A Special Thank You to Followers

Wow! It is great to see the numbers of followers growing! Thanks to all of you who drop by to see what's going on at Susan Whitfield's Blog...not a catchy title, for sure, but it seems to work. I am enjoying the interviews with other authors and a few industry experts and readers sprinkled in for different perspectives.

If you have suggestions for the blog, please feel free to leave a comment or email me at ssn.whitfield@gmail.com I'd love the feedback. If any of you are libarians or bookstore owners, I'd love to get your perspectives on signings and general information authors need to know.

I'm in the process of setting up signings with Barbara Arntsen, author of SOS, who lives near me. We hope to sign at wineries around the state (North Carolina) and call the events "Read Between the Wines", Barbara's idea. I jumped on board and we invited a third mystery writer to join us. This should be fun! For more information and events, check my web site at http://www.susanwhitfieldonline.com/
or follow me on Facebook or Twitter.

I hope your day is outstanding in every way! HUGS!

Gayle Wigglesworth: Mud to Ashes

Gayle Wigglesworth is allowing me to ask her some questions about herself and her books. Gayle, welcome to the hot seat. Please tell us about Gayle.

I became an adult in the 60’s when women still knew their place in the world, but somehow I didn’t. I had read SEX AND THE SINGLE GIRL, watched all the Doris Day movies and dreamed of glamour and success. I put a lot of effort into learning to be a banker. I worked hard and I ignored the warnings that said women couldn’t do this or that. Eventually I found myself at a senior management level at the bank. It turned out women could do these things.

When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?

I am a voracious reader who has always dreamed of being a published author. My first attempt when I moved to San Francisco on a life adventure in the 60’s was a dismal failure. I was living alone in a big city where I knew no one when I started writing my mystery book at night. I ended up frightening myself so badly that I not only gave up writing mysteries, but I stopped reading them for many years. When I started reading mysteries again, I again decided I wanted to write my own. I came up with what I thought was a terrific premise for a series but it wasn’t until I retired from my banking profession that I finally succeeded in getting that first book published.

When you started writing, what goals did you want to accomplish? Is there a message you want readers to grasp?

I wanted to write the kind of book I like to read. That is the kind where good people sometimes get mixed up in bad things and then have to extradite themselves. My mysteries have to be fair to the reader. The clues are in the book. And my characters are not perfect. They make mistakes that sometimes land them in trouble.

Briefly tell us about your latest book. Series or stand-alone? If you have written both, which one do you prefer?


My latest mystery, Mud to Ashes, is a stand-alone. In it my protagonist, Karo Meisner, finds herself in a mid-life crisis. Her daughter has grown up, moved out, and doesn’t really need her any more. Her husband, soon to be her ex, no longer seemed to be the man she married. The dreams she had in her youth had faded so she could hardly remember what they were, and the future was stretching endlessly before her.
Karo wasn’t interested in drinking herself into oblivion, and she couldn’t afford drugs so she decided she would have to remake her life. She moved to a beach town on the California coast to develop her skills as a potter. She would become an artist!

The body her newly adopted dog found in the surf at the beach one day was not part of her plan. Nor was the attitude of some of the potters working at the communal studio she joined. But she was still determined to make it all work for her. Little did she know she was set on a collision course with evil forces that destiny had put in her path. Soon she was going to be catapulted into nationwide notoriety, if she lived long enough.
This novel is a stand-alone mystery which is very different from my previous books which are all part of the Claire Gulliver Series. The advantage in writing a book in a series is the back story, the characters, and the settings are already established. As you write each new adventure the people become more familiar, so they become like family members. You only have to make sure you don’t give away critical information that would spoil a previous adventure for the reader. While in a stand-alone you have to develop all the critical information as you go along. I think a series is easier for the author to write, but a stand alone provides the joy of heading out into unexplored territory.

What’s the hook for Mud to Ashes?
Karo’s dog finds a body in the ocean on the beach near Karo’s home. The woman is unidentified and gives no clue to the police as to who she is. Karo is haunted by this. She can’t understand why someone isn’t looking for the woman. Who is she? Why doesn’t anyone know she’s missing?

