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.

Interview with Goddess Anthology authors

Texas-based publisher, L&L Dreamspell, has an anthology entitled The Dreamspell Goddess Anthology which showcases twenty-one writers, among them Cornelia Amiri, Helen Henderson, Jodi Diderrich, Joyce Scarbrough, and Diane Lawson. I am delighted to have these five ladies here for an interview.

Welcome, ladies and give us a brief biography and short synopsis of your story.
Cornelia Amiri has eight Celtic/Paranormal/Romance books: Timeless Voyage, Queen of Kings, A Fine Cauldron of Fish, Druid Quest, The Fox Prince, The Vixen Princess, Danger Is Sweet, and One Heart One Way. She also wrote shorts in four L &L Dreamspell anthologies. Living in Houston Texas with her son, she loves to read historicals, romances, and paranormal novels. Books that combine the three genres are her biggest weakness except for chocolate.

The story "Rhiannon” brings to life the myth of the Welsh Horse Goddess, passed down from tribal foretime. Having cleverly thwarted a forced betrothal with the use of a magic bag, Rhiannon weds Chief Pwyll. Though passionately in love they are beset by strange happenings. All eyes point to Rhiannon as the cause of their greatest tragedy. Is their love for each other strong enough to survive the dark days ahead?

Jodi Diderrich: I claim Hebron, IL as my hometown, though I haven’t lived there since I was eleven. At present, I live in Kenosha, WI, with my husband, Dan, and our two dogs, Sam and Molly. When I’m not writing stories, I work as a part-time teacher at a local parochial school and volunteer once a week as an English tutor for the Kenosha Literacy Council.

“Hiram’s Rock” is a murder mystery based in the Alaskan wilderness. Hanna and Hiram are making their annual journey along the Iditarod trail. One morning, Hanna awakens to the realization that Hiram is lying dead beside her. At first, she assumes he must have died of natural causes, but when she moves his body, she discovers a puncture wound in his back. Someone has murdered Hiram in the night, and now, the killer is coming after Hanna who is unwittingly carrying the rock that her man had died for.

Helen Henderson invites readers to ride the Old West or travel to the stars. As a feature-story writer and correspondent, she has written on a wide variety of topics including air shows, military and American history, bicycling the mid-Atlantic states, and antiques and collectibles. She has also authored two non-fiction histories.

“Ambush Luck” is a historical piece of a woman in a non-traditional role in the American West. Married and happy in her life as wife and mother, Helen Rawlings thought she had put her past as a fast gun behind her until a gang kills one of her adopted sons. When the outlaws try to eliminate the only witness -- her other son, Josh, Helen risks everything to once again become the notorious Hell Lost, gunslinger and defender of the righteous. In a traditional western showdown, Hell confronts those threatening her family. If she survives, she would be faced with the biggest crisis of all, rejecting the lure of adventure and once again turning her back on a life riding the high trails.

Diane Lawson: My name is Veva Dianne Lawson. I began life as an attorney and got out of it as soon as humanly possible. Writing has been a part of my life since I was a child. I have been writing seriously for many years.

I have two stories in the Goddess Anthology. “Was Helen of Troy and you remembered it wrong” is narrated by a woman (Catherine) in the present about her past lives of which Helen was one. Her problem is that she thinks the memories might simply be a symptom of insanity. Also, she wants to set the record straight about a book written by her past self about their life as Helen.
The other story, “The Lost Planet of Homely Women” is about an invasion of one planet by another that goes terribly (and I hope humorously) wrong.

Joyce Scarbrough: As an intelligent Southern woman, I am weary of seeing myself and my peers portrayed in books and movies as either post-antebellum debutantes or slack-jawed yokels, so all my heroines are smart, unpretentious women who refuse to be anyone but themselves. Naturally, I felt compelled to write a story for an anthology like this one that featured strong female characters. In addition to my three published novels and "Heart's Tempest," I have three other short stories featured in upcoming anthologies from L&L Dreamspell. I write full time and also do freelance editing.

"Heart's Tempest" is about a hellion named Jaycee Stevens who doesn’t plan to stay a second longer than necessary in the rural Alabama town where she grows up with her alcoholic father. Usually, everything Jaycee does is focused on either getting a college scholarship in softball or pretending to her boyfriend Cole that she’s a lot tougher than she really is. When Cole finds out she has a Valentine’s Day tradition with a boy who’s had a crush on her since third grade, he knows there’s a lot more to this blonde tempest than meets the eye.

Do you write any other genres?

Amiri: I have a Steampunk/Romance novel coming out under the pen name of Maeve Alpin in 05/2010. I have a mystery short story in A Death In Texas.

Diderrich: I write in almost any genre. I’ve written a number of children’s stories, often featuring special dogs and cats that I’ve known. My first prize winning piece, “Sam’s Day”, was about my cocker spaniel, Sam. I’ve also written an unusual not-quite-science-fiction piece that will hopefully become a graphic novel. I also write poetry and have started what will one day be my “great American novel” loosely based on my father’s family.

