Welcome, Dale. I’m delighted you agreed to let me interview you. What is your book about?

Here is the blurb: Exchange is an alternate history novel where our risk-averse society suddenly has a frontier again, as a series of “Exchanges” temporarily swap town-sized pieces of our world with an alternate reality empty of humans, a wild, dangerous place people can go to start a new life if they’re brave or crazy enough.

With little warning, computer guru Sharon Mack finds herself in a land where sabertooths, giant bears and even more dangerous creatures still roam, fighting giant predators, escaped convicts, and a mysterious cult to rescue her kidnapped daughter before the Exchange ends, trapping them forever.

How long had the idea of your book been developing before you began to write the story?

For this particular book, almost twenty years. I know that because I came across a notebook with dated entries from when I was in my late teens outlining some of the ideas. That’s unusual for me. Most of my stories go from concept to writing within a year or two. I had the idea for Exchange long before I had the maturity or self-discipline to write it.

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

I’m not big on putting messages in fiction, but one snuck into Exchange. We live in what my daughter calls a ‘bubble-wrap’ society, one that is obsessed with reducing risk to the point of keeping us from doing a lot of things we want to do and/or need to do. How does that kind of society react to suddenly being in a world that is wilder and more dangerous than the Wild West ever was? A lot of us take the benefits of the bubble-wrapping for granted, but dream about getting away from the restrictions. Unfortunately, the risk reduction and the restrictions are often a package deal. I try not to hit people over the head with that message and you can read and enjoy Exchange without ever noticing it, but it is there.

How has your background influenced your writing? How does your environment/upbringing color your writing?

I grew up in a fair-sized city, but I spent a lot of time with relatives in the country, so I probably write rural life a little more authentically than someone without that experience. I also have a computer background, so there is always a little bit of the techie in my stories. I have to dial that back so it doesn’t get in the way of the story.

What’s your writing schedule like? Do you strive for a certain amount of words each day?

I usually concentrate on one aspect of writing at a time. If I’m writing I schedule myself to write a thousand to three thousand words per day, depending on what other obligations I have. If I’m editing or marketing that’s usually all I do that day.

A group of people from a workshop I went to last July pledged to write at least two hundred and fifty words per day every day for thirty days. We kept renewing that through the end of December and most of us ended up averaging five hundred to a thousand words per day. The two-hundred and fifty words is a small enough amount that you can do it in twenty minutes to a half hour, so pledging to do that is a good way to avoid procrastination. At the same time, the mindset for editing and marketing are enough different from writing mode that I found myself having to work at making the transition.

What was the first story you remember writing?

In fifth grade I wrote the first ten or fifteen pages of a really bad Hardy Boys imitation. It had no plot, cardboard characters, and if I ever get famous I plan to hunt it down and shred it so nobody publishes it after I die.

What is the most difficult part of the whole writing process?

The last five percent of the editing process, the part that gets you from almost the right words to exactly the right words. For me that takes more time than writing the rough draft.

What is the easiest part of the writing process?

For me, the easiest part is writing the rough draft. Once I have characters and a plot outline I can write the rough draft of a novel in four to six weeks and I enjoy doing it. What happens before and after writing the rough draft is far more difficult and time-consuming.

Do you have mental list or a computer file or a spiral notebook with the ideas for or outlines of stories that you have not written but intend to one day?

I write down lists like that from time-to-time, but not systematically. I recently found a notebook with a list of twenty or thirty ideas that I wrote down over twenty years ago. A surprising number are still good.

How many stories do you currently have swirling around in your head?

Way too many. I have two novels with 70-80% of the rough draft finished, at least half a dozen short stories more than half-written, probably a dozen more that I started and still want to complete and a constellation of ideas I’m not letting myself start writing on until I finish the ones I’ve started.

What, in your opinion, are the essential qualities of a good story?

A good science fiction story starts with a big idea–usually new technology or a unique world. From there good science fiction takes a character we can care about and gives them a problem or a challenge that is caused by the big idea. The challenge needs to be big enough to push them almost beyond their ability to cope. It needs to be big enough that they have to grow in order to deal with it. A really good story has the main character earn their victory, assuming they win. They need to pay a price. Typical ways stories go wrong: Not making the story big enough for the world they are set in or not challenging the main character enough. If nothing bad happens to the main character through the story it’s hard to have a good story. If they just have to do one thing to win and it doesn’t cost them much, it’s hard to have a good story. Good stories come from making your character suffer and dig deep to overcome odds that seem impossible. A good villain helps too, obviously. The trick is to make the villain realistic, smart and justified in his/her own mind while still keeping them the antagonist.

What advice you would give to an aspiring author?

Know what you’re getting into. Writers on TV have an idyllic life. Writing in real life is like the rest of real life. A lot depends on who you know. A lot of very talented writers never succeed because they’re nice people and get jostled out of the way by less talented people with sharper elbows. If you hate corporate politics and see a writing career as a refuge from it, you will be disillusioned. People and companies in the publishing industry are a mix of good and bad, selfish and generous just like people anywhere.

If you love to write, I would strongly encourage you to continue to write. Do understand though, that the market for writers is incredibly, beyond imagining glutted. Never put yourself in a position where next month’s rent and food or even the rent and food six months down the road is dependent on earning money from writing. There are probably a couple of thousand times more stories landing on editor and agent desks than there are slots for them, so as a new writer the odds against any one of your stories getting accepted by a particular venue are astronomical. If you wrote the best story out of a stack of a hundred, you still have only a three to five percent chance of getting accepted. The odds in your favor do go up if you’re persistent, but getting published does take persistence as well as an exceptional story. Do you have something exceptional to say? Something better, more compelling than the vast majority of stories out there?

Becoming a better writer is partly a matter of writing a lot. Raymond Chandler claimed that it takes writing a million words of crap —  ten or twelve good-sized novels worth — before you write anything publishable. That’s probably close to right, though you can cut that down somewhat by reading well-written stories. You can also cut it down by having exciting things to write about. That comes partly from life-experience and partly from being a good listener — basically incorporating other people’s experiences. Empathy is a big help too, being able to understand someone with a very different set of life experiences and beliefs.

