Guest Sandra Parshall

Today, my guest is Sandra Parshall, a member of Sisters in Crime, who has a psychological suspense series out. I had a chance to catch up with Sandra and ask her a few quetions. Here is what Sandra had to say:

Sandra, thank you for stopping by my blog and visiting with us today.

EE: I see you were born and raised in a town about an hour from where I am presently living (see, I was born overseas and have chosen to live in the south since my father's retirement, leading us to Laurens, Anderson and Honea Path). I also see you live in the D.C./Virginia area now. Have you lived other places? If so, which is your favorite place to live and why?

SP: I lived in West Virginia for several years, then Baltimore, and my husband and I lived briefly in London before we came to the Washington area. I’m happy right where I am, in lovely McLean, VA, just across the Potomac from D.C. I love the country and mountains, but I don’t want to live in an isolated place. Washington is a beautiful area that offers the best of everything. Except traffic. The traffic is probably the worst in the world, but no place is perfect.

EE: Your "pecan pie" story was written after a vivid dream. Do you attribute that to too much pie, too much molasses, or too many pecans (you know too much of a good thing isn't good for you)?



SP: In this case, too much of a good thing turned out to be very good for me. During a restless night after my overindulgence, I dreamed of two little girls clinging to one another, outdoors in a thunderstorm, the younger one crying for their mother. The image wouldn’t let go of me, and over the next few months it became The Heat of the Moon, my first published novel. Regardless of what else I write, I think that will always be my favorite book.

EE: What is your writing area like - messy or organized? Do you write in total silence or do you listen to music while writing?

SP: My desk is messy. Very messy. Now and then I clean it off, just to prove to myself that there a desk does lurk under all that paper, but it quickly reverts to its natural state of disorder. I’m always vowing to reform and become a neatnik, but of course I never do. I prefer to write in total silence. I wish I could get that message across to the cats and the UPS delivery guy.

EE: Which writer inspired you the most to write the type of suspense/thrillers you do? What were your favorite books to read when growing up?

SP: I read all kinds of stuff when I was growing up. I was insatiably curious about the world and was reading terribly serious adult novels like Crime and Punishment at a young age. (Yeah, I was a weird kid.) I never read the Nancy Drew mysteries, though, and still haven’t to this day. My interest in reading mystery and suspense didn’t develop until my late twenties, and it took me a long time to summon the courage to write in the genre. My first book was heavily influenced by Thomas H. Cook’s writing, and Ruth Rendell’s masterful plotting of her psychological suspense novels is the ideal to which I aspire.

EE: You have a new book coming out in the next couple of weeks. Tell us a little bit about it - is it another in your Rachel Goddard series or is it a new series you are working on?



SP: Bleeding Through is the fifth Rachel book. A lot of readers have asked me to revisit the events of The Heat of the Moon and resolve the conflicting emotions Rachel and her sister Michelle feel toward Judith, their mother. This book is for those readers, but at the same time it’s a tangled mystery of the kind I love to write. While Deputy Tom Bridger, Rachel’s fiance, launches an investigation of the murder of a young law student, Rachel has to cope with an unexpected visit from Michelle. Her own husband doubts Michelle’s claim that someone is stalking her, and she turns to Rachel for help. The stalker is real, and when he follows Michelle to Mason County he also widens his attention to include Rachel. Several storylines come together in this book, and Rachel’s life is changed forever.

EE: What is one piece of writing advice you would pass on to future generations of writers?

SP: Write from your heart, and remember that most people read for character and emotion, not plot. They might pick up a book because the plot sounds intriguing, but if they don’t connect with your characters quickly, they won’t stick with it. I realize that some stories, such as techno thrillers, are plot-driven, but even there I believe you have to give a reader characters who feel like living, breathing people – characters who will make the readers feel something.

EE: Where is your dream vacation spot and why?

SP: I would love to go to China and spend a week volunteering at the Bifengxia panda center, where my beloved Tai Shan lives now. The chance to be among the pandas in the gorgeous mountains of central China sounds like an ideal vacation to me.

Again, thank you for being on my blog today and I wish you much success in all your writing endeavors.



AUTHOR'S BIO: Sandra Parshall is the author of the Rachel Goddard mysteries, which Library Journal has praised for “edge-of-the-seat suspense” and Kirkus has described as “fast-paced, chilling, and compulsively readable.” Her first novel, The Heat of the Moon, won the Agatha Award for Best First Novel. Her latest is Bleeding Through, due out September 5. A former member of the Sisters in Crime national board, she remains active as administrator of the SinC members’ listserv. She lives in Northern Virginia with her journalist husband and two cats.

Guest Jo Linsdell Interview

Today I'll be chatting books with author and illustrator Jo Linsdell.



EE: Hi Jo, thanks for joining me today.
JL: It's a pleasure to be here.

EE: When did you first get bit by the writing bug?
JL: I've been writing pretty much since I could hold a pen and have experimented with various genres over the years... and will continue to experiment in the future too. I don't like to limit myself or my creativity. So far I've published non-fiction, poetry, short stories and recently a children's picture book Out and About at the Zoo.

EE: Tell us a bit about Out and About at the Zoo and what you feel is the most important message you share.
JL: I'm really excited about this book coming out. Out and About at the Zoo was released on 1st June 2012 and is a children's picture book. It's a fun day out discovering the different animals at the zoo. The rhyming text and colourful pictures make it perfect for younger children.

It also carries an important message as it highlights the joys of spending quality family time together. A day out like this one will remain with both the mother and child for a long time.

EE: How did you come up with the idea for the book?
JL: I wrote the text after taking my son to the zoo for the first time. It was great to watch him discovering all the animals. Children see everything as magical and interesting. It's amazing watching them discover the world and being able to see it through their eyes.

I decided to make it rhyming text as those are my sons favourite type of books.

EE: You're both the author and illustrator for this book. What was the hardest part of creating the book?
JL: Anyone that thinks making a children's book is easy is VERY wrong. As the text is so limited, every word counts. You also need to balance the text with the illustrations and make it so they work together to tell the story.

The hardest part was formatting the book. I studied art at college but making illustration digital and print quality is a whole different ball game! The technically stuff like transparencies and layers caused me no end of problems. Luckily I have a friend who is an expert in this field and he saved the day several times as I tried to get the final file ready.

EE: You've written various genres. How has this children's book been different from your other work?
JL: I've written non-fiction which relies on facts and presenting them in an easy to understand fashion. I've written poetry which is, for me, the most personal type of writing. I've written short stories where you need to tell a complete story in a limited number of words and longer fiction where the story is more complex and developed.

Writing a children's book was fun. Not that I don't enjoy writing the other genres but this was pure fun. It also gave me the chance to involve my children in my work. I have a 4 year old and a 9 month old. My 4 year old gave very honest feedback about both the text and the illustrations. If he didn't like it, it needed to be changed.

As I wrote the story for him, following our own day out at the zoo, it seemed right that he should play an active role in it's creation. It made the whole experience even more special.

EE: You're currently doing a 3 month tour to promote the release of the book. Where can people find the tour schedule?
JL: I have a page dedicated to Out and About at the Zoo on my website that contains all information regarding the book and the tour.



