Wandering Thoughts of a Writer: interview

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Hi, Merita! Thanks for stopping by my blog so my readers can meet you and learn about your cool books. J

Hi Becki, it’s a pleasure to be here.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’ve loved science fiction since I was a young child growing up with Star Trek and my parents’ love of all things connected with space. Whether it was fiction or science fact, if it was about space, the planets, and the universe, they absorbed it and passed on that love to me. I deeply regret being born at a time before space travel is a normal daily event. I have an adventurous spirit and would go into space without a second thought, if the chance came my way.

I can remember being a very young child and looking up at the sky and wondering why my real family left me behind on this planet, and hoping they were coming to get me soon. They never did, but I still have that feeling that I belong out there. I cannot go there of course, but in my books I can. Having grown up on a diet of space opera movies, TV and books, it was a foregone conclusion that it I ever wrote a book, it would be space opera. Eleven books later and I’m still enjoying exploring my very own universe.

When building my alien worlds, I am inspired by movies I’ve seen in the genre, rather than books I’ve read. I guess I’m a visual person, and people often say my books read like movies, that they ‘see’ a movie in their head as they’re reading. I like that, I’m happy that happens. It is very important to me that anything I invent in my future universe, gadgets, gizmos, diseases etc, have a basis in today’s known science fact. I research and begin with a known fact, then build from there. I feel that this helps to make my worlds believable for the reader. The great thing about space opera is that you can invent stuff, but if you’re too fantastical you risk losing your reader’s attention.

I’m autistic and live inside my head more so than those who don’t have this condition. Interacting on a very deep level with my imagination is necessary for my mental health, so I find connecting with the flow of creative force, very easy. Away from writing, I enjoy making Native American inspired beaded pow wow fans, and I’m a crazy cat lady in training. I live alone in Hampshire Southern England.

How old were you when you wrote your first story and what was it about?

I was around 12 or 13. It was a paranormal ghost story that I thought was a fantastic plot idea, but I did not have the knowledge or ability to actually write it and make the best of it. I showed the first few pages to my mother, who roared with laughter at my spelling errors and grammatical mistakes, and I was thoroughly put off trying for years.

Another time, after reading my mother’s copy of The Claw by Norah Lofts and loving the story, it inspired within me an idea for a novel. I have never written that story, but I still have the idea in my head so I might one day.

Did you always want to be a writer?

Yes, I’ve known since my teenage years that I wanted to write a book. When I was young, I did not have the education or skills to be able to write well, so it never happened until I was well into middle age. I firmly believe that everything happens at the right time, so it was not meant to be back then. When it’s meant to be, it happens and it happened for me in June 2011.

Where do you get your ideas for a story?

They just drop in to my head. Sometimes I will read something or see something on tv and that will be the catalyst to spark off this creative download. I then make sure I write the basic idea in my little purple notebook so I don’t forget it. That book has plot ideas, titles, character names, all sorts of stuff that I don’t want to lose or forget, and as I use them in books, I cross them off.

What’s your writing process? Do you create an outline before you begin your tale?

I do basic character outlines, and I do mean basic. I have the name, age, marital status, basic physical appearance, planet of origin, job, and their reason for being in the story. I call this document, the Cast List, and it also contains details of gadgets and gizmos I include in the story, and location details (planet names etc). I also do a basic plot outline, which consists of a few sentences outlining the main event, any pertinent events leading up to it, and the resulting after effects. This is purely to make sure I don’t lose the idea and not to ‘manage’ my writing of the story at all.

When I start to write, I just sit down with my cast list and plot outline and begin to write. I am one of those writers who let my characters lead the way. My belief is that it is their story, their lives, and they know how they want it put over better than anyone else. If I try to impose my will upon the story, they always change it anyway, so I don’t bother now. I know my characters know what they’re doing, so I try not to get in the way.

You write mostly sci-fi stories. When my parents were married they were the directors of the UFO Investigator’s League, so I grew up around the whole aliens and flying saucer craze. Do you believe a UFO really crashed in Roswell and we’re being visited by aliens?

I’m in two minds about Roswell. I’m English so I don’t know a huge amount about it. I do however, firmly believe we have been, and still are being visited by alien beings. I would love to meet an extra terrestrial being and be taken to their spaceship, it would be the coolest thing ever. I was born in totally the wrong century; I should have been born five hundred years in the future when hopefully, space travel will be an every day thing. That is of course, on condition we haven’t nuked the place by then.

