An Interview with Author, Matt Jorgenson

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAMatt Jorgenson – the author of Extraordinary Ostriches, Possible Particles and the Bifurcated Homunculus, The Hermaphroditic Shaman and the Missing Bottle of Ketchup, and Coagulation – A Clot of Stories.  The titles alone should intrigue any reader but what really fascinated this blogger  was that Matt has hung canvas on his wall, at home, so visitors can express their artistic bent while there.

Q.  Matt, where do you write?

MJ. I do the bulk of my writing at home with my laptop. There’s a chair in the den/dining room I use when settling in for a long session. There’s a pub table in the kitchen I switch to when I’m on a roll and family obligations need to be juggled. It’s good to switch back and forth between the two as it’s easy to stand up and work at the pub table. I do little isometric exercises to stave off the aches and pains of prolonged sitting and get my blood pumping. When traveling or trying to break through a tough plot point I will break out a legal pad and a pen and write long hand. Cars, hotels, the basements of extended family members, and bars are some of my favorite places for this approach.

Q. Do you have any special rituals when you sit down to write?

MJ. Big glass of ice water. Hot coffee. Wordless music, typically EDM or House. Since I tend to write fast-paced, intense stories I find that a high level of beats-per-minute in the ambient music Continue reading “An Interview with Author, Matt Jorgenson”

A Chat with Author, Julia London (part 2)

working on the train
working on the train

TS.  My kind of interview…one sprinkled with terrific tongue-in-cheek humor.

Q. Who is your muse at the moment?

JL. My muse is a sloven blob, and she wants to eat chocolate and float in the pool and watch Real Housewives of Name Your City. She’s not much help, to be honest. I kick her out, and then she lurks around the windows, peering in, shouting things I can’t really hear. But every once in awhile, she comes up with a gem. Just every once in awhile. For the most part, she does not earn her keep around here.

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

JL. I have always written. I have had many jobs that required good, technical writing skills. But somewhere along the way I was bored with my jobs in public administration. I had never aspired to be a fiction writer, but one day I picked up an Iris Johansen book at a garage sale. I really love historical fiction at the time. I didn’t recognize the book as a romance because I never read with any eye toward genre. I just read books that appealed to me and never thought about their category. The Johansen book really appealed to me because of the guy on the back cover, LOL. It was a great read, and an easy read after a stressful day at work. I read more books like the Iris Johansen book, and I began to think I could actually do this. Turns out, I could.

Q. How long after that were you published?

JL. Very quickly. I wrote a book and learned how to construct a novel, how to build an arc of a story into it. So then I wrote a shorter, better one, which became my first book, The Devil’s Love. I was extremely lucky that the first book I wrote and sent to an agent caught her eye. Continue reading “A Chat with Author, Julia London (part 2)”

Interview with Grant Blackwood, writing for Tom Clancy

While I was reading and reviewing Under Fire by Grant Blackwood (Tom Clancy) my burning question was:  ‘how do you write so well that we believe the iconic Tom Clancy is really the one putting pen to paper?’  These authors who write after the death of a beloved writer, like Ludlum, Parker, Fleming or Clancy, are really talented.  To be able to put their own unique ‘voice’ on the shelf and write so successfully for another author?  It boggles this writer’s mind!

Grant at work on his latest vampire/romance/thriller joined by his two consultants.”
Grant at work on his latest vampire/romance/thriller joined by his two consultants.”

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.

A. I have an office in our house. As we’ve recently moved, I’m still in the process of getting things decorated. That said, here’s the view I have when I work in the morning…The wall behind my computer is intentionally barren; when I’m writing Continue reading “Interview with Grant Blackwood, writing for Tom Clancy”

‘Blue Prints’…A Review

reviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writing  REVIEW  5 out  of 5 Quills     ‘Blueprints’ by Barbara Delinsky

Everyone across America loves the ‘how to’ TV shows.  How to flip it, how to gut it, how to cook it, how to not be the worst cook, how to lay tile, how to create curb appeal, how to love it or list it….there is something for everyone.

