best selling authors Archives - Page 34 of 35 - Trisha Sugarek, Author, Playwright & Poet

The Writer’s Corner.. an Interview with Mark Childress (part 2)

Part II ….Mark Childress

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

A. All the time, when it’s going well. I actually get kind of impatient with the demands of real life when the imagined life really gets up and cranking.

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

A. In high school, after I won an “honorable mention” in a short story contest and Miss Eudora Welty herself put the plaque in my hand.

Q. How long after that were you published?

A. I was published as a journalist starting just two years later but it was nine years before I got my first novel published.

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

A. Assuming you have found an agent who has found an interested publisher, most of the process is directed by the writer. Despite what people think, publishers don’t generally force novelists to stick to strict deadlines or to stop editing the book before they’re finished. They want you to write the best book you can. First you write the book. Then you rewrite it a few times or a few dozen times for yourself.

Then a few more times for the editor. Then another time for the copy desk. After that, it is waiting, longing, hoping, and having Oprah dreams. Then publication happens and is both much better and much worse than you ever expected. Then you face the blank page and start the next one. Rewriting is the core of what writers do – so if you can’t stand rewriting and being edited, choose another profession.

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

A. It is different for each book. Sometimes it is an idea, or a place, sometimes it is a character. It’s important to keep listening for that little bell when it rings.

Q. What inspired your story/stories ?

A. Life, pain, a happy childhood that was also miserable. A weird family. Being from Alabama.

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

A. The one problem my agent has always had is that I like to write a completely different novel each time. I don’t stick to one theme or one type of book. I love writers like Graham Greene who can do a little bit of everything, and I’ve always wanted to be like that.

Q. Please feel free to share more with us.
A. “I love my readers. They have made it possible for me to have the life I dreamed of back when I started out. If you are one of them – my thanks.”

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

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and plan on featuring 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, 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! 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.
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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!

Don’t Miss the Conclusion of my Interview with Mark Childress

TOMORROW is the conclusion of my interview with author, Mark Childress. Thursday, April 4th

Witty, straight forward, Childress shares his writing world with us.

(photo from movie: “Billy” Billy Carter’s Service Station 1979)

Childress has also written three picture books for children, “Joshua and Bigtooth,” in 1992, “Joshua and the Big Bad Blue Crabs,” 1996 (both from Little, Brown), and “Henry Bobbity Is Missing And It Is All Billy Bobbity’s Fault,” (Crane Hill Publishers, 1996).
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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”

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.
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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!

Don’t Miss an Interview with Mark Childress tomorrow

Author of many novels and screenplays, (Crazy in Alabama) Mark Childress joins us for an interview about how and why he writes. Tomorrow & Thursday, April 2nd & 4th.
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Quotes from CRAZY in ALABAMA

Sheriff Doggett: ‘You’re trespassing on public property!’

Lucille: ‘I’m the kind of girl who can resist anything but temptation.’

Peejoe: ‘I learned a lot of secrets that summer: you can bury freedom but you can’t kill it. Taylor Jackson died for freedom. Aunt Lucille had to kill to get it. Life and death are only temporary but freedom goes on forever.’

Assistant: ‘You’re wanted on the set.’

Lucille: ‘Honey, I’m wanted in seven states.’

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

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and plan on featuring an interview once a month . I have invited such luminaries as: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Maya Angelou, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Robert McCammon, 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 in May. Caroline Leavitt is June‘s author. July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander.
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Don’t Miss it! an Interview with Charles Bukowski on Tuesday

I would give much to interview great authors like Steinbeck, Bronte, Hemingway, Austen, Twain, London, Service, Chekov, Shakespeare. But at the top of my bucket list would be Henry Charles Bukowski {1920-1994}. So I asked myself would it be so very strange or inappropriate to imagine what it might have been like and then write an interview with “Hank” Bukowski?

Imagine that I am sitting with him, in a corner booth, in some neighborhood dive. Old die-hard drunks sit up at the bar and……………………
March 19th, Tuesday, don’t miss my interview with Henry Charles Bukowski.

