is a decision that I make every day.

For instance, the Pikes Peak Writers Conference is coming up on April

19th, and I will be having dinner with agent Don Maass. Due to this

very specific date, I want to have at least the skeleton (first draft)

of my second book EMPIRE completed. That means that I need to ensure

that I have 130 more pages (rounding out the book to a cool 300) to

complete my last 3 chapters (and while we're doing math, that means

that 12 working days that I have, I need to be ACTIVELY writing 10-11

pages a night, not just doing my usual editing/writing from 8 pm - 12

am). This is a very steep goal. What's more, is that I need to keep

this four hour window dedicated to writing, and that gets difficult

with 2 kids (a 3 year old and a 7 month old infant) who have nighttime

schedules of their own. So my advice is this:

1) MAINTAIN a schedule that is both feasible and enjoyable. You aren't

going to feel like writing if you have to wake up at 5 am and slam an

espresso in order to get your writing in; also, your work will appear

forced (what one of my college poetry professor charmingly referred to

as "constipated" writing - classy, huh?) As such, clear this time. Eat

first. Make your phone calls. Do your household chores in advance so

that you are not distracted from it (though I do recommend having a

cup of tea nearby!) Take a few short breaks if you're doing a marathon

session, but for me, having a timed deadline can hurt the process.

Need to edit? Time yourself! If you have to edit for more than 30

minutes, skip to the end and only do the final paragraphs. Give

yourself some leeway in terms of the finish line.

2) DEDICATE yourself to that schedule and don't make excuses for why

you can't do it. This is not the same as "making" yourself work. You

are simply allowing yourself the time/space/motivation to work.  You'd

rather be doing something else instead of writing? It could be helpful

to recruit a writing buddy (yea Twitter!) to check up on you to keep

yourself accountable.

3) SET writing goals in terms of hours spent and pages written. For

instance, if your goal is to write 5 pages in 5 hours, and your

chapters are 25 pages long, then you have 5 days to do that single

chapter. That's a part-time job! That's serious! 10 pages a night is a

solid 4 hour stretch for me, but 7 or 12 or 2 might be the same amount

of work for you. It doesn't matter. Your goals are your personal best?

That's fine! Writing is just like another job, but it's far more

enjoyable! Take it seriously. Have the will to complete your goals and

it pays off.

4) COMPLETE chapter outlines with different writing prompts to keep

you diversified and motivated before you start the creative process.

Coincidentally, Don Maass' book "The Fire in Fiction" and his website

have prompts that not only stir the imagination, but they really

improve the quality of your work.

So my question to you is this: WHAT are the set goals in your writing?

HOW can you improve upon them? WHY is this important?

Visit Carrie here. 

Author Interview: Carola Kickers

Carla Kickers

Interview:

1. Please tell the readers a bit more about you.
My name is Carola Kickers and I´m also writing under the pen-name Carol Grayson. I live in a small town in Germany near the Dutch border. I've been writing since my earliest youth.

2. What types of books do you write?
Mostly dark fantasy and mystery novels and short stories, but also crime novels and stories for children. Some of them are published as books others as audio stories. The biggest project is the Jason Dawn Series published as E book serial. See http://jasondawn-luxaeterna.blogspot.com/

3. Who's your main audience?
I think most of my readers are female, aged 14+. Some of them are only interested in my vampire stories others do also like the "normal" fantasy stories as well.

4. When it comes to writing- what are your strong points? What are your weaknesses?
Well, I enjoy developing new worlds, first in my brain and then put them to paper. I stick to a story until it´s ready, even late at night. My weakness is that I can easily be distracted (that´s why I like writing when people are sleeping :-)).

5. What do you think of this term- Writer's Block? How do you overcome it?
I put that story away and continue with another one. I think. it´s useless to concentrate on a thing that keeps you stuck on one point. Another trick is to not to write. Read an interesting book instead that catches your attention. Sometimes, when you finished reading your brain is free again for your own story.

6. How many books have you written?
Since 2007 about 10 in different genres.

7. How many are published?
Also 10 and several short stories in anthologies and as audiobooks.

8. Are you self published or traditionally published?
I´m traditionally published but with small publishers only. They are not doing much promotion so I think about self-publishing as well.

9. What's the hardest part of the writing process for you?
I don´t know. For me, writing is a flowing process and like water it´s overcoming all obstacles.

10. What type of books do you enjoy reading?
I love crime novels, thriller and mystery stories. Now and then also a romantic book.

