Interview with Kaitlan Blackrose

Using five sentences, tell us who YOU are, the writer.

Kaitlan: I am a historical romantic, though I write many different times in history, the past is the best for me. I love to create a different reality that what history has already written.  I am a woman that has many different fires in the oven so to speak, if a book is in my head it needs to get out, no matter what book I am writing at the moment.  As a parent of a multi needs adult child I have a tendency to use inserts of his life and what I would like it to be and to show people how people that are not normal deal with life and how love always wins.  I am lucky to have a husband that encourages me to be what I am when I need it and that helps as a writer.

Do you currently have any books out for purchase? If so, what are the names, what’s it about and where can we find them?

Kaitlan: Currently I have one book on kindle and can be bought for $1.00 at Amazon.  Its name is Alexandra, it is book one of a five book series.  And I am working on book two and three so far.  I hope to have them both done during November during nano.

Are you currently working on something? Tell us about it!

Kaitlan: I am currently working on four books,  “Gaelan” which is the second in the series from above as well as the third, “Bryn and Maeve”.  The third is a modern called “A Sign of Love” which deals with the deaf and “An Eternal Love” which is a faerie romance set in the 1700’s.

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what THREE things could you not live without?

Kaitlan: I would want my computer, iced tea and my husband.  I love to compete with him in writing.

When is your most creative time of the day?

Kaitlan: When I am writing it doesn’t really matter what time of day it is.  When the need to write hits I love to write.  This month with Nano, I am doing more writing than normal but I think it helps to have a short deadline to kick me in gear to get it done.

What motivates you to write? Music, movies, pictures?

Kaitlan: Usually I only have the television on to shows I like.  I just turn it down and get to work.  It sometimes help give me ideas on where my plots are going.

What authors inspire you? Why?

Kaitlan: I like Connie Harwell and I speak with her a lot she is practically a neighbor and is in one of my knitting circles as well.  She wrote historical romance as well but is switching to mystery.  I also enjoy Johanna Lindsey, I like how she shows family series and the people you meet in her books that you would like to see their stories as well.  Leigh Greenwood I like because it makes me feel good that a man can write romance as well as he does.  He was encouraging when I wrote him and I hope to meet him in person one day.

What started you on the journey to write?

Kaitlan: I started writing when I was a child and in high school I started to write short stories probably because I was shy and didn’t really fit in as well as some.  So I put my thoughts and ideas on paper.  It really helped in short story class that I could write.  In college I seemed to have an insight into the depth behind a story and would write reports that were deeper than that of the other students and made the instructors happy.

What are the biggest challenges you’ve come across being an author or a writer?

Kaitlan: The biggest challenges would be getting it on paper in a coherent manner.  I am a writer that just sits down and lets things flow.  

How has becoming a published author (independent or traditional) changed your perspective on life and is it everything you expected it to be? (If you are not published yet – what changes do you foresee?)

Kaitlan: It really hasn’t but that could be because I self-publish and have yet to deal with a publishing house.

How do you stay motivated and get through writer’s block?

Kaitlan: That is why I have many irons in the fire.  If I get blocked on one I move to the next and if I get blocked on all of them I pick up my knitting and work on it for a while eventually it will work its way out and I will start to write again.

What keeps you focused and ‘in the zone’ while writing your novels?

Kaitlan: Deadlines, when they are close my mind seems to work better on getting it finished.

Do you have a technique or style of writing you prefer? Do you write in order or skip around and piece together later?

Kaitlan: I am a start at the beginning writer.  I don’t make outlines because for me they just don’t work, and they always get changed.  I just start writing and keep going to where the inspiration tells me to go.

When your dreams come true, what do you do?

Kaitlan: I married mine.

To all of us aspiring authors, struggling, or newbies, what is the best advice you can give us?

Kaitlan: All you can do is just keep writing and even if you get rejections.  Many people get hundreds before they are finally picked up for publishing but that shouldn’t make you stop writing.  Yes, they are heartbreaking to get, especially when you have worked as hard as you did on your novel but sometimes the novel you just    put you heart into isn’t complete yet when you sent it.  Keep trying that is all you can do.  