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‘You begin saving the world by saving one man at a time; all else is grandiose romanticism or politics.’ ~~Bukowski
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Start your month off right!! DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A NEW SERIES, “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, Maya Angelou, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Robert McCammon, 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. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Interview with author, Susan Elia MacNeal (part 3)

(continued) The conclusion of this fascinating interview with Susan………..

Susan Elia MacNeal is the author of the Maggie Hope mystery series, including her debut novel, “Mr. Churchill’s Secretary” and newly released “Princess Elizabeth’s Spy”. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and child.

Q. Where/when did you first discover your character, Maggie Hope?

SM. I knew I wanted to write about a young woman who becomes a secretary for Winston Churchill. The name Margaret, or Maggie, was a tribute to my writing mentor Judith Merkle Riley and the heroine of her first book, Margaret in A Vision of Light. Margaret was also a popular name for baby girls in the early 20th century, so it worked for someone in her early twenties in 1940. I discovered her last name, Hope, by looking through a list of famous Britons—and there was Bob Hope. It was perfect.

Maggie’s personality is very much inspired by the late Judith Merkle Riley. She was definitely a woman ahead of her time – brilliant and working in economics, a male-dominated field, in the 60s and 70s. She was also a painter, spoke Russian, played the piano and danced the tango. Honestly, I think she worked as a spy at one point, but she would never talk about it! But there’s a lot of Judith in Maggie, especially her humor.

Q. What inspired the mysteries and why Winston Churchill and WWII?

SM. You know, it was somewhat random—I happened to be in London and a British friend of mine said, “You might want to visit the Cabinet War Rooms—World War II didn’t start with Pearl Harbor, you know.” So, I really just went as a tourist. It’s an amazing museum, though, in the actual bomb proof bunker where Winston Churchill and his War Cabinet and staff planned the war. I was absolutely mesmerized and there was a moment—a brief moment, outside the typists’ room—where I swore I could hear the typewriters, smell the cigarette smoke, feel the tension. It lasted a mere moment, but it changed my life completely. I knew I had to write about the war rooms.

Q. You’re so young for an interest in WWII (I was a little girl) Is your interest based at all on family stories; perhaps an American grandfather in the war or English branch on the family tree?

SM. Both my paternal father and grandfather served in the war, but, really, it was that trip to the Cabinet War Rooms that was the catalyst. Jacqueline Winspear calls these experiences “moments of grace.” I’m just glad it wasn’t schizophrenia!

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

SM. Right now I’m completely dedicated to telling the story of Maggie Hope and her friends, wherever it may lead. But recently, when I was in Scotland doing research, I had this sudden urge to leave New York and move to one of the sparsely inhabited western islands. I asked my husband, “So, if I’m able to sell a memoir about a crazy New York City family who leaves it all for rural Scotland, would you be willing to move for a year?” He seemed game. You never know…

I’ll close by saying, thank you so much for your interest in the Maggie Hope books!

http://www.susaneliamacneal.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Start your month off right!! DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS!

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and plan on featuring 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, Sue Grafton, Elizabeth Gilbert, 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 my 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.
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Don’t miss the final segment with best selling author!

This coming Tuesday will conclude our interview with Susan. Her newest book, “His Majesty’s Hope” will be available for sale on May 21st.

This has been a fascinating and funny interview and I know you join me in wishing Susan great success with her new book.

‘For fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Laurie R. King, and Anne Perry, whip-smart heroine Maggie Hope returns to embark on a clandestine mission behind enemy lines where no one can be trusted, and even the smallest indiscretion can be deadly.

World War II has finally come home to Britain, but it takes more than nightly air raids to rattle intrepid spy and expert code breaker Maggie Hope. After serving as a secret agent to protect Princess Elizabeth at Windsor Castle, Maggie is now an elite member of the Special Operations Executive—a black ops organization designed to aid the British effort abroad—and her first assignment sends her straight into Nazi-controlled Berlin, the very heart of the German war machine. Relying on her quick wit and keen instincts, Maggie infiltrates the highest level of Berlin society, gathering information to pass on to London headquarters. But the secrets she unveils will expose a darker, more dangerous side of the war—and of her own past.’

