Tag: best selling authors

‘General Noggin and I Really want to play Basketball, Boss Mom!’ An Interview with author, Cathy Lamb

best sellers, books, fiction, Cathy Lamb
Photo by Marv Bondarowicz

An Interview with best-selling  author, Cathy Lamb  (Part 1 of 3)

    CL:   ‘ I became a teacher because I wanted to become a writer.  It was difficult for me to become proper and conservative but I threw out my red cowboy boots and persevered. I had no choice. I had to eat and health insurance is expensive. I loved teaching, but I also loved the nights and summers where I could write and try to build a career filled with creativity and my strange imagination. 

I met my husband on a blind date. A mutual friend who was an undercover vice cop busting drug dealers set us up. My husband jokes he was being arrested at the time. That is not true. Do not believe him. His sense of humor is treacherous. It was love at third sight. We’ve now been married a long time.  I drink too many mochas. I love chocolate. I run. I walk. I love to read. I often cry when I’m writing my books, and I laugh, too. I love walking through the waves at the beach and I believe that daydreaming makes you a better person so I do it a lot.’

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

A. I write everywhere. Upstairs on my bed looking out the window at my maple trees, on my couch staring at my petunias and an

interviews, writing, best selling authors
the Deschutes River. my husband fly fishes. I journal.

occasional hummingbird, and at Starbucks. I write best late at night. Ten o’clock to two o’clock in the morning. It’s quiet. My kids are in bed. My brain stops buzzing. I can dive straight into my imagination and hang out there for awhile like a crazy lady.

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. I look at email and then I feed my small, but mostly healthy addiction to the New York Times. I get ticked off at what I’m reading sometimes and sit back and think what I would do if I was president and which politicians I would immediately get rid of. It entertains me.

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

journals_pics_2012_002A. Pretty journals. One journal to five journals per book for writing ideas, characters, plots, and working through all sorts of literary problems. I write the story, however, on my computer. I write straight through, 2000 words a day, 10,000 a week, for the first draft. I edit every book eight times before it even goes to my editor. I edit it another four times after that. Yes, twelve edits. I want to bang my own head through the keyboard just thinking about it…

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

A. Waiting to “feel creative,” for me, is like waiting for the moon to drop on my head. Or for my flying Porsche to arrive. People who only write when they feel creative rarely get published. I make myself get creative. I give myself goals every day, every week and I meet the goals.

being different, outcasts, love, scorn, achievement
A captivating story about a young boy who teaches us what ‘normal’ means

 

Don’t Miss Part 2 and 3 of this Interview on August 27th and 28th.

A REVIEW of “If You Could See What I See”  Click here

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS!       “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, Cathy Lamb, Raymond Benson, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, 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!    Sue Grafton is August’s author with a bonus chat with Cathy Lamb.  September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is November’s author and  slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter.  Raymond Benson is January’s author. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To receive my posts sign up for my blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  On the home page.  Enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

‘If You Could See What I See’…by Cathy Lamb * A Review

reviews, authors, writing  reviews, authors, writing   reviews, authors, writing   reviews, authors, writing reviews, authors, writing  Five out of 5 quills   A Review of Cathy Lamb’s new release,  ‘If You Could See What I See’

Every time I read one of Cathy’s amazing stories I think to myself,  “this is the best one yet!”  And I’ve read them all!  Once Cathy.Lamb.If-You-Could-See-SMALL[1]again Cathy has out done herself with her characters and her story line.  I understand from my upcoming  INTERVIEW with her, featured here August  22nd, (and runs in  three parts)  that this author fills journals full of story treatments, characters, and plots before she begins to write her novels.  In my opinion it certainly ‘shows’ and we, the readers, benefit from this meticulous work.

Her latest offering ‘If You Could See What I See’ is about a family of women who own and run a lingerie company.  Set in current times with a failed economy they struggle to find a way to keep the doors open and their employees working.  The grandma, the mother and the three sisters are wonderful, unique in their own way, and quirky to say the least. The teenagers, that make up the fourth generation of this wacky family, lend a charming and fresh angle to an already wonderful novel.
Be ready to cry, laugh, sigh, and feel outrage.

A real page turner, you won’t be able to put it down!

