M. Edward McNally

Today's interview is with M. Edward McNally.  Ed writes fantasy and he told me he is trying to coin the phrase "Muskets & Magic" as he combines elements from two somewhat diverse interests:  Dungeons & Dragons and the US Civil War.

An interesting anecdote Ed mentioned is that he studied with Jane Smiley the year she won her Pulitzer as he was completing his master's degree in English Literature/Creative Writing.

I've just finished reading Ed's book:  The Sable City, and I found it to be a fun and well-crafted fantasy/adventure story.  One of my favorite elements was Ed's attention to detail and description of things that gave a real feel to events that were otherwise far outside of our normal experiences.  For example, I like the way he describes not just the action in his fight scenes, but the subtler textures that the characters would be experiencing - such as the feelings of being hurt or injured.  It seems that writers in this genre often get caught up in the heroism in ways that prevent them from humanizing the characters.  Ed's talent for that element provides an added dimension and level of interest to the reader.

You can buy The Sable City at these links to: AMAZON or SMASHWORDS 

TAS: Let's get the plug out of the way. Tell us a little bit about The Sable City - who will be interested and why?

MEM: The Norothian Cycle, of which The Sable City is the first book, is a wide-ranging fantasy based in part on the premise that a world in which magic was "real" would not look like an idealized version of medieval Europe, only with some orcs running around and guys in pointy hats shooting lightning bolts out of sticks.  The world I have tried to create in my stories is one with its own history of cultural, political, religious, and economic development, all shaped by the “fact” that magic is real.  But that is just background.  I am a firm believer that the story and the characters come first.  The rest is just set-dressing, when you come right down to it.  Though I do have an awful lot of it.

TAS: What aspects of being an author do you most enjoy?

MEM: Getting lost in my own head to the extent that I totally get away from myself.  It’s like I’m not even writing, I’m just scribbling or typing as fast as I can to keep up.

TAS: What aspects of being an author do you least enjoy?

MEM: The reaction of the people I care about when I get lost in my own head to the extent that I forget about them, too.  I really am sorry.  But I’m not going to stop.  Not again.

TAS: What moment as an author have you experienced that you are likely to remember 20 years from now (good or bad)?

MEM: The first time I got a short story published in a literary magazine, I took it to a park and read it about twenty times, sitting on a bench.  That was almost 20 years ago now, and just thinking about it, it’s like I’m still there.

TAS: What bad habits do you have when it comes to writing/promoting your books and/or what do you wish you could do better?

MEM: I’m awful at self-promotion.  I keep making friends, not “customers,” which is apparently the wrong way to go.  But anything else makes me feel icky.

TAS: Do you have any moments or anecdotes that led you to want to be an author?

MEM: When I was about ten, I had a cutesy little-kid poem published in the Kansas City Star.  My name in print...that was it, I was a goner.

TAS: Do you write books that are part of a series or stand-alone?  Why have you chosen as you have?

MEM: Series, and it chose me.  I made a “world” over the course of about ten years, during which time I did not write any “fiction” in the traditional sense.  Then some of the people of that world started to yammer at me, and I get the feeling they are not going to stop until their story is told in full.

TAS: If an editor suggested a change that you felt weakened the story but you also felt it would increase sales, would you do it?

MEM: In theory, yes.  I am always willing to listen to the suggestions/criticisms of people I respect.  But if it was a matter of changing something so profoundly that I felt it wasn’t my story anymore with the changes made, then no.

TAS: If a movie studio intended to make a film of one of your books and you had a choice of $1,000,000, but you'd give up all creative rights, or $100,000 and you'd have a large say, which would you take and why?

MEM: Door Number Two.  I am lucky in that I live pretty simply, and wouldn’t have any idea of what to do with the extra $900,000, other than worry about it.

TAS: Is there anything that you look forward to that gets you through a tough day?

MEM: I am such a huge fan of sleep.  Seriously, I can bribe myself to finish a page in exchange for a nap, or a chapter to let myself sleep-in the next day.  Sweet, sweet sleep...

TAS: If you knew you would be trapped in an elevator for a couple hours and you could choose any living person to be trapped in there with you, who would it be and why?

MEM: Probably a lame answer, but it would have to be one of my friends that I can BS about nothing and everything with for hours on end.  If it was, like, someone I had always wanted to meet, I would say something stupid in the first five minutes and then the rest of the time would just be really awkward.

TAS: Tell us about an embarrassing moment.

MEM: That time I was trapped in an elevator with Thomas Pynchon (kidding)

TAS: If you were on a first date with someone you were really interested in and they audibly passed gas, how would you respond?