EE: You've created some book extra's to go with your book. Can you tell us a bit about them and where they can be found?
JL: On the Out and About at the Zoo page on my website I've added some activity packs for children. All the activities are strongly linked to the book and the animals featured in it. So far I've added a word search, printable animal masks and some printable colouring pages. To download any of them all you have to do is 'pay with a Tweet or Facebook update' to let others know about them. There is a button on site for each.



EE: Where else can people follow you on-line?
JL: I'm a real social media junky and am pretty much everywhere. The sites I use most are:
Website
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
Goodreads
Amazon.com


Thanks, Jo for being my guest today. I've read your book and will post my review next Friday. See you all in the postings - E :)

Guest Jo Linsdell

Today, I'm hosting Jo Linsdell on her "Out and About at the Zoo" book tour. This is her first children's book. Jo will be appearing on my blog a couple more times throughout her tour. Today's posting is an article geared for homeschoolers and zoo field trips.

The Zoo: Homeschooling Guide
By Jo Linsdell

Jo Linsdell is the author and illustrator of the rhyming children's picture book OUT AND ABOUT AT THE ZOO. Find out more about her here.

Kids often get bored over the long summer months and the stress levels of parents increase. A trip to the zoo will be enjoyable for the whole family and gives the opportunity to educate your kids before, during and after.

Children will love learning about the zoo and all the animals with these simple lesson plans:

Before:
· Build the excitement for your trip by doing some research about the animals or the zoo itself before you go. When was the zoo built? How many animals does it home?

During:
· Kids will have great fun seeing the animals up close. Most exhibits usually have a fact file with information about each animal. Read it with the kids as you watch the animals. Maybe even make it into a quick quiz. Get the kids to test your knowledge by asking you a question about the animal and they can check your answer from the fact file.

· Get the kids to take photo's of the animals so they can make a scrap book about the day. They might even remember some of the animal facts and be able to add them as a note by each picture.

· A lot of zoo's have petting areas where kids can get up close to the tamer animals. These areas usually have a keeper who overlooks the animals and will be able to give more information about them. Have the kids ask the keeper questions about what the animals eat, what they like etc... They might even be able to feed them themselves if you get there at the right time.

· Often you will also find cinema areas in the zoo where they show short documentaries about the animals especially the endangered species. These 'films' usually only last about 10 minutes making them just the right length to hold kids attention.

After:
· Animal picture books- Provide each child with several pages of paper folded and stapled together into a book. Give them pictures of animals cut out from magazines, or use photo's taken during your visit, and get them to choose which pictures to glue into their books. Then have them label the names of each animal.

· Zoo collage- Get the children to cut out pictures of animals and make a collage.

· Teach children about habitats. Place 3 plates on the table. In one put water, in one put sand and in the other some grass. Have some small toy animals and get children to put them in their natural habitat.

· Play pretend. Get the children to act out being zoo animals. How do they move? What noises do they make?

· Animal fact file. Have children research the different animals and put together a fact file for each one.

· Animal poetry. Talk about the different animals at the zoo. Talk about poetry and show them some examples. Have the children write their own poem about one of the animals.

· Have each child make a word-search using the names of zoo animals. Each child then completes the word-search of another.

· Alphabet animals. Get the children to help you create a list of animals using the letters of the alphabet e.g. A for Alligator, B for bear, etc...

· A quick research on the internet and you'll be able to find a huge variety of zoo themed colouring pages for some creative fun.

A trip to the zoo is can be great for everyone and it's perfect for stimulating activities. The kids will be more than happy to learn more and do crafts and activities about the animals they've seen.

Guest Darcia Helle

Today my guest is Darcia Helle. I first met Darcia online book tour group and actually won one of her books. I thought I'd ask Darcia to do something a little different for her guest posting. Instead of an interview or an article on writing, I asked her to provide one of her short stories from her anthology. Hope you enjoy - E :)



Wilted Brown Eyes
by Darcia Helle

I’ve never accidentally killed someone. That’s the thought I have as I step around the bed and peer down at him. His eyes are open but I can tell he doesn’t see anything. He’s lying on his back, framed by the edges of the black and crimson rug I’d bought to hide the wine stain on the hardwood floor. The blood leaking from his head gets lost in the crimson, making it hard to tell where the carpet ends and his blood begins.
I ease closer, looking for signs of life. His chest isn’t moving.
I’ve never accidentally killed someone.

I sit on the edge of the bed and look into his unblinking eyes. They’re brown. But saying he has brown eyes is really not telling the story at all. Brown can be dark and rough like old tree bark or light and soft like a new leather jacket. Brown has so many variables. It’s really not a color of its own but more of a category. His eyes are a wilted brown, like they’ve been left in the sun too long. Little dots of green brighten them, making me think of a crisp fall morning, before winter settles in and kills off that last bit of life.

I’ve never accidentally killed someone.

I always loved his eyes. The first time we met, he’d handed me a glass of champagne and said, “Hello. My name is Jake.”
“You have amazing eyes,” I’d said. Just like that. Words spilling from my mouth untethered.

Now Jake’s eyes stare up at the ceiling. The blood has stopped drizzling from that awful gash on the side of his head. His blood is on the nightstand. All over the sharp corner. Dripping off the edge.
I’ve never accidentally killed someone.

I sit for what might be a long time or might be a few seconds. Jakes’ eyes won’t look back at me ever again.

I’ve never accidentally killed someone.

Does it matter, really, if the act is intentional? Killing someone means they are dead, regardless of intent. Dead is dead. Right?

I’ve never accidentally killed someone.

I shake off this mantra I’ve been reciting in my head. Whether I’ve ever accidentally killed someone is of no importance. I killed Jake. And it wasn’t an accident.



AUTHOR BIO: Darcia Helle lives in a fictional world with a husband who is sometimes real. Their house is ruled by spoiled dogs and cats and the occasional dust bunny.

Suspense, random blood splatter and mismatched socks consume Darcia’s days. She writes because the characters trespassing through her mind leave her no alternative. Only then are the voices free to haunt someone else’s mind.

Join Darcia in her fictional world. The characters await you.

You can find Darcia here:
website
blog
Facebook page
twitter or @DarciaHelle

Darcia has also agreed to give away a copy of one of her books, so leave a comment and we'll do a random drawing for a copy of Enemies & Playmates, Hit List, No Justice, Beyond Salvation, Miami Snow, The Cutting Edge (fun, suspenseful story), Into the Light (not a horror or suspense story), or Quiet Fury, An Anthology of Suspense (where this story "Wilted Brown Eyes" appears) - see you all in the postings - E :)

Guest Jen Wylie

Collective Nouns...of the paranormal
by Jen Wylie

Some time ago I wrote on my blog about the fun of collective nouns. For those of you going “huh?”, a collective noun is a word used to define a group of objects, where objects can be people, animals, emotions, or other things. These can be general, such as a flock of birds, or more specific to a certain species, such as or a pride of lions, a murder of crows, etc.

This whole idea got me to thinking about collective nouns for the fantastical. So let's play with that!

An Internet search showed some are already in popular use, such as a kiss of vampires. Others have come up with ideas on their own.