Can you tell us about your latest book?

It is called The Trials of Nahda ~ Sinclair V-Log PA884/R and is the third in my series, The Sinclair V-Logs. The series is the personal video logs of Samelan Sinclair, Freelance Law Enforcer with the Inter-Galactic Law Enforcement Agency. In this book, he is sent to capture a scientist who has absconded with one of his people’s most valuable ancient artifacts. Once his target is located, Samelan follows him to the neighboring planet and enters into a nightmare experience that almost breaks him.

What’s your next project?

My current project is the fourth in The Sinclair V-Logs series. In this book, Samelan returns to his home planet of Sigma Prime to help find and capture the killer of one of his law enforcement colleagues. This is the first time we meet Samelan on his home turf without much of the stranger things he experiences while patrolling the galaxy in his ship. It is also the first time we see him working as part of a team rather than him being able to be his own boss, and the team dynamic adds to the plot in many ways. This is the most dangerous of his experiences so far, and one that puts his life in very real danger. He has to battle his own inner demons as the case unfolds and exposes him to the darkest side of man’s nature whilst searching for the worst serial killer Sigma Prime has ever had. This case changes him permanently.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever heard thus far?

If you have an idea to write something, you must get it out of your head and on to the paper. You will never write anything if it stays inside your head and never sees the light of day. The mistakes, spelling errors, grammatical errors, plot holes and continuity errors don’t matter. You can tidy all of that up later once you get it out of your head.

If you can spend a day with anyone—dead or alive—who would it be and why?

Wow that’s a hard question to answer. Do I pick a writer I could learn from, a childhood celebrity crush, or some current eye candy? To be totally truthful, the people I would most like to meet are fictitious characters that I feel a connection with. If it has to be a real person, then I’ll pick the actor Dwayne Johnson simply because he’s the most gorgeous man on the planet. At my age, after everything I’ve lived through, I deserve to be totally selfish for a day and indulge my celebrity crush.

If you can ask the universe one question, knowing you’d get an honest answer, what would it be?

My question would be, “what is my reason for having to live this life, my mission here?”

Months ago, you adopted a wonderful soul. Tell us about him and how he has changed your life.

Yes, I got a cat and named him Samelan after the main character in my series, The Sinclair V-Logs. He is a beautiful striped tabby with greeny gold eyes and a five o’clock shadow around his mouth. It has made such a difference to me having him in my life. To come home to someone who is pleased to see me, who comes to the door and greets me, is a real salve to a lonely soul. We all need to be needed by another living soul, and he fulfills that for me.

Just For Fun:

If you were stranded on a deserted island and can only have 3 things, what would they be?

My cat, for company and to keep vermin down. A large knife is a must for building shelters, preparing food and all manner of tasks. One of those fire starting things with a stone and a scraper would be good too. I really can’t see me rubbing two sticks together for long before getting bored and giving up, and eating raw food is not going to happen.

If you discovered a time machine, knew that it worked and how to activate it, what time would you go to and why?

Easy peasy, I would go five hundred years into the future to see how technology had progressed, whether we had got into space properly yet, and how we had evolved as a species.

If you knew tonight you were going to die, what would be your last meal?

Lobster, followed by tarte au citron. I’ve never had lobster but always wanted to try it. It’s a bit expensive so I’ve not yet indulged. I also love anything lemon, but it has to be sharp. I can’t bear citrus flavoured things that are made of sweetened pap.

If you had to choose between being a werewolf or a vampire, which one would you pick and why?

A vampire because you don’t become a hairy creature, then end up naked and miles from home. At least vampires keep their clothes on and can remain elegant.

Good answer.

Okay, I’m done torturing you. LOL. Not so bad, right?

Thanks for allowing me to visit with you, Merita. I wish you the best.

It’s been a pleasure Becki, thank you so much for inviting me to your blog.

Cheers!