Lawson: I have had poetry published and my plays, “The Services of Women” and “Broken Things” were produced as part of the EWARD ALBEE NEW PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL in Houston Texas. “Broken Things” went on to be produced off, off, off Broadway in New York and also was presented at the NEW YORK FRINGE FESTIVAL. I have a short film called “Silence” in post-production and am in pre-production for another short film called “Prom Night”.

Scarbrough: All my books and stories focus on the heroine's relationships with her friends, family and love interests, so I think they are best described as women's fiction. While love and romance play a big part in everything I write, my stories feature too many other story elements to be classified as romances

Is there a different writing process for short stories than there is for novels?


Amiri: I have a lot less space to work in but the actual process I use from rough draft to submission is pretty much the same for both.

Diderrich: Only in that I can’t drag it out. I have to force myself to stay short, succinct. Otherwise, it’s the same. I start with a scene and a very broad plot. The main characters come to life as I write that first scene. They just fall into it, becoming more real as the story progresses.

Henderson: My writing crosses many genres from science fiction and fantasy, to historical fiction and adventure. While my fiction doesn't always fit into the true romantic genre, the stories often cross into romance.

Much of the process is the same for short fiction as opposed to the longer length novel. One major difference for me is that where I can mentally plot, organize, and write a short story, I storyboard my novels with pencil and paper. The shift allows me to weave more intricate plots and make sure my characters are in the correct place. By eliminating logic errors, I can focus more on other aspects of the story such as dramatization and bringing the setting to life.

Did you write the story with a particular real life strong woman in mind? How do you relate to the woman you wrote about?


Amiri: My story is about Rhiannon, the Celtic horse goddess. I kept her myth and legend in mind as I crafted this Celtic/Mystery/Paranormal/Romance. In ancient Celtic times Rhiannon was a goddess most women could relate to, they strived to be like her. She was strong but committed to her family.

Diderrich: I don’t know anyone exactly like Hanna, although with five sisters, each of them as individual as fingerprints, I can find pieces of her in each one. There are also parts of Hanna that come from me, her maternal instinct toward her dogs, for example, and there are parts of Hanna that I wish I possessed, like her physical strength and ability to think on her feet.

Henderson: I can see much of my mother and my grandmothers in “Hell Lost”. All three were strong women who were able to rise above the traditional roles expected of women of their time. My mother was known to swing an axe, toss a bale of hay, or do whatever was needed on our family farm. In honor of my coal-country mountain heritage and the women of my family, I write westerns, including “Ambush Luck” in the Dreamspell Goddess Anthology, under the persona of my ancestor, Jessie Treon.

Lawson: “Helen” is about loneliness and trying to make sense of a confusing world. I think we all have these feelings on occasion. “Lost Planet” incorporates the silliness we all see occasionally in men and women. So, no particular strong woman is a part of the stories.

Scarbrough: Actually, the heroine in "Heart's Tempest" is also the heroine in my novel, Different Roads. Jaycee has been living inside my heart ever since she was a motherless six-year-old featured in my Christmas short story titled "Hope Chest." All her stories are dedicated to women who were once forgotten little girls like she was, most of whom are much stronger than they even realize. Fortunately, my own childhood was nothing like Jaycee's. Maybe that's why I feel so much for women like her and have to write about them.

Did you collaborate with anyone else during the anthology process or write on your own?

Amiri: I write on my own.

Diderrich: I’m not big on collaboration. Working with another writer would leave me wondering if my contribution had been truly integral to the work. I’d feel like an interloper, I think. I do belong to a wonderful writers’ group, though, that gives me great feedback on the mechanics of my stories and insight into how a reader might react to it and why.

Henderson: For me, writing is a solitary effort.

Lawson: I am solely responsible for these stories for better or worse.

Scarbrough: I have a best friend named Lee Ann Ward who is also a writer. We critique each other's work and bounce ideas off each other, but when we write it's a one-woman show--unless you count our heroines. They definitely have a say in what happens!

How do you discipline yourself when writing?

Amiri: I try to write at least 2000 words a day but sometime that doesn't work out. I'm striving to be more consistent with it.

Diderrich: I have to make a schedule, which keeps me writing fairly regularly for a while. Eventually, I get bored with the schedule or circumstances change and I have to make a new schedule, but I always need to have something or someone telling me when it’s time to write. Otherwise life just takes over and everything else gets done, but not the writing.

Henderson: I make sure that I always have paper and pencil with me. As well as a few pages of the chapter I'm currently working on.

Scarbrough: This isn't a problem for me, because once I start writing a story, it consumes me and that's all I want to do! So I guess my answer would be that I force myself to eat and sleep while I'm writing!

Have you participated in any other anthologies? If so, which ones?

Amiri: Yes. A Death in Texas, Sleeping with the Undead, and Romance of My Dreams, all with L & L Dreamspell.