Find Kailtlan here:

http://kaitlanblackrose.blogspot.com/2013/11/national-novel-writing-month.html

Interview with M.S. Kaye

Using five sentences, tell us who YOU are, the writer.

M.S. KAYE: How about 5 words? Wife. Writer. Reader. Black Belt.

Do you currently have any books out for purchase? If so, what are the names, what’s it about and where can we find them?

M.S. KAYE: I have 2 books available:

Fight Princess

Things aren’t what they seem. Don’t get involved.

Celisse is too headstrong to listen. Her best friend’s boyfriend is dead, and she does not heed Cullen’s warning, slipped to her in a note as he’s being arrested for the murder.

Cullen tries to keep Celisse out of danger and also tries to avoid her, both unsuccessfully. He can’t deny his feelings for her anymore, but he knows he can’t have her. If she ever discovered the truth about his past, she’d surely hate him.

While struggling with her intense feelings for Cullen, Celisse uses her skills as an ex-prosecutor to investigate, all while continuing to fight for Ogden, the organizer of an underground fight ring. She eventually realizes things are connected—the ring, Ogden, Cullen, the murder, and herself. She races to uncover the truth before she’s arrested or becomes the next victim—or perhaps, the next culprit.

Purchase at:

Amazon - http://amzn.to/15xQX8O

iBooks - http://bit.ly/17Asczv

Barnes & Noble - http://bit.ly/1abP1LC

Liquid Silver Books (publisher – all formats) - http://bit.ly/172SszA

Once

Her first and also her Once.

 Jonathan is studying to become a priest. He is three days from taking vows. He will not be a priest.

            Rebecca’s major is pre-law. She is supposed to take over her father’s law firm. She will not be lawyer.

Their paths cross at exactly the right moment, when each most needs to hear what the other has to say. Jonathan’s structured life is turned sideways, but Rebecca also helps him learn how to forgive himself. It was self-defense, not murder.

Rebecca finds the strength to stand up to her father, to be the real her. If Jonathan likes her writing, it must be worth pursuing.

They must each struggle to forge a new path without each other’s comfort and strength, with only memories of the one day that changed everything.

Purchase at:

http://jupitergardenspress.com/shop/once/

Are you currently working on something? Tell us about it!

M.S. KAYE: I’m working with my publisher and editor on my next book. It’s a YA paranormal titled Strong as Death. It’s about a teenager who discovers her father is a 19^th-century English gentleman ghost.

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what THREE things could you not live without?

M.S. KAYE: My husband. A copy of Jane Eyre. And lots of paper so I can keep writing.

When is your most creative time of the day?

M.S. KAYE: Doesn’t matter. If I’m not writing, I’m thinking about my stories.

What motivates you to write? Music, movies, pictures?

M.S. KAYE: I love my stories and characters so much that I want to bring them to life so that other people can see them as I do.

If you could have a conversation with anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?

M.S. KAYE: Charlotte Bronte. She’s my favorite writer.

What authors inspire you? Why?

M.S. KAYE: Charlotte Bronte, Jane Austin, J.K. Rowling, L.M. Montgomery, Madeline L’Engle. They’re women who write (or wrote) outside the norm in some way.

What started you on the journey to write?

M.S. KAYE: I had a story in my head that wouldn’t shut up. It was there for years until I finally realized I needed to write it down.

What are the biggest challenges you’ve come across being an author or a writer?

M.S. KAYE: Selling myself.

How has becoming a published author (independent or traditional) changed your perspective on life and is it everything you expected it to be? (If you are not published yet – what changes do you foresee?)

M.S. KAYE: It is everything I thought it would be—really fun and plenty of work.

How do you stay motivated and get through writer’s block?

M.S. KAYE: I believe writer’s block is a myth. My passion for my stories is what motivates me.

What keeps you focused and ‘in the zone’ while writing your novels?

M.S. KAYE: Passion for the story.