MEM: It depends, are we at a Bears game or the Opera?  Is she mortified, or does she shout “Boo-yah!” and raise her hand for a high-five?  There are other variables I would have to take into consideration before rendering summary judgment.

Lisa Vandiver

Today's interview is with Lisa Vandiver.  Lisa is a novelist who specializes in Romance/Mysteries, but she has also written a church play and published a collection of poems and short stories. 

I actually bought Lisa's novel - Where She Belongs - with the intention of giving it to my wife, but after I started reading it, I couldn't stop until I was finished.  I found that her characters had depths that felt very genuine.  And the drama was very intense because those characters felt so real.

Lisa's main website is HERE. 

But please also check out her BLOG and you can find out a little more about Lisa HERE.

TAS: Let's get the plug out of the way.  Tell us a little bit about the project you are currently promoting - who will be interested and why?

LV: I'm promoting the two novels the most. Where She Belongs is a wonderful story about a young woman who is the key to three family's struggles and survival. She is involved with a Mafia bad boy and meets a handsome attorney who challenges her heart and her mind. (For Men and Women who love drama and mystery) A lot of fighting and intense mysteries to unravel.

Josie's Thorn is about a young woman who returns to her family's ranch only to find danger to her as she fights against unknown enemies to save the ranch, and against her old boyfriend from stealing her heart away again.(Women who love a tender, passionate romance story)
 
TAS: What aspects of being an author do you most enjoy?

LV: I enjoy the looks from people that I get when I tell them I'm a writer, and an author of three books. I enjoy making up stories about all kinds of wonderful people and places I've created out of my own mind.

TAS: What aspects of being an author do you least enjoy?

LV: Formatting, marketing, I wish I could write and let someone else do the hard stuff. Writing the story is by far the easiest and funnest part of this whole process.
  
TAS: What moment as an author have you experienced that you are likely to remember 20 years from now (good or bad)?

LV: Book signings, I hate them, don't enjoy them, had a painful experience with my first one and it left a sour taste in my mouth.

TAS: What bad habits do you have when it comes to writing/promoting your books and/or what do you wish you could do better?

LV: Having too many coals on my fire at times to the point where I find myself overwhelmed!(laughing)

TAS: Pick a character from one of your books and tell us what actor or actress you would cast and why.

LV: Matthew Kingston from Where She Belongs - Gerard Butler because they're both hot and they know it, but they're completely lovable and kind.

TAS: Do you have clear 'heroes' and 'villains' in your stories or are the lines more blurred?  Why do you choose that route?

LV: In Where She Belongs, Matthew Kingston is clearly a playboy but he is the 'hero', Nick Cabara is clearly the Mafia bad boy and seen as the 'villain', but I think Nick is just misunderstood. :)

TAS: If you had to choose between selling 1 million books but only making $20,000 in royalties or selling 1000 books and (somehow) making $40,000, which would you choose and why?

LV: I'd choose selling 1 million books because I love my stories and I just really want them to be enjoyed by others although I do want to be able to make a living out of my novel writing.

TAS: Were you smarter than your writing/literature teachers in high-school and why do you answer the way you do?

LV: No way. I was a backwards, shy, and a plain Jane in school; never had the self esteem to even try to 'be smart'.

TAS: If you had a couple hours to kill in a strange city and you could either spend the time in their zoo, museum or library, which would you choose and why?

LV: Wow, hard decision, perhaps I'd divide my day into two parts; half a day at library, and the other half at the museum. I could learn so much from either one of these places, and be motivated to write, very relaxing.

TAS: If you had Superman's powers, what do you imagine you would actually do with them?

LV: I'd definitely fly all over the world just to look at all of the wonderful skyline lights of all the famous cities of the world, that would be so romantic! Oh and look at Gerard Butler with my super power eyes:)

TAS: If you were going to be locked in a room and watch one of three shows for 24 hours solid, which would you choose:  Gilligan's Island, Starsky and Hutch or the Love Boat?

LV: Definitely Starsky and Hutch because Gilligan is just plain boring. Love Boat if I could choose my love interest(Guess who'd it be; G.B.)lol

Shaun Allan

For today's interview, please welcome Shaun Allan.  Shaun has a very diverse writing background including poems, short stories and an online magazine that he used to run.  As a result of his work on that magazine, he was invited to appear on Sky TV where he debated the virtues of electronic publishing with a prominent agent from Curtis Brown.  While I don't know the exact outcome of that debate, I think I can speak for many independent authors when I say I hope and expect Shaun kicked serious butt. ;)

His writing challenges the imagination with unique and very creative themes.  I have not yet had time to read his novel - Sin, but I have read the opening and it is powerfully written with a unique and skilled voice.