For the shape shifting types it would be logical to use the collective noun for their animal, ie a pack of werewolves, a pride of were-lions etc. This could also apply to those with names other than 'were'. For example, selkies, which shift from seal to human could have the collective noun for seals when in that form. However in this case things can get confusing, as it is not uncommon for a species to have more than one collective noun. Seals have the following: Pod, Bob, Harem, Herd, Rookery.

But what about everything else? I like a gore of zombies. BRAINS! How about a fickle of elves? Do you know of any common usages, or have a good idea of your own?

About the Author:

Jennifer Wylie resides in rural Ontario, Canada with her two boys, Australian shepherd, a flock of birds and a disagreeable amount of wildlife. In a cosmic twist of fate she dislikes the snow and cold. Before settling down to raise a family, she attained a BA from Queens University and worked in retail and sales. Thanks to her mother she acquired a love of books at an early age and began writing in public school. She constantly has stories floating around in her head, and finds it amazing most people don’t.

Jennifer writes various forms of fantasy, both novels and short stories. Sweet Light is her debut novel published in 2011 by Echelon Press. She is also the author of the YA short story series, Tales of Ever, as well as the shorts Jump and The Forgotten Echo.

You can find her pretty much anywhere online:
Jen's website
Jen's blog

twitter: @jen_wylie
Jen's facebook page
Jen's smashwords page
Jen's Amazon Author page


HALF-CENTURY GIVEAWAY: Jen will be giving away an ebook as part of my half-century giveaway bonanza. Leave a comment to be entered in the drawing. Good luck to everyone. - E :)

Guest Faye M. Tollison

Today, my guest is Faye Tollison, author of To Tell the Truth, which I reviewed here. I originally met Faye through either the Sisters in Crime group or the SC Writers Workshop group, so we have a personal relationship. We have even done one event together since she published her book. I recently caught up with Faye to ask her a few questions. So without further ado, here is what she had to say. And I would like to thank Faye for taking the time to answer my questions and for being a guest on my blog.


FT: Thank you for having me, Elysabeth.

EE: Faye, tell us a little bit about yourself. Your likes, dislikes, what you like to do for fun (basically anything you would like readers to know about you)

FT: I love movies. I find a good movie very relaxing. And I love to read. Of course, it has to be a good mystery or suspense. But writing is my passion. LOL, the thing I hate the most is going to the dentist. I do it, but I really have to make myself.

EE: How long have you been writing? When did you first know or think you wanted to be a writer and possibly make a career out of writing? What kinds of things do you generally write? What have you read that has inspired the way you write (in other words, which writers have inspired your writing style or the genre you write in)?

FT: I've been writing since I was a teenager, but I didn't get serious about it until my kids were about grown. Then I got serious enough to join a writer's critique group, the South Carolina Writer's Workshop. I worked hard at developing my writing skills. I'm not sure just when I started my first book, but then I put it away and didn't do anything else with it until I had to quit work. A friend of mine brought it to my attention that it was a good time to get serious about my book and finish it. So I did and published it. I've read mysteries every since I can remember. I've always loved them. I think Agatha Christie had a great influence on my interest in the mystery genre, but M.C. Beaton made me realize how important a good character is to a book. She is the writer I admire the most.

EE: How long have you been a member of Sisters in Crime? As a member of Sisters in Crime, what do you feel the benefits have been over the years?

FT: Gosh, I can't remember exactly what year it was I joined Sisters In Crime, but it's been several years. This group has been great for my writing because of the types of speakers they have. The speakers are always informative, and I come away from the meetings with information I wouldn't have gotten on my own. Plus just being around other writers is inspirational. You learn so much from fellow writers and get such great inspiration from them. S.C. has so many good writers, and I feel privileged to be a part of them.

EE: What kinds of things have you been doing to promote your books and trying to gain visibility?

FT: Well, of course, I did a book signing with Fiction Addiction, which was really great. They do a press release for you. Also, I was a guest speaker at the St. James Place Book Club. I have appeared on Your Carolina with Jack Roper and Kimberly Clark. Also, I have created a page for my book on Facebook and have done a lot of promoting through Facebook and through Twitter. I try to stay at it constantly. I also mention my book at every opportunity when out in public. I do my best to help push other writers books on Facebook and Twitter. They will reciprocate and have so that is a good method of promotion. I have given out free books to some people as a promotion tool as well as my business card and bookmarks. Everything like this helps. And I'm constantly on the lookout for opportunities to push my book.

EE: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live and why?

FT: There is no place like home, Elysabeth. If I could, though, I would love to have a mountain home. I love the mountain and would love to live there.

EE: Thanks again, Faye for your time and gracing us with your wonderful insight.

FT: Thank you for having me, Elysabeth. I appreciate the opportunity to be a guest on your blog. I am working hard on my second book, The Bible Murders, so check out my page on Facebook, and join the adventure of John and Anna in this murder mystery. It's the second in my detective series. Also, visit my website.

Faye also has several blogs she keeps up with as well as posting monthly on the Writers on the Move blog.

Author's Bio: Faye Tollison has loved mysteries for as long as she can remember. After 27 years in the medical field, she decided to devote herself to writing her own mystery.

She has written several articles on writing, which were published in The Quill and a short story published in Catfish Stew, an anthology by the South Carolina Writer’s Workshop of which she has been a longstanding member. As a member in her local chapter of the SCWW, she wrote a number of critiques, and they were published in the chapter’s newsletter, Printed Matters.

Faye resides with her three cats in upstate South Carolina and is presently writing her second mystery novel.

Stay tuned next week for a special announcement leading up to a 50-day giveaway celebrating my half century. See you all in the postings - E :)

Guest Carol Baldwin

Today's guest is Carol Baldwin, author of "Teaching the Story." Carol is currently working on her first fiction piece, an historical YA novel, Half-Truths. I can't remember my first contact with Carol, whether it was by her blog which was kind of by accident and then in person or if it was in person and then I found her blog, but I've had the opportunity to take a workshop that was presented by Carol as well as attend an SCBWI conference with Carol. Carol also has a newsletter that she co-writes with Joyce Hostetter, which goes out quarterly. I enjoy reading the newsletter even though most of them are geared toward teachers. Carol wears many hats and I've asked her to write an article on "juggling" and balancing everything.

Juggling the Writer’s Life
by Carol Baldwin

When I worked on my high school newspaper and literary magazine, I didn’t realize that I should learn juggling skills along with reporting and creative writing.

But as I research and write my first young adult novel, teach an adult education writing class at Central Piedmont Community College, co-publish Talking Story (a digital newsletter), blog, write occasional pieces for the SCBWI Bulletin and Pen & Palette, coordinate a critique group and a tutoring program, help friends with their manuscripts, judge stories for the Center for Writing Excellence, PLUS maintain connections with my children, grandchildren, and friends, juggling would have been a good skill to have in my back pocket.

Although my inferior hand-eye coordination rules out juggling, I use several principles to keep up with these tasks.

Time management

I am the freshest in the morning, so I allocate that time for working on Half-Truths, my novel. After answering email and doing a quick Facebook check, I quit Outlook and Facebook and try to devote two-to-three hours to writing. My goal is not to interrupt this time; if the phone rings I check caller ID before answering it.

