Heidi Thomas: Follow the Dream

Do you love horses?

Heidi M. Thomas grew up on a working ranch in eastern Montana. She had parents who taught her a love of books and a grandmother who rode bucking stock in rodeos. Describing herself as “born with ink in her veins,” Heidi followed her dream of writing with a journalism degree from the University of Montana and later turned to her first love, fiction, to write her grandmother’s story.

Heidi’s first novel, Cowgirl Dreams, has won an EPIC Award and the USA Book News Best Book Finalist award. Follow the Dream is the second book in the “Dare to Dream” series about strong, independent Montana Women.


Heidi, welcome back to the blog! Congrats on the new book.

Thanks, it's good to be back.

Can you tell us what books came along at just the right time to influence your reading/writing?

Ivan Doig’s books based in Montana inspired me, Wallace Stegner’s Angle of Repose, Jane Kirkpatrick’s historical fiction.

 Please give us a short synopsis of Follow the Dream.

Nettie Moser’s dreams are coming true. She’s married to her cowboy, Jake, they have plans for a busy rodeo season, and she has a once in a lifetime opportunity to rodeo in London with the Tex Austin Wild West Troupe.

But life during the Great Depression brings unrelenting hardships and unexpected family responsibilities. Nettie must overcome challenges to her lifelong rodeo dreams, cope with personal tragedy, survive drought, and help Jake keep their horse herd from disaster.

Will these challenges break this strong woman?

Heidi, how has your writing progressed since your first book? Has it changed you? If so, how?

I’ve learned so much since the very first book I wrote (not published) and even though I’m more critical of my writing than anyone else, I can tell I’ve improved. In some ways, what I’ve learned has made things easier—developing rounded characters, a true sense of place, etc., with perhaps fewer rewrites. However, in my naïve ignorance, I wrote the first book much faster. Now I seem to struggle and take much longer to finish a book.

Is there another book on the horizon?

Yes, I’m working on the third in the “Dare to Dream” series, with a working title of Nettie’s Cowgirls.

After hours of intense writing, how do you unwind?

Usually by reading and watching TV with my cat on my lap.

Are your books available in print, ebook, and Kindle?

Both books are available in print and e-book form. Follow the Dream is on Kindle.

Where can we purchase these books and get more information about you?

 For autographed copies, go to my website

http://www.heidimthomas.com/ My books are also available from my publisher, Treble Heart Books, http://www.trebleheartbooks.com/SDHeidiThomas.html  

Heidi, thanks for stopping by again, and continued success!

J.C. Guest: Baseball and Books--What could be better?

Good morning, everyone! Grab a cup of coffee and join J.Conrad Guest and I for a little chat.Conrad Guest is here today to discuss baseball and books, two of my favorite activities.

Welcome, J.C.
Tell us a little about yourself.

JCG: I’m the author of Backstop: A Baseball Love Story in Nine Innings, through Second Wind Publishing. Backstop was nominated as a 2010 Michigan Notable Book and this year was adopted by the Lewis Department of Humanities at the Illinois Institute of Technology as required reading for one of their courses—"Baseball: America’s Literary Pastime"

Cool!

Last year, I completed The Cobb Legacy, a murder mystery written around baseball legend Ty Cobb and the shooting death of his father by his mother. I just completed my sixth novel, A Retrospect in Death. One Hot January is hot off the presses, to be followed later this year by its sequel, January’s Thaw. My short fiction, non-fiction and sports writing can be found on the Web and in print publications. Available for author readings and writer workshops, I also provide editorial services.

What are your writing goals?

JCG: For me writing is like a career in baseball but in reverse. Ballplayers reach their primes in their mid to late twenties and their careers are over before they turn 40. I didn’t start writing my first novel until I was thirty-six—about the time most ballplayers hang up their spikes. Having written three novels in the last three years after having written three the previous fifteen years, I’d have to say I’m hitting my prime at age fifty-four.

As for goals, I just want to continue to improve, write quality fiction for as long as I can and enjoy the process. Oh, and that readers continue to find me.

