Author: Ronovan

Ronovan Hester is an author/poet/blogger, with a debut historical adventure novel Amber Wake: Gabriel Falling now available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle. "5.0 out of 5 stars: Now, I want to warn you… this is not your typical pirate tale! It’s BETTER!" "5.0 out of 5 stars: Totally unpredictable and a real gem of a discovery - Highly Recommended" "5.0 out of 5 stars: An action packed journey to piracy and revenge – all in the name of the crown, queen and county – set in 1705." He shares his life of problems, triumphs, and writing through his blog RonovanWrites.com. His love of writing, authors and community through his online world has led to a growing Weekly Haiku Challenge and the creation of a site dedicated to book reviews and interviews known as LitWorldInterviews.com.

The Godling Chronicles Q&A with Brian D. Anderson.

Today you get to meet Author Brian D. Anderson. He lives, eats, breathes the Fantasy genre and it is serving him well. I had heard of Brian for sometime before I finally asked for an interview. Now after finally catching up with the ones that came before you all now get to meet . . .

godling-chronicles-brian-d-anderson-1

RW: Brian, I have to say, I detect a bit of kinship with you somehow. Where are you from?

BRIAN: I was born in Montgomery, Alabama on Maxwell AFB. Shortly after we moved to Guam. After my father left the service, we settled in Spanish Fort, Alabama.

RW: Yes, a Southern Boy. UNITE. No, wait. Hmm. Have to keep this professional. I usually wait until later to ask this, but I have to do it now with you being a Southerner like me. What’s your favorite beverage?

BRIAN: Ice cold Coca Cola made from real cane sugar from a thick glass bottle.

RW: We can end the interview now. Buy his books. He’s the best author ever. Sorry everyone else.  PS Bartlett is looking at me funny right now. Trust me, she knows how. I think I need to keep going. Yes, ma’am.

Where did the title The Godling Chronicles come from and why did you choose that name?

BRIAN: The name just came to me. My son had come up with the original story concept and had named the Book One title (The Sword of Truth), along with most of the main characters. But I knew the series needed a catchy title. After a few misses I hit a winner.

The new series is called Dragonvein. It began as Dragonborn until someone pointed out that Skyrim already had used it. In fact it’s trademarked.

RW: Tell us a little about the two series.

BRIAN: The Godling Chronicles is a six book series. It’s basically a story about an unlikely hero with a secret lineage who has to save the world from certain destruction. I didn’t exactly try to reinvent the wheel, but there is plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader entertained. I would say that it is a fun story for fantasy lovers of all ages.

Dragonvein is a bit more adult – though not so much that a teen couldn’t read it. In this series there are mages, dwarves, elves, dragons, and even time travel. I can’t really go too deep into it being that it’s not yet released, but I am highly excited about this one.

RW: What inspired that first series, The Godling Chronicles?

the godling chroniclesBRIAN: My first novel was inspired by my son, Jonathan. I had been working on a story for a few weeks and getting nowhere fast. I had a basic plot, but the characters were desperately lacking in substance. Jonathan – who was seven at the time – came home from school one day, visibly excited. When I asked him what was up, he told me that he had thought of an idea for a story and wanted me to write it for him.

I listened with amazement as he spelled out the basic concept for The Godling Chronicles. I immediately put away what I was working on and began writing. The first draft was ready in only six weeks. Everything that has happened since then is a direct result of that day.

RW: Why do you write in the Fantasy genre, I mean other than because Jonathan told you to?

BRIAN: I actually began writing occult and psychological thrillers. I had tried fantasy in the past, but could never quite get the feel for it – which was frustrating considering that’s what I grew up reading. It wasn’t until my son asked me to write his idea as a book that it clicked. Now, I can’t imagine not writing fantasy.

RW: Tell us about your main character(s) and what you think will help them connect to readers.

BRIAN: In The Godling Chronicles there are several characters I would consider important. Gewey Stedding is the protagonist. Yes, I know it’s a silly name. But my son wanted me to keep it…so I did. He is a young boy on the verge of becoming a man. Orphaned and left to run the family farm alone, he is faced with many challenges I believe to be relevant and relatable to a wide range of people – from teens to adults.

Kaylia is an elf woman and primary love interest. Bold and brash, she offsets Gewey’s naiveté and inexperience.

Lee Starfinder is an older man sent to watch over Gewey (albeit from afar at first) and help him navigate through a perilous world.

This is only three of a cast of more than a dozen characters I have come to love over the past three years.

RW: What message do you think your book delivers to the reader?

BRIAN: I’ve never tried to add my politics into my work. All I’ve ever wanted to do is write stories that entertain and add a bit of fun into the lives of my readers.

RW: Who are your favorite authors?

Tolkien, of course, is the man who inspired my love for fantasy. But over the years I have come to love so many others. Ray Bradbury, Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson, William Goldman, Terry Brooks, RA Salvatore, George Martin, Anne Rice, Frank Herbert, Anne McCaffrey, just to name a few. Honestly, I could go one forever.

RW: What is your escape from writing when just need a break?

BRIAN: I normally head out to the local pub and watch sports. But when it gets really tense I take a two hour drive to New Orleans and spend the night in a hotel in the French Quarter. Best music and food on the planet!

RW: What is your background in writing, what makes you a writer?

BRIAN: I always had a flare for writing and was even able to make a few bucks on the side in college writing papers for people. Later, I only wrote as a hobby. I had no real interest in publishing and no ambitions to become a professional writer. It was really my wife who convinced me to take it more seriously. After the success of my first book I was hooked.

RW: What did you learn about yourself from writing this book?

BRIAN: That I am old enough to have the patience to complete a full-length novel. I started so many over the years that I never finished. Now, I’m half way through my eighth book and still going strong.

RW: Describe your book in one word.

BRIAN: Fun

RW: Where can we get your book now?

BRIAN: For now I’m primarily with Amazon. That will likely change after the New Year.

RW: How do people connect with you through all forms of social media?

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBrianDAnderson/manager/?section=messages

https://www.facebook.com/TheGodlingChronicles

http://briandandersonbooks.blogspot.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5390719.Brian_D_Anderson

http://authorbriandanderson.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Brian-D.-Anderson/e/B00684NQ4E/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

RW: How did you end up getting signed with your agent?

BRIAN: I am currently represented by Laurie McLean with Fuse Literary. I was fortunate enough to get a referral from Michael J. Sullivan, author of The Riyria Chronicles, after being on a blog radio show with him and Hugh Howey, author of Wool. Laurie and I clicked right away and she is largely responsible for the current interest in my new series by the NY publishers.

RW: What are you working on right now?

BRIAN: Currently I have a new series on the way, but at this point I am waiting to hear back from my agent about who will be publishing it and when it will be released. Unfortunately, the publishing industry shuts down in December so I have a few weeks of twiddling my thumbs to go. Also, I’ve begun to outline a sequel to The Godling Chronicles.

RW: What book are you reading at this time?

BRIAN: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson (a gift from my agent).

RW: What is your biggest tip for someone to getting published?

Be patient, be consistent, and never give up. Listen to the people who have already been there. Learn from both their successes and their mistakes.

RW: If you could have written any book that exists, other than your own, what would it be and why?

The Hobbit. Because…well…it’s The Hobbit.

RW: Tell us a little about your publishing journey as far as where you started as a full fledged, self-published Indie Author to now?

BRIAN: After I completed Book One of The Godling Chronicles I was utterly in the dark as to how to proceed. I had never considered publishing before and the process was daunting to say the least. Initially I found a vanity press, but very little came of it. The cover was only so-so and the text was still badly in need of another edit and proof reading. I didn’t let this discourage me, however. I just plodded on and finished Book Two.

I didn’t want to use the vanity press again so I contacted a small press publisher. They were looking for a fantasy title and mine seemed to be a good fit. Instead of publishing Book Two, they offered to start fresh and re-issue Book One first. We changed the cover and had the book re-edited and proofed.

It wasn’t long after release that momentum began to build. A few hundred copies at first. Then, by the second full month it began to pick up steam and sales were in the thousands. I’ve often wondered exactly what did it. Certainly hard work and perseverance played a big part. But the more I think about it, I really believe the change in covers was what drew the attention of the reading public.

I released four books with small press before leaving them. I will always appreciate what they did for me, but there came a point when I had to face the fact that I had accomplished all I could with them. I was at the limit of what I could do and they were at the limit of what they could help me with. I knew enough to go it alone at that point, so we parted ways.

Since then I have released two more indie books (the final two in the series) and signed with Podium Publishing for the audio editions. On an exciting note, all of the Big Five requested a copy of the new series and I should hear back from them soon.

RW: What’s the most important thing to you about your work, your novels?

BRIAN: If I can entertain my audience and make them smile…it’s worth every minute of it.

RW: What is the one piece of advice that stays with you about writing that you’ve been given?

BRIAN: Don’t worry about how good someone else is. Do what you do.

RW: What is the one piece of book advertising or publishing that you’ve been given that sticks with you?

BRIAN: Bookbub rocks. But word of mouth is key.

RW: What are the Top 5 fun facts about you people might be surprised about?

  1. At age nine I spent three months trying to learn to use the force.
  2. I once hitchhiked from Washington D.C. To Panama City Beach
  3. I’ve been madly in love with Audrey Hepburn since I saw the movie Sabrina. (Ah, Audrey captures another one.)
  4. I spent a year working offshore and seriously considered becoming a boat captain.
  5. I wish I had taken dance lessons when I was young. I look like a drunk hippo on the dance floor. (I am wondering where Brian wend during that hitchhiking trip to know what a drunken hippo on the dance floor looks like.)

RW: What are two hobbies you have?

BRIAN: I played music professionally for ten years and still play occasionally in local bars. Antiques.

RW: What is your favorite word?

BRIAN: Nap

Okay, I think Brian and I are related. We gotta be.

It looks like you guys can get books 2-6 in Audio Format and get this, there is a Free Audio book about Lee Starfinder. And guess what else? If you want you can get Books 1-3 Bundled in one and Books 4-6. I am about to begin mine now. And if my son is good, I might even let him read them as well. Okay, that’s the end of our time together. So click here to go to Brian’s Amazon Author Page and start reading his books now. Nothing better than a series, with a new series on the way, and a sequel to The Godling Chronicles being outlined. Brian is setting us up for a long time.

Make sure to reblog and share this as much as you like to let everyone know about Brian. Don’t be surprised when you discover your friends already know who he is.

 

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Lit World Interview Week In Review Feb. 2-6.

lit world interview with ronovan writes

Here are the articles for the week, if you missed one, go and check it out today.

Author Interview with Ronovan Writes

Atonement, Tennessee Q&A with @TeaganGeneviene the Southern Voice.

Q&A with the Irish @aliisaac_ & @MJDougherty33 Discussing their latest collaboration.

FEATURES

The benefits of reading. The reader organisation and what are the benefits reading has for you? Olga Núñez Miret

Genre Blending Jo Robinson

Co-Writing With My Best Friend  by Guest Author Wendy Janes @wendyproof

 

BOOK REVIEWS

BOOK REVIEW OF “SILVER LIGHTNING” @AUTHORWDARLING Colleen Chesebro

 

RONOVAN’S WHATEVER

Hyphens & En Dashes & Em Dashes Oh My.

 

What can you expect next from the LWI Team?

I have two Author Interviews this week with one being from Brian D. Anderson of The Godling Chronicles fame and Wendy Anne Darling of Silver Lightning. I see THREE book Reviews coming this week one from Olga on Monday,  Colleen on Tuesday and the other from Florence on Wednesday. Jo always comes through on Thursday. Then you will suffer whatever I come up with on Friday.