How do you determine that all important first sentence?

The most important aspect of that first sentence is to draw the reader into the story and to establish the tone of the book. This doesn’t always happen in the first version. Many times I have to go back to change it, modify it, or even start all over again. What might have seemed perfect when you start the book might not prove to be perfect when you’re half way through with the manuscript. If the tone or the emphasis of the story has changed as you have developed it then you’ll have to change the first sentence.
So don’t let the challenge of creating the perfect first sentence intimidate you and keep you from getting on with your book. Just start and then keep writing. You can hone all your sentences later. That’s why computers have delete keys. Good advice.

How do you develop characters? Setting?

I write pages and pages of character studies on my main characters and the important settings. I want to know who these characters are and what they look like and how they act in different situations and why they act that way. In Mud to Ashes I did an extensive character study on not only the main characters, but on the town of Belle Vista as well. I knew the town so well it’s hard for me to realize it’s only a fictional town. I also drew the plans for the house Karo moved to, and the pottery studio, as they both were the setting for much of the story. I referred to these studies again and again as the story developed to make sure I described the characters and setting correctly.

What are your protagonist’s strengths? Flaws?

My protagonists are ordinary people, the kind you’d like as friends. They make mistakes, and they have to overcome weaknesses which all become part of the story. For instance, in the current book, Karo, has spent years being such a devoted mother that she has forgotten her own dreams, and she has distanced herself from sharing her husband’s dreams to the point that now they are virtual strangers to each other. Yet, when Karo realizes that she is in crisis, she doesn’t wilt and blame others, or turn to drugs or alcohol to mask her pain. No, she takes herself in hand and decides to re invent her life. She is going to find those dreams and make them real.

How do you determine voice in your writing?

I generally write my books in third person as I think it allows the author the maximum flexibility in telling a story, but on occasion I change voices, even in the middle of the book, depending on how I want to present a character. For instance in one book, although the book was written in third person, every section about the villain was written in first person. I decided to do that to help hide the identity of the villain. In some of my books, I write flashbacks in first person to provide more intimacy to that part of the story.

Do you have specific techniques you use to develop the plot and stay on track?

I do not write detailed outlines of the plot, nor develop the syllabus before starting a project. But I do begin with a concept for the plot, protagonist, villain, and the setting already set. I start building the file from those. I develop character studies and descriptions of the settings and start imagining the key scenes. However, I build much of the action as I go, and one chapter or action might send me in a different direction from what I initially imagined.
In my third Claire Gulliver mystery, Claire’s mother, Millie, was only a device to get Claire to Italy for the action, but suddenly she took off on her own story. I ended up writing two mysteries in that one book and I loved it.

How does your environment/upbringing color your writing?

I was the middle child in a large family. That made me a peace maker, a negotiator and a person who fought to be noticed. I continued using those techniques during my career when I felt it was only right that I be paid appropriately and promoted equally as the men I worked with. I think that carries over into my stories. My protagonists are stoic, strong women who are determined to succeed. But like the middle child, they do it by negotiation and strategy, and they try to make peace as they move through life.
My villains are sometimes very dark, but I try to present them in context. I reveal some of the reasons they are the way they are, which doesn’t excuse them in anyway, but at least helps the reader understand them a bit.

Have you started any online networks or blogs to promote yourself and others?

I have had a website since before my first mystery was published, www.gaylewigglesworth.com. I invite you all to check it out. Additionally, I have a fan page on Facebook, www.facebook.com/gaylewigglesworth if any of you would like to follow me; I try to keep my fans apprised of significant steps in the process of delivering my books and I share glimpses into the business of writing my books. I do guest blogging and I sometimes blog on my Amazon Author Page.

After hours of intense writing, how do you unwind?

