Author, Melanie Benjamin, hits the scene with her historical novel and debut, ALICE I HAVE BEEN, to much buzz.  The story is an inspired what-if speculation on the life of Alice Liddell, muse to Lewis Carroll and template for one of the most recognizable characters in all of literature - the very Alice who tumbles down the rabbit hole into Wonderland.  The book is climbing lists and gathering speed, so it’s quite nice to catch Ms. Benjamin before she’s too busy for us.

We’d like to thank her for taking the time to be part of our “5 Minutes Alone” interview series.

AuthorScoop: What was your very first publication credit?

Melanie: Many years ago, I had an idea for a parenting essay; I tossed it off, sent it to a local parenting publication, and was offered my own column.  I thought publishing was so simple - little did I know how hard it would be in the ensuing years!  The ease of that first publication credit did not prepare me for the inevitable rejection that’s part of every author’s life.

AuthorScoop: Tell us about your latest release.

Melanie: ALICE I HAVE BEEN is a book of historical fiction, about the life of Alice Liddell, the little girl who inspired Lewis Carroll’s ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND.  It’s also about their friendship; how it gave the world Wonderland, but also changed their lives forever in ways that were both beautiful and tragic.  It haunted Alice through her long, eventful life - which included a rumored romance with a prince of England, and sending all three of her sons off to fight in World War I - until, near the age of 80, she finally seemed able to embrace her literary legacy.

AuthorScoop: Aside from your own hard work, who (or what) else do you feel has contributed to your success?

Melanie: Two things - reading is the primary one.  I really do believe the best education a writer can get is a lifelong love of reading, particularly in the genre they wish to write.  Second is my ability to look forward, not back; I don’t get too attached to my words and if something doesn’t work out, I toss it - even whole manuscripts! - if I think it’s not working out.  Then I begin something new.  This ability has really saved my career.

AuthorScoop: At what time of day or night do you do your best writing?

Melanie: Afternoon and after dinner.  I’m not a morning person!

AuthorScoop: Finally, what advice would you give to new or unpublished writers?

Melanie: Read, read, read!  Read everything you can, read what’s being published today.  And also - respect.  Work hard at the craft of writing, give it years of study and practice as you would any other artform.  The Internet has made it all too easy to think we’re all writers; the ease of seeing your words instantly on a screen or a blog can lull a person into thinking she doesn’t have to work that hard.  We all do.

ALICE I HAVE BEEN is in bookstores now and available at online retailers, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com for both delivery and Kindle or Nook download.

Jamie Ford first visited with us at the release of his debut novel, HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET, when the steam was just clearing the stack.  That was nearly a year ago and, boy, what a year.  Bestseller lists, book tours, a paperback release, and film-adaptation rumors, and the train just keeps on rolling.

So I asked if he’d come back and update us on a life in the year of a really successful debut novelist. He said yes.

We’d like to thank him for taking the time to be part of our “5 Minutes Alone” interview series.

AuthorScoop: So, it’s been quite a year for you.  Of course this process began well more that a year ago, though.  What’s the timeline of HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET, from its inception to AuthorScoop hitting you up with this questionaire?

Jamie: Well, after I sold my soul to the Devil in the spring of 2006, it’s been a blur, lots of book touring, editing, fire and brimstone, etc.

AuthorScoop: For a debut novel to have made this big of a splash, you’d have to get a unique take on your freshman year in the publishing trenches.  How’s the water in the deep end?

Jamie: I’m still holding my breath. The book has this life of its own now. Whatever the book does is great, but I’m still just this obscure creative person doing my thing, and I’m fine with that. When HOTEL hit certain bestseller lists, it was exciting and all, and obviously my editor and agent are thrilled, but the sun doesn’t shine brighter, birds don’t chirp any sweeter, and food doesn’t taste any better. Life just keeps going. Business as usual. Though I still get calls from friends and relatives asking, “Hey, did you know your book is at Target?”

AuthorScoop: With all of your book tour travels and general hubbub, it’s probably safe to guess that this last year has been unlike any other.  But what’s been the same for you?

Jamie: I never dreamed I’d spend so much time on the road. In 2009 I must have spent 100+ nights in hotels. Nice hotels with room service, but still, that’s a lot of time away from home, away from my family, away from my writing desk.

The things that haven’t changed have been my home life. I didn’t go out and buy a Porsche or anything. After I got my first royalty check, I think I went out and bought the first season of Mad Men, and then a week later the second season, that’s about it. I love the process of writing, the research, the time spent in Storyland. I’d write even if no one read my books, it’s just an enjoyable creative pastime. I still read pages at a local open mic night. Plus, I really live off the grid. It’s so nice to fight my way through LA traffic and come home to Montana. I’ll be in my backyard mowing the lawn and my neighbor still asks, “Hey, are you ever gonna finish that novel thing you were working on.”

AuthorScoop: And with the accomplishment of this past year secured, what new advice would you offer to aspiring novelists?

Jamie: Don’t sign the contract in blood. If only I’d known…

AuthorScoop: What’s next for Jamie Ford?

Jamie:Just handed in a new book, Whispers of a Thunder God, to my editor at Ballantine. I wrote it off and on, between my travels, during my travels, so there’s more rewriting involved this time. Sort of like putting on your dress and then deciding to iron it, there’s some pain involved.

I’m also researching a YA project and still kicking around a short fiction collection. And there’s talk of a stage production of HOTEL, but like the film thing, it’s a longshot.

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CJ Lyons‘ work has been inspired (and made to ring true) by her career as a pediatric ER doctor, and her public speaking benefits from a bit of both of her vocations.  With three well-received medical suspense novels on the shelves, she’s a busy lady.

We’d like to thank her for taking the time to be part of our “5 Minutes Alone” interview series.

AuthorScoop: What was your very first publication credit?

CJ: I’ve been writing pretty much all my life (telling tales even longer, lol!)  My first attempt at publication (ie. Allowing “grown ups” to read my writing) came in third grade when I was the writer, director, producer and one of the voice talents for a weekly radio broadcast over the school PA system.

My first actual writing credit was a few years later when the school paper serialized my story about a blind Civil War orphan and her horse as they traveled the countryside helping people caught in the chaos of the war. All my stories back then had horses in them, even one I won my very first writing award for: The Red-headed Rebel, about a girl and a real-life distant relative of mine during the Revolutionary War, and yes, her horse….

AuthorScoop: Tell us about your latest release.

CJ: URGENT CARE is Book #3 in my Angels of Mercy series.  This series is a cross-genre blend of medical suspense with thriller pacing, romantic elements and is told from the point of view of the women of Pittsburgh’s Angels of Mercy’s ER.  In URGENT CARE, ER charge nurse Nora Halloran must face her greatest fear: the man who attacked and left her for dead two years ago.  Now he’s back and killing his victims, with Nora and the man she loves his next targets.

AuthorScoop: Aside from your own hard work, who else do you feel has contributed to your success?

CJ: Too many people to count!  Reader friends who give me honest feedback, writer friends who give me encouragement and the occasional kick in the butt, even bestsellers who have lent their support and mentorship.  Not to mention my medical colleagues and patients who taught me the true meaning of courage.  In fact, URGENT CARE is dedicated to all the nurses who worked with me during my 17 years of practicing pediatrics.

AuthorScoop: At what time of day or night do you do your best writing?

CJ: There’s no one “prime” time for me—I’m a terribly unregimented writer, I’m afraid.  Rebellion against all those years of my medical practice requiring me to be extremely regimented.  Now I write what I want, when I want, and it’s all fun!

AuthorScoop: Finally, what advice would you give to new or unpublished writers?

CJ: The best advice I have is exactly what I use as my own credo and teach my writing students: No Rules, Just Write!

If you have the vision, passion, and commitment to make your dreams come true (and believe me, it takes all three!) then you don’t need any rules.  Stop looking for the “right” way and put your butt in the chair and get to work.  No Rules, Just Write!

URGENT CARE is available in bookstores now, and through Amazon.com for delivery and Kindle download.