If I need to check on a fact, I try to wait until after lunch or in the evening to call or email. Once my email program is opened; it is almost impossible not to read and respond to incoming mail.

On a good day, I will conclude my productive writing session by printing out the pages I have written and read them at lunch. Afternoons are devoted to a combination of housework, yard work, and exercise.

Since I work part-time at my husband’s dental office and take my elderly mother to her doctors’ appointments, I don’t always follow the same schedule. But I have found that some writing-related projects can fit around other commitments. For example, I worked on this post while waiting at the doctor’s office with my mother.

During the evenings I read my friends’ works, blog, judge stories, work on Talking Story, add links to my class wiki, or read. I watch little TV, but I visit Facebook for relaxation or networking—but keep that to a minimum too.

In other words, I have found it important to prioritize, focus and set boundaries.

Prioritize, Focus, and Set Boundaries

I love to write, but on any given day I am faced with choices of how I will spend my time. I decide what is most important in terms of deadlines, goals, and my family. If my grandchildren are in town, they take priority. If I have the day to myself, my novel usually wins.

I have to work at staying focused and setting boundaries. Co-producing Talking Story with Joyce Hostetter has reinforced these strategies. Joyce and I use an online site, where we share information about upcoming issues. Not only does that prevent losing information in our inboxes, but it also establishes boundaries in our working relationship.

Sometimes, my writing projects overlap. Recently I was researching out-of-the-way museums for the May issue of Talking Story. In the process, I found an historical society which may be a great resource for Half-Truths. If I blog about tutoring or a writing event, then my time has served double-duty. When I teach a class, I use handouts from my book, Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing in Grades 4-8.

At the same time that I juggle different projects, I also work at not allowing writing to become an idol and taking over my life. There are times that I say “no” to writing and “yes” to the Lord, family or friends. As a Christian, I am learning to honor the Sabbath Day and keeping it totally writing free. These boundaries are as important as setting aside writing time.

We each have 24 hours to work with. It’s how we juggle our time that matters.

(photo courtesy of Jean Hall)

Carol Baldwin’s most recent book is Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing in Grades 4-8 (Maupin House, 2008). She has coordinated a SCBWI critique group for over 15 years, blogs here and is writing her first young adult novel. The three Gs in her life are gardening, grandchildren, and learning how to golf.

Guest Rena Jones

Today's guest is Rena Jones, author, mother, homeschooler. She and I met online when I first was published with 4RV. Rena's book A New Job for Dilly was her first published in the Dilly series and she has several other children's books to her credit. I asked Rena to write something about juggling being a mom, writer, and homeschooling and everything in between.

Balancing Family, Writing, and Homeschooling

When Elysabeth asked me to write an article on balancing family, writing, and homeschooling, my first inclination was to look up the word balancing. I know what it means, but I wanted the exact definition. According to The Free Dictionary balancing means …

Keep or put (something) in a steady position so that it does not fall.
Remain in a steady position without falling.

Balancing is to put something in a steady position or to keep from falling. I fall all the time, and by that, I mean I sometimes fail at doing everything I want to get done. Personally, I think juggling describes me better …

Continuously toss into the air and catch (a number of objects) so as to keep at least one in the air while handling the others.
Cope with by adroitly (skillfully) balancing.

Balancing/juggling my family isn’t as hard as it used to be. My children are older now and can do many things themselves. Long gone are the days of diaper changes, fighting with strollers, or struggling to get a wiggly child into a high chair. My kids are 22, 21, 12, and 10. They’re far from helpless, though many days I have my doubts. By the time my boys came along, my girls were old enough to fend for themselves more. They could read quietly while I got a baby down for a nap. Or they could help with one of the boys while I did something with another. It actually worked out pretty well for us. On top of that, my husband has always been very supportive. Not only has he supported our decision for me to stay home with the kids, but he’s also supported homeschooling, as well as helping with things around the house. I’m blessed … or spoiled … take your pick.

Balancing/juggling my writing isn’t that hard, either. I tend to write in spurts where I will write all the time or not at all. Summer is my writing time because that’s when we’re not busy with school. However, I have two very imaginative boys who are always giving me ideas. We can easily get distracted in school for a half hour talking about a story idea, character, or even a book title. In fact, it was my boys who came up with the idea for one of my picture books. We had just finished a week-long study on The Gingerbread Man where we read different versions of the story and compared them. Some of the titles were The Gingerbread Baby, The Gingerbread Boy, The Canjun Gingerbread Man, and so forth. My boys came up with the idea of a man made of marshmallows – and hence, The Marshmallow Man was born.

Balancing/juggling school was harder when the kids were younger. There were many days when I thought I was going insane. However, I have two things in my favor now. One, my kids are older, as I’ve said. And two, this is our 15th year homeschooling. It’s nothing new. I don’t have to think much about lesson plans, curriculum, and things of that nature. Like an old dog, we’re set in our ways and settled in a routine. I like to do each weekly schedule on Thursdays just so I don’t have to worry about it over the weekend. That doesn’t always happen, and many times I’ll be typing it Monday morning while the boys are eating breakfast or getting dressed. Again, time is on my side because after fifteen years, I could probably do it in my sleep. My problem is that I want to do so much, but there is not always enough time. Or something comes up and puts everything on hold. I’ve learned not to stress over it. We don’t have to finish every page in every book or do every single assignment I planned. We do what we can and that’s fine.

After so many years, I’ve learned to prioritize better than I did in the early days. I ask myself what needs to be done first, either by importance or deadline. I work from there. Time and experience have made this easier, although it wasn’t like that in the beginning. There were many days when I didn’t know if I was coming or going. There were many times I wondered if I was doing the right thing by choosing to stay home and homeschool my kids. My husband worked in law enforcement and often dealt with the local schools. Many times he would come home and say, “I am so thankful you’re homeschooling the kids.” That helped validate it for me.

My friends tell me that they don’t know how I do it all – raise a family, take care of the house, write stories, and homeschool my kids. Of course, some days I wonder that myself. I usually end up saying the same thing back to them. Some of their kids are involved in so many things – school, sports, scouts, music, dance – it seems all they do is take their kids from one activity to the next, as well as working and taking care of their homes. To me, that seems more exhausting than what I do, albeit just as important. One way isn’t better than the other. It’s what works for your family. As with everything, there are trade-offs. I don’t work outside the home, so I don’t socialize with other adults much. I’m home most of the time, so I don’t need to maintain a fancy wardrobe. I spend most days in work-out clothes because I like to exercise once we’re done with school. That’s my time. It’s the time I don’t have to think about the house, school, writing, or anything. I just exercise and listen to my music. I don’t spend school hours shopping or watching daytime television. And for me, that’s okay.

I have learned that in order to for me to balance or juggle everything that I want to get done, I need to simply take it one day at a time. When I first started homeschooling in 1996 someone asked, “How are you going to teach trigonometry?” There was a look of horror on her face when she said it. I replied, “I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.” At that particular time I needed to concentrate on 4th and 2nd grades, not advanced math. Why worry about trigonometry when we needed to learn the basics? Again, prioritize.

