For you that are new, please read our intro now printed in Blue - for our returning guest feel free to jump to the text in black:
This blog is a meeting place for authors and others in the arts .... each week as others are directed to our door or just stumble on by, they come and leave information about themselves - telling about their new books or drawings or photos or to tell us about their new blogs. ****PLEASE be sure your comments are appearing on the latest most timely blog insuring your inclusion in the sending off to Google plus land at the end of the week.*****
Here is the link to Gwen’s site: http://indieauthornetwork.weebly.com/ , a site which I am closely affiliated.
As I am wont to say {as does Facebook}, our site is free to comment and share and always will be free. This is a great site to join and to become interactive with guest blogging. It gives you a chance to step out of your box and be whatever you wish.
Another blog that I have a close tie is CRYPTO and CO. Please pop over and check out all their pages.
I have been off doing business and my blogging, unfortunately, falls by the wayside. There is so much news to tell and swamping tends to cross eyes and brain fog off... so only a few links on today's news.
If we thought last month was busy, this month got off to a plunge into new adventures of editing, writing, publishing, promoting, and social interaction.
The Rain Cloud's Gift written for Children's Charities by our group The Peacock Writers' is on it's way to the NYC BOOK FAIR at the JACOB JAVIT'S CONVENTION CENTER. No mass books or signing, just books displayed for industry professionals, stars, editors, publicists, publishers, and acquisition teams for the movie industry. Gwenna D'Young has an Angel who was so impressed with the book, and has given us the money and backing to have the book appear in the line up. We are also in the process of releasing a full, pictures included, limited edition.
Our next book in this series will celebrate the fall season and we are recruiting writers {1 each} from India, Japan, and Philippines - America has Halloween and Thanksgiving, Great Britain has Guy Fawkes - we would like stories that reflect fall traditions or holidays for these other cultures as well. The stories would remain the sole property of the author and their use as a donation would only occur for the book collection for Children's Charities. The story is to be written on a level where a child could either read it or have it read to them - our age goal for readers is 0 through 12. Please contact me at https://www.facebook.com/paula.shene if interested in being considered.
I have been experiencing out of sync time as the top line after publishing is a day behind - Today is Saturday, June 2 2012 and Thomas K. Matthews is with us ~
What inspired you to
write?
My father was an American Literature teacher for 30 years. As a result, we had a bookcase of hundreds of classics from Huck Finn by Twain to The Bell Jar by Plath. At the age of five, I was reading at a sixth grade level and my mother says I was a born storyteller. I read everything in that case even if I didn’t understand it. I wrote my first short story at the age of seven and was hooked. I’ve written ever since. But I was also a talented artist, and I had this conflict from birth until high school graduation. Writer or artist? I had teachers pushing in both directions and my gut said it would be easier to make a living as an illustrator so I took that path. The writer in me finally demanded to be heard when I was 36, and I let it out. The result was Ancient Anger in 1999. I’ve written 16 novels since.
Do you have anyone you show manuscripts to and get advice from or are you a loner doing it all yourself?
First it was my father. Later when I took my writing more seriously, I met my editor and collaborator at a writer’s conference in San Diego. We clicked immediately. He lives in Canada, and I live in Southern California, so when the conference ended we vowed to stay in touch. Now nothing I write goes out or gets any kind of public viewing until he looks it over and we rewrite it together. Because we are different types of writers, it goes both ways. I don’t know what I would do without him.
My father was an American Literature teacher for 30 years. As a result, we had a bookcase of hundreds of classics from Huck Finn by Twain to The Bell Jar by Plath. At the age of five, I was reading at a sixth grade level and my mother says I was a born storyteller. I read everything in that case even if I didn’t understand it. I wrote my first short story at the age of seven and was hooked. I’ve written ever since. But I was also a talented artist, and I had this conflict from birth until high school graduation. Writer or artist? I had teachers pushing in both directions and my gut said it would be easier to make a living as an illustrator so I took that path. The writer in me finally demanded to be heard when I was 36, and I let it out. The result was Ancient Anger in 1999. I’ve written 16 novels since.
Do you have anyone you show manuscripts to and get advice from or are you a loner doing it all yourself?
First it was my father. Later when I took my writing more seriously, I met my editor and collaborator at a writer’s conference in San Diego. We clicked immediately. He lives in Canada, and I live in Southern California, so when the conference ended we vowed to stay in touch. Now nothing I write goes out or gets any kind of public viewing until he looks it over and we rewrite it together. Because we are different types of writers, it goes both ways. I don’t know what I would do without him.
