AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Tina Brown

1.     Tell me about yourself. What got you started in writing?

Hi, I’m Tina Brown.  My pen name is TM Brown.  I live in Tampa.  My childhood was difficult and continued to haunt me in my adult life.  I began journaling which eventually lead to my first book: A Life Not My Own.

How do you schedule your writing time? When do you write?

I don’t schedule a specific time.  I write whenever my characters speak to me.  This can happen at any time, requiring that I search for something to write on.  I have notes written on napkins, hotel stationary, or anything that I can get my hands on.

How and where do you write? Do you prefer a laptop or some other method of getting your words down?  

I prefer to type my stories.  Often as the story unfolds, the hunting and pecking of the keys sounds like music to me.

What's your favorite part about writing? 

My favorite part of writing is discovering the story.  I never quite know what direction the story will take or when new characters will be introduced.  

Your least favorite part about writing?  

My least favorite part about writing is the patience required to complete a story. 

How did you come up with your book idea? How long did it take you to write your book?  

My books ideas are often a product of my personal experiences or of people that I know.  My goal is to write one book per year. 

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What types of marketing do you do to promote your writing?  

I promote my books on many social media platforms in addition to the local events that I participate in.

What are you currently working on? Do you have a new book out?  

My most current book is Tethered Angel, Part 2 of the award-winning Struggles of the Women Folk.   

Do you have a project on the back burner? Tell me about it. 

I am currently working on a not-too-far-in-the-future piece.  Again, there will be a female lead who after escaping from an abusive environment, finds herself in even more danger.

What would you tell a beginning writer who wants to publish but doesn't believe he/she has enough talent? 

Give it a try.  You never know what you can do until you try.

***

Website: www.authortmbrown.com

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Barbara Bras

Tell me a about yourself. What got you started in writing?

I never wanted to write, but I knew I had a story to tell about my son’s miraculous adoption and God’s impact on my life. Up until that time, I loved to tell stories but despised the act of writing.

How do you schedule your writing time? When do you write?

After two years of trying to figure out what works best for me, I write a minimum of 3 hours per day, five days a week. I reserve that time for my current works in progress. I write new material for 15 minutes, and then edit another work for 45. Social media, marketing and all of the other administrative tasks happen outside of that 3-hour window.

How and where do you write? Do you prefer a laptop or some other method of getting your words down?

I use a computer. I revert to long hand if I am hopelessly stuck.

What's your favorite part about writing? Your least favorite part about writing?

It took me a while to figure out that the part I love is getting the story out on paper. I love watching the story unfold as I tell it. I usually don’t have any idea where it’s going. That’s great fun for me.

How did you come up with your book idea? How long did it take you to write your book?

As I edited my memoir, I began writing new material and the story of Cassie emerged. I student taught in Hawaii with a woman named Barbara Robinson, who told me her story. She endured time alone as a sick child on Maui and when she finally attended school, she spoke antiquated English and discovered that she could read minds. I wrote the core of the book in a few weeks. The rest of the story, or the editing, publishing and so on took about six months.

What types of marketing do you do to promote your writing?

I promote my website authorbbras regularly via my newsletter, my Facebook Author page and Twitter. I blog on two sites, my own and http://www.heartwingsblog.com which gives me exposure to a different audience. I participate in as many giveaways as I can to attract new readers. Celebrate Lit has also promoted my books through their blog tours.

What are you currently working on? Do you have a new book out?

As I described above, I generally have two works in progress. My editing project is a story I finished in November 2015. It’s about a woman who has floated through her life. She is jolted back to reality determined to rediscover herself, her children and love. The other is the sequel to She Who Knows, a Tale of the Heart. The story of Cassie’s struggle to hold onto love continues as she returns to Hawaii after college.

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Do you have a project on the back burner? Tell me about it.

