Category Archives: Blog Contest

Contest Author Interview – Cindy Hogan

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(NOTE: If you haven’t yet heard about the contest I’m running through September 24th, go here to see the entry details, as well as the 50+ different prizes, and please think about entering. After all, there’s no limit on number of entries and there are many ways to enter. If you’ve already entered, remember that leaving a comment about this interview earns you yet another entry!)

I’ll have to admit up front that this was my toughest interview. Why? Because Cindy doesn’t have anything about herself on her blog. Either she’s old-fashioned and doesn’t believe in bragging . . . or . . . she’s just too busy. Personally, I think it’s more the latter, topped off with a touch of humility. Anyway, I had to research other interviews to even get an idea of what makes this terrific indie writer tick. She’s definitely into suspense and, as you know, I LOVE suspense! (Why do you think I have a whole article about it in my menu?) Let’s stop the suspense for now and get to know her a little better, shall we?

Me:  You and I have something in common besides writing. As children, we both wanted to be archaeologists. I had to pick up a lot of dried sheep droppings before I found something of value on a tel outside Baghdad. How about you? Did you ever find anything ancient? And has your interest in history carried over into your writing?

Cindy:  I used to dig in my parents’ back yard and found a ton of stuff buried under the old pine trees: bottle caps, bottles, keys, unknown metal objects, bags that used to have the family pet in them (not ours, luckily) and bottle openers. Once I even found some money. I cherished all my treasures and made up stories about the people that lost them. I did find some animal bones a couple of times, but never found out what animal they came from. The hunt for something more is all over in my writing. Discovery always plays a role. One day, I will be writing a suspense novel with archaeology in it for sure.

Me:  I get the idea you’ve traveled a lot. Tell us about your most favorite and least favorite vacations.

Cindy:  You might think I’d say my adventures to Europe, but actually, my favorite vacation ever was in the good old USA. My hubby and I stayed in Tuscon at the Sheraton Conquistador resort. (Me: Nice!) It was more than amazing. I could walk straight out to the pool from our room and order whatever I liked poolside. I read and read and read.

(Heaven!!!)

The worst was a trip to New York. We planned to go for a day (My husband loves to do that), so we caught the red eye. Unfortunately, I can’t sleep on planes. My husband snores away. We went to a fun café, T-bones, for breakfast and then explored the city. I was so tired and beat by the time we flew home that I got totally sick on the plane and barfed all over in the bathroom. That was the worst.

(I can only imagine. Three days in NYC wore me out.)

Me:  You’ve lived in the southeast and the northwest. What are the biggest differences between the two areas, and where do you tend to set your stories?

Cindy:  The south is muggy and hot and outdoor activities are brutal. In the summer it’s too hot and in the winter it’s too cold. It’s a cold and a heat that goes right through you. Not my favorite place because I love the outdoors. There are too many awful bugs there, too.

I loved Oregon but in the end, I need four seasons and Utah is the place for that.

A novel I’m working on right now is set in the south and the first book in my new series is set in Oregon. The second book in this new series is set right here in Utah. I also have plans for one in New York and one in Germany. So many stories to tell and so little time.

(I knew she had the travel bug! Even in fiction. Here’s a look at the first in her “Watched” series, which is being offered as a prize for my contest:)

Me:  What would be the top three books on your Suspense list (besides your own)?

Cindy:  Crud. I hate this question. (Me: Oops, sorry.) I read so many books, it’s hard to pick favorites. I did just listen to THE REMBRANDT AFFAIR by Daniel Silva and really liked that.

(Hmm. I’ll have to check that out.)

Me:  Is your life as fast-paced as your fiction and why or why not?

Cindy:  This past year has been a whirlwind for sure. I’ve always had my hands in multiple things at one time. I don’t slow down often, but sometimes I have to. I like to be busy. I start my day at five and end it around eleven. There’s no time for TV or playing around these days. I’m either writing, reading, or critiquing.

Me:  Please describe your writing space (and provide a picture, if possible).

Cindy:  My writing space is perfect for me. I’m surrounded by windows so there’s no chance of claustrophobia setting in.

(We got lucky. She provided two pictures. The first, I suppose, as her desk looks before she sits down, and the second after she’s turned on her computer. Am I the only one curious about what is in that glass dish to the right of the monitor? It looks like bags of something.)

Me:  What exactly is in your big writing bag and why does your husband hate it? (I’d love a picture of that, too.)

Cindy:  Everything is in my writing bag. You’d be surprised at what I can stuff in there. Feel privileged, not everyone gets a sneak peek. :D 

My husband hates it because it is so darn huge.

