Interview with Kenzie Michaels

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Jenn Nixon

Today’s author interview spotlights Kenzie Michaels,  Author of the Contemporary Romance, Off The Clock.

WCP: What was your inspiration for Off The Clock?

I had joined a local writer’s group, and the leader mentioned the group was kicking around the idea for an anthology centered around a place of business, and everyone would take a different employee, to write their story.  My brain kicked into gear, and two weeks later walked into the meeting with the first two chapters of OTC, and told them I’d started my story.  I passed it around, and Travis was impressed when he realized it wasn’t your typical ‘cheesy romance’.  I’d surprised him with Cara’s relationship with her mother.  Then he informed me they planned to set the anthology at a fast-food chicken place.  I kept writing my story, and the title stuck.

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

I have two paranormal romances in the works.  One deals with a Cupid, and the other an alien.  And don’t laugh; I also have a zombie story; another idea I had for the anthology, which never got off the ground.  

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

Regina Carlysle, Bronwyn Green, Anny Cook, and Brynn Paulin were wonderful to me when I first met them online, and helped me tremendously as I began this venture into e-publishing.  I had read one of Mary Winter’s books back in 2005, which inspired me to see if I could write something that spicy, but it wasn’t until two years later I began reading e-books more often and trying to be e-published.

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

I just want to whisk the reader away into a quick reality break.  Sit back, relax, and let your imagination be your guide. 

WCP: Do you have anything else in the works?

I have about ten unfinished projects at the moment.  My characters have been on an extended vacation without me, so I hope this summer I’ll be able to get one or two finished. 

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

My 1st rejection took me by surprise.  It turns out I had been heavily influenced by Danielle Steele and Judith Michael, and head-hopping was a no-no by 2007.  I still slip into that habit every once in a while, but I catch it a lot sooner now.

Secondly, the self-promotion.  I was soooo naïve back in 1999; I remember saying to people, ‘If my agent gets me a publishing contract, I may need to take my BFF; she’ll do the interviews while I’ll be in the Green Room with a two-way radio, feeding her answers.’  Of course, that didn’t happen, and I’ve since been on both TV and radio.

Last, I didn’t expect my family to be so unsupportive.  They like it when I get a royalty check, or am recognized in the community, but when I’m ‘in the zone’ or working on the computer doing promotion, they don’t take me seriously as ‘working’.  I’ve had to interrupt chats in order to fix meals, or sit down and eat with the family, or even  had to grab a notebook to continue writing if my kids needed the computer for homework.  Before I was published, they were fine with me locking myself in a room to write non-stop.  So I’m not exactly sure what happened.

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 live without air conditioning.  My family laughs because in the summertime, I literally wear two sets of clothes.  I have to strip off a layer to go outside, and carry a sweater when we go out to eat.  I get that cold.  Even in the car, if there aren’t dual controls, I’ve been known to have a blanket over me.

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

I’ve been mulling over this question for some time.  I’d like to sit down with so many….Queen Elizabeth I, Princess Diana, Neil Diamond, Tommy Shaw (from Styx), Mary, the mother of Jesus or Mary Magdalene.  A feast for the royals; pizza with the rock stars; and probably roast lamb with the Mary’s.

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

Chocolate!  Esp Hershey Bliss Milk Chocolate squares, or Dove Milk Chocolate.

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

I’d love to be a back up singer for either Journey, Styx, REO Speedwagon, or Bon Jovi.  I love music, love to sing, and singing karaoke one night a week is my stress-reliever.  Maybe a year-long tour with one of these bands would cure my wanderlust to see the world?

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

Thank you for letting me be here today!  Here is where I can be found in cyberspace:

Website: www.mollydaniels.wordpress.com

Romance Books 4 Us:  http://romancebooks4us.com/Romance%20Author%20Molly%20Daniels-Kenzie%20Michaels.html

Blog: http://kenziemichaels.blogspot.com

Face Book Page:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Kenzie-Michaels/248105468603737

Twitter: www.twitter.com/kenziemichaels

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Kenzie-Michaels/e/B004TYM7FE/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

ARE: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html

 Purchase Link

Off The Clock - Click Image to Close

 

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Interview with James Riser

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Jenn Nixon

Today’s author interview spotlights James Riser,  Author of the YA Sci-Fi, Falling Sky

WCP: What was your inspiration for Falling Sky?