When I’m writing, perched over my computer, fingers flying over the key board, I am just letting out all the information I have been formulating in my mind during the past nights and days pour out. Even when I stop writing, physically, I’m still at in my head. I frequently take an afternoon nap, to quiet my mind and let it sort out all the details. While sometimes I lay awake for hours at night plotting and scheming over parts of a story. I don’t really unwind until the book’s done and usually by then I’m working on another project in addition to the current one.

What are your current projects?

I am completing the final draft of my sixth Claire Gulliver Mystery and I’m well into the first book in a new series, Glenda at Large. I am also planning to reformat all my books in order to publish them on Smashwords so they will be available for a variety of e-readers.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

Check out my website www.gaylewigglesworth.com, or check out my Author’s Page on Amazon or come to one of the events I’m participating in at www.booktour.com . And feel free to contact me and let me know if you like my books and why. I am also happy to add you to my contact list and will notify you when a new book comes out or if I am doing an event in your area.

Stacy Juba: 25 Years Ago

Twenty-Five Years Ago Today Synopsis: Obit writer and editorial assistant Kris Langley feels like the newsroom slave – that is, until she stumbles across an unsolved murder while compiling "25 Years Ago Today" items from the microfilm. Determined to launch her reporting career, Kris investigates the cold case of Diana Ferguson, an artistic young cocktail waitress obsessed with Greek and Roman mythology. She soon learns that old news never leaves the morgue and that yesterday's headline is tomorrow's danger, for finding out the truth about that night twenty-five years ago may shatter Kris’s present, costing her love, her career, and ultimately, her life.

Stacy Juba is the author of the mystery novel Twenty-Five Years Ago Today. She is a freelance writer and former daily newspaper reporter with more than a dozen writing awards to her credit, including three New England Press Association awards and the American Cancer Society New England Chapter’s Sword of Hope Media Award. Her young adult novel Face-Off was published under her maiden name, Stacy Drumtra, when she was 18 years old. Her web site is http://www.stacyjuba.com/. 

Stacy, welcome to my blog.

When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?
I wrote my first suspense thriller in third grade, and by fifth grade, I was writing a mystery series about a teenage amateur detective named Cathy Summers. I grew up reading Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and Trixie Belden. Although Face-Off wasn’t a mystery, most of the writing I’ve done since childhood has been in the mystery genre.

Briefly tell us about Twenty-Five Years Ago Today. Series or stand-alone?
Twenty-Five Years Ago Today would appeal to both mystery fans and romantic suspense fans. For twenty-five years, Diana Ferguson’s killer has gotten away with murder. When rookie obit writer and newsroom editorial assistant Kris Langley investigates the cold case of the artistic young cocktail waitress who was obsessed with Greek and Roman mythology, she must fight to stay off the obituary page herself. Right now, I plan it as a stand-alone since I’m working on developing another series – but you never know!

What’s the hook for the book?
 The hook is a 25-year-old cold case dredged up from the microfilm. My protagonist, newsroom editorial assistant Kris Langley, compiles the “25 Years Ago Today” column as one of her responsibilities. While researching her column on the microfilm, she stumbles across an unsolved murder and becomes determined to solve it as a way of redeeming herself from a past mistake. Upon investigating, she opens a Pandora’s Box of secrets.

Who’s the most unusual/most likeable character?
Dex Wagner, the 70-year-old editor-in-chief of the paper, is definitely the most unusual character in the book and readers tell me that they like him also. He wears rumpled suits, baseball caps and penguin-patterned ties, and the staff considers him eccentric. The publisher is looking for an excuse to get rid of him as he and the new managing editor – a workaholic Corporate Barbie – are always clashing. Although Dex is offbeat and a bit old-fashioned, he has good news sense and knows the communities in their readership area like the back of his hand. He acts as a mentor to the protagonist, Kris Langley. Dex represents how independent newspapers are being taken over by big-city corporations which often change the small-town lifeline of the paper. The corporations believe they are making improvements, but are they really? I’m not so sure.