Where to connect with Merita:

Website: http://www.meritaking.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MeritaKingNovelist?ref=bookmarks

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MeritaKing

Where to purchase her latest #sci-fi book:

Amazon USA - http://www.amazon.com/Trials-Nahda-Sinclair-V-Log-V-Logs-ebook/dp/B00LMFUGPG/

Amazon UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trials-Nahda-Sinclair-V-Log-V-Logs-ebook/dp/B00LMFUGPG/

#outlining, #planets, #sci-fi, #space, #writing, advice, author, characters, interview, 0 Comments

Interview with Chloe Thurlow

Hi, Chloe, Thanks for stopping by my blog to chat so me and my readers can get to know you and the type of books you write.

Let’s start with the basic questions first. Where are you from and when did you start writing stories?

I am English, a London girl, but because of my dad's job, I was born in Belgium, took my first steps in Italy and went to kindergarten in Canada. It all sounds rather exciting, but the memory was wiped clean when we returned to the UK and I was imprisoned in school in Kent. I came under the fierce hand of habit-wearing nuns who carried 12 inch rulers at all times and rapped your knuckles if they thought you were wearing mascara or had a button undone. I hated writing. It was so formulaic, so bound by rules, and didn't really put serious pen to serious paper until college.

Do you have another job besides writing? If not, what did you do before you became a full-time author?

I work sometimes as a tutor, sometimes as an events waitress where alpha males act like madmen at the zoo, and when I am not writing I get depressed. Writing full-time is my goal.

How old were you when you first started writing and what was your first story about?

All life is governed by cause and effect, coincidences that are not really coincidences at all. At college, my tutor had a former student who had become the editor of an erotic magazine. He encouraged me to write a story for the magazine, I was nineteen, and wrote about something I was quite ashamed of that had happened the previous year. I turned a real incident into fiction. It was liberating. My mind grew wings. The story was published and I had put my first step on the literary highway – with its bumps and cracks and turns and dangers.

How long does it take for you to write a novel?

A LONG time. Katie in Love took 13 months. I worry over every little word as if they are blind kittens that need care. All writing is re-writing. There are 3 secrets: editing editing editing. If you can say something with 8 words instead of 12, then you have made your text better.

Do you draft an outline beforehand?

No. In the park, a paragraph will fall from the sky like a leaf from the tree. I grab it and run home to write it down. I have written 6 novels and each one has started this way. The first paragraph is a key to a locked chest, I turn the lock and gaze inside to see what wonders are there.

Do you edit as you write or do you get the tale out in one shot, then go back and do your edits?

I edit as I write. It is like laying a mosaic, each word chiseled and polished before being slipped into place – which makes it painful, of course, when you edit and rip them up again. There is no point in writing a book unless it is the very best that it can be.

Do you have a writing schedule?

I am a night person. I sit up from two to six with the stars outside the window. That's the creative time. Then, all day, I think about my characters like a mother with her children, and they lead me through the story.

You write erotica. What made you decide to pick that genre?

It's all down to the first short story. My earlier books are about girls coming of age and exploring their sexuality. Katie in Katie in Love has been through that and is faced with the terrible mystery of love.

When you published your first erotica book, were you concerned with how people you know and your family would react towards you?

It was a nightmare. First, my mother thought she was the mother of Bella in The Secret Life if Girls and didn't talk to me for two years. My father, in his diplomatic way, was non-committal and my naughty uncle was thrilled. He bought copies for his friends and gave me, inappropriately, sexy underwear for my birthday, which I turned into fiction in Katie in Love. Mother and I have a flimsy truce and I gave her Katie in Love to read before it was published. There is a scene at the end of book between Katie and her mother and that is more fact than fiction.

How many erotica books have you published?

With Katie, it makes six. I have also published a guide to writing erotica called The Fifty Shades of Grey Phenomena.

How did you market them?

The other books were published by big boy publishers. I decided to go indy with Katie in Love because I have never been entirely satisfied with the other books (I hate the covers, for example). With Katie, I have done everything myself. I truly believe in the book and, if it has any success, it will be that much more pleasurable.

What are your future plans?

I suppose I will just keep writing. I can’t really do anything else.

Would you still write and publish books if you knew they weren’t going to sell, regardless of how good they are?

I don't allow that thought to enter my mind.

What would you do if you couldn’t be an author?

I would like to be a dancer, but I am already too old for that. Perhaps a mom, one day.

What inspires you?