Around the time I wrote Falling Sky, I was reading a lot of Issac Asimov and Philip K. Dick. Asimov’s story, Caves of Steel, inspired the underground city setting. Philip K. Dick’s stories have always, to me, been about toying with the reader’s perceptions and leaving it to us to determine what is real and what isn’t. The city in Falling Sky has a false projected sky and meticulously groomed landscape, it looks real, feels real but isn’t. A continuous spring day may be preferable to the uncertainties of real weather and real life, yet the main character isn’t satisfied with this.

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

Currently, I’m writing a semi-autobiographical realistic fiction piece. I may want to try to write a fantasy story one day soon as well.

WCP: Does Ian Blum share any of your characteristics?

Besides not being satisfied with false happiness, we are both social introverts; especially when I was about 15 years old (the age of Ian) I would hide out in my room during large family gatherings and didn’t like to go places where I knew there would be a lot of people around. I’ve made some progress with this recently and am able to go out on a regular basis without feeling social anxiety, but there are times when I get still get anxious when there’s a huge crowd of people around.

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

Ian would like to let everyone know that social anxiety can be conquered and always be yourself.

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

I would like to them to consider what is real and what isn’t and whether happiness can be controlled like the weather in Falling Sky’s cities.

WCP: Do you have anything else in the works?

As I said previously, I have a novella in the works concerning some significant events of my life mixed with some fictional elements. Also, I’ve been writing a lot of poetry and am trying to get a collection together for publication.

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

The sacrifices that had to be made surprised me mildly. I knew it would happen, yet didn’t really feel the full effects of the sacrifices until I started going to school while writing Falling Sky. I had to work two part time jobs as well, so most of my time outside of school and work was dedicated to writing and I would end up exhausted at the end of the day. It also surprised me that writing isn’t actually the major challenge for being a writer, it’s finding the time to fit writing into a hectic schedule.

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

It would be a sushi (my favorite food) dinner with Allen Ginsberg or Issac Asimov (or both).

WCP: If you could travel to any planet, besides earth, and live there (if that were possible), which one would it be? And what do you think it would be like?

I would like to travel to Mars because it’s always been a classic Science Fiction setting. Realistically, it might be a barren landscape, but I like to imagine that I could find ruins of an ancient Martian civilization. That would be awesome.

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

I could only want to be myself.

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

I’ve heard some people say they would like to be a writer, but “don’t have the skills, or understanding of grammar, or enough imagination, etc.” The main thing that one needs to be a writer is not skill (that can be developed later), it is perseverance. Any weakness or obstacle you have can always be worked on if one has the passion and desire to do it. More importantly, one needs to read and write every day.

 Purchase link:

 Falling Sky - Click Image to Close

 

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Guest Blogger Terri Talley Venters

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Jenn Nixon
Today’s special guest is Author Terri Talley Venters. She’s sharing her prologue and a short blurb of her upcoming release Copper Cauldron!
 

“The battle against the devil, which is the principle task of St. Michael the archangel, is still being fought today because the devil is still alive and active in the world.”

–Pope John Paul II 

Prologue

“Can you tell me a bedtime story, Great-Grandma?” Penelope asked.

The nine-year old girl looked at her great-grandmother whose eyes matched her own, one blue and one green. She lay in her pink bedroom on the second floor of the ancestral mansion located in the Garden District of New Orleans. Penelope, born in this house, represented the seventh generation of Manchester Witches to live here.

“Of course, my dear. Which story would you like to hear? Or do I even need to ask?” Violet said, smiling.

“You know the one, my favorite,” Penelope answered. She laid her small head down. Her long black hair spread across the pillow.

“I love this story too. Once upon a time, there was a young woman named Penelope. Her beautiful long black hair hung to her tiny waist. Her pale skin gave her a beautiful, youthful complexion. She possessed the most unique and treasured eyes, one blue and one green. One day, she will meet her one true love, her soul mate, her destiny. He is a warrior of God, with the face of an angel, the heart of a saint, and eyes which match her own,” Violet said.

