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New Year's Resolutions...

12/29/2010

Father time is creeping along ready to close the book on 2010. Feeble arthritic knees, sore feet faltering, long white beard whipping in the winds of the major storms that struck most of the United States. He sees the infant child of 2011 waving in the not so distant future, a merry smile on his chubby cheeks, anxious to be let loose and crawl off to learn to walk and run and jump and play. Yes, time waits for no one.

I read a quote about time a while back and it has stuck with me. It said,

“Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end, the faster it goes.”

It’s funny, but I’m finding out, it is oh so true. In my youth, I couldn’t wait for the days to flip over so I could get to the weekend. Celebrate that special birthday or go to my favorite concert or party or other event. I wanted to ‘live!’ To experience all the fun I could. Not be caught in the dull-drums of those other boring moments of my existence.

This year, however, I hope to put a new resolution at the top of my list. I choose to start each resolution with a new verse, to…

Celebrate every moment of life!

Life is not all laughter and sunshine. It is not all happy and carefree. And even in the worst of times, it’s not all bad. Those sad, bad, horrible moments have made me into the unique individual I am today, just as did the happy and joyful ones. And, for the most part, I like the person I am. Sure there are things I need to work on…like loose the Christmas pounds I gained, save money for a rainy day, finish my novels. But first and foremost…I will enjoy it. My stomach may grumble, however.

Looking back on 2010, I relish in the fond recollections of happy times. But I’m also focusing on those smaller moments. How prayer and faith kept me hopeful after an abnormal biopsy led to surgery. The joy I felt after learning there would be no cancer. The warmth of friendship as I shared in the grief of lost loved ones. The simple moments of just talking with my children. The comfort and love filling the room as my spouse simply sit and watch a movie together. Some were boring dull-drum moments, but the best of moments all the same.

Some may think its old age making me think this way, or senility, but I want to believe it is wisdom. And I’m glad I’m not too late to see it. This year, I will make my New Year’s Resolution:

- To celebrate every moment as if it is my last! For that’s what life is made up of…moments.

May you all have a blessed New Year!

C.K. Volnek

6 Comments

Merry Christmas, One and All

12/23/2010

3 Comments

Christmas. A time to celebrate with family and friends. Presents. Food. Creating memories. But with that time comes much business and stress. And this December for me has been no less.

One element struck my very heart this year though, reminding me of the reason of the season. A fellow author and friend informed our e-mail group of a horrible tragedy in her family. Her husband’s sister and husband were shot and killed, their daughter, my friend’s teenage niece shot…in the head. My online family was devastated as disbelief, grief and heartache set in. But yet they clung to a small sliver of hope for their niece, praying for a miracle...a Christmas miracle.

The next day, my author friend informed the group that things did not look good. They were giving her niece until the end of the day to show signs of improvement or else they would take her off life support. When my friend saw her eyes flutter, she was filled with more hope, but the nurses assured her it was simply reflex.

The doctors gave this girl another day and by some miracle, the girl squeezed her aunt’s hand. The family was elated, but still worried about what kind of life she might have. Would she be able to walk? Would she talk? Or could it be worse? Still, she was alive. A miracle.

Within a few days, the doctors, scratching their heads, informed the family this beautiful young woman would live. And better than that, she would make a full recovery. They had no explanation of why or how, but with some therapy she would be fully well. A complete miracle. Her Christmas miracle.

I e-mailed this friend that God must have a profound purpose for her niece. But the more I thought about it, maybe part of that purpose had already been fulfilled. Her miracle was not only witnessed by her family and close friends, but by the multitudes of new friends via the internet. Prayers were exchanged instantaneously, and hopes were high. It touched hearts young and old. It was a reminder that God can do things…Great Things…if he so chooses. And this gift of a miracle lit up the holidays for this family and friends world-wide. Just like the miracle he performed on that Christmas over two thousand years ago, when a tiny baby boy was born in a stable, come to this world to save mankind. Come to be a Savior.

May the warmth of our Lord’s love shower you with blessings as we celebrate the joy of His extraordinary Christmas miracle!