What is your most rewarding experience during the writing process, J.C.?

JCG: I realized I was a writer the day I gave up fretting over publication—the dreaded rejection letter—and learned how to enjoy the process. I really enjoy it all, from rolling out of bed to hitting the shower, making breakfast and putting on coffee; heading over to the humidor to select a cigar, unwrapping it, inhaling the fragrance of the wrapper, snipping the foot and lighting the head and watching my den fill with smoke. It’s all in the process. But it all comes down to arranging words on a blank monitor—crafting that sentence I love to read in other novels, the one that leaves me thinking, I wish I’d written that. And then I read it again, and later I reread it to a friend over the phone.

It’s a shame that writers today are advised against writing anything that risks taking the reader out of the story because those are the moments, the passages, for which I live. To me how something is said is just as important as what is said. So writing a paragraph, a piece of narrative, or an exchange of dialogue that really nails it, that brings tears to my own eyes … well, that’s what I find most rewarding. It’s what brings me back to my den each Sunday morning.

Tell us about your latest book.

JCG: The first of a science fiction/alternate reality diptych, One Hot January is based on a theory that Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt conspired to allow the Japanese a preemptive strike at Pearl Harbor, thereby enabling Roosevelt to declare war openly, without political repercussions. In my revised historical account of events, Churchill alerts Roosevelt that his code breakers have learned of the Japanese plot. The U.S. is thereby able to thwart the attack, delaying involvement in World War II long enough for Germany to grow too strong to be defeated.

A century later, Hitler’s successor continues to eradicate entire races and cultures to ensure German supremacy. A small sect of genetically engineered beings sees the flaw in selective breeding and extermination, and so they travel back in time, to the events just prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, to achieve the successful conspiracy that leads to the reality in which we live today.

In One Hot January, Joe January, an emotionally aloof private investigator from the South Bronx, gets more than he bargains for when he uncovers this seemingly impossible plot of time travel and alternate realities by grudgingly agreeing to help a pretty young woman locate her missing father. Her father, a Professor of Archeology from Columbia College, must prevent the secret location of Hitler’s body, which lies in a cryogenic state awaiting a cure for cancer, from falling into the wrong hands. By the end of the novel, January is thrust one hundred years into the future, where he must survive on a century-old sagacity as he endeavors to find his way back to his own time and the woman he loves but lacked the courage to tell. The tale concludes in January’s Thaw, to be released later this year.

Filled with mystery and intrigue, action and romance, the January series is speculative fiction on a large scale.

Is it available in print, eBook, and Kindle formats?



One Hot January is available through my publisher, Second Wind Publishing, and will soon be available from Amazon in both book and Kindle formats.

 Do you think your writing has improved since your first attempt? If so, in what way?

JCG: If my writing hasn’t improved over the years I don’t think I’d still be writing. I think my writing has improved in just about every aspect of the craft: my dialogue is more real than it has ever been, my narrative is more compelling, and overall, my story-telling has improved.

Raymond Chandler said, “Everything a writer learns about the art or craft of fiction takes just a little away from his need or desire to write at all. In the end he knows all the tricks and has nothing to say.” I still have plenty to learn, and plenty more to say, so I plan to be around for a while longer.

After hours of intense writing, how do you unwind?

JCG: My most intense writing sessions are on Sunday morning—four to six hours of intensity with coffee brewing and a cigar between my teeth acting as muses. Some of the most productive marathon sessions result in 3,000 words or more. Afterward I often kick back to sip a beer, watch a ballgame and maybe take a nap. Other times, if I’m still feeling my creativity flowing, I’ll go back after an hour or two and set about revising what I’ve just written.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

JCG: You learn more about me and my literary world at
http://www.jconradguest.com/

Thanks for dropping by, Conrad. Much success with your books!

David Fingerman's SPYDER

It's always nice to have authors on the blog more than once. I welcome David Fingerman for a return visit to discuss his new book, Spyder.

