Interview with William Corradini

Today’s author interview spotlights William Corradini,  Author of the Memoir, Dixon’s Place.

WCP: What was your inspiration for Dixon’s Place?

I had just received another batch of orphaned ducklings.  It just hit me at that moment that my life had changed significantly over such a short period of time.   I started to think about how we got to this ‘place’ and was inspired to write about it. 

WCP: Do you have any other genre you’d like to try your hand at?

Science fiction-nope, not smart enough.  Romance-nope, I would giggle too much and it would read like a seventeen year-old talking to his buddies in a locker room.

I would like to try some fiction-human interest. 

WCP: Do you have any favorite authors in the Memoir genre? Or ones that have influenced you more than others?

J.R. Moehringer.  I loved the Tender Bar: A Memoir.  It was brilliantly written, it felt more like I was reading a novel than I was a memoir.  I could also relate to his story.  I bought his fictional debut immediately and it was just as good.  He is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

WCP: Is there anything you would like the readers to take away from the story?

I tried to put a ‘face’ on the animals we took in.  I did this for one primary reason.  These animals  became a part of us, a part of our family. They are individuals in their own right with personalities and moods and needs.  I hope that resonates with anyone that reads it and, if it encourages them to adopt an animal in need or volunteer at a shelter or just spread the work how to prevent homeless, mangled animals, then the book was definitely worth it. 

WCP: Do you have anything else in the works? 

Toying with a children’s version of Dixon’s Place.  Working title is Dixon’s Friends.  I think it would be a great way to educate young children the responsibilities of being a good pet owner. Depending on how Dixon’s Place is received, I have plenty of material for a Dixon’s Place II. 

WCP: What about writing life/being an author took you by surprise?

I didn’t’ realize how many times I would have to read my work!  Haleigh was an incredible editor but I will admit I cursed her name many times.  Re-writing is far more difficult than getting your original thoughts on paper. 

Now for some fun questions:

WCP: What one modern technology do you think you could live without? (Not that you’d like it, but you could if you had to.) I can do without any modern device except my Kindle! 

WCP: Maserati, Mercedes, Pacer, or Prius? Which car do you share the most characteristics with? And what are those characteristics?

A rickshaw, and I should probably not expound on what characteristics I share with it.

WCP: Chocolate, bacon, chocolate with bacon, or none of the above?

Sugar-free chocolate.  It’s discovery was the greatest moment of my life.  The subsequent moments after eating it became my worst. 

WCP: Any last words? Um, for the interview, that is. (grin)

I want to thank Marci Baun and Erica Freeman for believing enough in me to give me a chance .  I would also like to thank Haleigh Rucinski for her tireless work editing this raw manuscript into something I can be very proud of. 

I hope everyone enjoys it, I truly had written it from the heart and I am thankful that I was given the opportunity to share our story.  I also welcome all feedback, it is the only way I can grow as a writer.  I take it all, so please be brutally honest-I promise not to take it personally! (That is a lie, I am sure I will cry myself to sleep, curled up in the fetal position). 

And I hope everyone finds a ‘Dixon’ in their life. 

Purchase Link

 

Dixon's Place - Click Image to Close

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Dixons-Place-ebook/dp/B00BXWTE38/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364679759&sr=8-1&keywords=dixon%27s+place

Barnesandnoble.com http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dixons-place-william-corradini/1114877257?ean=2940016274164

Apple Itunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/dixons-place/id624285081?mt=11

You can follow Dixon’s Place (and the many updates to our flock) on:

Twitter @Dixonsplace

 Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dixons-Place/377091692383991?fref=ts

Or our website- www.dixons-place.com.

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Interview with Larry Payne

Today’s author interview spotlights Larry Payne,  Author of the Western Novella, Ride the Savage Lands.

WCP: What was your inspiration for Ride the Savage Land?

 LP:     I don’t think any one thing inspired Ride The Savage Land other than a love for the western genre.         

WCP: Do you have any other genre you’d like to try your hand at? 

 LP:    I have dabbled a bit ithe sci-fi and crime fiction genres. 

WCP: Does Jake Hollister share any of your characteristics? 

LP:     Wow, I never really thought about that. Maybe the resolve to finish what you start no matter how long it takes. 

WCP: Before we move onto other questions, would Jake like to add anything?

JH: *shaking his head* Nothing, other than, you ain’t seen the last of Me, John Henry and Zac! 

WCP: Do you have anything else in the works? 

 LP:    I’ve been tossing around a PI story for quite a while and recently got some pretty good feedback on an unpublished PI short story that suggested a series. So I’m taking that story and incorporating it into I,TANNER, the first book in the Blake Tanner PI series.     

WCP: What about writing life/being an author took you by surprise?

LP:      I think the biggest surprise was the whole “we’re all in this together”, open arms mentality of being a family instead of being competitors. Advice is readily available on writing or marketing whenever you ask by writers of all levels and all genres. 

