Published Author Interview with Bryce Moore, the man behind VODNIK, available March 28th through Tu Books!

Out March 28th 2012!

Alright, I know March's Writer Interview is really late, but I have a good reason, I promise! Just give me a moment to explain! Last year I had the opportunity to meet Bryce Moore at Conduit 2011 (where I also met Peter Orullian, another author interviewee of mine who you can read up on here). We chatted a bit about his book Vodnik, which (I believe) he had contracted recently. A year later, it's finally coming out! Last month I contacted Bryce about doing an interview to help publicize Vodnik to some of my readers, and he agreed, 'cause he's a cool guy like that. He provided me with the ARC (Advanced Reader's Copy) so I could familiarize myself with it, which I did enthusiastically. You can read my review here. We decided to hold off on releasing the interview itself until Vodnik was closer to being available, in order to help with the initial sales effort. You all know how important the first few weeks of a book's release are, right? Right? 'Cause a book's first month is huge in determining the continued support of marketing dollars, and plays a large roll in how many retailers want to stock it.

Anyway, Vodnik is great; probably my favorite book of this last year. It's different than most others I've read, and totally refreshing. But I'll let you read my full review yourselves. Make sure to check out the link Bryce provided at the bottom of the interview, where you can purchase the Kindle version right now (in case you didn't know, most smartphones, definitely the iPhone, have Kindle apps. FYI). The hardcover of Vodnik will be officially released on March 28th. So pick it up; it's totally worth it.

I'm still alive, I promise!

Working on a lot of things right now, glad to have too much to do, rather than too little. But I thought I'd drop by and give you all an update on what's going on. First off, this next month's interviewee will also be my second published author! (You can check out the first one here.) Bryce Moore (@bmoorebooks) has agreed to have a few questions thrown at him, which is great, cause he's a really amazing writer. His book Vodnik will be out soon, and I'm excited for all of you to read it. I've already had the pleasure of reading it pre-release, and it's amazing! More on that later though.

On a related note, my monthly Aspiring Writer Interview series will no longer be called such. I will be dropping the "aspiring" bit, because if a person writes, they're a writer. Period. There are good writers and there are bad writers, but that's another issue.

Right now I'm deep in developing plot within the second version of my own book, even as I write. It's kind of counter intuitive, but that's how I roll. I just passed the 52k word mark, which if my expectations are correct, means I'm just now over the halfway point. Woot! I know I have a lot of revision to do, but that's something I've come to terms with. I'm a messy first draft-er.

One last thing, if you haven't already, feel free to follow me on Twitter, as I've become a little more active there lately (@SometimesSword).

Local Writer Interview: Ali Cross

This month's interview is a little different, since Ali is not simply an aspiring writer, but also a self-published one. We met across the Internet machines through Melanie Fowler, another of my interviewees. Ali is very, VERY active in the writing community, and I'm excited to get to know her a little better. As you all know, I like to just jump right in, so here goes!

If it's not too much to ask, how old are you?

LOL, I’m in my 40’s. But I never really aged past 23. I’m eternally youthful. (Ha!)

Are you married? Kids?

Heck yeah! I have a rockin’ husband who’s a computer genius who slashes computer code and cuts hackers off at the knees. My two boys both eleven, are evil geniuses who take after their dad (thank goodness. One of them is a black belt and the other is close on his heels. At our house it’s all awesome, all the time.

Where in our lovely area do you live?

I live in West Jordan, Utah, but I’m not even an American. I’m a Canadian who’s followed her man (who followed a job) to the States and has been trying to get back home every since. (It’s been twenty years. I haven’t been too successful yet, obviously.)

How long ago did you start writing seriously?

I started writing seriously nine years ago. I know the precise date because my family and I were driving into the mountains for a weekend in the autumn leaves. On our way out popped from my mouth: “I want to write a book.” I swear I did not think those words before I said them, but as soon as I did, I knew it was true. My hubby and I chatted about the idea (I’d always wanted to write a story about my favorite Dungeons & Dragons character—hey, don’t laugh) and it wasn’t long before he admitted that he, too, would like to write a book.

We stopped at a Podunk gas station convenient store, happily discovered they stocked the basic materials with which to begin a book (notebooks, pens, index cards and tape!), brainstormed and outlined our books over our long weekend and … the rest is history! (And to follow-up, we both wrote our books, and finished them together, New Year’s Eve 2003!)