Diderrich: I haven’t participated in any of L&L Dreamspell’s other anthologies yet. However, I won second place in a contest, The Golden Journey Short Story Competition, a few years ago with a story, “Sam’s Day,” where the winning stories were published in an anthology, The WriteStuff Writers’ Golden Journey, 2006.

Henderson: “Recov” in Romance of My Dreams, Vol II by L&L Dreamspell (awaiting publication)

“Pirates Reprise” in Wondrous Web Worlds Vol. 9 by Sam's Dot Publishing (awaiting publication)

“Withym: Treasure Beneath the Sands” in The Writer’s Written Word 2008: Compendium of Short Works by the Monmouth Creative Writers’ Group

Lawson: This is my first.

Scarbrough: My story "Hope Chest" was featured in the 2008 edition of an annual Christmas anthology titled CHRISTMAS IS A SEASON published by Excalibur Press, and my story "Journey of a Thousand Miles" was featured in the 2009 edition. I also have a story in the upcoming L&L Dreamspell anthology DREAMSPELL REVENGE Volume1 and two stories in ROMANCE OF MY DREAMS Volume 2.

When writing, what themes do you feel passionate about?


Amiri: I love to write about strong women who know themselves or find themselves (warrior women), and the ancient Celts. My interest in history is as strong a drive as my writing so I often write historicals, usually set in the dark ages or ancient times. I also like to write humor.

Diderrich: I feel very passionate about women and enjoy exploring the ways they handle the problems and advantages they encounter because they’re women. I am also a big animal advocate. I love all animals, even spiders and snakes and find it unconscionable that some humans think they have the right to lord over them and treat them any way they see fit.

Henderson: I am old fashioned enough that I prefer happily-ever after endings, or at least the potential of the future the character wants. My heroes are men to die for and my women worthy of walking beside a man rather than behind him.

Lawson: I always want to make certain that my heroes and heroines (whatever their struggles) end up doing the right thing.

Scarbrough: Love definitely dominates when it comes to my writing, but I also seem to be drawn to writing about emotionally damaged characters like Jaycee. Usually it's the men in my stories with all the baggage, and my heroines are the only ones who can help them get past it.

James Michener once said, “I’m not a very good writer, but I’m an excellent rewriter.” Please respond to that statement as it relates to your individual writing process.

Amiri: Yes, I totally agree. The easy and fun part is the rough draft, meaning the first time I finish the story. The hard part and the bulk of time and writing is put in after that, in rewriting.

Diderrich: Most of the time I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Michener, and I always go back and reread and edit my work. Once in a while, though, I find, that when I’ve finished my rewrite, the piece has changed to the point that it’s no longer the story I set out to tell. Maybe it’s a better story mechanically, but it’s no longer what I wanted to say.

Lawson: I am still rewriting “Helen” even though Lisa and Linda have already taken it into the anthology.

Do you have other writing projects underway?

Amiri: I am always working on new manuscripts. I have a Steampunk novella coming out in May and a Celtic/Romance novel, Druid Bride, to be released in May as well. I have a short fantasy story in Twisted Tales of Texas Landmarks with L &L Dreamspell to be released in the fall of 2010.

Diderrich: I have a number of projects going on all the time. I have a mystery novel finished looking for a publisher, and I’m half way through a second story using the same protagonist. I also have an idea for a graphic novel that I’d like to see put into print. I wrote the back story and have everything else in my head. I just need an artist to do the artwork for me. Another book I’m working on is a children’s book based on Sam (the dog from “Sam’s Day”) and his big sister, Molly. I wrote it a while back, but recently brought it out and had my critique group look at it. They had good things to say about it, so I’ve been editing it and looking at publishers to submit to.

Henderson: I have a romantic fantasy novel currently under consideration by a publisher, and a second is finishing up the review process.

Lawson: I am currently trying to write a mystery novel.

Scarbrough: I'm about three-quarters done with a coming-of-age novel titled Shades of Blue that my critique group partners have said reminds them of To Kill A Mockingbird. I can't tell you how flattered I am to even be mentioned in the same breath as a book like that. I'm also writing a YA paranormal novel that I like to describe as DEXTER meets BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. No vampires, just a smart-mouthed dead girl with a penance to pay.

Where can readers learn more about you and the anthology?

Amiri: At http://www.CelticRomanceQueen.com and at http://www.lldreamspell.com/CorneliaAmiri.htm.

Diderrich: My website is http://www.jodiderrich.com/. Anyone interested in finding my work can look there. If they need more information, there is a link where they can e-mail me. I can also be found on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter (jodid007) and Booktown.

Henderson: http://www.lldreamspell.com/HelenHenderson.htm

Lawson: Of course the anthology is discussed in the LLDreamspell website. I also have a website at Dianne@vevadiannelawson.org

Scarbrough: You can read samples of all my work on my pages at Authors Den: http://tinyurl.com/yafjyty. For updates about the anthology and all my book events, the best thing to do is find me on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/26q2sdj. I love getting new friend requests! I also have a blog called "Blue Attitude" that I don't update as much as I should, but there are some excerpts posted there too:
http://joycescarbrough.blogspot.com/

Ladies, it has been my pleasure to learn more about you.

