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Showing posts with label interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label interview. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 2, 2021
Compulsive Reader newsletter for November is out
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
The next big thing
The wonderful Amanda Curtin, author of Inherited and the upcoming Elemental (UWA Press), tagged me in a new book meme, with the irresistible title of ‘The next big thing’. The meme asks ten questions about an upcoming work. I do have a new novel on the boil, but it's too far away for me to promote yet (wish it was closer...), so I decided to talk about the newly completed (print proof is on its way to me as I type) poetry book that I've co-written with Carolyn Howard-Johnson titled Sublime Planet, which is due for release on Earth Day 2013.
1. What is the working title of your current work-in-progress/next book?
Sublime Planet
2. Where did the idea come from?
Carolyn and I had been brainstorming a series of themes for the next poetry collaboration in our Celebration Series of themed poetry and the environment was one that seemed particularly rich to both of us. Both of us had written books with environmental/sustainability themes and there seemed to be a broad range of ideas that we were interested in and could write about - endangered species, geoengineering, climate change, conservation. Both of us already had poems that fit this theme and we set ourselves a target to write more, with the aim of finishing well in time for an Earth Day launch.
I'm going to attempt to answer this question even though the book is poetry and not narrative poetry either, so while a film is not entirely impossible, it would probably need to be somewhat avante garde. So let's say, just for the sake of fun, that the role of the narrator could be played by Judy Davis, who is pretty good at everything she does and has this amazing voice that would conjure the Australian forest. For balance, Hugo Weaving could be Davis' antistrophe, adding masculine depth to the story of human folly, hunger, loss, and self-discovery.
1. What is the working title of your current work-in-progress/next book?
Sublime Planet
2. Where did the idea come from?
Carolyn and I had been brainstorming a series of themes for the next poetry collaboration in our Celebration Series of themed poetry and the environment was one that seemed particularly rich to both of us. Both of us had written books with environmental/sustainability themes and there seemed to be a broad range of ideas that we were interested in and could write about - endangered species, geoengineering, climate change, conservation. Both of us already had poems that fit this theme and we set ourselves a target to write more, with the aim of finishing well in time for an Earth Day launch.
3. What genre does your book fall into?
Poetry.
4. What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Traversing a wide terrain, from the loss of species to the beauty of the natural world, from drought to the exploration of alternative planets, Sublime Planet is an exhilarating collection that break boundaries and leads the reader deep into the personal heart of perception.
6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Self published (CreateSpace) and due for release April 22nd, 2013.
7. How long did it take you to write the first draft?
Carolyn and I have been working on it for about 9 months or so (the standard gestation time!). We took a break to work on a food oriented book which is about halfway done, but decided to ramp up work on this one when we took the decision to align it with Earth Day.
8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I'm not sure there are many other two-poet collaborations out there, and Carolyn's poetry is complementary to mine I think but also quite different. I like to think that there are alignments between the poetry I've included in this collection and the work of Dorothy Porter (Other Worlds), Tracy Smith (Life on Mars), and Emily Ballou (The Darwin Poems), but those are poets who have been and continue to be highly inspirational to me -- my literary mentors. I may only be tilting in that direction, but that's certainly the kind of writing and the impact I'm going for.
9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?
We live in a beautiful world. Every morning I wake to the birdsong. I walk outside and breathe in the smell of Eucalyptus. My home is rural and surrounded by the Australian bush. Right now I'm watching, out of my living room window, a Superb Lyrebird scratching in the dirt. It's a kind of paradise. Contrasted with that is a growing sense that climate change, a loss of diversity, rising sea levels and an exploding growth in population is driving us to inevitable disaster. I work in an industry where sustainability is one of the key drivers so I'm always surrounded by issues, questions and conflicting opinion. Carolyn and I were very keen to explore these issues deeply, as only a poet can - without didacticism or easy answers as indeed there aren't any easy answers.