So Follow us, Bookmark Us, do whatever you need to do in order to come back every day for something new.

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Hyphens & En Dashes & Em Dashes Oh My.

hyphens dashes

Let’s talk hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes.

Are you using them the correct way? Are you using the correct lengths? You are probably wondering about that second question, and we will get to it in a moment. But first let’s talk about what each one is and does. Much of what you will see is based on the AMA and CMA information. In other words, these aren’t ideas I pulled out of the air. You’ve been taught differently, then you’ve been taught differently.

Let’s take them by length order.

First to join us is the hyphen.

What does it look like? –

Where do you find it? You’ll find it between the 0 and the = keys.

How do you use it?

First of all there are several names for the uses of the hyphen. I’m not going to bother filling your time with names that may not even be real or standards. I am going to give examples. Isn’t that what we want when we go looking for this information?

  • Sometimes you will use the hyphen when words are linked together to describe something. They are linked together because they are essentially one descriptive trait.
    • She is a twenty-nine-year-old college student.
    • My mother-in-law made dinner tonight.
    • The novel is forty-two chapters long.
    • A quarter is one-fourth of a whole.
    • She lives in a split-level house.
  • I think we all know about the hyphen between numbers, such as forty-one. I know, I know, we aren’t supposed to spell forty-one out but I do in my writing, and in truth you will see a lot of advice saying to do so. But writing numbers is a whole different article. For me it’s a style preference. I visually like the numbers spelled out.
  • And of course there is the hyphenated last name. Abigail Smith-Wesson.

 

Now we have the En Dash.

What does it look like? –

Where do we find the En Dash? Today we are going to use the lap top. Because I use the laptop.

But first we’re going to talk about the uses of the En Dash.

How do you use it?

  • You use the En Dash for noting ranges. 1–100 is an example of a range. Also a range of time such as June–August is summer vacation for schools in the USA.
  • You might even see a sentence that has – in it. I know you are scratching your head. What you are seeing is an En Dash with a space on either side. Some people use that as an Em Dash.

 

Last and definitely not least is the Em Dash.

What does it look like? —

Where do you find it on the keyboard? Good question. And no, don’t hit the hyphen a few times.

How do you use it?

  • Think of the Em Dash as an interrupter. Interrupter is my word for it here. And I mean that in a couple of different ways.
    • The most common we see in novel writing is when dialogue is interrupted. “You are a no good piece of fu—” “What were you going to say, young man?”
    • But you can also use it to insert a different thought in the middle of a sentence. I ramble a lot—I do so in my brain—and I type like I think. As long as my writing works—I don’t care what I use.
    • Some people use the Em Dash in the place of commas, colons, parenthesis, and semicolons when they want to give whatever it is that extra bit of attention. That being said: don’t over use it. If you use it all throughout your novel then it just becomes another period to the eye and ear.

One thing to keep in mind about En Dashes and Em Dashes is, be consistent. As someone reads your novel, and let’s be a positive thinker here and say novels, you are training them to know what you mean. If you use an – to be an—in one chapter then do it in the next chapter and perhaps the next book as well. I am hoping you got what I did there.

How do the three look?

– Hyphen

– En Dash

— Em Dash

 

The reason they are called En Dash and Em Dash are because how much space they take up.

N

–

M

—

 

How do they look with a word?

the-

the–

the—

 

On my laptop when I look at what I am about to tell you there is a key combination or Shortcut key to use that includes the Num key. That’s the Number Lock key. I’m not certain about all of you, but I don’t have a number pad on my laptop. And the Function to actually create a number pad doesn’t work with the key combination to create the dashes I need. So what do I do? I create a new Shortcut key. It’s pretty simple to do even though the instructions below look long. I am very detailed when I give instructions. I see no reason to skip steps. Some of these steps are going to seem like, as I like to say ‘Duh’, steps to you but there is no reason not to include them.

 

Where do you find the En Dash and the Em Dash?

I’m not sure what kind of laptop you use. But if you use Windows then this should work. What you do is:

  1. Open Word on your laptop.
  2. Click the Insert tab along the top of the screen.
  3. Look for the Symbols It’s at the far right on my bar at the top.
  4. Click Symbols.
  5. More than likely it will say ‘more symbols’.
  6. Click ‘more symbols’.
  7. You will have a pop up box appear with two tabs.
  8. Click the Special Characters
  9. You’ll see the En Dash and the Em Dash with the Shortcut key combination to get each symbol. The hyphen is what we have on the keyboards already. The En Dash is a little longer, and the Em Dash is longer than that. Now you will see there is a Shortcut key combination to use but on mine it says to use the Num My laptop doesn’t have a Num key and doing the Function that does the Number Lock doesn’t make the Dashes work. So continue on below.
  10. Select En Dash
  11. Click Shortcut Key at the bottom
  12. On the next pop up box called Customize Keyboard you will see a field where your cursor is most likely already waiting for you. That field is called Press new shortcut key.
  13. For the En Dash I chose Ctrl and the hyphen. It will look like Ctrl+- in the Shortcut key list. Then click Assign. You could use Ctrl and N.
  14. For the Em Dash I chose Ctrl, Alt hyphen. It will look like Alt+Ctrl+- in the Shortcut key list. Then click Assign. You could use Ctrl and M.

After all of that I want to show you something.

The—

The—

Looks the same, right? Not the same. The first was created by hitting the hyphen twice and then hitting enter. The second was created using my shortcut keys for the Em Dash.

If you made it this far you are probably wondering why all the bother. Using the correct punctuation is never going to hurt you. Not using it can. You don’t know what pet peeve will set off that person assigned to reading your submission has. If you can get something right, then why not get it right? There is more to this subject than what I have here. But this is a place to start. I wanted to plant the seed of getting it right and then you can grow your understanding from there, and possibly even grow mine by sharing in the comments. Other people will read this and you will help them.

 

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Co-Writing With My Best Friend by Guest Author Wendy Janes @wendyproof

I’d like to share my experience of co-writing. Partly because it’s a funny story, and partly because I hope you’ll find it interesting to find out how we did it. It might even encourage you and a friend to have a go yourselves.

A few years ago my friend and I were sitting in her conservatory chatting about whether men or women could write better love letters, and via a little too much sharing, we bemoaned the fact that any books we’d read with good sex scenes had weak stories, or if the story was good, it glossed over the sex. So we decided to write an erotic romance with great characters that people would care about, an intriguing plot, and sex scenes that would excite our avid readers.

Now, bearing in mind neither of us had written a full-length novel before, one of us was a school governor and a grandmother, and the other enjoyed craft fairs and knitting, we didn’t seem likely candidates for writing erotic fiction.

I don’t want to get into the Fifty Shades debate, but I would like to say that we had finished writing our book before we’d heard of that publishing phenomenon.

So how did two middle-aged women from South London set about co-writing their novel?

Initially my writing partner (let’s call her Pandora) went out to buy lots and lots of stationery.

We met once a week to brainstorm characters, and pretty soon we had created four women who became real people to us. Authors need to know their characters inside out, but because we were co-writing we had to share out loud everything that we knew about them. Such as Hazel’s hairstyle, what Sonia ate for breakfast, the first song Paula bought and Jacqui’s worst memory from childhood. Within weeks the four women were joined by five men. We adored drop-dead gorgeous Billy, we also adored the vile Richard, but only because we were astonished that we could create such a creep.

During this time we also bandied around oodles of ideas for plots. Our notebooks were filling up fast, but we’d not written a word of the story yet.

We plotted Chapter One (which of course never made it to the final draft) and separately wrote our own versions of it. The idea was that we’d give each other feedback on what we liked and what we didn’t and somehow magically turn them into one sparkling opening chapter. That didn’t work. Mine was too full of emotion, more like a Mills and Boon romance and Pandora’s was too spare, more like a thriller. This was not looking good, and so far we’d not written a single sex scene.

Plan B. Pandora would write Chapter One and I’d write Chapter Two and we’d edit each other’s chapters. Plan B wasn’t wholly successful either. While we both agreed that we could write a darn erotic sex scene, I have to admit I took Pandora’s edits a little too personally and things were rather cool between us for a day or two.

Plan C. Pandora was lightning quick at generating ideas, and I was better at taking her ideas and developing them. Same with the writing. So for the next few months we met once a week to plot a chapter together. Then Pandora would take an hour to write the chapter, email it to me and I’d take six hours, often more, to develop it and send it back to her. We agreed there’d be no further revision until we reached the end of this first draft.

Then came the best bit. We read each chapter of Draft 1 out loud and talked through the revisions together. It was amazing how in tune we were with the characters and the plot, often voicing the ideas that were still in the other person’s head. I will gracefully admit that Pandora came up with the best ideas, including the plot twist that had us dancing round her conservatory with glee. What also became apparent at this point was that the four women who at the outset we’d thought were nothing like us, had traits of each of us. Pandora’s vibrancy and love of life shone through in gorgeous Paula. My insecurities were writ large in naïve Sonia!

We then sent the book to friends (male and female) who gave feedback – thank goodness I didn’t crumble in the face of criticism any more – and in the light of that feedback we revised again, and again, and again. By this point we couldn’t remember who had originally written what or whose idea was whose. We were having such fun we could have tinkered with our book for ever, but we also wanted to publish it. Eventually (!) we came up with a title and published our book under a pen name. We were proud of what we’d written, but our children (Pandora’s four and my three) begged us not to use our real names.

The book didn’t take the world by storm as we’d genuinely, honestly (naively) thought it would, but we had a wonderful laughter-filled two years writing it, and we’re still best friends. The whole experience introduced me to the world of self-publishing and helped me find my own writing voice. I reckon that’s a happy ending.

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Q&A with the Irish @aliisaac_ & @MJDougherty33 Discussing their latest collaboration.

Grá mo Chroí: Love Stories from Irish Myth

 

Long ago in a green island surrounded by protective mists, a people lived among the relics of a bygone age of which they knew nothing, not being archaeologists, but around whom they created a mythology. They were a volatile people, easily moved to love or war, and motivated by a strict sense of honour. They had women warriors and handsome lovers, wicked queens and cruel kings, precious heroines and flawed heroes. Magic was in the air, beneath the ground, and in the waves of the sea, and hyperbole was the stuff of stories. They were the Irish, and these are a few retellings of some of their beautiful stories.

RW – How did the two of you connect to collaborate on Grá mo Chroí: Love Stories from ali isaac jane doughertyIrish Myth?

Ali – We had already become friends through our blogs. I had this idea of re-telling stories from Irish mythology kicking around in my head for a long time, in fact, I had been incorporating some of them into my Conor Kelly books. It turned out that Jane, too, had already been re-writing her favorite myths. It just seemed natural that we would join forces and work on a compilation together.

Jane – I started these retellings about a year ago with the story of Deirdre. It was cold, we had had a flurry of snow for about five minutes that had everybody gazing in wonder up at the sky, and the blackbirds were taken by surprise and fussed about in the trees. Something in the combination made me think of Deirdre and her feelings as a young girl kept in seclusion, just waiting to be married to an old king. One story led to another, and when Ali, at the end of last year suggested we have a go at rewriting some of these tragic stories, I knew I could do it. Tragic usually means love stories. Love stories means Valentine’s Day. Our collection had to be ready for February 14th. And it is!

RW – Why a retelling of Irish myth love stories?

ali-isaacAli – The first stories we worked on and subsequently revealed to each other just happened to be the most tragic ones, the love stories, perhaps because we connected in some way with the characters and what happened to them. We noticed the theme, and thought it would be fun to launch them for Valentine’s Day. That was in November, so we had to work fast… the Christmas and New Year celebrations held things up, but it’s amazing what you can achieve when you put your mind to it!

