AUTHOR INTERVIEW: David Gibbs

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

I am a licensed clinical counselor and certified addiction professional in Florida and Ohio. I have more than twenty years of experience counseling in the fields of mental health and substance abuse. I have worked in multiple settings, including home-based crisis stabilization, private and nonprofit organizations, and private practice. I have presented at both local and national conferences addressing mental health and substance abuse, and their impact on communities.

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

I allow the creative process to evolve as it sees fit.   However, I will always take time to transcribe or record my thoughts as they come to the surface.  It is my belief that these sporadic flashes of creative thought will become the anchor to which other ideas will flow.   

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

I typically write at home on my laptop.  This allows me to create the environment I need to be the most creative. For me, the creative “juices” begin to flow when I am surrounded by the energy of Christmas- the smell of pine, music of the season etc..

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

     

For me the favorite part of writing for me is simply, the process – I really can’t speak to the least favorite part of writing. 

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

The book idea came to me when I was first working with adolescence and their families when I was an emergency home-based counselor in Toledo, Ohio.  I actually started writing the book when I was about 25 year old.  So, the book in reality, took about 25 plus years as a result of my own Humbug messages.  

Humbug messages are those thoughts that prevent us from fulfilling our dreams.  These messages tell us, I am not smart enough, not pretty enough, not deserving and much, much more.

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

In regards to the types of marketing I have done to promote the book I actively used social media – Facebook, Instagram and twitter.  I have also have participated in a local radio interviews as well as a Blog  interview.

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

Currently I am working on a revised edition of Humbug to Happiness.

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

Ironically, I would tell a beginning writer to read Humbug to Happiness – Breaking the Chains of the Past.  It is my contention that, when we sit any thoughts that prevent us from achieving our goals we are being shackled by Humbug thoughts. 

Website: http://www.humbugtohappiness.com/

Free preview of first chapter can be found at: http://www.bookdaily.com/book/5477716/humbug-to-happiness-breaking-the-chains-of-the-past

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Humbug2Happiness/

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A Question for Me: 

As a self-published author, platforms for marketing are very limited.  What could you suggest to a new author who has limited time to market their self-published work and is struggling with finding avenues to promote their work?

Great question! An author can't do everything unless they want to hire it out, and so I suggest choosing those things that will bring the greatest success. 

Because many authors don't know what those things are I have also, ironically, created a marketing book of ideas - along with links to places that will help them market their book for free.

My greatest success has come from reviews, blogging. social media and book signings at out-of-the-way places. Yours may be book trailers, author interviews like this one, contests, and book release parties, but you won't know what works and what doesn't for you unless you are willing to try a few things.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: C.L. Holley

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

Tragedy ushered me into writing. After the tragic death of my teenage son, I used the pen to express the many emotions that haunted me. My writing began as short emails sent on Wednesdays to co-workers and friends. They were called hump-day devotions. The response and feedback I received helped me realize my gift for writing. My first book about the passing of my son, When Flowers Fade, was chosen for review by the publisher Brentwood Christian Press in GA. Now I have written my sixth book and they all have one thing in common: heralding the message that no matter how hard life becomes or how far we tend to fall into the pit of depression and despair, Jesus Christ will never abandon us.

 

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

I write at different times and use different methods, but I write mostly in the mornings when the house is quiet. Sometimes ideas and inspirations come to mind during the day and I have to stop, grab a pen and paper, and jot down my thoughts before the inspiration leaves. I transfer the information onto the computer when I get home.

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

I tend to use paper for my initial thoughts as I re-write and re-arrange the words and sentences into complete thoughts and paragraphs. Afterwards, I type it all into my laptop word processing program. My favorite place to write is the living room recliner. In the still of the morning, I drink a cup of coffee, pray for wisdom and insight, and start writing.

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

    

My favorite part about writing is getting the positive feedback from readers. It’s refreshing to hear how my experiences or thoughts have comforted or encouraged someone else. My least favorite part of writing is getting mental blocks. There are times when I desire to write but the inspiration and words seem to escape my mind. I noticed the blocks tend to happen when I’m under stress or become engaged in too many projects.