10. What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?
The book has photos from wonderful photographer Ann Howley, known for gift cards on fine linen
featuring her nature photography. Her photos are exquisite and I think I could write an entire book based on her images alone. Carolyn and I also have a few exciting partnership ventures in the works -- we're hoping to be able to donate our profits to an environmentally oriented organisation. The ability to be able to use poetry, not only to inspire and entertain, but to actually do some tangible good is very exciting for us.
Because this is a meme, I've got to end by tagging four other writers who I know have a 'big thing' on their horizon. Can't wait to read about it: Jessica Bell, Philomena van Rijswijk, Rosanne Dingli, and Matthew Glenn Ward.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Finding the Peace of Life: New Interview at the Journal of Humanitarian Affairs
Monday, May 14, 2012
Poetry Monday: Interview with Fabric's Jessica Bell
How did the collection originate?
Well, if you want me to start from the very beginning, it started when I
printed up all the poems I’d written from the last year and tried to find a
concurrent theme in order to put together a new collection. I realized that I
had a substantial amount of poems that included a fabric of some kind … “ooh,”
I thought, “that’s a pretty cool title.” Of course, a piece of fabric appearing
in every poem was not meaty enough to base a collection on, so I brainstormed
some symbolic links. That’s when I came up with “the fabric of society”. From
then on the collection began to bloom. I wrote new pieces, tweaked old ones, and
rewrote some entirely to fit the theme.Talk to me about the process of pulling it together.
I probably write one poem a week, sometimes more, and store them in a folder under the month and year. Initially, I don’t write with a specific theme in mind, I just write whatever I’m inspired by in that particular moment. I let myself at it for about a year, so that at the end of that year I have a decent amount of pieces to consider. Only 20 out of the 60 poems I wrote in 2011 made it into Fabric. The remaining eight I wrote for the collection specifically.
Anyway, once I had the 20 poems I wanted to include, I tweaked them all to fit the theme of ethical and moral philosophy, i.e. the fabric of societyu. There are a lot of references to different fabrics in the collection, and I love that the textures and weights of these fabrics, their durability and/or fragility, also symbolize the strengths and weaknesses of the individuals that are represented.
I absolutely adore the vignette. And that’s what these poems are: slices of life. They explore specific moments in different people’s lives that are significant to whom they have become, the choices they’ve made, how they perceive the world around them, and how each and every one of their thoughts and actions contributes to the fabric of society.
What were the most challenging poems to write?
I’m not a big utilizer of form, but I certainly enjoy trying to write to specific rules now and again. I find the restriction forces my imagination into a totally different place than what I’m used to. So the formalistic poems were definitely the most challenging and, of course. they were the poems I spent the most time perfecting.
Examples are:
Once, which is a mirror poem. The second group of stanzas must mirror the first group of stanzas on the page, and still make sense!
We Need Women, which is an Alphabet poem. Each word must begin with each letter of the alphabet and in succession. What’s the most challenging about this is not finding the right words, but making sure the tone doesn’t sound like a kindergarten teacher!
What You Found, which is a list poem. You’d think these are easy, but try evoking an emotional response from a list and incorporating a subtext through imagery. It’s harder than you think.
Postpartum, which is a ballad. Rhyming and maintaining the correct iambic pentameter in each line is difficult. This poem was even more of a challenge because rhyming poetry has such a fun and bouncy feel to it, and I had to make sure the juxtaposition of this with the dark subject matter worked to its benefit.
Talk to me a bit about the numerology behind the book.
I’ve always been fascinated with symbolism. And I think when it is utilized in poetry it makes it all the more richer. The numerology in Fabric is not something the average reader is going to pick up, either, so that’s why I’ve talked about it in the Note From The Author in the back of the book. It’s a bit hard for me to talk about this without repeating what’s in the book, and it’s also something that readers should really only be aware of after they’ve read the poems, as I think it will offer them a whole new perspective on the work and inspire them to read it again with a fresh mind.
You use Greek words throughout the book, but this is primarily an English poetry book. Are there particular difficulties in promoting an English book in Greece, or from Greece?
To be honest, I don’t really promote my work in Greece. The only thing I promote here, is my music, as that is a universal language. I’ve also established myself fairly well with a US, UK and Australian audience through my blog, so my location doesn’t seem to make much difference to me. Thank goodness for the Internet!