11. Who's your favorite Author?
I don´t have any and I like to discover new talented writers. I´m reviewing books in my blog as well. See http://carolgrayson-darkromance.blogspot.com/

Thank you once again for your time and your efforts!
Carola 

What Does It Take?

Several people that I have come to meet has asked me the same question... How do you come up with the idea's for a story and how do you write them? Well, the answer to this question can vary depending on what author/writer you ask. I feel there are no right or wrong answers to this question either. So, I'll tell you from my perspective.

First and for most, writing is a complex world. There's always something new to learn. Most of the time, when ideas come to me, I write them down and over time these ideas can be put together in a book. So, I take two different ideas, from two different times and place them together. Do I map out the plot? No, I don't. I write as I go. Some may say this isn't correct and some may agree that there's no right way to go about writing a book.

I begin with the rough draft. I keep writing not worrying about anything else. Once the rough draft is done, it's time to read it through. (Sometimes I read it more than once) After the full read through, I go back and do my edits. I changes places where I feel the plot isn't smooth or if I used the wrong name on a dialogue tag. I check the spelling, grammar, and comma usage. Once I polish this manuscript up, I contact close family and have them read it. They eventually find issues that need fixed that I didn't see because I'm too close with the story.

Once my feedback is final from those I know, off to a professional editor my manuscript goes. Although I had a great, close friend as the professional editor, I'm looking into finding an editor who does it for a living and paying for the services. Once I get their suggestions back and make my changes, I format the book for the file type, in my case it's an ebook and print copies.

You may ask, well, if you've written books where can I find them? At this moment in time, they are still on a thumb drive I have in my computer right now. I had them out there for the world to read but I found some errors within both books, I decided to take them off the market to do some improvements in them. Once they are revised, I'll put them back out there for the world to read.

So, my idea's I get I guess you could say just come to me. I don't think about them too hard. Sometimes I get inspiration from a dream or even riding down the road. It's hard to tell when an idea will hit me. My best suggestion for those who want to write is to write from the heart. Always write to express yourself rather than impress others. This is what makes each of us unique. Lastly, never and I mean NEVER give up.

If you find yourself in doubt, step back and ask yourself.... Why did I want to write this story to begin with? Once you can answer this, take a few days and think about it to be sure. Afterward, go back to your manuscript and try again. You can do it. You are good enough!

Author Spotlight: Ash Krafton

Ash Krafton

Books by Author:

Bleeding Hearts

Biography

Book Review (coming soon)

Links

Facebook

Twitter

Website

Blog

Goodreads

Interview

1. Please tell the readers a bit more about you. I'm a speculative fiction writer from sorta-near Philadelphia, PA. I'm a full-time pharmacist, an over-time mom, and a writer in between. I love hard rock music, Bollywood, and show tunes; I wear Indian clothing—I'm a champion sari wrapper—when I do my housework and I have a real thing for boots. I almost developed a stiletto addiction but my husband intervened before it could over-run my life.

2.  I write urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and magic realism. Although I write mainly for adults, I do have a YA project in the works. My debut novel, BLEEDING HEARTS: Book One of the Demimonde, was just released on March 15, 2012. It's an adult urban fantasy with romantic elements.

3. When it comes to writing- what are your strong points? What are your weaknesses? I love working on world building. I do more writing in my head than I do on paper—I seem to be constantly daydreaming about the ideas and the conditions and the neat stuff that goes into creating a reality for my characters. My weakness? I'm a chatterbox…and so are my fingers. I end up writing way more than what gets into the final draft. Thank goodness for editors!

4. What do you think of this term- Writer's Block? How do you overcome it? Writer's Block is a real problem for all of us…I get around mine by switching gears and closing the file that I'm working on. I then pick up my poetry notebook. Writing poetry and short stories really help to "blow out the carbon"—a term that used to make sense when cars had carburetors. It means, pretty much, to blow out the gunk that's keeping the creative juices from flowing freely. (I guess I'll have to update my phrase to involve fuel injector cleaner. *grin*) To date I've had close to a hundred short publications. In your face, writer's block!

5. How many books have you written? BLEEDING HEARTS is my first complete novel. Its sequel BLOOD RUSH is about 90% complete, and the third in the series, WOLF'S BANE, is a good quarter of the way going. I have a few other WIPs that have outlines and chapters done (also writer's block solutions!)

6. How many are published? BLEEDING HEARTS is my first published, with agreements for the two sequels. I'm glad to know my editors are ready to read more!