Gail Konop Baker is a memoirist, novelist, journalist, poet, patient advocate, long-distance runner, yoga instructor, mother, wife, cancer survivor, aaaaand blogger, among other things.  Her column, Bare-breasted Mama over at Literary Mama, was the first incarnation and inspiration for her latest book, CANCER IS A BITCH - OR I’D RATHER BE HAVING A MIDLIFE CRISIS, which is re-released in paperback from Da Capo this week - just in time for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

We’d like to thank her for taking the time to be part of our “5 Minutes Alone” interview series.

AuthorScoop: What was your very first publication credit?

Gail: Wow, you’re making me go waaay back! My first publication credit was a poem in college in the college literary magazine, XANADU. The name of the poem is Still Life and it went on to win a couple of awards and be anthologized in a book funded by the Ohio Arts Council. I was 20 at the time and surprisingly, I am not embarrassed by the poem!

AuthorScoop: Tell us about your latest release.

Gail: It is a memoir called CANCER IS A BITCH (Or, I’d Rather be Having a Midlife Crisis) released in hard cover last fall and recently re-released in paperback this fall. It is based on a health scare I had in 2006 (I am fine now!) that set off a midlife reckoning and caused me to question all aspects of my life, my marriage, my motherhood, my womanhood. Made me wonder about the choices I had made and the ones I hadn’t made and ask myself when I would start to be the person I meant to be and live the life I meant to live.

AuthorScoop: Aside from your own hard work, who else do you feel has contributed to your success?

Gail: Years of writing. It takes a lot of practice just like learning to play an instrument. I heard Grace Paley once say that you should write what you are most afraid to write and also not write unless you are absolutely compelled. I think those two pieces of advice helped me write urgently and authentically. That’s how I wrote my memoir. I’m trying to tap into that for my new book also!

AuthorScoop: At what time of day or night do you do your best writing?

Gail: Morning is probably best but I also feel that’s the best time to exercise (especially with the marathon coming up). So those two demands often compete. Ideally, I would roll out of bed and before having any contact with the world I would write 1000 words. Of course that’s unrealistic with two dogs and my son and the running demands and the newspaper and facebook and the 30 e-mails that need answering and… but one day…

AuthorScoop: Finally, what advice would you give to new or unpublished writers?

Gail: What Grace Paley said above. Also, “Trust thyself.” That’s Emerson. He was a wise man. And perhaps most importantly, don’t overthink writing. I think overthinking it is a HUGE hindrance. When I teach I tell my students, “You’ve done all the thinking. Now just pick up your pen (yes I DO like pen on paper first, so I guess that’s another piece of advice!) and move it across the page.” They usually look at me like I’m crazy and I so I repeat that and long before they’re all writing! Try it! Pick up your pen! Go on. I’m waiting…

CANCER IS A BITCH - OR I’D RATHER BE HAVING A MIDLIFE CRISIS is available in bookstores now, and through Amazon.com.

Jill Starishevsky is an Assistant District Attorney in New York City whose experiences in and out of the courtroom compelled her to a feat of tireless effort in launching, MY BODY BELONGS TO ME, a picture book tackling issues of childhood sexual abuse.  The highwire act of balancing honesty and age-appropriateness has yielded a thoughtful and frank book that is stirring some pretty powerful reactions nationwide.

We’d like to thank her for taking the time to be part of our “5 Minutes Alone” interview series.

AuthorScoop: What was your very first publication credit?

Jill: The first time I was published was actually in high school.  I wrote a sonnet entitled The Naked Ride which was selected for publication in a book of anthologies called Windows of the World.

AuthorScoop: Tell us about your latest release.

Jill: I am a prosecutor of child abuse and sex crimes in New York City and have written a new children’s book to teach children if someone touches them inappropriately to tell a parent or teacher right away.  Praised by parents, educators and the medical community, “My Body Belongs to Me” is a vital tool that can facilitate a lifesaving dialogue.  Speaking to children on their own terms, this critically acclaimed book sensitively establishes boundaries for youngsters. In a non-threatening, engaging manner, this guide teaches kids that when it comes to their body, there are some parts that are for “no one else to see” and empowers them to tell a parent or teacher if someone touches them inappropriately. Telling the story of a gender-neutral child who is inappropriately touched by an uncle’s friend, this tale delivers a powerful moral when the youngster reveals the offender and the parents praise the child’s bravery.

AuthorScoop: Aside from your own hard work, who else do you feel has contributed to your success?

Jill: Without a doubt, I could not have accomplished all that I have without the help of my incredible husband.  Not only is he supportive and generous with his time, he is there to do the heavy lifting when I haven’t the strength.  We spent many a night doing research, editing, writing copy for marketing and stuffing envelopes.  Nothing compares to the confidence derived from knowing you have a partner at your side at all times.

AuthorScoop: At what time of day or night do you do your best writing?

Jill: After the children are asleep and the house is quiet, things tend to get done.  11pm - 1 am are the most productive hours for me.

AuthorScoop: Finally, what advice would you give to new or unpublished writers?

Jill: If you feel passionate about what you are writing, convey that passion in your work and you will be successful.  When the writing is done, your hard work has only begun.  The task of getting people to learn about your work and appreciate its value, takes a lot of time and believing in your work is the first step.  Keep telling yourself - one person can truly make a difference.

MY BODY BELONGS TO ME is available in bookstores now, and through Ms. Starishevsky’s website and on Amazon.com

Masha Hamilton is a journalist and fiction author, and her fourth novel, 31 HOURS, is released from Unbridled Books today. Ms. Hamilton is known for her coverage of the world’s hotspots and for her poetic style, and this chillingly timely topic sits at bold juxtaposition to her lyricism.

We’d like to thank her for taking the time out to be part of our “5 Minutes Alone” interview series.

AuthorScoop: What was your very first publication credit?

Masha: I was one of those who always knew I needed to write. In elementary school, I had a poem in a national anthology, submitted by my teacher, and at the same time, (although this isn’t really a publication credit), I was producing bi-monthly editions of a family newspaper, full of news of the most local kind! I think some of those still survive somewhere.

AuthorScoop: Tell us about your latest release.

Masha: 31 HOURS is my fourth novel. I wrote the first draft in one intense month sequestered at Blue Mountain Center, a nurturing artists’ retreat, in a tiny room overlooking the calm and non-judgmental Blue Mountain Lake. The location allowed me, in the writing, to touch on my deepest fears as a mother, as an American and a New Yorker. (Then, of course, I needed many more months of revision to truly get it ready.) The novel takes place in and around the subway system. The edgy poetry of the subway is the foundation for the story, which is about missed connections, about the search for religious or spiritual guidance, and about mothering a young adult in this chaotic world. It asks the reader to suspend easy judgments, so it’s a demanding book in that way. It’s also a story that takes place with a ticking clock in the background – as the novel opens, there are just 31 hours left to change the course of not just one young man’s life, but the lives of many.

AuthorScoop: Aside from your own hard work, who else do you feel has contributed to your success?

Masha: The support of my family has been crucial. My agent, Marly Rusoff, is the very best in the business in every way. The wise editing eyes of Unbridled’s Fred Ramey, ditto. The entire Unbridled Books team daily goes out on a limb for their books. For a writer, that’s an enormous gift – bigger than I can ever truly thank them for.

AuthorScoop: At what time of day or night do you do your best writing?

Masha: When my kids were very little, I got up at 4 a.m. so I could write before my day dissolved into fish sticks and wet wipes. I still usually do my best work in the morning, but sometimes I find myself  working into the night as well.

AuthorScoop: Finally, what advice would you give to new or unpublished writers?

Masha: Probably the same advice I keep trying to give myself: keep writing, no matter what, and write into your deepest issues, the ones you care most about, the subjects that scare you or that seem forbidden or risky. Then love the revision process as if it were your best friend, which it probably is. If you need support during the long lonely process of writing, reach out for it – either by going to workshops or by diving into poetry or hiking in the woods or near water, something that grounds you and connects you again to both yourself and the world around you.