Chapstick, pens, pencils, notebooks, loose paper, stapler, tissues, meds, gum, laptop, Nook, ward calling list, 2 calendar books, newsletter sign-up, sunglasses, lotion, sanitizer, bookmarks, sunscreen, iPod, headphones, digital recorder, jump drives, band-aids, mirror, glue stick, sticky notes, cell phone, keys, wallet, pictures, folders, and other miscellaneous spy items that if I disclosed would put us all in danger.

(Okay, then. But glue stick, really?)

Me:  Finally, what are the most important characteristics for writers who want to be successful going the indie route like you?

Cindy:  Hard-working, friendly, curious, and flexible.

And there you have it. The keys to success in indie publishing.

(I should have asked her what kind of daily exercise regimen she goes through to keep strong enough to carry around that bag. No wonder she got sick in NYC! Can you imagine what the TSA people thought of that bag when they screened it at the airport?)

Originally posted 2012-09-12 06:00:28.

Contest Author Interview – Ali Cross

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(NOTE: If you haven’t yet heard about the contest I’m running through September 24th, go here to see the entry details, as well as the 50+ different prizes, and please think about entering. After all, there’s no limit on number of entries and there are many ways to enter. If you’ve already entered, remember that leaving a comment about this interview earns you yet another entry!)

The award-winning Ali Cross writes YA and middle grade fiction and is best known for her YA paranormal Desolation series. On top of that, she’s one of the “Indelibles”–a group of indie authors who write middle grade and young adult fiction–not to mention a member of the new LDSIndieAuthors group (to which I also belong). I think you’ll notice her independent streak pretty quickly in my interview. :D

Me:  Okay, a Royal Canadian Mountie I can understand, even a pilot, but you wanted to be Prime Minister of Canada? Seriously? What would be the first law you’d try to pass as PM?

Ali:  You’re assuming I remember anything past last week. Sometimes I feel like I lived my life as different people and their memories are not always my own. Like a dream you only vaguely remember when you wake up but when you try to tell someone about it, you realize you don’t remember anything at all.

I do remember that I was very passionate about Native Canadian rights and probably would have wanted to work on improving their lives and their assimilation into Canadian society and workplaces.

(Good answer! Have you done beauty pageants or something?)

Me:  Tell me about the family you grew up in and how it encouraged (or discouraged) your creative tendencies.

Ali:  I was definitely an “accident” baby, so I was eight, ten, twelve and fifteen years younger than my siblings. My parents divorced when I was four, putting my sister (eight years older) in charge of me. I remember her better than I remember my mom.

There was a lot of ugliness in my childhood. Sexual abuse from both inside and outside the home, violence, poverty.

To escape my world, I read a lot of books (Anne McCaffrey and Lloyd Alexander come to mind) and wrote dark, angsty poetry.

Writing was always just a means of coping for me, never an ambition.

My siblings mostly thought I was a dreamer (which I was) and wouldn’t amount to much (I wanted to prove them wrong), but they’ve all been very supportive of my now that we’re all grown up.

Me:  So what is with the whole Ninja stuff?

Ali:  I have had a thing for the martial arts for as long as I can remember. I’ve watched every martial arts film I could get my hands on (and there are a lot!). For the longest time I wanted to grow up to be just like Cynthia Rothrock (except, maybe a better actress). 

(Okay, this is new territory for me so I had to look her up. She’s an American martial artist and actress, specializing in martial arts films. Here’s what she looks like. Can’t you just see Ali doing this pose?)

But martial arts are hard and it was always too easy to quit. So I always did before I achieved much of anything.

Fast forward to my life as a mom and I find myself married to a guy who loves the martial arts as much as I do. We enrolled our boys in karate as soon as they were old enough, and we also joined.

However, I have Fibromyalgia (Me: Ouch! I know what that is.) and I soon discovered that my body couldn’t handle the sport. I can’t tell you how badly I wanted to earn my black belt, but I was just in too much constant pain.

One night I cried to my husband about how sad I was to have let myself down on the karate thing. I wanted to be a black belt more than anything. *Darn my body!!!* But my husband loves me and is kind and pretty darn brilliant. He talked me through what it meant to me to be a black belt (to be committed, dedicated, to be exceptional at something, to do something hard, to prove to myself that I can be amazing at something).

And then he said, “Sunny (that’s what he calls me), you already are a black belt.”

To which I replied, “Wha???” (I’m a brilliant orator when I want to be.)

Then he talked me through all the things in my life where I have achieved “Black Belt Excellence”–and at the top, was my blogging and writing life.

Simultaneously, I’d been searching for my own “brand,” a way to stand out amongst the sea of blogs, and so . . . the dojo and my ninja alter ego were born!

(What an inspired husband!)