RW – Why this particular subject for the book? I know there is a bit of an Irish connection.

Ali – Everyone loves a love story, the more dramatic and tragic the better! I am lucky enough to live in Ireland now, and Jane comes of Irish heritage although she lives in France. I never imagined when I came to live here that I would ever fall in love with it so deeply, but I did. I’ve never yet met anyone who has experienced Ireland and didn’t!

RW – How were the stories selected? Was there a unanimous yes to a selection or was it based on what each you wanted to do or was there a hat and slips of paper involved?

Ali – Nope. We just privately wrote the stories which spoke to us and drew us in, and then submitted them for each others perusal. Our writing styles are quite different, but complement each other perfectly. I loved Jane’s versions of the stories, and fortunately, she quite liked mine too!

jane-doughertyJane – Ali and I have different writing styles, but I think it’s fair to say that both of us have been greatly influenced by the obvious love of nature of the early Celts. Their flattest prose, even their description of combat, is full of poetry. That, for me, is the point of entry into the world of the protagonists of these ancient stories. They looked at a stream, a tree and saw what I see. They listened to the song of the blackbird, the curlew, the cry of the gull, and they heard the same sound. They were romantic people though their notion of love was perhaps not quite the same as ours. That is what I hope we have succeeded in putting across in these retellings.

RW – I enjoyed the fact the stories built on each other somewhat. Was that planned or is there a natural vein running through the old Irish stories that lent itself to what you accomplished?

Ali – That seems to happen quite naturally in the mythology, that stories and characters cross-reference each other. But it also helped with the selection, I think. Jane knew that she wanted to write both the Baile and Aillin story, and the Cuchullain and Emer story, which build on each other. Without giving too much away, I was half way through writing my Ciabhan and Cliodhna story, when I realized there was an overlap with the Cuchullain story. Fand’s words of advice to the couple do not appear in the mythology as far as I know, but I thought it would be fun to add them, as the story leant itself so perfectly to that happening.

RW – One character in particular, which I won’t go into detail or give away, I greatly enjoyed reading about in one story and seeing one aspect at one stage of life and then seeing a different stage of life entirely. There is such tragedy at times, is that something common to the Irish love stories or were they the ones you gravitated to for this collaboration?

Ali – Oh yes! The ancient Irish loved a bit of tragedy and sorrow in their stories! And they were masters of it.

RW – Ali, I know you are very involved in another novel series with the Sidhe. Would you explain a bit about who the Sidhe are?

Ali – Originally, the Sidhe were known as the Tuatha de Denann, a race of powerful semi-divine people who arrived in Ireland under very mysterious circumstances around 4000 years ago. They were said to be tall, blonde or red haired with blue or green eyes and fair skin, and were greatly skilled in the battle and magical arts. Eventually though, they were defeated by a race of man called the Milesians. The Denann were forced to retreat to their hollow hills and live forever in that half of Ireland which lies below ground. As time passed, they became known as the Sidhe (Shee), Ireland’s fairy folk, not the type which are tiny and have wings, but as solid and real as you or I, but with strange, unpredictable ways and powers.

RW – I noticed along with the title for each story you give information as to where the story originally came from such as the Ulster Cycle of Irish Mythology and Historical Cycle of Irish Mythology just to name two. What are the differences?

Ali – Basically, there are four main cyles of Irish mythology. They’re just collections of stories really. The first one is the Mythological cycle, and covers the first waves of invasion of Ireland, focusing mainly on the Tuatha de Denann until the Milesians came. The Ulster Cylce tells of Cuchullain and the Red Branch Knights, and Queen Medbh’s Cattle Raid of Cooley. The Fenian Cycle details all the legends attached to hero Fionn mac Cumhall and his warband, the Fianna. The Historical Cycle details all the High Kings of Ireland, and their adventures, but despite its name, cannot be taken as fact.

Jane – There are lots of variations of all the old stories. As they are part of an oral tradition, we know them mainly through the versions noted down by Christian monks. There are regional variations, but also alternative endings, as if someone was trying to change the message, or include a message that wasn’t there before. We can’t know anything for sure, but it rather muddies the waters if we are trying to reach back in time to the emotions of the men and women of pre-Christian Ireland.

RW – Being this is a collection of short stories how was the collaborative process? I imagine it was a little less stressful than say one where you are working on the exact same story such as a full length novel.

Ali – Well for me it was great! Normally, writing a book is such a lonely process, with a lot of responsibility for every aspect of the book falling on your shoulders. This time, there was someone to share it all with, and not only that, someone to bounce ideas off, edit your work, and help with the really hard stuff, like marketing for example.

Jane – Actually, I think without Ali nagging at me to keep popping these stories out, I’d have given up on it. It was Christmas, holidays, flu, sprained back muscle, and if I had been on my own I’d have crawled into a corner and gone into hibernation. Knowing that I’d agreed to go halves in this venture kept me at it. Joking aside, it just wasn’t possible to let Ali down. She’d proposed doing the formatting after all. That was an offer I couldn’t refuse!

RW – Do you have any individual works that people should be on the lookout for in the not too distant future? Or maybe a just released work?Ali Isaac

Ali – I have just started writing the third and final book of my Tir na Nog Trilogy, but it always takes me a long time to write a book. I’m aiming for the end of the year for it to be ready for publication. Its working title is Conor Kelly and The Three Waves of Eirean, but dark-citadelthat might change.

Jane – My fantasy series has been around since 2014 but I hope to get the rest of my Irish stories ready for publication in the near future.

RW – Who was or is the most influential writer of your writing style? Or what author made you want to be an author?

Ali – It’s impossible to pin influences down to one writer or novel. But in this style, I have two favourites; the late and great Rosemary Sutcliffe, whose novella Tristan and Iseult has stayed with me since I first read it at the age of 9 or 10; and Marion Zimmer Bradley, whose novel The Mists of Avalon is a multi-layered masterpiece.

Jane – I wish I could cite some great writer and claim their influence on my style, but unfortunately I’m not aware of any. Shame. As for the author who decided me to have a go, he is a complete unknown, Dario Nuzzi, the uncle of a great friend of my mother’s. He decided to write after he retired from teaching and just did it. And he got published. If Zio Dario could do it, so could I.

RW – I always like to ask what is an author’s favorite word and why, so I’m asking both of you now to end our time together, what’s your favorite word and why?

Ali – LOL! Not a word really, but I have a strange compulsion to add it to all my emails and blog comments (but not my stories or novels, LOL! See what I mean?). It’s an addiction which, although I hate it, I cannot deny.

(I can attest to this being true. I have more LOL’s in my email since meeting Ali. And as she read this she really did LOL. I can guarantee it.)

Jane – Oriflamme is a favourite of mine. It’s a lovely sounding word, gold and flames, and so evocative of the coloured banners that floated from spears as armies charged into battle. No, I’m not a warmonger, but I love the image.

Too much talent for one man to handle. I asked the questions and got out of the way. I’ve read the book and my review will appear here soon. All I can say about it is, pre-order the book now on Amazon by going to the site and checking it out. And that’s, as I said. all I can say right now. I am looking forward to reading more works from Ireland.

Available

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

 

Here are Ali’s various links:

Amazon Author Page You can see all of her books there. Very convenient.

Ali Isaac Storyteller is her website.

And of course follow her on Twitter – @aliisaac_Click this one to follow. There is an underscore at the end of the handle. Thus just click it to make it easier.

Here are Jane’s various links:

Amazon Author Page with more books than you could imagine.

JaneDougherty.WordPress.Com is her website/blog.

is her Twitter handle.

 

Much Respect and Admiration

Ron_LWI

 

 

 

 

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Atonement, Tennessee Q&A with @TeaganGeneviene the Southern Voice.