What’s next? What’s the biggest, most exciting project you’re working on?
My third
novel, Muted.
Muted will
explore a variety of themes such as overcoming loss, coping with mental illness
and disability, dealing with discrimination, loss of freedom, inhibited
self-expression, motivation to succeed, escaping oppression, expression through
art and music, self-sacrifice, channelling the thoughts of the deceased, and
challenging moral views and values. I also plan to write a soundtrack for this
one too, just like I did for String Bridge.
Here’s a
rough blurb:
In Arles, France, it’s illegal to wear
clothes. In some streets, it’s also illegal to sing without accompanying
instruments. Concetta, a famous a
cappella singer from
before “the change,” breaks these laws. As punishment, her vocal chords are
brutally slashed and her eardrums surgically perforated. Unable to cope living
a life without song, she resolves to drown herself in the river clothed in a
dress stained with performance memories. But Concetta’s suicide attempt is cut
short as someone grabs her by the throat and pulls her to the surface. Is it
the busking harpist, who encouraged her to feel music through vibration, acting
as savior? Or a street warden on the prowl for another offender to detain?
Following is the book trailer for Fabric:
About Jessica
If Jessica Bell could choose only one creative mentor,
she’d give the role to Euterpe, the Greek muse of music and lyrics. And not
because she currently lives in Greece,
either. The Australian-native author, poet and singer/songwriter/guitarist has
her roots firmly planted in music, and admits inspiration often stems from
lyrics she’s written.
She is the Co-Publishing Editor of Vine Leaves Literary Journal,
and co-hosts the Homeric Writers' Retreat & Workshop
on the Greek Isle of Ithaca, with Chuck Sambuchino of Writer’s Digest.
For more information about Jessica Bell, please visit:
Website: www.jessicacbell.com
Retreat & workshop site: www.hwrw.blogspot.com
Vine Leaves: www.vineleavesliteraryjournal.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/author.jessica.bell
Twitter: www.twitter.com/MsBessieBell
Friday, March 2, 2012
Black Cow Blog Tour Day 5: Brummet's Conscious Blog
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Black Cow Blog Tour Day 4: Interview at Nancy Famolari's Place
Sunday, April 10, 2011
An interview with Kathy Stemke, and a few of her main characters
I’d like to introduce the main characters in each of Kathy Stemke’s books. Sitting next to me is Shelby from Trouble on Earth Day, next to Shelby is Zachary the super hero from Sh, Sh, Sh Let the Baby Sleep. And finally, next to me is Winnie from Winnie’s War. Welcome to my blog today.
Shelby: Well, my proof will be in Kathy’s hands any day now soooo I would think the book will be on sale by June. I’ve been waiting two and a half years to tell my story. That must be some kind of record. Kurt Wilcken has drawn my beautiful pictures. I don’t mind waiting because I’m Kathy’s favorite character and kids will learn about being a friend while helping the environment.
Zachery: Wait just a minute Shelby, you’re just a talking squirrel. I’m a real boy. Kathy likes me the best.
Shelby: NOT! Did you know that my poster, RETHINK, REUSE, RECYCLE won a first place ribbon at school?
Magdalena: That’s very impressive Shelby. Thank you.
Zachary, tell us about your story.
That sounds exciting Zachary. I know Kathy is a retired teacher and she always tries to help kids learn. What will they learn from your book?
Zachary: She uses rhymes with consonant blends throughout the story. You know like sh, th, wh, br, and ch. If kids learn the blends that will help them learn to read. Oh, by the way, my illustrator is Jack Foster. He’s really cool and he captured my extreme good looks rather well.
Fantastic! Thank you, Zachary.
Winnie, you’ve been listening and waiting patiently for your turn. You’re in Kathy’s ‘work in progress,’ Winnie’s War. Can you tell us about your story?
Winnie: Yes, certainly. But first I have to clear one thing up. I can assure you all that I am Kathy’s favorite character. In fact, I’m her mother.