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Don’t miss my Interview with Cathy Lamb August 22, ,27, and 29.
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS!   “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, Loretta Chase, Nora Roberts, Raymond Benson 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!    Sue Grafton is August’s author with a bonus chat with Cathy Lamb.  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. Raymond Benson is my January author. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Receive my posts in an email.  Sign up for my blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  On the home page,  enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

‘A is for..Alibi’ ‘B is for…’C is for’… An Interview with Sue Grafton (part 2)

      Part II ** Interview with Sue Grafton     In Loving Memory

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

SG. On occasion, but not nearly often enough.  I love that feeling but most of the time it’s just struggle, hair-tearing, whining, and complaints.  I’m easily distracted.  If the work is going well…call it twice a week…then I’m happy.  Most of the time I’m sitting here because that’s what it takes.  Comfortable or uncomfortable doesn’t make any difference.  I suffer because I feel stupid and clumsy and blocked most of the time, but so what?  That is all part of the process.  If you’re not willing to sweat it out, you’re in the wrong business.  No short cuts.

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

SG.  When I was eighteen.  I wrote seven full-length novels from the ages of twenty-two to thirty-eight.  Novels four and five were published.  The others have never seen the light of day.  The eighth novel I wrote was ‘A’ IS FOR ALIBI and that was after a long stint in Hollywood where I wrote pilots, movies for television, and the occasional film script.

Q. How long after that were you published?

SG. My first novel was published five years after I began teaching myself how to write long form.  ‘A’ IS FOR ALIBI took me five years to write.  I’d say ‘five’ is the magic number.  It takes fifteen years of being published before you can support yourself with the writing.  This is not a career for sissies or cowards.  You better get used to hard work.  And rejection and frustration.  That’s what teaches you.  You can’t side-step the anguish.

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

SG. As I’ve often described, I keep a series of journals or notebooks on my computer for every novel I write.  The journal is where I keep plot possibilities, ideas, research notes, character sketches, dialogue when it occurs to me.  The collective journals for ‘V’ IS FOR VENGEANCE came to 967 single-spaced pages.  The journals for ‘W’ came to 1298 single-spaced pages on the day I finished the book, which was February 21, 2013.  It took me a year to settle on the storyline .  I work by trial and error which is why it takes me so long.  After a mere thirty years at this, I know what doesn’t work but I don’t always know it in advance.  I write and then I think, no.  I write some more and think, don’t think so. I write some more and think, are you kidding me?  I write some more and I think, well that stinks.  And on it goes.

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

SG. I am Kinsey Millhone so that was easy enough.  Other characters I discover as I go along.  Character and plot can never be separated.  Both have to be developed at the same time, in tandem, or a story won’t come to life.

Q. What inspired your story/stories ?

SG. Sometimes a germ of an idea will come to me.  In fact many times I have the germ of an idea.  That’s the easy part.  What’s difficult is figuring out what you can do with an idea, figuring out how you can develop it to the point where it will carry 660 manuscript pages.  You need heft and complexity and major muscle.  Not every idea will yield a novel.  One of my big lessons, always, is learning when to let it go.  I’m ruthless when it comes to that.  I might work on an idea for six months.  Once I realize it isn’t working and that I don’t know how to make it work, I dump it. 

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

2017

SG.  I’ve written in other forms and formats; movie scripts, television scripts, short stories and novels.  I’ve never written science fiction or erotica or romance or horror or westerns.  I don’t know those forms and I wouldn’t do a good job of it.  I love the hard-boiled private eye novel and I love crime fiction, which is…as it turns out…where I belong.

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Biography:  I was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky where I graduated from the University of Louisville in 1961 with a degree in English.  I worked in a variety of jobs in the medical field, writing after the family was down for the night. Sold a ‘mainstream’ novel, KEZIAH DANE, that was published when I was 27 and then a second novel, THE LOLLY-MADONNA WAR, that was published when I was 29.  Altogether, before the alphabet novels, I wrote 7 books .  The eighth novel I wrote was ‘A’ IS FOR ALIBI. Guess what I’ve been doing every since?’   

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MY BLOG features INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!   Did you miss the past few months?    December: British writer, J.G. Dow.  January: In Memory, Sue Grafton.
                                                                                   
                                         Check out more Motivational Moments…for Writers!

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PI, Kinsey Millhone is Hot on the Trail, Again! an Interview with Sue Grafton

                                                    An Interview with Mystery Writer, Sue Grafton  (Part 1)

best selling author, Sue Grafton, fiction for women                      Author,  John D. McDonald died suddenly back in 1986 and took Travis McGee with him.  I owned and had read every book of McDonald’s…..Now what was I suppose to do??  I didn’t read many mysteries (back then) but I was especially fond of Travis and his bear-of-a-man friend, Meyer.   So back in the eighties, (when you shopped at a real book store), I looked through the aisles for someone worthy of replacing John McDonald.   There I found “A is for Alibi” with the formidable and quirky, Kinsey writers, best selling authors, best sellers, fiction for womenMillhone.  I’ve been reading Sue Grafton ever since.  TS
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this entry from Sue’s journals;