RW: Tell us about Atonement, Tennessee.Orange LinkedIn 6-18-2014 TEAGAN:  It always seems simple in my head, but describing it never is.  Atonement, Tennessee is a tiny fictional town where a lot of strange things happen.  The novel is an “urban fantasy” – set in the current day of our real world, but with magical elements.  I also added a mystery subplot to the fantasy. The story is inspired by (but not based on) ancient Celtic/Welsh mythology, particularly the myth of Gwydion fab Don.  I give sneaky little nods to the myth in some of the characters’ names (such as Guy Fabdon).  If you’re a person who responds well to visual information, I have a modest book trailer.  Because of the mythology that motivated me, I put a lilting Celtic tune with the trailer — it will give you a good idea of the story. The heroine, Ralda Lawton, short for Esmeralda.  She narrates the story.  Ralda moves from the big city to the quaint little town of Atonement, hoping for a quiet life.  She buys an old estate house, and she is off to a good start, making friends with her neighbors and settling into the community.  But her new life is anything but peaceful. The old house is rundown but interesting, and the grounds include an old cemetery.  Some of the antiques in the house have strange properties; a mirror that might show truths you don’t want to see, and a brass bed that gives you dreams of the past, or even past lives. Ralda begins to unravel mysteries about her past, things she hadn’t previously given much thought.  Also one of her new friends gets into serious trouble – the woman is suspected of wrong-doing when her husband disappears.  Ralda and the other women set about clearing her name. Meanwhile supernatural entities have their own agendas.  Their dangerous schemes involve Ralda and she has no defense to compare with their magical strength.  She doesn’t know who, if anyone, she can Atonement Video Cover copytrust. At the end, I deliberately left a few minor details unresolved, to leave room for more novels in the Atonement series. RW: How did you come up with the story? TEAGAN:  In 2005 the TV series Desperate Housewives was a big hit.  My friends kept telling me I should write a story like that.  I didn’t like any of the characters in that show, but I gave it a try… for all of half a dozen pages.  I couldn’t make it work.  The characters who were supposed to be despicable turned out to be people I would have been happy to call friend.  And my “justice for the philandering husband” scene was not realistic. How could it be, when it involved a magic mirror?  So I put the story aside. Years later I was preparing for my first National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and I still remembered those characters.  It was time to give them a story.  Since Atonement, Tennessee was a NaNoWriMo book, requiring a draft to be written in a single month, I geared everything about the story to be something I could write quickly.  Following the advice “Write what you know,” I wanted a small southern town as the setting.  I chose Tennessee for the state of my fictional town.  (Even making up a fictional town was intended for speed – it wouldn’t need as much research! I research everything…)  Suddenly, “Atonement” popped into my mind as the name for the town, and I took the story forward from there. RW: You and I talked about the Southern Voice, explain to our readers what you mean by that. TEAGAN:  It seems that I always work on more than one level at a time; or so I’m told.  I think the idea of a “southern voice” is just one of those levels.  I’m sure the concept of a southern voice means different things to everyone.  To me, it means writing in a way that makes the reader feel they are in a place in the southern United States, or that they are listening to a person from there, without resorting to stereotypes, or overt reminders that “Hey, you’re in a southern place.”  I’m talking about subtleties in description, cadence, and character development. RW: Who are some classic examples that one might look to in order to get an idea of Southern Voice or even some contemporary favorites of yours? TEAGAN:  For me, Charlaine Harris did that in her “Southern Vampire” series.  Another good example is the old television series, Designing Women. RW: What draws you to this particular style? TEAGAN:  I suppose it is a style at that, isn’t it?  I had not thought of it that way.  I mentioned the advice “Write what you know.”  That was the first guidance I heard as a writer, and I’ve always followed it.  I am native to the southern United States.  I’ve lived in a number of locations from one coast to the other, but always in southern states.  In writing fiction, it never occurred to me to try and suppress it.  Even though I write in various styles, points of view, and tones, I expect that (if you were aware of my roots) you would pick up on the “southern voice.” RW: Do you think you need to have lived in the South to be able to truly capture that voice? TEAGAN:  I’ve seen it accomplished by non-southerners a few times, whether on film or in print.  However, the ones who do manage it did a lot of homework to achieve a good result.  They didn’t just jump in and start writing, or assume that they already knew, or accept stereotypes as truth. RW: Give an example of something that would be the Southern Voice and then in some other way. I know it’s not exactly that simple, but you did it, especially in your prologue with Lilith. You nailed it perfectly. TEAGAN:  Why thank you Ronovan!  I’m quite flattered.  I’m not certain that I understand this question, but a good example of a southern voice seeping into the writing was the late Robert Jordan in his Wheel of Time series.  I found myself very at home with the main characters, their thoughts, manners, and ideals.  When I learned Jordan was a native of Charleston, South Carolina, I understood why those things were integrated so seamlessly into that series. RW: So you naturally write with that style in mind or do you have to go back and work some magic to get that right feel? TEAGAN:  I hope I give each separate written work its own tone while still keeping part of my particular voice.  I begin any story with an overall “voice” or tone in mind.  That comes from 15 years as a technical editor and writer.  I often “put words into [my boss’s] mouth” by writing as him or her.  That requires a constant focus on how the other person speaks and thinks.  So it’s ingrained in me to think of the tone I want a story to carry before I even begin writing. RW: I read the opening pages available on Amazon and I loved it. I liked the style, the tone, the story to that point and it did make me want to read more. Your writing is very professional and I don’t mean that in a mechanics way, I mean that as in polished. Share with us your writing back ground and tell our readers what other things you do in the Lit World. TEAGAN:  Ronovan, I would take that as a great compliment either way!  Oops… I guess I answered most of that question before I was supposed to.  But yes, around 20 years ago I took up the pen (keyboard) to begin my first novel (unpublished).  Shortly after that I made a career change to IT technical writing. That grew into technical editing, and eventually morphed into a sort of executive advisory role.  If you’re saying something to which your boss is going to sign his name and publish it to a thousand people (including his bosses), you want to be meticulous about getting it right. As far as the mechanics, I’m actually proud to say that I did all the technical/mechanical parts myself.  The paper back of Atonement, Tennessee is made by Create Space (a print on demand service), and they did a great job.  I went outside their standard template, to produce higher readability in the print version.  I did all the formatting, designed the cover, all the details.  And yes, I added that to my professional resume.  (Grins.) RW: Which of your cats is Lilith based on? Or is this like a friend of yours you have put ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????into cat form? TEAGAN:  Ha-ha.  No, I haven’t put a human into feline form.  Since most of your viewers have not read Atonement, Tennessee, let me explain.  The novel is told in first person; through the eyes of Ralda, the heroine.  To keep the story interesting, when something happens that Ralda couldn’t be present to witness, I let her calico cat, Lilith be there.  Those segments are told through the calico’s eyes. Throughout my life I’ve always had a cat.  Lilith’s behaviors and personality are a composite of every cat that has owned me over the years.  You’ve guessed by now that I’m a cat person.  I love to study them, their movements and behaviors.  That let me write the parts that are told from the cat’s point of view. RW: What’s your favorite color for a cat and a cat’s eyes? TEAGAN:  Whatever pair of feline eyes holds my gaze at a given moment, that’s my favorite.  I have a white cat with eyes the clear blue of the southwest desert sky, and a black and white cat whose golden eyes are the color of the lighter striation in tiger’s eye gems.  All cats have beautiful eyes, no matter the color. Lilith is a calico because I’ve always been intrigued by their multi-colored markings.  I’ve never had a calico myself.  However, I sincerely don’t have a favorite as far as markings or eye color. RW: I ask authors to describe their book in one word. You can do that and tell why or you can describe the Southern Voice style in one word and why.  I have my word that instantly says Southern to me. TEAGAN:  Ha-ha, one word?  When I already need a novel and a running serial on my blog to express my thoughts?  I can say that I hope others would choose a word like, intriguing, or exciting, or maybe multi-dimensional. RW: Is there a way people could get an autographed copy of the book? Say by ordering through your site? I know there has been a call for a sequel by fans so I wondered if there might be something in the works for those fans to get hold of. TEAGAN:  Since the paperback is made via print on demand, I haven’t worked out an efficient way to Atonement_in_Bloom_1_03-24-2014provide autographed copies.  Now that you’ve made me aware that there might be a demand for that, I will put some thought into how it might be done. Yes, I have started book-2 in the Atonement series, Atonement in Bloom.  It brings in a few new supernatural characters, and returns your favorite citizens of the little town.  I also have plans for a third novel in the series.  It will explore more of the mysterious history of the Cael character. RW: How are you coming on book-2? TEAGAN:  I’m worked on Atonement in Bloom concurrently with this year’s NaNoWriMo novel, The Guitar Mancer.  (That one is also urban fantasy, but it is very different from Atonement.)  So with two novels — and the serial story I publish each weekend on my blog, and of course my paying job… Well, book-2 not coming as quickly as I’d like.  Guitar Mancer Cover 11-28-2014I’ll get there though. I’m trying really hard. RW: Where can people purchase your book? TEAGAN: I’ll give you links below to all the ways Atonement can be purchased. Ronovan, thanks so very much for letting me visit with you and your readers today.  It’s been a joy to talk with you. Links Barnes & Noble Nook Kindle and Paperback Amazon UK Amazon India Other Links Teagan’s Blog  See Teagan’s Workspace Character Interviews-I wonder if the cat was interviewed.   Pinterest I’ve used Pinterest to tell a story in pictures not just for “Atonement, Tennessee,” but for my works in progress as well.  Pinterest:  http://www.pinterest.com/teagangeneviene/ Twitter:  @teagangeneviene Amazon Author Page http://www.amazon.com/Teagan-Riordain-Geneviene/e/B00HHDXHVM Business Profile LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=174325949&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile http://youtu.be/koggOn6vcDs There you have it. Southern Voice. Two Southerners, one asking questions and one answering them. Too bad you couldn’t hear us, right? Maybe another time. You never know what I might come up with. Hope you enjoyed the interview. I thank Teagan for doing a different kind of interview than the norm here. This is more the direction I want to take and slowly we’re getting there. Buy her book! Check out the LWI Review of the book by Olga Núñez Miret by clicking here.

 

much-respect-ronovan

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Lit World Interview Week In Review Jan 26-30.

lit world interview with ronovan writes

Here are the articles for the week, if you missed one, go and check it out today.

Author Interview with Ronovan Writes

The Judas Apocalypse & Can’t Buy Me Love Q&A @DanMcNeil888

FEATURES

Text to Speech: Editing Through Listening PS Bartlett

Authenticity and Honesty as an Indie Author Jo Robinson

Most Mortals Need a Proofreader by Guest Author Wendy Janes @wendyproof

 

BOOK REVIEWS

The Serpent Papers by Jessica Cornwell Olga Núñez Miret

RONOVAN’S WHATEVER

Patience and Integrity-The Secret to Success

LWI Who we are and what we do.

 

What can you expect next from the LWI Team?

I have an Author Interview with well at least one interview this week one will be out on Monday with Teagan Geneviene author of Atonement, Tennessee. Wednesday I have Irish authors Ali Isaac and Jane Dougherty of Grá mo Chroí‘Love of my Heart’ Love Stories from Irish Myth. I’ve read the book and my review is coming. Olga has a Feature coming out on Monday, another Feature from Guest Author Wendy Janes coming up Wednesday, and you know we will have something great from Jo Robinson on Thursday. And we have Colleen back with a Book Review on Tuesday. A full week of variety.

lit world interviews

 

LWI Who we are and what we do.

Who are we here at Lit World Interviews with Ronovan Writes and what are we about?

First let me explain the ‘with Ronovan Writes’ part. When I started the site it was just little old me. Thus, I put my name with the site name. I suggested later as the site grew about thoughts of my removing that part but was told “No”. Those I spoke with liked the way it sounded, thought it gave the site something different, especially since the Author Interview is such a central part of what the site is about, and well, they said it was my site and my name should be there. I don’t rock the boat. And in truth, the with Ronovan Writes part is rarely ever mentioned.

Now on with what it’s all about.

Now that the doors have been opened for a time, the what we are about has become clearer even to myself. My original idea was to have a place to share my Author Interviews, to give the Author a place to turn to for another opportunity of having their name out there on the internet for readers and Literary industry people to find. Yes, I wanted LWI to be a part of the Author marketing and web presence.

I also wanted to share my tips on creating a web presence as well as blogging for authors and writing. Having my own personal blog that does quite well and a writing career that is picking up caught up with me. Enter Author and Self-Publishing expert Jo Robinson. I interviewed Jo and practically begged her to join LWI as a Feature writer.

I realized her Feature writing and finger on the pulse of what interests the Writer could not be matched by me nor anyone else. Her advice in her articles have been helpful to everyone that has read them, including myself. She. Nails. It. Every. Time. Honestly her Feature writing has made me focus on mine more. Yes, there is a competitive thing there of my wanting to write just as well as Jo does or at least just as helpfully as she does.

Then Book Review requests came in and I could not find time, even in my 3-4 hour sleep days to keep up with everything. Enter the rest of the team; Author PS Bartlett and Author and Therapist Olga Núñez Miret, Attorney, Therapist, and College Professor Florence Thum and the indispensable Book Reviewers Colleen Chesebro and Hugh Roberts.

Now enter the newest member Author Monica LaSarre as Book Reviewer and Feature Writer, who will be bringing a look into the younger reader market and world that I have very much been wanting. I have been looking for Interviews in this area for quite some time, and Monica was a great discovery. I loved her book and loved writing an Author Interview with her.

Looking at the LWI Team, I can honestly say this is a classy group of people who are professional and share a love of the printed word.

I am still amazed it is all happening.

That’s a little of who we are with a touch of what we do. Now having the site running for a time I can give a realistic account of,

What we do.

Author Promotion.

  • Author Interviews with Ronovan Writes – The reason LWI began in the first place. This is the one area that I enjoy the most and takes more time behind the scenes than people would ever know. If you ask an author I’ve interviewed if the final product looks like what it started out with, most of them will say no way. And it’s not just Authors that are interviewed. This site is called Lit World Interviews for a reason. Are you a Book Cover Artist, a Proofreader, a Publisher or even an Agent?
  • Social Media Promotion – This takes on the form of tweets of various kinds as different kinds bring different results, and promotion in various other outlets.
  • Book Reviewing by Ronovan Writes – This goes along with the Author Interview. For a better interview, having read the work to be discussed helps. Yes, that means a copy should be provided to me in some form, usually electronically. The Review is as honest as they come. I may love interviewing the Author, I may rave about the author’s personality and even a great deal about their abilities, but that does not mean I will rave about the book. My rating is based on certain factors and whatever that number is, is what the Rating is. I may really enjoy the story of the book, but there are things that take away from an enjoyable read and a well put together book. However, I never put out a completely negative review. If it is below a 3 I feel as though unless the Author specifically asks me to publish it, I won’t do it. And yes, Authors have asked me to publish a Review regardless of the score.
  • Continued Promotion – As long as I am emailed what’s going on in an Interviewees career, such as a new release or a special book promotion offer, a post is put out and shared around for everyone that we know to have an opportunity to see and take advantage of.
  • And More – The more is all those things that come along for each person such as creating certain images to be used, connecting them with people for Book Blog Tours, and in a few cases connecting them with blog radio interviews. And More.

Feature Articles.

  • Writing.
  • Self-Publishing.
  • Book Promotion.
  • Editing.
  • Book Cover Creation.
  • Character Development.
  • Author Services-Noted in the Right Hand Side Bar.
  • And More.

Book Reviews.

