A Writer's Take...... Archives - Page 89 of 101 - Trisha Sugarek, Author, Playwright & Poet

Writers! Do You Know the Basics of good grammar?

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Are you like me? Even though I know it’s ‘its‘ that I want, my fingers type ‘it’s‘ when what I really meant was ‘its’. Just this morning I caught myself using ‘whose’ when what I really meant to say was ‘who’s’. Thank goodness for grammar check! It surprises me every time I see someone who doesn’t know the sometimes subtle differences between nouns, verbs, and adjectives and the infamous dangling participle. For writers who want to present themselves as professional this is the kiss of doom. Your reader will be jarred and thrown off ‘the cadence of reading’ by your goofy grammar. I loved this article and graphic offered by copyblogger.com. Really a good one to save!
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! Join us at the Writer’s Corner! I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . I have invited such luminaries as: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Robert McCammon, Caroline Leavitt, Sue Grafton, Karen Robards, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

To receive my posts sign up for my Go to the home page; On the right side you’ll see a box where you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

What makes a Good Writer? Pages of description or….?

Most of the authors that I have interviewed are avid readers like myself. We seem to all agree that is what makes us better writers. I was reading Caroline Leavitt’s, ‘Is This Tomorrow‘ and it struck me how very different our writing styles are. Caroline writes pages of beautiful, meaningful description with a few lines of dialogue. Much like Edna Ferber did.

My fiction has tons of dialogue (probably as a result of my being a playwright) and just enough description to set the time, location and who my characters are. I have to repeatedly check myself to make certain that I am giving my readers enough description.

Why am I telling you about this? I need to be sure that you realize that there is no WRONG way. If you tend to write in story telling form, a narrative, that’s great! If, like me, you write a lot of dialogue and let that method tell the reader what your characters are doing, what the weather is like, who just showed up at the house, who she/he is in love with, who died, (well, you get the idea). That’s okay too.

Aspire to write better every day….but don’t worry about your ‘style’, if it turns out that an author you really respect writes differently than you do. It’s a DIFFERENT style but that doesn’t mean that your writing style is wrong. Or that their writing is right. It’s just about style, and what we feel comfortable writing.

If you are more a descriptive writer be certain that you keep your paragraphs short. Don’t ramble on and on in one paragraph. The eye of the reader needs a rest. And double, triple check your grammar! Check out Thursday’s blog this week where there are some tips about that very subject.

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. This SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner” presents INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS!

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and plan on featuring an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name:: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Mark Childress, Robert McCammon, Rhys Bowen, Karen Robards, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Sue Grafton,Walter Mosley, Loretta Chase, Nora Roberts, Jeffrey Deaver and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is November’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year.
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To receive my posts sign up for my Go to the home page; On the right side you’ll see a box where you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

The birth of CSI …an Interview with Rhys Bowen (part 2)

I SAT DOWN WITH Rhys Bowen (wish that were true) and HERE IS PART II of my INTERVIEW WITH HER.

Catch up with Part I of this great interview!

Q. and the all important: What does the process of going from “no book” to “finished book” look like?

A. I write historical mystery series so I come to a new book knowing a lot about my main character, a lot about her background. So I am not starting from a blank canvas each time. I usually start from a setting, an environment. I know I’d like to send Molly to an enclosed convent in search of a missing baby. I have no idea what will happen there or who I will meet until I start to write it. My books always go in directions I hadn’t suspected. (sound familiar?)

Q. Where/when do you first discover your characters ?

A.With Molly Murphy I knew I wanted to write a feisty first person female who didn’t know when to shut up. With Lady Georgie I wanted to write the most unlikely sleuth I could think of—royal but penniless.

Q. What inspired your story/stories ?

A. The Molly books were conceived because I visited Ellis Island and was so emotionally overcome by what I saw and felt there, I just knew I had to set a story there. The Royal Spyness books started from wanting to write something fun and funny and about British aristocrats in the 30s.

Q. When is your next book coming out? (or) What are you working on?

A.March 5. It’s a Molly book, The Family Way. My next Royal Spyness book will be out on August 6, called Heirs and Graces. (reviewed here in August). I’m currently writing the 13th Molly book, called City of Darkness and Light. It takes place among painters in Paris.