What project are you currently working on?

Right at this very second I’m finishing up the first draft of a middle grade fantasy called LAND MAGIC. Meanwhile, another MG fantasy THE SWIFT, is resting between revisions, and DESOLATION (book two of Desolation, my young adult urban fantasy series) is resting before revisions begin. Exciting stuff!

How long have you been working on Land Magic?

LAND MAGIC was conceived a couple years ago, but I didn’t have to work on it at that time. I did a quick and dirty outline and left it alone. I started drafting it during NaNo ’11, but couldn’t finish because of the release of BECOME (the first in the Desolation series). Time to finish this baby up!

Tell us a little about it.

Here’s my working blurb: 


In a world where land magic has fallen into disuse and land comes together and breaks apart like clouds in the sky, one boy must rediscover the ways of the old magic in order to reunite his family and save mankind.

Wow, that sounds kinda lame. I promise it’s a lot more fun and awesome than it sounds. J

What are your goals for it?

I self-published BECOME, and I love, love, loved the experience. I’d like for LAND MAGIC to reach middle grade readers which (I believe) there’s no doubt traditional publishing methods are (so far) better suited for, but . . . I honestly can’t imagine publishing in the traditional sense.

Have you sent out any queries? How many have you gotten responses to?

Oh yeah. I queried BECOME to 103 agents. Twenty-eight agents read the full manuscript. One agent read three full versions of the novel, and still rejected it. Another agent made an offer, but ended up being a flake and left me hanging for four months before I finally got wise and moved on. Crazy, right?

Have you published anything previously?

Nope! BECOME was my maiden voyage!

Do you have any special sales you'd like me to highlight?

YES! Through February 4^th (the day of NiNoCon, woot!) BECOME is on sale at Amazon here and Smashwords here for only $.99!

Anything else you'd like to tell us about works you've previously published/put on sale?

BECOME is an awesome, dark young adult novel—if you’re a Buffy fan, or a Lilith St. Crow fan, or a Melissa Marr fan . . . I think you’d like my book, too!

What is your favorite book or author? Why?

My favorite book(s) belong to THE FIONAVAR TAPESTRY by Guy Gavriel Kay. I’m not a fan of all of his books, but this trilogy is the one that inspired me to write (because I wanted to write something as amazing as those books—to reach people the way these books reached me). THE FIONAVAR TAPESTRY, is rich and beautiful, heartbreaking and fulfilling—it’s everything I think a truly great book should be. And I think it would nowadays fall into “new adult” fantasy, but back when I first read it it was just regular old fantasy. J

What has been the hardest part about writing your current work? About writing in general?

I’m not sure. I haven’t struggled with the craft in the same way that I know other people struggle. For me, the hardest part is believing in myself when no one else does.

What has been the best or most rewarding aspect of writing?

Without a doubt the most rewarding part are all the friendships I have formed through writing and blogging. Who knew that such a solitary art could give me such an amazing sense of belonging?

Do you have any "technical" suggestions for new writers?

A couple tools that have really helped me. Buy the book SAVE THE CAT by Blake Snyder. It’s funny, quick and easy to read. It’s a script-writing guide, but it absolutely relates to writing. I swear you will not regret it. Next to that, get thee a crit group! I think that should be in the writer’s ten commandments.

Do you have any sage advice for new writers?

LOL, no. Just, if you have a dream? Don’t let it stay in dreamland forever. Live your dream—because you CAN.

Is there anything else you'd like to tell our readers?

Come to NiNoCon this Saturday (February 4^th!). It’s a free online writer’s conference taking place at www.ninjaswrite.com. It’ll be fun! There’ll be lots of great info! And PRIZES!!

Give us some links to any blogs, websites, or other online media you run.

You betcha! Thanks for letting me plug, Trevor!

ali cross (blog) www.alicross.com

the writer’s dojo www.ninjaswrite.com

the indelibles (a group of 25 self-or-indie-published authors) http://indeliblewriters.blogspot.com

There you go people, go check out her blog and all the goodies she has for you, and read her book Become dang it!

