My Interview with Best Selling author Heidi Jon Schmidt (part 3)

Heidi.Style

The final segment of my Interview with this fascinating author!

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

A. I guess references to the Jonestown Massacre would be inappropriate? For some people it’s a pretty orderly process. I envy them and I try to be more orderly with every book. But I also think it’s important for the writer to be on a quest of his own, to be trying to understand the story in a million ways, and learning new things through the whole process of writing. When the writer figures something out, about the characters or the story– that generates real excitement for the reader. I’ve generally needed an editor at the end, the way one needs an obstetrician at the end of a pregnancy. And sometimes the editor has needed forceps.

Q. Where/when do you first discover your characters ? Continue reading “My Interview with Best Selling author Heidi Jon Schmidt (part 3)”

‘Art of Murder’ Goes Live in AUDIO Books

Working successfully with an illustrator  Now in AUDIO books !   Book 1 of the series,  ‘The World of Murder

This short novel is available at www.audible.com TODAY and at www.amazon.com and iTunes.com 

Monty is a struggling, unknown artist, living in Soho in New York. From his third floor walk up, he watches his beautiful neighbor as she comes and goes. Too shy and reclusive to ask her out, he paints her again and again. Suddenly the police are at his door.

Detective O’Roarke and his partner, Stella Garcia sift through the forensics, motives and physical evidence. At first glance it seems that all the evidence points to the strange artist who is obsessed with the beautiful actress. But, as time passes, several other suspects come to the attention of the two murder cops and the case is now not so open and shut. As the detectives immerse themselves in her life, it turns out that she has more than one secret.

Also in Audio books:  Art of Murder
                                       Dance of Murder
                                        Act of Murder
                                                                                              Angel of Murder
                                                                                              Taste of Murder
                                                   Coming Soon!                 Video of Murder  

Narrated by Daniel Dorse

 

 

 

Don’t Miss Part 2 of my Interview with Heidi Jon Schmidt

Heidi Jon Schmidt, best sellers, interviews,
Photos from Heidi’s album

Part two of this writer’s world will appear on my blog on Tuesday, Dec. 10th and the final installment on Thurs. Dec. 12th

DON’T MISS IT!  

 

Click here if you missed Part I

 

Heidi is a beautiful, thoughtful writer.  Her characters jump off the page and remind us that we are all so…so human. heidi.oyster Continue reading “Don’t Miss Part 2 of my Interview with Heidi Jon Schmidt”

How Do those oysters get to your Dinner Table? Interview with Heidi Jon Schmidt (1of3)

best selling author, interview, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Cape Cod     My Interview with best selling author,  Heidi Jon Schmidt

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

A. I write in bed. It started during a chaotic childhood when my bed was pushed into the quietest corner of the house, a safe place to withdraw to and think, imagine, write. And now that I have my own house, family, garden, life….it’s still the place where I feel most connected to my imagination.

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. The minute my daughter walks out the door for school, I take a cup of coffee up the stairs. And I don’t do anything else until I’ve gotten a day’s work done.

Q. What is your mode of writing? (long hand? Pencil? Computer? Etc.) Continue reading “How Do those oysters get to your Dinner Table? Interview with Heidi Jon Schmidt (1of3)”

A Rebuttal….Wiz Kid encourages ‘Progress writing’. This author Doesn’t!

blogging, blogger, wisdom,interviews, author quotesPeter Armstrong, co-founder of LeanPub,  recently lectured on UTube about writing a book (in progress) on line….in a blog or on UTube or on your web site.  This is called ‘progress writing’ or ‘progress publishing’.   He claims you will get great reader feedback and gain traction for your final, finished book.

And this might be right for you.  It may give you the stimulus, the poke in the rump that you need to either start writing or to continue writing.
Here’s how I feel about it:

‘Progress writing’ makes it too easy for someone to steal your idea/story.  Even if you have covered yourself with a ‘poor man’s copyright’ like I’ve told you how  to do or even if you’ve sent it partially written to the Library of Congress, your idea can be plagiarized and you may never know it.  And what if the person who took your idea for a story gets it finished before you do.  They are published and now you look like you ‘borrowed’ their idea. Continue reading “A Rebuttal….Wiz Kid encourages ‘Progress writing’. This author Doesn’t!”