Alleluia! God is with us!

Merry Christmas

C.K. Volnek

3 Comments

Meet and Greet Author Sue Perkins

12/20/2010

2 Comments

Today we have Author Sue Perkins with us. Sue grew up in Devon, England, but after she married my husband she spent some years traveling the world, then started a family. They emigrated to New Zealand with their two children in 1986 and subsequently became New Zealand citizens. Her son and daughter have flown the nest and her, her husband, dog and live on a three acre property at the top of New Zealand’s South Island. She works part time as a graphic artist for a local trade paper. Like all writers, she loves reading, but other interests include genealogy and zumba.

A contemporary romance Broken Heart is available as a FREE READ from Desert Breeze Publishing. This is a prequel to her contemporary sweet romance Three Hearts which is also available from Desert Breeze Publishing.

Hi, Sue. Please tell your readers something interesting about yourself AND/OR your favorite character.

My favourite character is always the main character in my current Work In Progress which at this time would make it Reva. She's a young girl who's father's job moves them around a lot and she finds it difficult to make new friends. Reva retreats into writing a fantasy. One night her garden gnome commands her to follow him into the fantasyland she has imagined. Here she is accused of bringing evil to the land. Only she can make things right.

Something interesting about myself. I lived in Kuwait for two years. A very good experience learning about other cultures. Most of the friends I made there came from other countries. Germany, America, Spain, Malaysia, India, Kenya. I wish I'd kept in touch with them, but everyone moved on. I also travelled the world with my husband when he worked at sea with the Merchant Navy. Went to many different places and viewed so many different ways of life.

What was your favorite book as a teen? Tell us about it and how it affected you as a person.

Foundation by Isaac Asimov. It started me on the science fiction trail and I later found myself drawn toward the fantasy genre as written by Anne McCaffrey and David Eddings. Isaac Asimov definitely became my favourite author at that time. Although I have to admit A.E. van Vogt's Slan was definitely a favourite too. All these authors were responsible for my journey into writing fantasy books

Tell us about the genre you have chosen to write for. Why do write specifically for them?

I love to write Fantasy books both for adults, young adults and middle grade. There's something about building your own world, putting people, animals and aliens into the world then weaving the story around them. I find when I sit down to write this genre the words flow with no hesitation.

Tell us about your new book. How did it come about and share your favorite excerpt/scene.

This book won't be released until October 2011 by MuseItUp Publishing in their MuseTween line, but I love it. It's my first Middle Grade book to be published. The setting is a library and the book is divided into three parts. The first part concerns the grand opening. A street urchin takes the opportunity to sleep in the warmth and comfort of the library. He gets trapped by the Spirit Stealer who steals half his spirit. The second part is set in modern times with another boy shut in the library. He tries to help a girl recover half of her spirit which has been stolen by the Spirit Stealer. The third part is centred on ridding the library of the Spirit Stealer.

How has writing affected your life? And what’s your favorite part of being a writer?

Writing has enriched my life. I find I am far more interested in what is going on around me. It might give me and idea for a novel. I also try to give back to the writing community, but time often prevents this. My favourite part of being a writer is writing the words "-end-" and then starting the editing. I love editing. Does that make me weird?

What advice can you give regarding the writing process?

To learn how to format and submit manuscripts I attended a creative writing course. There I learned that the secret of writing is re-writing. Don't give up on your first draft, edit and hone the words as many times as it takes until they are ready for submitting to a publishing house.

Regarding publication and marketing, what advice can you offer aspiring writers?

Keep trying. I don't want to put anyone off, but it took me 17 years from when I seriously began to submit to publishers and when my first book was published. Perseverance is the name of the game.

Then of course the hard work starts with marketing your book. Accept advice from other authors. They know how hard it can be.

How can your fans find, follow or friend you?

My webpage is http://www.sueperkinsauthor.com and my blog is http://sueperkinsauthor.blogspot.com

Not sure if this will work but this should connect you to my Facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/suepernz - I think you have to be signed in to Facebook before you can find this otherwise it tells you not available.