I am inspired by contemporary life: politics, philosophy, art shows, new movies – yes, and wars in the Middle East, internet dating, nude-selfies, sexting, teenage fashion, TV anchorwomen (have you noticed, they all have great legs). I grab handfuls of everything that's going on around me and channel it into my books. Katie in Love is romance with a spicy sprinkling of erotica, but in the subtext, the underpinning, there is a lot more going on.

What are your favorite books?

A Spy in the House of Love, Anais Nin, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

What are your favorite movies?

I loved Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything; Nightcrawler, with Jake Gyllenhaal, and The Wizard of Oz.

Just for fun

If you can spend the day with one person—past or present—who would it be and why?

I would like to spend the day with Eddie Redmayne. I am not prepared to say why.

If you had one wish, what would it be? Oh, and no cheating. You can’t wish for more wishes.

I care about people, so peace and equality. But those things are beyond my capabilities and wishes, being self-interested, I would have to say that Katie in Love becomes a huge success, sells millions of copies and launches my career big time. With all that lovely money, I would be in a better position to be more practical when it comes to peace, equality and social issues.

If you came across a time machine and knew it worked, what time period would you go to and why?

I'd like to go back to the 1960s. There was an explosion in music, fashion, literature, lifestyles, freedom. After the wars and the austere years of the fifties, the western world seemed to come to life. There was full-employment, loads of opportunities to study, travel, to just be. The guys grew their hair. The girls slashed the hems of their skirts and the Beatles sang All You Need is Love.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

Spanish cava – lighter than champagne, less bubbles, 11% proof, so you can drink a lot, and it acts as an anesthetic, so when you fall over it doesn't hurt.

If you had to be an animal, what would it be and why?

A giraffe. They are vegetarians, partial to the sweetest leaves that have been warmed by the sun at the top of trees, they have a certain poise, a dignity, and they have beautiful long legs.

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three things would you want with you?

My laptop, a lifetime supply of batteries and a machete.

Okay, I’m done torturing you. LOL

Thank you so much for chatting with me. I enjoyed it.

Cheers, mate!

Katie in Love is a page-turning, heart-pumping romance with a surprise ending and one of my all-time favorite books -

Link for Amazon downloads - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S1SMMIG

Link for Amazon books - http://www.amazon.com/dp/1503014908

Write to Chloe at - chloe.thurlow@yahoo.co.uk

Read Chloe's extraordinary blogs at - www.chloethurlow.com

#erotica, #romance #london #sex #dating insecure, author, interview, new release, 2 Comments

Alana Munro is not only an author who wrote the best selling book Women Behaving Badly, she’s also an amazing person. She’s always willing to lend a helping hand, and I’m lucky to have met her this year.

Women Behaving Badly has been receiving excellent reviews. I love the cover. It’s brilliant, don’t you think?

Blurb:
Have you ever been hurt by a woman? Are you fed up with the constant bitching, gossiping and manipulation between the
females in your life? Do you want happier and healthier relationships with females? Do you wish to weed out the toxic women and seek out only positive women?

If you have ever wondered why some women are complicated creatures this book will offer you straight talking answers. This book will highlight all the strange, controlling and spiteful behaviours that some females specialise in. This book attempts to understand what actually drives women to be cruel or bitchy to each other. It attempts to make sense of the huge expectations women place on each other. How can you avoid toxic women? What bad behaviours should you be looking out for? This book explores every cruel behaviour possible and attempts to understand what is really going on between the females in your life.

　

Women Behaving Badly – Exposing the Truth about Female Friendship made it to #1 on Amazon Kindle USA during August 2013. She topped the paid books about ‘Emotions and Feelings’ chart on two separate occasions in August. She was even #5 for paid books about ‘Relationships’. This is a massive achievement if you consider the vastness of the American Kindle book market.

Bio:

Alana Munro lives in Australia with her husband, 3 kids and their puppy. Born in Scotland, she acquired a Bachelor of Arts degree from an Edinburgh University before jumping head first into motherhood. Alana spends much of her days trying to ignore the ever expanding pile of dirty washing, trying to write, counting down the hours till it is ‘wine o’clock’ (5pm is a respectable hour for a shiraz?) and sipping on camomile tea that’s went cold – again.
Initially Alana started writing articles and blogging. Through her early work she reconnected with her love of words. After two L-O-N-G years, two house moves and new baby added to the mix - Alana’s debut book, Women Behaving Badly was finally published.