Do you have specific techniques to help you maintain the course of the plot?
I’m not one of those laidback writers who can make it up as they go along. For my work-in-progress, I’m using a 10-page outline that maps out the main events in each chapter. I divide the outline into three acts: Act One is the book’s set-up, Act Two is the development of the crisis, and Act Three is the resolution. The outline isn’t written in stone, but it keeps me on track so I always know what scene to write next.

Do you have a specific writing style? Preferred POV?
I always write in the third person and I usually stick to one narrator. Editors have called my style clear and evocative. Coming from a journalistic background, I don’t waste a lot of words and I rely on quotes (dialogue) to break up the text. In my books, you won’t go more than a few pages without seeing dialogue.

Share the best review (or a portion) that you’ve even had.
I’m pleased with all of the reviews that Twenty-Five Years Ago Today has received, but I was particularly honored by this comment from Fran Lewis at Bookpleasures.com: “What do Diana’s studying and painting of Greek and Roman mythology have to do with the surprise ending? You will have to read this well crafted, well-researched and outstanding first novel of the newest mystery writer on the block, Stacy Juba. To the great mystery writers of the 21st century, make room for the author of this great book.”

What are your current projects?
Mainly Murder Press will publish my second mystery novel, Sink or Swim, in Fall 2010. Here’s a little synopsis: When reality TV turns to murder, it’s sink, swim or die. Not only has Cassidy Novak walked the plank and lost a hit action-adventure reality show set aboard a Tall Ship, she has also attracted a stalker who is masterminding his own twisted game. As her former competitors get knocked off one by one, Cassidy refuses to play by his bizarre rules. Soon, Cassidy must walk the plank once again – this time for her life. In addition, I’m polishing up a paranormal young adult thriller Dark Before Dawn, and I’m also working on a new adult mystery series. At some point, I’d like to bring back an updated edition of my young adult book Face-Off, so I’ll be approaching agents and publishers and researching different options down the line.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?
They can visit http://www.stacyjuba.com for all of the latest book and event news. If they’d like to receive my e-mail newsletter 2-3 times per year, they can use the contact form to sign up for my mailing list. I also have a Reader’s Guide for book clubs on the web site, for clubs interested in discussing Twenty-Five Years Ago Today. In addition, I post news and updates on my Facebook page. If anyone is interested in following the page, it can be accessed at http://tinyurl.com/ylh2q4h .

How to Buy the Book: Twenty-Five Years Ago Today is available for purchase at http://www.mainlymurderpress.com, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.com. It is also being carried in independent bookstores. If your local bookstore doesn’t have it in stock, they should be able to order it by the ISBN: 978-0-615-29011-9. More information is available at http://www.stacyjuba.com.

Stacy, thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions. I hope 2010 is a great year for your writing career.

Laura Elvebak's Lost Witness

Laura Elvebak is the author of the Niki Alexander series, LESS DEAD and LOST WITNESS. Born in North Dakota and raised in Los Angeles and San Francisco, Laura settled in Houston, Texas in 1981 with her three children, now grown. She is the past chapter president of Mystery Writers of American Southwest Chapter, and presently serves as Treasurer and has been editor of the chapter’s newsletter, the Sleuth Sayer, for five years. She is also finishing up her term as Vice President of The Final Twist Writers and she is a member of Sisters-In-Crime. Her short stories have been published in two anthologies by The Final Twist Writers and three of her screenplays were optioned by a production company.

Laura, thank you for joining us so soon after Christmas.
When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?
I have already been a day dreamer. My mother died of cancer when I was five and my father in his grief left me with my grandparents for the next three years. I had one friend who lived across the street, a little girl who also lost her mother and lived with her grandmother. When I wasn’t at her house, I spent the time reading and making up stories to entertain myself and escape.
When my father remarried and I went to live with them, I started to write short stories, impulsively sent them off to magazines like The Ladies Home Journal, and always got a polite rejection. I was an avid reader and loved to go to movies. At night before going to sleep, I had to plot a story or continue the one from the night before, always putting the previews first. Just like the movies. Starting reading mysteries with Nancy Drew then graduated to romance and adventure –Harold Robbins and Frank Yerby were two of my favorite authors at the time.
I was on the rebound from a year-long marriage to a man ten years older when I met my second husband. He inspired me to write mystery and suspense. Not that he approved of my writing, especially when I wrote about him, but he was just a wonderful character. His life as a hard hat diver and world traveler spurred my imagination. He was thirty years older – I was twenty when we met; he was fifty. We spent six months in Baja California where he fished and I wrote. After a summer in New York, we spend two years in Florida and I wrote every chance I could.
I am no longer married, but I continue to write mysteries. Sometimes I feel like I have lived my life as I would have written a character in a book.