Do you have a technique or style of writing you prefer? Do you write in order or skip around and piece together later?

M.S. KAYE: I have a specific outlining process.

1. Find that one aspect of the story that you feel passionate about.

2. Free write about it.

3. Decide on basic character traits.

4. Make a basic chapter-by-chapter outline. I allow changes as I go.

When your dreams come true, what do you do?

M.S. KAYE: Hug the hubby!

To all of us aspiring authors, struggling, or newbies, what is the best advice you can give us?

M.S. KAYE: Don’t write with the main purpose to have bragging rights to have written a book or to get published. Write with passion for the story. It will come through for the reader.

Where you can find M.S. Kaye

http://www.BooksByMSK.com

http://Facebook.com/BooksByMSK

Interview with Jas T. Ward

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jas T. Ward, author extraordinaire and entrepreneur. I say that because she started her own publishing company, Dead Bound Publishing. When asked why, she told me because she wanted authors to have a chance to be creative without the usual editors and publishers who limit your creativity when things don't go the "norm". Dead Bound Publishing....where creativity lives.

http://www.deadboundpublishing.com/

Here is our interview:

Using five sentences, tell us who YOU are, the writer.

Jas:

 It's write or be crazy.

It's write to be sane.

It's write to make an impact.

It's write to make a change.

It's write...because its the only time I feel true to myself.

Do you currently have any books out for purchase? If so, what are the names, what’s it about and where can we find them?

Jas: Bits and Pieces: Tales and Sonnets (Volume I)- A fan collection of short stories, poems and a novella of the backstory of the upcoming Madness novel.

http://shop.deadboundpublishing.com/main.sc

And Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Are you currently working on something? Tell us about it!

Jas: Yes. The 'much anticipated' debut novel of the Shadow-Keepers Series. Book One is titled: Madness. Its the story of Reno Sundown who used to be the split-personality of a hero. Until the both of them fell for the same woman. When the hero broke the woman's heart, the dark side stopped doing his part and was going to let them both die. So the dark side was given his own body, life and a new start. And warned to stay away from the woman, Emma Devenmore. He tried. But destiny had its own calling. And he had his own path.

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what THREE things could you not live without?

Jas: My laptop to write. My dog and a really, really long extension cord.

When is your most creative time of the day?

Jas: Nighttime. I don't sleep very well. I have severe insomnia and nightmares. From that? I create.

What motivates you to write? Music, movies, pictures?

Jas: All the above. Sometimes its a woman crossing the street. A song on the radio. Sometimes just the silence or the stillness of a moment. Inspiration can be found anywhere and in anything. We just need to listen and look for it.

If you could have a conversation with anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?

Jas: Ken Follett. He's my idol in the literary world. The other? Lucifier. Do I believe in heaven and hell? I don't know. Maybe Lucifer could help with that. If God would like to join in the discussion, that'd be great. I just want to know more.

What authors inspire you? Why?

Jas: Guess I jumped the gun on that one. Ken Follett. The man is a genius. He can take dull, dry historical facts and weave the most colorful characters and stories from it. I only dream of having his precise talent and skills.

What started you on the journey to write?

Jas: Salvation. A need to survive. I started writing in order to escape a very bad childhood and violence. My imagination and creativity was the only escape I had to handle it all.

What are the biggest challenges you’ve come across being an author or a writer?

Jas: Dealing with all the things that keep me from writing. If I was left alone? I wouldn't go to work. I wouldn't sleep nor eat. I would write until I fell down or went into a coma. I have to make myself stop and do what needs to be done. Remind myself- hello? You're human. You have needs.

How has becoming a published author (independent or traditional) changed your perspective on life and is it everything you expected it to be? (If you are not published yet – what changes do you foresee?)

Jas: Being traditionally published has been a very real eye opener. One: It's not cheap. Two: It's not easy. Three: You have people who invested real money in your talent. It's up to you to prove their investment by creating something that was worth the cost.

How do you stay motivated and get through writer’s block?