People who care for a terminally ill loved one fascinate me. I admire their personal sacrifice, especially since it goes against the ME FIRST philosophy today. I also know the impact self-sacrifice can have on caregivers, both physically and emotionally. I witnessed this first hand, as my daughter cared for her husband as he battled a brain tumor. Since then I have met others who have had similar experiences and my dream is to share their stories. 

What would you tell a beginning writer who wants to publish but doesn't believe he/she has enough talent?

Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. Thomas A. Edison

Thomas A. Edison’s definition of Genius definitely applies to compelling literature. Spoken like a former English teacher, am I right? Birthing the story is exciting, creative work, but the editing process, which adds elements necessary to create a story worth reading, requires tedious toil and tears. Everyone has a story to tell. If you are willing to do the hard work to get it into a reader’s hands then you have the talent.

***

A Question for Kathryn:

Book reviews are critical in today’s world. Why will readers write to tell the author what they loved about the story, but won’t take the time to write a short review? 

Excellent question, one that I've wondered about for a long time. Perhaps, though, writing a review on Amazon means that everyone (and their dog) gets to see it, wheras a thoughtful note to your favorite author, or even a short thank you in person, has only one set of eyes.

I have had readers shy away from the professional review because they are hung up on 'doing it right,' instead of merely wanting to express their feelings about a book no matter the typos. 

If I tell them that it doesn't need to be perfect, that what I want is their honest feelings about my book, and that I care less about their less than 'perfect grammar' they are more likely to want to share their feelings with the entire world.

***

My website                          

http://www.authorbbras.com

Author Facebook page        https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraBrasAuthor/

Twitter                                 @authorbbras

Goodreads                           https://www.goodreads.com/bsbras

Amazon                               https://tinyurl.com/n87r47j

Pinterest                               http:www.pinterest.com/bsbras

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Michael Meyer

Tell me a about yourself. What got you started in writing? 

I was born into a family of teachers. Both my parents were avid readers, and I caught the bug at an early age. I wrote my first book when I was ten, and my parents purchased the only copy, which I had handwritten, paying me a dollar. I taught college writing for over forty years. As a lover of literature, upon my retirement, writing became my number one hobby.

How do you schedule your writing time? When do you write? 

I have always been an early morning person, so I do most of my writing before noon. I work out nearly every day, and many of my best ideas pop into my head during my daily walks. I then hustle up to my study before breakfast and jot down everything I can for that day’s writing session, which will begin right after I eat.

How and where do you write? Do you prefer a lap top or some other method of getting your words down? 

I have an upstairs study, and I spend a lot of time in there in front of my computer. I write everything on the computer. I can easily correct, erase, edit, etc.

What's your favorite part about writing? Your least favorite part about writing? 

My favorite part of writing is starting anew each day, creating as I go. I actually become part of my book. My least favorite is when I write the two words, The End. I always feel sad, as if I have lost a good friend who must now go off to live on its own at Amazon or Barnes and Noble. It’s like saying goodbye to my child. After all, I created my “little baby.”

How did you come up with your book idea? How long did it take you to write your book? 

When my first wife died, I was literally a basket case. I never thought I would love again, let alone go beyond just the basic elements of living, breathing and eating. After I found the courage to venture out and live my life again, I knew that I had to put my true journey down on paper for two crucial reasons: as a cathartic push to move forward for me, and as possibly a way of helping others.

What types of marketing do you do to promote your writing? 

I love to create, but I am not good in the sales’ department. My books are on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Apple, and they have found good homes there.  Every now and then I do a bit of advertising, but I primarily rely upon the word of others. I have already retired, so my writing is my avocation, not my vocation.

What are you currently working on? Do you have a new book out? 

I have lots of books out, international thrillers and mysteries, humorous novels, literary fiction, and my memoir. My latest book, TRIANGLE OF HOPE, is one of which I am particularly proud. My head is working on a few things, but I just have not involved my computer.

Do you have a project on the back burner? Tell me about it. 

I have nothing definite at the moment, though I do have lots of threads running through my head.