Thanks for joining us today Sue

C.K. Volnek

2 Comments

Meet Author Cyrus Keith

12/14/2010

5 Comments

Hello all. Today's guest is Cyrus Keith, author of the sci-fi thriller series The NADIA Project. He's an artist, musician, assistant scoutmaster, dad and husband, and now a published author from the Great State of Michigan. Welcome Cyrus.

Tell your readers something interesting about yourself AND/OR your favorite character.

Well, about myself, I play guitar and bass guitar, and I have a matched set of rare collectible instruments from Sweden.

My favorite character from my current series is a five-foot, three-inch bundle of dynamite. She's a lot of fun to write because she takes no guff from anyone, and she's the embodiment of the term "loose cannon."

What was your favorite book as a teen? Tell us about it and how it affected you as a person.

As a teen, I was always drawn to works by Robert A. Heinlein. I don't know that I had a favorite character back then, but in Heinlein's novels, there was almost always a crotchety old pragmatist who offered simple philosophy and didn't care what the establishment thought, like a gruff old uncle whom everyone loves because he's always so colorful. Those characters (as well as my father) always encouraged me just to be myself and hand the establishment.

Tell us about the genre you have chosen to write for. Why do write specifically for them?

I'm a hard-core science fiction freak, although it doesn't show up so much in my work. The fantastic has always drawn me. If you're going to read fiction, then read the most out-of-this-world, radical fiction you can, right?

I listed Becoming NADIA and the subsequent works in the series as techno-thrillers because they take place in today's world (or in a near-future reality, similar to the TV series Flash Forward). But they do have strong sci-fi undertones, what with genetic engineering/cloning and living weapons.

Some people think that science fiction is for writers too lazy to write realistic fiction. But if anything, I think it's harder to write credible sci-fi, because of the research aspects involved in coming p with a good story. The system has to be founded on some kind of realistic premise, or you're just asking too much from your readers in the way of their willingness to suspend their unbelief.

Tell us about your new book. How did it come about and share your favorite excerpt/scene.

Becoming NADIA was born in a dream I had back in 2007. The premise began to unfold in that twilit zone between being fully awake and fully asleep, and the concept hit me so hard, I woke right up and started writing.

Here is a taste, from Becoming NADIA (Unedited):

By the time they reached D'Antini's, Nadia knew she was in the company of a friend. They made small talk while they waited for the maitre d' to find them a table in the middle of the sumptuous dining room, and she almost forgot about having to explain herself to her station staff.

The appetizers were amazing, if unidentifiable. Nadia asked what was in them and Jon just smiled and held up a hand. "You really don't want to know."

Nadia almost spit out the latest mouthful, but thought twice about it as she looked around. This was too nice a place to be so rude. Her eyes grew wide in mirth as she tried to laugh around it, and almost choked trying to get it down. She grabbed her water glass and took a drink, waving a hand at her face.

"You jerk," she laughed softly, when her mouth became free. "All right, seriously now, do you take every woman who faints in your arms to a place this fancy?"

"No," he answered, "just those who remind me of a dear friend." The smile faded from his face and he became pensive for several seconds. Then he placed a couple more appetizers on her salad plate. "Here," he said, suddenly brightening. "Have some more…brown, crusty…things."

She chuckled again, pushing the plate away. "No, thanks. A moment on the lips…." She let the rest of the cliché fade away while she rearranged her napkin in her lap, trying to buy some time before she had to plow ahead. "So why am I here with you? Because you're concerned for me or because I remind you of someone else?"

"That is an entirely unfair question, Miss Velasquez. I was wondering that very thing myself. Maybe a little bit of both. Is that okay?"

"How did you know my last name?" she asked. It was not as if she were a necessarily private person, it was mainly that she was hoping he would not recognize her from television. She was already AWOL. She may as well put in her resignation as soon as she got back to 'Frisco.

"I heard you lie to 'Steve', whoever that is. When you talked about an interview with a president, I pegged you right off the bat. I've been to the West Coast on business a few times."