7. Are you self published or traditionally published? I am traditionally published with Pink Narcissus Press (http://pinknarc.com) a small press that began in 2010. They have an amazing staff and I encourage writers to check out their guidelines.

8. What's the hardest part of the writing process for you? Finding the time to get my rear in the chair! Like many writers, I spend more time thinking than typing…but that's often because day-job and family and home have to come first. I try my best to stay on task by carrying a notebook for unexpected bursts of inspiration. I also use Dragon Naturally Speaking so that I can dictate to my tablet PC on the drive to work. I wish there were more hours in the day…and fewer fun websites like Facebook and Twitter!

9. What type of books do you enjoy reading? I love fantasy, especially Melanie Rawn and Mercedes Lackey. I also like urban fantasy such as Kim Harrison and paranormal romance by Charlaine Harris. I'm also a fan of sci-fi humor from Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, and Stuart Sharp.

10.  What's your all time favorite book? THE GOLDEN KEY by Melanie Rawn, Kate Elliott, and Jennifer Roberson. The story is amazing—talk about world building—but the story behind how the book was written by three authors is truly inspirational.

11.  How long does it take you to write a book? Longer than a year --although I only completed one book and didn't have a deadline on it. I know I won't be strolling through the next two with contracts looming.

12.  Out of all of your characters, which is your favorite? Why? From BLEEDING HEARTS, Sophie is my favorite—I used a voice similar to my own and gave her a lot of vulnerability so that she can discover her inner strength. We inspire each other, in a way.

13.  What is one of the most surprising things you've learned as a writer? That I have entire worlds inside me! I never expected I'd be in a position where they'd be anything more than daydreams. I work full-time in pharmacy and writing fantasy is a polar opposite from it. I love having two separate careers—they keep both sides of my brain happy.

14.  What does your family think of your writing? My family is very supportive…and even my mom likes my book. I'm grateful my husband likes to help out—he's a fantastic editor and beta reader and really likes teaming up for edits on a first draft. He's great at slashing word counts on synopses, too.

15.   What does your writing schedule look like? I work twelve-hour shifts every other day, so my writing schedule is perhaps two to three mornings a week, with breaks to pop into social networking and blog maintenance. I wish I had time to write everyday—I'd do it if I could!

16.  What's the latest news you'd like to share? I'm currently on my first virtual book tour! You can see the full tour schedule on my blog at http://www.ash-krafton.blogspot.com/2012/02/bleeding-hearts-virtual-book-tour.html and a huge end-of-tour raffle, which you can read about at http://www.ash-krafton.blogspot.com/2012/03/bleeding-hearts-blog-tour-gvewy.html I'm lucky to have been hosted by such fantastic authors and bloggers so I hope everyone gets a chance to stop by, read some guest posts, check out some excerpts, and try your luck in the great giveaways!

17. Do you have any advice for new writers? PERSEVERE. If you ever have any hopes of succeeding at the writing game, you have to persevere. Don't let writer's block slow you down. Don't let criticism convince you to give up. Don't let rejection—and there is ALWAYS rejection—make you turn your back on doing what makes you happy. Surround yourself with positive, supportive peers, learn the craft of writing as best you can, and ask for directions when you get lost. NEVER STOP WRITING.

Thanks for having me, Rae! I really enjoyed getting a chance to talk about what writing means to me.

SEEKING ROMANCE E-BOOK SUBMISSIONS

*Got announcement in an email this morning. I'm passing it on to those who are interested.*

Crimson Romance, the new ebook romance imprint at Adams Media, is launching in June. Here is their message as they look for submissions:

"We're now open for submissions in five popular romance subgenres (romantic suspense, historical, paranormal, contemporary, and erotic romance) and prefer lengths of 50K words (but if yours is longer or shorter, we'll still consider it). We love fresh takes on favorite themes, and smart, savvy heroines tangling with heroes our readers will fall in love with. Get in touch with editor Jennifer Lawler with a query letter first, at editorcrimson@gmail.com. Full guidelines can be found at: http://www.adamsmedia.com/call-for-submissions."

If you have something to submit, good luck!

Author Interview- Susan Gottfried

Welcome to this weeks Author Interview. Today we have Susan Gottfried, author of Trevor's Song.

1.      Please tell the readers a bit more about you.

I’m Susan Helene Gottfried, also known as Susan at West of Mars. I’m a writer, a reviewer, a Rock Fiction expert, and a freelance editor. I’m also a mom and a cat wrangler, and some other things, too, but they are boring compared to my literary exploits!