  • Every Genre is covered
  • I can only speak for myself in this regard but if I do a Review then I attempt to not only publish it here on the LWI site but also on the various sales platforms such as Amazon, Barnes&Noble and even GoodReads. I even created a Smashwords account to put Reviews there.
  • Again only speaking for me-I share the Reviews not only on Twitter but through various other outlets and reading groups. This process has recently grown. I will also from time to time share links to my Amazon Review on Twitter.

Overall my hope is that an Author feels as though they have been treated with respect and professionally through everything we do here at LWI. I do get a little crazy during some of my Author Interview formatting to create a good time, and my email exchanges sometimes are just as crazy. Each Author is someone I instantly call a friend. Don’t we all want to make sure we do the best we can for our friends?

Looking back through this article I can see that it doesn’t capture close to what the LWI Team does as a whole for an Author. Most of the pieces are there but there is more to it than what you see. Through each person involved our reach to potential readers numbers in the many thousands and that does not include when our articles are then picked up by other sites. We here at LWI have great friends in the Author Community that help promote and help assist Authors just as we do. I am aware of it and have begun to focus even more on the quality of my output to hopefully get others to want to share with their readers.

Thank you for lasting through the long winded words of Ronovan Writes. I am greatly honored that even one of you show up and read anything I have to share. I take it for granted you want to read what others here say. Seriously, they are that good.

Much Respect,

Ronovan Writes

 

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Patience and Integrity-The Secret to Success

Author Integrity. This week on Lit World Interviews seems to be all about that. Whether you are an Indie or Traditionalist Author there are things we all should be doing. These days there really is only one difference between the two types of Authors and that’s who puts out your books. Some say the Publisher will do a lot more for you so you don’t have to, but that’s not always the case and it costs you.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not against signing with a Publisher. I want to sign with one someday. But I do know that to be successful you need to be all in your own business and not simply sit back and let everyone else be all up in it.

This week you’ve seen a relatively new way of editing from Author PS Bartlett with her article Text to Speech: Editing Through Listening, Proofreading problems from Author and Proofreader Wendy Janes with Most Mortals Need a Proofreader. And rounding out with Author Jo Robinson our resident Self-Publishing guru and her article Authenticity and Honesty as an Indie Author.

I feel each article is linked in that each points to creating something and representing something that is professionally done. Integrity is the word that finally came to mind after reading Jo’s article. Through every draft you write, every proofreading, and every promotional idea you happen to come up with or is created for you, keep integrity in mind.

There are Authors out there that are popular and have great sales numbers. I don’t read them because I don’t trust them and their integrity is non existent in my eyes. That’s right, I look at an author and their product just like I do a person such as an actress. I am asked “Don’t you think she is so hot?” 9 times out of 10 the person they are talking about has the personality of a cross between Bill O’Reilly and Rosie O’Donnell. It doesn’t matter if you have all the physical characteristics of ‘hot’, if your personality is repulsive then you are repulsive as well.

If I look at your books and your promotions and see a lack of professional polish then I begin to think you simply rushed through a writing of it and threw it out there, and you are promoting it with fake gloss to trick people into buying what could have been a great story if you had just had the patience to go through as many drafts, proofreadings, and edits as was necessary to get that best work possible.

patience-integrity

Patience and Integrity in the world of the Author go hand in hand. Don’t rush the love of your life out into the world of Amazon or wherever you publish. Let that love mature and grow and go shopping to look its best. This is a coming out party and it only gets one shot at it.

 

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Most Mortals Need a Proofreader by Guest Author Wendy Janes @wendyproof

Why can’t you successfully proofread your own work?

It’s very simple – you read what you expect to see.

When you read other people’s work it’s fresh and new. Any errors seem to leap from the page, as the following examples demonstrate:

“Perdita was so angry she felt like throwing the laptop out of the the attic window.”

“Mark was fifty-five minutes younger that Spencer. An injustice than irritated him no end.”

The errors in the above sentences look so obvious. However, when you’ve been working on your book for months, maybe longer, and you’ve re-worked, revised, edited, tweaked, fallen in and out of love with it more times than you can remember, it’s almost impossible to gain the professional distance that is required to proofread it effectively. This is no reflection on your skills as a writer.

I’d like to share my own (humbling) experience. You see, I’d been telling people for years that it was unwise to proofread their own work, but to be honest I didn’t believe it would be true for me. I’d been proofreading for over a decade, I knew what to look for. So when I co-wrote an erotic romance with a friend a few years ago (that’s another humbling story) and we sent the book to our proofreader, I was confident that she wouldn’t find anything to correct.

Let’s pause, while you chuckle, because you know what’s coming.

When the proof copy was returned to us, I was MORTIFIED.

Yes, it deserves capital letters.

Characters who were as dear to me as my own family had their names spelled inconsistently, missing quote marks made a nonsense of dialogue, and there were typos galore.

Nothing like first-hand experience to teach you (ie me) a lesson!

And now, to make me feel a bit better and to entertain you, I’d like to share a few of my favourite bloopers of recent years (I’ve used artistic licence to ensure that no author can be identified):

“Maddy checked that her trouser suit was free of creases before she walked into the interview room. She shook hands with the CEO and felt the waist band of her skirt tighten alarmingly as she took the seat he offered.”

“A warrior through and through, Mardor fought on, the blood dripping from his severed arm. Around him, his soldiers spilled their blood for the victory that was destined to be theirs. Mardor gripped his sword with both hands and brought it down…”

“Maria shook the last painkiller from the bottle and swallowed the table with a gulp of water.”

“Discretion is the better part of velour.”

“This was the last pubic lecture he’d ever give. His nerves were too bad to ever consider doing anything so embarrassing ever again.”

I hope you enjoyed those bloopers as much as I did.

I’d like to add a practical coda to this post:

If you want to self-publish, but you can’t afford a proofreader I encourage you either to save up or to consider some old-fashioned bartering. For example, swapping proofreads with another author, or offering your website design skills to a proofreader. Or you could try a micro-version of the approach used by an innovative publisher called Booktrope, where you offer a proofreader a share of the income from your book.

 

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The Judas Apocalypse & Can’t Buy Me Love Q&A @DanMcNeil888

A lover of history who says his books don’t have a message, they’re entertainment. Honesty. Gotta love that, right? I will repeat that phrase later. Dan McNeil is someone I would hate if he wasn’t such a nice guy. He’s writing the dream I want and am working to achieve. He’s even picking subjects that I’m in to. If I were a betting man, which I’m not, I would bet that some of you buy at least one of his books after reading this interview. I’m still waiting on the autographed Kindle version. Personally signed no less.

RW: What is your favorite word?

DAN: Most of my favourite words are unprintable. I also make up a lot of my own words (usually when I’m driving) but they’re unprintable too. “Cacophony” is pretty cool – I like the hard “c” sounds and it sounds like what it is, in an onomatopoeia-ic kind of way…

RW: And with that answer, Dan, I have no idea where this is going to go, but I imagine it will be entertaining. You gotta love honesty. Let’s jump straight into your books. You have two to share with is. Tell us about The Judas Apocalypse first.

author Dan McNeilDAN: It’s basically an adventure story (about a treasure hunt during World War II), but there are many layers to it (secrets, hidden truths, etc.) The title refers to a hidden truth they ultimately discover. The Judas Apocalypse is the story of an archaeologist with a passion for a long lost religious group known as the Cathars. He gains possession of a Knights Templar document that, when deciphered, could lead him to the fabled Cathar treasure. After he is captured by a group of GI’s just after the Normandy invasion, they all form an alliance to hunt the treasure. However, what they find is not what they believed it would be. It was inspired by a number of things, but the main inspiration would give away too much. I will say though, that there is a definite Indiana Jones/Kelly’s Heroes influence that runs throughout the novel.

“Simply, I enjoy a book that draws me into the story and takes me to a different time and place. This book made me forget I was sitting in my own bed and had to go to work in the morning.
That is what a good book can do for you.
Loved this book!”~Amazon Review

Gerhard Denninger is the protagonist of “The Judas Apocalypse.” He is a dedicated archaeologist whose passion for the history of the Cathars has led him to search for their legendary lost treasure all of his life. I purposely made him an older character because I wanted to avoid the young hero stereotype. He’s made many choices in his life and career that may have been clouded by his passion. I think readers connect to characters like this because they are not perfect and I think more believable.

“I picked up this book as probably one of the millions for whom the genre’s pack leader, Dan Brown, leaves an aching void. I’m delighted to say this story is so much more believable than the Hollywood twaddle we are fed by the other Dan. Dan McNeil is a darn good story teller, and weaves this gripping tale from the Crucifixion itself to the Cathar tragedy of the Middle Ages then with exciting twists and turns through both World Wars.”Amazon Review

RW: So far you’ve got me and I am angry you didn’t offer a copy for me to review. Just kidding, a little, sort of. Okay, the sulking is over with. Tell us about your second book.

DAN: “Can’t Buy Me Love,” is about a hapless group of crooks hoping to rob a bank during the Beatles’ Dan McNeil Authorfirst appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in ’64, so I knew it would have to be a Beatles song title. I think “Can’t Buy Me Love” is certainly apropos. It was inspired by something I read in “The Love You Make” by Peter Brown (with Steven Gaines.) In it, Brown references the Beatles’ performance on the Sullivan show in ’64. There is an urban myth that says that in the hour they performed, not one major crime was committed in New York City. In fact, not even a hubcap was stolen (presumably, because everyone was huddled in front of their television sets watching the show.) When I read that, I immediately thought “that would have been a great time to rob a bank” – hence, the plot for the book.

“I read this in 2 days, couldn’t put it down. Absolutely a great story with the a moment in history as a backdrop. I think it would make a great movie. Great job, hope Dan has more stories to tell.”~Amazon Review

Sonny Carter, the protagonist of “Can’t Buy Me Love” is also an older “hero” but it was necessary to make him this way because of his twenty five year incarceration. Like Gerhard Denninger, he’s made some questionable decisions in his life (like trying to rob a bank, for instance). His single mindedness in knocking over the same bank he tried to rob in 1939, and his quest for revenge against the stool pigeon who ratted him out, while not exactly heroic qualities, I think make him, in strange kind of way, a rather fascinating character. The reader essentially pulls for him to be successful.

“With an action driven plot, characterisation often takes second place, but I thought some of the characters here were well drawn and very believable. My favourite was Provenzano the mob boss whose command of English gave Dan McNeil the chance to show that he can also write comedy with the best of them.
And the Beatles? I expected their inclusion in this book to be no more than window dressing. In fact we meet the boys on several occasions, where they are not only characters in their own right, but become an intrinsic part of the plot. If you want to know more, well you’ll just have to invest in a copy of Cant Buy Me Love yourself, won’t you? It really is money well spent.
In short, this is an excellent book which is not only a thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable read, but one that deserves to take its place in the library of literature inspired by the Beatles.”~Amazon Review

RW: It’s official, I am one unhappy guy. Not a single book given to me. Sigh. I may have to actually buy them at;

The Judas Apocalypse

Amazon

Barnes&Noble

Can’t Buy Me Love

Amazon

Barnes&Noble

www.shop.pulsepub.net

(Just so people know, I am joking about being upset about no book. I never asked for one. But in truth, they both look great from what I can see of them. He nailed the subject to catch my attention for sure. I know that’s why he picked what he did. Just for me!)

RW: Dan, you have a very unusual path to becoming a novelist. One I can appreciate. Share part of that with our Readers today.Dan McNeil Author Photo

DAN: My cousin and I used to write songs, hoping to strike it big with a #1 hit. Although we seemed to do very well with contests, winning five for five different tunes, the big hit song somehow still eluded us so I decided that I would try my hand at novel writing. Very different beast but just as satisfying creatively.