As of this writing, Shaun was anxiously anticipating the arrival of an over-due baby, so let's all wish Shaun and his family the best!

You can view Shaun's main website HERE where you can find links to buy Sin or other books by Shaun.

You can also go directly to Sin's blog HERE (he's the crazy one . . . not Shaun).

Please also stop by Shaun's Facebook Page when you have some time.

And as a special offer to visitors of this Blog, Shaun is offering 50% off Sin.  Just use coupon code LS52L  HERE

TAS: Let's get the plug out of the way.  Tell us a little bit about the project you are currently promoting - who will be interested and why?

SA: Although I’m promoting three stories at the moment, Sin, Zits’n’Bits (a collection of offbeat poems for children) and Tooth (the mastodon story – 5 star reviewed!), Sin is my main focus as it’s taken me 10 years from the original story to write.  There were times, due to life getting in the way, where I didn’t write for almost a year.  Then, on holiday in Egypt last year, I managed 15,000 words!  Sin has a lot of me in him – his thoughts can be random, his experiences not always good.  He had a poor childhood and just wanted to be a normal guy.  The fact that people die around him doesn’t make him a bad person, does it?

TAS: What aspects of being an author do you most enjoy?

SA: Finding out what is going to happen.  I, normally, have no idea where a story is going to go.  I just start writing.  When I had neared the end of Sin and had an idea of what was going to happen, I was so excited because, up until that point, I didn’t know.  I read about his dead sister taking him to the Seven Hills (an area of urban legend when I was a child) when it happened, for example.  For his blog, I have a one sentence starter, with no inkling of who he will meet or what he will say.  I just let it flow.  The discovery is a great feeling.

TAS: What aspects of being an author do you least enjoy?

SA: The year where I didn’t get to write.  The feeling just wasn’t there.  Nowadays, I have the constant urge to write, but can’t because of work etc.

TAS: What moment as an author have you experienced that you are likely to remember 20 years from now (good or bad)?

SA: Appearing on Sky was a highlight for me, definitely.  Finishing Sin was too.  I’ve got about three other novels partially finished so completing one – especially when it was so much a part of me – was wonderful.

TAS: What bad habits do you have when it comes to writing/promoting your books and/or what do you wish you could do better?

SA: I don’t make notes or plan the story.  Luckily I tend to remember things that happen so I know if I’m contradicting myself, but I really should make notes as I go along.  The closest I come to doing so is typing a few words at the bottom of the document to remind me of things.  As for promoting, I have all the best intentions, but none of the time.  I wish I could invest time to figure out the best ways and follow them up.

TAS: How important do you think a cover is to a book?

SA: Very important.  It’s your first impression.  Many people are limited, unless they pay for bespoke covers, on what they can produce, so I do take that into consideration with indie authors, but in a bookstore, it’s usually the cover (unless it’s an author I follow) that grabs me.

SA: How many hours a week do you spend writing?

TAS: Not enough.  But then would it ever be?

TAS: What's the greatest thing you can realistically imagine happening as a result of your writing?   How likely do you think that is to actually happen?

SA: Seeing it on the shelf in a shop.  I think it’s a fairly reasonable intent, although I need to get to the pushing for it stage!

TAS: Have you ever changed the way you worded something you were writing because you weren't sure the grammatically correct way to say it as originally imagined?

SA: I have indeed.  Saying that, though, in Sin’s case it’s a narrative so it’s written as he would say or think it, grammatically correct or not.  That’s a great feeling of freedom!

TAS: Tell us about the most interesting thing you’ve ever eaten.

SA: Hmmm...  I was brought up in a house where, if it went with chips (fries) it was ok so I grew up with very bland tastes.  I’m only now getting into curry, chilli and other things.  I ate my first kiwi fruit only the other day!  Go me!

TAS: If you could go back in time and spend a 24 hour period observing one full day at the time of your choosing, what year or event would you choose and why?

SA: I’d like to watch Neanderthal Man discover the Monolith.  Well, really I’d like to watch the moon landing.  I was only 3 when it happened so can’t remember it, but that would be SUCH an experience.  The whole world was entranced.  Seeing it featured on Doctor Who only the other night only served to remind me of this.

TAS: If you could have any super-power, what would you choose and why?

SA: Well, Sin can kill people without a thought and teleport (though he can’t control either).  I’m not sure what I’d want for myself.  My favourite X-man was Storm.  That was impressive power – to control the elements.  Cool!