In the first week alone, 500 books were downloaded from Amazon and with lots of pleasant reviews doing the rounds, Alana has been encouraged to write her second book.
In recent times, Alana runs a Google+ community for all writers, bloggers and poets. Support-a-Writer offers support and encouragement to all new writers. The members share marketing tips, discuss their writing ideas and cheer each other on. It is a very active and friendly community, do consider joining if you hope to discover new talent or you are a writer looking to connect. You will be sure to receive a warm welcome!

　

　

Interview Questions:

What were you like as a child?

I was quite shy but engaging with people I knew. I was a little bossy boots when I was really young! I loved time alone but also had no trouble meeting new friends. I was open and friendly to everyone. I wore my heart on my sleeve. I believed people were good and wouldn't hurt me, but sometimes they did hurt me badly. I was a day dreamer and romantic. I was vulnerable. I was trusting. I wanted desperately to believe that other people shared my innocence.

What’s your biggest regret?

I try not to hold onto regrets, but if I am honest I'd say I wish I had studied something completely different at university. Don't get me wrong - my business & marketing degree is useful but looking back there are other subjects that I would've been more passionate about. There's always time to remedy that. It's no big deal really but it is something I think about.

What would you do if the new house you moved into was haunted?

I'd be very freaked out. I'd definitely consider calling in a professional to politely ask the ghost to move on or help the ghost move forward.

What is your biggest fear?

Anything terrible happening to my children and husband. Nothing else bothers me, everything else can be fixed, changed etc, but if anything happens to them my entire world would unravel.

If you can go anywhere in the world, where would it be?

I'd go to France, Spain, or Italy. I'd eat and drink far too much! I love those countries. The lifestyle's brilliant, the foods good, the wines wonderful...what's not to love about that? :)

What’s your biggest turn off?

People who are rude, bitchy, people who think they are superior, and people who are snobby. I find people with these characteristics really off putting and I struggle to connect with them as people. They lack respect for other people and that's just not cool with me. I have become less tolerant to these toxic/negative people as I have grown older. Life is just too short to spend your time with people who bring you down.

I totally agree with you.

What’s your favorite movie?

Groundhog day - anything with Bill Murray wins me over. I also adore a lot of Tom Hanks movies - like Splash and Big. I watched those two movies a zillion times as a little girl. I loved them!

If you had the opportunity to know when and how you’re going to die, would you want to know?

Oh, I don't know! Part of me says yes, but then I'd probably go a bit loopy knowing my future reality. Wouldn't we all lose it if we knew when it was going to happen? I think most of us cope with the reality of our death by blocking it out. It's scary to consider. I have been considering my own mortality quite a lot recently. I think I am beginning to accept that life is short and I better make the most of it! I don't know if the knowledge of my death would bring me peace. But then again, you never know, knowing might be a good thing. If it says I will be eaten by a shark - I won't go near the beach ever again! ;)

What is your ultimate goal in life?

To find inner peace and to witness my beautiful boys grow up to become wonderful, compassionate humans who take their old mum out for her dinner on her Birthday. They can all carry me home after I've had too many martini's. I want to have quality relationships with my kids. That's incredibly important to me. Nothing else matters - so I guess you could say my ultimate goal is ensuring there's special bonds with our children that last a lifetime and beyond us existing. For me, it's all about building strong relationships with the people who matter.

How did you meet your husband and was it love at first sight?

I met my husband when I was 19, he was 20. I was on holiday in Majorca, Spain with a group of school friends, and he was with his school mates. Our paths crossed at the hotel bar. We just looked at each other, sized each other up, but we said nothing. I remember thinking, 'Wow, I need to see him again...somehow.' Thankfully he was thinking the same. That same night, our paths crossed again just a couple of hours later. I walked into a night club, and he was standing at the bar with his mates. My blood pressure must have sky rocketed, but I tried to look very cool and calm! This time I smiled at him. He came over to me and asked me to dance. That night we danced and had so much fun. I had to leave a week before him. Something in the pit of my stomach felt very wrong. It didn't feel nice to leave him. I came back to Scotland, and my parents could see the stars in my eyes and were a little bit worried - well, it was a holiday romance! But he called as soon as he returned and the rest is history!

What a wonderful story.

If you had to be an animal, which one would you be and why?

A bird. I'd love the freedom of flying high above and going wherever I pleased. No more busy airports!