“Thank you, Great-Grandma. When are Mommy and Daddy coming home?” Penelope asked.

“Your parents are busy fighting bad people. I hope they’ll be home very soon.”

“Why didn’t Grandma Beatrice go with them this time?” Penelope asked.

“Beatrice wanted to stay behind and keep an eye on us,” Violet replied.

“Why do we have to keep our powers a secret?” Penelope asked.

“Because it scares people,” Violet said.

“Am I really the youngest Manchester Witch to receive her powers?” Penelope asked.

“Yes, you are. You will be a very powerful and very good witch. It is part of your destiny. Your true love will be very powerful too. But your children will be even more powerful than you,” Violet explained.

“When can we go see another Church of St. Michael?” Penelope asked. She looked over at the wall behind her great-grandmother. She stared at the painting of St. Michael the Archangel, her family’s patron saint.

“We just went to the one in Charleston. How many St. Michael’s churches do you want to visit?” Violet asked.

“I want to go to all of them.”

“What is your infatuation with St. Michael the Archangel?” Violet asked.

“He’s the one I’m going to marry. He is my destiny,” Penelope said, smiling as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

  

Copper Cauldron
Penelope Manchester, a good witch with one green and one blue eye, awaits her destiny: a warrior of God with the face of an angel, the heart of a saint, and eyes which match her own. St. Michael the Archangel flies into her life and sweeps her off her feet. Meanwhile, an evil sorcerer captures witches, steals their powers and most of their nine lives, and shrinks them to the size of a doll–a Nürnberg, doll. But when he turns two of the Manchester witches into dolls, the Manchester clan fights back with St. Michael and divine intervention. Armed with the legendary copper cauldron, a fire breathing dragon, and an arsenal of spells, good battles evil.
Terri Talley Venters,
Author of Carbon Copy, Tin Roof, Body Of Gold, and Copper Cauldron
Terri received her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Master’s degree in Taxation from the University of Florida. She is a licensed CPA and a Second Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo. She lives in St. Augustine, Florida, with her husband, Garrison, and their two sons.
Carbon Copy, currently available from Wild Child Publishing, is the 1st thrilling novel in the Elements of Mystery Series. The title of each novel will contain an element from the Periodic Table of Elements. Tin Roof, the sequel to Carbon Copy,coming soon from Wild Child Publishing. And Terri’s romantic/suspense novel,Body of Gold, is coming soon from Freya’s Bower. Terri just finished writing, Silver Lining, the final book in the Carbon Copy trilogy. For more about Terri’s upcoming releases, please visit her website http://www.elementsofmystery.com/ Terri is the daughter of Leslie S. Talley, author of Make Old Bones which is also available from Wild Child Publishing.
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Interview with Richard Uhlig,

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Jenn Nixon

Today’s author interview spotlights Richard Uhlig,  Author of the Mystery/Suspense, Mystery at Snake River

WCP: What was your inspiration for Mystery at Snake River?

My inspiration for Mystery at Snake River Bridge was an actual murder that took place near my hometown when I was a boy.  A local minister’s wife was found floating dead under a local bridge.  An investigation revealed the minister was having an affair with the church secretary, whose husband had been murdered mysteriously.  The minister was eventually tried and convicted for the murder of his wife, but the mistress’s husband’s murder was never solved.  To this day the minister, and many of his parishioners, claim he’s innocent.  My version of this case is fictional, however, drawing from the actual case in only a skeletal way.

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

I did draw on past experiences to write this novel.  I basically used my hometown, Herington, Kansas, as the blueprint for the town in the novel, everything from the church, to the Dairy Queen, to the lake on the edge of town.  Also, like the main character, I’m a runner who fights a junk food addiction. 

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

I’d like to write short stories and try my hand at an all-out comedic novel.  Maybe write a noir-style crime book as well, in the tradition of James M. Cain.   

WCP: Do you have any favorite authors in Mystery/Suspense? Or ones that have influenced you more than others?

Here’s the crazy thing:  I don’t read mystery or suspense novels.  My knowledge of this genre comes from the movies:  Hitchcock, Polanski and Fritz Lang. 

WCP: Do you have anything else in the works? 

I do indeed have something else in the works.  I just completed a comedic memoir entitled Nervous Rick:  A Memoir of Adolescent Anxiety.  It covers my neurotic junior high and high school years. 