Me:  Did singing opera have an impact on your fiction in any way?

Ali:  Absolutely, 100%! I tend to write my stories very much like operas–a lot of drama, angst, and tragedy.

Opera taught me how to work hard at one thing for a very long time–for instance, I would work on 3 to 6 pieces of music a year. That’s hundreds of hours of practice on just a handful of arias. Long after I thought I had the music “perfect” we were still working on it. That kind of dedication to detail and perfection has taught me how to be persistent and dedicated in my writing.

So from rich and colorful characters to dedication to the details, opera has impacted my fiction writing on every possible level.

(Bravissima!)

Me:  What color is your hair really?

Ali:  LOL! Um, that would be brown.

I’m sad that I had to go back to boring brown when my husband lost his job last April. Not to say that brown is bad, but for me, my hair has come to represent a standard or something. A statement about how I feel about myself and what I hope for myself.

On Monday I’m getting my brown roots touched up, but I’m having her add back in a streak of red–maybe that’ll be enough to help me feel like I’m really me while not breaking the bank. :D (She wanted a smiley face there, but that was the best I could do.)

By the way, I changed my name, too. So between my name and my hair, I’ve created myself just as surely as I’ve created any of my characters.

Me:  Please describe your writing process from the germ of an idea to the finished product.

Ali:  Whoa! You’re not asking for much here, are ya? My heart does this little skip thing and my palms get damp just thinking about answering this! What if I get it wrong? What if I don’t sound intelligent? Because my writing process is kind of visceral and not terribly well thought out. But . . . I’ll give it a go.

Usually I come up with an idea–just a thought or a one-liner. Like, BECOME, was literally, “What if the devil’s daughter wanted to be good?” Then my husband and I will play the What If game . . . until I have a story fleshed out.

I’ll usually write a one- to three-page synopsis based on what we “discovered.”

Usually, I’ll just dive in and start drafting until I get to about fifty pages–then I stop and “beat it out” á la “Save the Cat” by Blake Snyder.

I’ll keep drafting, without stopping to edit or correct, until the book is done. Usually, I can accomplish all of this in four to six weeks.

From there, I begin the revision process–first I start with a basic read through, taking notes as I go with questions I need answered, spots where I need to fill in more, etcetera.

I’ll make those changes, then read through again, this time usually for voice. Do I stay consistent throughout? Can I choose better words? Build better sentences?

Then I’ll do a read-through for setting. I tend to be more emotional in my writing, without paying much attention to the outside details–so I need a revision pass just for that.

Then it’s off to beta readers, back for another revision, then off to my editor!

(Sounds very well thought out to me!)

Me:  Where do you see the future of publishing going and how does indie publishing fit in?

Ali:  Wow, that’s a good question. This will be the first time I’ve actually said what I think in a public forum–I tend to keep my opinions pretty much to myself.

I think we can all agree that publishing is changing. I think indie publishing will continue to grow and will gain more respect as more excellent and well-prepared authors publish that way. I think more authors will be “dually published”–straddling both the traditional and the independent.

I would like to see a publishing world where independent authors are as well respected as the traditionally published, and are judged on the merit of their books alone–not how they came to be.

(Well said.)

Me:  I love writing spaces and can only imagine that yours must be wild. What’s the wildest thing about yours and is it closer to heaven, earth, or hell? (Oh, and I’d love a picture to share with my readers.)

Ali:  My writing space is not wild at all, LOL! I think the only thing that sets me apart from a lot of writers is that I prefer to write during the daytime, and love to see the sun shine in through my window!

And my space is definitely closer to Heaven. :D

(She’s right. It is. And look how organized she is. Boy, was I wrong!)

Me:  Finally, what is the most ninja thing your cat ever did? (I’d love a picture of the cat, too.)

Ali:  Oh my poor cat. She’s a lot like me. You can tell she wants to be an amazing, awesome ninja cat, but the truth is that she’s a big ol’ fraidy-cat!

The most ninja thing she does is move at the speed of a bullet so it’s impossible to catch her in the act of either ninja-awesomeness or fraidy-cat glory. So, sadly, no pics of her and her mad cat skills.

(Aw, well. I can’t have everything.)

Still, I’d be amazed if you didn’t learn something new about Ali in this interview. In fact, I can tell I’m going to have to interview her again some time because this lady is fascinating! Don’t forget to check out her website and blog for more information.

She’s offering a few copies of both BECOME and DESOLATE as prizes in my contest, so comment here and earn another entry.

Originally posted 2012-09-10 06:00:14.