Chester Campbell's Surest Poison

Chester Campbell was born in Nashville, TN in the midst of the Roaring Twenties. During the Depression-era thirties, he loved to read short stories in magazines like The Saturday Evening Post and Liberty. He never thought about writing until shortly before he was discharged from the Army Air Corps at the end of World War II. He was in the first class (1949) to complete the journalism curriculum at the University of Tennessee. Since then he has written for newspapers, magazines, public relations, advertising, and the fiction market. He currently writes two series of PI mysteries, one featuring retired Air Force investigator Greg McKenzie, the other starring former National Park ranger and small town police chief Sid Chance. Chester lives in the Nashville suburb of Madison, TN.

Welcome, Chester.Tell us about your latest book.
The absolute latest isn’t out yet. It’s A Sporting Murder is due for release by Night Shadows Press in October. The fifth Greg McKenzie mystery, it deals with the consequences of a rivalry between a group seeking to bring an NBA team to Nashville and ardent supporters of the Predators NHL hockey team, who want to keep them out. My newest book in print is The Surest Poison, the first Sid Chance mystery. Three seemingly unrelated murders crop up during the investigation of a decade-old chemical dump that plagues a rural community west of Nashville. Sid Chance, whose law enforcement career was cut short by malicious accusations of bribery, pursues the case after being coaxed out of self-imposed exile by Jaz LeMieux, a wealthy ex-cop. Sid finds himself tailed and threatened. When Jaz helps with the investigation, she is awakened by an explosion behind her mansion. The person responsible will stop at nothing to remain hidden. As the tension mounts, Sid finds himself confronting the unsavory people responsible for his past troubles.

Do you think your writing has improved since your first attempt?
Definitely. I wrote my first novel in 1948 while a journalism student working nights as a reporter for The Knoxville Journal. It was a murder mystery. The plot didn’t sound bad, but the writing had plenty of amateurish errors. I did much better with one I wrote in the sixties, though it, too, needed considerable improvement. When I retired in 1989, I started writing novels with a passion. The first seven failed to find a home, but number eight was published by a small press. The same editor handled the next three books and said each showed improved writing over the previous one. In my earlier efforts, I was guilty of such things as overwriting and too much POV shifting. I have pared down my style to one as lean as a greyhound. Like the celebrated breed, it speeds up the pace.

How do you develop characters and setting?
For a major character, I start with a personal sketch. This includes basic information such as age, location, family, job history. While puzzling this out, I get into where the character fits in the general scheme of things, which helps with development of the story. I flesh out the character as necessary to keep the plot moving. I build minor characters as they pop into the story, giving only enough detail to make them stand out from the crowd.
I enjoy handling the setting and do quite a bit of research when required. Since my books are mostly set around Nashville, and I’ve lived here virtually all my life, it’s only necessary to bone up on areas I haven’t visited in a while. When my characters hit the road, like visits to Israel and Jordan in Secret of the Scroll, it becomes a bit more complicated. In that case, I used my experience as a Holy Land visitor in 1998, where I shot three hours of video. I used several tour books to supplement my memories. Where necessary, I invent locations but work hard to make them realistic. Good old Google helps a lot.

Do you have specific techniques to develop the plot and stay on track?
I’m a seat-of-the-pants plotter, so the stories come out mostly as a stream of consciousness. I have a general idea when I start, then let things go wherever the whims of the characters take them. I’ve used several methods to keep things organized. In one book with several potential killers, I did a detailed timeline for the night of the murder, showing where each suspect was and what they were doing. Most of the time, after I’ve written several chapters, I start a list of actions by chapter, which makes it easy to go back and find places to make changes. That’s what I love about fiction. If the story isn’t going to suit you, change it. Wouldn’t it be nice if real life was that way?

How does your upbringing and environment color your writing?
I grew up in Nashville, TN in typical urban middle class surroundings. The fact that it was during the Great Depression colored things a bit. We were poor, but we didn’t think of ourselves as poor since everybody else was in the same boat. My dad was a small businessman who struggled to stay afloat, and my mother worked at a secretarial job. My grandmother lived with us and looked after the three boys. My parents were staunch churchgoers and raised me to be the same. I’m sure all of that background colors my writing, as well as my experiences during a lifetime of working at various writing jobs. I served in the Army toward the end of World War II, in the Air Force in Korea, and with the Air National Guard until retirement. That led to creation of retired Air Force Lt. Col. Greg McKenzie.

Where do you write? When? What do you have around you?
I do most of my research and some writing on a PC in my bonus room office over the garage. It’s the only upstairs room, which keeps me running up and down steps forty times a day. That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but it helps keep me in shape. Most of my books are written on the laptop while sitting in my recliner in the living room. That’s where I am now. After spending quite a few years working in noisy newsrooms, I learned to block out extraneous sounds and concentrate on the words I’m typing. Sometimes my wife, in the twin recliner beside me, will comment on something said on TV and I won’t have a clue to what she’s talking about. I write mostly afternoons and evenings. Not every day, however. Domestic requirements and other responsibilities get in the way.