RW: Where did you write these undiscovered #1 hits?

DAN: I was born in Toronto, Ontario but I’ve made Ottawa my home since 1970.

RW: What does an Ottawan like to quench his thirst with?

DAN: I have a couple – it all depends on my mood. Given the choice, if an exceptional scotch or bourbon came my way, I wouldn’t say no. Alexander Keith’s Pale Ale is my go-to beverage.

 

That one gave me my “search for this” moment for the interview. “Alexander Keith arrives in Nova Scotia from Scotland in 1817 and opens his brewery in 1820.”~From the Alexander Keith’s website.

 

RW: Who are your favorite authors?

DAN: My favourite book is “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger and I am a big fan of Jeffery Deaver. I also love Stephen King’s early work.

RW: And what’s on the nightstand for reading at this moment?

DAN: I’m actually helping a fellow writer friend (Jasmine Aziz, author of Sex and Samosas) edit her current manuscript so I’m not actually reading anything at the moment. The last book I read was Jeffery Deaver’s “The Cold Moon.” After I’m done with the manuscript editing, I have about 4 or 5 books to get to.

RW: Writing, editing, and a good deal of time with the social network aspect, I can attest to that, with all of that writing aspect what do you do when you need to step away from it for a bit?

DAN: I used to go to movies all the time, but all that CG stuff they’re making these days really bores me. I prefer the films of the 60’s and 70’s. I also love music (I used to write songs many years ago) so that’s a really big passion of mine.

RW: Since I mentioned the social networking thing, this is how to connect with Dan:

Twitter – https://twitter.com/DanMcNeil888

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/dan.mcneil

Website – http://www.danmcneil.ca/

Blog – http://dmcneil888.wordpress.com/

RW: What did you learn about yourself from writing this book?

DAN: I really surprised myself with the fact that I was able to write a book. I always thought writing would be a tough gig, and of course it was! After I started, I wasn’t sure that I could even finish it so when I typed the words “The End,” I was both shocked and absolutely pleased with myself. I learned that I could do it and so I wrote a second book.

RW: What is your biggest tip for someone to getting published?

DAN: This may sound flippant but make sure the book is as great as it can be. Make sure you rewrite it as many times as necessary and get a copy editor to go through it. I can’t stress that enough.

RW: Describe your book in one word.

DAN: “The Judas Apocalypse” – provocative

“Can’t Buy Me Love” – entertaining

A big thank you to Dan for the interview and giving all of us books to add to our to read lists. Make sure to click and get those books at the links above and watch the Book Trailer for The Judas Apocalypse Book Trailer.

 

much-respect-ronovan

 

 

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Lit World Interview Week In Review Jan 19-23.

lit world interview with ronovan writes

A very good week here for Lit World Interviews. I believe our focus on quality over quantity is showing.  Our two feature articles this week by Jo Robinson and Guest Author Wendy Janes struck a chord with our Readers and the feedback has been tremendous. Our Book Review Team continues to be strong as well with Olga Núñez Miret. I personally was thrilled to interview Anne JohnstonBrown. 

Here are the articles for the week, if you missed one, go and check it out today.

Author Interview with Ronovan Writes

Singer, Actress, Teacher and Author Anne JohnstonBrown Q&A @AJohnstonbrown

FEATURES

Advertising Your Book Jo Robinson

Is My Novel Ready for Proofreading? by Guest Author Wendy Janes @wendyproof

BOOK REVIEWS

Interconnected by Mary Meddlemore/Martie Preller Olga Núñez Miret

RONOVAN’S WHATEVER

State of the LWI Address

 

What can you expect next from the LWI Team?

I have an Author Interview with Dan McNeil of The Judas Apocalypse and Can’t Buy me Love on Monday. I know we have another Feature from Guest Author Wendy Janes coming up Wednesday.  And you know we will have something great from Jo Robinson on Thursday.

dan-mcneil-author

 

State of the LWI Address.

Hello LWI Friends,

First of all I want to thank every single one of you for helping LWI get off to such a great start. I think if people saw the Numbers and heard the Buzz about our site they would be surprised. I know I am. That’s only because I was not expecting to have a team of such great people working on the site with me.

In order of their officially joining the team:
Author Jo Robinson
Author PS Bartlett
Florence Thum
Author Dr. Olga Núñez Miret
Colleen Chesebro
Hugh Roberts

Now I wanted tell all of those who have;

  • Provided me with books for reading and reviewing
  • Sent answers to interview questions
  • Have agreed to interviews

That I am happily working on all of them and have not forgotten. I know it may seem at times as though an interview or review is long in coming but it does come. Interview response has been tremendous. In fact there may be a week filled with Interviews coming up.

For those who haven’t taken advantage of our services here at LWI please check out our About page. If you need a book review, email me and I will connect you with the appropriate Reviewer. At least that’s the normal way we like it done.

If you want an interview, again email me and just know it may be time before an interview is published. I now like to receive a book, even if in PDF form to read and be able to give a true interview instead of a simple list of questions. That means Interviews take longer but will be better and serve you better. Not only do you receive an Interview but you receive a Review on the LWI site as well as Amazon, GoodReads and any other site you have the book available and I am aware of it. After my current round of interviews I have now there will be one interview per week so there can be a focus on promoting an author.

There may be times more than one Interview is published in a week if there is a special week going on such as Valentines and perhaps I want to have a week of Romance Writers.

Our goal here at LWI this year is to have Quality, not Quantity. We want to grow in a healthy way to serve the Literary Community without a focus on how many subscribers to the site we have, how many comments or how many Likes of an article. My purpose from the beginning when I created LitWorldInterviews was to give the author, Indie Author, Traditional Author, New Author, and Veteran Author alike a place to come to for a piece of promotion they could use for their career.

I want that piece of promotion to be the best it can be along with the top notch features that are put out to help learn about the publishing world.

Quality and Supporting Authors at Every Step.

That’s our mission.

Much Respect,
Ronovan

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Is My Novel Ready for Proofreading? by Guest Author Wendy Janes @wendyproof

Is My Novel Ready for Proofreading?

I love my job as a freelance proofreader, but sometimes authors make it very difficult for me to do my job effectively.

However brilliant your writing, however delicious your story, if there are too many errors and inconsistencies, you are asking too much of your proofreader to spot everything.

Here are a few examples of things that should have been removed by the author/developmental editor/copy editor prior to proofreading. Just in case you’re wondering, they are all products of my fevered imagination:

  • A tear-jerking family saga opens with Davina playing with her five-year-old brother, Oliver, on the sprawling lawns of their darling papa’s country estate. When our feisty heroine rescues sweet young Oliver from his evil kidnappers two years later, he is ten years old. The hapless Oliver dies in a fire soon after his rescue, and (miraculously) reappears at Davina’s sumptuous wedding to Henrico a decade later.
  • In the opening scene of a delightful chick lit novella, independent career girl Polly totters off to meet hunky Blake wearing a pair of Jimmy Chew’s. She jumps off a Central Line tube train at Sloane Square. (Tricky in those dubious heels and even more tricky because Sloane Square isn’t on the Central Line.)
  • In a sci-fi/fantasy, the leader of the Heliopians may well fight with grit and determination throughout the thrilling spat with the Lunopians, but his name changes from Garvord to Gurvord and back again in the space of ten pages.

I have to be honest and say that it gives me great joy to catch these types of errors, but when a novel is littered with them it makes finding the typos, which are the bread and butter of proofreading, all the more difficult. Not only that but if your proofreader is charging you by the hour, you are in effect bumping up the cost.

While it is the proofreader’s role to spot and correct errors and inconsistencies, there are number of things you can do to avoid your manuscript being inundated with them:

  1. Choose whether you’re using US or UK (or insert your choice here) spelling and punctuation. If you’re going for a hybrid, then be clear about your choices.
  2. Punctuate speech correctly.
  3. Check that spelling and hyphenation are consistent.
  4. Use hyphens, en dashes and em dashes correctly, and delete double spaces between words and after punctuation.
  5. Look for over-used words such as “that”, “just” (my own pet over-used word), “only”, “really”, “very” etc. Actually this isn’t something that every proofreader will automatically look for, but eliminating over-used words will improve your writing no end.

If a proofreader has been searching through a whole novel for “ise” endings in order to turn them into “ize” endings, he or she may miss all the unfortunate slips in the following: “Davina realized he loved Henrico wit all here hat.” If a proofreader needs to correct every single comma and full stop in order to punctuate speech correctly, there’s a good chance he or she could skip over that missing open quote at the start of Garvord’s battle cry.

I can’t say this enough, so I’ll repeat myself. However good your proofreader is, he or she won’t be able to pick up every single error if there are too many of them. It’s a bit like looking for a letter on a messy desk. You can’t see it for all the other pieces of paper, chocolate bar wrappers, pens, pencils, coffee cups and cake crumbs. If you sweep away the crumbs, put the cups in the kitchen and the wrappers in the bin, there’s a better chance of finding the letter.

You may be thinking, what on earth is a proofreader left to do if I make all these corrections before I send my manuscript off? The truth is that most mortals, even if they do all of the above, still need to have their book proofread by a professional. My next guest post will be about why it’s so difficult to proofread your own work, and will include some of my favourite bloopers (all made anonymous to spare authors’ blushes).

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Singer, Actress, Teacher and Author Anne JohnstonBrown Q&A @AJohnstonbrown

Author actor comedianRW: Anne, Fitness Video Queen, Vocal Diva, Comedic Legend and author. Is there anything you can’t do?

ANNE: Haha. Well, Diva maybe… but Legend? Not so much. Actually, everything I do is “performance” related, so you could say I really DO just one thing… a lot!

RW: Okay, I’ll behave and we can get down to the serious questions. Your name came up while I was interviewing Becky Due. How did you get into the audio book line of the Lit World?

ANNE: It’s a rather impersonal business, audio book narration. I actually never met Becky. In fact, with most of my authors, we rarely speak after the first email. Of course, I always ask for information about their expectations as to character voices, but after that, it’s all on me. I got into audio book narration only after becoming a professional actor. I was working on a show with Ted Lange (you probably know him best as Isaac Poster_20Washington of Love Boat fame). Anyway, one of my co-actors was working in the audio book narration business and recommended I get into it. The next day, I had three contracts and the rest is history. I’ve done over 60 projects as of this interview, and last year Audible gave me the wonderful distinction of Best Female Audiobook Narrator. I was overwhelmed!

RW: Wow! Okay, geeked moment there. But I’ve heard THE VOICE so I understand the why the honor bestowed upon you. I would think you have to develop a certain mood for reading a book aloud for others, to be able to convey the levels of emotions and set a scene with your voice. How many times do you read a book before you do the audio for it? What kind of preparation goes into it? I would think it would be like any other acting performance in a way.

ANNE: Every narrator has their “method.” I shock people when I tell them that I never read the books ahead of time. I am one of those “in-the-moment” actors, who simply cannot know what is about to happen or else my performance is compromised. Since I get all the information I need from the author ahead of time regarding vocal qualities for the main characters, I need no other information in order to start the project. Occasionally, I will find that there was a piece of information the author failed to give me that is contradicted later by a choice I made for the character, but in those cases, I just mark for edit and re-do those parts later. It’s really worth that risk to me, since I know my process and what works best for me.

RW: How does one connect with you to do audio book work? For example if I ever needed someone, what all would I need to do to convince you to do it? Money? Pizza? New kick boxing gloves?