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

Get the Book at Amazon

Soar above the Pain came from the words of someone else as we were looking at an old house my mother lived in during the 1940s. The person said, “Charlie, it’s amazing that someone with your challenging background could one day run for U.S. Congress.” I thought about her words and began to examine my entire life. I came to the conclusion that my story was worth telling. Now, close to a year of writing has culminated into a fascinating tale about the life of a person who wasn’t supposed to born, much less succeed.

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

  

I market and promote my books in several ways including through online venues such as social media, websites, and email. My platform as a minister and speaker also allows me to promote books through various church programs and Christian outlets. My books are carried through Amazon.com and are available to a worldwide audience.

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

Now that I’ve finished my latest book, I want to re-write a couple of my previous books, namely Forgiveness: Walk Me Through It and The God of My Midnights. I want to improve the story lines and make the books appeal to a wider audience. 

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

My back burner project is to have all of my books translated into other languages so I can effectively minister to people around the world. For example, I want to edit my book, Forgiveness: Walk Me Through It, to include a chapter on forgiving persecution, and have it translated into many languages for people in foreign Countries who live under heavy religious persecution.

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

My advice for a beginning writer would be two things: First, your story or idea can help someone. There is someone somewhere waiting on you to bring out the gifts stored deep within. Secondly, dream big and think beyond the traditional borders of where you live and what you’ve seen. Technology and social media has brought the world to your doorstep. So write to appeal to the world, not just to the people you know.

A Question for Me:

My question to a seasoned writer would be, “How do you develop the ability to know where and how to place words so that they are the most effective to the reader?”

Wow. What a great question! This may or may not surprise you but I'm all about finding your voice and sharing your ideas in the way only you can share them. Placement of words comes naturally as the writer delves into their heart for what they truly wish to say. It isn't about copying someone else's way of writing - rather, it's more of a, "let's find out who I am so that I can then share what is inside me." Practice, of course, is key in any indeavor, but searching your heart comes first. 

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C.L. Holley - Speaker | Author | Minister

Comfort & Encouragement Ministry

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Lori Knutson

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

I remember wanting to write after reading Tom Sawyer in Grade 9. I wanted to be able to convey that sense of time and place, that humour that’s funny on different levels. I can’t tell exactly when it happened, but I also remember that the wanting to write had turned somehow, at some time into a need to write.

I’m the author of five books and I teach Grade 3. It’s busy, but I get to do two jobs that are very fulfilling, and not everyone is that lucky.

How and where do you write? 

I write in my office at a stand-alone computer. 

Do you prefer a lap top or do you prefer writing freehand? 

I do bring a thick notepad and pens with me whenever traveling. Then I jot down ideas for books, blog posts and even write some poetry. But writing by hand seem tortuously slow now and it doesn't have the spell-check features on which I've come to rely. Heavily. When writing by hand I now catch myself watching for the red squiggly line to appear under my messy script. It never does.

What's your favorite part about writing? 

The best thing is the creative process, and working alone and independently. I kind of enjoy the business end of it, as well.

Your least favorite part about writing? 

Editing a bazillion times and grammar rules. Ugh.

How do you come up with your characters? 

I write and they come to me. I wish I could be more profound about this process, but that’s what it is for me.

Why would readers want to get to know them? 

My characters are authentic. They don’t do anything that their character wouldn't do. Also, they are relatable and fallible – like the rest of us! The reader can empathize with my characters’ thoughts and actions.

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

I attend farmers’ markets here and there. I advertise in local newspapers and on Facebook prior to attending and always have a great time and a great turn out.  I enjoy bringing my work directly to people and having the opportunity to meet my readers.

Online marketing has been very successful for me, as well. It’s a great way to connect with people and get them interested in what I write. Old-fashioned newspaper coverage is still very effective, if you can get it.

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

I write and promote my books whenever I’m not vacationing or teaching school. During the fall of 2013, my school board granted me a sabbatical. During that time I completed two manuscripts, a young adult novel and Denby Jullsen, Hughenden.

What are you currently working on? 

