Jul 18, 2024 | Editors' Blog, Interviews, Mystery, Romance
Today, we’re talking with Donna B. Comeaux about her book, Breathe for Me
Tell us something unexpected about yourself!
The most unexpected thing about me is my tenaciousness to complete and publish my novel. It's quite an accomplishment. And I've enjoyed every moment of this journey.
Why do you write?
I write because there would be nowhere for the crazies to go that are inside my head.
Where did you get the inspiration for your current book?
Every Breath You Take by Judith McNaught.
What do you enjoy the most about your genre?
Because there are so many subgenres, writers now have the freedom to be more creative. Romantic suspense can encapture bad villains and include whimsical fantasies or unleash dragons. It really excites me to be able to explore this amount of creativity without the boundaries that once held us back.
How would you describe your writing process?
My writing ritual requires me to get up before sunrise to check my social media platforms, then begin work on the rewrites of my next novel. It's literary fiction. I hope to launch it by early 2025.
What do you think authors have to gain from participating in social media?
If you exude patience and do it right, authors can gain meaningful relationships through social media. But it takes time, one person at a time. Being authentic is key. I'm not at all good at this and it's taken me a while to accept the fact that I must heavily invest in this part of book marketing.
What advice would you have for other writers?
I encourage all writers to do two things: never give up on their dreams, and perfect your writing in every way possible. Proofread your work. It's the only representation of you that your readers see.
How do you select your books’ titles and covers?
I usually begin writing a book with a theme in mind, and from that theme comes my title. I will sometimes sit for hours just working on the title. And there have been times that I won't begin writing until the title is firm in my mind.
What's your next step?
I'm presently working on a literary fiction novel that I hope to release in early 2025. After that, I have a crime and detective novel halfway finished that I would love to complete. I have many stories I've started, so I'm not short of ideas or projects to work on.
What book do you wish you'd written?
Not so much a book but a style of writing. I want to one day write a book that George Orwell refers to as windowpane writing. To write that clear and concise fascinates me.
How do you react to seeing a new review for your book?
Nothing excites me more than receiving new book reviews. I get to hear everyone's viewpoint of the book. I learn a lot from my readers. I've even thought of new ideas for a book while reading them. Most of all, they make me smile.
FIND DONNA'S BOOK ON AMAZON
Jul 10, 2024 | Editors' Blog, Crime, Interviews, Mystery, Thriller
Today, we’re talking with Sheila Lowe about her book,
Tell us something unexpected about yourself!
I am a forensic document examiner. One of my sons is a rock star, the other is a tattoo artist.
Why do you write?
I am compelled to.
Where did you get the inspiration for your current book?
While attending my high school reunion, many classmates asked me to write about a murder at a reunion. So I did.
What do you enjoy the most about your genre?
Getting to understand what motivates the characters to behave the way they do.
How would you describe your writing process?
Haphazard until I finally settle down. Then I loosely outline, never look at the outline again, and work at writing 1000 new words a day. This consists of starting with what I wrote the day before and expanding on it.
What do you think authors have to gain from participating in social media?
Exposure. Apparently, readers like to feel they know the authors they enjoy reading. Wider distribution. It's a great way to get free PR.
What advice would you have for other writers?
Learn the craft before you start publishing. Leave out most of the adverbs. Understand that even if you have a major publisher, you will be expected to do most of your own marketing. Writing a book is hard. Getting it published is harder. Selling it is the hardest of all.
How do you select your books’ titles and covers?
My titles are all puns on handwriting (my character is a forensic handwriting expert). The current covers are tied to the locations where the stories take place.
What's your next step?
Starting to write the fourth book in my other series (Beyond the Veil). Continuing to market MAXIMUM PRESSURE.
What book do you wish you'd written?
Ashes to Ashes by Tami Hoag.
How do you react to seeing a new review for your book?
If it's a 5 star one, with great pleasure.
FIND SHEILA'S BOOK ON AMAZON
Jul 9, 2024 | Editors' Blog, Crime, Interviews, Mystery, Sci-fi
Today, we’re talking with James Lance about his book,
Tell us something unexpected about yourself!
I once woke up in a hospital in Spain. I had no idea how I got there.