ANNE: Actually, I just got some new gloves for Christmas, so that wouldn’t impress me much, and I’m gluten-free, so pizza is out… money, however, always talks! Haha. Seriously, to book me for a project, you would simply go to my ACX.com profile page (by searching my name) and let me know you’re interested. I’m very quick to respond. Narrators have their price range, so it’s important to evaluate how much you are willing to spend on narration before contacting a narrator. For instance, I never do royalty work; my rate is $300.00 per finished hour. However, I often get offers from authors who think they can convince me to do their projects on royalty anyway. That just won’t happen. If I didn’t have rent to pay, maybe so, but as it is….

 RW: I think that’s actually pretty fair. You do more than audio books in the Lit World, you’ve actually written several books and that’s one of the main reasons I begged you to be here today. Tell us about your newest book.anne johnston-brown

ANNE: I’ve actually written several books in several different genres. I have a children’s book that I self-published in 2007, entitled The Chronicles of Pleasant Grove. I also self-published a mainstream fiction BookCoverPreviewpiece, entitled The Lives of Lyman Liri, which follows several life scenarios of a man as he makes life-altering choices and how those choices impact his destiny. It was inspired by my father and his experience in Viet Nam. But it is my theatre arts work with Smith & Kraus Publishers that has been the most successful. They published my book, The 10 Commandments of Theater, and it is now a required text in dozens of theatre arts universities. Theatre Topics Magazine gave it a great review, which I wasn’t expecting… It’s just a little theatre arts handbook, taking the actor from casting to curtain and specializing in method acting. My latest work, True to archeType: A Guide to Characterization in Comedy, is due out in the spring of 2015. We are currently in the editing process. I’m really excited about this one! I wrote my master’s thesis on comedy, and as I’ve been working with Fred Willard for over 10 years as a member of his sketch-comedy group, The MoHos, this book is long overdue. I’ll send you a copy when it comes out, of course!

RW: Okay, geeking again. Books are always welcomed. And from a celebrity as well. And yes you are a celebrity so no arguing. Tell our readers about your acting/theater background.

ANNE: I didn’t start acting until I was in my late 20s. I was raised in… I guess you could call it a cult… so when I left home and started “living,” I realized I had a knack for theatre. But instead of just diving into Hollywood without training, I went straight to college and majored in theatre. I got my master’s degree and started my acting career immediately upon leaving school. I’ve worked with some great actors, toured and taught as a Theatre Arts Professor at several Southern California universities, as well as The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles. My favorite theatre experience was playing the Narrator at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. We performed to sold-out houses… absolutely the most exciting time of my life!

RW: How did you get into comedy?

ANNE: I didn’t start “doing” comedy until I met Fred (Willard). His wife, Mary, had cast me in one of her plays (she is a fabulous playwright), and the minute Fred and I met, it was magic! He invited me to join his comedy group, and from there, I wrote my one-woman show, The Wicked Fairytales, and recorded my album of song parodies, Touched in the Head. I still perform with the group, but with writing, acting and audiobook narration, I’m not as faithful as I once was.

RW: I think acting does a lot more for authors than they realize. An example is there is always a purpose for movement on stage. I use that in my books. What other techniques in acting would help authors with storytelling?

ANNE: Public Solitude!!! Thanks to Stanislavski, we as actors are encouraged to shrink our circle of attention down to its smallest point, only allowing in that which encompasses the world of the scene. As authors, we usually work in solitude and must create out of nothing more than our imaginations… in other words, we are not necessarily reflecting back anything we have actually seen. An actor who chooses to write usually has a greater benefit of drawing from their creative imagination, since that is how we find truth on stage. We merely extrapolate and assimilate those skills over into our writing process… if we can!

RW: What is your creative/writing process for something like this type of book as opposed to a work of fiction?

ANNE: Non-fiction is infinitely easier to write than fiction! With non-fiction, I just write of which I know and in my own words. With fiction, I must first create the “life” of the character and then write in his/her words. Before I wrote Lyman Liri, I had had an encounter with a transient who resembled my Papa (grandfather). I thought, “Wow! What if my Papa had made one change in choice? Would the direction of his life led to this?” Then, on inspiration, I decided to make the main character a person who lived (at least in one of his life scenarios) the same life as my father. Every time he made a different choice than the one before, his life went off in a strange direction. It basically shows how every choice we make is capable of determining the direction of our lives and dramatically altering our destinies.

RW: Are there any upcoming dates where people could possibly go and see you, meet you, get an autograph, bow down and kiss the ground your talent has walked upon?

ANNE: Well, I could tell you where I shop and you’re welcome to follow me around there… But I think there will be some autograph signings with this new book, so stay tuned to my website: www.annejohnstonbrown.com. If you’re in Los Angeles, my comedy group, The MoHos, performs once a month at the Second City theatre on Hollwood Blvd. I’m usually in the show.

RW: As an actor, give us the one piece of advice you would give a young actor, let’s say in New York right now trying to break into the business? (I ask because there is an incredibly wonderful young lady that has moved from small town USA to NYC and is doing that now.)

ANNE: Since I teach up-and-coming actors every day at the Academy, I am asked this question often! When parents of young children ask me this question, my first and most definitive response is: “Get them into dance school!!!!!!” I can’t stress this enough. Dance will not only help them become the triple threat we hope they can potentially become, but is enhances rhythm and coordination – two things so desperately needed by the actor! For adults branching off into their acting careers, my response is twofold: “Network and Hone.” This means, as soon as you get to New York or Hollywood, join a theatre group or an acting class or an improv group, etc. And I mean do this immediately. Don’t put this off until you feel inspired… it is a MUST! This is because you will not only be able to keep training and get feedback from classmates and teachers (known as “honing”), but you will also be in an atmosphere to begin the most crucial part of an actor’s process: networking. Get out there and meet people, get noticed, make a name for yourself. When you hone and network (especially if you can do both at the same time), you will be well on your way to “making it.”

RW: When can we expect your next work of fiction?

ANNE: Fiction? Hmmm… that’s a good question. I would say that I’m not planning on writing any more fiction, but if history has proven anything, it is the minute you say something like that, you immediately get inspired to write a book, and BOOM, there it is!

RW: When is Anne The Album coming out?

ANNE: Anne has released several albums over the years. I started recording as a teenager and haven’t stopped. However, much of my work has been archived. I used to record a lot of gospel music, and I may have a few boxes of cassette tapes leftover in the garage. But they would be pretty dusty by now! As for a new album, I can honestly say nothing is planned. But if you want to hear some of my cover work, go to my ReverbNation page: www.reverbnation.com/annejohnstonbrown.

RW: Whoa. Just went and listened. Awesome. Little Anne Wonder going on with Superstition. What has been your favorite musical role to date?

ANNE: Again, playing the Narrator at the Kodak Theatre was an amazing experience. However, my favorite musical role would definitely be a tie: Annie in Annie Get Your Gun and Fanny Brice in Funny Girl.

Anne and BillRW: I have to ask this, as I have a 10 year old son and well, even I love a bit of the Disney life. Tell us about your Goofy friend.

ANNE: Ahhhh…. the wonderful Bill Farmer. Again, networking is the key. I met Bill Farmer through Fred Willard. In fact, Bill is a member of the MoHos. He is the most gentle, kind, delightful man I have ever met! So often, actors play characters they “wish” they could be, but their true nature’s are indeed the antitheses of those characters. Well, Bill IS Goofy! He is so sweet and kind, just like Goofy, and is so versatile on stage. He plays so many characters, all of which are unique and equally devine!

RW: Where can people purchase your books now?9

ANNE: Amazon – the go-to bookstore! My theatre arts books used to be at some of the main bookstore chains, but now they are exclusively sold online.

RW: What are your hobbies?

ANNE: Well, of course, I teach kickboxing, so I guess you could say that is a hobby. I love to do karaoke. I was a contestant on ABC’s Karaoke Battle USA a few years ago, and I just got the itch! Now, I can’t get enough of it!

 

 

This was a fun interview. As you can see there were a lot of different things to talk about and learn about. I really enjoyed this. Some of the pictures above will take you to videos of her work, including her work with “Goofy” himself.

 

Much Respect

Ron_LWI

 

 

 

 

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Lit World Interview Week In Review Jan. 12-16

lit world interview with ronovan writes

Every week here at LWI we have a variety. One way to assure variety is to have a variety of people on a team. This week you found or will find Book Reviews about a man on Mars, a real world family of brothers attempting to put their lives back together and a story about a dystopian world where a man has enough of it all and well, he kills the senators. There is a review for you authors out there about a great self-editing book. You also have an article that broke our records here in every way in only 24 hours about Safe Reviewing. Also you have this weeks Author Interview with short story author, at least for now, Sourabh Mukherjee.

Enjoy checking out anything you missed or read your favorite again.

INTERVIEWS with Ronovan Writes

Loves Lost author Sourabh Mukherjee Q&A

FEATURES

Safe Reviewing  Jo Robinson

BOOK REVIEWS

The Martian by Andy Weir. Olga Núñez Miret

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers Ronovan Writes

“Conditions” by Christoph Fischer Colleen Chesebro

“How to Kill Your Senator” by Kaisy W Mills & James A Courtney Ronovan Writes

RONOVAN’S WHATEVER

Fair Reviewing or Review the Book, NOT Your Expectation. Ronovan Writes

 

 

What can you expect next?

I know I have at least one incredible interview with a lady that just blows my mind with all the talent she has. I was seriously just amazed she wanted an interview. If you want a hint, we connected through an interview I did with author Becky Due.

I also see a Book Review waiting from Olga and you just know Jo will have something great for us. At least one of our other resident authors has but a word in my ear to possibly expect something. So keep an eye.

Much Respect and Much Reading,

Ron_LWI

 

 

 

 

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“How to Kill Your Senator” by @KaisyWMills & @jamesacourtney

The Dystopian Nation of City-State – “How to Kill Your Senator”

how-to-kill-your-senator &

A new short story from Courtney James and Kaisy Wilkerson-Mills, authors of our previously reviewed The Dystopian Nation of City-State: An Anthology: Origin, Corruption, and Rebellion. Read that review by wonderful Olga Núñez Miret here.

I read an early copy of this as a Beta-Reader and my Review at Amazon is based on that and what I say here will be as well.

The idea and handling of the idea was original. The main character is a man named Jackson who as the story opens has killed senators in the world the authors have created. As the story progresses Jackson is shown the true source of the political evil of his city. But can he face that?

The authors lead you along and as you follow you realize where the story is going and what the message is, but the ending isn’t what you expect. maybe.

I gave the book a 3 out of 5 stars.

The story itself, the idea was a good one, but there was some stylistic elements that took away from my being able to really losing myself into the story. Just when I would be there I would be made aware of the writing. As I said, that was a beta copy I read, perhaps those elements have been addressed. If I get a chance to read a new version I will let you know. In truth it would be an interesting experience to see the after results of beta-reading.

Do I recommend this for a read at 3 stars?

If you have read the anthology and are interested in jumping on board a new world as it is created I think yes, read it. It’s .99 on Kindle. It does give depth to the world by telling a side story that shows you more of the world than one can always put into a regular novel.

You can visit the Dystopian Nation of City-State site here.

 

 

Ron_LWI

 

 

 

 

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Fair Reviewing or Review the Book, NOT Your Expectation.

If you have been around here long enough you know Book Reviews are something I am passionate about. How can someone be passionate about Book Reviews? I know how important they are to an author.

  1. The more Reviews a book has on Amazon and other places the better chance of being seen by potential readers, moving up on lists of books that will be shared in emails and websites.
  2. They give a potential Reader an opinion about the book.
  3. They give the author feedback on what is working with a book and what is not.

Recently Author Jo Robinson, one of the Feature Writers here on LWI wrote Safe Reviewing. The article is well worth a read as can be attested by the record breaking numbers it is setting on the site to date in Views, Likes and Comments in just 24 hours. But it was also that article that reminded me of an article I had been wanting to write.