Now for some fun questions: WCP: What one modern technology do you think you could live without? (Not that you’d like it, but you could if you had to.) 

 LP:     The Cell Phone…I was getting along perfectly fine without one, then got the bright idea to get rid of my land line to save moneySo, I got one and still, to this day, I have fought off the demons and only use it as a phone. 

WCP: If you could sit down and have dinner with anyone, living or dead, what would it be and what would you eat?

LP: A steak dinner with Louis L’Amour and John Wayne, the two biggest reasons I started writing westerns!

WCP: If you could be any man/woman, living or dead, who would you want to be? Why?  

Someone like Jim Bridger or Zeb PikeAlthough dangerous, the excitement had to be over the top. 

WCP: Any last words? Um, for the interview, that is. (grin) 

LP:     I never thought, in my wildest dreams, that when I started writing so many years ago, it would take off like it did. It’s been fun and I don’t know how long it’s going to last, but, I’m going to keep writing and enjoy the ride wherever this journey takes me.

Larry Payne grew up in East Chicago, Indiana and now resides in Chandler, Arizona with his wife, Susan, and their two cats, Molly and Emily.

He is a US Navy veteran where he served as a Hospital Corpsman. He currently is employed at Banner Heart Hospital in Mesa, AZ, as a Cardiac Monitor Technician.

Besides western fiction, he has written short stories of crime fiction and science fiction.

His western fiction novella, RIDE THE SAVAGE LAND, is available as an e-book from Wild Child Publishing.

Ride the Savage Land

Amazon.http://www.amazon.com/Ride-the-Savage-Land-ebook/dp/B00BMWE79A/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text

His short stories appear in Rope and Wire Western Short Stories Volumes 2 & 4 and The Best Of Frontier Tales Volume 1 as ebooks.

Find them on his Amazon Author Page…www.amazon.com/-/e/B007O3HW1Q

Larry’s e-mail address is ecwalum@yahoo.com.
Check out his web site at www.larrypayne.jimdo.com
and his blog at http://larrypayneauthor.blogspot.com
Tweet him: @LarryPayne2

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Larry-Payne/218717748143926

 

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Wild Child Valentine Sale

Hey everyone!

Do you have your eye on a few of our eBooks? From now until Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to buy. Why? We are having a sale. When you buy any eBook, you can get 20% off with the discount code LOVE. Just insert it in the coupon code box at checkout for your automatic 20% discount. You can use it as often as you like, but just do it before February 15th, or you’ll miss out.

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Join us…

on Triberr.com. Sign up with either your Twitter or your Facebook account and follow our “Tribe.” If you are a Wild Child or Freya’s Bower author, you can become a member. You’ll automatically see us whenever any of our tribe members update their blogs. Great content, great authors, great reading.

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SR Howen Interview

Medicine Man: Book 1: The Chief of All Time by SR Howen, a paranormal, American Indian spiritualism eBook

Medicine Man: Book 1: The Chief of All Time by SR Howen

S.R. Howen, author of Medicine Man: Book 1: The Chief of All Time, joins us today. Thanks for joining us, S.R.

WCP: Shannon Running Deer is not the typical protagonist. Well, he’s tortured, so that is somewhat typical, but there are things about him that are not the same. What makes him different from other protagonists out there?

I think the main difference is that, while many protagonists are tortured by something they did, or by something that happened to them in their past, Shannon is tortured by what he is. By the very culture he came from and turned his back on haunts him. No matter how hard he tries that culture catches up with him and tries to drag him kicking and screaming back, until he has to turn and face it in order to survive.

WCP: Do you share any of Shannon Running Deer’s traits? Or, does he share any of yours? Or of someone you know? Does he have any traits that you don’t like? Are there any traits you wish you shared with him?

Wow, those are hard questions. Funny that when we write something we don’t really see ourselves in the story. But others have pointed out, wow Shawn, this is kinda autobiographical isn’t it? I did go huh? I did wonder what aspects they were talking about. I don’t fight with my own inner demons, got rid of those long ago. But in many ways the path to acceptance of myself is perhaps the shared trait. Only I didn’t have to be cahsed by an ancient evil to do it. LOL

WCP: If this became a movie, who would play Shannon Running Deer?

Tatanka Means hands down. He looks like Shannon Running Deer as described in the story, not as tall, but ( does someone have a fan, just got hot in here) I have a picture of him on my blog.

WCP: Now for Morning Dove. (smile) Is there a woman in your life (not necessary to name) that inspired this character? What traits do you like about her? What traits do you wish you could change? (I know this sounds odd, but characters often have a way of being who they want not who you want.)

She’s strong willed, stubborn, accepts her role in life, but doesn’t necessarily like it, but puts on a brave face and does what’s needed. Honestly, she is a bit like me in that way. She is sarcastic, but not in a mean way. What would I change about her? Nothing, I didn’t expect her to be so strong at the start of he story, but as she turned out that way, I was pleased with it.

WCP: Who would play Morning Dove?

