AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Michele Cook

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

I have dabbled with writing for most of my life, but have only recently started taking it on as a serious endeavor.  I love putting my thoughts on paper; they are much easier to sort out that way.

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

In my day job, I work on a traveling railroad construction gang and am away from home for 8 days, and then home for 6.  I try to schedule at least a few hours of writing in the morning on those 6 days off.  I love the quiet of the morning and the words seem to flow better for me. 

Planning and ideas seem to come better in the evenings and I have been known grab a scrap of paper to jot an idea or random line down.  Thanks to technology I have started keeping all these little scraps in my phone rather than floating around the house somewhere. 

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

I use my laptop.  It travels with me and is easy to take into my “outside office”.  I love to be outside and I write in a lounge chair in the back yard all summer long.

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

My favorite part about writing is plotting out a book.  I love letting my thoughts wander and figuring out how I want it all to come together.  Once I have my outline down, I get a big adrenaline rush.

My least favorite part about writing has got to be the marketing.  This kept me from putting anything on the market for a long time, and it is the part I struggle with the most.  I would love to be your stereotypical recluse writer.

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

Get the Book at Amazon

I have been involved with horses since I was a little girl, eventually even training horses and riders in the hunter/jumper industry for about 15 years.  To watch a well matched horse and rider is like watching a fabulous dance routine – it can be a breathtaking experience even for the non-equestrian. 

When the opposite happens, you will still watch, but only because you are waiting for the train to wreck.  I have seen so many people get hurt or scared because they were poorly matched with their first horse or had gotten taken advantage of by an unscrupulous seller.  I wanted to offer clear, actionable advice to anyone looking for their first horse so they could turn out like the former rather than the latter.

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

So far, most of my promotion has been on social media.  I am meeting with the marketing teacher at our local technical high school to get a little more help in that area.  I also plan on taking my book to the street and visiting book stores, tack shops and horse shows to get the word out there a little bit more.

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

I am currently working on a riding lesson journal to help riders keep track of their progress.  With any luck it will be out by May and I can take that to the streets with this book.

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

My big back burner project is a dark and twisted mystery novel about a young lady who runs into a lot of trouble on a solo hike in the mountains of West Virginia.  A high class serial killer, a backwoods Pastor who twists the Bible to suit his needs and a tour of the Alleghany trail have me very excited to get this one down on paper. 

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

Write as much and as often as you can and start showing your work to a few select people.  Ask for honest critiques and then try not to get your back up too much when they say something you don’t like. 

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Learn moe about Michele and her book here:  

www.michelemcook.com

TUESDAY TRAILERS: 15 Best Writing Quotes from Literary Geniuses

| Anya Velvet

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: T S Blakely

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

I began my writing career about five years ago producing business books. As a globally recognized expert in certain business topics and with no information readily available for others, I felt the need to share what I know. It is now five years later and I felt the desire to leave the business books behind and to try my hand at fiction and self-help stories…with the same motivation to help people and the additional motivation to entertain.

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

Mostly of my writing is done at night after the sun goes down. The darkness produces a quiet calm in which to think.

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

I write using a standard keyboard and monitor attached to my laptop. Comfort us key when you’re about to type thousands of words! For my next book, I am going to try speech recognition.

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

My favorite part is in the beginning when I am planning out the story, who the characters are and whether those characters will help or hinder my main character. My least favorite part is the vast amount of time it takes me to physically type up what I’ve planned.

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

It took two months, on and off to write my book. That includes both the planning and writing phase. Of course now, the marketing plan takes even longer! The idea came to me one day after years of watching everyday people struggle. My first book, a short story, is a self-help story for those that struggle to make financial decisions. My second book is a who-done-it story requested by a friend.

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

After conducting a great deal of research on book marketing, I quickly discovered that marketing fiction is very different than marketing my business books. Business book marketing is all about speaking publically at professional conferences. As a new author in the fictional space, I plan to seek book reviewers and interviewers. I may invest some monetary budget to advertising as well.

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

My first story, the self-help short story is called “Choose Another Road.”

https://www.amazon.com/Choose-Another-Road-Changes-Difference-ebook/dp/B00I453JSI/

My latest book (short book / long story J ) is called “Bang! Bang! Bang!,” a story about a woman who is pulled out of her quiet life and forced to act in order to protect her impending success.

https://www.amazon.com/BANG-TS-Blakely-ebook/dp/B01N6RNC4W/

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

With two stories on Amazon, I am now planning out ideas for a third plot. However, before I write a third book, I will watch Amazon for reader reviews in order to see what people did and did not enjoy.

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

There’s only one way to find out! Find people who don’t know you and have then read your work. Your friends and family will always tell you your work is good. Instead, you need to seek the absolutely honest feedback from people without bias.

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Amazon author page:  https://www.amazon.com/TS-Blakely/e/B01NBVIV9J/

Web site: https://tsblakely.wordpress.com/

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Question for Me:

How did you determine what type of book you would write? Did you research to see which genre was the most popular or did you write on topics that were the most comfortable for you?

I began writing because I had to get my story down. My parents divorced when I was seven and I wrote a fictional novel about a girl named Samantha who went through a similar struggle. Even though some of the situations and people were different, what happens within Samantha's heart draws closely to the feelings I had as a child.

Everything I have written has come because of my desires; not because of what is currently selling. For me, making money comes second to touching someone's life or bringing them joy.