David, it's great to have a fellow Dreamspell author over to the blog, and even though I have previously interviewed you, please give new blog visitors a brief bio.

Hi Susan ~ thanks so much for inviting me back. I was born in St. Paul, but once out of the hospital I've lived my entire life in Minneapolis. During the summer months when the sun is shining and birds singing, I'm perfectly content to sit in my office, with blinds drawn, typing away at my computer. My favorite day of the year is the first day I pull a flannel shirt out of the closet. After 24 years of working in the court system, I walked away to write full time. Edging past Reality is my first book of short stories. Spyder is my second novel and quite a switch from the first. While Silent Kill (first novel) is a suspense/thriller, Spyder is more of an urban adventure.

I remember interviewing you about Edging past Reality and that cover was a fainalist in my book cover contest.
What books came along at just the right time to influence your reading/writing?

Shatterday by Harlan Ellison. As for timing, I have to give a lot of credit to a couple of friends who introduced me to the book. College had sapped my creativity to write. It had been a few years and this book reignited my passion to write for pleasure again.

Please give us a short synopsis of your new book.

Spyder is a very intelligent and very street-wise punk. He realizes, in the words of Bob Dylan, the times they are a changin'. Homeless living isn't as safe as it once was. Gangs now battle for turf and don't care about who's caught in the crossfire. Once respected on the streets, now Spyder, entering into his 30s, is just another nameless victim waiting to happen. Instead he decides to clean up his act and try his hand at mainstream society. Unfortunately, 'friends' and addictions seem to block every path.

As dark as this sounds, Spyder does have a deliciously warped sense of humor and there are plenty of yuks throughout.

I like warped humor.

How has your writing progressed since your first book? Has it changed you?

For starters I'm a much better writer ~ and still learning. It's turned from a hobby to a full time job. I used to send short stories to magazines and if I was lucky enough to sell one I'd get a check big enough to let me supersize at McDonalds and that would be the end of it. When my first book came out, that opened up a whole new world I was totally unfamiliar with ~ marketing. Even after three books I still find it very uncomfortable promoting myself but it needs to be done. That part has certainly changed me by forcing me out of my comfort zone. Also, my whole attitude has changed being that I'm now doing what I love to do.

I've been through the comfort zone thing too, and I congratulate you for taking the challenge.

When do you accomplish your best writing?

It's more of a mood thing than a when thing. I write during the day usually starting around 9am and going until around 4. But on those days when the creativity is flowing, I've been known to wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning and start. Or, if the creativity hits late in the day, I can go until about 2 or 3 in the morning before collapsing. I find it next to impossible to pull an all-nighter anymore (sigh).

Is there another book on the horizon?

Always. Right now I'm working on a horror novel. After that it will be the third Louise Miller suspense/thriller. The day I die there will be an (at least one) unfinished novel on my computer.

After hours of intense writing, how do you unwind?

Usually veg out in front of the TV (I'm usually done for the day by the time Jeopardy starts). On those rare occasions when I've got pent up energy, I'll exercise.

Are your books available in print, ebook, and Kindle?

Yes, yes, and yes.

Where can we purchase these books and get more information about you?

If you live in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, my books are available at the local libraries and most of the independent bookstores. For those not in this area, they're available online at Amazon, B&N.com and many other book ordering sites. But please feel free to go to your bookstore or library and have them order copies. If anyone wants to know more about me (and I shudder as to why anyone would) go to http://davidfingerman.com or my blog http://davidfingerman.blogspot.com/.

Ah, David, you're a delight. Thanks for another interview, and continued success, my friend.

                                                                                 

Deena Remiel's Trinity

Deena Remiel, author of Trinity, is my guest today. Welcome, Deena. Congratulations on the release of Trinity.
Tell us about this book.


TRINITY, A Brethren Novel, is the first in a paranormal series that follows the compelling stories of The Brethren. They are a group of angels manifested on Earth who battle against Evil, protecting and saving the human race along the way.

Is it available in print, ebook, and Kindle formats?