                   2.      What types of books do you write?

I write Rock Fiction, a much under-served genre of literature. It basically encompasses anything that features music in some capacity, even if the music in question is country, hip-hop, or opera.

                 3.      Who's your main audience?

Definitely adults, as there’s that whole sex-drugs-rock and roll thing happening, even though most of the sex and drugs in my books happen off the page. The rock and roll and the language that goes along with the culture… that’s on the page. You’ve been warned.

              4.      When it comes to writing- what are your strong points? What are your weaknesses?

My strong points are definitely creating living, breathing characters and their dialogue. Another strong point is creating a vivid, real fictional world. As for my weakness, well that’d be creating a book that mainstream publishers want to publish and get in the hands of millions of bookshop shoppers.

              5.      What do you think of this term- Writer's Block? How do you overcome it?

I’m one of those people who believe Writer’s Block isn’t real. When I get stuck in a manuscript, I’ve learned that if I delete a paragraph or two, I can get myself back on track just that easily.

             6.      How many books have you written?

Oh, I have lost count… I’ve been writing my whole life.

            7.      How many are published?

I have three collections of short stories and a novel out, with a second novel to come on April 12. All are related, and you can read them in any order, although readers have said that they tend to warm up to  Trevor faster if they read any of the short story anthologies first. 

            8.      Are you self published or traditionally published?

Self-published, by the encouragement of many in the more traditional ends of the industry. Rock Fiction may be my beloved genre, but historically, it doesn’t sell very well. That’s both unfortunate – the good stuff is REALLY good – and not – the bad stuff is REALLY bad. The world of the music business is so easy to stick a cliché on, it’s almost scary. Another of my strengths has been to create a project and a band that doesn’t fall into those cliches.

              9.      What's the hardest part of the writing process for you?

First draft, definitely. That discipline of allowing myself to write garbage – believe it or not, there’s discipline in there!

            10. What type of books do you enjoy reading?

I have to laugh at this, because a better question is what do I NOT like to read. That’s mostly CBA fiction and most non-fiction, including most memoirs. My book club’s been known to talk me into a few memoirs (none that I’ve adored, I’d like to note). But, of course, memoirs, biographies and autobiographies about musicians are always fair game.

            11. Who's your favorite Author?

I actually had to fill out a form that asked this and I was crass enough to say myself. There are a ton of writers out there whose work I adore, but I can’t put my finger on any one writer. Not without slighting so many others. We are lucky enough to live in a time when good writing abounds.

            12. What's your all time favorite book?

Same problem. I don’t have one. It’s too hard to pick simply one. For the record (ha – hold on. The pun’s coming), I have the same problems picking favorite bands and songs.

Links to website: http://westofmars.com

Links to books (including buy links): http://westofmars.com/west-of-mars/the-books

Facebook:http://facebook.com/WestofMarsFans

The Masquerade Crew is sponsoring a mega event..

Their adventure started a little more than six months ago. Since they posted their first author-requested review on October 1st, they're going to officially celebrate their six month blogaversary between now and April 1st, which is the first day of the A to Z challenge. They encourage you to come back for that because for 26 days in April they're going to post writing tips from some of their followers.




In the meantime, they're kicking off this party with a mega giveaway. Roughly half of the authors of their 5 star reviews have agreed to give away copies of their books. This is your chance to win up to 8 free books. Click on the book covers to go to their review.

A Soul to Steal
by Rob Blackwell

Force of Habit
by Marian Allen

The Punished
by Peter Meredith

CurbCheK
by Zach Fortier

H10N1
by M. R. Cornelius

Spirits Rising
by Krista D. Ball

Everything I Tell You Is A Lie
by Fingers Murphy

Blood Passage
by Michael J. McCann

Enter Below for your Chance to Win

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday's Tip

I do a lot of surfing on the web. The type of information I look for varies depending on what I am looking into. Most of the time, it's writing related. I have had my share of checking out different websites for authors who will remain unknown. As I was looking/reading/looking around, I noticed several websites lacked one important aspect and that's what I am going to discuss today.

I feel, as a writer myself, there are certain elements every writer should have on their blogs or websites. First element that I've seen the most that was missing from several blogs was a way for readers to connect with the author. As an avid reader, I love it when I can send an email to an author telling them that I loved their work or to invite them to appear here on The Writing World.