My first thought was, me, if I were 30 years younger, just so I could do a love scene with Tatanka Means. LOL

Tonantzin Carmelo. She was in the mini series Into the West and always thought she would make a good choice for Morning Dove.

WCP: Would Shannon Running Deer or Morning Dove like to add anything?

Just that we would like Book 3 to be finished so they know how their lives turn out.

WCP: Did you listen to any music when you wrote this novel?

Every novel I write has a soundtrack. I start with one song and then as the novel goes along and I listed to the radio or my own music lists others get added. I listened to a lot of Foreigner and the CD Sacred Spirits until everyone in the house was ready to break it in two. I have sound proof ear buds now.

WCP: There are many American Indian ceremonies described in Medicine Man. There is a note in the beginning about how they’ve been combined to preserve the secrecy (not the right word) of the ceremonies. How did you decide what to pull from where to pull this off?

The internet, and some books, if the ceremony was easily found online I felt okay using it. IN other cases if I needed a ceremony for a particular scene in the story, and I couldn’t find one that was in that safe zone, I made it up. While the story represents real people, it is a work of fiction.

WCP: There are American Indian folk tales and beliefs, as well, woven in throughout the story. Did any of these inspire the story? Or did they just weave themselves through the story?

The how and why tale of Why The Blackfoot Don’t Kill Mice was part of the inspiration for the story. Oddly I ofund that many parts of the story were based on others that I had heard at one time or another without thinking about it, they were there woven in.

WCP: Is there anything you would like the readers to take away from the story?

I often write Ethnic stories with Indians in them. In modern setting and not on a reservation. So many stories portray Indians as some fantastical being, or the noble savage, or as drunks and losers stuck in the past. I even had a beta reader on Medicine Man tell me that thie story didn’t fit reality, his reason: Indians didn’t drive high end cars and weren’t surgeons, they drove old pickup trucks and lived off the government.

With this book one of the things I wanted the reader to take away from it was that American Indians are people, not a curiosity. That we live in the modern world as well.

WCP: Do you have anything else in the works?

I have completed Medicine Man 2: Raven, have a god start on Medicine Man 3: White Bird. I am also working on Forge 2 Beginnings for Freya’s Bower. I have also completed an Erotic Romance with American Indian characters as well.

WCP: What about writing life/being an author took you by surprise?

Marketing. Marketing is a not a beach, it’s that other B word. It takes huge chunks of time and at times feels like a runaway train has a hold of you and is dragging you along. IN one day I got three sets of interview questions, and needed to write two guest blogs for a review tour that was starting in only a few days. And it is relentless. But without it, no one would know your book was out there, so if you ever want to get to the point of paying someone to do your PR, then you have to do it.

Now for some fun questions:

WCP: What one modern technology do you think you could live without? (Not that you’d like it, but you could if you had to.)

I could go the easy route and say the TV since you can get most programs on your computer. But that would be cheating. The next thing, the toilet. I know eeewwww, but if I had to chose one thing, I could do with an outhouse if I had to. LOL

WCP: If you could be any woman/man, living or dead, who would you want to be? Why?

My dad. I would like to know everything that he never got a chance to pass on to me. He died when I was 7, so I feel that I missed so much of him, if for one day I could be him and know what he knew.

WCP: Maserati, Mercedes, BMW, Pacer, or Prius? Which car do you share the most characteristics with? And what are those characteristics?

BMW, I used to drive one, when I could still drive. Strong, aggressive, determined.

WCP: Chocolate, bacon, chocolate with bacon, or none of the above?

Yuck, together, that is just gross. Can I go with Bakon Vodka?

WCP: Any last words? Um, for the interview, that is. (grin)

For something different, pick up a copy of Medicine Man.

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“The Raising of Baal” – A CM Michaels short story

“Let’s try this again,” Airenne commanded in a flat, composed voice, as if the thug she’d just ordered to bind my hands wasn’t lying dead at her feet. “And let me remind you, I only need the oath and blood of a Shelby female to release our dark lord from his earthly tomb. The oath bound female will be bred to Baal and transformed into the very essence of evil, so I’m sure you’d prefer that we not use your daughter.”

“You’ll release Jessie totally unharmed if I cooperate?” I couldn’t believe I was seriously contemplating letting her do God knows what to me, not to mention releasing this Baal guy—I’m thinking anyone nasty enough to get themselves locked away in an earthly tomb probably should stay there—but given the alternative what choice did I have? While I was fairly confident I could take out Airenne, there were far more powerful demons outside this room, and I had no idea what realm we’d been sucked into or how to get back. Nor did I have any clue where Jessie was being held.

“If you complete the ritual, I give you my solemn oath that your daughter will be released into your care unharmed.”

Her words tore the fight from me like I’d been run through with a sword. When her ashen hand pressed down on my bare shoulder I collapsed to me knees, lowering my head in defeat.