What would you tell a beginning writer who wants to publish but doesn't believe he/she has enough talent? 

Write for yourself. Write what you yourself like to read. Enjoy what you are doing, or don’t do it. Life is too short as it is.

A question for me:

I am curious. Why would someone want to write if he or she finds it difficult to do? Why not take on another hobby?

Good question! I think some folks are out there for the money only and they believe writing will give them the big bucks. Disappointments arrive every day. Hopefully, most writers write because they can't NOT write; the process is a part of their very soul. I think writing is difficult at times for even the proficient writer, but what distinguishes them from someone who writes just to make money, is what you read between the lines. There is depth and realness. There is joy and sorrow. There is actually something - dare I say it - that may even be more of a business and less of a hobby. For many writers, being a writer is like finally getting the career of their dreams. They can do what they love and make money too.

***

Thank you, Michael!

Learn more about Michael:

Link to my website: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005E7M8CW

Link to THE THREE KITTIES THAT SAVEDMY LIFE

Link to my trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asN3jjj3vBM

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: S A Molteni

Tell me a about yourself. What got you started in writing?

After working in the information technology field for over thirty years, I am now a retired systems engineer. But, I work more today than I did when I was employed full-time in Corporate America …

Which brings me to how I became a writer.  After leaving a wonderful career in Seattle, my husband and I purchased a farm in Florida.  Yes, I know, that is quite the extreme going from a city-slicker to a farmer, but we absolutely love it. And this is where I get most of my ideas for writing. 

How do you schedule your writing time? When do you write?

I normally write about the events on the farm in a journal type format every day. From these stories, both fiction and non-fiction pieces come from that.  I write at every opportunity. It may be an hour here or an hour there during the day when the farm animals and other duties are completed.  I also have a few hours every night that I dedicate to writing.

How and where do you write? Do you prefer a lap top or some other method of getting your words down?

I love the feel of pen on paper and would prefer to write this way.  But,  typing is so much faster.  I have a laptop and a home office that I use for writing.  When an idea pops into my head when I am away from the computer, I try to write it down before it is forgotten.

What's your favorite part about writing? Your least favorite part about writing?

My favorite part of writing is developing the plot and the characters in the story. The part I really do not like is the editing and marketing.

How did you come up with your book idea? How long did it take you to write your book?

I started out writing personal non-fiction essays about the life on the farm and how it differed from normal life in suburbia.  After five years on the farm, I decided to compile many of those personal essays into a mini-memoir, which was published earlier this year. The book is called - I.T. Geek to Farm Girl Freak: Leaving High Tech for Greener Pastures.

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What types of marketing do you do to promote your writing?

In the beginning, I did not promote my writing except to friends and family on Facebook.  As time went on and I learned from other authors  about the necessity of marketing, I started promoting on Twitter and other author's blogs.

Over the past year, I have submitted my titles to free and paid book marketing websites and have had great visibility with that.  My book reached #1 on Amazon's Bestseller list for Rural Sociology just a few weeks after it was published in April 2015.

What are you currently working on? Do you have a new book out?

I am currently working on the second installment of the I.T. Geek to Farm Girl Freak series.  This book is in the editing stage and should be out in January.  

Do you have a project on the back burner? Tell me about it.

I have way too many writing projects on the back burner. LOL. I have a draft of a fictional novel that I wrote back in 2014 that needs a lot of editing. I would love to finish that particular one this year.  I want it to be perfect when it is released ... so I might not ever release it.

What would you tell a beginning writer who wants to publish but doesn't believe he/she has enough talent?

Honestly, I was not sure that I had the talent when I started, but wrote  and published anyway.  At first, I wrote for myself without the intention of anyone else seeing it.  When I did decide to share my writing with the world, I was amazed at the wonderful reception I received from complete strangers. I was absolutely humbled by it.

My advice to those just starting out is to write what you know, write what you are passionate about and write until you are satisfied with the end result.  Then get a great book cover and a good editor before you publish.