You can come out of a great English program writing wonderful, flawless prose, but if you don’t have anything to say why should anyone read what you write? On the other hand, if you’ve had extraordinary experiences you can write mediocre prose and people will overlook that because your stories are so vivid and compelling. There is nothing as real as actual experiences and there is a grittiness, a reality to scenes where the author has been there and done something very similar to what they’re describing. It’s very hard to duplicate that without the experiences.

What are your current writing goals and how do you juggle the promotional aspects with the actual writing?

My goal for this year can be summed up as finishing what I started. I have two novels in what should be final edits, two more with the rough draft essentially done and waiting for me to edit them, and two more where the rough draft is 70-80% done. By November I want the first two to be published. I want to be doing final edits on the ones where the rough draft is done, and I want finished rough drafts on the ones that are currently almost done. When I meet those goals I’ll start the next novel.

I tend to do marketing in blocks of time rather than trying to do it at the same time as writing. I have writing days, editing days and marketing days. That fits my somewhat obsessive personality. I’m not sure if it’s the most effective way to get things done.

Who do you imagine is your ideal reader?

I wrote Exchange as a science fiction story, for techie guys a lot like me. I get generally pretty good feedback from that audience, but surprisingly, the people who tell me they couldn’t put it down and want a sequel yesterday are mostly women who rarely read science fiction and are generally more into mystery or romance. I can understand that because the story has a strong female lead and there are elements of romance and mystery, but it did surprise me. As to how to market to that strength, I haven’t figured that out yet.

What do you think the most influential change in book publishing will come from?

The book publishing industry has at least two problems it has to solve. First, how do they find new voices that will sell among the thousands of voices that won’t, and second, how can they find readers in a market that will become increasing fragmented.

The sheer number of manuscripts going to major publishers and top agents makes it extremely difficult to find the stories from new authors that will sell. A lot of the big publishers and agents have apparently almost stopped trying, though they won’t tell you that.

The problem with not finding good new voices is that it sets up competition. Granted, some authors will give up and stash their stories in a trunk, but others will find a small publisher or self-publish. If even the extremely good new voices aren’t making it to the major publishers, then marketing-savvy smaller publishers end up publishing those people and taking market share away from the majors. The marketing power and distribution of the majors can minimize that to some extent, but at least in science fiction we’ve seen small-press books getting major awards and tens of thousands of sales. That’s mostly happening in the larger small presses, but it’s feeding the growth of competitors.

As those competitors ramp up, people have more choices and the market becomes more fragmented. Publishing probably becomes more a matter of finding enough niches for a novel, rather than going for the kind of mass audience the big publishers are going for now.

The impression I get from talking to people in tune with the industry is that book people are increasingly getting forced out of larger companies in the book publishing industry in favor of accounting types, lawyers and general marketing people. That’s a very disturbing trend, but it does open up some possibilities. Depending on how nasty of a non-compete clause the people signed I could see some very talented book people available for smaller companies or available to strike out on their own. I can see amorphous entities forming where a publisher is more a coordinator than anything else. They farm out final edits, then contract out marketing and distribution. I could also see writers or small publishers forming cooperatives for marketing and distribution. A lot of possibilities are opening up, and I don’t know if we’ll see a final shape for the industry for years, maybe decades.

As always, Dale, you give me much to think about. Where can people find out more about your and your books?

You can find me at my website: http://dalecozort.com/index.htm or at Stairway Press: http://www.stairwaypress.com/bookstore/exchange/

Click here to read an: Excerpt From “Exchange” by Dale Cozort

Click here to read: Three Things Television Tells Us About The Future of Writing by Dale Cozort

What is your book about?

Ultimately, I suppose this book is about transformation, struggle, and redemption. I tell my story of how I used to suffer from PTSD, depression, weight, and anger issues; and the journey I went on and the road map I created and implemented to find a successful transformation. I am now on no medications, and I no longer show signs of PTSD or depression.

I use my story as a platform to reveal a variety of stories and philosophies with a lot of humor and wit. I give many details on the mind and how it relates to us physiologically, as well as emotionally, quantum mechanics, dating, sex, religion, and anything that affected my development from broken to whole was tackled.

Was there a major turning point in your life?

Too many to name them all, but meeting my stepson Christian eight or so years ago has to be the most significant turning point. I’m proud to say I still see him post divorce, and he was also the ultimate reason I wanted to truly change. The second most significant turning point in my life would have to be when I decided to write about this journey that I took.

How long did it take you to write your book?

It took roughly 2-3 months for me to write the first draft. The revision and editing process was a few months more, so all in all about a six month process from beginning to release.

What’s your writing schedule like? Do you strive for a certain amount of words each day?

When I wrote the story, I did so every day until it was done, minimal twelve hour days. I never made myself have a goal for X amount of words; you can’t if you write the way I do. At one point, I wrote almost three days in a row with no sleep. I rarely took breaks. When I had the epiphany one day that this is what I’m supposed to do, I just couldn’t put my laptop down.

What challenges did you face as you wrote this book?

Balance within the book, considering this wasn’t the typical kind of story to write. On one hand, you are going into highly technical information, a variety of philosophies, but still trying to relay it as simply as possible. On the other hand, I am sharing very intimate stories and sometimes some can be perceived as rather shocking, so I had to find the balance between just enough and too much information. I definitely push the envelope even with my humor, but the feedback has been positive overall; so I’m happy that I relayed the story the way I wanted to when I originally envisioned it.

It was also hard to relive some of the negative things I have done to people. Reliving the negative things that happened to me wasn’t that hard at all, but reliving what I have done to others that were negative was very difficult for me.

Are you writing to reach a particular kind of reader?

I truly think there is something in these pages for everyone. Even those who sometimes get offended still say they ultimately thought it was a great book, and they learned something. So truly I think anyone who wants to look at life through a different set of lens will enjoy the read.