Now to the professional questions:

How did you come up with the idea for your book?

I was exhausted by the negative experiences that were building up in my mind. I had one more grown woman turn abusive, petty and toxic on me, and I just snapped inside. I thought, 'I can't be the only woman in this world who has experienced all these nasty women?' I knew I had to write down my experiences. From those experiences, I started to break them down and try to 'make sense' of why some women would behave so badly. What was motivating their behaviour? Why did some women expect so much from their female friends? What was I doing wrong? How could women ensure they had healthier friendships with one another? Did Sisterhood actually exist between normal every day women? I had a lot to think about. Women Behaving Badly - Exposing the Truth about Female Friendship was born.

Are you an outliner or do you just go for it and write?

I need to have a rough idea of what I am trying to achieve. So I usually write a few pages worth of ideas and then build from the early ideas I have.

What are the things you did to promote your book?

This sounds pretty old school, I contacted the newspaper in my city. They ran a story about my book and from there the ABC radio network wanted to interview me. So from that I discovered that the more old fashioned media is still very worthwhile. I urge other authors to not ignore these more traditional media outlets. Don't just rely on social media. Authors need to use every outlet available. Of course, as it is 2013, I do use social media and my blog http://alanamunroauthor.com/ is a wonderful avenue for people to discover my book.

Do you plan on writing more books and if so what?

Yes, I'd love to. I need to make the time. I am busy with marketing my debut release, and I have a new book marketing business venture I am working on. But in time, I'd love to write another book. I'd like to do a follow up book of Women Behaving Badly. I am also working on a new inspirational, self-help book.

Did you always want to be a writer?
I wanted to be a lot of things! And why ever not, children should be allowed to dream and try new paths. I have always enjoyed writing, painting, photography, fashion, sociology, psychology - you name it, I love it! Whenever the teacher asked me to write what I wanted to be - I'd write so many ideas down. I didn't see why I had to just pick one, couldn't I try a few out? My school friends would say, 'Alana, just pick something!' But I didn't want to trap myself, I wanted to keep my options wide open. I'm still the same. I have a zillion different ideas and things I'd like to try.

If you can do anything in the world to make a living, what would it be?

Ideally I'd love to make enough from my book writing, but I am realistic, these days that is not so easy to achieve. I am looking into other avenues that still allows me to be creative. I am looking into starting a book marketing company with a friend who is a graphic artist. I'd provide the book marketing and she could custom design the book cover. We're hoping to offer pretty extensive packages to ensure authors gain genuine online exposure and we plan to keep our services affordable. I love to support authors, so this venture would certainly be a great role for me.

That would be awesome! I can always use some book marketing help. :)

Where can people find your book?

At Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, Tesco, WHSmith, Google Books.

Where can people contact you?

Simply go to my blog's contact page - http://alanamunroauthor.com/

I always make the time to reply to people. People can also connect with me on my social media platforms - all the links are on my blog too.

Thank you so much for stopping by to chat with me. I enjoyed it.

author, best seller, bio, blurb, brilliant, interview, spotlight, 2 Comments

Hi Elle. Thank you for stopping by to talk to us about your middle-grade book The Tree of Mindala.

Wonderful to be here! Thanks for having me!

So why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself, and when did you started writing stories?

Well, my professional background includes software programmer and sales, but my favorite title (besides wife and mom of course) is author. I've been writing stories on and off ever since I was about seven years old. I loved reading so much, and I hoped that other people would love my stories as much as I loved other people's stories. And it's fun!

I love the cover of this book. Who created it and did you have any say in the design?

Thanks! Glendon Haddix at Streetlight Graphics created it. I gave him some basic conceptual story information and then he whipped something up. It took a few cycles of tweaking to get it just right, which is all just part of the process. I'm very pleased with the final version.

What is your story about?

Miranda Moon is an almost-twelve-year old girl whose vivid imagination has a way of getting her into trouble. She embarks (unexpectedly) on an adventure with her straight-laced, pessimistic younger brother, Marcus. They arrive in a place called Wunderwood, where magic flows through the trees and everyone already knows their family name. Coincidentally, an evil warlock, Thornton Crow, has just been freed from a long banishment, and resumes his agenda to find The Tree of Mindala, the source of all the magic in the realm, and seize it for his own. Miranda and Marcus discover branches of their own family tree that they hadn't even known existed. And that Thornton has a score to settle with anyone in their bloodline. Especially them.