Jas: I don't really have that problem. See above- I need motivation to do all things that do not involve writing. :) I did have one hell of a huge one years ago due to losing my soulmate to suicide. A creative writing group helped me with that. And boy, once it was gone...it all flowed to the point that it was now in control. And I don't mind a bit.

What keeps you focused and ‘in the zone’ while writing your novels?

Jas: I'm a odd writer. I close my eyes, turn on music and then it plays in my head. It's like a movie with action, dialogue, scenery. I think just let it flow. Either by speaking or by typing. Sometimes its free-hand. I have no idea what I'm writing. When the movie ends...the scene has come to a close....only then do I open my eyes and see what I just wrote. It goes back to needing to be lost inside my own world to not deal with the very real one I was living in. A escape- my own private rabbit hole to fantasy.

Do you have a technique or style of writing you prefer? Do you write in order or skip around and piece together later?

Jas: Since I see it all played out in visuals, I write it in order. But I do dream random scenes and jot those down when I wake. And incorporate them into what is already written or will be written.

When your dreams come true, what do you do?

Jas: My dreams have already come true. The key now? Make bigger, better ones. My real dream is to give something back. DBP is looking to do a scholarship fund to help under-privileged and needy kids go to college with a writing grant to do so. I also want to start a program to help the homeless. I've been homeless. I've lived and seen death on the streets during that time. I want to help. I need to help to show it can happen to others in which haven't been so lucky.

To all of us aspiring authors, struggling, or newbies, what is the best advice you can give us?

Jas: Write. One word. One sentence. One paragraph. Doesn't matter. Make yourself sick with guilt any day you don't. It does not matter if its good or not. It does not matter if its the best you could do or the worse you never thought you would do. Just write. Trust me. Make yourself accountable to your talent. It's a horrible waste and unforgivable not to show it to the world. You were given it for a reason. Let it shine. Or let it not. But let it do...something.

Favorite Quote:

"It is impossible to discourage the real writers-- they don't give a damn what you say, they're going to write." - Sinclair Lewis

Please provide links to any site you have, Facebook like page, website, goodreads, blog, etc. (please only two links.)

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJasTWard

http://authorjastward.blogspot.com/

Interview with R J Loom

I had the pleasure of sitting down with author in the making, R J Loom. She is currently working on her first novel which will be a trilogy and I can't wait to see her future success. Here's what she said: 

Using five sentences, tell us who YOU are, the writer.

R J Loom: I was born and raised along the shores of Lake Erie in Ohio, where I still reside with my husband, two teenage children and spoiled Boxer.  I am the youngest of 6 kids. My father would say I'm the daughter of a poor immigrant. I'm a book addict and love to travel whenever the opportunity arises.  But at the end of the day, I'm just a person who loves to laugh and find humor in everyday things.

Do you currently have any books out for purchase? If so, what are the names, what’s it about and where can we find them?

R J Loom: Not yet.  I'm shooting for the release of “The Ilia Stone” by summer 2014.

Are you currently working on something? Tell us about it!

R J Loom: There are a couple things I'm working on but my focus is primarily on finishing “The Ilia Stone”.  The Ilia Stone follows the path of an ancient artifact which contains the powers of the Greek Gods, throughout the world and throughout time to present day.  It tells the story of those who encounter it from ancient Greece to 14^th century Europe with the Black Plague to Nazi Germany and then to the story of Nia and Gabriel in present day.  Not only do I put a spin on actual events from the past, it is a story of self discovery through the choices the characters make. I plan on it being a trilogy. 

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what THREE things could you not live without?

R J Loom: Aside from basic necessities like food, water, shelter etc.?  I'd have to say Dr. Pepper, music and books.

When is your most creative time of the day?

R J Loom: I'm most creative while I'm driving.  But on your average day, I'd have to say I'm most creative late at night.

What motivates you to write? Music, movies, pictures?

R J Loom: Definitely music. 

If you could have a conversation with anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?

R J Loom: That is a tough one.  Albert Einstein, Confucius or maybe Henry David Thoreau.  I may not understand a word they say but it would be interesting trying to figure out how their minds work.  Not to mention inspirational.