"That's where you saw me before. Well, that answers that, then."

"No, it doesn't." Jon looked at Nadia again, the piercing gaze locked on her face. "There's something else, and I can't explain it yet. Just less than four years ago I lost my best friend and her family…."

"Oh, I must look like her, then—"

He cut her off. "How's Phillip?"

Nadia's hand stopped halfway to her water glass. She felt paralyzed. The blood drained from her face, leaving it ice-cold. The memory reconnected like a switch in her mind. The question trickled weakly out between her lips, her voice quavering. "Who's Phillip?"

Jon's voice took on a steely edge. He wasn't becoming hostile, just insistent, but insistent in a way that made her feel like she was being peeled away, layer by layer under a microscope. "You know full well who Phillip is."

Her hand began to tremble, then to shake violently. She remembered someone telling her, "It took twenty-three surgeries just to reconstruct your face." Her breath came in gasps; her voice seemed to keep getting weaker. Phillip. Phillip was-- She found herself unable to get up, incapable of walking away, too terrified to run, like a bird in the gaze of a snake. "What are you talking about?"

"Why did you skip out on your flight, Nadia? Why did you come to the Staley's at 42nd and Lexington? Why at that particular time?"

The questions began to gush from Jon's mouth one right after another, and Nadia had no chance to answer any individual one. He was getting more agitated as he went, until Nadia thought he would reach over the table and strangle her right there in public. "Why did you order a double-decaf-mochaccino latté with a cinnamon stick? Why did you know my nickname and then faint as soon as you recognized me? Why are we sitting here right now while the chef in the kitchen prepares Steak Hélène rare, and before the appetizers came you were doodling Betty Boop figures on your napkin and playing with your left ear?" Twenty-three surgeries. "Nobody has called me 'Jake' since I was ten, except for her and my mom. And you absolutely hate Merlot, don't you?"

Nadia's hand never made it to the water glass. She couldn't think. A sound roared in her head like ten thousand voices screaming in terror, and an icy spear of fear shot through her chest. She felt the tears begin to roll down her face, and her chest heaved as she gasped for breath.

She hoped with everything inside her that no one else was watching these two terrified people having this horrible, strange confrontation. Her vision started to close in again, but she fought it off. As it was, she nearly fell out of her chair. Her voice was strange and weak. "Do…do you know who I am?"

How has writing affected your life? And what’s your favorite part of being a writer?

I believe that God puts in every single one of us a desire to know His perfect will for our lives. It's what he designed us to do, and when we find that, we find perfect and ultimate joy. I discovered that I'm a writer. Sure, I'm a minstrel, and a mentor, and a dad, and a husband, and many other things. But if you've seen Chariots of Fire, you know what I mean when I say that, when I write, I feel God smiling.

I love the story-telling part more than anything. I like to think as I'm writing an action sequence or a suspense element, that my reader is going to hold the book that much closer to their face, and their eyes are going to bug out, and they'll think, "Oh, my God, I have to find out what happens next!" I want people to finish one of my books and put it down, thinking that they're glad they read it, and they have something to think about.

What advice can you give regarding the writing process?

Writing is one thing that you can't do well on your own. In order to make your story the best it can be, you need to expose yourself (and your ego) to critique partners and beta readers who are friends enough to tell you the truth. To complement that aspect of the process, it is critical that you develop a thick skin. O need to be able to receive constructive (and sometimes destructive) criticism and glean out every useful bit of information to refine and polish your work. Writing is fun, but it is also a serious business.

Regarding publication and marketing, what advice can you offer aspiring writers?

The best thing I ever did was to read a copy of Manuscript Submission, by Scott Edelstein. He makes the process of marketing and selling your manuscript simple enough to understand that if you practice what he's preaching, your work will have a better chance of being seen on its own merits.

Other than that, you must, you must, you must, refine and polish your manuscript using every tool at your disposal. Excessive typos and weak style will kill a good story and get you a form rejection letter so fast your head will spin.