I have run into the situation where I wanted to express how I enjoyed an author's work and couldn't find any email address or contact form to get in touch with them. This sort of made me feel, as the reader, the author didn't want to hear from the readers. (Remember this is in my opinion). So, I suggest making it clear how your fans can reach you and make it easy. I hate jumping from this website and that website just to find an email address or another way to contact the author.

So there's you Tuesday Tip.

Thank you for stopping by and hanging out with us for a bit. Have a wonderful day.

Open spots for interview's and spotlights

**Announcement**

The Writing World is open for interviews and spotlights. There are two of each open for the month of April. We are also accepting those interested in booking for the month of May.

We will be open to continuing the interview's and spotlights until the beginning of July. For the month of July and August, due to my wedding I'll be pausing with the interviews and spotlights. Thank you for understanding.

If you're an author interested, please use the contact form above for questions and comments. Thank you.

Author Spotlight- Cynthia Woolf

Cynthia Woolf

 

Books by Author:

 1. Centauri Dawn

2. Centauri Twilight

3. Centauri Midnight 

Biography

Book Review (coming soon)

Links

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Interview

 How did you get started writing?  I wrote my first story when I was about ten.  It was a romance about me and a little boy I liked.  I also wrote some very depressing poetry.  I decided that poetry was not for me and stuck to romance.

 

What genre(s) do you write in and why?  I have a historical western romance and a sci-fi romance out now.  The sci-fi is the first in a series.  I write in these genre’s because they are the ones whose stories reached out to me.  The western was the first book I wrote and was inspired by my parents love story.  It’s set on the same ranch that they met on in 1941.  My book is set in 1885, so it’s not their love story.  My dad was a cowboy and trapper but to the best of my knowledge was never a bounty hunter. 

The sci-fi series was done because of dreams I had when I was a teenager.  I knew I was a princess from Alpha Centauri.  There was no way I could belong to the crazy family I had.  Of course, I adore that crazy family now.

What movie best describes your life?  Why?  I think Romancing the Stone best describes my life.  It’s just one crazy misstep after another, but I got my happy ending.

What inspired your latest book?  Centauri Midnight is the third book in the Centauri Series.  I used to dream that I was a princess from Alpha Centauri, that was the basis for Centauri Dawn, book 1 in the series. 

Book 2 is much darker.  Lara is the twin sister of Audra in book 1.  Lara has been a sex slave since she was a child.  Having escaped, she’s now an outlaw and working to free the rest of the slaves who are now her people.

Book 3 is lighter again.  Kiti is a friend of Audra’s and was the lover of Anton in book 2.  She had vowed to get justice for her murdered brother and is on the trail of the man responsible.  Garrick is Darius’ best friend from books 1 & 2.  He’s loved Kiti forever but never said so because of Anton.  Now she’s free and he’s going to make sure she doesn’t get away.

What is your favorite part of writing?  My favorite part is what I call the ‘puking’ phase.  Just getting it all down on paper for the first time.  You just let if flow out of you, not caring, for the moment, if it is good or bad.

What is your least favorite part of writing?  Editing is my least favorite.  I’m constantly questioning myself and my work.  Changing it, correcting it, putting it back to what it was and starting it all again.  It’s never good enough for me.

What is your next project and when will it be released?  My next book is called CENTAURI MIDNIGHT and is the third book in the Centauri Series.  It will be released in January 2012.

What is your typical day like?  I don’t know that I have a typical day.  I’m lucky enough to be able to write full time.  I was laid off in June and am taking advantage of it to write while I look for another job.  

How much time do you spend promoting your books?  What works best for you?  I spend a lot of time promoting my books.  A minimum of two hours per day.  Usually more but it is in 15 or 20 minute increments throughout the day, not in one big chunk.  Between Facebook, Twitter, blogging, putting announcements on loops, etc, I spend a lot of time doing it.  So far, blogging seems to get me the biggest bump in  my sales.

How has your experience with self-publishing been?  My experience has been wonderful.  I highly recommend it for everyone out there who doesn’t want to be constrained by the “big” traditional publisher.  For everyone who wants to write from their heart and not according to the industry rules and constraints, self publishing is the only way to go.

Where do you get the ideas for your stories?  I have ideas from everywhere.  My sci-fi series is from my dreams as a teenager.  My western was inspired by my parents own meeting and love story.  I place Tame A Wild Heart about 60 years earlier than when my parents met but the setting on a ranch is the same.  My dad was a real cowboy and my mom was what we would call a nanny now.  They were called nursemaids then. 