Do you think writing this book changed your life? How so?

It absolutely did on so many levels. I’m honestly contemplating writing a book on the process of writing this book. The people I have met, the lives I have affected, the relationships that have impacted me. I have experienced more in the last six months that many don’t get to experience in a lifetime. I’m very grateful for what I have experienced and don’t take it for granted.

What is your goal for the book, ie: what do you want people to take with them after they finish reading the story?

I want readers to feel good about themselves- who they are, have hope for their future, and learn about a different perspective on life in an entertaining way. I hope they laugh, cry, and are challenged; I want to move the reader emotionally in many directions, but ultimately down one of hope and joy.

What’s been the most surprising part of being a writer?

The impact I’ve been able to have on people and the support from so many. Not just my readers of the book, but my readers who follow my column In That Moment of Space for the Washington Times Communities. Also, the support from so many people I have had the pleasure of getting to know over the last several months.

I have spoken to those that have felt they were broken, and they told me that my book helped lead them to the answers they needed to change their life. I’ve heard from other readers that said they felt complete in life, so they didn’t know if they would get anything out of it; but it turns out they loved it! They still learned something about who they are or about life because of it.

I’ve also received letters from people through the Communities column who have been inspired by my articles or challenged by them. I wasn’t expecting such a quick readership from people or a large fan base, but I’m very grateful to all of them and everyone who has supported me.

Do you have mental list or a computer file or a spiral notebook with the ideas for or outlines of stories that you have not written but intend to one day?

I have a mental list and look forward to writing my next book, whichever one that is that I choose to work on first. But that will be quite a few months down the road. Not too long though.

How many stories do you currently have swirling around in your head?

I have 3-4 non-fiction books I want to write and 2-3 fiction stories as well.

What are you working on right now?

I am preparing to focus on the speaking side of my business, Innovative Social Dynamics, LLC. The company was started a year ago, but I put all speaking plans on hold to write this book. I’m now focusing back on professional speaking to reach people down a different avenue other than a book in order to help others achieve a true inner-change. So I currently work on the business and focus on articles for the Communities column.

Where can we find out more about your book?

To read reviews, the synopsis, watch the video commercial, or to purchase When Jonathan Cried For Me visit http://www.whenjonathancriedforme.com

To learn more about Carter’s column, business, or where to access his Twitter and Facebook please visit http://www.innovativesocialdynamics.com

Click here to read an: Excerpt From “When Jonathan Cried For Me” by Carter Lee

Welcome, Steven. What is your book about?

The First Bayonet deals with Zaina Anwar, who is a professor at the American University in Cairo, and has taken to protesting the Mubarak government about five years before Arab Spring. She is arrested, and her cousin, a member of Unit 777 (Egypt’s premier counterterrorist unit) reaches out to a friend of his named Ben Williams, a retired sergeant major, former Delta operator, and current CIA paramilitary officer. Given the relationship between the United States and Egypt, no official attempt to spring Zaina (who holds dual Egyptian and American citizenship) will be made, so Williams to go “off the reservation” (Spyspeak for “conduct an unauthorized action”) to spring her from prison and escort her and her cousin to the United States.

What inspired you to write this particular story?

A friend of mine was actually a participant in Arab Spring, and I read her personal account of it to see what it was all about, since I had heard several things on the news and know that the best way to learn about an event is to ask somebody who was there. Her account was probably the most moving piece of literary work I have ever read, and it drove me to want to tell her story through fiction. However, the continuity of my characters didn’t allow for Arab Spring to be a direct topic, so instead I rewound the clock to a suitable place and created the character of Zaina, who was the first to rally to the cause of freedom for her people in the modern era.

How long did it take you to write your book?

A little under a month, total. I had my idea and I ran with it. It was originally meant to be a short story, specifically for my friend, and it grew from a short story into a novelette, and from a novelette to a novella. Once I’d hit that length, I finally felt I had told the entire story and considered it done.

Did you do any research for the book?

Oh, plenty…I always do research for my novels. I am a nitpicker for tiny details that most friends of mine I know that read don’t pay attention to. One of my biggest things is that when I set my novels in the past, I pull up a calendar so I know exactly what day it is I’m setting the story on. If I can pull up moon charts or weather reports for those days, it’s even better to better create a new event in the world that we know. As far as the research on Egypt, I read my friend’s account on Arab Spring, as well as received research tips from her on the history of Egypt and why the Egyptian people were opposed to Mubarak. And of course, I made sure to research the weapons. As a reader, nothing frustrates me more than lack of research, especially with the internet literally at a writer’s fingertips.

How many stories do you currently have swirling around in your head?

At least seven other projects are on my mind at this moment, but I’ve only touched one of them.

Describe your writing in three words.

War, love, politics.

How has your background influenced your writing?

Being a military brat and a veteran myself has definitely played into the development of my characters, especially in their personal aspects. Also, being an infantryman, I have an appreciation for what soldiers want to read when they read about war, so I do my best to make the battle scenes as authentic as possible. Of course, there is the occasional stylization in the prose, but I want to not only entertain the general populace, but to have a brother grunt set the book down and go, “Well, damn, that was a hell of a firefight!”

What writer influenced you the most?

Depends on what aspects we’re talking. If you’re talking action and partially my prose, then my mentor, Doug Wojtowicz (a contributor to the Executioner pulp action series from Gold Eagle) is the biggest influence. If you talk descriptions, then Robert Ludlum always did the best job of making me feel as if I was there. David Mamet revolutionized the way I approached dialogue, and Tom Clancy and Vince Flynn were big influences on plotting. Hideo Kojima, the creator of the Metal Gear video games, was the major influence behind getting me into writing in the first place, and in being a details kind of guy when it comes to writing. The amount of research he puts into his games, on all sorts of subjects, is absolutely astounding.

What are you working on right now?