Q. As a fan of your work I am currently reading “Royal Blood” (from the Royal Spyness series). What inspired the story line? Had you visited ‘Bran Castle’? Met royals? Attended a royal wedding, perhaps?

A. I wrote Royal Blood because vampire novels were suddenly so popular that I wanted to write a spoof on all things vampire. I haven’t visited Bran castle but I have been to plenty of similar castles in Germany, Austria, Czech Republic so I had a good feel for it.

I have met plenty of real royals… all English. I had tea with the current queen. I was presented to the queen mother. I met Princess Margaret and saw Queen Mary when she was very old but still so regal and stately. But alas, no royal weddings. I’d have liked to be at William and Kate’s.

Q. Have you? Or do you want to write in another genre`?

A. I suppose like all writers I’d like to write that one definitive literary novel.

Click here to read Part I of this interview
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A review of Bowen’s “Oh Danny Boy”, another Molly Murphy mystery.
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name:: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Karen Robards, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Caroline Leavitt, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is November’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year.
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A Review! ‘Oh Danny Boy’ by Rhys Bowen

Review Rating: 5/5 quills “OH DANNY BOY” by Rhys Bowen

The best way to read the Molly Murphy Mysteries is in order (which is what I am doing) so I can’t review a newly released book of Rhys yet. They are lined up on my bookshelf (not read yet) just waiting for me.

These books are set in New York City in the early 1900’s. Molly, fleeing Ireland and murder charges (she didn’t do it) finds herself in NYC with no friends and no family. The characters she meets, befriends, rescues, and loves are rich and interesting. And the best part is you find them in the following books.

‘Oh Danny Boy’ has several story threads and what I really enjoyed was witnessing the birth of CSI. (Crime Scene Investigation). Molly and her cohorts are just beginning to realize the significance of blood samples, hair comparisons, etc.

Rhys also introduces her readers to Sabella Goodwin, historically one of the first women to be in law enforcement in 1896 . Hired as a police matron, she supervised women after their arrest. Married to a policeman, she was given undercover assignments, after his death while on duty. Sabella proved to be so successful at these that she was promoted to detective by 1910.

I highly recommend the Molly Murphy mysteries. Click here to read a recent interview with this talented author! Part II is tomorrow, July 5th.
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

Interview * Rhys Bowen~~ New York City, A Brew of Immigrants and Mystery!

INTERVIEW *** WITH BEST SELLING AUTHOR, RHYS BOWEN

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing?

A.I have an office, set up to make everything go as smoothly as possible. Bookshelf behind my desk has all my research materials. On the walls are certificates for all my award nominations to inspire me when I get depressed. On my desk are silly toys to play with when I get bored.

Q. Do you have any special rituals when you sit down to write? (sharpened #2 pencils, legal pad, cup of tea, glass of brandy, favorite pajamas, etc.)

A. I write two books a year. I have to be a professional, sit down at my desk every morning and write although I do sometimes do it in my robe and pjs!

Q. What is your mode of writing? (long hand? Pencil? Computer? Etc.)

A. Oh goodness, I’d never manage two books a year if I wrote longhand, nor would I be able to read my own writing. The day computers were invented was the happiest day of my life.

Q. Do you have a set time each day to write or do you write only when you are feeling creative?

A.I go to my desk as soon as I’ve made a cup of tea, answer emails then start to write. I give myself a target of 5 pages a day and I write until I’ve done at least that much. Sometimes it’s more. Sometimes I’m done by mid morning.

Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing and for how long?

A. There have been mornings when I think “It must be eleven by now. I’d really like a cup of coffee and I look at my watch and it’s 2 p.m.

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

A. Right after college when I started working for the BBC in London. I started writing my own radio and TV plays.

Q. How long after that were you published?

A. The first play I took to the head of BBC drama was accepted and produced. I’ve been a professional writer ever since.

Biography. I’m the New York Times bestselling author of two historical mystery series: The Molly Murphy books are set in early 1900s New York City and the Royal Spyness books are about a minor royal in 1930s England. My books have won 13 awards to date, including Agatha and Anthony. I was born and raised in Britain but have lived in California for most of my adult life. Now I divide my time between California and Arizona (where I go to escape those brutal California winters). http://rhysbowen.com/
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Don’t miss Part II of this wonderful interview and get a look into this writer’s world! Friday, July 5th
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Start your month off right!! DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month .These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: : Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Karen Robards, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Caroline Leavitt, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

Interview with Bestselling Author, Rhys Bowen !

