Best Sellers Archives - Page 18 of 20 - Trisha Sugarek, Author, Playwright & Poet

Interview with Dinah Jefferies, Part II

TS. Dinah sits in one of the far-flung places that inspires her storytelling.

Q. Please tell about your fascinating life and the countries that you have lived in.

DJ. As I said I was born in Malaysia and have lived in England, Italy, Spain and, briefly, France. For my books I have travelled to Sri Lanka, Vietnam and India on research trips. I have another research trip coming up soon. Before I was a writer I was a painter which is why my novels are so visual.

Q. Do you have a new book coming out soon? If so tell us about it.

DJ. Before The Rains (1930) is set in a Princely state in Rajasthan, India. So it’s an epic love story between my main character, Eliza, a 29 year old widow and photo-journalist, and an Indian prince called Jay. She has been sent to Rajasthan to produce a visual record of life there over the course of a year. They come together when they attempt to do something to alleviate poverty, but the book also explores the differing attitude to women, especially widows. Not everyone approves of them being together and eventually they have to make a choice between following their hearts and doing what’s expected.

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

DJ. I began to write eight years ago and have written seriously ever since.

Q. How long after that were you published?

DJ. Four or five years.

Q. What makes a writer great?

DJ. If I knew that I’d be able to make a lot of money teaching people. There are a lot of reasons and it really depends on what you’re looking for. I like an original setting, a fascinating story and characters I can care about.

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

DJ. It looks like a lot of work: writing the first draft, followed by a great deal of editing and then a wait as you head towards publication. There’s nothing like holding the finished book in your hands and at that moment all the struggle feels worthwhile.

Q. How has your life experiences influenced your writing?

DJ. My life experiences have provided the themes of my novels. Loss, identity and so on. Is there any way your life experiences don’t influence your writing?

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

DJ. Not at the moment, but you never know.

Q. Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know?

DJ. By the time Before The Rains comes out in the UK it will be my fourth published book and I am currently writing the fifth. My second, The Tea Planter’s Wife, now out in the US, was a Sunday Times number 1 bestseller in the UK and has been published in 24 territories.
Click here to read Part I of this Interview
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MY BLOGS feature INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! Did you miss the past few months? October Author, Lisa Jackson. November was best selling author, Grace Burrowes and in December, Reed Farrel Coleman, contributing writer for Robert B. Parker series

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Interview with Best Selling author, Dinah Jefferies

TS: I discovered Dinah recently in my routine search for authors I might enjoy reading. What a treasure! My favorite genre’ , a good story based in historic fact. She is currently research and writing her next book so, understandably, her answers are short and sweet!

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing? (please provide a photo/s of your shed, room, closet, barn….) Or tell us about your ‘dream’ work space.

DJ. I have recently had a garden room built and that’s where I do my reading, writing and where I have an exercise bike. I have no photos of the room yet but it’s very peaceful and I have music at hand whenever I feel like it. It feels like a little oasis that’s just for me.

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

DJ. A cup of coffee and my latest notes on the left of my keyboard and if the room is warm enough, then I’m ready. I don’t do any social media when I’m writing. If the room is cold I get on my exercise bike to warm up.

Q. Could you tell us something about yourself that we might not already know?

DJ. When I first came to live in England it didn’t feel like home. I was born and brought up for the first nine years of my life in British Malaya and saw that as my home, so I was what they call a Third Culture Kid. Not quite one, not quite the other and it left me with a feeling of not properly fitting in.

Q. Do you have a set time each day (or night) to write?

DJ. I write in the mornings and use the afternoons for editing, reading, taking the dog for a walk and any household chores that need doing.

Q. What’s your best advice to other writers for overcoming procrastination?

DJ. You overcome procrastination by sitting down and getting on with it. You make a choice. You work or you don’t.

Q. Where/when do you first discover your characters? Before or after the idea of a story?

DJ. They begin to pop into my head at the research stage. As I read about a place and a time I begin to think about the type of people who might have been there at the time and the kind of story I want to write.

Q. What first inspired you to write your stories?

DJ. Having time on my hands. We were living in a tiny medieval village in Andalusia, Spain and once the restoration of our house was complete I began. Writing a novel is very labour intensive.

Q. What comes first to you? The Characters or the Situation?

DJ. The place comes first and then the characters and the situation arise simultaneously.

Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing?

DJ. Absolutely, especially when it’s going well and I’m in the ‘zone’. When I’m struggling it’s much harder, but I try to keep going anyway. You can’t edit a blank page.

Part two will appear January 28th. Don’t Miss it!
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Interview (conclusion) with Reed Farrel Coleman

Reed Farrel Coleman’s love of storytelling originated on the streets of Brooklyn and was nurtured by his teachers, friends, and family.