Since November of 2010, I have been working on my first full-sized novel, The African Catalyst. I took a short break to work on The First Bayonet, then another short break after NaNoWriMo 2011. I have since resumed writing The African Catalyst and hope to have the manuscript completed no later than June of this year.

How much of a story do you have in mind before you start writing it?

I have a direction, a skeleton. The meat of the story comes as I write it. This way, I do not lose my focus, but I retain some room for improvisation and new ideas.

Who gave you the best writing advice you ever received and what was it?

Doug Wojtowicz gave me the best advice. I had submitted to him the opening of a proposed novel, and he absolutely gutted it. I recall him saying something to the effect of, “’He felt somewhat perturbed?’ What the hell are you, Hillary Clinton’s speechwriter? Don’t be a grass-eater! Be carnivorous. Lean, mean, hard-hitting. Get in, get out, stay in one timezone.” I think for suspense and thriller writers—especially action thriller writers—this is the most critical piece of advice.

Do your characters ever take on a life of their own?

Yes and no. I tend to base my characters directly off of people I know, or off of a combination of people I know. This tends to make it easier to develop distinct speech patterns, quirks, styles of dress, etc. So, I suppose you could say that my characters have a life of their own from the moment I jot them down.

Where can we learn more about you and your books?

ITUNES: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-first-bayonet/id495203205?mt=11

AUTHOR BLOG: http://stevenhildrethjr.blogspot.com

TWITTER: @StevenHildreth

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/stevenhildrethjr

Click here for an interview with: Sergeant Major Ben Williams, hero of “The First Bayonet: A Novella” by Steven Hildreth, Jr.

Welcome, Stephen. It’s good to talk to you! What is your book about?

Forced to work with a rival TV ghost hunting show, a paranormal researcher—who is himself possessed—investigates a 19th century asylum and uncovers as many dangerous secrets as he does spirits.

How long had the idea of your book been developing before you began to write the story?

Funny in that this story had to “brew” quite a while, Pat. I thought up the rough idea for GHOSTS OF ROSEWOOD ASYLUM after my first novel DREAM WAR didn’t sell to the Big Six publishers. I didn’t quite pitch it right to my agent though, and she suggested I go with another idea I had at the time (a vampire novel). Unfortunately, I got blocked with that idea and came back to the TV Paranormal Investigator angle. Pitching it a second time to my agent went much better. She gave me some great advice. Thus, GHOSTS OF ROSEWOOD ASYLUM (GoRA) was the easiest novel to write thus far. I wrote the first draft within 3 months.

Who is your most likeable character?

Ray “the Railroad” Ross. For some reason, chicks really dig him.

Did you do any research for the book?

If so, how did you do it? (searching Internet, magazines, other books, etc.) Figuring out how 19th Century Asylums operated was the subject of a decent of research. It was interesting to consider how much life has changed in 100 years.

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

Typically I like to have lessons and character growth. I like to show how characters make either correct or incorrect choices. Sometimes the difference between good and evil is simply taking the right or wrong action. I’ll let the readers take what morals they want from the story.

What was the first story you remember writing?

It was a story we wrote in 1st grade. We were all given a title and a title alone: It’s a Long Way Down. It was a pretty open-ended title for a story. I believe mine had to do with someone climbing a tower. Others wrote about people looking into a pit. It was a pretty interesting psychological study I suppose.

What is the most difficult part of the whole writing process?

Getting myself focused on my manuscript and ONLY my manuscript. We’ve so many distractions today…even when sitting at our computers.

Even when sitting at our computers? Especially when sitting at our computers!! Have you ever had difficulty “killing off” a character in your story because she or he was so intriguing and full of possibility for you, his or her creator?

I recently had a novel completely set in my mind to “kill off” a character. For nearly two years the plan was set. Flying to Chicago as part of my first book tour, it came to me that a different character had to take the fall. It hit me like a punch to my gut, but I knew it was the right way to go.

What one book, written by someone else, do you wish you’d written yourself?

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson.

What words would you like to leave the world when you are gone?

I wrote this a while back as my mission statement: In modern society it’s become unpopular—except in the horror genre—to address evil as anything except an absence of good. This is a lie. We are all capable of evil just as we’re capable of good. Key decisions during key moments of life do more than just define our personalities; they increase either good or evil in the world.

Where can people learn more about your books?

http://www.prosapio.com

http://www.xavierparanormal.com

facebook page http://www.facebook.com/stephenprosapio

Goodreads author page http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4348183.Stephen_Prosapio

Twitter details http://twitter.com/#!/stephenprosapio

Thank you for answering my questions, Stephen. Best of luck with your books!

Click here to read an: Excerpt From “Ghosts of Rosewood Asylum” by Stephen Prosapio

Welcome, Kaycee. What is your book about?

Night Falls On Chicago is about a group of vampires that converged together in order to stop one of their own. The difference between my vampires and others you have read about, the ones that I wrote live by a code of ethics. Also there is something “other worldly” about them.

How long had the idea of your book been developing before you began to write the story?

Probably all of about 15 minutes!

What inspired you to write this particular story?

My middle child was sick and he had to undergo all kinds of testing. There was one doctor that was followed by seven student doctors and when all eight swarmed around my son, they looked like a pack of vampires about to feed.

Did you do any research for the book? If so, how did you do it? (searching Internet, magazines, other books, etc.)

When I started writing Night Falls On Chicago, Yahoo Chat rooms were still the big thing to do. So I went into a local room, I lived in Chicago at the time, and met a person who claimed he was centuries old and was a PSI vampire. But the locations I write in and around Chicago, they are my most favorite places about Chicago. So I did a ton of time in those spots and actually getting ran off by a couple of police in one of the areas!

What are you working on right now?

My second novel is called I’ll Love You ‘Til You Die, plus I blog hosted by Lunatic’s Folly and I have columns that I submit to Useless Knowledge website.

Do you have a favorite snack food or favorite beverage that you enjoy while you write?

Yes! I love coffee and Funyuns and Cheetos, I guess I’m not the most healthiest of snackers while I write!