What are your current projects?
As mentioned above, the fifth Greg McKenzie mystery, A Sporting Murder, is in the pipeline. I should have a cover and a publication date shortly. In the gestation stage is the second Sid Chance mystery. It will probably have a link back to Sid’s eighteen-year career as a National Park Service ranger. Most of my other projects involve trying to scare up readers for my books. A long-time writers group colleague, Beth Terrell, and I are setting up appearances at various outdoor events, such as the Buttercup Festival in Nolensville, TN and the RC-Moon Pie Festival in Belle Buckle, TN. As an interesting aside, I’m the reserved, withdrawn type. I virtually never speak to a stranger unless spoken to first. But at book signings, I stand and hail people with the question, “Do you read mysteries?” If they say “yes,” I pitch my books. Guess that makes me a part-time outgoing extrovert.

Yes, I met Beth at Killer Nashville a couple years ago.
Where can folks learn more about your books and events?
Info on all my books, including sample chapters, reviews, where to buy, where I’m appearing, etc., is included on my website: http://www.chesterdcampbell.com. I blog weekly at http://murderousmusings.blogspot.com and semi-monthly at http://makeminemystery.blogspot.com. My personal blog at http://chestercampbell.com, titled Mystery Mania, has been neglected lately, but I plan to reinvigorate it.

Thanks for the interview, Chester, and I'll see you in Nashville in August.

Thanks for the opportunity to be here, Susan.

Icy Snow Blackstone's Bargain With Lucifer

Icy Snow Blackstone is my guest author today. Icy, please give us a brief bio.

First of all, thanks for letting me do this blog. I appreciate it. Now, to the bio! I’m a Southerner by birth although I’ve lived in various parts of the US, including the Midwest and Orange County, California. I graduated from a well-known Southern Baptist university with a degree in Fine Art and have another in Illustrative Art. I also have a son who’s a teacher and a granddaughter and grandson, ages eight and sixteen, respectively.

When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?
I started writing when I began first grade and have been penning various fictions ever since but I didn’t begin writing seriously until 1989.

When you started writing, what goals did you want to accomplish? Is there a message you want readers to grasp?
My reasons for writing are pretty selfish, I suppose. I just wanted to tell a story, many stories, in fact. All those that were circulating inside my head and just absolutely had to come out. So I started writing them down—first by hand, then typewriter, and finally on computer. I never really intended to have any published; they were just for me and a few others to read and enjoy.

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

My latest book is called Brother Devil. About 20 years ago, I wrote a story called Bargain with Lucifer and sent it to a cousin to read. This novel was a romance, and in it, two brothers—Luc and Michel--were featured. After she read it, she said to me, “I’ve only got one question: What happened to Michel?” Bargain with Lucifer was supposed to be a one-shot, stand-alone novel but then I had to write Brother Devil to tell Michel’s story.

What’s the hook ?

Here’s the blurb to describe the story: The women of Orleans parish may have called Luc a devil and Michel an angel but now the angel is falling fast—and he’s enjoying his downward flight to the limit.

Brother Devil opens with a funeral, a funeral in which only the husband of the deceased is truly mourning. In spite of the things his dead wife did to him and his family, Michel Deveraux still loves her and tries to deny how completely cruel she was. It takes some very strong convincing from his family to make Michel admit Clarice’s manipulations but once he dies and realizes he’s no longer bound by marriage vows, he decides to make up for lost time. Michel had always been second to his big brother in everything, from his grandfather’s love to excelling in sports, and now, being successful with women is high in the list of categories. Before he knows it, he’s involved in a scandal and finding his life in danger as he goes after the one woman in Orleans parish whose brothers won’t accept a Deveraux “trifling” with their baby sister.

How do you develop characters? Setting?

In this book, the characters were more or less already set since they’d been in a previous novel. It was simply a matter of tempering them over time (the story covers 3 years), showing how the events in the first novel caused what happened in the second and how they all reacted to it. The fact that they are Southerners and Creoles also influences their reactions to events differently from how people in another part of the country would act.

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

I imagine my techniques are the worst imaginable! I just sit down and start typing. Very linear. Beginning to end. Afterward, I may decide that something in the middle of the book would be more appropriate at the end or closer to the beginning, or that I should actually start the story in the present or after a certain event and then flashback or forward. I actually used to print out pages and cut them up and repaste them together into how I thought they should be. I still do that but now, I “cut and paste” on the computer.

Every time I start a new chapter, I go back and read the one I just finished, edit it, and then go on. That helps me keep continuity.

How does your environment/upbringing color your writing?