Briefly tell us about your latest book. Series or stand-alone? If you have written both, which one do you prefer?
My two published books are part of a series. Niki Alexander is an ex-cop who quit the Houston Police Department after she killed a seventeen-year-old boy in a shootout. Traumatized by this event, she became a counselor for a teen shelter, determined to help troubled teens so they wouldn’t end up like the boy she killed. In the first, LESS DEAD, Niki searches for a missing street teenager who had been abandoned by her father months earlier.
LOST WITNESS is the second and latest book and deals with a younger child than Niki usually comes into contact with. A traumatized child is found next to the body of a murdered drug mule by a street teen who reluctantly takes him to the nearby street church for the homeless. Niki is there dealing with her friend whose granddaughter is being adopted by her foster parents because the mother is an addict who lives on the street.

What’s the hook for LOST WITNESS?
The hook is the Hispanic child so traumatized he cannot speak about what or who he saw when his mother was killed. After Niki turns him over to CPS he is placed in foster care and soon afterwards disappears. Niki feels responsible and goes to great lengths to find him.

How do you develop characters? Setting?
Most of my characters have come from real life. Tara in LOST WITNESS is an older friend of my youngest daughter. She has helped me paint and tile my home, has babysat my grandkids. She has survived on the street, overcome drugs and has many of the problems as her character in my book. Ric is also someone I know from my kids and, like his character, is in a wheelchair and no one is quite certain from where he gets his money.
The books are set in Montrose, a part of Houston near downtown. Open Palms is loosely based on Covenant House, a teen shelter I have visited several times and where my son once stayed in his teen years. I have been at the street church and talked with the homeless teens at length. They were eager to tell me their stories.

How do you determine voice in your writing?
I write from Niki’s point of view. It’s easy to get into her head, feel what she feels. I hear her voice in my head as I write. Likewise, I hear Rube or Nelson or Tara or Ric. Okay, yes, I hear voices. But only when I write.

Do you have specific techniques you use to develop the plot and stay on track?
I write a synopsis and characters sketches first. I don’t always stick with the synopsis but it gives me a start. While I write I keep a timeline, and do a chapter by chapter outline. That keeps me on track.

How does your environment/upbringing color your writing?
That’s a loaded question. I find quirky characters everywhere. I listen to the way they speak and what they say because most times their dialogue and their actions reveal how they think. I’m always fascinated by why people act as they do. What motivates them? What do they care about most? What or who would they die for? I had a very open-minded upbringing in California and I find other peoples prejudices sometimes disturbing. When I come across an idea, or someone’s actions, that really annoys or angers me, I am compelled to build a story around it. Passion about an idea always will spark my imagination and turn into a story. Take whatever it is and dissect it and examine it, and do something about it in the guise of fiction.

Have you started any online networks or blogs to promote yourself and others?
I seem to be everywhere. I have a website: http://lauraelvebak.com and a blog: http://lauraelvebak.blogspot.com. I am also on Facebook, MySpace, Crimespace, Redroom, Goodreads, Amazon Authors, Shelfari, L&L Dreamspell, and The Final Twist Writers. And I twitter. Who has time for it all? I try to attend workshops and conferences, such as Bouchercon, to network. I also belong to two critique groups which I attend every week and am active in writing groups. I try to make a promotional dent, but then it’s back to writing. Oh yes, I also hold down a full time job as executive secretary for a small oil and gas exploration company.