“Much better,” she purred, fisting her hand in my calf length golden hair. She pulled up slightly and began to hack it away. Tears streamed down my cheeks as my never-trimmed locks—the source of our family’s magic—gathered in deep piles around my knees. After a couple of minutes there was nothing left for her to cut. My head was lathered in a warm, red cream then shaved completely bald with a straight razor, suppressing what little power I had left. There was no turning back—I wouldn’t be able to stand against Airenne now even if I decided to fight. Struggling would only get my precious Angel turned into a monster and a slave. If one of us had to face that fate—which looked all but certain—it sure as hell wasn’t going to be her.

“Rise and remove your clothing.”

I did as she instructed, shedding the back sheath dress they’d forced me to change into earlier. The tears were coming so fast now that they blurred my vision. My little Jessie Lynn was going to lose her mother just when she was starting to come into her powers and needed me most.

I felt my body being guided over to a gargoyle shaped stone alter. I moved as if under a deep trance, barely conscious of my feet touching the floor. After lowering me onto what I guessed was the seat my hands were slid into holes on either side of the gargoyle’s mouth, locking my arms into place.

Airenne unsheathed a rune-covered black dagger from her waist and walked behind the stone statue to where my arms were held. A fiery pain tore through me as she carved several deep slits in my wrists.

“Do you, Anabelle Eirene Shelby, renounce your Goddess Astraea and accept Baal as your lord and master?”

Astraea wasn’t just some abstract Goddess of innocence and purity—she was also the mother of our entire family line. She’d devotedly held my hand while I gave birth. “Y- yes,” I mumbled through my sobs.

“Do you freely relinquish your soul and pledge to use all of your immense power to serve Lucifer for eternity?”

“Yes!” I cried out, knowing I had no other choice.

She lifted a blood covered finger to my forehead and drew some kind of symbol. As soon as it was complete it started to burn. “With your sworn oath and blood I damn your soul. You are now Satan’s child, and will be known by your demon name Lamashtu.”

Airenne opened my mouth wide and leaned my head forward until the beak of the stone beast was inside of it. A blood-red glimmer slowly appeared in its eyes, glowing brighter and brighter until it was almost blinding. Brutal images of death, war, torture and unimaginable cruelty streamed into my mind. I tried to pull away, only to find that my body was frozen in place. I wasn’t even able to blink or avert my gaze from the searing light. Things only got worse as a viscous, acidic fluid began to stream into my mouth, forcing me to repeatedly swallow in order to keep from choking.

After what felt like hours of unrelenting mental barrage and gut wrenching swallows I lost the will to pull away. The scenes of death and destruction no longer horrified me. In fact, they were—fascinating. How could I have been so blind and misguided before? The only value humans had was as pawns in our battle against an all too arrogant God. They deserved to be manipulated and slaughtered like the mindless sheep that they were. I only hoped that Baal found me worthy of being his mate. Oh, what powerful Demons I would spawn for him—half Goddess-enhanced witch and half demon, inheriting the magical abilities of both.

“It is done!” Airenne called out in wild celebration as she danced around the statue. “I can feel our dark lord rising! Come, Lamashtu, you must sacrifice Jessie and take your fill of her blood before he arrives!”

“But what of your oath to me?” If Airenne broke the promise she’d made to obtain my soul our pact would be severed. She’d be banished to the realms of hell and I’d be returned to my human state.

Her entire face lit up in a wicked, victorious grin. “I swore that your daughter would be released into your care unharmed. Should you choose to kill her—that is entirely up to you.”

An animalistic roar of approving laughter bellowed out of my lungs. How very clever. I grabbed hold of the blood covered dagger she offered and raced after her, pausing briefly to glance at myself in the full length mirror at the end of the hall.

Glowing red orbs resided where my eyes once had been. My skin was covered in shiny burgundy scales, and I had broad, ink-colored horns protruding from my temples. My lower legs now ended in cloven hoofs and were covered in a wiry black fur. The black pentagram tattoo on the center of my forehead still felt warm to the touch, and my nails had thickened and extended into lethal four inch talons. But the most astonishing thing of all was the two rows of razor sharp teeth that filled my lipless mouth. My barbed tail wagged almost doglike above my right shoulder. I was magnificent! The thought of feasting on my daughter’s pure, innocent blood while I ended her short life made me groan in anticipation.

C.M. Micahels
Author of Dangerous Waters
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/chad.mcpherson.142
Twitter – https://twitter.com/UFAuthor
Blog – http://cmmichaels.blogspot.com/

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Interview with Carmen Stefanescu

Today’s author interview spotlights Carmen Stefanescu,  Author of the Paranormal Romance Novel, Shadows of the Past.

WCP: What was your inspiration for Shadows of the Past?

I accidentally read a small article in a Romanian newspaper about a haunted mountain in England. The souls of two sinners, a nun and a priest who break their vows and elope, can’t find their rest. The tourists visiting that mountainous area hear agonizing moans during the night. The moment I put down the newspaper I knew that I had to write the story of the two unfortunate lovers.  I wrote a poem first, a ballad. Later, I thought that just a poem was not enough. I felt Genevieve’s story must be told in detail. This is how Shadows of the Past came to life.