Right at this moment, most of my energy and time is spent developing my online presence. I have a blog on my website and Google+, and I’m working to market my writing online.

Do you have a new book out? 

My latest book is called More Simplicities. It was published in December of 2014 and is a sequel to my first collection of inspirational anecdotes, Sacred Simplicities (Path Books, 2004). Sacred Simplicities won an award for best in a Life Stories category.

My first novel for a general audience (not young adults, that is) is Denby Jullsen, Hughenden, also published in 2014. It would be considered literary fiction, and revolves around the murder of Denby Jullsen in 1935. Denby is now available as an e-publication – my first one. All my other books will follow Denby into ebook form soon.

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

I have two projects on the back burner(s). Likely, the first to come into print will be the story of how I came to live where I do – in my Grandma Knutson’s former house in rural Alberta, Canada. About nine years after she passed, Grandma’s house stood empty for a long while after being a drug house for a couple of years. The dealer was hauled off to jail and the house was repossessed by a mortgage company and put up for sale. The book will tell the story of how, over many months and obstacles, I got the house, and how living in Grandma’s house has changed my life. I’ll also incorporate past stories of the house before its near demise and slow resurrection.

There’s another murder-type mystery I want to write based in a seed of truth, as Denby Jullsen is and set in this area of Alberta in the 1930s. Our old newspaper, The Hughenden Record, tells of a so-called murder-suicide that took place in 1935. In reading the strangely and obviously biased account of the incident, it was clear to me that the man held responsible for the murders was framed. He lies in an untended paupers’ grave outside the fence of a local cemetery. I want to write his story.

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

I would tell them that writing is a long game. I wanted badly to be a writer for a long time, and I wrote badly for a very long time. The great thing about the craft of writing is that it does seem to inevitably improve with practice. Be patient and keep writing. And give up hope of fruition, as the Buddhists say. You’d better be writing for the experience of writing because, honestly, that may be all you get, just the experience. Be sure you can accept that.

Kathryn, how long have you been marketing your work through social media and how long have you been blogging? In your experience and opinion, is social media one of the best marketing tools or just a different tool that does a different job? (i.e. targets a different market?)

Are you traditionally or independently published? I am both, but have just had the rights of my last publisher-owned book reverted to me. I now own all my books.

Great questions!

First, I have been marketing my work through social media for a few years now, although when my first book was released in 2002, I was doing very little social media. Through the years, however, I have learned that social media is up there at the top. Reviews, interviews like this one, places to post for free advertising, as well as other online sources, gets the word out easier and cheaper than ever.

I have been blogging for less time, but enjoy the opportunity to share what I am learning with writing, publishing and marketing, even as I experience the journey. I have readers who return to hear what I have to say next, and authors like yourself who graciously interview for my blog.

I also do quite a few author signings through the year at various locations (other than bookstores). I find that getting out there is just as important as sitting behind my desk and working on social media.

I was first traditionally published, but later bought the rights back to my first book. I am now strictly on my own and love the freedom it gives me to design my own covers, choose my own interior layout, my own price, etc.

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Thank you, Lori!

Links to Lori's websites and books:

Author Website: www.loriknutson.com

Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lori-Knutson/634083073301555?ref=hl

Google+:

https://plus.google.com/105033071468694761217/posts?hl=en

To Purchase Denby Jullsen, Hughenden as an Ebook:

Book Page:

http://www.primediaelaunch.com/product/denby-jullsen-hughenden/#.VO06EivF-So

Primedia Elaunch Author Page:

http://www.primediaelaunch.com/author/lori-knutson/

Twitter Account:

https://twitter.com/lori_knutson

In personal anecdotes written over the last decade, Lori Knutson shares with readers her observations of the world. Inspired by both rural and city living, by joyful and painful events, by rainy and sunshiny weather, these stories serve as a reminder to slow down and notice the lives we live. The miracles we yearn to experience are here, in the moments that we pause to savour. This book offers a larger perspective on the smaller things in life.

Lori Knutson is an author and elementary school teacher living, teaching and writing in east-central Alberta. You can visit Lori at www.loriknutson.com.