Aspiring Writer Interview: Alison Ash

Alison was lucky. I asked her to do this a whole week in advance. I'd like to take the time to apologize to my previous interviewees for the stupidly short amount of time I gave them. (But they all rose to the challenge and helped me out, so thanks guys!) I met Ali last year, when I responded to an ad for a writing group looking for members. I was really nervous about talking to anyone about writing at that point (I was still in the "writing closet"), but she was extremely nice and when all was said and done, they accepted me into their group. As some of you may know, I refer to this as my "pretend writing group", because I've only made it to three meetings. Ever. But they are all great people, so they haven't kicked me out yet. Some day, I'll make it I promise! Anyway, Ali is the group leader, and has a book of her own, one that I have had the privilege to read (half way so far, and loving it). She's startlingly hilarious, and somehow manages to hit my funny bone at least once per page. I really hope to see her published someday, so I can say "I liked Alison Ash's stuff before it was cool" or something hipster-y like that. Alright, let's get to the questions.

Alison Ash

How old are you?

I just turned the very unremarkable age of 31.

Are you married? Kids?

Single. Two spunky daughters age 10 and 6. It feels strange having a daughter who is a decade old.

Where do you live? 

Utah, west side!

How long ago did you start writing? 

My first book was written when I was five. It was called The Duck Robbers and I made several copies. It was about a robber who stole baby animals from the forest. Looking back, the villain didn't have a very strong motivation. He just seemed to get his kicks off locking up woodland creatures under his stairs and then disappearing so the parents of those creatures (fully-equipped with opposable thumbs) could unlock the cage and free the babies. After this emancipation, the robber must have died or left for Hollywood because he never came back for a sequel. He also looked suspiciously like the Hamburgler.

Have you published anything? 

Does 40+ rejection letters count? No? Oh.

What are you working on right now? 

I will speak to the novel I finished in early 2011, tentatively titled The Lost Location of Sunday City. I am in the submission stage.

How long have you been working on The Lost Location of Sunday City? 

I began writing the book during a bad bout of the flu in January 2007, but fashioned the idea in my head while driving years earlier in 2002. At the time, someone I cared had been victim of a violent crime and had changed tremendously as a result. As I drove, I remembered how she used to be as a child, very bright and innocent, and probably the most beautiful girl I had seen in real life. After the crime she was changed. Her eyes were hollow, and she spiraled into a ghostly waif of a person. All the spark and life had been sucked out of her. As I passed a ruined building with a missing roof and only window wells left, I imagined her adult self standing on the inside and her child self on the outside. The adult was warning the child about what was to come, so it could be avoided and innocence preserved. I then wondered what I might warn myself about if I could could speak to my child self. I passed that building daily with this image in my head. Eventually I combined the idea with the phrase "Time Trees" (a cast-off from a novel I started but never completed) and dreamed up the idea of a grove of trees that were tied to time. The idea seemed very simple and I thought I could write a quick little book about a boy who warns his past self about misfortunes in the future. I made a primitive outline while high on cold medicine. I wrote diligently for six months and had a nice little first draft of the first act (which was looking less and less like my hasty little outline, but isn't that always the way?) when I decided to rebuild my computer. I won't get into the technical details, but suffice it to say, I thought I had backed up my novel only to find the file had been permanently deleted! To say I was devastated is an understatement. I cried for the first day, went through a deep depression for the following two weeks. I had difficulty eating and sleeping. Neighbors started knocking, asking if someone had died. Eventually I started again, only to have the same thing happen a few months later after a virus hit our server. Luckily I only lost a couple of chapters that time. I was so angry with myself I couldn't bring myself to rewrite those chapters. I decided to start on the second act and go back later when my emotions had settled.

Other strange things started happening surrounding the novel. When I would go to write, something would always prevent me (an illness, emergency, etc). I began to have dark dreams about it. Also, the overall quality of my life was lowering. Several disasters had strained me and my family. One day I realized the bad luck all started after that flu in January when I decided to write the book. I joked with myself that the novel must be cursed. It was at that moment that I realized my main character should be cursed! I rewrote those lost chapters with that element and it ended up dominating the entire novel.

I thought often about those lost efforts and realized something. The rewrite was much better and far stronger than the chapters I had lost. Had I never experienced the pain and depression of losing a combined eight months of work, I would have never come up with the key elements of the plot. The idea of good coming from suffering became the theme of the entire book and the lesson the main character learns.

(Incidentally, my friend who was the victim of the crime did eventually recover and is now a happy, productive adult)

Tell us a little about it.