WCP: Did you draw on any past experiences to write this novel?

My love for history, (I have always found the Medieval Times captivating), literature, paranormal phenomena and my passion for mountaineering mingled in this book. 

WCP: Do you have any other genre you’d like to try your hand at?

I’m not sure yet. I am fond of paranormal stories, both reading and writing them. The mystery genre appeals to me, too, so I’d like to write a mystery novel with elements of paranormal. 

WCP: Does Anne share any of your characteristics?

I think so. In fact, I can say that all my feminine characters share a small part of myself: feelings, thoughts. Sometimes things I did or I would have liked to do. I like to interject real facts into my stories.

WCP: Is there anything you would like the readers to take away from the story?

Absolutely. That things in life are never only black or only white but we must always take what’s good from our short stay here, in this existence. Choices can be made and true love can really be found. I also want my readers to enjoy themselves while reading my books and, above all, to connect to my characters. 

WCP: Do you have anything else in the works?

I’ve recently finished my second novel. Another paranormal. A historical one. It’s something linked to Vlad the Imapaler’s life. So again, the Middle Ages, but this time in Romania. There are so many books on Vlad, written by foreigners who focus on the “vampire” idea, and I think it’s time for one of his country people to show what historical, political and social circumstances led to his being nicknamed Dracula. 

WCP: Now for some fun questions: What about writing life/being an author took you by surprise?

The fact that writing my novel took me two months, while finding acceptance for its publishing took more than seven years. Living overseas made it even more difficult. The only solution was e-publishing. It’s a tough task for a beginner and for me, a non-native English speaker, was a real challenge.  However, in this long process I have learned much and keep doing it. Now I’m at a new stage in my learning experience with promoting, blogs, websites, etc. 

WCP: Chocolate, bacon, chocolate with bacon, or none of the above?

Chocolate with bacon?  Hmm. Never heard of, however I won’t refuse a bite to find out the taste of this exotic combination. 

WCP: Maserati, Mercedes, Pacer, or Prius? Which car do you share the most characteristics with? And what are those characteristics?

Prius.  I’m a down to earth person. Prius doesn’t harm the environment due to its low fuel consumption; likewise, I don’t harm the family’s income as I’m not a spender.

            Well, I would like to thank everyone at Wild Child Publishing, especially Marci Baun and Shawn Rost-Howen for their help in making my publishing debut,  Shadows of the Past, a dream come true.

Blog   http://shadowspastmystery.blogspot.ro/

Purchase Link

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Author Interview with Joe Donn Martin

Today’s author interview spotlights Joe Donn Martin,  Author of the Horror/Thriller Novel, The Hot House?

WCP: What was your inspiration for The Hot House?

I believe living in a small town is a uniquely shared experience. Doesn’t matter if it is a bucolic hamlet nestled in a Scandinavian hillside, a sleepy village slowly sinking into the mud on the banks of a Pondicherry river, or a flyspeck city earning its keep by ticketing cars speeding through East Kansas – small town life is the same world over. Each day seems preordained – the people you see, the places you go, the actions you take – will be consistent. Small town residents feel secure and confident in their daily lives. They are comfortable in their consistency.

I also believe that if you grew up in such a small town you will at one point have wanted to see the WHOLE MISERABLE SH!TPITT RAVAGED BY MARAUDING DEMONS AND ALL THE SMALL-MINDED @SSHOLE LIVING THERE DESTROYED BY HELLFIRE!!!

Ahem. So maybe this last sentiment isn’t as universal as I’d like to believe, nevertheless, it is the inspiration behind The Hot House.

WCP: Did you draw on any past experiences to write this novel? 

There are abandoned missile silos speckling the hills ofEast Kansasand there were rumors that cults performed satanic rituals therein. Once in the late 80s I joined a group of high school friends to investigate such a place. It was a very long time ago and my memory has been much abused by hard years and regrettable head injuries, but my recollection of the event is decidedly creepy. We had to hike a ways to get there, and I remember everyone picking up stones and tree branches to defend ourselves against whatever monsters we might find. I also remember my friend making a comment about how, as we approached the silo, all signs of life seemed to vanish. No birds in the air, no insect noises for the ear, no squirrels clinging to the trees and no rabbits rustling the brush. As I said. Creepy. 

WCP: Do you have any other genre you’d like to try your hand at? 

The most rewarding part of writing is finding excuses not to write, and research is the best excuse ever for avoiding actual work. Immersing yourself in the details and people of a particular time and place; investigating the causes and accounts of past events with such fervor that you start to feel as if you were there to witness the whole thing…. This is why I would love to craft a historical fiction novel. You have to be a very confident wordsmith, however, to make a go at this genre because there is an army of vicious and relentless fact-checkers out there who will flay you to the bone for referencing a four-slice toaster in a 1953 kitchen when everybody knows four-slice toasters weren’t introduced until 1958. Amazon needs to allow zero-star reviews for such egregious stupidity!