One of our LWI Authors has received what I will call Inconsistent Reviews. I had to think for a moment how I wanted to phrase that. One review on Goodreads simply had a Rating of 1 Star.  When the book is consistently Rated 5 Stars, you know there is something going on, especially when there were no comments attached to the 1 Star. I did some research into the person’s Reviewing history.

  • Only likes a certain subject,style or author.
  • Seems to have a dislike for a certain type of author.

Another Review was a good Rating on Amazon but the actual Review was so completely opposite of the score I am questioning the person’s ability to do Reviews, only because they have their Amazon name include Reviews in it. The problem here is the person was expecting or wanting one kind of book and this was not that kind of book, so they decided to basically rip it apart in several ways that showed their lack of professionalism and actual ability to comprehend the book. I read the book. Every point made in the Review was such a sad piece of drivel that I was so angry by the end I wanted to somehow find a way to delete the person’s ability to write Reviews anywhere ever again.

fair-reviewingThat’s the purpose of this article. If you are expecting a Star Trek novel and you end up with a Dune novel, don’t complain. Science Fiction is Science Fiction. Just because it is not your flavor does not make it bad. If you feel let down because you were EXPECTING or HOPING for Star Trek and you didn’t get it, it’s not the Author’s problem. If you cannot find you are able to write a fair Review, then don’t write a Review at all.

I do my less than favorable Reviewing in Beta-Reading. When I Beta-Read I don’t hold back. That’s when you need to realize, especially with friends, there is no such thing as compromise or benefit of the doubt for that matter.That’s when the Author needs the absolute truth.

Will I give someone a bad Review of a book? I would prefer not to publish one. But there are times when there has been an agreement or an insistence and I had to do it.

So Review as you will but think before you Publish. As Jo mentioned, we as Authors nor Reviewers or even the basic Reader want to break down an Author. We want to help the Author and the Reader. You can do that in a Review if you take the time to do it right.

 

Ron_LWI

 

 

 

 

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Self-Editing for Fiction Writers Review by @RonovanWrites

renni browne dave king This was a great gift I received. One reason it was great is because I asked for it. And that means I did  not have to pay for it. I would have but writer’s love free things. I love this book. It’s a 5 Star Rating from me here and on Amazon. I intentionally read the book before starting my most recent novel and it has really helped a lot. In what ways?

  • I am aware of some little things that show a professional from an amateur
  • I can make at least some things right so during my next draft I don’t have to struggle through those parts
  • My beta-readers, proofreaders, editors or even possible co-authors don’t have to find a way to tell me that my writing stinks, well at least no more than usual
  • It has a check list at the end of each chapter to help you learn and create a habit of what to look for and remember to do each time you read

It doesn’t matter if you are a 20 novel veteran or a first time novelist, this book is worth the money. It tells you everything in plain English and common sense language from ‘Show Don’t Tell’ to ‘Voice’. Some of my favorite chapters are ‘Proportions’ and ‘Once is Usually Enough’. Get this book It has great reviews and plenty of them. And a lot of reviews is always a good thing to see. So get it at Amazon for Kindle or Paperback by clicking here.

Watch my Video Review below.

Ron_LWI

 

 

 

 

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Loves Lost author Sourabh Mukherjee Q&A

 

sourabh mukherjeeRW: Let’s start with a little about where you are from.

SOURABH: I am from India, born and brought up in the city of Kolkata. Kolkata is the capital of the state of West Bengal, located on the banks of the Hooghly river. It is the main educational, cultural and commercial center in the eastern part of the country. The Kolkata Port is the country’s oldest operating port. Kolkata was the capital of the British Government in India till 1911 when the capital was shifted to New Delhi.

RW: Let’s get right into your book today before we go into my other questions. Why the title Loves Lost for your book of short stories?

SOURABH: Loves Lost is a collection of three short stories in the Romance genre, all woven around the theme of lost love. There could be a variety of reasons why relationships do not work out but at the end of the day, as George Martin says, ‘When the sun has set, no candle can replace it’.

RW: What inspired the Loves Lost? loves lost sourabh mukherjee

SOURABH: My own take on love and relationships and my keen interest in the workings of the human mind account for the manner in which love and its rituals are conducted in my stories.

The stories in the book deal with human emotions that I feel most readers can relate to. Many of us have nurtured unprofessed love in our hearts for years, have struggled to cope with lost love, have allowed our inner devils to ruin relationships, and have found love when we least expected to. My stories grow out of such experiences and observations.

RW: Tell us about the stories we’ll find.

SOURABH: Loves Lost is a collection of three love stories that go beyond conventional ‘happily ever after’ endings and offer realistic views of the variety of emotions one goes through when love comes calling.

The story ‘Mine Forever’ is about a young, successful entrepreneur nursing a broken heart and seeking refuge in alcohol and his work. The story takes the reader to the after-party of a corporate awards function when the protagonist in his drunken stupor finds the woman of his dreams drop in to congratulate him on his success and resolves to win her back.

‘The Thing About Memories’ is about a man recovering from a near fatal accident with no recollection of the past. A brisk read with a lasting impact, the story reveals how a billboard advertisement brings the man face-to-face with a past best forgotten.

The protagonist in the story ‘Love Came Calling Again’ has a highly romanticized vision of love that is often disengaged from reality. When the harsh realities of life take a toll on her relationship, she meets a stranger on the Internet.

As the blurb sums it up, Loves Lost is ‘a collection of three contemporary romantic short stories that take the reader on a whirlwind journey interspersed with betrayal, separation, heartbreak and a smile or two.’

RW: What message do you think your book delivers to the reader?

SOURABH: The stories deal with human emotions that most readers will relate to. While the collection of short stories is primarily meant to be a realistic and at the same time an entertaining depiction of the various facets of love, I would feel my efforts have been rewarded well if the stories in the book motivate readers to realize the value of the gift of love (which not everyone is blessed with), ensure the honesty and sanctity of their feelings, and never let their inner devils ruin their relationships.

RW: Describe your book in one word.

SOURABH: Soul-searching

RW: Where can we get your book now?

Amazon Kindle US & UK.

RW: What is your background in writing, what makes you a writer?

SOURABH: I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. I have never really written for a purpose – it is just something I love to do. In my early childhood, I would spend hours writing (as well as making illustrations for my own stories). A number of my poems were published in children’s magazines back in the day. I continued to write through my teenage and later in college.

I kept writing in office magazines for a couple of years, but the demands of my career as an Information Technology professional and my travels across the world soon left me with very little time and creative energy to write fiction. I churned out technical whitepapers and non-fictional articles that got published in journals of repute like The Datawarehousing Institute (TDWI) Business Intelligence Journal Summer 2013 edition.

However, in the process, I grew as a person getting to observe people from widely varying cultural backgrounds and to study their emotions, their thoughts, their behavior from various perspectives. And stories began to grow all over again.

Also, writing is often a cathartic experience for me. It helps give vent to my emotions and create stories out of them. There is a bit of me in each one of my stories.

And a year back, I went back to writing fiction.

My first novella Nargis Through my Summers was published on Amazon Kindle in April 2014 and opened to 4-star reviews in Amazon and Goodreads. Loves Lost is my latest collection of short stories that was released on the 12th. of December, 2014.

cover2RW: What other books do you have to share with us and can you tell us a little about them? Do you have any full length novels in the works?

SOURABH: I would like to take this opportunity to talk about my book Nargis Through my Summers. Recipient of the Golden Pen Award in the Monsoon Romance Contest organized by a popular website in India, the novella is about a woman who moves in and out of relationships over the years, and a man who remains a silent and distant witness to the course of her life, with unflinching faith in the honesty and sanctity of his feelings for her.

The following are some of the comments the book has received over the last 6 months of its release:

‘A story which evokes yearning in our hearts, pushing the hands of time. Sourabh is economic in his choice of words, and allows the reader’s imagination to play. His style is that of a master story-teller and the build-up is strong. The end has a twist that rhymes well with the elevated level of this story. This is just the beginning; we want many more from you. Readers: THIS IS A MUST READ.’ – Amazon

‘This book is a must read for all romantics and “cynics” in equal measure. It’s a beautiful story, written in an extremely simple, subtle and poignant style. The way the story unfolded was beautiful yet unexpected’ – Amazon

‘A lucid read. I really liked how the author articulated the inner feelings of the protagonist. Also, must appreciate the in-depth description of emotions. I could almost visualize the scenes opening up and enacting in front of my eyes. It also got me nostalgic and took me on a trip down memory lane. The suspense of the story has been well kept under wraps.’ – Amazon

‘Oh what a treat it was! Just the right amount of text and right amount of storytelling. The ending was unexpected, but it made so much sense.’  – Goodreads

‘Just finished reading the story and have to say the ending was astounding! Really impressed. The buildup was awesome and the last chapter breath taking.’ – Goodreads

The book is available at Amazon US & UK.

RW: How do people connect with you through all forms of social media?

List links to all websites you have and social networks such as Twitter.

Facebook

LinkedIn

Google+ handle: thestoryteller1974

 

RW: Who are your favorite authors?

SOURABH: Jeffrey Archer is an all-time favourite. I think he is an institution when it comes to storytelling – whether it’s his novels or his short stories.

And then I have favourites by genres.

I have been a big fan of Agatha Christie – mainly because of Poirot’s methods of investigation, the witty repartees, the human emotions at the core of the crimes; and the laidback rural settings on the surface with undercurrents of malice and conspiracy in the Miss Marple stories. Among more recent authors, I like the Alex Cross stories by James Patterson – not just for the thrills, but also for the underlying human emotions. I loved Stieg Larsson’s works. I was floored by The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino.

I absolutely adore Koji Suzuki’s books. I wish I could read his works in Japanese.

In the Romance genre, I have gone back again and again to Eric Segal’s works. I have Nicholas Sparks and John Green in my shelves and am very eager to read them.

Over the last couple of years, I have discovered Haruki Murakami and Gabriel Garcia Marquez – albeit in English translations of their works. And what a revelation! More reasons why I regret my linguistic limitations.

RW: What is your favorite beverage to drink, any kind?

SOURABH: It’s always black coffee, without sugar.

RW: What is your escape from writing when just needing a break?DSCN0670

SOURABH: I consider myself blessed to have a lot of empty space – parks, roads for pedestrians and trees – in my neighbourhood right in the middle of a busy city like Kolkata. Ditto for the surroundings of my office. A stroll in the evening with the wind in my hair makes all the difference. I also have a song for every mood, and music, for me, is a great stress-buster. I do manage to switch off when I want to and I consider myself lucky for being able to do that.

RW: What are you working on right now?

SOURABH: I am currently working on a novel which is a crime thriller on the surface but has a strong undercurrent of human emotions like love and betrayal at its core.

RW: What is your biggest tip for someone to getting published?

SOURABH: It is important to create real, identifiable characters in a story – unless of course one is writing a fantasy or a superhero story. Correct use of the language is essential. An author should ensure that a story progresses at a uniform pace – a story that slows down after an energetic start is a big let down. Finally, it is not about the length but always about the impact of a story. I have read 1-page stories that have left me thinking for days.

Recently, I wrote a guest blog for Elizabeth Grace on the motivation behind writing creativity that should also motivate someone getting published for the first time.

RW: What is your favorite word?

SOURABH: ‘Basically’ – I guess it comes from my inherent tendency to get to the bottom of matters.

 

And that my friends is basically the end of our time today with Sourabh. You may check out my review of Loves Lost here or go and check it out on Amazon here while you grab his book at the same time.

 

 

Ron_LWI

 

 

 

@RonovanWrites

 

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