But finally, the main thing to keep me focused is the ability to stay relaxed. I’m a pretty laid-back person. I can get along with just about anyone. I’m one of those stop-and-smell-the-roses type people. While many moms have a death grip on their kid’s arm walking through a parking lot, I’ll be the one to spot out a rain puddle and encourage my kids to stomp in it. While most people are racing around Disney World from ride to ride, we’re the kooky family near some obscure wall studying the colors on a lizard or taking fifty pictures of a duck. I’m lucky because family, writing, and homeschooling all work together in that respect. I’ve learned that we don’t have to do it all. We just need to make the most out of what we do.

AUTHOR'S BIO: Rena Jones is a children’s author, specializing in picture books for kids ages 4-8 years. She has also written three middle grade novels – Coffee for Collie, Bananas Don’t Dance, and Encroached.

She has seven picture books published with 4RV Publishing LLC – A New Job for Dilly, A New Friend for Dilly, Lemur Troops & Critter Groups, Stork Musters & Critter Clusters, Pony Strings & Critter Things, Rhino Crashes & Critter Classes, and The Marshmallow Man.

Rena also self-published a non-fiction picture book called MOUNTAIN GOATS are KIDS like YOU! which is available @ www.lulu.com.

Website
Blog

Guest Deanna Klingel

Today, my guest is Deanna Klingel. I met her by way of the Highland Book Festival in 2010, which I found about on someone else's events page. I took some time to ask Deanna some questions. Let's see what she has to say:

Deanna, tell us a little bit about yourself. Your likes, dislikes,

I'm pretty ordinary. I love kids, hate peas and capers, love my husband, hate the current unshaved look for men, love America, hate what we're doing to her. I guess you might say I'm someone with strong opinions.

Tell us a little bit about what you write. What genres do you like to write? Do you only have books published or do you have other writing credits under your belt?
I mostly write for teens, though that isn't really what I started out to do. On my website you can read some award-winning short stories I had fun writing. I've written newsletters and some newspaper pieces. My book Just for the Moment: The Remarkable Gift of the Therapy Dog was written for an adult audience, but young adults are embracing it. I guess dog lovers come in all ages. Avery's Battlefield and Avery's Crossroad are both historical fiction for middle grade, though adults are also enjoying them. Bread Upon the Water, nonfiction for a teen audience, also spans ages. Cracks in the Ice and Waiting With Elmer, both Christian fiction for teens, will be out soon, and they will also span from teens to adults.

What was the process you went through to get your books published? Do you have an agent or did you just go straight to a publisher? How many rejections did you receive before getting your first acceptance?
Every book has had a unique adventure on the road to publication. The Avery Civil War series started with agents who took them to the Bologna International Children's Book Fair, two years in a row. Two major publishers in New York were interested, one was interested in film rights. But when it came down to the bottom line they asked for changes in my character's ethics to make the book "edgy." It was a deal breaker but I said no. I rejected them! I'd made every change they suggested in two years, but I would not compromise my character. He would not do the things they said were necessary to get kids to read. I attended a Christian Writers conference a short time later. Someone heard the story of Avery and Gunner and asked if she could see the manuscript. She was the acquisitions editor for Journey Forth, BJU Press in Greenville. Within months, Avery and Gunner were published and are enjoying great success. What I've discovered about rejections is this: by taking the time to really research and make sure your manuscript goes to the "right" places, even though it takes longer, the chance of being rejected is much less. Avery was perfect for Journey Forth who publish Christian fiction, especially historical, for the home school market, and a huge Christian fiction, a market I'd not known about.

Do you write in silence or with background music or other distractions?
When I'm working it is in silence. I have to hear what my characters are saying to me. I have to eavesdrop and listen to them talking to each other. I need to get into their heads and hearts to hear what they are thinking. I can't be here, I must be there.

How long have you been writing and what made you decide to become a writer? What was the turning point in your life that you said you wanted to be a writer?
I've loved writing things all my life, writing, rewriting, and rewriting, decorating pages, school newspapers, year book, plays and skits, puppet shows, stories for my kids. It wasn't until all seven kids were launched and we retired to the mountains that I decided to give my writing compulsion free rein.

When not writing, what do you do? Do you have a full-time job or do you just devote yourself to writing?
Oh dear. Now you want to see the craziness that has become my life? If I'm not writing, I'm reading, rewriting or editing. When I'm not doing that it's because I'm on the road marketing, or marketing from my computer. Marketing and writing are both full time jobs. I remember once on a blog I was asked what I did in my spare time. My answer was, "Spare time? You mean like get a hair cut, change the oil, wash the dog, clean the car, clean the toilets, do the laundry, buy the groceries, call my mom, that kind of spare time?" If you are wishing you could get your book published, be careful what you wish for.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
If I could live any where in the world, for real? Probably right here in the mountains of westeen North Carolina. I love it. For pretend? Maybe in my imaginary little town of Waitnsee in my book Waiting With Elmer.


Deanna, thank you for being my guest today and I wish you the best luck with your writing. E :)

Thank you. My pleasure. Good luck with your new blog.

ABOUT DEANNA:
Deanna K. Klingel was raised in a small town in Michigan. She left for college, married, and spent the next twenty years moving every two years with her IBM husband Dave. Their family grew with each move. They eventually settled in Atlanta with their seven children where they put down roots for nineteen years. The children grew up, left home, and Dave retired. They moved to the quiet mountains of western North Carolina. It was here, in the quiet remote setting that Deanna returned to her love of writing, and began the life of a writer.
In addition to writing, Deanna works with her therapy dog making visits in nearby communities, and travels every weekend to market her books. She enjoys golfing with her husband and working in the gardens, too, but there just isn’t time!

Her books include Beth’s Backyard Friends, and Rebecca & Heart, both eBooks on Storyrealm.com, and published award-winning short stories that can be read on her website. Other published books are Just for the Moment: The Remarkable Gift of the Therapy Dog, (Dog Ear Publishing, Oct 2010); Avery’s Battlefield, (Journey Forth BJU Press, March 2011); Avery’s Crossroad, (Journey Forth BJU Press, Sept 2011; Bread Upon the Water, (Rafka Press, spring 2011.) Cracks in the Ice, and Waiting with Elmer are expected to release within the year.

Deanna writes primarily for young adults in a Christian market.

Guest Shelley Stout

Today, Shelley Stout, author of Radium Halos, was supposed to be my guest. She has been very busy with work and totally forgot about getting her article to me. I had asked her to write a short article on creating her study guides for her book and the fact that she has developed two different level study guides. She has them geared for 8th and 11th grade. Now I know you are thinking that there isn't much difference between 8th and 11th grade but there is a world of difference in what they cover and how they utilize novels for study. Shelley's study guides are available here if you are interested in using her book during your history class or science class or even art. There are many ways Radium Halos can be used throughout different curricula. Hope you at least get to check it out and I highly recommend reading the book even if you don't use the study guides.