Do you have mental list or a computer file or a spiral notebook with the ideas for or outlines of stories that you have not written but intend to one day?

A BIG thick spiral filled to the brim with ideas that will one day become stories or blogs.

Have you always wanted to be a writer?

Not really, when I was a small girl, I wanted to be a Rockette in New York City, but when I realized I’d never be taller than 5’4″, that dream went out the window! But I did learn I have a knack for writing when I was in tenth grade.

Where do you get the names for your characters?

Some of the names in my first novel are either the first or middle name of close friends and family that for years I’d been threatening to kill off. My therapist says that this is probably one of the healthiest ways to deal with the frustrations that I often have.

What has been your greatest internal struggle to overcome in relation to your writing career?

Inihibitions and self judgement. I am my own worst critic!

What are your future plans? What will you bring to the literary world besides more stories?

Hopefully I would like to bring to the WORLD in general that a person can have a mental illness but turn it into an asset instead of having people pity me.

Where can people learn more about your books?

Right now, my book is on http://www.allthingsthatmatterpress.com/buynow.htm or you can go to my website, http://www.kayceenilson.com/ for more information about not only my books, but everything I have written for the past 5 or 6 years.

Welcome, Ellis. What is your book Cold Comfort about?

A rather conventional woman who, when someone tries to kill her, discovers everything she believed about her life is a lie.

What inspired you to write this particular story?

I visited a fascinating Christmas shop in Rotenberg, Germany. It was absolutely magical. The images stayed with me for years, and one day when I was wondering what it would be like to create such a shop, Claire Spencer walked into my head. She became the main character.

How much of yourself is hidden in the characters in the book?

More of what I’d like to be than what I am. Claire is more determined and, even though she may be afraid, she does what she believes is necessary.

Who is your most unusual/most likeable character?

It has to be Jelly—Jelly Biggs, a bad guy in my WIP. He’s an ex prize fighter who took a few too many blows to the head, leaving him a little punchy. “Jelly’s thoughts might tumble around like lottery balls in a bin, but the former heavyweight could still float like a butterfly.”

How long did it take you to write your book?

Cold Comfort took about a year to write and five more to revise till I felt it was right. The first one, Haunting Refrain, took eight years to complete. I’m getting better.

How much of a story do you have in mind before you start writing it?

The characters and the crime, but I’m trying to morph from a pantser into more of a plotter. I think it will make the writing go faster and keep the storyline tighter.

Does writing come easy for you?

Getting into the story is often hard, but once I’m there, it flows. If I can tap into my subconscious and let it take over, the initial writing is easy. Revising and making it all come together is much more difficult but also more rewarding. I like that part.

How many stories do you currently have swirling around in your head?

Four main ones and a couple of others that keep popping up. It’s mostly the characters that draw me. I really want to write them all.

What do you like to read?

Suspense and crime fiction.

Have you written any other books?

Yes, two other novels, Haunting Refrain and The Peeper (with Jim Christopher), and some short stories.

Where do you get the names for your characters?

I look up ethnic names and meanings, such as Sicilian family names for a mob boss or Irish names for a hero. I also consider whether the sound of the name conveys what I want from the character. I try to avoid having similar-sounding names in the same book.

Where can people learn more about you and your books?

Cold Comfort http://tinyurl.com/ev-cc-Kindle and http://tinyurl.com/ev-cc-Nook

Website: http://www.ellisvidler.com

Blog: http://theunpredictablemuse.blogspot.com

Welcome. Who are you?

My given name is Marcus LaMont Clayton.

Are you the hero of your own story?

Am I the hero of What’s Done in the Dark? I guess it depends on who’s reading the story. I definitely wouldn’t call myself the villain.

What is your problem in the story?

I prefer to think of them as challenges. On the surface, most people say I have no self-control, that I let my libido runaway with me. Of course, there are always multiple sides to every story. Can we talk about it in length?

Do you have a problem that wasn’t mentioned in the story?

Not at all. I’m very open. I’ve shared my soul… but maybe you won’t see it that way.

Do you run from conflict?

I don’t run from anything, especially conflict. My grandfather taught me to face my fears. I definitely do that in the Lost & Found series.

How do you see yourself?

I see myself as misunderstood. Many have read only part of my story and made a snap judgment. They think they’ve seen it all, read it all, before. I would caution them against thinking I’m as simple as their first impression.

How does the author see you?

Avah LaReaux is my author. She thinks she knows me, thinks because she created me she has all the answers. I issue her the same caution: I’m not as simple as many assume. My levels go deeper than even I know. How can Avah possibly really know me?

Do you think the author portrayed you accurately?

I think Avah did an excellent job introducing me to the world, but I am the only person qualified to tell my story, the Clayton story.

What do you think of yourself?

I love me some Marcus. How could I not? Anyone who doesn’t love themselves is suffering from something that only a person with a degree can help with. The real question is, “Do I like myself?” Well, that’s a question for another day.

Do you have a hero?

Robert Julian Clayton is my hero. He is my grandfather, my mentor, my best friend. There’s not a man in the world as great as Poppa C, guaranteed.

What is your favorite music? Why?

I love jazz music. My favorite artist is Jelly Roll Morton. My granddad introduced me to his sound before I could walk. Jelly Roll is legendary.

Name five items in your purse, briefcase, or pockets.

The five items in my pocket would be in my wallet: my ID, my platinum card, my shrink’s business card, a single gold key inscribed with the words “Silvador,” and a key card to a penthouse suite at the Morgan Belshire hotel.

What are the last five entries in your check registry?

Not even Avah knows the answer to this question. The last five entries in my check book include a check to my son’s daycare, payment for twelve hours of “discussions” with my psychiatrist, checks to my favorite charity and to my favorite accountant who keeps my money straight and growing, and a check to a boutique in Savannah, Georgia for two of the same negligee.

What are the last three books you read?

The last three books I read were Kill Alex Cross (James Patterson), Resurrecting Midnight (Eric Jerome Dickey), Bastards (Avah LaReaux), Unraveled (D. Fostalove), and Beloved (Toni Morrison). I know you asked for three, but more is always better. Don’t you think?