31 HOURS is available now in bookstores and is available, just for the clicking and credit card, at Amazon.com.

Hannah Moskowitz’s debut novel, BREAK, hit the shelves this week from Simon Pulse Books and is opening to some terrific reviews.

We’d like to thank her for taking time out of her first-week festivities to be part of our “5 Minutes Alone” interview series.

AuthorScoop: What was your very first publication credit?

Hannah: No short stories, no articles, no anything even in a school newspaper. My first publication credit was a YA novella with an e-book publisher when I was fourteen. It was hugely ridiculously exciting at the time, when I had decided, for some reason I don’t remember, that there was no place for me in mainstream publishing. I went through the deal and the release of that ebook without an agent. I got my first agent just before I turned seventeen, and BREAK sold a few months later.

AuthorScoop: Tell us about your latest release.

Hannah: BREAK is about a seventeen-year-old boy named Jonah who wants to break all his bones. It’s a self-injury novel for people who hate other self-injury novels. I think of it as a dark comedy. I came up with the premise first and then built up reasons why someone would conceivably try something this ridiculous. The book still isn’t completely plausible–it still is, at least partially, a satire–but my hope is that, when you see how much stuff is crushing Jonah, his plan makes some semblance of sense.

It’s also a book about siblings, because I feel like so much YA is more concerned with friends or romantic relationships. Jonah’s close with his best friend and his sort-of-girlfriend, but he’s much closer with his younger brother, who’s a major part of the story and Jonah’s motivation for breaking his bones. I think so much of what you see of YA siblings revolves around competitive relationships, anger at a sibling, etc. Jonah loves his brother.

AuthorScoop: Aside from your own hard work, who else do you feel has contributed to your success?

Hannah: Luck. It is hugely, hugely luck. I’ve written thirteen books, but this is the one that was right for the market this second, and it’s the one that found the right people at the right time. Writing a good book is incredibly important, but it’s impossible to deny that, yeah, luck is involved. I’ve written good books that haven’t sold. I’ve also written terrible books I’m thanking God didn’t sell back when I thought they were awesome. Luck is huge.

Those amazing people I mentioned are absolutely to blame for my success, as well. My editor at Simon Pulse is absolutely my hero, and the BREAK on bookshelves is miles better from the BREAK she took on and fixed.

AuthorScoop: At what time of day or night do you do your best writing?

Hannah: Late. Probably because I’m a procrastinator, I write best when I absolutely can’t put off writing for any longer. Generally I work best between midnight and two in the morning. After that I get too tired and just start googling things.

AuthorScoop: Finally, what advice would you give to new or unpublished writers?

Hannah: Anyone who’s read more than one interview with me is probably sick to death of hearing this advice, but I never get tired of giving it: Never think you are not good enough, and never think you can’t get better. You have to throw yourself into everything you do and make it so so good, because it’s just like I said–you never know which book is going to sell. So you have to give every single thing you write as much of you as you can. You have to advocate for it like it’s the second coming of Harry Potter and then you have to move on and write something better. And you have to keep doing that.

BREAK is available now in bookstores everywhere and available for order and Kindle download at Amazon.com.

Gregg Hurwitz’s latest thriller, TRUST NO ONE, is the youngest sibling to a veritable team of internationally bestselling books, a pack of screenplays, a gaggle of comics, and a coven of published articles.  Mr. Hurwitz is a busy man.  As such, we’d like to thank him for taking the time to be part of our “5 Minutes Alone” interview series.

AuthorScoop: What was your very first publication credit?

Gregg: Well, my first book is called The Tower, and it came out in 1999. But the first thing I ever got into print was a piece of my thesis—an analysis of Orson Welles’s Othello in Word & Image journal from UPenn. It is a sleep-inducing essay, but man was I proud to see my name in print.

AuthorScoop: Tell us about your latest release.

Gregg: Nick Horrigan, an average guy, awakens in the middle of the night when he thinks he sees a watery blue light along his ceiling. He blinks, and it’s gone. He gets up, rubbing his eyes, crosses into the main room, and looks through the sliding glass door onto the balcony. A black rope is hanging over the lip of the roof and lies coiled on the balcony floor. He opens the slider, steps out, closing the screen behind him.

Down below he sees dark sedans lining the curb on either side, and cop cars with their lights now turned off. Before he can react, the rope twitches, and a guy clad in full SWAT gear rappels off the roof and—not seeing Nick—hammers him in the chest with both boots. Nick soars back into his apartment, ripping the screen from the frame, and lands on his back. His front door flies out of the frame like a hurricane hit on the other side, and slides to within an inch of his nose. And before he can catch his breath, a full SWAT team storms the apartment.

The lead agent grabs him, asks, “Are you Nick Horrigan?” Nick still can’t catch his breath, so he nods. They shove a photo in front of his face. “When’s the last time you’ve had contact with this man?” Nicks says, “I’ve never seen him before.” They tug him to his feet. He’s barefoot, in pajama bottoms. He’s dragged outside. Cop cars everywhere. Neighbors lining the sidewalk. A loud thrumming shakes the air and then the palm trees behind his building light up. A helicopter rolls into view and sets down on the end of his cul-de-sac. He’s dragged toward it, and finally he stops, says, “You can’t just take me. Where the hell am I going?”

And the lead agent replies, “A terrorist has just seized control of the San Onofre nuclear power plant. He’s threatening to blow it up. And the only person he’ll talk to is you.”

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That’s the end of chapter one. I did my best to keep the rest of the book moving at this pace, but I also didn’t want to sacrifice character. It was important to me to dig into Nick Horrigan so readers really cared about his impossible predicament (which only gets worse from here!). Trust No One was inspired by the Hitchcock everyman thrillers I loved so much growing up, and I hope readers will find the same suspense and pacing here.

AuthorScoop: Aside from your own hard work, who else do you feel has contributed to your success?

Gregg: More people than I can name. English teachers, my lawyers, agents, an editor with whom I worked very closely, my wife, friends—anyone who was ever intimate and honest with me, because all that goes into the blender of a writer’s brain. Intimacy and honesty are the ingredients a writer uses to craft a story.

AuthorScoop: At what time of day or night do you do your best writing?

Gregg: I write all day every day—7:30 to 5. When I’m up against a deadline, I’ll sometimes push past then.

AuthorScoop: Finally, what advice would you give to new or unpublished writers?

Gregg: Ass-in-chair time is key above all else. Write, write, write, and write. Then rewrite and rewrite some more.

TRUST NO ONE is available now at bookstores everywhere and clickable at all online book retailers, as well.  If you haven’t seen it, then you haven’t been in a bookstore recently.

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Kim Michele Richardson’s memoir, THE UNBREAKABLE CHILD, hit the shelves last month.  The story of her decade under the care of nuns (and a priest) in a Catholic orphanage in rural Kentucky is an account of brutality and resilience.  As an adult, Kim joined her sisters and a group of orphans who, in a landmark court decision, demanded accountability from an order of nuns and the Church who sought to hide their abuses.

We’d like to thank her for taking the time to be part of our “5 Minutes Alone” interview series.

AuthorScoop: What was your very first publication credit?

Kim: The closest thing to a publication credit before my book, The Unbreakable Child, would be winning two written essay contests with a radio station in the 1980’s two years in a row. Both essays were about a group I’m passionate about protecting — senior citizens, and I remember both times I could not claim the prizes [vacation packages] as I was out of the country.

AuthorScoop: Tell us about your latest release.

Kim: My book, The Unbreakable Child, is my memoir about growing up during the 60’s in rural Kentucky, in a Roman Catholic orphanage run by nuns and a priest. Grim, yet reviewers uniformly say it is ultimately inspiring. It interweaves the present day with the past, where other children and myself suffered brutal childhood abuses. These abuses finally came to light in 2004 through a nationally recognized lawsuit initiated by attorney William McMurry. This man of courage stepped forward in the cause of justice against the might of the Roman Catholic Church. Forty-four former orphans and myself (including my sisters) took on the task of exposing unspeakable horrors committed by those who cloaked evil with His veil. The former orphans were the first in United States history to receive monetary settlement from a Roman Catholic order of nuns, arising out of decades of institutional abuse.