When Miranda discovers just how Thornton came to be freed from his prison, she realizes its up to her to stop him. She must decide if she can carry out the task that will either save Wunderwood or doom it forever.

Ultimately, this is a story about the importance of overcoming your greatest fears, and the virtue of striving for balance in life.

How did you come up with this story?

I guess it's possible that I have a vivid imagination too. (Maybe it's a case of art imitating life? ;) One fall day around Halloween, I was home with a migraine, looking out the window at the leaves on my patio that were swirling in the brisk wind that just happened to be howling. It was a little spooky, but I thought it was beautiful at the same time. I've always loved Halloween, and by the end of that day (after a few doses of headache medicine), Miranda Moon was born and I had a rough outline of the story fleshed out.

Did you do an outline before you started writing it?

Yes, I learned pretty early on that I save myself a lot of rewrite time by having the story all planned out and documented before actually beginning the writing step.

How long did it take you to write?

About a year.

What is the hardest part about writing a book?

I think the planning stage is the hardest. The general idea of the story is easy. (I have no shortage of those!) But making sure all the details gel with each other and all the loose ends come together at the end is a painstaking process, at least for me, but when it's done, the actual writing goes much faster.

Who is your favorite character and why?

That's a tough one. That's almost like asking me which of my children I love more! But if I have to choose one, I guess I'd have to say Skye. His ability to morph into any creature that he's ever encountered gives him a unique perspective. Also, he's fiercely loyal. Though he's a good guy, there's little he would hesitate to do to protect those that he loves.

What is your favorite middle-grade book and why?

There are so many I love, new and old! My absolute favorite when I was a middle-grader myself has to be The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe from C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. As an adult, the Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud stands out, but I really can't choose which one out of the three. They're too good. I just can't!

Okay, now for some silly questions to shake things up a bit.

If you were given the choice to have one magical ability, what would it be?

Easy. Ever since I could remember, I've always wished I didn't need sleep. Now, I know the ability to stay up forever and function normally may not sound like magic, strictly speaking. But to me, what I could accomplish in those 6-8 hours everyday would be magical!

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three items would you want to have with you?

Do they have to be real? If not: my solar powered kindle, loaded to the limit; magic seeds that will thrive in sand and yield pizza, popcorn, and ice cream; and a bottomless bottle of ice cold ginger ale. If they have to be real: a really long and really good book, a net to catch fish with, and a desalination bottle for drinking water that has a handle with a swiss army knife tucked into it. (Those exist, right?)

If you were an animal, what animal would you be and why?

A gorilla. They're mainly vegetarian (if I had to kill my dinner, I would starve), they're highly intelligent, and very family-oriented.

If you could change anything in this world, what would you change?

Lack of empathy and compassion, and the inability of some people to keep their hurtful opinions to themselves. My mom taught me, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. I really try to live by those words. But these days, it seems like some people think it's their right to attack people who don't see things the way that they do. I see a lot of meanness, over the internet especially. Now, I'm all for free speech, but I think stating one's opinions does not necessarily need to come with the choice words and names some people have for anyone who doesn't see things exactly the way they do. The words can escalate to much more serious incidents, as we all know. I believe that everyone is a product of their circumstances and that their experiences shape their opinions. We should respect each other's differences, try to see things from each other's perspectives, and learn from each other. Not belittle or attack anyone with different opinions. The short answer: Just be nice. It feels good!

If you could ask a genuine psychic one question, what would it be?

I like surprises! I don't think I want to know anything in advance. But maybe, if the psychic could make me forget right after, I would ask for a glimpse of my kids' futures. It would be fun to see what's in store for them. But only for a minute. I'd really rather watch firsthand!

In 1990, a movie came out called Flatliners. It was about five medical students who conducted an experiment to produce a near-death experience so they could see what was on the other side. If you were one of those students and knew you would come back without any physical harm done to you, would you?

No. Again, I like surprises. The way I see it, I'll be there soon enough. No need to rush it ;) Besides, I saw that movie. I thought it was kinda scary!

Okay, let's get serious again.

LOL.

When is your next book coming out, and do you have a title for it yet?

I don't want to jinx myself, but I'm aiming to have the next one out by fall. The working title is The Triad of the Tree.