Finally, keep your sanity. It took me over three years to sell my first book, but the second one sold almost immediately. I received over forty rejections, and most of those were form rejections. A rejection is simply the industry's way of telling you your work hasn't found its home yet. Look over it again, polish it some more if need be, and get it back out there.

You can do it.

How can your fans find, follow or friend you?

I have a Facebook page. They can look for Cyrus Keith. They can also contact me through my publisher's website, museituppublishing.com. There's also a reader's Yahoo! Group they can join, and meet other Muse It Up authors as well. We all love to have personal contact with our readers, and we'll be glad to hear from you!

Thanks again for having me as a guest, Charlie. I enjoyed this immensely.

Thank you for joining us today, Cyrus.

5 Comments

Author Lindsay Below

12/9/2010

8 Comments

Today, I would like to welcome Author Lindsay Below to my blog. Lindsay writes young adult and middle grade fiction. Under the name L.K. Below, she also publishes romance and adult speculative fiction. Visit her online at www.lbelow.net or on her young adult blog at http://yanoveling.blogspot.com

Join me in welcoming Lindsay Below.

C.K. Volnek.

Hi Lindsay, and welcome. Please tell your readers something interesting about yourself AND/OR your favorite character.

I’m a vegetarian. I have been for the past seven years, and I don’t foresee that changing any time soon. Although for a year or so beforehand, I shunned most meats, I became a full-fledged vegetarian when I was thirteen years old. I won’t pretend it was easy. At the time, my father in particular kept trying to bargain with me and cajole me into changing back. But I clung to my morals. Eventually, he (and everyone else) accepted the change. Though it often makes eating out at restaurants difficult.

What was your favorite book as a teen? Tell us about it and how it affected you as a person.

My favorite book as a teen was The Secret of Dragonhome by John Peel. In it, the main character, Melayne, was a fifteen-year-old vegetarian, so it spoke to me. Melayne was always stubborn and rebellious, and I’d like to think that I speak my mind the way she does.

Tell us about the genre you have chosen to write for. Why do write specifically for them?

I write any genre that calls to me. I love to read a good story, and so I write the ones that interest me. I think about entertaining myself first, though I hope that others will enjoy my books just as much.

Tell us about your new book. How did it come about and share your favorite excerpt/scene.

Head Over Hand-Bought Heelsis a book about acceptance and friendship. When Katie starts working at Vivian’s Boutique, she quickly makes three new take-charge friends. But when Courtney kisses her, she doesn’t know how to accept it. Does she like the kiss? Does she like Courtney? And how is she supposed to salvage their friendship if she doesn’t?

This book began as a dream on October 30th. I’d already decided to participate in National Novel Writing Month that November, and even though I knew nothing but the first scene and the descriptions of the four main characters, I embarked on the crazy journey. The book swept me away, and I finished it extremely quickly, surprising even myself. Below is my favorite scene, showcasing my favorite character in the book, Courtney’s brother Jeremy.

Excerpt from Head Over Hand-Bought Heels:

I’ll admit, I’m a terrible morning person. It takes me forever to get up. I’m completely blind to reason until at least ten o’clock, which means that on school days I spend about an hour completely out of it, sleepwalking until the energy from breakfast starts to kick in. The morning after our little sleepover was no different.

            “Rise and shine, sleepyhead,” Courtney cooed. I mumbled and snuggled my head deeper into the blanket. She switched to a different tactic. “Last one to say ‘aye’ gets to have a makeover!” Three chirping “ayes” wormed their way into my brain and I lifted my head.

            “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I grumped. “Did you not hear me yesterday when I told you I don’t go shopping?”

            “You do with us,” Courtney countered. “Trust me, Jane didn’t shop very much either, before she met us.”

            “Neither did I,” Tia joked.

            Courtney rolled her eyes. “Please, Tee. You invented shopping. Besides,” she addressed me, “your shoes are hideous. Seriously. The ugliest things I have ever seen. What, did you shop for them in the men’s section?”

            “I have big feet,” I grumbled.