Writing and then ‘Hearing’ Wild Violets

NOW AVAILABLE in AUDIO BOOKS!!!    “Wild Violets”

fiction, women, flappers, prohibition, San Francisco, roaring twentiesFrom the author:  It was great fun writing this book about a young woman so ahead of her time.  Basketball star, speakeasy owner, flapper who literally worked all day and danced all night.  The story about her red evening gown is true and her friends would make her change into it before going out on the town.  The story about playing poker with a Catholic Bishop is true.  She ultimately had five husbands, but always said the first one didn’t count as they never consummated the marriage.  She went on to be the champion women’s bowler in California.  She had three kids which she didn’t take very good care of.  She was human with many flaws, she was selfish and generous in turns, she was wild and ladylike……she was my mother. Sometimes I ask myself:  ‘did the apple fall very far from the tree?’

Writing it was fun but hearing her ‘voice’ and that of the other characters was amazing.  When you hire an audio professional the author remains in control (quality) and can ‘proof’ ever word.  It’s crucial that you hire the right narrator as your book sounds different from the written page. It’s important that the narrator is willing to work with you on edits, add on’s, and you can ask this upfront before you choose from the audition pieces that you receive.

Continue reading “Writing and then ‘Hearing’ Wild Violets”

What this Blogger is Thankful For…

Thanksgiving, family, food, thankfulIf you’re an American, this Thursday, you will sit down with family and friends to some rendition of a Thanksgiving dinner.  Or you might decide to give Mom/Dad (whoever the cook is) a break and go out to eat this year.  If you are carnivores you will consume great quantities of turkey, ham, giblet dressing, oyster dressing, stuffed deviled eggs, and football.  If you are vegetarian you will consume delicate, beautiful, tasty dishes made with all the food groups except those that had faces.  Football optional.

A bit of trivia:  Historical records strongly suggest that shellfish, geese, ducks, swans, and venison were the meats of the first Thanksgivings....then referred to as the Fall Harvest Celebration which traditional lasted 3 days.   Here’s how Edward Winslow described the first Thanksgiving feast in a letter to a friend:
Continue reading “What this Blogger is Thankful For…”

My momma always said, Life is Like a Box of Chocolates’….or words (part 6)

words, dictionary, writing, writers               My Random House Dictionary weighs at least seven pounds and  it takes both my arms to lug it around.  Its copyright date is 1966 and I think I bought mine in about 1970. Forty three+ years ago.  Its pages are ‘paper-thin’ (pun intended) and very fragile.  It is my reference book when I write this series:  Words being my box of chocolates.
Continue reading “My momma always said, Life is Like a Box of Chocolates’….or words (part 6)”

Trisha Sugarek, Guest Blogger on FreshFiction.com TODAY!

This author is a guest blogger on FreshFiction.com TODAY! Telling the story behind “The Art of Murder” and how it went from an idea to a book to a series.  Trish is currently working on book 2, “The Dance of Murder”  in the series The World of Murder.

Click here:   http://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=5447

Murder mysteries, gift ideas, New York, crime
Book 1 of The World of Murder series

Win a chance to receive, FREE, one of Trisha’s latest novels.

In a special ‘give away’ 10 visitors to FreshFiction.com  will win a book, “Wild Violets” or “The Art of Murder”.

 

fiction, women, flappers, prohibition, San Francisco, roaring twenties“Wild Violets” is also available in Audio Books!

 

The Grande Dame of Historic Fiction was so much More!

romance, historic, fiction, Barbara CartlandYes, the snobs of the literary world might have scoffed at her pink signature Chanel suits, her poofy hats, her Pekinese dogs, and her silly romantic stories.   But, they can’t quite get around her fifty plus years of writing, resulting in over 1,000 million books sold, or the fact that she spent her life  making the world a better place.

Her name was Barbara Cartland.  I know I must have started buying her books somewhere around 1972 because one of her letters to me was dated 1975.  So I have been reading her historic, romantic fiction up until about ten years ago.  Collecting hard covers when I could find them!  I would send them to her and she would autograph them and always, always send a nice note and a little gift back to me.  Most treasured gift was a gold-gilded oak leaf from an oak tree on Barbara’s property.   The “Deer Oak”, which is said to have been planted by Queen Elizabeth the First in 1550, at the spot where she killed her first deer, is on the estate.

Continue reading “The Grande Dame of Historic Fiction was so much More!”