What genre do you
normally write in? Also, is there a genre you've always wanted to write in, but
don't feel you could pull it off?
I love murder mysteries and thrillers. I love doing research and have accumulated a team of collaborators that help me insure the words and story ring true. For some reason I am fascinated by the darker side of life, the shadows and what drive humans do inhuman things. I’ve had people ask how I understand madness so well, and I just shrug. Maybe the capacity for darkness and depravity exist at the core of all of us. I tap into it and allow it to flow out of me.
I also write literary fiction. I do it under a different name and focus on the elements that make up classical American fiction. Because my father was raised in Alabama during the depression, I love to create stories that relate to that era and place. To dissect the style and elements of the classics and try and find my own voice in the purpose and the imagery that makes up that genre is wonderful. Symbolism and subtle characterization are almost lost in contemporary fiction these days. To embrace the voices of Faulkner and Steinbeck is a labor of love. Don’t get me wrong, I love the freedom that comes from modern writing but to paint a picture with prose and nostalgia is magical.
Do you ever base your characters on people you know?
Oh - all my characters are some sort of amalgamation of people I know. To write genuine characters, you must draw from real life. In REJECTION, I borrowed the looks of actor Denis Franz and the personality of a retired cop I know to create Lou Drake. Many of the other characters are people I know, have met, have watched or stalked. Yeah, they are all people from my life, and the ones that know who they are taking pride in that fact. One character in particular is in fiction as he is in life. Even down to the name. He brags to his friends about that.
What advice would you give to someone who was just starting off in writing?
Besides DON’T DO IT!!!!!! I’m only half kidding. Advice? If you are going to bother to do it, do it well. Step out of your comfort zone, open up your imagination, look into the abyss and embrace the horror. Do not take the easier softer way. 99% of the writers out there do just that, and the market is flooded with average, ordinary and tired old plots. Try something new, make it real and trust your instincts. If it feels scary and uncomfortable, then you are probably on to something.
Do your stories tend to have morals, or special messages, included within them?
My father once said that a story without a moral is an exercise in self-gratification. Bury it in irony, hide it with ambiguity, or lay it out for all to see, but make sure there is a message in your book. Many people that read REJECTION are taken aback by the ending. Some love it, some hate it and some don’t get it. But the message that drives the story from the beginning is there at the end. It is a culmination of the subtle satire and hidden angst that inspired the book in the first place. The ending makes some people uncomfortable because it steps outside the usual pat endings. There is an irony that finishes the story with the same attitude that permeates the whole story. I loved writing it.
This question was posed by a fellow author, and I loved it so much I decided to throw it into the mix ~
I love murder mysteries and thrillers. I love doing research and have accumulated a team of collaborators that help me insure the words and story ring true. For some reason I am fascinated by the darker side of life, the shadows and what drive humans do inhuman things. I’ve had people ask how I understand madness so well, and I just shrug. Maybe the capacity for darkness and depravity exist at the core of all of us. I tap into it and allow it to flow out of me.
I also write literary fiction. I do it under a different name and focus on the elements that make up classical American fiction. Because my father was raised in Alabama during the depression, I love to create stories that relate to that era and place. To dissect the style and elements of the classics and try and find my own voice in the purpose and the imagery that makes up that genre is wonderful. Symbolism and subtle characterization are almost lost in contemporary fiction these days. To embrace the voices of Faulkner and Steinbeck is a labor of love. Don’t get me wrong, I love the freedom that comes from modern writing but to paint a picture with prose and nostalgia is magical.
Do you ever base your characters on people you know?
Oh - all my characters are some sort of amalgamation of people I know. To write genuine characters, you must draw from real life. In REJECTION, I borrowed the looks of actor Denis Franz and the personality of a retired cop I know to create Lou Drake. Many of the other characters are people I know, have met, have watched or stalked. Yeah, they are all people from my life, and the ones that know who they are taking pride in that fact. One character in particular is in fiction as he is in life. Even down to the name. He brags to his friends about that.
What advice would you give to someone who was just starting off in writing?