Dear Shadow . . . Self . . . and Right Brain, Doing everything I can here to make life possible. I’ve abandoned the old story . . . cleaned out my computer . . . sorted and tossed and filed away old notes and articles. Now I need help in launching myself again. Please speak to me. Please let me know where the new book is coming from. I really need your assistance and I’m hoping you’ll spark something so I can get to work.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Love & kisses,

Sue

Response from Shadow Self:   How about an old-fashioned unsolved murder case?  Parents are angry because nothing’s been done.    Case is old & cold, with no new leads coming in.
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Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing?

best sellers, Sue Grafton,
Sue Grafton’s work space

A. I have an office in both my homes; Montecito, California and Louisville Kentucky.  The two are different in terms of size and style but I can’t tell you that I’m more productive in one than in the other.  I like lots of light.  I like tidiness.  I like space.  I like quiet.  When I’m working my desk is usually a mess, but I do make an effort from time to time to restore order. The creative process is messy enough. I don’t need to look at chaos as well.

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.  Often I do a short stint of self-hypnosis which helps quiet the chatter in my head and helps me focus and concentrate.  I learned the technique from a book on the subject that I got at a book store and it’s been a wonderful way to keep ‘centered’ if you’ll forgive the term.

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

A. A computer, of course. Which I claim has greatly improved my skills.  In the ‘olden’ days of white out and cutting and pasting, I got hung up on whether the page ‘looked right’. I hated adding anything that forced me to repaginate because I didn’t like all the extra work.  If I deleted 11 lines, I got so I could exactly replace the missing lines with something that would work as well so that I didn’t have to retype everything.  To my way of thinking, this is not the key to writing well. On a computer I can and do write every line over and over until it suits me.  The tinkering is infinite.  I when a line is right and when it’s not, I revise and refine and cut and amend until it sounds right to my inner ear.

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

A. I’m usually at my desk at 8:00.  I check emails and make a brief visit to my Face Book page where I chat with readers.  I never feel truly creative.  I work until lunch time when I take a short break.  go back until mid-afternoon when I usually take a walk with one of a number of friends.  I work seven days a week because it’s easier to stay connected to the writing.  In completing “W” writing, best sellers, fiction for women, Sue GraftonI worked double-sessions, returning to my desk after dinner.  I cut out our social life.  I nixed all the walks which I found interrupted the work too often.  I didn’t run errands.  I didn’t stop to get my hair cut.

 

 

 

 

Part 2 of this Interview will be posted August 6th

And to read more in the fascinating Journals that Sue keeps for each book, go to:  www.suegrafton.com
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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, Raymond Benson, Amber Winckler, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, 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 with a bonus chat with Cathy Lamb later in the month.  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. Raymond Benson is my January author. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To receive my posts sign up for my blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  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!

World Renowned Mystery Writer, Sue Grafton visits my Blog!

sue-grafton-3.2012a           DON’T MISS IT!  Starting tomorrow, my interview with Sue Grafton, most famous for her best selling alphabet series!

August 1st and 6th, Sue shares with me and her readers her process as she writes her best sellers.  Beginning back in the eighties she wrote “A IS FOR ALIBI”  and the rest is history. What happens when we get to “Z”??  Will that be the end to Kinsey Milhone, PI?  Oh, no!!!

best selling author, Sue Grafton, fiction for womenwriting, best sellers, fiction for women, Sue Grafton

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!

 

          photo  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?Rhys Bowen, best selling authors, best sellers, writing

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.

Rhys.photoClick 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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To receive my posts sign up for my blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  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!

A Review! ‘Oh Danny Boy’ by Rhys Bowen

Review  reviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingRating: 5/5 quills        “OH DANNY BOY” by Rhys Bowen

 

ohDannyBoy 001              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”

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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To receive my posts sign up for my blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  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!

Interview with Bestselling Author, Rhys Bowen !

ohDannyBoy 001DON’T MISS IT!!

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

starting Tuesday, July 2nd and July 4th

 

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).Rhys.Bowen.photo

 

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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To receive my posts sign up for my blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  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!

Review…Trisha Sugarek’s “Song of the Yukon”

           alaska, homestead,adventure, lesbian, gay, best seller, fiction, fiction for womenMIDWEST 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.homestead, Alaska, fiction, Song of the Yukon

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.”Alaska, fiction, homestead, Song of the Yukon

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 Alaska, fiction, homestead, family histories,best sellersexperience.

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. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To receive my posts sign up for my blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  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!

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

alaska, northern lights, fiction, best sellers, alaska, Yukon,            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, family stories, writing, journaling, story telling, Alaska, research, 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
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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, 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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To receive my posts sign up for my blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  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!