I set a lot of my romances in the South and goodness knows, that’s a place which has a great influence on what my characters do. It also helps if your editor knows something about the setting of your novels. I had one editor who was from Tasmania and admitted she knew nothing about Southerners. We went back and forth over a few things in the novel because she was looking at them from an Australian/United Kingdom point of view, and I was seeing them from the US/Southern viewpoint.

What are your current projects?

I have a couple of fantasy romances I’m tossing around. One is The King’s Swordswoman, about a woman warrior hired to protect a king’s invalid son and what happens when she believes the boy is killed while on her watch. Of course, he isn’t and many years later they meet; he knows who she is but she doesn’t recognize him. It’s a love story, so of course there’s going to be plenty of intrigue and heartbreak before the HEA.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

I have a website: http://www.icysnowblackstone.com/, Facebook and My Space pages, and a page at Author’s Central on amazon.com’s website. I also blog regularly at the Pink Fuzzy Slippers blogsite.

http://pinkfuzzyslipperwriters.blogspot.com/

Icy, thanks for a great interview. I wish you the best of sales!

T.V. Sweeney's Serpent's Tooth

Toni Sweeney was born in Georgia after the War between the States but before the Gulf War. Her writing career began during an extended convalescence following an automobile accident. Marriage, parenthood, divorce, and a variety of occupations ranging from dancer to medical transcriptionist assistant took precedent over writing for several years. She has survived hurricanes in the South, tornados and snow-covered winters in the Midwestern United States, and earthquakes, and forest fires in California.

Toni says," I’m a native-born Southerner but I currently live in the Midwest with my son who’s a math teacher. I was residing in Orange County, California but when I hit age 65, he decided I’d better “come home” so he could keep an eye on me! We’ll see…"

Toni, welcome to the blog. Tell us when did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?
I’ve always loved to read and writing just naturally seemed to follow it. I’d read a story, then find myself thinking over certain parts—the beginning, the ending—and rewriting it with my own spin. Sometimes, it would be, “what if…?” or “If this had happened instead…” I loved English class, especially Composition, although I hated standing in front of the class and giving reports. I’m a terribly shy person, almost agoraphobic, and going to conventions and being in the public eye terrifies me but I do it.
Anyway, I’ve always like adventure stories—Tarzan, Flash Gordon, Roy Rogers—anything that had plenty of action and cheeky humor, and little dashes of romance, like the Three Musketeers, Robin Hood, Treasure Island. I also like mystery, thrills and chills, and the supernatural. So, I write what I like, and generally my stories have some or all of these elements in them. That’s why I like to say I don’t write romances but romans, which were the stories the wandering troubadors told, stories combining adventures, action, supernatural elements, and love.

When you started writing, what goals did you want to accomplish? Is there a message you want readers to grasp?
Most of my stories deal with the hero or heroine’s search for belonging. This is especially obvious in my Sinbad series and the Kan Ingan Archives series, and a little less so in the Chronicles of Riven the Heretic. Sinbad’s a smuggler and a very successful one but all he wants is a home and family, and once he achieves that, he discovers that he’s also become a very law-abiding, and rich, man in the process—all because of the woman he loves. Aric kan Ingan loses all for love but regains it, only to lose it again because he’s still searching for that one perfect love. Riven kan Ingan, his ancestor, tried to find acceptance by being a social climber and marrying into wealth. Instead, he fell in love with a barbarian warrior woman and ended up becoming the progenitor of a race of kings.
So, if there’s a message in my stories, it’s that everyone wants someone to belong to and sometimes that someone may not be whom they expect. Other than that, I just want people to read my stories and enjoy them.

Briefly tell us about your latest book. Series or stand-alone?
Currently, I’ve got two books in the burners. Sinbad’s Pride, third in the Adventures of Sinbad series and Serpent’s Tooth, and these two books couldn’t be more different. They came from the same mother but they’re definitely fraternal twins. Sinbad’s Pride is sci-fi, set several centuries in the future, and Serpent’s Tooth is a contemporary horror novel.

What are the hooks for the books?
The Sinbad story deals with family obligations. It begins with Sinbad arranging, against his better judgment, a marriage between his infant daughter and an adult cousin—and if that doesn’t pique readers, I’ll be disappointed! It progresses from there to his realizing that coming home and becoming his grandfather’s heir involves more than he expected…namely that he’s going to have to do certain things that are politically motivated, such as taking concubines to cement relationships with their families. This is especially difficult since Sinbad loves no one but his wife and has never looked at another woman since the moment he met her—and now he’s being told he has to have not one but two other women in his life as secondary wives? Whoa! Things go downhill—or up—from there, depending on where you’re standing.
Serpent’s Tooth opens with a famous rock star contemplating suicide. The choices he made to bring him to this moment provides the story, which involves a naïve midwesterner’s corruption by Tinsel Town and his attempts at redemption.

How do you develop characters? Setting?
I have absolutely no idea! Sometimes a word or phrase or a scene just pops into my mind and I start expounding on it. I’ve always said that if I think about something for three days and can’t get it out of my head, I have to write about it. That’s generally true, although recently, I’ve hit a kind of slump. So far, I’ve managed to hold the ideas at arms-length for several months. The book I’m working on right now, The Seventh Mothman, I’ve fended off for almost two years!