            “Oh, you did!” Courtney wailed. “That just isn’t right! They make shoes for women with big feet, too, you know, Kate. Nice shoes. Non-ugly shoes. I suggest you get some. And don’t even look crosswise at the men’s shoe section unless you’re buying something for your dad for his birthday.” When I just continued to look blankly at her, my brain not yet at fully functional, she continued, “Come on, Katie doll, time to get up. I made pancakes.”

            The word pancakes managed to make an impression on my sleep-fogged brain. It was that incentive alone that prompted me to get my feet under me and allow myself to be dragged into the kitchen by Tia. I stopped short in the doorway.

            “There’s a guy in your kitchen.” He had the same eyes and dark hair as Courtney, and even the same edge to his nose, though his was smaller in proportion to his face. He had to be her brother, though this early in the morning, I couldn’t quite get past the fact that he was there, in the kitchen. I really shouldn’t be this much of a mess when I was meeting new people.

            “And he’s eating my pancakes!” Courtney screeched. She elbowed her way through me and Tia and raced across the kitchen to slap her brother roughly on the arm. “Jeremy, put those down! They’re not for you.”

            Ignoring her, he said, “They’re very good,” around a mouthful of food. He nodded absently to me.

            Getting over my initial shock in record time for a Sunday morning, I sat myself on a stool. “I’d put that down if you don’t want your penis cut off,” I yawned.

            He froze, almost laughed, and then frowned. He looked at his sister. “Did she just threaten me?” He looked around at Tia and Jane. “Who is this girl?”

            I realized with dawning horror that he probably thought I had. I really needed to watch my mouth in the mornings. It tended to work without the approval of my brain. “It’s just what they were thinking of doing to you last night,” I defended myself.

            “Not me,” Jane added softly. “I had nothing to do with it.”

            “Fine, then,” I corrected. “It was just what Tia and Courtney were thinking of doing to you.”

            “I actually vetoed the suggestion, tempting though it was,” Courtney put in.

            “Fine, I’ll take the hit,” Tia said morosely, taking a seat and crossing her legs. She leaned forward. “I admit it. I was thinking of your penis last night.”

            I couldn’t help but giggle. When she put it that way, it sounded completely different from the way she had actually meant it at the time. Even Jeremy grinned.

            “Why exactly were we thinking of doing bodily harm to me? I could swear I haven’t done anything bad to you, Court, for at least a month.”

            “You hid my favorite Stacie Bass Queen flip flops from me last month!”

            He nodded. “Like I said, a month.”

            She glared at him. “You only gave them back last week.”

            I liked their sibling rivalry. It was the sort of thing I wished to have with Brad, but he was so much older than I was. He had been thinking about University when I was two. We only saw each other at Thanksgiving and Christmas, a birthday card exchanged in between. Nothing special. Nothing close.

            “You still haven’t answered my question,” he poked Courtney in the arm. “Why were you upset?”

            “Who said I was upset?”

            “You only threaten dismemberment whenever something’s bothering you. What is it? Spill.”

            Her chin quivered as she thought her words over. “Kenley broke up with me,” she admitted in a small voice.

            “For a guy,” Tia added meaningfully.

            “The slut,” Jeremy grumbled. I agreed with him wholeheartedly. “Is there anything I can do?”

            “Nope,” Courtney answered with false brightness. “We watched cartoons all last night, and today we’re giving Katie a makeover.” I grimaced.

            He looked me over. “She certainly needs it.”

            Biting my lip, I glanced down. I knew I was no Tia, but he didn’t have to say it out loud. But I wouldn’t cry. I shook my head. It didn’t hurt that much, I told myself. No matter what, I wouldn’t cry over something as stupid as that, something I knew already. Even if it had been delivered by a cute boy.

            “Oh, God,” he murmured. There was an edge of desperation to his voice. “I didn’t mean-- If I’d said that to Tia, she’d just take it in stride and insult me back.”

            I glanced up at him, likely more than half a glare in my eyes. “Tia wouldn’t actually need a makeover.”

            “She’s shy,” Courtney explained as if I hadn’t said anything. “Shyer than Jane.”