***

I get this question all of the time from other authors, so, my question for you, Kathryn, is what keeps you interested in writing?  How do you keep yourself motivated and not let other things distract you from writing? 

Love this question. It is so easy to get distracted but I have found through the years as I make my writing a priority and treat it as a business - because it is - I stay motivated to continue. If I had a full-time job away from home I would never think to just - not show up - at work because "I didn't feel like it." Writing is the same way. You show up. You write.

 Thank you!

***

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/S.A.-Molteni/e/B00HXPZKAU

Blog - http://samolteni.blogspot.com

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/author.samolteni

Twitter - https://twitter.com/samolteni

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Juliet Van Heerden

Tell me a about yourself. What got you started in writing?

I’ve always been a closet writer. It all began with “Dear Diary” when I was about eight. My writing progressed to journaling as a teen and young adult and then more recently, I began to brave a “real audience,” and graduated to blogging. I’m an elementary school teacher, so I’ve taught students to write for nearly twenty years. In 2008, I began taking writing courses as part of my graduate course work. One of my professors, Dr. Krystal Bishop, encouraged us to consider writing memoirs. That is where the seeds were sown for me to tell my story in book form.

How do you schedule your writing time? When do you write?

I do not schedule it into my daily life. But, sometimes I get away for a few days and immerse myself into a writing project or deadline. I rarely force myself to write on demand.

How and where do you write? Do you prefer a lap top or some other method of getting your words down? 

Writing, for me, is like having a lover – I think about it all the time. I sneak into my closet at night when my husband is sleeping and write. I jot down ideas in a notebook on my desk at school when my students have a quiet moment. I pull my car over to the side of the road and dictate into my phone. Then I email myself the words, which I cut and paste into a blog post or manuscript. Sometimes I write by hand into a college-ruled spiral notebook. Sometimes I use my Macbook Pro. It just depends upon the setting and my mood.

What's your favorite part about writing? 

I love feeling inspired, then knitting the words together and taking an idea and developing it into something worth sharing. I feel like God is very close to me when I am writing.

Your least favorite part about writing? 

I struggle with editing. That would definitely be my least favorite part.

How did you come up with your book idea? 

My book idea was, as I said, birthed in one of my graduate classes. I read a piece to my class and read the emotion in their faces. Afterward, several students shared with me how my words had impacted them in a positive way. In that moment, I realized I had a story to tell, and that it would make a difference. It would be four years before I began the manuscript, but that is where the idea germinated. The Holy Spirit continued to prompt me until I sat down to draft chapter one.

How long did it take you to write your book? 

It took me three years to write. My memoir is personal and painful. I had to relive certain memories in order to write them well. It was emotionally draining. I wrote a chapter and then took a long break.

What types of marketing do you do to promote your writing? 

I blog, speak, and use Facebook as a platform. A marketing strategy is something I did not develop in advance. I’m learning as I go. Honestly, I need a rep!

What are you currently working on? 

I’m working on a companion for my memoir, Same Dress, Different Day. It is a study guide for small groups who want to go deeper into the themes of codependency, forgiveness, deliverance and redemption.

Do you have a new book out? My book, Same Dress, Different Day: A Spiritual Memoir of Addiction and Redemption was released on June 23, 2015.

Do you have a project on the back burner? Yes.

Tell me about it. 

I’m mulling it over right now, but I would really like to write my mother’s story. She’s a vibrant, descriptive writer in her own right, but has never been published. I believe her work is worth an audience. I would like to help her get a manuscript print-ready.

What would you tell a beginning writer who wants to publish but doesn't believe he/she has enough talent? 

Everyone has a story. Write yours! Just begin. That’s the best advice I can give. Even if it doesn’t seem like you have what it takes to be published. Put your story down on paper (or into a Word Document). Then pay an excellent editor to be the “talent.”