Do you mean to tell me that Kathy Stemke is writing a story with her mother as the main character?
Winnie: Yes, Luv. The story starts when I was seventeen in Birkenhead, England during WWII. My younger brother and two sisters were evacuated to keep them safe from the nightly bombing attacks. We never got word where they ended up. I made it my mission to find them. I even joined the Woman’s Land Army thinking I could find them on some farm somewhere.
It must have been difficult for you to endure all the physical and emotional hardships.
Winnie: It was a long hard war but some good did come out of it. I met Kathy’s father, Ralph, and married him. I fell in love with his curly black hair and turquoise eyes. Yes, they were as blue as the sea. And Kathy’s big brother, Joe was born in England too. That’s an exciting part of my story.
That sounds interesting, Winnie. What age reader do you think should read your book?
Winnie: Kathy calls it a YA historical fiction. If young adults or even old adults read my story, they will learn all about WWII.
Thank you all for visiting today. I’d like to ask my readers to answer the BIG QUESTION. Who do you think is Kathy Stemke’s favorite character Shelby, Zachary or Winnie and why?
Kathy Stemke is a retired teacher with a love for all things creative. She lives in the North Georgia Mountains with her husband, Tony and their dog, Lucy. Tony is a writer too, but they’re still working on Lucy. Kathy and Tony are participating in the A-Z bloggers challenge. They will write a blog to every letter of the alphabet in April. Check it out.
KATHY STEMKE'S WEBSITES:
Kathy’s blog: http://educationtipster.blogspot.com
Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965#
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/kathy-stemke/13/269/285
Do drop by tomorrow to visit Virginia Grenier, who is featuring author Stephen Tremp.
Do drop by tomorrow to visit Virginia Grenier, who is featuring author Stephen Tremp.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Interview with Brigitte A. Thompson
Tell us what Bookkeeping Basics for Freelance Writers is about.
Writers have many important questions to ask about income and expenses, but no single source for answers. I created this book, Bookkeeping Basics for Freelance Writers, to be that source. It is an easy-to-understand guide to organizing a writer’s financial life.
This book addresses issues writers face daily such as how to deduct travel expenses, determine taxable writing income, and claim home office deductions. Navigating through the recordkeeping required for a small business owner can be difficult. This book is written exclusively for those of us who earn money by writing.
Readers will also find that each part of this book works together to assist in forming an overall business plan. The chapters take the writer through a comprehensive process that works as a building block towards a successful writing business.
Have you found that freelance writers require a different set of bookkeeping rules?
Many bookkeeping rules are universal such as the requirement to record income, but there are some areas of the tax law that are of more interest to freelance writers. This includes dealing with royalty payments, bartering, personal property and agent fees. My book addresses the universal tax rules as well as the infrequently discussed rules that apply specifically to freelance writers.
Learning how to document expenses and how to track income will give writers the best chance at overall business success.
What are some tax deductions that freelance writers might not be aware of?
There are many tax deductions available to writers. Some expenses are common, such as the cost of purchasing a case of paper or paying for a computer software upgrade. Other costs incurred in the operation of your writing business may not jump out at you as expenses when they could be. For example, consider the following accounts.
Mileage: Trips made in your vehicle to pick up office supplies can be counted as a business deduction if you record the proper information to support it.
Meals: Treating your agent to a restaurant meal with the discussion focusing on your next book can also generate a tax deduction when properly documented.
Shipping: UPS charges and postage used to mail a query or review copy of your book can be a small expense, but it should still be tracked. Those small deductions add up and every penny spent as a qualified business expense will reduce the amount of income tax you owe.
Bookkeeping Basics for Freelance Writers devotes an entire chapter to expenses including a comprehensive listing of expenses and detailed information regarding what documentation is required to support each one.
I'm sure you've observed other freelance writers making accounting missteps that cost them time and money. What are some of the most common issues and how can we avoid them?
The most common misstep I’ve seen with writers is not taking themselves seriously as business owners. This can lead to financial pitfalls. Many writers have been honing their craft for years so it’s hard to identify an official starting date for their self-employment. Without this point to mark the beginning, it is easy to put off tracking income and expenses. This can be an unfortunate mistake.