The Unbreakable Child was released on April 1st, 2009 (ETA - 2nd edition released by Behler Publications, October 2010)

AuthorScoop: Aside from your own hard work, who else do you feel has contributed to your success?

Kim: I state in my acknowledgment page; significant life journeys are not taken alone. And this book was not an exception. I simply cannot credit any one individual with my success, but a community of many, many such as friends, family and strangers, as well the Absolute forum, which fueled and nourished my work with its unconditional encouragement and prayers.

AuthorScoop: At what time of day or night do you do your best writing?

Kim: Dusk.

AuthorScoop: Finally, what advice would you give to new or unpublished writers?

Kim: Cliché but true; be the little engine that could — keep chugging and remember rules are nothing more than just guidelines.

The Unbreakable Child is available for at Amazon.com.

(edited to reflect new publisher’s links)

As a veteran of the Australian Army Intelligence Corp, JJ Cooper knows a thing or two about interrogation. His years of insight and experience, coupled with a damn fine writing style, have landed him a two-book deal with Random House Australia, with his debut thriller, The Interrogator, slated for release this summer.

We’d like to thank him for taking the time to be part of our “5 Minutes Alone” interview series.

AuthorScoop: What was your very first publication credit?

JJ: Apart from a few interrogation reports, briefs and papers produced and delivered in my previous life, my debut novel will be my first ‘official’ publication credit.

AuthorScoop: Tell us about your latest release.

JJ: The Interrogator will be released on the 3rd of August 2009. I’m fortunate to have secured a two-book deal with Random House Australia with my second thriller scheduled for release in 2010. Here’s a short synopsis of my debut:

After Jay Ryan, the Australian Army’s most experienced interrogator, ends up on the other side of the table facing a sadistic superior officer, he embarks on a white-knuckle flight from everything and everyone he trusts, pursued by foes who were once friends and with his one clear ally, his father, missing. Enter Sarah Evans, a secret agent assigned to make sure he comes to no harm - or so Jay thinks …

Jay is an interrogator with a dark past and a tortured soul; he’s also the keeper of secrets Israeli spies will kill to get their hands upon. Renowned for his skills, he is used to commanding a certain level of respect amongst his peers. Then one day Jay is drugged, tortured, tattooed and accused of rape. He is forced to reveal information that could further destabilise fragile Middle East relations and plunge the entire region into war. They are secrets he has struggled to keep hidden for four years.

The Interrogator is a story of betrayal and nightmarish conspiracy firmly rooted in the highest levels of government across international alliances. The story rockets toward a shattering finale that will leave the survivors changed forever. Thriller fans will enjoy the colourful characters, twisting, turning plots and fast action. The authentic military details give the story a chillingly real context, drawing the reader into Jay’s world and not letting us go until the very end.

AuthorScoop: Aside from your own hard work, who else do you feel has contributed to your success?

JJ: For me, any publication is a team effort. From family members who support and encourage, to literary agents, editors, publicists and the entire writing community. Without the right guidance/influence/assistance etc, you’d be hard-pressed making a go at it.  I believe the more involved you are within writing communities (online or local writing groups), the better chance you have of avoiding publishing pitfalls and making more informed decisions on the path you choose for publication.

I’ve also had some invaluable advice from thriller writers across the globe as part of the International Thriller Writers Debut Author Program. I’ve met some wonderful and very talented authors who have guided me along the journey. For international bestselling authors such as Lee Child, Lisa Unger and Jeff Abbott to give up their time to read and provide comments of my book has been a surreal experience.

AuthorScoop: At what time of day or night do you do your best writing?

JJ: With three young kids and a full-time job, my writing time is limited to evenings. Maybe a couple of hours of a night.

AuthorScoop: Finally, what advice would you give to new or unpublished writers?

JJ: Stay determined. Start with goals that lead to your dreams and believe that you can do it. If you believe you will never be published – you won’t. Beliefs drive thinking, actions and results. Accept constructive criticism and use it to improve.

I’ve exceeded all expectations to arrive at where I am. Even if I didn’t sell a single copy of my novel, I’d walk away happy.

The Interrogator is now available for pre-order at Random House Australia.

Kelly Meding is urban fantasy/paranormal author and blogger from Maryland. Her debut novel, Three Days to Dead, will be released this October from Bantam Dell.

We’d like to thank her for taking the time to be part of our “5 Minutes Alone” interview series.

AuthorScoop: What was your very first publication credit?

Kelly: My first and (for now) only publication credit is my debut novel, THREE DAYS TO DEAD, which will be followed by the second in the series in Spring 2010.  I suppose I’m proof that you don’t have to build up a resume of short story sales, or have some sort of industry recognition in order to sign with a good agent and be published by one of the big houses.  The closest thing I had to a credit before this novel was an article in my sixth-grade newspaper (ah, memories).

AuthorScoop: Tell us about your latest release.

Kelly: My first novel, THREE DAYS TO DEAD, releases October 27 from Dell.  It’s the first in an urban fantasy series that has a little bit of everything–vampires, shape-shifters, trolls, goblins, gargoyles, gremlins, and assorted fey.  My heroine, Evangeline Stone, was one of best paranormal bounty hunters in the city, until she wakes up in a morgue, in someone else’s body, with no idea how she died or why she was brought back. She discovers she only has three days to solve her own murder and recover her lost memories–memories that hold the key to stopping a devastating alliance between vampires and goblins.

So far, it’s received some fantastic buzz, as well as positive (and humbling) advance blurbs from some of the best authors writing in the urban fantasy/paranormal romance genres today, including Patricia Briggs, Jeaniene Frost, Gena Showalter, and Jackie Kessler.

AuthorScoop: Aside from your own hard work, who else do you feel has contributed to your success?

Kelly: It may sound a bit cliche, but my parents have been a huge factor.  They always encouraged my sister and me to follow our dreams, and to do what we truly wanted with our lives.  I know they worried, as parents do, but they always supported me. I also need to give props to a screenwriter named Kris Young.  He taught one of my college screenwriting courses eight years ago, and he was the first professional writer who came to me and told me I had talent.  I took the praise to heart and it has definitely fueled me on this long, strange journey toward publication.

And it’s impossible to not give some amount of credit to the AbsoluteWrite WaterCooler. I found a wealth of information on those forums, and being a member has certainly helped me be a better, more disciplined writer.

AuthorScoop: At what time of day or night do you do your best writing?

Kelly: Usually any time after noon. I can rarely get my brain up and working before then, no matter how much coffee I consume.  So mornings are spent piddling around the internet. I used to be a big night owl and do the bulk of my writing after nine o’clock and into the wee hours.  Lately I can’t stay up much past 11:30, so I write earlier.  I think working in retail the last seven years, with its ever-changing schedule, has prevented me from setting an actual writing schedule–which works perfectly for me.  It allows me to fit in blocks of writing time whenever I can, so I don’t fall into what I call “routine traps”–traps that can turn into excuses and procrastination techniques, if circumstances don’t allow the routine to be kept.

AuthorScoop: Finally, what advice would you give to new or unpublished writers?

Kelly: My advice is threefold.  First, if you’re writing toward professional publication, don’t treat your books like they are your children.  Books are not children.  We don’t buy and sell children, but we do buy and sell product. The moment you decide you want to sell your book, you have to think of it as a product.  And in order to put the best possible product out there, you have to recognize that revisions will be necessary.  Your words are never perfect; always strive to improve.

Second, not all novels will sell.  Especially not all first novels.  Don’t hang all of your hopes and dreams on one novel.  While you’re editing and querying your first, start writing your second.  And then your third.  It took me seven novels before I made my first sale, and every single novel I trunked made me a better writer.