My website is: http://julietvanheerden.com/

My book is available on Amazon 

Or Barnes and Noble 

A You Tube review of Same Dress, Different Day, by Rachael Hartman of Our Written Lives can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PLefqIq-nQ

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Nancy Kyme

Learn why Nancy prefers writing on her laptop over writing free hand and what follows "Memory Lake."

Also, she asks ME a question; the first in these author interviews. Check it out at the end of this interview to see the question and my answer! 

Tell me a about yourself. What got you started in writing?  

Putting my thoughts into words and being understood by others has always been important to me.  Writing is the best tool I know to sort through and organize complicated thoughts.  I've been doing this since I could write.  I never thought of writing a book until my early thirties upon the exhaustion of my self-imposed reading list of classics.  Suddenly, the works of others no longer held my interest.  A burning desire to create my own stories took hold and so far it hasn't let up.  I still read, but not with the same intensity.  That intensity is now reserved for writing.      

How and where do you write? Do you prefer a lap top or do you prefer writing freehand?

Kathryn, I am the complete opposite of you!  I do not prefer pen to paper.  I love the abstract quality of word processing and its inherently neat organization.  My laptop is an extension of me.  I have more than one comfy chair with a high back and a foot rest throughout my house and I move around with the sun.  My husband bought me a Levenger lap desk made of cherry.  It rests on the arms of these chairs so the laptop does not cut the circulation of my legs.

What's your favorite part about writing? Your least favorite part about writing?

I love all aspects, from creation to editing.  Making sure my files are regularly backed-up is probably my least favorite part, but it must be done.

How do you come up with your characters? Why would readers want to get to know them?

 Find this book at Amazon

Also: Tate Publishing 

In 'Memory Lake' all my characters are all based on real people.  I even used their real names, (with a few exceptions).  None of them objected, even the antagonists.   Currently, I'm immersed in a work of fiction and the characters seem to be writing themselves.  There's no getting away from them being composites of folks I know, but since they hold my interest, and I've spent years with them, I am confident they will hold the reader's interest as well. 

What types of marketing do you do to promote your writing?

I have some radio interviews coming up and will be the key speaker at a few non-profit events.  I've done pod-casts, book fairs, book signings at Books-a-Million, Barnes & Noble, and many independent book sellers. I have a blog and utilize all the social networks.  My publisher will be airing a book trailer on Dish network.  I love attending book groups who have chosen to read 'Memory Lake'.  And, of course, I am grateful to be one of your author guests!  

How do you schedule your writing time? When do you write? 

First thing every morning, writing gets me out of bed.  The earlier the better.  I make a pot of tea and dive in.  My whole day revolves around getting back to my laptop after life intervenes. 

What are you currently working on? Do you have a new book out?

"Memory Lake, Second Edition" was released last fall.   I am planning to release a series of Sci-fi fantasy novels in the next year or so.  I have been working on them for years.  I hope to  find an agent this time around.   Fingers crossed.

Do you have a project on the back burner? Tell me about it.

There is a sequel to 'Memory Lake' on the back burner.   It will continue to follow my daughter and her friends, my grandmother, a few of my camp friends, and it will highlight my relationship with my dad.  'Memory Lake' is about mothers and daughters.  'Memory Canyon' will be about fathers and daughters. 

What would you tell a beginning writer who wants to publish but doesn't believe he/she has enough talent?

I'm a firm believer in sharing early versions with many readers before moving to publication.  Ask for feedback, have a thick skin, and consider all suggestions, (you don't have to use them).  You'll know you have something when the reader really reads your entire work, is enthusiastic to talk to you about it, and negative comments are minor, like typos.

Question for Kathryn:  What is your favorite children's book?

"Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak. I love everything about this book. The story, the illustrations, the pattern of the words. I had it completely memorized at one time and could share the book at elementary schools without even looking at the book. 

I was little when the book came out and my mother thought it would scare me; she said she almost hated reading it to me, but I loved it!

***

Thanks, Nancy!

Learn more about Nancy here: 

website:  www.nancyskyme.com