The IRS will consider you to be in business when you are actively pursuing projects intended to generate income and expenses. This means they will expect you to file a tax return to report those transactions. Keeping track of your income and expenses from day one will enable you to pay the least amount of income taxes on the money you earn.
Many people find numbers, especially when related to bookkeeping and taxes, intimidating. Will this book make these things easier to understand"?
Yes, my book breaks down complicated number crunching into easy to follow steps. By reading the book, readers will understand why it's important to keep certain receipts and how those pieces of paper factor into the overall success of their writing business. Sometimes knowing the reasoning behind a task makes it easier to complete.
Writers can take advantage of some wonderful tax deductions, but only when they are aware of the possibility and know how to accurately document the expenses. My book explains it all in a reader friendly format.
What are some of the challenges readers face with regards to bookkeeping?
I found the most common challenge writers face revolves around what they can claim as income and what counts as a tax deduction. For example, if their first job is writing the school newsletter, is the money received really income? Do they need to do something with the Internal Revenue Service before they can be considered a business? How do they handle self- employment tax?
The second most common concern for the freelance writers is related to proper documentation. What receipts did they need to save? How should they be kept? What information needs to be recorded to prove the expense? These are all great questions and they are addressed in the book.
Why is it important for writers to understand bookkeeping?
Writers are earning money and this money needs to be reported as income on their income tax return. If writers do not have any expenses to claim, their taxable income will be higher and they will owe more income tax.
Understanding what can be claimed as business expenses when you are a writer and how to properly document these expenses will help ensure the success of your business.
The most important thing you can do as a writer is to become organized. There are many books available on how to organize your writing, but this is the best book available about how to organize the financial side of your writing business.
Obviously, your book is a great place for writers to get information on bookkeeping. Are there are any other resources you recommend?
Yes, I recommend writers visit the IRS web site (www.irs.gov) to research specific tax issues and the Small Business Administration (www.sbaonline.sba.gov) for general business information.
I also recommend joining professional associations for writers such as American Society of Journalists and Authors (www.asja.org), The Authors Guild (www.authorsguild.org) and National Writers Union (www.nwu.org). There are many groups to choose from so consider the benefits of membership before joining.
I was interviewed recently by Freelance Success (http://www.FreelanceSuccess.com) which offers an insightful newsletter for their members. There are also online groups for writers such as MomWriters (http://www.MomWriters.com) offering networking opportunities as well as camaraderie.
How can we purchase your book?
Bookkeeping Basics for Freelance Writers is available through Amazon.com and my publisher (www.CrystalPress.org). Any local bookstore can order my book by ISBN-10: 0963212389 or ISBN-13: 978-0963212382. List price is $17.95.
Brigitte is also teaching an online class Sept 29th through the Freelancers Union and I'd love to have it included. It's called Bookkeeping Basics and here is the link: http://www.freelancersunion.org/events/2010/events%202010/sept-bookkeeping-basics.html?utm_medium=rss
Brigitte and I are part of the VBT Writers on the Move Group. Continue on with the VBT by visiting Virginia S Grenier's blog for an interview with author Karen Cioffi.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Meet Margaret Fieland
Today's guest is Margaret Fieland, a prolific poet whose work has appeared in a myriad of publications. Born and raised in New York City, Margaret Fieland has been around art and music all her life. Daughter of a painter, she is the mother of three grown sons and an accomplished flute and piccolo player. She is an avid science fiction fan, and selected Robert A. Heinlein's “Farmer in the Sky” for her tenth birthday, now long past. She lives in the suburbs west of Boston, MA with her partner and seven dogs. Her poems, articles and stories have appeared in journals and anthologies such as Main Channel Voices, Echolocation, and Twisted Tongue. In spite of making her living as a computer software engineer, she turned to one of her sons to format the initial version of her website, a clear illustration of the computer generation gap. You may visit her website, http://www.margaretfieland.com. Margaret was good enough to drop by and answer a few questions for us.Tell us about what you write: I'm a professional Computer Software engineer – BA in mathematics, MS in computer science, but I've written poetry as far back as I can remember, though not with publication in mind and not with any level of dedication.