And third, don’t write to the current trends.  What’s hot now isn’t what’s going to be hot next year, or the year after that.  Write the kind of book you’d want to read, instead of what you think will sell best.  You’re going to be spending a lot of time with this manuscript if it sells, so make sure it’s something you really enjoy.

Three Days to Dead is now available for pre-order at Amazon.com.

Natasha Bennett is a short story author and novelist based in Victoria, British Columbia. Her debut novel, War of the Soulites (Lyrical Press), is slated for release in May.

AuthorScoop would like to thank her for taking the time to be part of our “5 Minutes Alone” interview series.

AuthorScoop: What was your very first publication credit?

Natasha: I submitted a flash fiction story to the website MicroHorror.com, who accepted it right away. I didn’t get any money out of it, but I was thrilled. A few months later I earned my first five dollars submitting a story to Fear and Trembling. I still have that framed somewhere.

AuthorScoop: Tell us about your latest release.

Natasha: War of the Soulites is a dark science fiction novel and the first in a trilogy. In my novel, Earth is unified under a corrupt government, and shortly afterwards the planet is almost destroyed by a race of mysterious aliens called the Soulites. The main focus of the novel is on a ship named the Vigilant, which is crippled during the attack and lost in hostile territory. What makes the book unique is that some members of the Vigilant are corrupt, some try to murder each other, and others are slaves. Somehow, the crew have to work together against impossible odds.

AuthorScoop: Aside from your own hard work, who else do you feel has contributed to your success?

Natasha: There are a lot of people I have to thank. My mom edited my book from start to finish. My brother Campbell pointed out a few technical flaws, and my fiancee James was my sounding board for ideas. The good people of Lyrical Press took a chance on me and published my book. When I told about a hundred people I planned to write a book, not one of them said it was a stupid idea. Instead I got a lot of encouragement. There’s too many people for me to thank.

AuthorScoop: At what time of day or night do you do your best writing?

Natasha: It’s difficult to say, because I’m always on the move. A typical day for me will be jotting some notes on the bus while going to work. Later at night I’ll move those notes to my laptop. The weekends are usually spent promoting my book, so I try to fit time in whenever I can.

AuthorScoop: Finally, what advice would you give to new or unpublished writers?

Natasha: A lot of writers say to never give up, and that is certainly the best advice I can think of. It took me five years to bring War of the Soulites from concept to publication. Along the way I met many writers who were too eager to sell their work, and ended up being involved in contracts they hated. So my advice is, research your publisher. Make sure the genre is right for them, and that the people you are working for have a good reputation. Otherwise you might regret it.

Christina Meldrum’s debut novel, MADAPPLE, was acclaimed all over the place, as you’ll see below.  It also happened to be one of my favorite reads of the last several years.  Ms. Meldrum and I spoke about it in a podcast interview this past summer and she’s returned to round out what we know of her here on AuthorScoop.

We’d like to thank her for taking the time to be part of our “5 Minutes Alone” interview series.

AuthorScoop: What was your very first publication credit?

Christina: My first publication was during law school when I wrote a few legal articles.  But MADAPPLE was my first piece of published fiction.

AuthorScoop: Tell us about your latest release.

Christina: My novel MADAPPLE was released in May 2008.  A “crossover” book intended for older teens and adults, it is part literary mystery, part psychological thriller.  The story takes place in rural Maine and tells the story of Aslaug, a sixteen year old girl who knows far more about botany and mythology than she does about the modern world.  When Aslaug’s mother dies a mysterious death, Aslaug finds family she never knew she had and becomes embroiled in a web of family secrets.  When Aslaug’s aunt and cousin also die mysterious deaths, the reader is forced to ask whether Aslaug is the innocent she would have the reader believe or a calculated killer.

MADAPPLE was well-received critically.  It received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal and Publishers Weekly.  It also was a finalist for the inaugural William C. Morris Award and was a Booklist Editors’ Choice pick for 2008.  The American Library Association named MADAPPLE as a “Best Book for Young Readers for 2009,” and both Booklist and Kirkus Reviews included MADAPPLE on their 2008 “best” lists.

AuthorScoop: Aside from your own hard work, who else do you feel has contributed to your success?

Christina: There have been so many people.  My family has been instrumental.  My husband supported my writing for years, long before there was any indication I ever would be published.  My children love that I am a writer and have always been supportive and encouraging.  I have a sister, Amy Laughlin, who also is a writer, and she is a never-ending source of wisdom and support.  My mother and other siblings have been readers for me as well as fantastic sources of information and encouragement.  I have many talented close friends, some who are writers, some who are fantastic readers and editors, and some who have great insight into human psychology.  I have relied on all of them at times.  In addition, Michelle Frey, my editor at Knopf, is a wonderful editor.  I have learned a lot from her, and she made MADAPPLE into a far better book.  Also, my literary agent Laura Rennert has been a huge support for years.  I am leaving out many people, including former teachers and colleagues.  This list goes on!

AuthorScoop: At what time of day or night do you do your best writing?

Christina: Because I have children, I work mainly when they are at school.  By necessity, that is when I do my best writing!  It is not necessarily when I do my best thinking, however.  I actually seem to do some of my best thinking while I am asleep.  (I’m not sure whether that’s a good thing!)  Often I wake in the morning and find my brain has solved some issue related to my writing while I slept.  Because I am not able to write at that time, I usually scribble notes to myself and then return to those notes later, when my children are at school.

When I am in the editing stage, my writing schedule changes somewhat.  I tend to work throughout the day, making notes to myself when my children are home and sometimes working late into the night.  It seems I am using a different part of my brain then, and the inspiration comes in spurts.

AuthorScoop: Finally, what advice would you give to new or unpublished writers?

Christina: I think the best advice I ever received as a writer was:  write what you love.  So often writers are told to write what they know, but I think this can be very limiting, depending on one’s life experience.  When you write what you love, the world is open to you.  In writing MADAPPLE, I wrote about subjects that fascinate me.  I didn’t know all I needed to know about these subjects when I began the book, but I learned through research—research I found interesting.  I think a writer is better able to make material fascinating for readers if she herself finds the material fascinating.

Christopher Johnson, MD is a leading pediatric intensivist, based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but practicing in pediatric intensive care units all across America.  So far, he’s put out two excellent guides for parents, simplifying the critical knowledge they need to get the best care for their children, in both routine care and in life or death situations.  I’ve done podcast interviews with Dr. Johnson about both his books, YOUR CRITICALLY ILL CHILD: LIFE AND DEATH CHOICES PARENTS MUST FACE and HOW TO TALK TO YOUR CHILD’S DOCTOR and found that the information therein is fascinating to anyone with an interest in why and how doctors do what they do.

We’d like to thank him for taking the time to be part of our “5 Minutes Alone” interview series.

AuthorScoop: What was your very first publication credit?

Chris: Before I started writing for general readers I was a medical researcher and professor at Mayo Medical School. Over a couple of decades I wrote sixty or so scientific papers and textbook chapters, mostly about an infection of the heart called infective endocarditis. My first one of those came out in 1980, and I still remember how excited I was to see my name in print. Now I suppose that paper is gathering dust on medical library shelves along with all the other ones I wrote. In spite of that, though, I enjoyed writing them and I think I did advance our understanding of that disorder just a smidge.

AuthorScoop: Tell us about your latest release.

Chris: My latest book, my second (the third is in preparation), is called How To Talk To Your Child’s Doctor. My reason for writing it was my observation, after thirty years of practicing pediatrics, that most parents have no idea how doctors think, how we conceptualize problems and then go about solving them. Because parents don’t know how we do that, they can easily get frustrated and confused. The fact is, we physicians live in our own mental universe when it comes to framing and answering questions. As I point out in the book, this has good aspects and bad aspects, but generally there are good reasons for proceeding the way that we do.