What are your current projects?
I recently finished a short story for an upcoming Final Twist anthology and helped edit the other submissions. Now it’s back to work on the third Niki Alexander mystery.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?
My website, my blog, L&L Dreamspell and Facebook
Thank you very much, Susan, for this opportunity.

My pleasure, Laura. Happy New Year!

Maggie Bishop Talks Appalachian

Maggie, thanks for dropping by for an interview. Please give us a brief bio.
I hike, ski, golf, swim, explore and write in the mountains of North Carolina where I settled in 1993 with my husband and cat. Every time we travel, we seek out other mountains but none are as exciting as the ancient Appalachians. When asked, "What do you do?" my answer is, "Entertain with word pictures." Through my books, readers escape to the mountains.

I was chosen as one of “100 Incredible East Carolina University Women” for literature and leadership. I’m an Air Force brat who put myself through ECU and received a MBA degree, a former manufacturing executive, founder and past president of High Country Writers, past Secretary of Central Pennsylvania Romance Writers, and am a member of Romance Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.

My workshops include: Write Now! The 5 Cs of Mystery; Write Now! Get Started, Get Organized and Get Going on Novel/Memoir; Write Now! Plot Your Novel in an Hour; On Stage! Booksignings and Promotion! for Authors

As an East Carolina Pirate myself, I'm so proud of you!
Briefly tell us about your series.
I am the author of a mystery series, Appalachian Adventure Mysteries, and two romance novels set in the Mountains of North Carolina in the Boone area. I started with romance and have turned to murder. In Perfect for Framing, greed and a lust for power led to murder in a clash of personal versus public needs. Murder at Blue Falls has Jemma who leads trail rides on her parents’ guest ranch as a suspect in the murder of neighborhood dogs and well as a man. Emeralds in the Snow involves skiing at Sugar Mountain, an emerald mine, and a cold case murder. Award winning Appalachian Paradise takes place on a five-day backpacking trip in the spring amongst the bears, boars and girl scouts.

On a different note, Meow Means Me! Now! is a rhyming feline allegory with poetry and photos. This gift book is a departure from my novels but sprang from her love of cats. Think Dr. Suess meets Marley & Me.

When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?
Just before my husband and I left for vacation to a dude ranch in the 1990s, I asked a lady in the office for a book to read. She gave me a short, contemporary romance. That year, I read 400 books. I read at stop lights while driving, during dinner, before sleep and just after waking in the morning. My husband had to touch me to get my attention. When I declared “I can do this!” he was relieved. I joined Romance Writers of America and attended their craft workshops at the annual conference. I’ve been hooked on writing ever since.

How do you develop characters?
Detective Tucker came to me one morning while on vacation at the beach. On the balcony overlooking the dunes and the ocean at six in the morning, I watched a deer cross in the high grass and soon after followed a bobcat. Tucker popped into my mind fully formed. Jemma Chase is based on a woman I met years ago who was six feet tall, had a braid down her back to her waist, and was a carpenter.

Why do you include sports in your mysteries and romances?
Life as writers is solitary and sedentary. If I didn’t involve myself in an outside activity, my blood would become sluggish, my brain would coagulate, and my imagination would stall. Hiking in these mountains renews my connection to the earth, trees, other animals, clean air, sparkeling streams–everything that enhances a person as a whole. If a person is too busy to break away and do something away from concrete, a short break through my novels will help. I did a five-day backpacking trip like in Appalachian Paradise. I love to ski and was a ski patroller at Sugar Mountain like in Emeralds in the Snow. Some of my fondest memories with my husband were on dude ranches so I set Murder at Blue Falls at an imaginary ranch in my valley near Triplett, NC. I also enjoy swimming and golf.

Why do you include real people in your novels?
Jane Wilson, author of the cookbook, Mountain Born & Fed, inspired me to use real people like she did in writing up stories about her recipes. It started in the second novel when I wanted to include fellow ski patrollers who are also my parents, Pearle and Lyle Bishop, mountain manager Gunther Jochl, and mountain groomer Joe White. Joe White’s real job is shoeing horses which fits into the dude ranch story. He gave me permission for him to be a suspect. I list the real people in the acknowledgments, everyone else is pure fiction.