DON’T MISS IT!!

This month’s Interview is with mystery writer, Rhys Bowen. Don’t Miss It!

starting Tuesday, July 2nd and July 4th

Coming in August: A REVEIW of Bowen’s new release, “Heirs and Graces”

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Start your month off right!! DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month .These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: : Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Karen Robards, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Caroline Leavitt, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is November’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year.
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Review…Trisha Sugarek’s “Song of the Yukon”

MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW ~~ ‘Song of the Yukon is a powerful historical novel that opens in the Yukon in 1923 where LaVerne’s new cabin is being erected by a team of helpful neighbors and friends, and tells of one strong woman’s long-held dream of homesteading and how the Homestead Act led her to build a new home, sweetened by her discovery of gold on her property.

In the next instant readers are transported to 1921 Washington State, where LaVerne shares a single room with her sisters in a crowded farmhouse and longs for something different in her future. It is here that her dream of a better life in Alaska evolves: an uncrowded life offering opportunities to ‘rule and obey’, and plenty of space.

Song of the Yukon begins with this dream and works outward as it follows LaVerne’s efforts to hone and realize her desires upon discovering that the Alaskan frontier offers her a unique opportunity to “…chase your dreams there, be whoever you want to be…no one telling you what to do and what not to do…”

From boat rides on the Yukon River to encounters with native tribes to filing homestead papers and working the land, LaVerne uses newfound frontier wisdom as a basis for expanding both her music and her perceptions: “No man owns what Mother Spirit does not freely give.” Joe replied. What a charming folk tale, LaVerne thought. And Joe seems to believe it. I could use the story in one of my songs.”

It is here she encounters her first real friend and learns the realities of frontier life and homesteading: experiences that will shape her life, help her create music, and lead her in directions no woman has explored before.

But Sugarek in her third novel, Song of the Yukon, covers more than music growth, more than homesteading in the wilderness, and even more than testing one’s abilities against a foreign environment. Most of all, it’s about one woman’s determination to achieve her dream against any odds – and it provides readers with not only a solid background in frontier experiences, but a sense of self and accomplishment that heroine LaVerne learns through hard experience.

It is a commanding saga recommended for a range of readers. Thank you for the opportunity to look at your fine title! ~~ Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review ~~

Tip: You can find legitimate book reviewers to review your book BEFORE you publish. This is important because then you can use a tag from the review on the front or back cover. Example: “….A commanding saga…” Midwest Book Review. I know you’ve seen these tags on book covers and they are powerful marketing tools.
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Estimated release date Fall, 2013. Look for it wherever you buy your books and here in my bookstore!
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Start your month off right!! DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name:: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Karen Robards, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Caroline Leavitt, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Mark Childress is our April author. Robert McCammon is scheduled for May. Caroline Leavitt is June‘s author. July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ‘Mouse’ Will Never Catch On!

I still remember the exact time and place that I saw my first ‘mouse’.

We had been using computers in the office for several years, mostly for word processing. It was the year 1985 and one of my employers (the younger, hip one) invited everyone into his private office to see ‘the latest computer’ he had just purchased. We gathered around and he went on to explain how ‘THE MOUSE’ worked. The older, more wise partner/employer shook his head as if to say, ‘what’s he gonna waste money on next?‘

(Definition: In computing, a mouse is a pointing device that functions by detecting two-dimensional motion relative to its supporting surface. Physically, a mouse consists of an object held under one of the user’s hands, with one or more buttons.
History: The second marketed version of an integrated mouse shipped as a part of a computer and intended for personal computer navigation came with the Xerox 8010 Star Information System in 1981. However, the mouse remained relatively obscure until the 1984 appearance of the Macintosh 128K, which included an updated version of the original Lisa Mouse. In 1982, Microsoft made the decision to make the MS-DOS program Microsoft Word mouse-compatible and developed the first PC-compatible mouse. Microsoft’s mouse shipped in 1983, thus beginning Microsoft Hardware in 1984)

Until that moment we used the keyboard to navigate everywhere and I wondered why anyone would want to use the ‘mouse’. Your hand would have to leave the keyboard, back and forth, back and forth; what a waste of time. And it would shoot my typist skills of 80-90 wpm all to hell! THIS WILL NEVER CATCH ON!