It is available in most e-book formats, including Kindle. It will be released in print in a few months.
Here’s a blurb about it:

One way or another, terror will reign tonight.

School teacher and single mom, Emma Livingston, has been through hell—and back so she thinks. While dealing with the night terrors and active imagination of her five-year old daughter, Hannah, she attempts to lead a normal life. That is, until the demon from those nightmares pays her a visit, too, and threatens both of their lives. Desperate, she reaches out for help—and finds Michael waiting.

Michael D’Angelo is known to everyone in Prophet’s Point, Arizona, as their loving elementary school principal. But to The Brethren, he is the most powerful Protector. Immortal and angelic does not mean he’s without doubts or fears, as protecting Emma and Hannah from Evil tests his ability to fight his tortured past.

As the Trinity is formed, ancient secrets are revealed and faith is tested. When a prophecy is exposed, Hannah becomes the main target and Emma wonders if a normal life will ever be possible again. Hope is like an anchor, but can a mother, her daughter, and an angel overcome the evil determined to annihilate the world?

How do you determine voice in your writing?

It’s not a hard decision there. My voice, my sass, my fear, my love, my insecurities, my hatred, my humor, they channel through all of my characters at various points in the story.

How does your environment/upbringing color your writing, Deena?

Growing up as an asthmatic child, with little medication that was worth anything, I was relegated to activities that were more sedate in nature, but more creative as well. Art, piano, writing, and playing pretend, all shaped who I have become as a writer. I am reflective, introspective, confident yet insecure, a champion of the innocent. These qualities come through the kinds of stories I tell.

Describe your ideal reader.

My ideal reader is one who, when the book is opened, believes everything the author has written. If it’s normal to have angels among us, so be it. If humans are living on other planets, believe it. For the life of that book, a reader should become totally immersed in the world the author has created and accept all that is presented. I love readers who believe in total immersion, who let themselves enter the fantasy. After all, reading is an escape, and to question is to not fully escape. Yeah, I’m one of those kind of readers!

After hours of intense writing, how do you unwind?

I do fun stuff with my family, like watching funny shows on TV, or going for ice cream. I also like to decompress with my author friends. Sharing with them has brought me such joy. Shopping is always a good time, too!

Any current projects?

Yes! I’m currently working on the second and third books in the series. RELIC is in the editing stages, and ELIXIR is still in the writing stage. I’m so excited about RELIC. It picks up where TRINITY leaves off, but if folks haven’t read TRINITY, they’ll still be able to read RELIC without a problem. RELIC is Raphael’s book. It’s a fascinating study of a soul’s reincarnation.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

If people go to my website, they’ll find heaps of information there. I have a page that tells where I can be found on the Internet each month. Here is where you can connect with me, find my online serial about the Brethren, and purchase TRINITY from March 22nd onward:

http://www.deenaremiel.com/                                                                  

http://brethrenbeginnings.wordpress.com

http://www.decadentpublishing.com/

Thanks so much for having me here, Susan! It’s been so much fun sharing myself with you and your readers. 

Susan, here's a buy link for Trinity:

http://www.decadentpublishing.com/product_info.php?products_id=234&osCsid=qhuc4gbau5e6tjhd74e6giprm0

Pender County book signing

I just returned from a book signing at The Book Cellar and Courthouse Coffee Shop in Burgaw. Wow! So many wonderful people came out in stormy weather, some driving over 40 miles to be there and all buying books. I'm truly blessed to have such a fantastic network of love and support. I appreciate all of you so much. I realize that friends are among my most cherished possessions.

Cody Toye and Toyebox Collections

Cody Toye is the author of two children’s books, The Adventures of Zorza the Alien: Book 1 The Journey and Toyebox Collections: Bedtime Stories. He lives in SW Missouri with his wife, Heather (the illustrator of his adorable books); his son, Gideon; weiner dog, Artie; and labradoodle, Rose.