            “I am not shyer than Jane!” I protested. “She never talks! You never talk,” I added, remembering how much it had just annoyed me to have them talking about me right in front of me.

            She shrugged, her thin shoulders lifting upward. “I may not talk just for the sake of hearing my voice, but I’m not shy.” She gave a pointed look to the other two girls in the room. “They know it. You, though, are shy. All you did last night was try to make up excuses not to be in the spotlight with us.”

            “Like you’re going to do in about twenty minutes when we take you shopping,” Tia added.

            “And now, fair ladies, as I have been forgotten,” Jeremy said grandly, standing up and slowly backing to the door, “and my stomach is full of stolen pancakes, I shall bid you all adieu.” He turned and walked from the room before his sister could berate him for eating their breakfast.

            “He’s taking a Shakespeare class,” Courtney explained with a roll of her eyes.

How has writing affected your life? And what’s your favorite part of being a writer?

Writing hasn’t affected my life. Writing is my life. If I didn’t write down all the characters and plotlines floating around in my head, I think I’d explode! My favorite part of being a writer is being swept away in the story. That’s why I write.

What advice can you give regarding the writing process?

Don’t be afraid to experiment. When I get stressed or strained, I switch up genres, length of story (short story or novella versus a full novel), etc. It helps to purge the mind of whatever’s blocking you from writing.

Regarding publication and marketing, what advice can you offer aspiring writers?

Read through your contracts. Thoroughly. Do it again, and again. Make sure you’re comfortable with each of the terms and if you don’t understand a clause or two, bring it to a lawyer. Your contract is very important. And if you find something you aren’t comfortable with, ask the publisher to change the wording. Most are willing to do so.

As for marketing, back list is your best friend. The more there is to read, the more there is to sell! Make friends with fellow writers and offer to help them promote -- they’ll often return the favor.

Best of all, good luck!

How can your fans find, follow or friend you?

Check out my website, www.lbelow.net/lindsaybelow/contact. I’ve got all the information and links there.

Thanks for having me on your blog today, Charlie. Happy writing, everyone!

Thanks for joining us today, Lindsay.
C.K. Volnek

8 Comments

Meet Debut Author Bethlene Williams

12/6/2010

6 Comments

Today, I have a guest interview from Debut Author Bethlene Williams. Bethlene is the author of the upcoming book, The Togi Tree. She loves reading books of all kinds, especially children's novels that take her to another place. Growing up in a large family, they always made up worlds to play in, ideas coming from stories she’d read.

She started writing when she stayed home to be a fulltime mom in Las Vegas and had lots of spare time. She wanted to try something new and make up stories her son might like to read. The first book took just over a year to write.

Her husband and son dragged her to Salt Lake City. She kicked and screamed the whole way … preferring the desert heat over the snow and cold. She settled in, playing hard in the summer and hiding in the winter. She continued to write and found online friends to help her improve. During a trip to Phoenix over the holidays one year, her family stopped at the Grand Canyon South Rim, where inspiration struck for her second story- The Togi Tree. She wrote the first version in a month and improved it over the next year to be the fun adventure it is now.

She lives in Salt Lake City with her fun, supportive husband, always-inquisitive son and fluffy dog Zeus, who thinks she can’t write unless he’s on top of her desk, watching.

Please welcome Bethlene Williams...

Hi Bethlene. Tell your readers something interesting about yourself AND/OR your favorite character.

My first story took me well over a year to finish. My second story, The Togi Tree, only took me a month to write. Of course it had to go through several revisions before it was perfect.

The Togi Tree is a magical tree that lives in the middle of the Cold River. It can grow large and shrink small, travel to various locations and make itself invisible. But when it is found, its orange fruit can sustain a person for many days.

In the wake of the most serious drought in recent history, fourteen-year-old Trenton and his brother, Scout, are sent by their village leader to find the wise Togi, who inhabits the Togi Tree and may hold the key to the survival of their village. They discover the life of the mystical Togi Tree is threatened and are sent on a mission to find out why the Cold River has dried up and how the Togi Tree can be saved. With only weeks to spare, Trenton and Scout navigate flash floods, survive unbearable thirst, and avoid wild animals to search for the answers.