If you had the power to change one thing in the world that didn’t affect you personally, what would it be?

I’d change how the lives of each individual have the potential to negatively affect one another. More often than not, the situations life presents us with deserve a mulligan option. If I could, I’d give every adult a “redo” button, the ability to go back and positively affect change before any casualties could be had.

Good answer. Where can we learn more about you?

Read excerpts from the Lost & Found series in Avey World, http://www.avahlareax.com

Welcome, Dorothy. What is  The Manipulative Man about?

There are men who are exceptionally manipulative and having a relationship with one of these men requires special knowledge and some advanced relationships techniques. My book identifies the men, provides a checklist to make a positive identification (my law enforcement background shows at times), and decide if this is the relationship for the reader, can it be changed or should the reader consider cutting her losses and moving on. It includes many case studies that showcase how these manipulative men use their considerable skills in interactions and conversations. I also threw in some humor to hold the readers interest and make it more fun.

Did you do any research for the book? If so, how did you do it? (searching Internet, magazines, other books, etc.)

I did a tremendous amount of research if you include my 13.5 years in college, 15 years in private practice and journal research for the book. Some of my time in college and practice time overlapped.

What is your goal for the book, ie: what do you want people to take with them after they finish reading the story?

I want women (and men) to understand when they are being manipulated (used) by someone in this dishonest and self-serving way. Once we realize that, we can make free choices and protect ourselves from psychological, emotional and physical harm.

What challenges did you face as you wrote this book?

The beautiful countryside just waiting for me to run, hike and commune with nature… my dog (Sophie) “asking” to go out, to be feed, to be petted and to get her meals and snacks, and the need for human companionship. I am a people person and staying tied to a computer for long periods was very problematic.

Do you think writing this book changed your life? How so?

I am more aware of manipulation now. I have also made a more in depth study of psychopaths and I use that knowledge to alert law enforcement to the danger.

Do you have any rituals that you follow before sitting down to write?

I fix a cup of superb, fresh ground coffee (one should not skimp on coffee), wait for Sophie to get comfortably settled at my feet and go to sleep (snoring loudly) and then I am ready to write.

Do you prefer to write at a particular time of day?

Yes, I prefer late morning. I have found, if I have a tsunami deadline approaching I can write at any time of the day.

Does writing come easy for you?

The type of writing I do, research based, comes easily to me. I would like to write an Agatha Christie type murder mystery. That does not come at all—at least not so far…

What’s been the most surprising part of being a writer?

Calling myself a writer was very difficult for me. I had three published books (traditionally published) before I would call myself a writer. I still feel a little like an imposter when I claim that skill.

Who gave you the best writing advice you ever received and what was it?

A professor at Emory when I was working on my dissertation… He told me there are two types of dissertations—perfect dissertations and finished dissertations. I wanted a finished dissertation.

What advice you would give to an aspiring author?

Write about what you know and love. Then get someone to reality test for you. Rewrite, rewrite and rewrite…

Have you written any other books?

Yes — From Shyness to Butterfly and Personality Quizzes

Where can people learn more about your books?

My website www.themanipulativeman.net and Amazon and other booksellers sites

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself or your books?

I sincerely appreciate my readers. There are many books they could read and when they choose mine I am truly honored. I love to hear from readers—drmccoy86@aol.com

Who are you?

I’m Captain Danny Maine…well, I’m not a Captain anymore. I retired from the Army. I’m now Professor Danny Maine. I teach freshman English at Kensington State University. I’m in love with the dean, but don’t tell anyone. No, no, not Mac Caldwell, Eliza Baines!

Where do you live?

I live in Willow Falls, the sweetest little town of 5,000 people in upstate New York.

Are you the hero of your own story?

Hell yes! My name’s in the title. Now and Forever 2, the Book of Danny by Jean C. Joachim. Mac Caldwell is jealous because he was the hero of the other book but didn’t get his name in the title. I asked him if he was sleeping with the author, Jean, but he wouldn’t say. *snickers*, I’m not saying either. You can put the pieces together.

What is your problem in the story?

I have a few obstacles in my way. Okay, I admit it maybe more than a few. I suffer from PTSD. I have nightmares, I get jumpy, but I can lick it. I know I can. I didn’t know my old man would get sprung from jail and ask me for a hand-out. Didn’t know he’d picked up some scumwad friend in prison, either. Wish they would leave me the hell alone so I could focus on Eliza and teaching. Geez, facing a classroom full of freshmen scares the crap out of me more than facing a sniper in Iraq!

Do you run from conflict?

I’ve never run from anything in my life and I’m not going to start now. No one pushes me around. Hell, my life can’t get any worse than it’s been.

How do your friends see you?

My friends know they can count on me. I protect those I love. Callie and Mac know that I will do everything I can to keep them safe from that piece of crap, Fred, and my lowlife father.

How do your enemies see you?

My enemies had better be afraid, very afraid. Because I can outthink anyone and out-maneuver them, too. And I will. I will arm myself, I will do whatever is necessary to prevail.

How does the author see you?

Don’t say anything, but I think she’s secretly in love with me. Heh heh. Not that I mind *wicked grin* Hey! Don’t tell Eliza I said that! Yeah, she listened to my story and we kind of…well…you know how close you can get when you’re working on a story. I swear that was before I started dating Eliza! *holds up hand*. Jean is a good listener and she took down everything I said. When she got off course, I shoved the story right back on. Even had her in tears a couple of times *shy smile*. Love the way my story came out and that she found a publisher, too, is awesome.

Do you think the author portrayed you accurately?

Hell, yes! I was right there in the room with her. Had to sweet talk her sometimes, make a few changes from time to time but it is truly my story.

Do you have a hero?

My brother Kyle was my hero. He was killed in Iraq.

Do you keep your achievements to yourself?