Welcome to the blog, Cody. I love the Toyebox Collections cover. Your wife is very talented.
Tell us about Toyebox Collections. Is it available in print, ebook, and Kindle formats?

Thanks, Susan. Toyebox Collections: Bedtime Stories is a collection of nine short stories. It features such characters as a magical roach genie, a traveling goldfish named Gurpie, and a boy on a mission to get back at his sister. These tales are filled with humor and mystery and will make you question “how is that even possible?” This collection is meant primarily for children age’s eight to twelve, but even parents will love these tales. It is currently only available in ebook and Kindle formats through http://www.smashwords.com. It was recently picked up through Trestle Press and needs to undergo some editing and formatting before being print ready.

Any current projects?   

After the release of The Adventures of Zorza the Alien: Book 1 The Journey, I started Book 2 Xander’s Demise. I kept getting sidetracked with other stories, which I put into Toyebox Collections: Bedtime Stories. I am now back on track with Book 2 of The Adventures of Zorza the Alien and hope to be finishing it soon.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

For now you can keep track of events and my books at http://www.Toyebooks.blogspot.com. I also make regular posts on my facebook page. I’m a big fan of Gelati’s Scoop which can be found at http://www.gelatisscoop.blogspot.com/. You can find some of my information there.

I'm also a fan of Gelati's Scoop. Cody, do you have specific techniques you use to develop the plot and stay on track?

Honestly, I take a bath. While I’m there, an idea pops into my head for a story. If, while I’m writing, I have a block…I take another bath. Our water bill is astronomical.

LOL! I often have my best ideas in the shower. That's funny. You must be the cleanest writer around.

Do you think your writing has improved since your first attempt? If so, in what way?

Yes, I think it has. For one thing, I have been paying closer attention to the spell check button. I think I have put more thought into the characters; I’ve made them easier to relate to. I have also infused more humor into my latest works.

What is your most rewarding experience during the writing process?

I would have to say, telling my son these stories at night before he went to bed. My son is my greatest critic; if I don’t get several giggles from him I know that I need to change something. When he asks to hear the same story the next night, I know I’ve done something right.

How special that must be!  Thanks for letting us get to know you better, Cody. Continued success!

David Lee Summers: A variety to savor

David Lee Summers is my guest on the blog today. Welcome, David.
Please tell us a little about yourself.             

Thank you , Susan. I'm the author of four science fiction novels and two vampire novels. I have edited two science fiction anthologies and I edit a science fiction and fantasy magazine called Tales of the Talisman. In addition to writing and editing, I'm an astronomer who operates telescopes at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona. I love to delve into the history of places I've lived and traveled to.

Tell us about your latest book. Is it available in print, ebook, and Kindle formats?

My latest novel is a vampire adventure/romance for adults called Dragon's Fall. Spanning the ages from Hellenistic Greece to 15th century Transylvania, it tells the story of three vampires who come together to form a mercenary alliance, as well as their loves won and lost along the way. The novel is being released as five ebook novellas. Once all five novellas are released, the whole collection will be gathered together as a print novel. Part two of the series, The Dragon's Quest, has just been released. You can learn more about the series at http://dlsummers.wordpress.com/       

                                                                                                                            

My latest novel for all ages is called The Solar Sea. It tells the story of humanity's first voyage to the outer planets aboard a solar sail spacecraft. Along the way, they discover clues that suggest humans might not be alone in the solar system. The novel is available in print, ebook, and Kindle formats. You can learn more about this novel and see a book trailer at http://thesolarsea.com/           

What are you currently working on?

I just sold my seventh novel, a Steampunk adventure called Owl Dance that tells the story of Sheriff Ramon Morales who meets a beguiling Persian woman named Fatemeh Karimi. When an ancient lifeform called Legion comes to Earth, they are pulled into a series of events that will change the history of the world as we know it. In their journeys, Ramon and Fatemeh encounter mad inventors, dangerous outlaws and pirates. I'm currently waiting for the first round of edits from the editor. We're tentatively looking at an autumn release.