The novel concerns Gabriel Gussie, who's got himself a Muxy—a family curse that causes terrible things happen on his birthday. Cow pie rain, flukes in gravity, trailer-park terrorizing tornadoes, each year the disasters get worse. The entire community is afraid of him, kids at school avoid him, and his parents are sure that someday they’re going to wake up dead. But when Gabriel starts seeing visions, warning him that his curse will cause the death of his baby brother on Gabriel’s thirteenth birthday, he knows he must find a cure quickly.

A mysterious family friend named Tuck shows up, promising just that. If Gabriel will come with him to Sunday City, a ghost town closed to outsiders for a century, he will find his cure.

But Gabriel is in for a surprise. Upon arrival, he learns that not only does everyone in Sunday City believe that Tuck died thirty years ago, but Gabriel is the heir to his vast hoard of gimcracks—antiques with magical properties. Tuck has plans for Gabriel and his Muxy. As Gabriel’s birthday looms closer, Tuck’s dark secrets reveal a plot to destroy Sunday City from beyond the grave. His weapon of choice: the Muxy.

With the clock running out, Gabriel must dodge possessed deer, thwart greedy gimcrack-grabbers, uncover the history of his Muxy, save his brother’s life, and rescue the city he has come to call home before his birthday curse blows out more than candles.

In The Lost Location of Sunday City you somehow manage to cram a massive amount of humor into every chapter, most of it of the crazy variety. How do you come up with the ideas for all the intensely strange things people say and think?
A lot of the humor are real-life failed jokes put in the correct context and given the right timing. That's the beauty of writing, you have time to decide if you've gone too far. In real life that luxury does not exist, so unfortunately, my friends and family do a lot of head scratching after they are done talking to me. But I am laughing in my mind, so that's what counts!


What are your goals for The Lost Location of Sunday City? 

I grew up with a desire to be traditionally published. However, I have seen a lot of authors gain success in self-publishing. I don't believe we can predict where technology is going to eventually bring books, but I am excited to see that publication is no longer run by "gatekeepers." I have no plans to self publish but that may change.

What is your favorite book or author? Why? 

Dr. Seuss was a prophet. I believe Oh, the Places You'll Go should be government issued to new parents. But I can't rule out Shel Silverstein's The Missing Piece which is a perfect allegorical representation of the duality of human nature and how we crave both individualism and coupling. I have a copy on my coffee table and pick it up when I need a good, unanswerable question.

What has been the hardest part about writing your current work? About writing in general? 

Finding time is always a challenge. Especially with children, a full time job and a host of extra hobbies. I often have to take entire weekends and dedicate them to whatever writing task is at hand. 

What has been the best or most rewarding aspect of writing? 

Reading the entire work from start to finish and realizing it makes sense and is actually a book! The first time I did so I reached the last chapter at two-a.m. with surprise. I couldn't believe it was over and wanted it to continue. I wanted to know what would happen next with Gabriel and Ebony and their friends. It was a strange, disconnected moment. Stephen King describes it as "'like reading the work of someone else, a soul-twin perhaps."

Do you have any "technical" suggestions for new writers? 

One thing I hate is the cliche. I really try to avoid the first solution that pops in my head. When I need to brainstorm new ideas I talk into a tape recorder for as long as it takes for the "Eureka!" moment to come. This has helped me puzzle out scenes and integrate threads into later chapters. It gives me an artificial sense of collaboration, as if I am discussing my book with my future self.

Do you have any sage advice for new writers? 

I really believe if we all just keep pounding at it, dedicating at least an hour a day at our books, we will eventually see publication. You never hear of a person who wrote and wrote and kept submitting their whole lives that didn't eventually see publication. We may write a few scrappers first (I wrote two horrible ones in my twenties), but that's just the awkward adolescence of talent that everyone has to go through before they become good at their craft. Just keep swimming!

Well, there you have it! It just goes to show that we can never give up, you and me. So get back to writing!

Aspiring Writer Interview: Leigh Covington

This week's interview is brought to you by Me. And Leigh Covington from right here in Utah. I was pointed toward Leigh's blog by Melanie Fowler (another Aspiring Writer interviewee, click that there link) and I decided to ask her for an interview. She got back to me right away, which I very much appreciated, so thanks for that Leigh! It's referrals like this that help me keep up this feature, so keep them coming!

Leigh Covington

First, some of the boring/invasive questions. How old are you?
*sigh* Can I lie?

Yes.

20’s would be awesome! But alas. I am in my low 30’s.