Now today, in the year 2013, I looked down and saw my mouse in a brand new light. My mouse still has its tail and still looks like its namesake. But a cooler, racier version, black with two racing strips down its back. And I smile because although we are in a highly evolved technological era (the Internet, surfing the Web, Cyberspace, call it what you will. I call it Fabulous!) we still call this tool, a ‘mouse‘.

Why isn’t it called a handheld techno-directional finder (HTDF) or some such acronym? But no. It is still the humble ‘mouse‘; most times these days, without its tail. Which then reminded me of the three blind mice and the butcher’s knife!

Funny thing this: when I looked for images (for this post) of ‘the mouse’ there were an equal number in images of the rodent and the HTDF!
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! Join us at the Writer’s Corner!
I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Robert McCammon, Caroline Leavitt, Sue Grafton, Karen Robards, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Caroline Leavitt is June‘s author. July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Inspiration Mixed with Research = New Novel! (part 2)

I am taking a small break this morning from writing. I have written 37,000 (of 75,000) words of my new novel, “Song of the Yukon”. One of the Guyer sisters, LaVerne, has run away to Alaska to write her music. (far left in photo) This novel was inspired by the true story of my auntie living in Alaska and the poetry of Robert Service. By the way, have you read anything by him? It’s worth it, I promise!

I wanted to talk about research for a moment. Just fifteen years ago research for this book (set in the 1920’s in Alaska) would have meant hours and hours in the library and a mountain of reference books. NOW?!!??

It’s just two clicks of the mouse and I can find anything I need on line. How long to sail from Seattle to Anchorage in 1922? Was there rail service to Fairbanks in the 20’s? Was there river travel from Fairbanks to Tanana where my story will take place? What was the name of the trading post in Fairbanks back then? AMAZING!!!

I have even been able to research the languages of the Upper and Lower Tanana native Alaskan.

Then I got a bright idea! My heroine is writing music, right? So the very least I should do is have some of her lyrics in my story. I am not a musician other than singing in the shower. So I called on my dear friend, Ben Rafuse, who is a professionally, trained pianist and composer. He is collaborating, with me, on the music that LaVerne writes and with luck, we will end by publishing the sheet music for Ben’s original songs in the back of the book and even offer a download. I’ve mentioned before how much I love to collaborate with others.

So, if you can’t reach me…..it’s because I’m deep in the wilds of the Yukon….at least on the inside!
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NOW Available! My new novel, “Wild Violets” for sale here and on www.amazon.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! Join us at the Writer’s Corner! I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Robert McCammon, Caroline Leavitt, Sue Grafton, Karen Robards, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Caroline Leavitt is June‘s author. July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Later this year we will feature Andrew Grant and Karen Robards.
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‘You Have to Lay Down like an Animal Until it Charges….’

I had not worked on my novel for several days and I was getting itchy. I have learned that it’s okay…not to write. I have several good ideas rattling around in the attic and I am reading voraciously and writing my blog. It’s a recurring theme, from me to my readers, about not forcing it, not to beat yourself up because it is not coming.

Yesterday was my birthday and I spent it with the man in my life….poet, Charles ‘Hank’ Bukowski. God! I love that man! And the best thing about having an imaginary playmate is that they always agree with you. LOL He wrote this beautiful metaphor about laying down and waiting for the inspiration and creativity to come to you.

And you know what? This can apply to how you live your life too. Don’t push it! Wait! Be patient and good things will come.

in the center of the action
by Charles Bukowski

you have to lay down like an animal
until it charges, you
have to lay down
in the center of the action

lay down and wait until it charges then you
must get up
face it, get
it before it gets you

the whole process is more
shy than
vulnerable so

lay down and wait sometimes it’s
ten minutes sometimes it’s years sometimes it
never arrives but you can’t rush it push it
there’s no way to cheat or get a
jump on it you have to

lay down
lay down and wait like
an animal.
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Start your month off right!! DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Caroline Leavitt, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Caroline Leavitt is June‘s author. July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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