I'm also formulating a collection of stories centered around the band of space pirates from my novel The Pirates of Sufiro. In the novel, the pirates are marooned on a distant world. However, I've recently been writing short stories set during the time when they are still raiding ships and being scourges of the galaxy. In essence, this new book would become a prequel to the novel.

Do you think your writing has improved since your first attempt? If so, in what way?


Absolutely! I think I have become better at crafting believable and unique characters who each have their own voice. Also, I feel like I'm better at crafting plots with interesting twists that come to a satisfying conclusion. It's all been a matter of practicing my writing, then reading good books and stories by authors whose work I admire, and effectively comparing notes. It's also important to go through life with your eyes and ears open, listening to people and understanding the ways people are alike and different. An author needs to understand what motivates people.

Were any of your books more challenging to write than the others? If so, why?


My two most challenging novels were Dragon's Fall and Heirs of the New Earth. In both cases, I felt like I wrote myself into a corner and had to set the books aside for a time before I could finish them. In Heirs of the New Earth, the protagonist must travel into an alternate reality to solve the central problem of the book. As I wrote, I felt like the novel was getting too surreal and I had a difficult time suspending my own disbelief about what was happening. In the case of Dragon's Fall, I felt like I was getting too bogged down in writing history and wasn't telling the story of my characters.

Looking back, the problem was that I didn't have a clear idea of either book's ending when I started. As a result, I lost sight of my characters and their stories. In each case, I set the book aside, then came back to it a few months later and wrote an outline of the novel as it stood and looked at the plot threads. I found where I had gone astray, cut out sections of each book, added some new material, and then set myself on course again.

David, this is excellent advice for all struggling writers. I think most of us have learned how important it is to put the book aside for a while and look at it later with fresh eyes.
Do you have an other specific techniques you use to develop the plot and stay on track?

After struggling with Heirs of the New Earth and Dragon's Fall, I'd been asked to write a number of short stories for anthologies. Doing that, I developed a technique of coming up with an idea, writing out a few paragraphs of description, then going away and fleshing it out in my mind. Basically, I got into the mode of "visualizing" the story in the same way as I might recall an event that had happened in real life. Doing that, I could sit down at the keyboard and recount the story rather than try to invent it while staring at a blank computer screen.

I have to do the same thing. Somtimes my best thoughts come while I'm in the shower. LOL.

I ended up expanding that technique for Owl Dance. Only this time, I did it chapter-by-chapter. I started by envisioning the overall layout of the book. Then I wrote a paragraph to describe each chapter. When it came time to write each chapter, I would flesh the idea out a little further on paper, then go out for a walk and visualize the events more fully. Once I was satisfied that I knew what happened, I would sit down and write the chapter. So, in essence, I used an outline to develop the plot and stay on track, but I also stepped away from the computer and visualized the story in depth without actually writing. This allowed my characters speak in their own voices and do the actions in their own unique way.

How does your environment/upbringing color your writing?

Growing up and living in the Southwestern United States with its history and character has strongly influenced my writing. I loved science fiction from a very young age, but my parents preferred westerns. Now westerns and science fiction really have a lot in common – they both have action and adventure and tell stories of exploring and taming new frontiers. I've often borrowed from local history and reworked the stories into science fiction realities. In Owl Dance I turned that around and imagined my local landscape as it might be influenced by mad scientists and even aliens.

As noted in the first question, I work at an observatory. Of course, seeing the science that comes in can give me ideas for science fiction, but the job has also influenced me in less obvious ways. As a telescope operator, I work almost exclusively at night. At one time, one of my co-workers and I talked about how we were the vampires of the mountain. This particular co-worker was also a fan of vampire fiction and introduced me to some good books. That ultimately led me to write some of my earliest vampire stories

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

The general clearing house for information is my website: http://www.davidleesummers.com

For breaking news, check my blog at: http://davidleesummers.wordpress.com

People interested in my vampire novels can get information at: http://dlsummers.wordpress.com

David, thanks for taking time for the interview. I wish you continued success!