MacNeal’s publishers, Random House have asked me to review it so look for that in May.

Coming Soon! April 2nd will start off my interview with Mark Childress whose books were made into movies!
(Crazy in Alabama!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and plan on featuring an interview once a month . I have invited such luminaries as: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Robert McCammon, Rhys Bowen, Mark Childress, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sue Grafton, Amber Winckler, 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 MacCammon 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.
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Interview with Susan Elia MacNeal (part 2)

Part II ** An Interview with Susan Elia MacNeal (Part I * March 5th)

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 do love a good cup of coffee, I must admit—milk, no sugar. No rituals, but if I get anxious about starting, I’ll often just open the document and run spell check—that way, I usually get over any stress. Occasionally, I’ll put on NPR or some sort of talk radio in the background for company. And generally I have a cat or two nearby.

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

A. I like writing directly into the computer, and I particularly love my laptop. Sometimes I’ll do notes or outlining on a yellow legal pad with a pen or pencil (but mostly because we have yellow legal pads around at home, not because of any ritual!).

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

A. I like to write first thing in the morning. I think that time in between dreaming and full waking is really good for fiction. So I usually write early in the morning and then do editing and reply to emails and whatnot in the afternoon. That is, until 3 p.m. — then I’m back in the mommy role.

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

A. Yes, and it’s the most amazing experience in the world when that happens! Usually I find it a hard state to achieve when first starting a novel, because I don’t know my characters and settings as well. But later on, usually when I’m more than a hundred pages in or so, it’s really fun to “get lost” with my characters. That’s the absolute best part of being a writer.

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

A. I’ve always loved writing, but I first started taking myself a bit more seriously when I was an editor at Dance Magazine, and then became a staff writer as well. I did a lot of pieces for the magazine and also for the web site. It was at Dance Magazine that I started to think of myself as a professional, and I thank then-editor Richard Philp for taking a chance on me and then giving me so much freedom to pursue and write stories.

Q. How long after that were you published?

A. Well, when Dance Magazine moved to San Francisco, I, with the rest of the New York staff, lost my job. I’d just gotten married, so I had health insurance. So, that was when I decided to freelance. I did a lot of magazine pieces and editing, and wrote two non-fiction books – one about weddings and one about cocktails. But I was always working on fiction.

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

A. Hmm, well, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary took more than ten years, and each subsequent book has taken about two years. (Random House held Mr. Churchill’s Secretary until Princess Elizabeth’s Spy was pretty far along, so they could publish them back-to-back.) I guess it takes me a few months to immerse myself in research, then a few months to write a beginning, then additional time to realize I hate the beginning and delete it—then back to the drawing board to rewrite.

About nine months later, my editor, the amazing and patient Kate Miciak gets it, and she takes a pass through and gives me an editorial letter. I work on it some more, and it goes back to Kate, who either okays it or sends it back to me, which takes a few months. Then it goes through a six-month period where it goes through a number of passes of copy-editing, then an Advanced Readers Edition, and then, finally, the finished book.

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Part III of this fascinating interview will post on March 12th. Don’t miss it!! http://www.susaneliamacneal.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and plan on featuring an interview once a month . I have invited such luminaries as: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Robert McCammon, Rhys Bowen, Mark Childress, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Sue Grafton, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, 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!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Interview with Author, Susan Elia MacNeal

Do other writers find themselves at 4 in the afternoon, still in their pajamas, lost in their writing ? Hopefully it only happens at home and not at the corner coffee shop…

My readers are enjoying hearing about other authors‘ writing processes. I created a Question & Answer-type Interview and then began contacting some of my favorite authors to ask them to participate. It turns out that not only do these other writers want to share their writing life with us, but they are equally interested in the stories from other authors.