Are you married? Have any kids you'd like to brag about?
Yep! I am a city girl who married a farmer! He loves being in the middle of nowhere and would be perfectly content there as long as he lives. I, on the other hand, prefer civilization, although I do love to visit remote areas too. I have 3 kids. A boy, Kai (8), girl, Haydyn (5), and girl, Paisley (2). My entire life revolves around them. They are so much fun, but at the same time --- I love bedtime!

Where abouts do you live?
I live in West Point, Utah. It is west of Clearfield of Layton (depending on which you have heard of.) And very near the entrance to Antelope Island, which is fun.

How far back did you start writing?
Oh heavens! I have really been writing my whole life. I get a lot of requests for poems for people or skits for church groups. It is fun. But I was always afraid to go for something more – like being published. However – last August, I finally took the plunge and jumped into the blogging world (for writers) and I am working more fervently on some of my MS’s.

What are you working on right now?
I have put some of my picture books on the back burner for the time so that I can work on my YA fantasy, STAIN. It has been an adventure, and thanks to some fabulous crit partners, as well as blogging buddies – I have learned so much & it is constantly improving.

How long have you been working on it?
Hmmm – is it weird that I don’t know? I think since about September or October. I didn’t make get as much done as I wanted, with my school schedule, but I plan to have the first draft finished by March 31st.

Tell us a little about Stain.
Skye, and her best friend, Logan escape from an Island where they were used as slaves for their country. The King executes them at the age of 17 in order to prevent an army from rising against him. Skye and Logan happen upon The Guardians, where they are told more about why they were enslaved on the Island, along with the other children of Selaesia. From there they must journey to the Oracle to find out if either is the one that will be able to lead The Guardians in a war against the King in order to save the children of Selaesia. What they didn’t realize is that the king can use the stains that mark their arms against them, and he does whatever he can to stop them.

Where do you see yourself going with Stain?
I hope to find an agent and publisher, although I don’t have anything against going Indie. Mostly, I think that through an agent and publisher I can learn a lot and I won’t have to fully rely on ME!

Have you sent out any queries?
If this book ends up being everything I hope it will be then I will start querying this fall. *crosses fingers.*

What is your favorite book or author? Why?
Right now I am on a Brandon Mull kick! I love his MG series, FABLEHAVEN, and I am also enjoying the BEYONDERS series that has just started.

What has been the hardest part about writing Stain? About writing in general?
#1 hardest thing for me – is TIME! When I get the kids to bed, I want to curl up in bed and WORK! However, my husband thinks that his time to watch TV. We try to trade off, but I think I’m going to have to come up with a new plan. #2 thing that I am working on is using “active” voice. That can be tricky, but once again – I have awesome crit partners to help me out.

What has been the best or most rewarding aspect of writing?
Learning, growing and meeting awesome writers in the blogosphere. Honestly – the friendships and support are phenomenal!

Do you have any "technical" suggestions for new writers?
I think writers should attend as many workshops or conferences as possible. You learn so much and meet great people. Also – look into WriteOnCon. I wasn’t sure what to expect from that last year, but it was wonderful and I look forward to it this year. AND… do blog hops! Especially if they are writing related. It’s great to practice and get feedback!

Do you have any sage advice for new writers?
I think it’s important to “NEVER GIVE UP!” Honestly – there are pumps and valleys along the road to publication, so don’t give up. I also think it’s important to keep an open mind and use feedback. I know that I don’t see my book as others will, so I need to take their advice into consideration. It doesn’t mean I need to use it, but I should be open about my writing and not consider myself perfect. (Don’t tell my husband… as far as he knows… I am always right and always perfect.)

Have you published anything?
I did submit my 2 short stories from the Campaign Challengers on Rachel Harrie’s blog. It has been a fun experience to see a few of my things available to the public.

How about some links to any blogs, websites, or other online media you run?
http://leigh-covington.blogspot.com

http://twitter.com/leighcovington

http://facebook.com/leigh.covington

Thanks  for helping me out and giving our readers something to distract themselves from at work! Keep at it, and one day we'll all be published and share snooty drinks at a snooty writer's club or something. That's what Stephen King and Brandon Mull do right?

Aspiring Writer Interview: Anna Gailey

Anna Gailey

This week's Aspiring Writer Interview is with Anna Gailey, a fellow writer from here in Utah. She is 23 years old, and lives in West Valley. She and I attended the same high school (WJ represent), with a year difference. In fact, she and my wife Becky were friends. It's odd how you sometimes find out that people's interests coincide with your own, years after you meet them. Anna agreed to do this interview just yesterday, as I was running behind because of the holidays. She is very active in the writing scene, and runs her own blog, which you can visit here. On to the questions!