A New York Times bestseller called a hard-boiled poet by NPR and the “noir poet laureate” in the Huffington Post, Reed is the author of novels, including Robert B. Parker’s Jesse Stone series, the acclaimed Moe Prager series, short stories, and poetry. Reed is a three-time Edgar Award nominee. http://reedcoleman.com/video/

Q. Do you believe in muses? Who or what is your “Muse” at the moment?

A. I think a “muse” is a cute concept, but I’m a professional. This is my job. Lawyers don’t need a muse. Cops don’t need a muse. I don’t need a muse. I need a contract. (Feels as though I’m interviewing Jesse Stone, right?)

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

A. When I was 13 years old. I have always taken writing seriously. But I quite my career in 1987 to devote myself to writing. I gave up $40,000 per year, a company car, an expense account and trips to Europe. I guess you could say I was pretty serious about writing.

Q. How long after that were you published?

A. Three years.

Q. What makes a writer great?

A. When I find out I’ll tell you. I know great writing when I see it in the same way I know a great pianist or great painter, but defining one is an elusive task.

Q. You have kept Robert Parker’s Jesse Stone series alive for all of his fans. What’s the secret to writing in another voice? You do it flawlessly.

A. The secret for me is that I don’t write in Bob Parker’s voice. I stay true to his characters and to the form of the Jesse Stone novels, but it would be impossible for me to imitate Bob. When I first got the gig, I spoke to Ace Atkins (Spenser) and to my friend Tom Schreck (Duffy Dumbrowsky series). They both gave me great advice, but it was something Tom—a huge Elvis Presley fan, said to me that made a light go off in my head. He said that he had seen the very best Elvis impersonators in the world, but that they were trapped because the audience could never escape the fact that it was an imitation. And there was something that they could never do, something new. When he said that to me, I knew I wouldn’t try to imitate Bob.

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

A. Funny, I don’t think about that much. 26 published books in, it’s not even a question for me. As long as I have a strong idea in mind that I think will sustain the novel, I just assume I’m capable of making it happen. I never outline, so it’s just the belief in my ability that drives me.

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

A. In the mirror. Dylan Klein, my first series character, was very much an extension of me.

Q. What inspired your story/stories?

A. What doesn’t? Everything inspires me. An overheard bit of conversation, a newspaper story, a TV show, a situation in a friend’s life, a book …

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

A. I write poetry. I’ve written some sci fi stories. I’ll basically write anything.

Q. Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know?

A. That I appreciate them and owe a lot to them.

Did miss Part I with Reed?

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My BLOGS feature INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! October Author, Lisa Jackson. November will be best selling author, Grace Burrowes and in December, Reed Farrel Coleman, contributing writer for Robert B. Parker series

Check out Motivational Moments…for Writers!

To receive my posts sign up for my On the home page, enter your email address. Thanks!

Interview with Writer, Reed Farrel Coleman

Keeping Robert B. Parker’s characters alive! An Interview with Reed Farrel Coleman

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing? Or tell us about your ‘dream’ work space.

A. I have an office in my home with custom-built bookshelves, mementos, awards, posters, etc. It’s the only place I truly feel comfortable writing in, but because I’m committed to two books a year, I have had to learn to write on the road, in airports, and hotel rooms.

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

A. It’s all a ritual and it begins with coffee, the paper, doing the crossword puzzle. Then it’s downstairs to my office. I answer my emails and devote 15 minutes max to Facebook. I need absolute silence to write. No music, no noise at all.

Q. Could you tell us something about yourself that we might not already know?

A. Hard for me to know what you don’t know about me. But here are a few things: I watched someone die of a gunshot wound right in front of me when I was 15 years old, I watched General Hospital for 30 years, and I worked in the cargo area at Kennedy airport for 5 years with the cast of Goodfellas.

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

A. My most productive time is 7-10:30 in the morning, but I can do work and editing throughout the day.

Q. What’s your best advice to other writers for overcoming procrastination?

A. Procrastination is death for your career. A writer is only a writer when he or she is writing. Thinking isn’t writing, research isn’t writing, doing anything other than writing isn’t writing. Either give yourself a page or word goal for the day. Meet it and feel good about yourself. Don’t meet it and feel guilty or disappointed. It should be like working out. When you miss a day, you feel bad about it.

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

A. Absolutely. Time vanishes. Sometimes it’s minutes, but hours have passed for me when I’m in the groove.

Part Two of this fascinating Interview : December 19th

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Interview ~~ Grace Burrowes, Author (conclusion)

Q. As a fan, I noticed that you are published by a traditional publisher and have self-published some of your romances as well. Can you give other writers some tips about that?