What is your current project?
One Shot Too Many will be out in June 2010. Yesterday's regret; today's deadly fix. Impulsive acts during emotional upheavels from the past return to haunt, ending in the death of a photo-journalist near the cozy mountain town of Boone, NC. Detective Tucker must deal with his past while investigating the secrets of suspects determined to keep from facing their own histories. Jemma Chase, trail-ride leader and CSI wanabe, follows clues, even though her interference may cost Tucker his job.

How much research and plotting do you do before you're ready to write a book?
When I turned to murder, I interviewed Dee Dee Rominger, the Chief of Detectives at our local sheriff’s department and then she read an early draft of my novel to suggest changes. For example, the detectives get on a first name basis for anyone they talk with as soon as possible rather than use the formal address of Mister or Missus. Since it is a contemporary series that features the same two main characters, recurring characters and is set in the area I live, my research in those areas was largely done with the first mystery.

Once I have the opening scene, I make a list of the suspects and play with their characteristics and backgrounds. I brainstorm some possible plot points. The plot grows organically from there. Needless to say, I do a lot of rewriting. The one time I plotted ahead, the pages went dead on me and I abandoned the project. I could no longer discover the action like a reader would.

What is your typical writing day like?
I wish I had a typical writing day. I write in spurts of two months. Way in advance, I begin thinking about my characters and plot. The setting is the mountains of North Carolina which is perfect with the hollars and high peaks, the visitor attractions and sports, and the unpredictability of the weather. I liken it to the pressure built up behind a mountain dam - my head keeps filling up with a sense of what the characters will be going through. No details, just the anticipation of emotions and action. Once I have the emotional space and projects in the real world can be put off, I open the flood gates and write. I awake and begin writing long hand the next scene between fixing breakfast and my husband’s lunch, feeding the birds and tending to the cats. Once my husband is off to work, I continue writing either long hand or at the computer. After a few hours, I do a half hour on the elliptical machine, have lunch and return to writing. While exercising, my mind is on the story. I love it. This is the grand, expanding part of the whole experience of creating these people and events. The first two hours in the morning (5-7) are spent on the Internet at various sites authors need to keep up with in order to market books. The creative work on my manuscript is from 9 to noon. Sometimes I’ll work in the afternoon for a couple of hours. My brain shuts down at 5 so it is crucial that I write in the morning. I manage to arrange writing days 3 to 4 times a week.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?
My website is http://maggiebishop1.tripod.com and I’m one of the Dames of Dialogue who blog at http://damesofdialogue.wordpress.com/

Maggie, continued success, my friend and fellow Pirate. ARRRR!

Rebecca Vickery's Looking Through The Mist

In addition to being a wife, mother, grandmother, and daughter, Rebecca J. Vickery loves writing romances when she can find the time. These stories include a twist of the paranormal (special gifts), mystery, adventure, or suspense along the way to a happy-ever-after ending. She is currently experimenting with self-publishing and also has books submitted to traditional publishers.
Rebecca, it's a pleasure to have you here.

When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?

I loved writing assignments in school. When one of my poems was included in the Children’s Highlights Magazine at an early age, I was hooked on being published. With romance being my favorite genre to read, I could think of nothing better than to write exciting contemporary romances.

When you started writing, what goals did you want to accomplish? Is there a message you want readers to grasp?

When I began writing novels, I wanted to provide escape and relaxation for those who enjoy reading and hopefully make enough to cover my writing expenses. That goal has evolved into a determination to write quality fiction, be an accepted member of the industry, and to help other writers whenever I can as well as paying my writing expenses. My message to readers would be for them to realize that shared love and never giving up will see us through a lot of ordeals. I put my heroes and heroines through some grueling circumstances, but love always triumphs in the end.

Briefly tell us about your latest book. Series or stand-alone?