What advice do you have for other authors wanting to self-publish?  Go for it.  It’s a wild ride but totally worth it.

The Power of Balancing

As some of you may know, I solely take care of this blog. Yep, that's right. This blog is ran by me and only me. Therefore, I wanted to share with you the ways I balance everything that pertains to writing within my life. Not only do I run this blog but I also do quite a few things that sort of wrap into my blog life.

I am a writer. Yep, that's right. I am currently editing my book, Silenced. I've been working on this piece for about four years. I've had my ups and downs with it. I went through periods where I absolutely loved the work I had written and periods where I though it was nothing but crap. But what author doesn't go through this at one point or another.

As you can see, I offer to review books for other authors too. So, in addition to keeping up with my blog schedule and writing my book, I read others work as well. Thus, keeping me rather busy. (Not to mention that I'm a mom and I'm also in the process of planning my wedding.) So, you might say I have a full plate.

But how do I manage to keep up with all of this? (A question I've been asked many times.) Well, I'm going to answer this question right now. The key to all of this is Balance. I make time for each important task that needs done every day. I run my life on a schedule.

One key to writing well is to write every day. Even if it doesn't pertain to my book or my blog. I write. No a day goes by where I don't write something.

Self discipline plays a good role here as well. I ground myself to my reading chair when there's a book that needs read and reviewed. I ground myself to my writing area when it comes time to edit another chunk of my book.

Do you have any tips on balancing out writing with the rest of life??

Author Interview: Jerry Fogarty

Welcome to this weeks addition of our Author Interview. Today, I'd like to welcome Jerry Fogarty author of Nick West and the Curse of the Haunted Island.

1. Please tell the readers a bit more about you.  

 I live in the small town of McAdoo, Pa, the town where I grew up and like most people I dream of the day when I can move somewhere warmer.  Back when I was in high school, in my tenth grade English class, we always had to write the ending to the stories that we read from the text book.  I always came up with a cleaver way to kill off the main characters causing the class to roar with laughter.  Growing up, I’ve always had an overactive imagination and it seems that it carried over to my adulthood.  I came up with the idea for my first book, Nick West and the Curse of Haunted Island, when I was at work one night.  I began brain storming and a few days later I began to write it.  It began as a horror story about a group of teenage kids, who go to an island and get hacked apart by a pirate skeleton, and surprisingly developed in to an action/adventure/sci-fi story that’s suitable for just about any age group.  From then on, the ideas haven’t stopped popping into my mind.  In my spare time, when I’m not working or writing, I like to hang with my dog, work on my 1986 Corvette that I’m restoring, and catch a movie or two.

2. What types of books do you write?   

I like to write action/adventure, sci-fi, and horror.

3. Who's your main audience?   

13 years and older.

4. When it comes to writing- what are your strong points? What are your weaknesses?   

I would have to say my strong points are character creation and the research I have to do move the story along.  My weaknesses would be dialogue, grammar, and detailing up the scenes, but I’m happy to say the more I’m writing, the better I’m getting at these.

5. What do you think of this term- Writer's Block? How do you overcome it?   

Writer’s Block is a myth.  I call it “Getting Stuck” and I overcome it by clearing my mind, turning up some Jimmy Buffett, and relaxing.  Sometimes if I work on another project it helps, as well.  But it’s not always that simple, the one time I was “Stuck” for a few weeks.

6. How many books have you written?   

Currently, I have written four books and I’m working on three more.

7. How many are published?  

 One so far.

8. Are you self published or traditionally published?   

Self published as of the moment, but I’m looking into getting traditionally published.

9. What's the hardest part of the writing process for you? 

Finding a company that likes my stories and is willing to publish them.

10. What type of books do you enjoy reading?  

 Generally, I like anything written by Stephen King, but I’m hooked on the Cane Chronicles written by Rick Riordan, but I read any types of horror, action/adventure, sci-fi, and some young adult.

11. Who's your favorite Author?  

 I would have to say Stephen King.

12. What's your all time favorite book?   

 Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

You can find out some more information about me and my first book, Nick West and the Curse of Haunted Island, on my website www.nickwestadventres.com.  There is a link on my website to buy my book through the publisher and you can also find it at Amazon.com, Parable.com, and just about anywhere online that sells books. For more updates, become a fan of Nick West Adventure on Facebook.

Thank you Jerry for stopping by and we look forward to hearing of your future works as well. Thanks for coming over.