GB. I’m actually onto my second trade house. I started with Sourcebooks and now write for Grand Central/Forever, in addition to my indie titles. I hesitated to indie publish because I’d heard it was, “so much work,” and all I wanted to do was write. I just kept feeding manuscripts down the trad pub chute, and I kick myself for that. Good career decisions are made based on good information, and “everybody says,” is not as useful what I say about my own experiences. I find trad pubbing a lot of work, in part because I don’t control the schedule, I don’t control development of the cover and meta data, I don’t control pricing or PR. I’m at the mercy of the trad house’s schedule, process, and agenda, and to some extent, their editorial preferences.

With indie publishing, there’s start up effort—setting up accounts, and rounding up a team to do editing, proofreading, covers, and virtual assistance. The reward though, in terms of creative, scheduling, editorial and financial control is enormous. I’m very fortunate to have worked with trad houses who are supportive of hybrid authors, but then, I couldn’t see signing a contract with a house that wasn’t.

Q. What makes a writer great?

GB. The people whose company I treasure most work hard at being kind and telling the truth (both). They laugh a lot, love ferociously, listen respectfully, and take risks in the name of love. Great writing touches the heart and makes a lasting impression. As for a great writer… I’ll have to think on this. Generosity of spirit and humility come to mind, but so do passion and fierce, unapologetic ability.

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

GB. I wake up one morning and roll around in bed waiting for a thought to coalesce that I can build a scene on. Could be a line of dialogue, could be a letter, could be a guy grousing to his horse about the burdens of bachelorhood. When I get something that leans toward dialogue or an opening hook (or I have to pee), I get out of bed and turn on the computer.

A scene emerges, and in that scene, I find a character, usually the hero of a romance novel. He has Troubles. I lurk in his hedges and ride pillion behind him, and scribble down any scenes he’ll give me. He also has a heroine intent on her own story, and she gets the same treatment from me. I haunt my characters until I can pry a story loose from them.

I write the opening scenes and the meet, launch the character arcs, introduce a few secondary characters, and then the begging begins. I crawl around on all fours, searching, searching, for an external conflict. To quote the brilliant and humble Joanna Bourne, “Liking, attraction, and respect pull them together. Something real, substantial, and interesting must push them apart.”

If the universe is kind, the external conflict reveals itself in a flash of insight—the universe is seldom kind. I impose on friends, I talk to myself, I toss away scenes, I mutter profanities and plan trips to Scotland, and eventually, I will see the tail of an external conflict peeking out at me from under a pile of clean laundry.

By then, I’ve often gotten a handle on the main characters’ defining traumas, and that sheds light on how to write the big black moment.

Creating a rough draft usually takes from eight to ten weeks, and then it’s on to polishing, polishing, polishing. I’m awful about talking heads/white room syndrome, echoes, oh, my sins are legion…. At some point, the manuscript has to go into cold storage while I work on other stuff, then it gets another buffing and goes into production.

I try to keep at least two, more often three projects going at once, so that if any one of them needs a rest, I can forge ahead on the others. I am happier working like this, and it seems to result in the most progress overall.

Q. How have your life experiences influenced your writing?

GB. That’s a big question. My life experiences include being the sixth out of seven children in an academic family. I had to learn to use words early and well if I wanted to be noticed. I also had to learn to entertain myself, hence books and imaginative play. I’m a child welfare attorney, single mom, horse girl, animal lover, former musician, and I have a master’s degree in conflict transformation. It all goes in the pot, as does my belief in the power of loving and being loved.

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

GB. I’m toying with a historical mystery series, mostly because I love to read them.

Q. Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know?

G.B. One of the quotes I keep handy, because our business can be very unfair and daunting, is from Stephen King: “If you can do it for joy, you can do it forever.” Words to write by!
Did you miss Part I, II of this wonderful Interview? Click here
http://graceburrowes.com/
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Crowned and Dangerous by Rhys Bowen ~~ A Review

5 out of 5 quills ~~ A Review ~~ Crowned and Dangerous

Being a rabid fan of Rhys Bowen’s books, I particularly look forward to the characters that return in every one of the Royal Spyness Mysteries. Queenie, the burdensome and hilarious maid who is worthless as a lady’s maid but is all our heroine, Georgiana, can afford. Georgie is the King’s cousin and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and is broke. She can’t seek employment as a normal single young woman would be able to do…but has to limit herself to jobs that the royal family would approve of. Slim pickings for a royal who has limited skills.

Then there is Binky, Georgiana’s brother (who doesn’t have a clue) and his parsimonious wife, Fig who would welcome the day that Georgiana disappeared from their lives for good. Also the on-going romance between ‘Georgie’ and Darcy. Their anticipated wedding has two strikes against it already; Darcy is a Catholic and Georgie is Church of England which means the royal family would frown on the marriage. They would have to obtain special permission from the King to wed. Enter Prince Edward and Wallis Simpson. These stories are just loaded with delicious characters.