Man, I have a hard enough time with spelling and grammar. No way I’m ready to take on that kind of scrutiny. 

WCP: Does Warden Schugart share any of your characteristics? 

The warden and I are adept at hiding our true passions. Daytime we both have significant careers where we are considered to be experts in our chosen fields and we always conduct ourselves with the utmost professionalism. At night, however, I write shockingly graphic horror novels while Warden Schugart practices black magic in hopes of one day destroying all mankind. And we both like Heavy Metal music too. 

WCP: Do you have any favorite authors in Horror? Or ones that have influenced you more than others?
This is where I should name-drop some hot, young writers to associate myself with a best-selling literary movement – “Who’s that chick writes about vampires? Or is it zombies? Whatever, she’s sold like 100 billion books. You know who I’m talking about. Anyway, yeah, big fan, and my books are just as good as hers.” – but the fact of the matter is; the very first real book (all words, no pictures!) I can remember voluntarily reading was Stephen King’s Night Shift.

I still haven’t recovered from that.

Then Robert R. McCammon convinced me that horror books could (should, must) also have heart. His novel Boy’s Life was a game-changer.

And I wouldn’t say that I moved all the way toTexasjust so I could live in the same state as Joe R. Lansdale, but here I am! 

WCP: What about writing life/being an author took you by surprise?

Many of my favorite authors were, by all accounts, terrible people with crippling addictions, so I had high hopes that my own experiences as a writer would also be a tragic (but totally cool) miasma of alcoholism, insomnia, and ostracism. As it turns out booze makes me sleepy – just two cans of Miller High Life and I’m looking for a pillow. And, because I quickly learned I wasn’t good enough to earn a living wage writing fiction, I’ve had to keep a day job which has forced me to remain somewhat civil. Now almost thirty years have passed since I first stated “I want to be a writer” and all arguments, pro and con, of burning out vs. fading away have become academic. The biggest surprise, then, is that I’m still sitting in front of a word processor every night, stone sober, occasionally checking the clock to make sure it isn’t much past 10:00 (my bedtime), writing.

Now for some fun questions:

WCP: What one modern technology do you think you could live without? (Not that you’d like it, but you could if you had to.)

Spelcheck. Definetly spelcheck. I actually find that technaulogy a little insulting becuse I grew up in during a time when we actuallly lerned how to do things write.

WCP: If you could sit down and have dinner with anyone, living or dead, who would it be and what would you eat?

Christopher Lee; and we would have stakes! Get it? Stakes, not steaks. See, because he played Dracula so many times….  Ah, forget it. I’d just grab some hotdogs with Svengoolie.

WCP: Any last words? Um, for the interview, that is. (grin)

Last words, huh? Well I’ve gotten a lot of miles out of good old “later days, better lays”, but I feel this occasion calls for something a bit classier. How about, “Don’t tamper with Camarina”?

Yeah, I’m not really sure what that means either. Sounds impressive though.

Let’s just leave it like this; I thank you very much for the opportunity to talk a little about myself and The Hot House. It was fun!

Thank you.

P.S. Get well soon, Rich Koz! I’m serious. I really do want that hot dog dinner someday.

Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/author/joedonnmartin
Website – http://www.joedonnmartin.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Joe-Donn-Martin/267699649932694

Purchase Link

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When Bad Books Sell Well

Courtesy of Morguefile.com

First, this is article is primarily for the world of indie books. Secondly, let me set a scene for everyone. You’re an author looking for books to buy for your iPad or Kindle and you see an e-book popping up for sale at several online distributor sites. For whatever reason, the cover grabs your attention. You click on it and read the blurb and excerpt.

Uh, oh. There are errors in the blurb. Worse, the excerpt is full of typos, missing words, punctuation, and grammatical problems, and as you read—or try to—you wonder how in the world such material got accepted let alone published. If the blurb and excerpt have problems, you figure the book’s prose will be the same way, so you’re not going to waste your money and decide to buy something else. However, as the days pass you notice this questionable book is climbing the best-seller e-book charts. You frown at your computer screen and think, “Maybe the story is so good I can ignore the errors.” So you pull out some plastic and buy a copy of the book to find out why it’s selling so well.

Once the book is loaded on your e-reader, you try to read the story, but the problems in plot, character development, and all the other mechanics of good writing from punctuation to grammar are so overwhelming you struggle to get through it.

Disgusted, you glare at the computer screen. “How can this be?” you yell. “I write circles around Jane Doe Wannabe! I know my punctuation. I know my grammar. Heck, I sweat blood making sure I create well-rounded characters the reader will care about and I make sure everything furthers the plot.” You continue glaring at the screen. “I promote my butt off, too! I host contests and blog everywhere I possibly can. I’ve gone to writer’s conferences and paid handsomely for awesome promo items, connecting with writers and editors!” Steadily, your despair and frustration climbs the Richter scale and either the tears start trickling or you throw something across the room, grimacing at the tinkle of glass over by the bookshelf. “What the hell am I doing wrong? Where’s the justice in this crap selling like hot cakes when myself and other talented authors are struggling to sell a measly dozen copies each quarter?”

