close and your egg nog closer. May the coming New Year be filled with good health, prosperity and laughter.
Thank you all for your support of my work this past year!
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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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!
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On the home page, enter your email address. Thanks!
Motivational Moments….for Writers! #20
R U Passive? waiting for your muse to strike and help you write your novel or story? Back in the day, a muse was thought to be a creative spirit that unleashed your creativity. If you weren’t creative, it was the muse’s fault.
R U External? Setting an external reward for completing your daily writing task. Usually food, drink or an activity such as watching your favorite TV show.
R U INTERNAL? Ah, now we’re talking! Writers need to examine their own brains to get that motivation working. Your pain/pleasure receptors, in your brain, need adjusting if writing is painful. If your writing causes you more pain than pleasure, waiting for a muse or an external reward is all you have.
You need to write for the sheer joy of writing. Writing becomes the motivation for writing. Writing becomes your addiction. Turn off the negative voice in your head that tells you you’re a crappy writer, have no talent…you know the voice I’m talking about. Reinforce yourself by making positive statements, to yourself, about your writing. Take the time to admire that well-turned sentence, page, or chapter that you just wrote!
“Writing is a journey of discovery because until you start, you never know what will happen, and you be surprised by what you do~~expect the 
unexpected!” Mini Grey
“As a writer, I speculate, hibernate and marinate.” Trisha Sugarek
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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!
3 out of 5 quills A Review ~~ From Pawns to Kings! by Eugene Brown & Marco Price-Bey
A cautionary tale for all young people who have had to grow up amidst the chaos of a dysfunctional family, quit school and run the streets. This autobiographical narrative is about a young black man in a rush ‘to be somebody’. An alcoholic father and beat-down, defeated mother were of little use in keeping this child from a life on the streets and finally being incarcerated in the federal prison system for armed bank robberies.
Eugene Brown (the author) literally stumbled over the game of Chess (in prison) and recognized that winning at chess could translate at winning in life. The same rules apply; plan before you make a move, have several moves planned ahead of time, follow the rules, become better and better at the game of chess/life, and be able to see ‘the end game’.
Against all odds, he turned his life around and, after serving his time, went on to form a non-profit “Big Chair Chess Club” that helps get teens off the street and refocus their lives through the experience and rules of the game.
I particularly liked some of the last words in this book: “They (young people) want to be hustlers, but like myself, they had a very limited view of what makes a real hustler. You see some people working two jobs, going to college, taking care of a family, that’s hustling man! Being a good hustler is finding a (legal) way or making a way to get what you want by using what you got…”
His story transcends the occasional grammatical errors and lack of punctuation, but it was distracting for this reviewer. For a novella, (154 pages) it is over priced.
http://www.chessmaneugenebrown.com/
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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!
Cat Love © (by Trisha Sugarek)
Don’t ruffle my fur that direction! I’ve got it looking just the way I want it to.
I love you but I’m very busy today.
Don’t move, this is my lap time and I’m very comfy.
Scratch right there, no a little more to the left, a little higher, to the right.
Look what I’ve brought you–isn’t it beautiful? I killed it in the garden.
That’s what we’re having for dinner?
You need to work on how you pick your friends. I don’t like that one and besides he had the nerve to sit in my chair!
I could find a better human, you know, if I put in some effort….
But I guess you’ll do…for now.
Dog Love
Pet me, pet me, pet me! Oh boy! A butt rub!
I love you to the ends of the earth and beyond!
I’ll just lay here quietly, I won’t bother you, as long as I can touch you.
Throw the ball! Throw the ball! Again! Again!
I love my dinner, you’re such a good mommy!
‘Walkie’, ‘go outside’, ‘go for a walk’, ‘let’s go pee-pee’. Yippee! Where’s my leash?
I love your friends. That one scratched my ears and told me I was a good dog.
You’re home! You’re home! Why were you gone so long….it doesn’t matter now…You’re home!
You’re the best human ever….I love you!
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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!
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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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!
Now that I have some time (4 yrs) and some traction under me with regard to my blog, I would love to hear from my subscribers, friends and fans.
What do you enjoy reading the most? What direction should I continue in?
The series: Motivational Moments…for Writers
Interviewing other authors
Reviews of books
The series: Nostalgia
Drop me a note here under comments (below) and let me know so I can keep providing you with good content and interesting subjects.
Thank you for your on going support of my work and effort.
Warmest regards, your fellow writer and friend, Trish
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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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!
I stumbled across this wonderful graphic (by Sudio Sudarsan) of a ‘writer’s ice berg’. Not many people, aside from we who write, know this world. It’s lonely, scary, humiliating, and painful. It’s also uplifting, soul filling, mind stretching and wonderful.
I count myself the luckiest of women that I developed my craft and didn’t give up when people said, ‘no’. I am the most fortunate of writers to have realized that the process has to be planted in good soil, watered, and given lots of sunshine. Even when I am writing from a dark place.
We writers should never sit back and say, ‘I have arrived. I don’t need to grow anymore. I am at the top of my game.’ If you’ve read any of my interviews with really famous authors, they aren’t smug….far from it…they are striving to be better just like you and I are. I’ve found in my interaction with these authors that the more successful they are…the humbler they are.
“I’m writing a first draft and reminding myself that I’m simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.” Shannon Hale
“As a writer, I marinate, speculate, and hibernate!’‘ Trisha Sugarek
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TS: A fellow writer that I have interviewed was kind enough to contribute to my Motivational Moments…for Writers! Thanks, Mike!
‘One of the most common questions that novice writers ask me is “How do you overcome writer’s block?” I would define 
writer’s block as a heavy psychological state in which you’re completely out of ideas about what to write. Usually writers seem to experience it somewhere in the middle of a story rather than near the beginning or end. It can last for days or even weeks and can really get you down and undermine your confidence.
My solution is a simple one, and many writers report that it works for them as well. When you experience writer’s block, jump to some other point in the story, some other scene or episode that you already know will be there, and start working on that. This can included jumping all the way to the very end and working backwards. Writers who prefer to write their stories sequentially, from start to finish, may feel uncomfortable with leaping over to some faraway section of the story, but believe me, if you force yourself to do this, there’s a strong chance that you’ll break through the barrier.
I don’t know how this solution works–maybe subconscious plot connections take place or it’s simply getting your creative energy flowing again, but it usually does. Give it a try next time you’re stuck and see if it works for you.’ ~ Mike Wells
“Who is more to be pitied, a writer bound and gagged by policemen or one living in perfect freedom who has nothing more to say?” ~ Kurt Vonnegut
“A straight line is not the shortest distance between two points.”― Madeleine L’Engle
Did you see my interview with Mike Wells? Click here
Visit Mike at: http://mikewellsblog.blogspot.com/
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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!