In this three-part post, my interview is with Susan Elia MacNeal. I am especially honored as Susan and her publicist have asked me to review her next book, “His Majesty’s Hope”, to be released in May of this year. Please sit back and enjoy a chat with Susan……..

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

A. I work in my beautiful library, with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, overstuffed velvet sofas, a fireplace, two cats, and a handsome young manservant to fetch me tea and coffee. Okay, that’s not true. But I do have two cats. I live in New York, and space is definitely at a premium. Before our son was born, my husband and I used our guest bedroom as an office. After it became a kid’s room, I started working at the kitchen table, or sometimes cross-legged on the living room sofa.

I joined the New York Writers Room in the West Village for a while and had many happy days there with a view of the Empire State building, but I’m not currently working there. (My son has asthma, and I like being closer to his school in case of emergencies.) I also love a little café near us—best coffee in the world, plus big tables full of other writers. I also like to work at our local public library, which is one of the old Carnegie libraries.

I’ve also written at a lot of friends’ homes, while they’ve been on vacation – some of them famous. So, parts of my books have been written at actor/writer John Hodgman’s apartment (I also looked after their cat), composer Kristin Andersen Lopez and Robert Lopez’s apartment (yes, of course I picked up his Tony award for Avenue Q and pretended to make an acceptance speech), and Ron Lieber and Jodi Kantor’s apartment. (They’re both journalists for the New York Times, and Jodi’s the author of The Obamas.)

I’ve also written with Josh Axelrad, the author of Repeat Until Rich, which was fun, because we’d break for bourbon at six p.m. But he was always saying, “I’m afraid you’re listening to me not typing and thinking I’m lazy!” I tried to tell him I have too many of my own issues to even thinking about listening to his typing or not typing!

The most amazing place I’ve ever written was just recently at Arisaig House, which is a former manor house, now a bed and breakfast, on the west coast of Scotland. It was also used as an SOE spy training camp during World War II. I was talking to a lot of people alive and living in the area during that period of time, and doing research, but I also wrote in a beautiful room with oriental rugs, a crackling fire, a view of the grounds and shoreline, and three big napping golden labs. Heaven!

But I’ve also written on trains planes and waiting rooms. Basically, I’ve learned to write anywhere and everywhere.

http://www.susaneliamacneal.com/

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Join us to read part two of this wonderful interview (March 7th.) with best-seller author Susan Elia MacNeal .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and plan on featuring an interview once a month . I have invited such luminaries as: Anne Purser, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Robert McCammon, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Sue Grafton, Jeffrey Deaver, Rhys Bowen, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, 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!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 Writer’s Corner..Interview with author Jo-Ann Mapson (part 3)

Part III ** Interview with Jo-Ann Mapson** This has been a terrific interview with Jo-Ann. She has generously shared her writing world with us and she always inspires me to be a better writer.

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

A. I write some nonfiction, essays, and have been tinkering with a kind of memoir for decades. Occasionally I am moved to write a poem, such as one for my agent, when her beloved dog died, but I’m not very good at it because I don’t practice the habit.

Something that I find compelling these days is the issue of writing and aging. I’m not sure if anyone has written about this yet. John Updike died, Philip Roth retired, Rosamund Pilcher died, Evan Connell died, and it becomes a kind of reckoning; your name will be on that list sooner rather than later. Somehow it makes the act of writing seem more important, to get things right, to write something of substance rather than fluff, or “phoning it in,” as they say nowadays. At the same time, I sense myself detaching from it a tiny bit, but it isn’t frightening, it feels natural. Like a part of aging. You cannot beat Father Time.

Here’s another thing: Every writer I know started out as a reader, and still reads. That’s what drew us to the habit in the first place. So when a new writer shows up on the scene and is so uncommonly great, why should there be jealousy or disgruntlement? It’s all being deposited in the great body of literature. This year I reread several books that I recall making me want to write, just to see if they held up. I was so thrilled to discover that they did! Mary Stewart, Rumer Godden, Henry James, even Danielle Steel’s first romance. I was delighted to discover that sense of timelessness that came with the reading.