 My latest book, which will be available soon (maybe even before this is posted) is Following Destiny. It is a stand alone, but there is room for a sequel if I ever have time to write it. This paranormal romance is about Andrea Duncan. She inherits a house and a very special ring along with a friendly local sheriff and a large ugly mutt.

What’s the hook for the book?

Andrea hears voices. They eventually lead her into a serial killer’s path. Must she die to follow her destiny?

My characters tend to develop themselves. I feel like a lowly scribe at times taking dictation as the characters tell me the story. I often hear a snippet of news, or see something on television that starts the “what if’s” in my head. I usually know the area for the story and the main details for the primary characters right away.

Who’s the most unusual/most likeable character?

I think Cord McConnell, the tough but tender hero from Surviving With Love is probably my favorite and most likeable character. He isn’t typically handsome, but he has such a good heart especially with kids, you just have to love him. You have to read the book to understand what I mean. My most unusual character would probably be Heidi, the large ugly dog, in Following Destiny. She hears the voices right along with her mistress and has a very definite personality.

How does your environment/upbringing color your writing?

I have always enjoyed the outdoors; camping, fishing, hiking, and horseback riding. And I was raised with the old-fashioned values of love, commitment, and working hard. I think all of those factors are very evident in my writing.

What are your current projects?

I’m currently working on 3 different contemporary romances. Finding Treasure is set in Seattle and features a woman with a special gift for locating hidden treasure and lost items. Seeking Shelter takes place in South Dakota where a modern-day rancher purchases a rogue stallion someone wants to kill. Then there’s Healing Rain about a young woman in Texas with the gift of touch healing who works with problem horses.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

The best way to keep track of me is to check regularly at my home website, Romance With a Twist: http://www.romancewithatwist.com or on my blog at http://www.rebeccajvickery.blogspot.com My books, Looking Through The Mist and Surviving With Love, are available on Smashwords.com. and at WordClay.com
Thank you for having me on your blog today, Susan. I have really enjoyed this interview.

It was my pleasure. Contnued success, Rebecca.



Susan Whitfield, author of The Logan Hunter Mystery Series

www.susanwhitfield.blogspot.com

Meet Me At The River

After my third mystery, Hell Swamp, debuted I was fortunate to get an email from Raleigh Parks and Recreation. Carmen Rayfield, Director of "Read and Go", told me that seniors at RPR were reading North Carolina writers' books and then traveling to visit with the writer. She wanted to plan a visit with me. Wow! I was honored and thrilled. Together we planned a picnic on Black River at Black River Plantation, a 200-year-old mansion and the scene of the crime in my book.

On May 14th a tour bus arrived at the plantation, followed by a caterer and two reporters and a photographer. Ed Padfield, the owner of the mansion, had already opened the gates and doors, set up tables and chairs on the front porch, and covered the tables with red cloths.

What a memorable day it was! Both reporters interviewed me and the photographer took many pictures. I inserted a few here just to give you an idea of how special this event was to all of us. You may be wondering how this all came about. It all started at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, where the folks have been truly supportive of me. By the way, they are regarded as the most highly respected independent bookstore in the state--another honor for me to be part of their huge inventory. In my opinion, they blow the big chains out of the water;-]

I'm told that Susan Alff of Quail Ridge gave Carmen my name and contact information. The rest is history, as they say. I have to thank Susan and Carmen for making me feel like a star in the east. I will continue to support Quail Ridge and RPR. THANKS SO MUCH!!!

You, as a writer, can have the same kind of event in your area if you are visible. Be certain to get to know store owners. Many of them are like family. They want us to succeed! We want them to succeed as well. Plug the indies every chance you get. I have over a dozen with whom I do consignments. I get to see them regularly, and you never know when something awesome like a readers' picnic might crop up. Let folks know you're willing to speak, read, or just sign copies of your books on the street or inside the store. Go to a few festivals.

I could go on, but you get the message. I hope this blog spurs you on to even greater success. Step outside your comfort zone and ask your local parks and rec, civic groups, and stores about events they might not have thought to ask. Enjoy the pictures.