Will Trenton and Scout be able to restore the Cold River to its former abundance, or will the lives of the Togi Tree and the villagers be lost forever?

What was your favorite book as a teen? Tell us about it and how it affected you as a person.

I loved “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” and “James and The Giant Peach”. I read them over and over. In my later teen years I fell in love with “Anne of Green Gables.” I always loved to read about different places, made up or real, and imagine myself there.

Tell us about the genre you have chosen to write for. Why do write specifically for them?

I write middle grade novels and young adult novels. I love how you can have so much fun in kids stories, more so than adult books that seem to be more serious. When writing, I try to come up with crazy things for my characters to do, unique obstacles for them to deal with and fun ways to solve their problems. I write stories that I would’ve loved to be in when I was a kid.

Tell us about your new book. How did it come about and share your favorite excerpt/scene.

My new book is my debut novel “The Togi Tree”. The idea came to me after visiting the Grand Canyon one winter. I tried to picture the river at the bottom, because you obviously can’t see it from the top rim. I had a dream a week or two later where I was trying to find the river, but couldn’t see it anywhere. Some people came along and told me the river had dried up and they had to find out why so they could save their magical tree. I woke up thinking it was a great story idea.

Excerpt:

         Something growled in the unnerving silence. In front of him, a cougar stalked out of the dark smoke, its orange fur glowing.

         Trenton stared at the large beast with awe and terror. Run, he told himself. But his legs wouldn’t work. He stood frozen in fear.

         “You’re finally here,” the cougar growled. It circled Trenton once, large eyes studying every inch of him. “Where is the water to put out the fire? It was your only responsibility—get water to the tree. And you failed!” The cougar bared its large teeth as it slunk around him again. “We can’t depend on you for anything! I knew you would be too lazy to save the tree.”

         “I ...I didn’t know I was supposed to get ...water. Why doesn’t someone else help out?” He trembled as the cougar stopped in front of him.

         “There is no one else!” the cougar roared.

         With a thunderous rumble, fire exploded behind Trenton. He spun around. A bright, orange inferno flared into the sky. Bits of fire rained down all around.

         “What’s burning?” he asked, coughing as his lungs filled with smoke.

         “The Tree!” the cougar growled beside him. “We needed water.”

         What tree? He studied the fire, squinting through the smoke. He could barely see the branches of . . .

         NO! The Togi Tree is on fire. He’d seen the tree once in a dream and heard the magical description countless times from Papa. But how can it burn? The Togi Tree lives in the Cold River.

         He glanced down to find that he stood in the dust of a dry riverbed. “The river is gone! There’s no water to put the fire out.”

         “Exactly!”

         A loud crackling noise came from the bottom of the tree.

         “Move!” the cougar commanded as it ran off. “It’s going to fall.”

            The burning tree, tall enough to touch the sky, was falling towards him. His legs wouldn’t move. He threw his arms across his face and screamed . . .

How has writing affected your life? And what’s your favorite part of being a writer?

Writing has been a great hobby for me. I started writing when my son went into first grade and I had more free time on my hands. I wanted to see if I could actually write a story. Now, I’ve finished five books.

My favorite part of being a writer is the satisfaction of finishing a story and seeing it be made into a real book. It’s an amazing feeling.

What advice can you give regarding the writing process?

Keep writing! Even if you get stuck, keep trying. You never know what you might accomplish in the end. Try new stories, explore which writing style you enjoy the most. I was surprised to find I like changing the style I use with each story.

Regarding publication and marketing, what advice can you offer aspiring writers?

Don’t give up. You never know when you’ll get your lucky break. Just a mention about my writing to a friend while golfing paid off six years. So maybe being patient helps, too.

How can your fans find, follow or friend you?

My website is www.bethlenewilliams.com

On facebook, you can follow my fanpage :

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bethlene-Williams/195801031084

Thanks for joining us today, Bethlene.

C.K. Volnek

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