Where can people find you and your book?

The Tree of Mindala: Wunderwood Book One is available at Amazon, Smashwords, B&N.com, and most major online retailers. I would love for people to connect with me on Goodreads and/or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/elle.jacklee.

Is there anything you'd like to say before you go?

I just want to say thanks so much, Rebekkah, for having me! I've really enjoyed being here and answering your thought-provoking questions!

You're welcome and thanks again for stopping by. I enjoyed talking with you. :)

author, interview, midde-grade, story, writing, 2 Comments

Today I have author Michelle Cohen Corasanti here to tell us about her book The Almond Tree.

So why don't you tell us about yourself and when did you start writing stories?

I witnessed something, over twenty years ago, that affected me so deeply that despite all my best efforts, I could no longer repress it. I remember the exact moment I decided to become a writer. I had just started reading Khaled Hosseni’s book, The Kite Runner. I was lying on a lounge chair, by the pool, at the Setai hotel, in South Beach, sipping a cosmopolitan. I was on vacation with my husband and twins. I didn’t have a care in the world until Amir, the protagonist, said that the past can’t be buried, that it finds the means to claw its way out. And like Amir, my past found a way to call me. And there I was face-to-face with my worst nightmares and my greatest failures. One might say a defining moment. And I decided, that I wanted my children to know, that I had seen injustice and that I would try to do something about it. And so I wrote the story that had been inside of me for so long.

I grew up in a Jewish home in which German cars were boycotted and Israeli bonds were plentiful. Other than the blue-and-white tin Jewish National Fund sedakah box my family kept in the kitchen and the money we would give to plant trees in Israel, all I knew was that after the Holocaust, the Jews found a land without a people for a people without a land. And the Jews were always persecuted for no reason.

I went to Israel in high school to get some freedom from my strict parents. I was looking for fun. Unfortunately, I became like the witness who saw too much. It was very apparent that everything I had been taught was a lie.

When I returned to the US seven years later, I wanted to devote my life to bringing about justice and peace there. After ten years of college, degrees in Middle Eastern studies and law school, I met my husband and jumped ship. I just saved myself. The Kite Runner gave me the idea of how I could achieve my goal because he taught me that a writer could reach into people’s hearts and change them forever.

What is The Almond Tree about, and how did you come up with the idea?

The Almond Tree recasts the Palestinians in Israel and Gaza, a people frequently in the news, but often misrepresented and more misunderstood’ I think the author Les Edgerton described my book well. In his words:

Ichmad’s story is a big-hearted story of a small Palestinian boy who learns to survive in a brutal environment and doesn’t simply endure, but emerges from the fire with the wisdom gleaned from the example of a father who has taught him that all men have value, even their enemies. A tale of innocence moving through a vicious world, compassion learned against an environment of daily horrors, and wisdom forged through a boy’s journey through a life we would never wish upon our own children.

The book’s universal message of resilience, hope and forgiveness will hit home with anyone who has faced adversity. I try to show the human side of the conflict and explore themes of redemption, family sacrifice and the benefits of education and tolerance

I got the idea for the book from a Palestinian I met when I was at Harvard. He was doing his post-doctorate there with a Noble Prize winner and his Israeli professor and I just saw how strong the Palestinians and the Israelis were when they worked together. That’s where I got the seed of the story.

Who is your favorite character and why?

The protagonist, Ichmad Hamid because against all odds, he goes on to achieve greatness.

What was the hardest part about writing this book?

Writing the Jewish American human rights activist was the hardest part. With hindsight, I can say I tried to make her into everything I wished I could have been and failed to be. I couldn’t give her any flaws. No one liked her and so I was forced to shorten her role.

How long did it take you to write it?

When I decided to write my novel, I thought I would finish it in three months. I already had the seed for the story. Seven years, twenty-one writing classes and 6 editors later, I completed the task.

What is your favorite scene in this story and why? If you have more than one favorite, then just pick one.

My favorite scene is when Ichmad realizes that in saving himself and his family, he left his people behind and he tries to shine a light as bright as he could on his people.

Where can people find your book?

It’s available on amazon, barnesandnoble.com and most on-line venues as an e-book and a paperback and some select stores.

Do you have anything else you'd like to say or add to this interview?

Thank you so much for the interview

You're welcome. It was a pleasure chatting with you.