See you all in the postings - E :)

Guest Elizabeth Spann Craig/Riley Adams

Today my guest is Elizabeth Spann Craig (aka Riley Adams). I met Elizabeth when she was a guest speaker at one of our Sisters in Crime meetings. She spoke about her writing career and how she went from being a journalist to writing mystery novels. She is currently working on three different series under both names. I caught up with Elizabeth to ask a few questions and this is what she had to say:

First, Elizabeth, thank you for being my guest today. I really appreciate you taking time out of your very busy schedule for this interview.

EE: How long have you been writing? When did you first realize you wanted to write novels for the masses?

ESC: I knew I wanted to be a writer when I was ten. I wrote like crazy when I was a kid, filling notebook after notebook. Then, when I was an older teen, I started looking at writing from a job standpoint and worried about making a living. That's when I took a detour into journalism. When I started having children, I finally made a decision to return to fiction. I loved creative writing and wanted to share my stories with other people.

EE: What's a typical writing day for you like? Are you most productive in the mornings or late at night? I know you juggle family and other things, so how do you fit your writing in if you don't have a set schedule to write? What do you consider the most time consuming aspect of your writing?

ESC: Right now, I'm getting up at 4:50 a.m. and jumping right into my manuscript as soon as I pour my coffee (about 5 a.m.) I write until 5:30, which usually means I've written several pages. Then I get the kids up and get them ready for school, drive the carpool, etc. I try to write again around 9:15...some days that doesn't happen. I always have a Plan B and frequently that means squeezing writing in when I'm waiting for my children to leave an after-school activity. And I *always* write in the afternoon carpool line outside the high school. I usually get another couple of pages then, at least. I write on the go, at a moment's notice and I'm always looking for scraps of time when I can fit it in.

The most time-consuming part of the writing business is definitely the promo. I spend more time on promo than I do on my writing (unless I'm under a tight deadline.)

EE: Elizabeth, You are writing several different series. You also write under another name. How do you keep the series separated and not get confused which one you are working at the moment and how do you keep Riley Adams from sneaking in as the author when you are not writing on her books? What are the different series you are working on at the moment? How often are your books being published in the series?

ESC: I'll admit that I've gotten a little confused in the past! I've got two books for two different series due by July. What I'm currently doing is writing the second book of the Southern Quilting mystery series...that first draft should be done in the next week. Then I'm planning on letting it sit a day or two while I jump right into the fourth Memphis Barbeque mystery (a Riley Adams book). Then I'll edit the first book and draft the second. That should tap into two different parts of my brain, which will hopefully help me out a little and keep me from being either confused or burned out. I've tried to make the characters in the two series really different from each other to help keep one series from bleeding into the other. Fortunately, my two protagonists are very different from each other, so that helps.

The publishing schedules for my series haven't collided...until now! I had a November 2011 release of the 3rd Memphis Barbeque mystery, and I'll have a June release of the first Southern Quilting mystery, Quilt or Innocence. But next year, it looks as if my fourth Memphis book and my second Southern Quilting book will probably have similar release dates.


EE: What was your inspiration to start writing mysteries?

ESC: I absolutely love mysteries. They're my favorite genre to read, so they were natural for me to write. To me they're almost an interactive experience--I feel as if I'm solving the mystery alongside the sleuth.

EE: Elizabeth, we met at a Sisters in Crime meeting not too long ago. How long have you been involved with Sisters in Crime? What do you enjoy most about being a member of Sisters in Crime?

ESC: I think I've been a SinC member since about 2007ish. I like the comraderie and information that I get from other writers. The SinC newsletter is also a great resource for writers. And I've heard that the Guppies are an incredibly supportive group for writers.

EE: Do you listen to music or other outside noise when you write or do you write in silence?

ESC: If I'm writing at home, I listen to jazz, new age, classical or other non-lyrical music in the background. If I'm out in public, I just tune all the noise out and focus on my manuscript.

EE: Who is your favorite author or who do you think you write most like?

ESC: I have a lot of respect for M.C. Beaton as a modern mystery writer. And Agatha Christie is the writer who made me want to write mysteries. I'd love to write at the level of Anne George...that's my aspiration.

EE: If you could live anywhere in the world, where and why?

ESC: This is going to sound unimaginative, but I'd want to stay right here in the Carolinas. The weather is just about perfect, the people are friendly, the beach and mountains are both easily accessible. I'd just stay put and call myself lucky. :)


Elizabeth, thanks for being a guest on my blog today and I wish much success in this endeavor. E :)

Thanks so much for hosting me today, Elysabeth! It's been a pleasure. :)

Elizabeth’s latest book, Hickory Smoked Homicide, was released November 1. Elizabeth writes the Memphis Barbeque series for Penguin/Berkley (as Riley Adams), the Southern Quilting mysteries (June 2012) for Penguin/NAL, and the Myrtle Clover series for Midnight Ink and independently.

She blogs daily at Mystery Writing is Murder.

Writer's Knowledge Base--the Search Engine for Writers
Twitter: @elizabethscraig

Come visit me at Darcia Helle's place

I'm the guest on Darcia Helle's blog today and it was a doozy of an interview - lol. Fun, but some of those questions had me thinking. Click on the title of this posting and stop by and see what kind of probing questions Darcia asked. See you all in the postings - E :)

Guest Sarah Renee

Today's guest is Sarah Renee, a young author who has joined the SC Author Connection for events and such. Sarah Renee not only writes her own books but she illustrates and does some graphic design work too (reminds me of another young person, Heather). She has designed the banner for the SC Author Connection and it is pretty awesome. i can't wait to see it in person. I had a chance to catch up with Sarah Renee and ask her a few questions about her writing and here's what she had to say:

EE: Sarah, tell us a little bit about yourself, your likes, dislikes - who you are.
SR: My name is Sarah Renee, I'm currently fifteen years old, and I am the author of three fantasy adventure books called The Tiger Princess, Dash, and Hunted Home. I currently go to an online school called Connections Academy, and I have two sweet kitties named China and Frost. I am currently working on writing my eighth book in the Saderia Series, editing the fourth book, and learning a few basics about animation to create an animated book trailer for The Tiger Princess.. Some of the things I love the most are tigers, animals, reading, drawing, playing violin, learning new things, and of course, writing! My only real dislikes are bugs and bad weather.

EE: You are a young writer. How old were you when you started writing? What inspired you to write a series? Tell us a little bit about the series you are writing and how many books you plan to publish in the series?
SR: I had been writing for as long as I can remember. I finished my first novel, The Tiger Princess, at age 12 and later published it at age 13. When I came up with the idea for The Tiger Princess, I loved tigers and I had always been interested in royalty, so the two ideas sort of combined. Before I came up with the idea, I had written other stories, but when I began writing The Tiger Princess, I fell in love with the story and the characters. I grew so attached to the story that it motivated me to continue writing the next books in the series to continue Saderia's story and eventually publish it. A mysterious power Saderia learns about in The Tiger Princess also inspired me to continue writing more books in the series to unravel the mystery of her past and her ancestors.