Yes. I feel lucky to have what I have. Where I came from, my life could have ended up so differently. I’m grateful for what has come my way. None of this would have happened if my brother didn’t watch over me, make sure I took the right path. I have him to thank for who I am today. It’s too bad he isn’t here to see what a great job he did.

What do you need?

Eliza and Dr. Weiss say I need therapy. So I’m going. Actually, I like Dr. Weiss. She’s kind and nice to me and doesn’t make me feel weird, you know? She’s the one who told me I was damaged on the inside. Since I’ve going to see her and writing in my journal I have fewer nightmares, so she must know what she’s doing.

What do you want to be?

Married to Eliza, a father and at peace.

What, if anything, haunts you?

Life with my abusive father haunts me. My buddies’ instant deaths in Iraq haunt me. But I’m working to overcome those fears, those memories…by facing them and building a new life. I’m part of the community in Willow Falls. I love my Kiwanis guys and coaching soccer. All I want is a quiet, normal life and the hottest lady in town in my bed.

Are you lucky?

You’re damn right I’m lucky! Hell, I came back with a back full of shrapnel scars but that’s all. Well, maybe a mind full of nightmares, too. Okay, okay I’m a bit injured on the inside. But I came back with all my limbs and a chance to find something better.

Do you have any distinguishing marks?

A shit-load of scars on my back. Hey, can I say that in here? And a few that only Eliza knows about *turns red*, oops, TMI.

What was your childhood like?

It was a worse nightmare than my days in Iraq. I don’t want to talk about it. I spend enough energy trying to forget.

What in your past had the most profound effect on you?

The love and devotion of my brother.

Who is your true love?

Eliza Baines is my true love. She’s the hottest, classiest, smartest lady I’ve ever known and I hope to win her, make her mine forever *blushes*, hey, don’t quote me on that. It’s private, ya know? I fell for her the first time I met her. Never known a woman like her.

BUY LINKS FOR NOW AND FOREVER 2 THE BOOK OF DANNY

http://www.amazon.com/Now-Forever-Book-Danny-ebook/dp/B0067964RQ/

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1107349184?ean=2940013595156&itm=1&usri=now%252band%252bforever%252b22c%252bthe%252bbook%252bof%252bdanny

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-nowandforever2thebookofdanny-641722-148.html

http://store.secretcravingspublishing.com/index.php?main_page=book_info&cPath=13&products_id=170

What is your book about?

January’s Thaw is the sequel to One Hot January. In One Hot January, Joe January, a private investigator circa 1947, grudgingly helps a pretty young woman find her father, a professor of archeology at Columbia College in New York who’s been missing for six years. When January finally tracks him down, Professor MacIntyre spins a wild yarn of time travel and alternate realities. All January knows for sure is that two nefarious individuals are hot on his trail. Only at the end, when January is transported a century into the future, does he come to believe in the validity of MacIntyre’s claims.

In January’s Thaw, January must come to terms with his misplaced past, which includes losing the woman he loved but never told, while trying to survive in a world that has, in his eyes, gone mad: “Pornography, prostitution, pollution, government corruption, global warming, terrorism, and for all your purported connectivity through the Internet and cell phones, your society is more disconnected than ever. On top of that, the war between men and women is no closer to a cease fire than it was from when I come.”

Written in January’s own first person narrative, it’s a convoluted story that ends where it begins. If that makes little sense, well, don’t expect me to explain. You’ll just have to read both books for yourself! Trust me, when all is said and done, it’ll be crystal clear.

Tell us a little about your main character.

Joe January was fashioned after Philip Marlowe, Raymond Chandler’s character in many great novels from the 1940s and 50s. Chandler did so much to shape the hard-boiled detective genre that others, like Mickey Spillane, John D. MacDonald, Robert B. Parker, Sara Paretsky, Sue Grafton, and, yes, even Elmore Leonard, have pushed to new heights.

January is my tribute to Chandler. Think Marlowe working against a science fiction backdrop of time travel and an alternate reality in which Germany has won World War II.

How (or when) do you decide that you are finished writing a story?

The answer to that is twofold. I usually have the end of the story in mind before I sit down to write the first word; I also have in mind an approximate word count. Therefore it’s simply a matter of writing to that end while I allow the characters to tell their story through me. I make a number of discoveries as we go, taking digressions and detours, all the while keeping track of the word count. Just because I hit that word count doesn’t mean I just end the story. I give myself permission to go over if the story requires it. Subsequent drafts usually add to the word count.

The second part of my answer is that I’m never truly finished writing a story until I approve the final proof. Frankly, I could make revisions indefinitely. Each time I read a novel of mine I’m capable of tweaking this or that, adding narrative or an exchange of dialogue. I’m a perfectionist that way. Jack Kerouac would accuse me of self-censorship, but I can’t help myself: I’m constantly looking to improve something I’ve written. But once it’s published, it’s done and I won’t revisit them.

January’s Paradigm, my first novel, has been available for more than a decade and I haven’t looked at it since. What would be the purpose? I’m sure I’d find ways to improve it; however, that’s where I was, both as a person and as a writer. Why would I wish to change it to reflect who and where I am today?

Someone recently told me they thought January’s Paradigm is my best novel. I have to say I felt somewhat insulted. If I’m not writing better today than I was twenty years ago, then what have I learned about the art of writing? I think what they meant is that they connected to that story more than they have to my other work.

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

The January books are composed of a number of messages. In January’s Paradigm the reader learns that there are people in the world—men and women alike—who are not very nice, and that men don’t have a corner on the mean market. Men, too, can be hurt through a woman’s infidelity. One Hot January shows that no government is benign and that we must care about a world we will not see. While January’s Thaw is largely about redemption, that it’s never too late to close the door on the past and to live in the moment, for tomorrow.

Do you think writing this book changed your life? How so?

I think every story I’ve ever written has changed my life in some way.