Contest Author Interview – Adam Glendon Sidwell

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(NOTE: If you haven’t yet heard about the contest I’m running through September 24th, go here to see the entry details, as well as the 50+ different prizes, and please think about entering. After all, there’s no limit on number of entries and there are many ways to enter. If you’ve already entered, remember that leaving a comment about this interview earns you yet another entry!)

I’ve only become acquainted with Adam recently, but it’s clear he’s a very funny guy with a lot of energy–perfect for middle grade readers! Also, I came to discover that he used to home teach my niece AND he lives right across the street from the apartment building where my husband and I used to live (and manage) in West Los Angeles. How’s that for small world stuff? While he used to have a day job in the movie industry, his new book, EVERTASTER, has been so successful that he’s working full time promoting it and writing its sequel.

Me:  Please describe one of the most formative experiences from your childhood, one of those that put you on this path to creativity and writing.

Adam:  I think it had to be due to going to bed early. I used to lie awake, dreaming of the books I’d read. It was a wonderful time to think, and going to my imagination was always a favorite place to be.

(I still do that, only now I do it with someone next to me snoring; at least he snores softly.)

Me:  At what point did you decide to get involved with movies and why?

Adam:  It was either that or engineering, and I had this feeling that if I became an engineer, I’d have to follow the laws of physics. As much as I love those laws, the laws of story were a stronger draw. I was in my sophomore year at BYU, and I saw a spinning 3D sphere on the computer screen and I thought, “Wait, you’re telling me I can make dinosaurs for a living?” Turns out I could! In fact, I built most of the dinos in this Nintendo commercial:

(Cool, eh?)

Me:  Which are more fun–monsters, robots, or zombies?

Adam:  Monsters. They have skin that wrinkles and muscles that flex, while robots are hard surfaces that are much easier to build. Ultimately, monsters are more of a challenge. And Zombies? Well, they’re really just humans with fewer limbs. Not quite as fun as monsters, but still better than sharpening toothpicks for a living.

Me:  Are you still working on movies and, if so, what’s your current project and who’s in it?

Adam:  I am currently working full time on writing an EVERTASTER novella and touring with EVERTASTER. Who knows? I may work on another film soon, but I’m having so much fun being an author, we’ll see. The most recent film I was working on was “Pacific Rim,” directed by Guillermo del Toro. Who is in it? Mosters. Giant robots. Man, that was a hard job to leave.

Me:  What does your wife think of your detour into writing?

Adam:  She thinks I better get home in time for dinner. This touring is an adventure! She’s been wonderfully supportive. We discussed this kind of scenario before we ever got married. And now it’s actually happening, so we consider ourselves lucky.

(Smart pre-nuptial verbal agreement!)

Me:  Were you a picky eater as a child like your main character, and what were your least favorite foods?

Adam:  I was not, actually. I ate everything. I even got paid 10 bucks to eat a moth in the 9th grade. But I did a lot of research and observation of picky kids to understand Guster so I could tell his story.

(First of all, I think you should consider trying out for “Survivor.” Secondly, my son, Jason, would have made an excellent research subject.)

Me:  Could you describe your writing process? I mean, given your background with film, do you storyboard or follow some kind of outline method?

Adam:  I do think in a traditional 3 act structure, but sometimes I’m not so sure I end up following it. I usually take months to brainstorm a project and take notes on it then when the log jam breaks, it all comes flowing out and I write an outline and begin work on the first chapter. After that, I write furiously at 2,000 words/day until I’m finished. Sometimes, when I’m trying to nail down a particular description for a character, I do my own “visual development” like we do in the film world. In my case, often a simple sketch suffices. I sketched out most of the characters in little thumbnails for EVERTASTER. It’s similar to how we did the cover art, as well.

Me:  What are you currently working on?

Adam:  Currently, I’m writing EVERTASTER – THE BUTTERSMITHS’ GOLD, a delightful and short novella about a couple of Viking ancestors many years ago who must defend their clan at all costs.

Me:  Finally, have you become a true Angelino and fallen into the sea yet?

Adam:  There was a magnificent earthquake the other night. After those we usually just go back to bed. I do fall into the sea at times, but mostly willfully. I’ve taken up spearfishing. It’s a great way to put food on the table in case people lose interest in buying mystery and adventure books.

(Since that is not likely to ever be the case, I bet the spearfishing will remain a hobby.)

Come on by my Facebook page and check out some of the cool concept art that led to the book cover. It was done by Dreamworks artist Goro Fujita. He did concept art for “Megamind” and “Madagascar.”

(Ahhh, that’s why your cover seemed kind of familiar.)

Check out Adam’s awesome trailer for EVERTASTER, made with the help of some of his movie buddies:

If you want to buy the book, click here, and you can always learn more about Adam and his writing on his website.

Originally posted 2012-09-07 08:35:57.