Thanks for helping me out on short notice Anna. Tell us about yourself. Are you married? Have any kids?
I've been married for almost four years and though we don't have any children, we do have two cats, named Aerith and Rikku (After Final Fantasy characters) that are as close to children as we would like at the moment. 

Let's talk about writing. How long ago did you start?
I've been writing for a long time. I remember writing small stories when I was younger, then when I found my love Harry Potter that's when a lot of the writing started. Mostly with Online Role Playing and fanfiction (that is truly terrible, like all fanfiction should be). It wasn't until about High School that I seriously considered writing more. 

What project are you currently working on?
Currently I'm contemplating on revising my NaNoWriMo [titled Out of Tune]. Since this was the first year that I actually finished (with a whopping 50,123 words), I feel like I should try and tweak it a little bit. Though the idea of reading it, and realizing that it's as awful as I imagine it to be, is a bit daunting. 

I'm also working on a short story about a modern Greek God reincarnation. It may end up going further than I think, but for now I'm just planning it being a short story. 

How long have you been working on Out of Tune?
Not long. In fact, only a few months. Which (unfortunately) is the longest I've ever really spent on something of my own creation. 

Tell us a little about it.
My NaNoWriMo project is about a deaf girl that falls for a boy who is hearing. I am completely in love with Deaf Culture, and I really wanted to try out writing about it. There are a lot of common misconceptions about people who are deaf, and so I handle explaining that through my main characters, and how the language difference could be a challenging, but not completely impossible to overcome. 

What are your goals for it?
As of right now, my goal is to finish. As awesome as it would be to get published, I'm focusing on one task at a time. Finish, then revise, revise some more, and again with the revising, share with friends/critique partners, revise more, ect. 

What is your favorite book or author? Why?
That is a loaded question, as of right now, I have a handful of favorite authors. 

Meg Cabot: I loved Meg's Young Adult literature as soon as I read them, then as I got older, I jumped into her 'adult' fiction. I love the way that she writes, it's like talking to your best friend after months of not talking. 

John Green: Having become obsessed with his YouTube videos, this man has given me some of the greatest advice when it comes to writing. John Green is one of those authors who when you read his stuff, you don't think "I want to write something that is just as good as this" you think "This is amazing, I want to write something BETTER!", which is what a good book does to authors. 

I normally tend to stick to Contemporary Fiction, and Young Adult Contemporary. It's where I'm the most comfortable.

What has been the hardest part about writing Out of Tune? About writing in general?
The hardest part of writing my NaNo is the conversations. I had to figure out a way to describe the sign language, while also making it so the characters could understand each other. I used everything from charades, to pen and paper, to just slow talking. 

What has been the best or most rewarding aspect of writing?
Creating characters. I have about 30 characters that I've written out full histories and bios for that still have yet to find a home in a story. Creating characters is one of my favorite things to do. 

Do you have any "technical" suggestions for new writers?
When I start a story, I always create Character profiles of my main characters. That tell a little bit about the character and range from favorite color, to thoughts about the universe. This helps me when I need to look back on my character when I'm not sure what they would do in a certain situation. 

Do you have any sage advice for new writers (inspirational messages, cautions, etc.)?
Two of the best quotes about writing I've ever found are from John Green and Meg Cabot. 

John Green: "I just give myself permission to suck. I delete about 90% of my first drafts (the only exception to this rule so far has been Will Grayson, Will Grayson) so it doesn’t really matter much if on a particular day I write beautiful and brilliant prose that will stick in the minds of my readers forever, because there’s a 90% chance I’m just gonna delete whatever I write anyway. I find this hugely liberating.

I also like to remind myself of something my dad said to me once in re. writers’ block: “Coal miners don’t get coal miners’ block.”"

Meg Cabot: "Write the kind of story you would like to read. People will give you all sorts of advice about writing, but if you are not writing something you like, no one else will like it either."

Particularly the "Giving myself permission to suck" thing has stuck with me.

Have you published anything?
I had a few poems published when I was in high school, but nothing as of late. I'm also part of a collaborative website called GeekCrafts.com.