One particular thing I stress is that most parents don’t know that about ninety percent of all diagnoses are made through what we call the history: what the symptoms are, when they started, what you did for them and if that helped. Medical diagnosis is largely a matter of good detective work, and all good detectives, before they do anything else, try to get the sequence of events straight. Of course we use lots of fancy tests, scans, and whatnot, but the history is the most important thing. A wrong history sends us down all sorts of useless and potentially dangerous pathways. More than a few parents become annoyed at what can seem to them to be a string of pesky questions, but I wanted to show them why we ask them in the precise form that we do.

I also have a couple of chapters that are sort of anthropological in nature, like a field guide to doctors observed in their native habitat. I explain how we got to be this way and how some of the common annoying traits most physicians have to one degree or another (even me!) came to be. These are things like arrogance, a controlling nature, defensiveness, and a feeling of entitlement. I have a chapter with my own taxonomy cataloging about ten varieties of difficult doctors (e.g. poor listeners, judgmental, poor examiners, a bunch of others) with suggestions about how to handle these folks to get the best care for your child.

The book’s guiding notion is that the encounter between parents and their child’s physician ought to be a conversation between equals, with both sides contributing useful and important parts. What I wanted to give parents was a sort of users’ guide to physicians by explaining how we think. No conversation goes very far if the two participants speak (and think) using different languages.

AuthorScoop: Aside from your own hard work, who else do you feel has contributed to your success?

Chris: I had some excellent teachers early in my career who taught me how to write grant proposals. That was great training because, when you’re writing grants, you’re explaining things to people who don’t know the ins and outs of what you’re doing. One of these teachers was a Nobel Prize winner and in fifteen minutes he could explain what he did to anybody in very understandable terms. The other thing that has helped me a great deal is that little of my premedical training was in the sciences. This was not uncommon thirty-five years ago when I went off to medical school. Of course I took some chemistry, biology and the like, but mainly I studied religion, history, and philosophy, with a strong dose of literature. I also went to graduate school in history for a time. These days medical school admissions committees don’t like that sort of background very much, although they deny this — I know because I spent four years on the Mayo Medical School admissions committee and I was always arguing the point. I’d have serious difficulties getting into medical school if I applied today. I think my own particular background conditioned me to regard medicine as at least as much an art as a science. That has had a huge impact on my career, and on my life generally.

AuthorScoop: At what time of day or night do you do your best writing?

Chris: I practice pediatric intensive care, which means I spend my days (and nights) in a pediatric intensive care unit. There is an ebb and flow to the work there, and I mostly write when I’m there and waiting for something to happen, not happen, or whatever. My job is much like that of a fireman, waiting around the firehouse for the bell to ring. I mostly write between the fire calls. Often I have no time to do that, but over the course of the year or so it takes me to write a book I find the time, especially during the nights.

AuthorScoop: Finally, what advice would you give to new or unpublished writers?

Chris: I write nonfiction, although my agent just sent out to publishers a novel I wrote (a paranormal medical mystery) and we’ll see how that goes. A nonfiction writer these days does need some kind of a platform of expertise in their subject. It’s not entirely fair, but there it is. So if you want to write nonfiction you need to acquire some expertise or team up with somebody who has it. As far as the actual writing goes, my other bit of advice is to read closely the work of accomplished essay writers. The essay form forces you to make your argument quickly and cogently and not ramble. I learned some of my best tricks, however, from humor writers. Study how they get punch to their sentences with unexpected turns of phrase and surprising and apt word usage.

Terri Cheney is a writer and memoirist best known, at the moment, for her tremendous book, MANIC: A MEMOIR.  I spoke with her last year in a podcast for PsychJourney and a Harper Collins interview with Terri was featured on our Afternoon Viewing segment recently.  She’s graciously agreed to expand what we know of her in this AuthorScoop exclusive.

We’d like to thank her for taking the time to be part of our “5 Minutes Alone” interview series.

AuthorScoop: What was your very first publication credit?

Terri: I had a poem published in the local newspaper, The Daily Report, when I was about 10 years old.  It was a very bad poem, I think, but my father was over the moon about it.  Thirty-seven years lapsed before my next credit.  In 2007, I submitted an essay about bipolar dating to the New York Times “Modern Love” column.  I was astonished when it was accepted for publication, and especially pleased that it ran the week before my first book, Manic: A Memoir, was released in 2008.  I’d made sure to mention my book in the essay, of course, so the publicity was terrific.

AuthorScoop: Tell us about your latest release.

Terri: Manic is about the disintegration of the careful facade I lived behind for most of my adult life.  On the outside, I looked very successful — I was an entertainment litigator, representing the likes of Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, and motion picture studios.  In truth, however, I struggled with a raging case of bipolar disorder.  When I was manic, I was extremely productive, creative and energetic.  But when depression inevitably hit, I fell apart.  I couldn’t move, I couldn’t think.  If I absolutely had to go into the office, I hid out under my desk.  I told no one about my illness — not my friends, my family, my coworkers, no one.

Then in 1999, I was hospitalized after several suicide attempts.  After a few weeks went by, I realized that none of the patients (including me) were getting better, because we simply couldn’t express what was going on inside us.  There were clinical words, but they weren’t enough.  So I decided to write my own story, from the inside out:  to tell what bipolar disorder truly felt like, from the little hairs on my arms that quiver in mania, to the crushing weight of my body in depression.  I wrote disjointed pieces in my writing groups for the next 7 years.  By 2007, they finally coalesced into Manic.

After Manic’s surprising success, I received many emails, the most compelling of which were from parents of bipolar children, desperately seeking more info, answers, advice.  They moved me so deeply that I decided my next book, which I am hard at work on now, will be a childhood memoir about growing up bipolar.

AuthorScoop: Aside from your own hard work, who else do you feel has contributed to your success?

Terri: My father was instrumental in instilling the love of words in me.  When I was a little girl, he would read to me every morning (at ungodly early hours!).  He always loved to hear what I had written, and having a captive, spellbound audience is a surefire way to keep writing.  Also, I had a sixth grade teacher (thank you, Mrs. Martin, wherever you are) who set me free from classes to simply read and write whatever I liked.  Her faith in my talent stayed with me the rest of my life.

AuthorScoop: At what time of day or night do you do your best writing?

Terri: If possible, I like to go out of the house to write, in the morning or early afternoon.  I have a few favorite cafes around town, where I order a latte and a bite to eat, and they let me scribble away for hours.  I write on an old-fashioned legal pad, then later transcribe what I’ve written into the computer.  I feel this gives me two bites at the apple for editing.

AuthorScoop: Finally, what advice would you give to new or unpublished writers?

Terri: First, get in a writing group or class.  My two weekly groups have been essential to me.  They give me the discipline which I’m sure I would otherwise lack, to keep churning out pages week after week.  Also, it’s invaluable for me to get feedback, to realize that what I’m writing is not so far from the universal human experience — that other people can relate to it. Second, don’t let the daunting prospects of publication get in the way of your writing.  If you’re a true writer, you must write and you will write.  Worry about agents and publishers and polished manuscripts later, after you’ve written the very best book that you can.

Jessica Brody (link contains audio) is a writer and film producer developing a novel series that’s earning worldwide attention - THE FIDELITY FILES and its upcoming sequel, LOVE UNDERCOVER.  She also happens to be a very nice person and a good interviewee.

We’d like to thank her for taking the time to be part of our “5 Minutes Alone” interview series.

AuthorScoop: What was your very first publication credit?

Jessica: Hmmm, let’s see. Official or unofficial? Because if it’s unofficial, then it would have to be the second grade. My teacher let us all “publish” our own books. We made the binding out of cardboard, rubber cement, wall paper samples and black electrical tape. It was probably the most memorable day of my life. I remember sifting through the book of wall paper samples, totally stressing out because I HAD to pick the perfect one. Anything less than that simply wouldn’t do for my masterpiece, which was creatively titled, “The Kitty and the Puppy.” When I go back and read it now, I realize not only did it lack an inspired title, but also most of a plot. Although there were some good twists and turns throughout. Ones I’m sure the reader didn’t see coming!

Officially though, my first publication credit would have to have been in 12th grade when I won my high school’s short story competition and it was published in our literary magazine. That was pretty amazing. I was still in my existential phase then. Trying to emulate the masters. I’m still not sure what my story was supposed to mean. And neither did anyone else. I think that’s why it won.