Moreover, I hear this from my private editing clients. They’ll rattle off a list of things like the one above and add, “And you edited my manuscript for me, making me learn what dangling modifiers and spit infinitives are. You made me fix all those plot holes and cut all that exposition…. Why learn this stuff if garbage is being published?”

Although e-publishers once had a terrible reputation for publishing anything and everything, e-pubs have changed by leaps and bounds. Most indie publishers today employ great editors and put a manuscript through numerous edits. Also, many e-books are self-published nowadays, so check the information page of the book before pointing fingers at the publishers. As for the question of ‘why learn this stuff if garbage is being published?’ there are three answers.

  • You don’t want to be a garage writer, do you? Of course not, so take pride in your work and learn where commas do and don’t go and so on. Learn, learn, learn!
  • There may be those readers out there who don’t realize how bad the prose truly is and how the book is poorly edited, but there are just as many who do know all these things. The ones who do know their grammar, punctuation, etc., will talk about the lack of this and that when they find it in the books they plunk their money down to buy–especially in today’s economy.
  • As you’ll see at the end of this article, the written word is a gift, something to pass on to other people, other countries/cultures, and our children, so polish your stories so those who read it can take pride in them, too.

Writers are emotional people (Buy my book or I’m leaping from the tallest ladder I can find!). We pour our heart and souls into our work (I even draw li’l hearts over all the ‘I’s in my manuscripts!). We spend so much time on our manuscripts that we should each take turns at being the poster child for the New Year’s baby. Heck, I’ve written so much for such long expanses of time five, sometimes seven, days a week I’ve had to shut the laptop down for a few days so my fuzzy vision could clear up. I know what it’s like to want to succeed so badly it’s all you can think, taste and breathe. And sometimes I become so irritated with the business that I contemplate opening my own publishing company. Yeah, like I’m able to carve an extra forty-eight hours out of a day, lol.

So what can a writer do to ward off or banish these feelings?

I hate to say it but it’s a matter of changing how you think i.e. your frame of mind. Sucks, I know. However, it’s true. You can’t worry about what Jane Doe Wannabe is selling or puzzle over how popular John D. Whothehellishe is on all the social sites and loops. It’s wasted energy, my friends. Why waste energy when writers strive to carve out enough writing time as it is? Besides, you can’t change what you can’t control.

First, there are a few things to consider such as genre and gimmicks. If paranormal vampire romance is all the rage and you’re writing about old Antebellum Era ladies reminiscing about how to fart quietly in multiple petticoats, I highly doubt those books are going to sell many copies [well, I might buy a copy out of sheer curiosity and my warped sense of humor]. Let’s face it, people have short attention spans, especially in the last few years due to cell phones, texting, gaming, and big movies that deliver the story at a boom-boom-boom pace [boom pace, not boom petticoats, sheesh]. Authors have to change with the times. Also, today’s readers (most, not all) want instant gratification, especially in erotic romance. I’ve seen lovely titles like A Soft Whisper sit and gather dust while something crude like Slap My Ass and Call me Cherry will fly off the cyber shelves in a blur. Worse, the one called A Soft Whisper is well written; whereas the other one isn’t.

What? [blinks in confusion at the shocked stares] Hey, I’m blunt, okay?

But seriously, what you see/read on the loops, forums, and social sites might be—and often is—a bunch of malarkey. Sure, you’ll see John D. Whothehellishe shouting all over cyberspace about how his book is #1 on XYZ’s site, but how many sales did it take to make that book #1? For all you know that site might only sell a hundred books a month. If that’s the case John’s book doesn’t have to sell many copies to be #1. Ah, that put it in a better perspective for you, didn’t it?

This leads to a question every writer must ask himself. Why do I want to succeed so badly? There are usually three main reasons most writers offer.

• Money

This answer incorporates many things from paying the bills to putting funds away for when they’re elderly to handling big purchases in the future to simply having an extra income to pad the household budget. Sadly, there are few authors who can quit their day jobs.

• Fame

Well, my friend, if it’s fame you want then you’re in the wrong business. There are few authors who can actually say they’re famous; it’s even less common in indie publishing. Don’t believe me? Talk to some mid-list authors in traditional publishing let alone the ones involved in e-publishing.

• I write because I love it

The written word is a gift, one we need to preserve, teach and develop. If you write because you must, because writing is as much a part of you as breathing then the stress of being successful will fall away. Money isn’t important and neither is fame. The love of writing is freedom to do one of the best jobs there is from the comfort of your writing spot. A writer can travel to other worlds, be other people, and share all this with the planet.