What got you writing for publication? What really propelled me into writing for publication was organizing my poetry. I used to keep the poems, when I kept them, in notebooks. They were totally unorganized, and I could never find anything. Then I wrote a poem I wanted to keep, so I got off the stick and put them up, first on my computer, and after that online, originally in Yahoo briefcase, and later in Google Documents.
Why was the organization such a key factor in moving your writing forward? Once I had the poems organized and findable, I could finally submit, and I could look them over and gain perspective on how I was doing. What ended up happening was that I submitted a poem to a contest on a whim and ended up a finalist. This was so encouraging that I started writing more, working more seriously on growing as a writer, joined critique groups, etc.
What are you working on now? Well, there's my chapter book, The Ugly Little Boy. I'm also working on a rhymed picture book and a series of math poems.
Almost every writer is inspired by someone else. Does anyone inspire you? Lewis Carroll. My all time favorite book is “Alice in Wonderland,” which I reread every exam time when I was in college, as I made it a habit to avoid the library during exams. I'm also very fond of Carroll's poetry. I've got several stanzas of Jabberwocky and You Are Old, Father William memorized.
How long have you been writing? I've been writing poetry since my teens, but only with publication in mind for the past three or four years. As a story writer I'm pretty much of a novice, as I only started writing stories after I hooked up with Linda Barnett Johnson after the first Muse online writer's conference three years ago and joined her writing forums. I'm 62 now, so that's a lot of years of writing.
What made you want to start writing? Good question – I started and became addicted. I really love writing -- and I just plain enjoy writing poetry, rhymed and unrhymed. I've developed my own algorithm for generating rhymes, which means that I often don't have to use a rhyming dictionary at all. Besides, if I don't write it down it stays stuck in my head.
When did you start writing? Like many teens, I started writing (bad) poetry in my teens as an outlet for my teenage angst. Then later on I started writing poetry for the people I was dating, and after that for family birthdays, Christmas, Thanksgiving, -- basically everything.
What's the strangest thing you've ever written? I don't think anything I write is strange {looks innocently up at ceiling}. I have written several surreal poems, and I have one I really like called “Machine A Ecrire” (French for typewriter), unpublished, in the shape of a typewriter. The sentences are “variations” on the stuff they had us all typing when we were in school.
Where do you get your ideas? Darned if I know. Some of the poetry is “inspired,” some is in response to exercises or prompts I dig up, some is from lines that come to me as I'm falling asleep, some from events in my life. Lots of places. One poem I wrote this week was inspired by some words in the comments in the "spam" folder on my website {grin}.
When do you write – set times or as the mood moves you? Since I have a full time job, whenever the spirit moves me, and I have (or can make) the time. The nice thing about poetry is that a lot of it is short and taking a couple of minutes to jot down poetry is pretty easy to do. Waiting for appointments is a favorite time to write. I've had good luck being "inspired" by those articles you find in waiting rooms.
When you're not writing, what do you like to do? Read, listen to music, play my flute and my piccolo, walk our dogs, do crossword puzzles.
Tour with VBT-Writers on the Move through April. New and famous authors, plus useful information.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Interview with Kevin McNamee
Today's guest is Kevin McNamee, author of a large number of childrens' books, including, most recently, The Soggy Town of Hilltop, and the Amazon listed If I Could Be Anything. Kevin has dropped by to have a chat with us, and share his books.Please tell us what you are most passionate about outside of writing.
Outside of writing, I would say that I’m the most passionate about my family.
If you weren’t a writer, what would you be doing with your life?
Can you describe the time you realized you were indeed a “real” writer? Somewhere along the way, I stopped doubting my ability. A rejection of my manuscript ceased to be a rejection of myself. A rejection letter became an opportunity to send my manuscript somewhere else. Comments and criticism became opportunities to strengthen my story, revise something unworkable, or something to ignore altogether if it didn’t fit with my vision of the story. I was able to refer to myself as a writer without feeling self conscious and … oh yeah, someone was willing to pay me for what I wrote.