Besides DON’T DO IT!!!!!! I’m only half kidding. Advice? If you are going to bother to do it, do it well. Step out of your comfort zone, open up your imagination, look into the abyss and embrace the horror. Do not take the easier softer way. 99% of the writers out there do just that, and the market is flooded with average, ordinary and tired old plots. Try something new, make it real and trust your instincts. If it feels scary and uncomfortable, then you are probably on to something.
Do your stories tend to have morals, or special messages, included within them?
My father once said that a story without a moral is an exercise in self-gratification. Bury it in irony, hide it with ambiguity, or lay it out for all to see, but make sure there is a message in your book. Many people that read REJECTION are taken aback by the ending. Some love it, some hate it and some don’t get it. But the message that drives the story from the beginning is there at the end. It is a culmination of the subtle satire and hidden angst that inspired the book in the first place. The ending makes some people uncomfortable because it steps outside the usual pat endings. There is an irony that finishes the story with the same attitude that permeates the whole story. I loved writing it.
This question was posed by a fellow author, and I loved it so much I decided to throw it into the mix ~
Oh no! One of your
characters has escaped. Luckily, I have caught them! I will interrogate them
with the help of a lie detector.
Welcome!Take a seat, make
yourself comfortable. You will be returning to your book once this is over.
What's your name, where are you from and what is your role in the book?
My name is Sandy Alexander, and I am the self-described leader of the Malcolm Village Idiot’s Literary Group in REJECTION. I am from New York, and I lived with an overbearing mother, had struggled with the publishing industry for years and had minor success years ago when my collection of short stories was published. Since then I have lived with hidden shame that I never had the courage to try again. My fear of rejection was so profound that it was easier to rest on my laurels, deriving a shallow satisfaction from knowing I once had a book on the shelves. In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king, and I am that one eyed man. My role in REJECTION is the one that sees Lou Drake, invites him into our group and then drives the plot by losing my grip on reality. I help the reader lose themselves in the plot and the action. There is a dark secret in my heart, and I am afraid if the world knows it the consequences could be dire. Can I go home now?
Tell us why we would enjoy reading your books?
My name is Sandy Alexander, and I am the self-described leader of the Malcolm Village Idiot’s Literary Group in REJECTION. I am from New York, and I lived with an overbearing mother, had struggled with the publishing industry for years and had minor success years ago when my collection of short stories was published. Since then I have lived with hidden shame that I never had the courage to try again. My fear of rejection was so profound that it was easier to rest on my laurels, deriving a shallow satisfaction from knowing I once had a book on the shelves. In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king, and I am that one eyed man. My role in REJECTION is the one that sees Lou Drake, invites him into our group and then drives the plot by losing my grip on reality. I help the reader lose themselves in the plot and the action. There is a dark secret in my heart, and I am afraid if the world knows it the consequences could be dire. Can I go home now?
Tell us why we would enjoy reading your books?
·
REJECTION takes a close,
honest look at the publishing industry and uses it as a backdrop to a vicious
mystery where an angry writer starts killing ineffective literary agents. Lou
Drake was once the pride of the NYPD detectives, until the high profile Hennings murder case goes terribly
wrong, nearly ending his career. Ten years later, fifty pounds heavier and
three months from retirement, Drake works patrol in the backwater borough of
Malcolm New York. He spends his idle time reading crime novels and writing one
of his own. When Drake breaks protocol on another brutal murder scene,
endangering his rookie partner, his captain demotes him to the booking cage.
But when another body is discovered, and both victims are identified as
struggling literary agents, the NYPD Chief of Detectives decides Lou's writing
experience could benefit the case and pairs him with his old partner one last
time. As they look for clues in the struggling publishing industry, Drake finds
himself thrust into the middle of a serial murder case where a methodical
perpetrator is systematically killing those who rejected him. Drake must revive
his old detective prowess and trust his writer's intuition to try and solve the
case, while possibly exposing the truth about the old Hennings investigation -
a secret that would expose a web of corruption that could shake the NYPD to its
core.
http://www.amazon.com/Rejection-Lou-Drake-Mystery-ebook/dp/B004NIFNZW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1337472951&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Rejection-Lou-Drake-Mystery-ebook/dp/B004NIFNZW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1337472951&sr=1-1
·
Lou Drake was once the pride of the NYPD detectives until the high
profile Hennings murder case goes terribly wrong, nearly ending his career. Ten
years later, fifty pounds heavier and three months from retirement, Drake works
patrol in the backwater borough of Malcolm New York. He spends his idl..
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