The Saderia Series is a series of middle grade fantasy adventure books. The first book, The Tiger Princess, tells the story of a young tiger Princess named Saderia searching desperately for clues as to what happened to her royal parents, the King and Queen, after they mysteriously disappeared in a fire ten years ago. Living with her aunt and uncle who treat her like a 'prissy Princess' instead of the sassy tomboy she really is, Saderia tries to figure out who started the fire and why. On her path to discover the truth, she is helped by a dark lion named Dastarius that she is hesitant to trust. While she is searching for clues as to who started the fire, she accidentally stumbles onto an ancient secret of her royal ancestors and discovers a mysterious power hidden in her family for ages, one that has the power to change her life forever. The Tiger Princess has a lot of mystery and suspense as she starts finding more clues that build up to finally make her suspect some of the animals that are closest to her.

The second book, Dash, introduces a dark lion named Dash who is hiding a dark secret from Princess Saderia. He meets her when Saderia starts a new school, and although he at first tries to avoid her, they start to form a shaky, secretive friendship. Even though Dash tries to hide his dark past, Saderia starts to realize he might be hiding something from her. At the same time, a dark enemy from their past lurks somewhere inside the school, trying to break them apart. The third book, Hunted Home, describes the journey of a canine named Dingo who lives out in a harsh desert with a cruel pack of dingoes. Hated by his older brother, Bone, and the canines that control the pack, Dingo has to fight to survive. Meanwhile, a new enemy stalks Saderia's forest, making her realize that the only way to survive is to leave the forest forever. When Dingo discovers her lost in the desert, he has to decide which is more important--saving Saderia or his own survival.

The Tiger Princess, Dash, and Hunted Home are the first three books I have out in the series. I currently have seven books in the series written, and I am hoping to release my fourth book, Enchanted Home, sometime around March. I have planned for there to be fifteen books in the Saderia Series.

EE: What's your favorite genre to read? to write?
SR: My favorite genre to read and to write are fantasy adventure books with tons of suspense and a hint of mystery.

EE: What are your writing aspirations? aspirations in general?
SR: My writing aspirations are to finish writing all the books in my series within the next few years and release one book each year. My general aspirations are to eventually go to college and study to become a teacher or a lawyer.

(EE: Very commendable aspirations. keep at it and you will go far.)

EE: What's a typical day in your life like - do you have a set schedule or do you just play it by ear?
SR: I don't usually have a set schedule. I try to write every day for several hours and try to finish a certain amount of pages each day. Sometimes I work on drawing the cover art for my next books or the characters that are in my books or sometimes I take a break and read a book, go out for a bike ride, or play with my cats.

EE: If you could live anywhere, where would you live?
SR: If I could live anywhere, I would probably still choose to live where I am right now, but my second choice would probably be Canada, since my Mom went there a long time ago and really enjoyed it there, and because it snows!"

(EE: I think it's funny that both my guests this week said they would like to live in Canada - for different reasons and that I've got a French-Canadian background in my father and I've not been to Canada that I can remember.)

Sarah Renee, thank you so much for being my guest today and I can't wait to meet you in a couple of weeks.

AUTHOR'S BIO: Sarah Renee has loved writing from an early age. She has been writing short stories since the age of four, and at the age of ten, she came up with the idea for The Tiger Princess. She wrote the novel when she was twelve. She is fascinated with wild animals and the wild world outside her home, and has an obvious great love of tigers. She enjoys spending time with her cats, reading, drawing, and playing her violin when she is not writing. In her free time, she is constantly daydreaming about her many characters, creating new ones, and coming up with interesting adventure story ideas. She is fifteen years old. For more on Sarah Renee, her books and events, visit Sarah's website.

Guest Leslie Dubois

Today, my guest is Leslie Dubois. I first met Leslie under her other name, Sybil Nelson, via email. I met Sybil/Leslie at the Savannah Children's Book Festival in November. I caught up with Leslie in her busy life and asked her a few questions.

Leslie, thanks for being on my blog today. I must say I've really enjoyed your books so far (both as Sybil and Leslie and still have a few to read). I also apologize as I owe you a couple of book reviews (they are semi-drafted but not completed and I will work hard to get them completed and posted by the end of the week). I love the twists you put in your YA novels. Here are the questions I asked Leslie and her responses:

EE: Leslie, tell us a little bit about yourself, your likes, dislikes - who you are.
LD: Well, I’m a hard working mother of two who is also married and working on her PhD. I’m a mathematician but I also love to read and write and do so at every given opportunity. I also love Pop music which my husband finds completely embarrassing. But hey, listening to Pop music actually helps me write!

(EE: If your husband finds pop music embarrassing, what does he listen to? And I guess it's a good thing he tolerates you listening to whatever it is that helps you write because you are putting out some pretty awesome stories.)

EE: What's your favorite genre to read? to write?
LD: I’m a sucker for historical fiction. For some reason, I love reading about people from other centuries. My favorite genre to write, however, is Young Adult Romance. I think we can all remember a crush we had when we were teenagers and how it was the most important thing in the world and how it was so passionate. I think that kind of raw emotion is so beautiful. But I never write simple love stories. There is always some sort of twist in my books.

(EE: You hit that nail on the head - twists abound and I think that is what really keeps a reader interested.)

EE: What are your writing aspirations? aspirations in general?
LD: I’m hoping to be able to be a full time writer one day and be able to support myself and my family simply on royalties. That would be a dream come true. On a slightly higher scale of goals, I hope to become famous enough to be able to go on Dancing with the Stars!

EE: What's a typical day in your life like - do you have a set schedule or do you just play it by ear?
LD: I don’t have a set schedule outside of my class schedule, but I am a definite list maker. The first thing I do every day is make my To-Do list. Then I spend the rest of the day trying to scratch things off. Sadly, some days I end up scratching one thing off and adding two more. If I have a day where I get more than half the things on the list done, I consider it a success.

EE: You write under different names. How do you keep your identities separate and how do you manage to write totally different genres?
LD: Because I use different names for completely different genres, it’s pretty easy to keep them separate. I know immediately when I have an idea for a book whether it is going to be a Leslie or a Sybil book.

EE: How do you keep straight what you are working on at any given moment?
LD: Once again, I can tell by the voice of the characters and the subject matter whether it is a Leslie book or a Sybil book. I never get confused in that regard. The hard part is actually finding time to write down all the ideas I have for stories!

EE: What inspires you to write semi controversial stories as Leslie and fun, middle grade stories as Sybil?
LD: I wanted to keep my identities separate for just that reason. I didn’t want young middle school aged kids reading about topics that were above them. I use my pen name, Leslie, as a way to be a bit more edgy and take more chances than my Sybil brand name can do. I don’t think I set out to write controversial topics, I think the ideas just come to me and I can’t help but write it the way the characters want it. Several times I’ve wanted to change certain things in my book to make them more “acceptable” but it just didn’t feel right.

EE: If you could live anywhere, where would you live?
LD: Oddly enough, Canada. I have a slight obsession with that country. Especially Vancouver and Victoria. We’ve been there on vacation twice and I think it would be a great place to live.

(EE: Funny thing is my father's family is from Canada but in my life, I've never even visited the area. My father, of course, has been back several times, and my oldest son has even traveled with my parents to Maine (where my dad's family makes their home now) and to Canada but I have yet to go there; it's too cold for me - lol.)


Again, Leslie, thank you for being on my blog today and happy writing.