What is going on with your writing these days? Right now, I have several stories in various stages of completion, one story that has been finalized and critiqued and needs a final revision, and a few that are finished and have been sent out to various publishers.
Can you describe the time you realized you were indeed a “real” writer? Somewhere along the way, I stopped doubting my ability. A rejection of my manuscript ceased to be a rejection of myself. A rejection letter became an opportunity to send my manuscript somewhere else. Comments and criticism became opportunities to strengthen my story, revise something unworkable, or something to ignore altogether if it didn’t fit with my vision of the story. I was able to refer to myself as a writer without feeling self conscious and … oh yeah, someone was willing to pay me for what I wrote.
What is going on with your writing these days? Right now, I have several stories in various stages of completion, one story that has been finalized and critiqued and needs a final revision, and a few that are finished and have been sent out to various publishers.
What are your future goals for your writing? I’ve been focusing primarily on picture books and I would like to branch out to middle readers and Young Adult novels. I have two middle readers in various stages of completion.
Describe a typical writing day for you? There’s no such thing as a typical writing day for me. I try to do something writing related every day. But what I’m doing may vary. Sometimes I’m writing new material, sometimes I’m revising, sometimes I’m critiquing, sometimes I’m researching, sometimes I’m promoting. Due to the demands on my time, I’ve needed to adopt the philosophy of doing what I can, when I can.
Why do you write?
Can you tell us where to find more information on you? Website? Blog? To find out more about me, please visit my website at www.kevinmcnamee.com or my blog at www.kevinmcnameechildrensauthor.blogspot.com I also have a new child-friendly site with games and activities at www.kevschildrensbooks.com
Review of If I Could be Anything
"Could I squirm like a worm living under a rock
or show off my teeth like a cranky old croc?"
Beautiful washy watercolours with lots of fun detail from toothpaste tubes to babies in strollers works perfectly with the text, drawing in the eye and encouraging children to think of their own images and wishes. Overall, the book presents a positive message, encouraging children to enjoy the pleasures of the imagination while liking who they are, right now. This is a lovely, well-designed book that children of all ages will enjoy. Older siblings will particularly like reading the book to younger ones, and emerging readers will be able to read it themselves.
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Kevin was hosted as part of the VBT-Writers on the Move tour. For the full February tour schedule featuring both emerging and established authors, visit: http://tinyurl.com/yhkt7v8
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Thursday, February 18, 2010
Twitterview with Gary Eby
magdalenaball: Hi Gary, I'm here, and ready to roll. Shoot a question at me and I'll answer as best as I can.
magdalenaball: I'm Magdalena, writer, reviewer, mother, juggler. Author of Repulsion Thrust (poetry), Sleep Before Evening (fiction), and more.
magdalenaball: I'll talk Repulsion Thrust (latest). It's science inspired poetry: seeking answers to the human condition through Quantum Physics.
magdalenaball: Poetry is rarely didactic. I'm not sure there are any improvement tips! I do believe in the power of art though on many levels
magdalenaball: what I will say is that I think poetry can often bridge the communication gulf. Getting from what I mean to what you hear is hard, and metaphor (cheating I know) can bridge that gulf instantly - like music, or visual art.
magdalenaball: and I believe that communication (EM Forster's 'Only Connect') is at the heart of improving the 'human condition'. How's that?
qlcoach Yes, I agree. I have also discovered that many people get stuck on the negative side to life. Can poetry lift them out ? G
magdalenaball: I think most therapy works through naming and identifying the source of pain, and poetry can do that without over simplifying.
magdalenaball: being a poet I don't take well to the usual affirmations, but it definitely helps to find words, even if those words are metaphors.
qlcoach Year after year books are published promising happiness, joy, prosperity, etc. They just don’t tell us how to do it. G
magdalenaball: Happiness, joy, prosperity are all relative words. They're meaningless without a personal context - otherwise there's never enough.
magdalenaball: Yes. My novel Sleep Before Evening was a portrait of why a creative life is critical and the impact of stifling creativity.