Mixed in with all of this is a darn good mystery. This time the story is set in Ireland (one of my favorite places) where Lord Kilhenny, (Darcy’s father) has been arrested for murder! In the 30’s, when these stories take place, reputation and status is everything. Given that Darcy is now potentially the ‘son of a murderer’, he has broken his engagement to Georgie and cut all ties.

You’ll have to read this delightful mystery to find out who killed the crass American and if Darcy and Georgie get back together. Rhys weaves terrific stories and you won’t be disappointed by this latest offering. http://rhysbowen.com/

Did you miss my Interview with Rhys Bowen?
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Grace Burrowes, best selling author ~~ Interview (part 2)

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

GB. If I’m lucky, I hear them. I hear them grousing about their life situation, or wishing on a star. What I’m after with a character is an understanding of their defining trauma or wound (neglect can hurt like heck without qualifying as a trauma, though it IS a trauma), because then I know how to build them that cave they most fear to enter, wherein their treasure will lie. When a book is really singing to me, I’m usually writing about one of my defining traumas, though I often don’t realize that until the manuscript is done and edited.

My brother Dick once gave me some great advice for how to build a character arc: Make the character choose between the competing demands of honor. The lady or the tiger is interesting, because either door leads to death for the person choosing, but add dishonor to those stakes, and you have the makings of quite a yarn.

Q. What first inspired you to write your stories?

GB. I have always loved to write, even before I could write cursive. I’ve also always loved to read, and romance novels, which are a lot more complicated than they look (when done right), were my fiction of choice. In the courtroom I see a lot of miserable-ever-after endings, and that creates a need for somewhere that I can make life happily-ever-after. When my daughter moved out, I had time, emotional breathing room, and an unsatisfied creative urge all coming together. The books blossomed, and I feel like I’ve found the thing I love to do so much, I lose track of time and self when I’m doing it.

Q. What comes first to you? The Characters or the Situation? Continue reading “Grace Burrowes, best selling author ~~ Interview (part 2)”

Interview with Best Selling Author, Grace Burrowes (part 1)

TS. Grace Burrowes is in my top three favorite historical romance writers. Great plots, well developed characters and humor! She granted this interview and I am thrilled. The glimpse into her writing world is unique and fascinating!

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing? Or tell us about your ‘dream’ work space.

GB. I write at my kitchen table, though I don’t take meals there. The set up is me in the writing chair, a cat in my lap, or two cats curled up on the heated throw that covers the left end of the table. Writer dawg is at my feet, and I use a remote keyboard, so my laptop screen can sit at the ergonomically ideal height. This is bliss, to write with my four-footed buddies around, amid the peace and quiet of my nest.

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

GB. I start the day with one cup of jasmine green tea, with agave nectar and table cream—more bliss! I try to end a writing sessions with some trailers, or in the middle of a sentence, so my fingers will have something to do when I next put them on the keyboard. I also end the day reading over whatever I wrote that day, and when I get up, I set the alarm at least 30 minutes early, so I can stay in bed, drifting on the alpha waves and letting my imagination nosh on the book. This is a lovely way to ease into the day, and usually means I start a writing session with some creative compression. A line of dialogue, a symbolic detail of setting, something will get me out of bed and down to the computer.

Q. Could you tell us something about yourself that we might not already know?

GB. The older I get, the happier I am—and the more passionate. I didn’t see this coming. Continue reading “Interview with Best Selling Author, Grace Burrowes (part 1)”

Interview (part 2) with internationally known author, Lisa Jackson

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

LJ. I write from a synopsis, so I’ve met them before I actually write the book, but I don’t really know them until about 150 pages in, so, of course, I have to go back to page one. They surprise me and new ones tend to pop up as I write the real book, but I don’t know them until well into the writing. They are unique unto themselves and I don’t pattern them off of people I know per se.

Q. What first inspired you to write your stories?

LJ. Sister Nan saw an article in Time magazine in 1980. The article was about young mothers making their fortunes writing romance novels. She thought we could do it. I had read the same article but had dismissed it as both Nancy and I, like our parents before us, were mystery buffs. We’d never even read a contemporary romance novel. But, after my first arguments, I sat back and thought, “Why not?” I was broke, broke, broke at the time with two little kids. Who was I to say “no.” So, we gave it a whirl and eventually found our footing, both publishing at Silhouette Books.

Q. What comes first to you? The Characters or the Situation?

LJ. It depends. I need the situation, of course, the crisis, then the characters come to the story. I’m usually inspired by what I find as a unique predicament for the characters.

Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing? Continue reading “Interview (part 2) with internationally known author, Lisa Jackson”

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