What authors inspire you? Why?

R J Loom: Again, another tough one.  I read a lot of books and have many favorite authors.    Each book I read though, whether it's a favorite or not, inspires me.  But on a daily basis, I'd have to say Jas T. Ward inspires me most.  We're close friends and not only is she crazy creative, she's a great daily inspiration to help me keep believing I can write something people will want to read.

What started you on the journey to write?

R J Loom: I actually wrote a blog post about this recently.   It was a submission for a writing prompt for Freelance Writers Academy Blog Carnival Back in September and was limited to 200 words. It's hard to pin point what exactly started me on this journey.  I've always loved words.  As a kid, my dad would play grammar games with me when we were driving around running errands.  “What's up on the road, a head?”  or “What's up on the road ahead?”  My sisters and I would also use “big” words or describe things in certain ways just to to make the others laugh.  As far as what made me pull up Word and start writing a book?  It had to be after Jas T. Ward and I started Dead Bound Publishing.  After all the work we poured into getting it going and after close to 5 years writing, I figured why the hell not? 

What are the biggest challenges you’ve come across being an author or a writer?

R J Loom: The biggest challenge for me would have to be putting myself out there.  Attention makes me very uncomfortable.  I am more of an observer; an introvert. For the past few years I've been able to write with a certain amount of anonymity.   Every time I would put my writing out there I had to block out the possibility anyone was actually going to read it or else I wouldn't be able to string two words together.  So now, with plans on publishing my first book, I have to put myself out there.  I have to stretch way outside my comfort zone.  But that's alright.  It's growth and I refuse to be an obstacle in my own way to reaching my goal.

How has becoming a published author (independent or traditional) changed your perspective on life and is it everything you expected it to be? (If you are not published yet – what changes do you foresee?)

R J Loom: I understand the process of publishing a book.  I understand the market and I believe my expectations are in line with that.  For me, my goals are pretty simple.  I have a story in my mind that I love.  I will write it.  I will complete it and I will publish it.  I will put it out there and hopefully others will enjoy it as well. 

How do you stay motivated and get through writer’s block?

R J Loom: I write.  Even when I don't feel like it. I've found that's the best way to push through it.  It may not be related to what I should be writing but it gets things flowing again. I also listen to music or research certain aspects of a story.

What keeps you focused and ‘in the zone’ while writing your novels?

I have ADHD.  So focus is not my strong suit.  When I get 'in the zone', I try to stay there as long as I can just because I know I get easily distracted.  But when I'm passionate about something, I'm very singularly focused.  And I'm very passionate about “The Ilia Stone.”

Music also helps. It helps set the mood and get me in the mindset of whatever scene I'm writing.

Do you have a technique or style of writing you prefer? Do you write in order or skip around and piece together later?

R J Loom: My way of writing is like walking into a disorganized person's office and seeing their desk with random piles of papers everywhere.  But if you were to ask that person where something was, they would know exactly where to find it. I most definitely don't write in order.  I do have a basic outline for all three books in “The Ilia Stone” trilogy.   But I write the scenes as they come to me and they never come in order.  I have even written some on each of the three books.  It's like a puzzle I'm piecing together and that's part of the fun of writing it.

When your dreams come true, what do you do?

R J Loom: Most likely write a story about dreams coming true.

To all of us aspiring authors, struggling, or newbies, what is the best advice you can give us?

R J Loom: I'm still in that category but I'll share the thoughts that keep me plugging along.   Don't be the person to stand in your own way.  How will you know if you can if you don't even try?  Don't allow yourself excuses. Find answers.  Find ways around any roadblocks.  Keep going.  Write just to write and have fun with it. 

Where can we find your works or website to keep up with what you have brewing in your mind? 

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/RJLoom112

Blog:  http://rloom112.wordpress.com/

Fav quote: 

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”

~ Henry Ford

From The Ilia Stone:  Gabriel to Nia...

“You want to know? You believe the pains of my past and the man I no longer am is what will show you the truth of who I am today? Fine, I’ll show you...”