LOL. That happens to me as well.
It’s been said that in sci-fi/fantasy, you can set a story wherever you want and no one can refute it and that’s so, but you still have to have a realistic basis floating around somewhere. It can’t be too fantastic or far-out or you’re going to lose your audience before you’ve even captured them. So a little believability is always needed.

Do you have specific techniques you use to develop the plot and stay on track?
I Know I should, but I don’t. No outlines, no character studies. I did that with Wizard’s Wife, had an outline, extensive synopsis, a list of characters, etc. Then, I promptly lost it. It turned up again about a year ago then disappeared again. I had three chapters written but had only one in the computer, so I scrubbed it and started over and wrote the whole thing from scratch. I keep telling myself I should write all the ideas down but I’m so darned lazy, I just never do it.
Mainly, I just sit down and start pounding the keyboard. So far, I’ve worn out five computers and eight printers.

LOL. That's serious pounding.
How does your environment/upbringing color your writing?
For sci-fi/fantasy? Not much. Generally the whole things is made up or based on some medieval lifestyle which I tailor to fit the story. I have a couple of books on life in Ancient Times/the Middle Ages which I consult faithfully for my novels. I used them extensively in the Chronicles/Archives series. Also, if I hear or read an interesting fact about a specific time period, I write it down for future reference. I have a notebook just for that sort of thing. For something like Serpent’s Tooth, I did use a bit of observation about kids in the ‘80’s idiolizing rock-and-roll stars, but because I was never a “teeneybopper,” I got most of my information from watching much, much earlier TV shows such as American Bandstand and Ed Sullivan, etc. I remember the night the Beatles were features and Elvis Presley, and I wove that adoration and idolatization of those singer into the story.

What are your current projects?
Sinbad’s Pride, third entry in the Adventures of Sinbad. In this one, Sinbad is in his thirties to forties (The earlier books were about his childhood and youth). It shows his changing attitude toward the things he’s always held dear as he matures, and how his love for his wife matures along with it, and also the things he has to do, sometimes against his will, because of the responsibility he now holds. It’s being published by Double Dragon Publishing.
Serpent’s Tooth covers 25 years in the life of a very successful rock star—how he was discovered, and the things he’s done that come to so appall him that he chucks it all and disappears at the height of his career. When he reappears 20 years later, he thinks he left all the unpleasantness behind but just when he’s again found happiness, the past rears its ugly—and deadly—head.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?
My website is www.tonivsweeney.com. I update it weekly. I also have a newsletter, and if anyone wants to be put on the mailing list, they can send their e-mail addresses to tvsweeney@neb.rr.com. I also have a My Space, Facebook, and YouTube accounts also a blog page at amazon.com’s Author Central. I also blog of various blogging groups, such as the Pink Fuzzy Slipper Writers and The Wild Rose Press.

Thanks for a fun interview, Toni.

A Chat with C.J. West

I'm delighted to have C.J. West here today for a brief interview. Welcome, C.J. Let's get started.
Your Randy Black Series is unconventional. Why did you choose to evolve Randy Black as a character?

When I wrote Sin &Vengeance, I wasn’t planning a series. It wasn’t until readers started telling me they wanted to kill Randy that I decided to write A Demon Awaits. I was really surprised by the strong reactions to Randy. I felt for him as a character and I wanted people to understand why he did the things he did. Most readers reacted strongly to the way he took revenge during Sin &Vengeance. I think that was primarily because Randy is a brilliant guy and when he took his revenge the way he did, I think it was eerily real to readers.

Did you feel writing A Demon Awaits from Randy’s perspective was a risk?

Absolutely. It was a risk and a challenge. I wanted to change people’s feelings about Randy and help them understand what I saw in him. It was also a risk because it requires readers to start with Sin & Vengeance and then move on to A Demon Awaits to really understand the story line. If they didn’t buy Randy as a sympathetic character, the series was shot for them. The great thing for me is that readers who really hated Randy after Sin &Vengeance came back to tell me how they warmed to him after A Demon Awaits.

How does Gretchen Greene fit? Will Randy continue to grow?


Gretchen Greene is the first of a series of adventures Randy will undertake on the run. The plan for the next several books is for Randy to continue his quest for redemption by finding souls in trouble and helping them. Gretchen Greene is a former ecoterrorist that has stolen a breakthrough solar technology and is running for her life. She desperately needs Randy’s help, but the two of them can’t agree on anything. It makes for some fun interchanges on their way across country. The next several books will occur in a short span of time. Randy will continue to grow, but much more slowly. My goal is for readers to be able to enjoy any of the remaining books whether they’ve read others in the series or not.

Is there a message in your writing you want readers to grasp?