I also read some new writers I really like: Tana French, who wrote Faithful Place and Broken Harbor, just plain WOW, that woman is brilliant, and I hope I live a long time so I can read all her books because she is just getting started. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce, those are a few writers I am keeping my eye on.

I recently hired Carolyn Turgeon to teach in the MFA Program in Writing at the University of Alaska Anchorage where I am core fiction faculty. She is an unassuming genius who takes fairy tales and wrenches them into strange and wonderful parables of women’s issues. She reinvents the core stories, which is what writing is, taking the old and telling it new. I’m all for new writers succeeding, pushing the boundaries of the form, and pushing me eventually out of a job. I absolutely love to work with budding writers. It is so satisfying to watch them succeed. I am standing there teary on the sidelines saying, “You go, Girl!” What a joy to be even a sliver of a part of that.

I am so blessed. I have a wonderful writing life, but there was much gritty scrambling to arrive where I am, and I know there’s more ahead. And I think that is the way it ought to be, earned rather than given, never taken for granted, so that when success happens, you realize the importance of it and relish your hard work coming to fruition.

http://www.joannmapson.com/

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

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and plan on featuring an interview once a month . I have invited such luminaries as: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Robert McCammon, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Maya Angelou, 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!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 Writer’s Corner… Interview with author Jo-Ann Mapson (part 2)

Part II ** Interview with Jo-Ann Mapson

Q. ‘What does the process look like…?’(continued)

A. Editing on the computer screen is entirely different than one the page. I realize that maybe due to the relative newness of computers. I wrote my first (unpublished) novel on a typewriter. It can take me a year or two to finish a book, but strangely I am writing much faster now that I am older. No reason to count the hours and the earnings, it’s never going to be profitable in all ways.

In other ways it probably looks like an older woman who is sitting on her butt, typing at the desk, frowning at the screen while the floor could really use some sweeping and dogs are racing through the house alerting the world that a bird has flown by or some such shattering news. I go what my husband calls “inward,” and everything else falls away. Once I came directly from the shower wrapped in a towel to write something important down, and hours later, there I was, starkers. Skype, you know? I am clothed these days.

The strangest part is that click of a computer key that sends it to my editor. It’s such a small thing compared to the year of work. This massive effort reduced to an electronic ping! When my editorial letter arrives, it begins to feel a little more real, on it’s way to becoming a book. I love rewriting. Just thank God for it every single day, because that is where good writing pokes its head up. Receiving cover art is another favorite stage for me. I love to see how professional people who cherish images the way I love words come up with the visual equivalent of my story.

It’s truly intoxicating seeing the transformation. I’ve been extremely lucky with my covers, haven’t I? When galley proofs arrive, I just am giddy with the thought that “that thing is done!” Yet I am generally in the middle of another book, so that moment is fleeting.

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

A. They come to me in brief images initially. I can’t quite see their faces, but I know their feelings. I see them in a place—say, in a Western bar, plain wrap rehab, sleeping under the stars, walking a greyhound, dying, arguing, crying, wherever—and I write toward that image because I absolutely, empirically have to know how they got there and what they are going to do next.

Q. What inspired your stories ?

A. I think I am most intrigued with the question: How do people go on after something tragic or life-changing occurs? I should confess, my husband is the one who actually told me this, quite recently. Had you asked me last year, I wouldn’t have been able to answer. He said, “Your life is that story, of how to go on, so it’s natural to me that you would write about that notion endlessly.” Stephen Dobyns has the most amazing poem called “How to Like It,” in the collection Cemetery Nights that for me is a perfect explanation for why anyone writes……..

Join us to read the final part III of this riveting interview with best-seller author Jo-Ann Mapson.
http://www.joannmapson.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and plan on featuring an interview once a month . I have invited such luminaries as: Anne Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Rhys Bowen, Robert McCammon, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, 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!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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!

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