‘Blue Prints’ by Barbara Delinsky, will take you ‘back stage’ to experience all the intrigue, the politics, theBlue Prints by Delinsky back stabbing of a popular. home improvement reality show.   The joy of her writing is she quickly tells about the many characters and before we turn too many pages, we care about all of them and are rooting for them. Continue reading “‘Blue Prints’…A Review”

All The Single Ladies…a Review

reviews, authors, writing reviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writing reviews, authors, writing(5 out of 5 quills)     A Review  All the Single Ladies by Dorothea Benton Frank

I turned the last page with a hearty, well satisfied (but somewhat regretful) sigh, last night.  I think the ultimate compliment to a writer is when a reader says, ‘I didn’t want it to end‘.  And that’s how I truly felt having to leave best friends, Lisa, Suzanne, Carrie, and Miss Trudie. All the Single Ladies

Any woman over (oh, let’s say) forty years of age will really relate to these middle aged women.  They have had their failures and triumphs; they are now knocking along as best they can, having learned the hard way that nothing in life is guaranteed or forever. They come together initially to champion the memory of a friend… Continue reading “All The Single Ladies…a Review”

Interview with Author, Dorothea Benton Frank (part 2)

Dotty.head.shot

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

A. Procrastination is unprofessional and a heinous habit…. A good strong reliable work ethic is what will make your publisher think of you as a worthy partner. If you are not a self starter or you cannot find it in yourself to show up for work on your own and deliver on time you should not pursue a writing career.

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

A. Yes. Unfortunately it never lasts long enough.

Q. Who or what is your “Muse” at the moment ?

A. Always the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

A. When my mother died. I was forty-three.

Q. How long after that were you published?

A. Six years later in 2000.

Q. What makes a writer great? Continue reading “Interview with Author, Dorothea Benton Frank (part 2)”

Interview with Dorothea Benton Frank * Blockbuster best Selling author

Long before I moved to Savannah which is just a hop and skip down the road from Dorothea’s ‘low country’ I was reading her extraordinary stories of women in the south.   This author draws you in, seduces you with her heroines’ triumphs and challenges that any woman can relate to.  That’s why I was particularly pleased and honored when she granted me this interview. 

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 write in my office in my home in NJ or in my office in my home in SC. My dream work space would be to occupy my little office in SC full time. This cruelty of this past winter’s plummeting temps, deep snow and black ice has cured me of any desire I may have had to remain in NJ. It’s not that I have anything against NJ. I have had many wonderful years here. It’s that I’m trapped indoors for months. But check back with me in a few years when I finally do reside in SC and hurricanes have me Continue reading “Interview with Dorothea Benton Frank * Blockbuster best Selling author”

Interview with Best selling Author, Barbara Taylor Bradford

author, Barbara Taylor BradfordA long time favorite author of mine, it’s such a delight to get an interview with Barbara Taylor Bradford!

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

A. I have an office in my apartment, which is really a converted bedroom. It’s got a cream colored sofa, a glass coffee table, several bookshelves lined with my published novels, and two desks. The first desk has a computer on it for my research. The second has an IBM typewriter, which is still what I prefer to use when writing my books.

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.) Continue reading “Interview with Best selling Author, Barbara Taylor Bradford”

Jodi Thomas…my Interview with best selling author (part 2)

Don’t miss Part I of this Interview!   Jodi is a masterful story teller.  I am a huge fan and love to sit down with her wonderful books!

Jodi Thomas InterviewQ. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing and for how long?

A. Of course. Harmony is as real to me as any town I’ve ever lived in. I lose sleep worrying about my characters.
 My sons are afraid I’ll name one of my characters in the will.

Q. Who or what is your “Muse” at the moment ?

A. Right now I’m writing about ranches and canyons. I’m loving going out to a friend’s ranch and driving around.

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

A. When I was 35. I realized in five years I’d be 40 and I wanted to be a writer, but I’d never really worked at it. I turned 40 at an autograph party for my first book.  There is no big secret to being a writer. A WRITER WRITES. If you want to be a writer then write. Keep a long. I do. Somedays I only get one page done, but I’m moving forward.

Q. What makes a writer great? Continue reading “Jodi Thomas…my Interview with best selling author (part 2)”

Death in a Dacron Sail by N.A. Granger…A Review

reviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writing  Five out of 5 quills (ranking)  A Review ** ‘Death in a Dacron Sail’Noelle.Scan

It was a real pleasure to discover a new author….well, actually she found me..and we’ve become friends.  But our friendship doesn’t stand in the way of an honest review and telling my readers how much I enjoyed this story.  N.A. Granger is a crisp and clean writer.  In her second book she takes her readers to the coast of Maine where little girls are turning up missing and then found dead; the latest wrapped in a Dacron sail and washed ashore.

My dear readers know that I differ from other reviewers…. Continue reading “Death in a Dacron Sail by N.A. Granger…A Review”