Randy is on a journey to redeem himself, so that is a constant theme. I think all good fiction addresses a serious issue. For me the issues change from book to book. I also think that the tone of my books varies with the subject matter and the characters. Many readers have told me that my books are very different from one another and I really take pride in that. My latest book centers on environmental activism and asks where we should draw the line between protecting the environment and restricting people’s freedom.

What are your current projects?


I have just released Gretchen Greene, my latest Randy Black novel and my entire backlist on Kindle. I have a new standalone thriller, The End of Marking Time coming this summer. I also have a film adaptation of Sin &Vengeance currently in the fundraising stage with an independent film production company. The website for the film is www.sinandvengeance.com

Wow! Congratulations on all the success!
Where can folks learn more about your books and events C.J?

I’m on tour right now and this year I’m hosting a series of events that promise to teach readers everything Randy Black does in my novels. I’m hosting a high performance driving demonstration, a firearms class, a winery tour, a newsroom tour and many Texas Hold ‘em lessons. I’ll be appearing throughout New England. Readers can find my books and my tour schedule at http://www.22wb.com/.

C.J., I know how busy you are. Thanks for dropping by. We'll be expecting more great books and events from you.

Pat Bertram: Daughter Am I

Pat Bertram, author of Daughter Am I, is a native of Colorado and except for a brief stay in the north woods of Wisconsin, lived there all her life. When the traditional publishers stopped publishing her favorite type of book — character and story driven novels that can’t easily be slotted into a genre — she decided to write her own. Daughter Am I is her third novel to be published by Second Wind Publishing, LLC. Also available are More Deaths Than One and A Spark of Heavenly Fire.

Pat, it's a pleasure to have you here.
What do you mean by "novels that can't easily be slotted into a genre"?

All of my novels have elements of intrigue, adventure, mystery, suspense, romance, history, and some have a touch of science fiction. A Spark of Heavenly Fire, for example, is the story of people who become extraordinary during a time of horror -- a bioengineered disease is decimating the population of Colorado, and the entire state is quarantined. One character is obsessed with finding out who created the disease, one couple tries to escape, one woman does what she can to help the survivors. And a thread of romance connects all the stories. All these different stories entwined into one makes it difficult to settle on a single genre. A Spark of Heavenly Fire is being sold as mystery/crime, but it could just as easily be mainstream or a thriller.

Is there a message in your writing you want readers to grasp?

My only goal is to write the stories I want to read. If my books do have a message, it’s that nothing is as it seems. We are not necessarily who we think we are, history did not necessarily happen the way we think it did, and what we see is not necessarily the truth. But all that is more of a side effect. Mostly I just want to write good stories with good characters.

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

I don’t have any specific technique, though I do fill in a timeline as I write to make sure that the events happen in a realistic framework. When I first started writing, I never had weekends or holidays in the story, just one long string of weekdays, so a timeline is very important. The timeline also serves as a brief outline of what I have written so that I can see the story at a glance. Besides the timeline, I use a theme to stay on track. If I’m not sure of the efficacy of a character trait or plot point, I check it against the theme. If the trait or plot point helps prove the theme, I keep it, otherwise I look for a stronger way of tying the ideas to the theme. I’ve found that a theme helps keep a story (and me) focused.

Briefly tell us about your latest book, Daughter Am I.

Daughter Am I is the story of a young woman who inherits a farm from murdered grandparents she never knew she had. Since her father won’t talk about them or explain why he told her they were dead, she sets out on a journey to discover who those grandparents were and why someone killed them. Armed with a little black address book she found in a secret room in the farmhouse, she travels halfway across the country talking to people who knew her grandfather. Through the stories those feisty octogenarians tell, she learns the truth about her grandparents and herself.

How does your environment/upbringing color your writing?

Because I’ve mostly lived in the shadow of mountains, mountains always shadow my writing.
How fortunate.

How do you promote yourself online and off?

I have not done much offline promotion. I’ve been doing my promotion online -- Facebook, of course. Twitter, though to be honest, I haven’t quite figured out how to use it to my benefit. I blog. I hold writing discussions, both on Facebook and Gather.com. I try to put in an appearance on Goodreads. I’m not sure how effective any of these sites are as a promotion tool, but they are a start. Eventually I hope to find a way to get vast numbers of people interested in my books, but so far I haven’t hit on the right method of promotion. I’ve heard that if your book hasn’t caught on in six weeks it never will find a readership. I’ve also heard that it takes three years for a book to find its readership. I’m hoping it’s the latter.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

I have a website -- http://patbertram.com/-- where I post important information, including the first chapters of each of my books, but the best way to keep up with me, my books, and my events on a daily basis is by way of Bertram’s Blog. http://ptbertram.wordpress.com

All my books are available both in print and in ebook format. You can get them online at Second Wind Publishing, Amazon, and Smashwords. Smashwords is great -- the books are available in all ebook formats, including Kindle, and you can download the first 30% free.

Pat, thanks for the interview,  and I wish you well on all endeavors. By the way, the cover is gorgeous. I'm certain that it will be in the finals in the next Whitfield Cover Award contest.