AuthorScoop: Tell us about your latest release.

Jessica: My latest release is also my first release! It’s called THE FIDELITY FILES and it came out in June of 2008. It’s a rather scandalous subject matter: infidelity. And the main character is kind of like a private investigator. Women will hire her to test whether or not their husbands and boyfriends will cheat on them. She calls herself a “fidelity inspector.” But while she’s out there exposing cheaters and changing relationships for the better, her own love life is a mess. Or more accurately, non-existent. She hasn’t had a date in two
years, something she says is due to the high demands of her “investment banking career”—a cover she uses to keep her friends and family in the dark about what she really does. Because honestly, can someone who sees nothing but failed marriages, ever really find love for herself? The sequel is called LOVE UNDER COVER and it comes out in the Fall of this year.

AuthorScoop: Aside from your own hard work, who else do you feel has contributed to your success?

Jessica: Oh, gosh. So many people! I could just copy and paste my book’s acknowledgement section here but it was four pages and I won’t put you through that! I believe that everyone you meet in life ultimately leads you to where you are today so I don’t think I would be here without any of them. But I strongly believe that a huge contributor to my success was poverty. It’s not a person, but sometimes it feels like one, doesn’t it? I had been writing at nights for three years while I still had my other corporate job. I was making plenty of money in that job. I was comfortable, had a nice apartment, nice clothes, mani/pedis once a week, etc. And yet, I didn’t sell my novel until I had been “self-employed” for a good year and a half after that, surviving on peanut butter and jelly in a downgraded apartment, dressed in tee-shirts, sweat pants and chipped nails. Because with plenty of money comes the inherent lack of “need.” The lack of “I have to sell this book or I will starve.” And for me, that was a HUGE motivator. Sometimes you have to stare failure right in the face, see it right in front you before enough incentive kicks in. Because when you don’t absolutely, positively HAVE to do something, you’ll have a very hard time doing it. Or as the Zen saying goes, “Jump first and the net will appear.” But I think I would amend that and say, “Jump first and the net will appear…but always
when you’re two inches from smashing head first into the ground.”

AuthorScoop: At what time of day or night do you do your best writing?

Jessica: I don’t really have a specific time of day that I write best. I do my best writing the moment I shut off my e-mail. It’s the hardest thing in the world to do. As a writer, I’m very driven by “news”. Good news, bad news, whatever, just tell me something. Writing is a lonely business and any contact with the outside world, especially pertaining to your books, is like a life line when you’re floating in an empty sea. And so I manage to do a lot of procrastinating while I wait around for the news (all in the name of research of course!) But the moment I shut off my e-mail program and force myself to just write, that’s when it happens. And then if I’m lucky, four hours will pass in a flash and I’ll hear myself saying, “Oh, that’s right. I have an e-mail address.”

AuthorScoop: Finally, what advice would you give to new or unpublished writers?

Jessica: Yes, I have one big one. Take criticism. Believe in your work and stand behind it, but don’t be afraid to make changes. Try to be as objective as possible when it comes to your writing (I know how impossible that sounds) but it will only help you in the long run. Use rejections to evolve yourself as a writer, not just to line your waste basket. When someone rejects your work and offers a reason, don’t just blow it off and claim that they “didn’t get it” or that they clearly didn’t read it closely enough, dissect it and try to figure out if what they’re saying makes sense and if it will inevitably help your work. I re-wrote The Fidelity Files about five times before I even got an agent. All because of criticism I received. And in the end, I finally landed my agent because I offered to rewrite it once more based on some feedback that she gave me in my rejection letter. And she signed me 100 pages into the rewrite. There a lot of people in this industry—agents, editors, other writers, etc.—who know what they’re talking about and know what it takes to make a book work. After all, that’s what they get paid for! Listen to them with open ears and grateful hearts. There’s a fine balance between staying true to your art and being open for suggestions, try to stay somewhere in the middle. If they “didn’t get it,” chances are, readers won’t get it either. And you won’t be there to explain it to them in the middle of Barnes and Noble.

Jamie Ford is a new novelist, breaking onto the literary scene with HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET.  He’s also an essayist, blogger, and an example of grace under fire.

We’d like to thank him for taking the time to be part of our “5 Minutes Alone” interview series.

AuthorScoop: What was your very first publication credit?

Jamie: Fiction-wise, you’re kinda looking at it. Sure, I had a lot of flash fiction and short fiction published online, but Hotel was really my first foray into deep waters.

And to be fair, I’m not counting articles I’ve written for business publications, ad campaigns, commercials, videos and such. I even wrote part of a speech for the governor of Montana, years ago. Very surreal to hear my words coming out of her mouth. Frightening too. I think I stopped believing the words of politicians at that very moment.

AuthorScoop: Tell us about your latest release.

Jamie: Well, I can tell you that Publishers Weekly shredded it on the same day that
Costco chose it as their pick for February. Followed by an IndieBound NEXT List selection, a Barnes & Noble’s New Reads Book Club selection, and a nod from the Borders Original Voices Program. Hey PW—I ain’t mad atcha, I ain’t got nothin’ but love for ya.

But beyond that, HOTEL is the story of the Japanese Internment in Seattle during WWII, but seen through the eyes of a 12-year old Chinese boy, named Henry. Henry is sent by his father to an all-white private school to ostensibly “become more American” and there he meets Keiko, a young Japanese girl sent by her parents for similar reasons. There they form a unique friendship and innocent love, amid the hysteria and chaos in the wake of the bombings of Pearl Harbor. But it’s also the story of Henry, as a grown man, reflecting on the choices he made, the things he said, or left unspoken, all those years ago. At its core, it’s a love story.

AuthorScoop: Aside from your own hard work, who else do you feel has contributed to your success?

Jamie: Orson Scott Card. When I attended his literary bootcamp, he worked us like rented mules. It was exhausting and exhilarating too. One night he treated everyone to this fabulous dinner at a Brazilian restaurant and I remember him telling me, “You should send your short story to the New Yorker,” I was flattered. Then he continued, “Of course they accept a lot of crap, but they don’t always accept crap, so you might have a shot.” It was a very jangled compliment, but it was a real confidence booster. (The New Yorker soundly rejected me, by the way).

That workshop also broke some of my bad habits—namely over-writing––or writing to impress my audience. Instead, I went the other direction, learning to write less, but constantly banking or spending emotional currency with the reader.

Basically, I arrived at that workshop as a writer and left as a storyteller.

AuthorScoop: At what time of day or night do you do your best writing?

Jamie: When the voices in my head stop mocking me. (Morning, usually).

AuthorScoop: Finally, what advice would you give to new or unpublished writers?

Jamie: Don’t expect to sit down and nail it on the first try.

So many newbie writers try to write the “Great American Novel” on their first go, and upon failing, decide they have no talent. It’s not like that. Think of writing as a craft––something akin to playing a musical instrument. You wouldn’t sit down at a piano for the first time and expect to play Beethoven, would you? Or course not. You learn scales, you plink away at Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, you go through the motions––sometimes for years before you’re playing anything that anyone would actually want to listen to.

So allow a healthy margin for improvement.

Now storytelling on the other hand…

R.N. Morris‘ crime suspense series features Detective Porfiry Petrovich, first revealed to readers over 140 years ago by the pen of Fyodor Dostoevsky.  A secondary character in CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, Porfiry sparked a curiosity in Morris that hasn’t yet let go, so far yielding two successful and acclaimed books - THE GENTLE AXE and A VENGEFUL LONGING.  A little bird told me, it doesn’t end there…

Oh, and for a giggle, don’t miss out on the link about the cat.

We’d like to thank him for taking the time to be part of our “5 Minutes Alone” interview series.

AuthorScoop: What was your very first publication credit?