Leslie makes her home in Charleston, SC, along with her husband and two small children. She is also working on her PhD in biostatistics.

Leslie can be found on the following pages:

her website
her facebook page
her twitter page
her Amazon author page

Guest Heather Paye

Today, my guest is Heather Paye, author, illustrator and book designer extraordinaire - I'm a little biased because Heather is my illustrator and she does such a wonderful job. Her covers are really striking and I've heard nothing but great things about her covers when I show them to other writers.

Heather, tell us a little bit about yourself, your likes (and no Taco Bell doesn't count since apparently the whole world knows you love Taco Bell), dislikes - who you are.

HP: Well, I'm the author of A Gift from Above, the soon-to-be-released young-adult, fantasy novel Howl, and Cacti, a children's book due to be released March 1st. Besides my writing career, I'm a freelance graphic designer, editor at Joyfully Reviewed, and student. I think it's safe to say I'm a bit of a workaholic. I like music, humans, puppies, dancing, and good causes. I dislike people who aren't open-minded, coffee, malfunctioning computers, and slow internet.


You are a young writer, only 17 soon to be 18. How old were you when you started writing and what is the first piece you wrote that you would have considered publishable in your early writing days?

HP: I was nine years old when I began writing my first novel. I had it in my mind that I was writing this novel to be published, even though I had no idea what the word "published" meant beyond "other people get to read it". When I started writing for publication, I had only ever written two short stories and a handful of lyrics, but I was determined to write something longer, all I had in my mind was an extremely vague idea of a young woman sitting in a cafe talking to a reporter. As I was writing, that expanded into ideas for a nine-novel-series. Currently, the first novel in this series - The Artifact Series - has just been assigned an editor and is being polished for its release.

EE: Now this sounds like an interesting series. I can't wait to read your first one when it is published. Daughter is reading A Gift From Above but she is a slow reader

What's your favorite genre to read? to write?

HP: I'm actually really picky about the genres I read. I've never actually been a big reader. When I was a kid, my sister used to consume any novel she could get her hands on, and I would read a lot just because she was - *chuckles* - but now that I have less time, I've become even more selective. My favorite genre is paranormal romance, with fantasy being a close competitor. I'm much less picky about what genre I write in, but my favorite is paranormal - stories that are absolutely intertwined with our own reality. It's fun to take the base of reality that you know - that girl in boring high school, or that guy locked in his room playing video games. You can actually get your readers to deeply relate to the character, and have them walk into something entirely fictional. To me, that is one of the most enthralling genres, and I love that I can be the one to pull the reader really indepth like that.

EE: I'm similar to that - I've found that writing short stories allows me to write just about any genre, although I'm not into vampires, werewolves, and other things that have taken over lately, but I don't mind a good ghost story as far as paranormal goes. I don't read much sci-fi or fantasy or romance, although I can write a little bit (depends on what the contest calls for).

What are your writing aspirations? aspirations in general?

HP: This is actually something I haven't really put much thought into. Of course we'd all like to be on the New York Times Bestseller list - isn't that every author's goal? To write a bestselling novel? I have several smaller goals I'm working toward right now: first is to be on the Amazon bestseller list and second is to increase my fanbase. It's really all about the readers reading and enjoying my work. Everytime I receive fan mail, it really motivates me to keep doing what I'm doing because I know someone else is reading my work, and my own thoughts have been acknowledged. The more of that, the better.

As far as my general aspirations go, I'm working toward my Associate's Degree in Liberal Arts, so I really want to get that and graduate with honors. Right now, that is what I'm really focusing on and aiming for so that I can move on to even bigger things.

EE: Do you still aspire to work for Disney/Pixar as you had told me when we first got together and you started working for me?

What's a typical day in your life like - do you have a set schedule or do you just play it by ear?

HP: Yes and no. I keep a prioritized list of the tasks I need to complete. My day consists of waking up, getting ready for my day, checking my text messages, emails - and the social networking sites, I read Twitter every morning like a national newspaper, and Facebook like a local newspaper. *chuckles* After that, I'll take a look at my schedule and decide what is due first and I'll work through my list that way. The only exception to this, is if I have school that day, then I'll complete my school work first and then move on to the to-do list. Normally, I'll finish with my school and work around 10pm.

EE: I think it's great that you have a to-do list and try to stick to it and not let anything get in your way. Gotta have set goals when you wear so many hats.

You wear many hats, what are they and which is your favorite? How do you juggle all the goings on in your life?

HP: Oh, no! I have to pick a favorite! I guess we have the author hat, graphic designer hat, editor hat, and student. All of these things are so different and there are things I deeply enjoy with all of them. At the same time, all aren't without their own frustrations at times. I'm going to say the author hat is my favorite. It's literally whatever I want it to be, it's the most flexible job I've ever had, and you can bring it to whatever legnths you want with how ever much effort you put into it. It's like taking your own continuous thought and casting it into the world to share with a bunch of people. How do I juggle it all? Sometimes it's easier and sometimes it's harder, it depends on what time of year it is. Spring is usually the busiest. 90% of what keeps everything in order is my to-do list and my iPod. If I'm supposed to be doing something - or I forget something - my iPod reminds me via my to-do list. That's all there is to it for me really.

Why Taco Bell?

HP: First, Taco Bell has wifi - any restaurant that has wifi is epic in my book. Second, Mexican food is one of my favorites. Third, their website is well-designed. That is what makes Taco Bell awesome.

EE: Many fast food places have wifi now. I've not checked out TB's website, so that may be something to do later. I like Taco Bell more than other Mexican restaurants really, but I'll reserve the awesomeness to you - lol.

If you could live anywhere, where would you live?

HP: When it comes down to it, I think Arizona will always be my place of residence - at least, primary residence. Everything that I need is here, and there's plenty to expand on with Arizona being one of the newest states. There are only two other locations I would consider: Atlanta, Georgia and California.

EE: Atlanta, really? Scary place to live or at least fly out of. I do live close to Atlanta and don't even like driving too close to it. The traffic is horrendous, even skirting the town on the major highways. I guess there are worse places in the United States to live though.

Thank you for hosting me on your blog, Elysabeth!

Thank you for participating, Heather. I really enjoyed getting to know a little more about you. Looking forward to your new series - and of course more awesome covers from you.


HEATHER'S BIO:
H.C.Paye first picked up a pen and started writing when she was about six-years-old. It started with simple lyrics, but then she moved on to short stories, and finally, when she was 10 began writing full-length novels.
Miss Paye is a part of many groups and organizations. When she is not writing, she is an editor at Joyfully Reviewed and a Graphic Designer. During her spare moments, she enjoys entertaining her Twitter followers with her random quips.

Heather can be found here
or on her blog
or her graphic design site

It's almost here - the Children's blogfest

Wow - I hadn't really thought about what to do for the children's blog fest over on Lea's blog, but I think I have finally come up with something. I will do some geography quick info bits (not being used in the stories) and will probably a run a small contest - guess the state and receive a small state-related goody bag. I guess I should tell Lea of my goody bags to be given away so she can put them up on the list of giveaways. Hope to see you all over on Lea's blog next week. - E :)