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

I never know what I’m going to be working on next.  I always thought I’d have a clear plan, but it changes no matter what I try to do. What’s more, I don’t know if what I’m working on really works until it’s done.  I’ve had to learn to make peace with the uncertainty of 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.)

Honestly, don’t get me started.  I miss typing on an IBM typewriter.  I’m about the least tech-savvy person under the age of 70 you’ll ever meet.  I don’t acquire gadgets until it’s impossible to live without them — kicking and screaming into the computer’s cold embrace, that’s me.  I still write my first draft by hand. 

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

Dark chocolate!  I’m a vegan — no meat, no dairy.  Certainly no bacon.

WCP: If you could travel to any planet, besides earth, and live there (if that were possible), which one would it be? And what do you think it would be like?

Mars.  There’s life there.

www.richarduhlig.com

Purchase Link

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Interview with Lamar Flatts

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Jenn Nixon

Today’s author interview spotlights Lamar Flatts,  Author of the Spiritual/Literary, The Spiritual Man.

WCP: What was your inspiration for The Spiritual Man?

I’ve always been fascinated with country music and the songwriting process, as well as the lifestyle of musicians.  I’ve also got a strong spiritual component in my outlook, so bringing those two worlds together was interesting to me.

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

Certainly my spiritual life.  Staying close to God even when going through periods of sin.  I think one of the big mistakes people make about spirituality is that it’s a meritocracy and that how good you are determines how much God loves us. 

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

I’ve actually got another completed manuscript entitled The Life and Times of Joseph Major.  It’s what I call a fictional biography, about a person named Joseph Major who goes on to become President of the U.S.  It tracks his life from childhood to the presidency and everything in between. 

WCP: Does Johnny Masters share any of your characteristics?

He’s an awful sinner, yet he still leans on God.  He’s got some very good characteristics, and some bad ones.  He’s got a dueling nature going on:  the physical versus the spiritual.  I can definitely relate to that.

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

Yes.  Don’t ever lose touch with your spiritual side.  Don’t let other people discourage you from getting close to God.  Look at some of the great characters in the Bible such as King David.  If he were alive today, we’d call him “Don David”.  He was a valiant warrior who sometimes killed almost for the sake of killing.  He was an adulterer, who took another man’s wife in a brazen way.  Yet he was incredibly close to God, a “man after God’s own heart.” 

WCP: Do you have anything else in the works?

Yes, see above.  As I mentioned, I’ve got the Joseph Major book ready to go.  The problem is, it’s a long one, over 1,000 pages, so a more traditional publisher is probably going to be required.  To that end, I’d love a literary agent to take a look at it.  Any takers? 

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

I’ve always been a writer, from my earliest days.  Even in elementary school, I’d take a crack at fiction.  By the time of high school, I was all over it.  Writing is as comfortable to me as breathing.

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

Thomas Jefferson would be right up there.  I love the fact that he came up with the wording that defined the American Revolutionary experience.  I’d definitely talk to him about slavery and how he could own human beings while writing so eloquently about freedom.  We would eat whatever the farms at Monticello provided.  He was a quite eclectic diner, so he’d have something good to share.

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

Well, I’m big (6’8”, former basketball player), so I’d go with the Mercedes sedan, which is in fact what I drive.  It’s a very elegant and smooth ride, something I seek in my own life.

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

I don’t know that I’d want to BE anyone else.  Certainly I’d love to have the experience of being President for the day, or being a superstar athlete such as Lebron James.  I’m fascinated with Thomas Jefferson and other historic figures.  I like being myself to be honest with you.

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

Please read my novel!  Let me know what you think.  Post reviews.  And if there are any literary agents out there who will take a look at Joseph Major, please get in touch:  Lamar@bestandflatt.com  Thanks so much

Purchase Link

The Spiritual Man - Click Image to Close

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Interview with William Corradini

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Jenn Nixon

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

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Jenn Nixon

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 in the 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 money. So, 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 Pike. Although 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

Posted on February 11, 2013 by wildcpub

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…

Posted on January 15, 2013 by wildcpub

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

Posted on December 27, 2012 by wildcpub

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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