The January trilogy took ten years to write. During those years I lost both my parents. I struggled with the creative process as I struggled through my grief; but I also struggled because I was so caught up in publication and the rejection letters I received. It was like playing the dating game. I constantly questioned why I was doing it—putting myself through the agony of looking for approval of my work through publication. I questioned my talent and ability—ignoring the reality that the book industry is a business concerned with bottom line and that acquisition of a manuscript is, like wading through profiles at an online dating site, largely subjective—and I often talked myself out of a writing session, procrastinating to another day because I doubted the value of my work. It was only as I neared completion of January’s Thaw that I finally learned to enjoy the process of creation. At that point I knew I was a writer.

Coincidentally, success came when I stopped focusing on trying to manifest it. Just like dating: when you stop looking, someone usually comes into your life when you least expect.

What are you working on right now?

I just completed my seventh novel, 500 Miles to Go. Set in the 1950s and 1960s, the story centers on Alex Król and his drive to win the Indianapolis 500. A sports/romance novel in the vein of Backstop: A Baseball Love Story in Nine Innings, 500 Miles to Go is largely about the importance of, and the risks associated with, pursuit of dreams.

I’m presently in the process of making revisions to A Retrospect in Death, my sixth novel, and I’m nurturing the seed for my next major project, which was given to me by a beautiful and creative woman I met on Facebook. I’m making plans for a book event in late February to promote both One Hot January and January’s Thaw at Barnhill’s in Winston-Salem. The aforementioned beautiful and creative woman is planning to meet me there and we will endeavor to create some romance. I expect the endeavoring will come easily and naturally.

When I get home I’ll work on the second draft of 500 Miles and will likely commence my next novel sometime in March.

What is the most difficult part of the whole writing process?

Revisions are the most difficult process for me; yet it’s a process I enjoy immensely. I constantly seek ways to improve my work—even before I finish my first draft. First draft is really a misnomer, because I edit as I go. I sometimes think my first draft is really the equivalent of a third or fourth draft because of all the changes I make as I go.

But it’s difficult, too, to cut something you really love but know you must because it contributes little to the overall piece.

What is the easiest part of the writing process?

Putting on a Sunday morning pot of coffee, going to the humidor to select the right cigar, unwrapping it, snipping its head, inhaling the fragrance of the wrapper, lighting it, and watching the smoke permeate my den. Then I put on a Beatles CD and crank up the Bose speakers. The Beatles were turned down by Decca Records because some suit didn’t like their sound and also thought that guitar-driven music was on its way out. The Beatles inspire me to one day create my own White Album (which, at present, might be 500 Miles to Go).

Honestly, that’s all a part of my routine, and writing, for me, is all about routine. While I’ve heard other writers talk about waiting for their muse to show up, I find that, with a cup of coffee and a good cigar, my creativity gets a jump start and pretty soon the muse shows up, out of curiosity, to peek over my shoulder to see what the tapping is all about.

Does writing come easy for you?

It comes a heck of a lot easier today than it did when I first started. It’s like anything you do with regularity—like a workout routine. The first few times you hit the gym, your muscles rebel. But after a time, your body craves that workout; miss a few days and your body complains. For me, a day without writing is like a day without sunshine. And a day without sunshine is like … night.

But does it come easy? No. Nor should it. I’ve gotten better at arranging words on a blank screen. I’m more efficient about it. I rarely struggle for thirty minutes or more over the construction of a simple seven-word sentence like I did early in my career.

I don’t write formula, or even in a specific genre. I find that easier than writing to a particular audience. The January books combine science fiction with the hard-boiled detective and mix in more than a dram of romance—just not the bodice-ripping romance novels that sport Fabio on the cover. Backstop and 500 Miles are both sports-themed novels with romance; while A Retrospect in Death deals with searching for love and never finding it. The Cobb Legacy is a mystery-romance with subplots of infidelity, divorce, and a son trying to connect with his dying father.

Always in my novels you’ll find something decidedly different. If you’re tired of regency romance because of the formula, why not try one of my novels? Another Facebook friend of mine says I write gritty love stories … what she calls “romance for the non-romantic.” I like that, although that in no way reflects on me as being non-romantic. I may be curmudgeonly and smoke cigars and drink scotch, but I know how to romance the right woman. The trouble is it’s been a while since I dated a woman who I thought was the right woman. I suspect that’s about to change.

But enough about my love life.

I suppose writing would come easier if I chose to write following the formula many creative writing courses teach; but then I’d see myself as a mercenary, writing for a paycheck to appeal to the masses. I still write largely to amuse myself and hope my audience one day will find me.

I like the challenge of writing a good story—outside the confines of genre—creating characters with whom readers can relate, and writing engaging dialogue. If it was too easy, I’d grow bored and find something else to challenge me.

Wow. What was the question and did I answer it?

What words would you like to leave the world when you are gone?

In the words of former Spinal Tap keyboardist, Viv Savage: “Have a good time all the time.”

No, seriously. Don’t let the novel die. Wherever the technology takes the novel, there’s something about words—whether on a page or an e-reader—and what they make happen inside a reader’s head that can never translate to the small or big screens. It’s been said that all change begins with a thought. And what is a thought but words that ultimately compose an idea.

If the novel is dying, what’s that say about imagination? Watching a movie requires little imagination—it’s all done for you. A picture may be worth a thousand words; but never underestimate the power and value of a thousand words and what those words, in the hands of a skillful writer, can do to inflame a mind. Words can inspire support for a cause; they can stir the oppressed to rebellion; they can bring understanding to two sides at odds; or they can bring two lonely hearts together for a lifetime.

So many people today in our immediate gratification society don’t have the patience for reading. I find that sad because, like stopping to smell the roses—which requires disconnecting from technology—getting lost in a good book is truly one of the most gratifying, and rewarding, indulgences.

Where can people learn more about your books?

You can find out more about me and my literary world, which includes all my novels and works in progress, events, cigars, and a link to my blog, at J. Conrad Guest. I’m also on Facebook.

Click here to read Chapter 1 of: January’s Thaw by J. Conrad Guest

Click here to read an: Excerpt From “January’s Thaw” by J. Conrad Guest