Roger: The first place that published me was a magazine aimed at teenage girls, called Look Now. I doubt it’s still going. I was a college student at the time. In other words, it was a long time ago. They paid me £75 I seem to remember, for a short story about a girl who was nervous about bringing her boyfriend home to meet her parents because he had dyed green hair (this was in the first punk era) and her mum was very conservative. I followed that up with a story in another teenage girls’ mag, called 19. Then I had a third, sold again to Look Now. I don’t know how I managed to crack the teenage girl market, perhaps because I was a teenage-ish guy. But I was basically writing stories from the girl’s point of view, which was fun. It amazed me that I got away with it. And taught me that writing really is a leap of faith. Women’s magazines were the only places in the UK I knew of where you could sell short stories for money. I wanted to be a writer, I wanted to make money from my writing, so I had to learn how to write for the women’s market. The fact that I aimed my stories at the younger end of that market is really more to do with my age at the time. I did try and write some things for older readership mags, but I think being a callow youth played against me there!

AuthorScoop: Tell us about your latest release.

Roger: My most recent book is a historical crime novel called A Vengeful Longing. It’s the second in a series of books I’m writing featuring the detective Porfiry Petrovich. You may recognise the name. I’ve shamelessly purloined him from Dostoevsky’s great novel, Crime and Punishment. I thought he was such an intriguing character. But he’s really a secondary character in C&P, Raskolnikov’s nemesis of course. He only features directly in a couple of chapters. I wanted more of him. So, I thought the best way to get that would be to write a novel with him as the main character. That was how I came to write A Gentle Axe, my first Porfiry Petrovich novel. The publishers wanted me to turn it into a series. So I did! The books are set in St Petersburg, Russia, in the 1860s. I find it a fascinating time. There are so many tensions at play. For me, Porfiry is essentially a decent man. Solving the crime is the first step in saving the criminal. What makes that
especially interesting is that he is working within the tsarist state, enforcing the tsar’s laws – so you could say he is a just man in the service of an unjust regime. In A Vengeful Longing the crimes of the state are represented by a cholera epidemic that’s out of control at the height of a stifling summer. A series of apparently unconnected murders take place against this background. Even Porfiry is too hot and bothered to find the connections at first.

AuthorScoop: Aside from your own hard work, who else do you feel has contributed to your success?

Roger: My wife Rachel has been an incredible support. Basically, she never nagged me to go out and get a proper job. She’s put up with me being a precarious freelancer, working as few days as I can get away with, so that I can steal as much time as possible for my writing. We could have been a lot better off if I’d given up on my writing dreams several decades ago. She never tried to change me, in other words. You can’t ask for more than that. I’ve been very lucky. I’ve been less lucky with my cat. My cat has done nothing but prevent me from working.

AuthorScoop: At what time of day or night do you do your best writing?

Roger: I think I’m a morning person. I wrote my first published novel, Taking Comfort, largely in the early hours of the morning, setting my alarm for 6 a.m. – sometimes earlier - then going straight to work, just stepping out of my dreams up to the PC. It gave the work a slightly hallucinatory feel, I think. Getting up early really kick-started my day. I would get a solid hour of writing done before anyone else was up. Then the kids would start to stir, and I would go down to get them breakfast, and a cup of tea for Rachel. She is not a morning person. Having that base of words in hand for the day gave me something to build on when I came back to it later. I don’t do that any more, but I do like to start working as soon as possible, and the morning hours are always the most productive. Having said that, I am slightly obsessive. I lose track of time when I’m working, and find it hard to stop when things are going well. These days, I have to remember to go and get the kids in the afternoon. Sometimes I have to set an alarm to make sure I remember.

AuthorScoop: Finally, what advice would you give to new or unpublished writers?

Roger: Stick at it. I’ve heard it said that the only difference between a published author and an unpublished author is perseverance. That’s certainly true in my case. I know it does happen that fantastically clever people sit down to write a book, and get published straight away with their first effort. But it wasn’t like that for me. I was an unpublished writer for a lot longer than I’ve been a published one. So I know how it feels. I really do. We’re talking decades of rejection and disappointment. I have a slight disagreement with my wife about exactly how many unpublished novels I have. Let’s just say I lost count at seven. My reaction to rejection has always been, ‘OK, you didn’t like that one, I’ll write something better.’ I did reach the point where it looked like I would never get published. I remember having a conversation with my agent over coffee where he told me that my name was ‘starting to meet with resistance’. In other words, editors were saying to him, ‘Yeah, yeah, we know him. Haven’t you got anybody else?’ That was a depressing moment. But actually it galvanised me more than anything. I decided to stake everything on one final, mad throw of the dice. It was time to write the idea that had been obsessing me for years – a detective novel drawn from Dostoevsky. I knew it would be difficult, I wasn’t even sure I would be able to pull it off. And I also knew that if I did do it, it was bound to get some attention, if only for the hubris. I was very scared that Dostoevsky-purists would tear me apart. But I realised that I wanted to write it very much. Also, I knew that I had to play for high stakes. I had to take the most ambitious idea I had, and go for it.

Actually, it was a double roll of the dice, because at the same time, almost, I wrote, very quickly, another book that had been obsessing me – Taking Comfort. And I wrote it in exactly the way I wanted. I thought, Sod the bastards. I didn’t give up, but I did let go, if you see what I mean. There’s no point double-guessing what editors might or might not be looking for. You’ve got to write out the stories that won’t let you go – that are important to you. I think the conviction that arises from that comes through in the writing and editors react to it. So, don’t give up, let go. That’s my advice.

John Levitt is an author and musician who splits his time between Alta, Utah and San Francisco. His latest Urban Fantasy, New Tricks, was released in late 2008. You can check out an excerpt of it here.

We’d like to thank him for taking the time to be part of our “5 Minutes Alone” interview series.

AuthorScoop: What was your very first publication credit?

John: My very first?  I wrote a chapter on local bird identification for a small pamphlet about the  history and natural fauna of Little Cottonwood Canyon in Alta, Utah back in  the 1970s.  All proceeds went to the Alta Historical Society, and it was still selling twenty years later.  My first “real” publication was in 1989, a mystery/thriller novel titled Carnivores, published by St. Martin’s Press.

AuthorScoop: Tell us about your latest release.

John: My latest is New Tricks, an urban fantasy set in San Francisco.  It’s the second in a series about Mason, a jazz musician and reluctant magical practitioner who runs into all kinds of trouble while he’s trying to live a quiet life.  His friends and acquaintances keep dying, and he has to figure out what’s going on, and why, and who’s responsible.  Lots of magic, a few supernatural creatures, but no werewolves, vampires, fey, or traditional fantasy tropes in this book.

Mason is  aided by his magical companion, Lou, who is a small dog like a mini pinscher.  Only, he’s not really a dog.  Just sort of.   He can’t talk, or do magic, but he’s a great help and everyone’s favorite character, hands down.

AuthorScoop: Aside from your own hard work, who else do you feel has contributed to your success?

John: I always thought I didn’t need any help – I use no crit groups or beta readers, and no one sees any of the ms until it’s done.  But it turns out I do occasionally need help, and I was lucky enough to find an agent, Caitlin Blasdell, who is also a very fine editor, which she used to be.  Her editorial advice has been invaluable in pinpointing problems and steering me back on course when I start flailing and don’t know how to fix the book.  Not to mention that she managed to sell the series to Ace.

AuthorScoop: At what time of day or night do you do your best writing?

John: That’s totally dependent on the rest of my life.  I used to be a night person, and worked swing shift and nights for years.  I wrote my first novel between midnight and two every night after getting off work.  These days, I futz around in the morning, and finally get to work around noon, so afternoons are now my writing time.

AuthorScoop: Finally, what advice would you give to new or unpublished writers?

John: Honestly, there’s nothing I can say about writing that hasn’t been said a hundred times before, and by better writers than I.  But as far as getting published goes, I do think that luck, or timing if you don’t believe in luck, has a lot more to do with it than we like to admit.  And the longer you persist, the better chance you have of getting that break.  So don’t give up, don’t let rejection get you down, and grow a thick skin – you’re going to need it.