Can you give us some links to any blogs, websites, or other online media you run?
This section should be called: Anna is addicted to the internet:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/luckiestxclover

Blog: http://annasheadintheclouds.blogspot.com

YouTube: http://youtube.com/4girlsandatardis (a collaborative Youtube channel)

GeekCrafts: http://geekcrafts.com


Thanks Anna!

Posts and Interviews resuming after the first of the new year.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday week! If you find yourself bored, feel free to browse the archives (I've got some long posts in there). Stop by my previous interviews if you haven't already!

Aspiring Writer Interview: Laura Mclain Madsen

Laura Madsen

This week's interview is with Laura Madsen, a member of the writing group I pretend to be in (I have only attended two or three meetings because of scheduling issues). She's a veterinarian with who just turned the big four-oh. She's married with two daughters, one dog, a cat, and lives here in the Salt Lake Valley. I've actually read her current book titled Ophelia's Flowers, and thoroughly enjoyed it (despite my initial misgivings stemming from the issue of me not being a teenage girl). It's an unapologetic story about the (sometimes) brutal nature of teenage relationships, and I hope you all can one day read it. I had a chance to ask her some questions for my Aspiring Writer Interview series, and she agreed to help me out. Lets jump in.


How long ago did you start writing?

If you count school-related writing, I've been writing nonfiction forever. My first nonfiction piece published was a short description of a veterinary case (a hedgehog), published in Veterinary Forum in 2001. Since then I've written many nonfiction articles, including a couple when I was bored out of my mind on maternity leave. I only started writing fiction about four years ago.

What's the project you're currently working on?

I've written two novels: a middle-grade urban fantasy and a contemporary YA (young adult). After the holidays I plan to start querying the YA novel, Ophelia's Flowers. I also have a nonfiction children's article coming up in April in the magazine AppleSeeds, about the evolution of dogs from wolves.

Have many works have you published total?

About twenty nonfiction articles, but no fiction yet.

How long have you been working on Ophelia's Flowers?

I wrote most of Ophelia a few years ago, but got sick of it and put it aside. Then I wrote the fantasy, sent out a bunch of queries, and received a bunch of rejections. After that I decided to go back to Ophelia, revising, rearranging and editing.

Tell us a little about it.

Teenage angst. The basic plot is: girl meets boy, boy turns out to be a manipulative jerk, bad things happen.

Ophelia's Flowers is full of some, frankly, gritty teenage stuff. Where did you find the inspiration for that?

I've been in a manipulative relationship and started writing Ophelia in the hope of helping some other girl who might find herself in a similar situation. Most of the plot is completely fictional, but there are little kernels inspired by real life.

What are your goals for Ophelia's Flowers?

Hopefully traditional publishing.

Have you sent out any queries? How many have you gotten responses to?

I haven't queried for Ophelia yet, but sent out roughly forty for the middle-grade fantasy. One agent requested the full manuscript but declined to pick up the project. I've got my fingers crossed.

What is your favorite book or author, and why?

Too hard of a question! I love love love the Harry Potter series, and fantasy in general, but will read pretty much anything. I just finished reading The Magician King by Lev Grossman, and started A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I also have a fascination with children's picture books and love David Wiesner's work.

What has been the hardest part about writing your current work? About writing in general?

For me, writing isn't hard in itself, but the hard part is making time for it and making myself do it. I know some writers who get up at 5 AM to write before they take the kids to school or go to work, but I'm not that energetic. I tend to go in phases when I write a lot, but then won't write again for a month or two.

What has been the best or most rewarding aspect of writing?

I guess I'm just compelled to write, to get my thoughts on paper (or on the screen). Even when I'm not doing "official" writing, i.e., writing that might eventually make some money, I also blog and write book reviews.

Do you have any "technical" suggestions for new writers?

Getting into a writing critique group is important. You need people to say, "This part doesn't work," or, "You used the wrong word here," instead of just saying, "It was good."

Do you have any sage advice for new writers?

Don't take rejections personally. After about fifty rejections you sort of become immune to them.

Do you have any online media my readers can check out?

I have two blogs, one on writing and books at laurambooks.blogspot.com, and the other on veterinary medicine and my personal life at veterinarymom.blogspot.com. I'm also a frequent contributor to a book review blog, www.bookshoptalk.com.

There you have it folks, stop by and check out her blog and say "hi". If you haven't already, check out my other interviews with aspiring writer Melanie Fowler and author Peter Orullian, who's hardcover The Unremembered is on sale now for just $7 on Amazon.com.