Why do you write?
To entertain, to help give someone that necessary escape we all need at times. If I can inform and educate on top of that, that's even better.
Where did you get the inspiration for your current book?
All around me; everything I've read, heard people say, seen with my eyes. Many great authors, including Huxley and Pullman, helped along the way.
What do you enjoy the most about your genre?
It allows you to fully utilise your imagination as long as you follow the rules.
How would you describe your writing process?
Partly hyper-organised and strict, partly chaotic and mad. My sleep pattern agrees!
What do you think authors have to gain from participating in social media?
You can reach new fans and establish a following. You'll find people that like your style and the way you write.
What advice would you have for other writers?
Trite but true: never give up. This is a long game, and you improve every day. Keep going, keep writing. Find an author who inspires you, someone with experience. In my case: Anthony Horowitz, who once told me to be ‘persistent to the point of annoyance'.
How do you select your books’ titles and covers?
Both the title and cover have to quickly summarise the mood and feel that readers can expect—the story they're getting involved with before turning a single page. We've all seen a book title and cover before, and instinctively, thought: ‘I think this was made for me'.
What's your next step?
I haven't taken a holiday in over six years. It's time to recharge! After that, it's on to the second book.
What book do you wish you'd written?
The Great Gatsby.
How do you react to seeing a new review for your book?
I think: ‘Someone actually read me?'
FIND JAMES'S BOOK ON AMAZON
Jul 4, 2024 | Editors' Blog, Interviews, Mystery, Sci-fi
Today, we’re talking with Nathan Gregory about his book,
Tell us something unexpected about yourself!
I make things up. That's what we writers do, make things up.
Why do you write?
After the crash of the 2000s I became depressed. As an outlet, self-therapy, I started writing. I never wrote for any audience but myself, and never had any intention of publishing. But a good friend persuaded me to put that first story, ‘Chromosome Quest,' on Amazon, and to my shock and surprise, it sold. It keeps selling, a steady trickle, but sales nonetheless, and spawned two sequels and a prequel. This new book is a sequel to the prequel. But old CQ outsells all the other books combined, to my constant amazement.
Where did you get the inspiration for your current book?
The current book flows naturally from the ones before it in the series. The series, the entire story arc, is deeply rooted in various mythologies around UFOs, extraterrestrial life, and ancient aliens. The story arc represents my original ideas about how Aliens might exist on Earth. I borrow equally from Erich Von Daniken and E.E. “Doc” Smith. I used so much of Smith's fictional world in ‘Chromosome Conspiracy' that I asked the author's estate, in the person of his grandson, for permission, which he kindly granted.
What do you enjoy the most about your genre?
As an engineer, one might assume my interest lies with the technological innovations and fantastical worlds depicted in sci-fi. There is truth in that, but I equally enjoy exploring the ways in which these speculative futures reflect and critique our present-day societal structures and norms. Science fiction serves as a lens through which complex issues such as power, identity, and morality can be explored in imaginative and thought-provoking ways.
How would you describe your writing process?
Three cups (at least) of strong coffee, NIFOC, and total silence. I usually start sometime between 3 AM and 4 AM, and stop when the coming day refuses to accept “go away.”
What advice would you have for other writers?
Illegitimi non carborundum. Scribe ut tibi ipsi placere primum. (Don't let the bastards grind you down. Write to please yourself first.)
How do you select your books’ titles and covers?
I consult the stars, deciphering their cryptic dance, for in their celestial choreography lies the truth of my decisions. If that doesn't work, I often find I must kill a chicken for the blood and entrails to use in an obscure little ritual that was handed down from my distant Scots-Irish ancestors.
What's your next step?
I think I may step back from fiction for a while. I have two non-fiction works I'd like to complete. But before I get to work on those, I want to take a road trip. A long road trip.
What book do you wish you'd written?
I won't say I exactly wish I had written it, but a book which I love, which I can deeply relate to due to having grown up in the “Bible Belt,” and which I feel is vastly underrated, is Heinlein's “JOB: A Comedy of Justice”
How do you react to seeing a new review for your book?
trepidation. fear. And sometimes, a sigh of blessed relief.
FIND NATHAN'S BOOK ON AMAZON