Courtesy of MorgueFile.com

It took me a long time to realize this. My family has always struggled so I’m a worrier about paying bills, etc., and I worry even more about my husband who is growing older and still working his tail off. When I stopped fretting about why my work wasn’t selling like I thought it should, things began changing. If you put negativity out in the world then negativity is what you will reap. Put good vibes out there and good things will come back to you.

Corny? Maybe, but it’s true. Stop worrying about John D. Whothehellishe and just write for the love of it, because you enjoy it. Write to make others happy with your stories, giving them temporary escape pods. Write because it’s in your blood. Just do the best you’re able to and at the same time leave yourself open to learning all you can about writing and publishing. The more you learn, the better your work will become.

NOTE: I’ve been asked by many different writers if there is truly going to be a new AWH. The answer is yes. It will be one volume revised and expanded [lol, six more years of info has got to be packed in that sucker]. If you have a suggestion for a cover please email mgbaun@wildchildpublishing.com.

To find out more about F.L. Bicknell aka Faith Bicknell-Brown, visit HERE and www.FaithBicknell.com.

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Author Interview with Victoria Roder.

Today’s author interview spotlights Victoria Roder,  Author of the YA Paranorma/Mystery Novel, The Curse of King Ramesses II? 

WCP: What was your inspiration for The Curse of King Ramesses II?

As a child and as an adult I love to visit museums. As a girl, I would daydream about being locked in buildings like museums or malls and imagine the fun I could have with total run of the deserted building for a night. I enjoy mystery’s and in The Curse of King Ramesses II, Mia and Jody are trying to solve a mystery in the museum.   

WCP: Do you have any other genre you’d like to try your hand at? 

My published works include an inspirational book on forgiveness, adult paranormal ghost stories, action thrillers and  children’s picture books. I am trying my hand at a mystery comedy script and I have an idea for a novel that goes back and forth betweenGermany’s WWII atmosphere and the present day. 

WCP: Is there anything you would like the readers to take away from the story? 

We are so bombarded in the media with negative attitudes and blaming everyone else for our lives. I want to provide the reader with a sense of adventure, but include the message to take responsibility for their own actions and to make a difference in the world we live in through their actions. 

WCP: Do you have anything else in the works? 

I have finished a chapter book called Sled Dog Tales. Raging waters, sled accidents and cheating racers make for ferrous competition, but one junior musher with her misfit puppy, attempts to model ‘The Golden Rule’ and treat others how she wants to be treated. Come along on an action packed ride as the team trains, attends canine camp and competes in races. Some lessons are best learned, not through our words, but through our actions. 

WCP: What about writing life/being an author took you by surprise? 

It still surprises me that people want me to speak to their groups. I usually think, what do I have to say? I’m just the girl down the street with lots of misfit pets who likes to camp, hike and work in the yard. But in reality, I guess we all have unique abilities and gifts we can share with others. 

Now for some fun questions: 

WCP: What one modern technology do you think you could live without? (Not that you’d like it, but you could if you had to.) 

My husband would say I could do without the stove because I never cook anyway. Although that is true I rarely cook and I’m domestically challenged, I still like to tease him because I have a recipe in a cookbook by romance authors. 

WCP: Maserati, Mercedes, Pacer, or Prius? Which car do you share the most characteristics with? And what are those characteristics? 

I would say the Prius. I’m a down to earth basic Mid-West girl. I enjoy the simple things in life. I like snow-shoeing with my dogs, camping, hiking, shooting bow (at targets) and watchingDiscovery ID®. 

WCP: Any last words? Um, for the interview, that is. (grin) 

As an author, I get ideas from everything I hear or see. Perhaps something in the news, or perhaps my idea comes from you, on the phone at the bus stop, so be careful. I’m out there and you might be a character in my next book! 

Visit me at my website: www.victoriaroder.com 

I’d love to have you join me on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/victoria.roder#!/victoria.roder 

The Curse of King Ramesse II is available at:  http://www.amazon.com/The-Curse-King-Ramesses-ebook/dp/B008PHZJ3I/ref=pd_ybh_18

Or

WCP Purchase Link

The Curse of King Ramesses II - Click Image to Close

Dinosaurs, a wall of skulls, and mummies, oh my!

One fateful night, Mia and her best friend Jody stow away in the Bradford Museum to investigate the mysterious mummy exhibit from the Cairo Museum. Rumors of the Curse of King Ramesses II have surfaced. It’s believed, that due to the king’s tyranny the Egyptian people vowed to rise up against him. In revenge, Ramesses II vowed he would never rest until all of the perpetrators against him and their ancestors were brought to justice.

Now, spend the night in the dark, deserted museum. Experience the roar of the dinosaurs, the cold blast of the arctic, and always run past the wall of skulls. Be prepared for a night of heart-racing action as the girls dare to solve the ancient Egyptian curse of King Ramesses II. Will Mia and Jody survive the investigation or will the mummified king’s revenge be fulfilled?

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