qlcoach Thanks for that question.The Eby Way, is a self-help guide to overcoming past dark secrets so we can achieve our goals today.
qlcoach Have been a social worker for 40 years. Wanted to share with people a self-help process to overcoming all that's negative. G
magdalenaball: tell me about the self-help process. Is it something novel/new? Or do you combine a range of approaches? What does it solve?
qlcoach The Eby Way: face stressful feelings; use positive thoughts; take positive action; turn to positive power. G.
qlcoach People can find out more about my work and watch The Eby Way Video: http://www.ipodiums.com/qlcoach G.
magdalenaball: http://www.magdalenaball.com for samples and more information. Anything else you want to add?
qlcoach Here’s the real secret: as long as your heart or mind or body remembers that negative incident long ago, change will be hard.
magdalenaball: Good secret. Do we move beyond that through facing it and seeing it for what it is? Maybe that's the poetry component...
magdalenaball: Interesting. I'm not normally succinct, so good discipline. Fun, and relatively easy/intuitive. Will post a transcript on the blog.
qlcoach Excellent. Thanks. I'll go and check it out. I'll also post a transcript of this interview on my blog as well. Any final thoughts or comments? G.
magdalenaball: Just a big thank you for taking the time to chat with me. I'm sure we'll talk again. Best wishes with everything.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Blog tour Guest Kristin Bair O'Keeffe
I'm very pleased to have a visit today from Kristin Bair O'Keeffe, who talks about her novel Thirsty. Talk to me about Thirsty. What gave rise to the book?
Thirsty is the story of one woman’s rather unusual journey through an abusive marriage, set against the backdrop of a Pittsburgh steel town at the turn of the twentieth century. Because I have a history of domestic violence in my family, I’ve done a good bit of thinking about it over the years, both personally and as a writer.
As I’ve moved through the world, I’ve witnessed how being a victim of domestic violence often is passed from mother to daughter…like pearls or a wedding dress. This cycle of abuse—along with the idea of genetic memory—tweaked my storytelling curiosity early on. In writing Thirsty, I wanted to explore the mother-daughter dynamic, how a young woman gets involved in an abusive relationship in the first place, why some women manage to leave abusive relationships behind, and why others simply cannot. The more I wrote and discovered, the more I realized how tender and complicated these situations are. As I wrote Klara’s story, I kept coming to the question of courage: “What is it? Who has it? Who can get it? What does it look like? And finally, can Klara ever find the courage to leave Drago?”
In addition, I’ve got a bit of an obsession with steel. I grew up in a suburb of Pittsburgh, and my maternal grandparents lived just down the road a bit in Clairton, one of Pittsburgh’s most dynamic steel communities. In the 1960s and 1970s, I spent a lot of time at their house with the smokestacks of the mills bearing down and barges hauling steel along the Monongahela River. My grandfather and great uncles worked in the steel mills so it was a big part of our family story. When the steel industry collapsed in the late 1970s and early 1980s, so did Pittsburgh’s steel communities. At that point, the storyteller in me jumped up and said, “Ooohh, there’s something to be told here.”
Somewhere along the line, these two inspirations merged and Thirsty was born.
Did you write the book after moving to China? Was it inspired by your travels?Actually I wrote the first scene of Thirsty in 1992 when I was a grad student at Columbia College in Chicago…long before I moved to China. Once I dug in, I was hooked. I became obsessed with steel mills, steel making, the life of women in Pittsburgh at the turn of the twentieth century, the psychology behind a woman’s reason for staying in an abusive marriage, and the journey of the main character, Klara Bozic.
Since moving to China in March 2006, I’ve actually discovered that Shanghai today is in some ways strangely similar to steel communities in Pittsburgh at the turn of the twentieth century. For example, the streets of Shanghai are filled with cart-pulling entrepreneurs who specialize in various goods and services; there’s a guy selling oranges, a woman collecting wood to recycle, a man selling stockings and nylon socks, a knife sharpener, and lots more. There were cart-pulling entrepreneurs all over the place in Pittsburgh steel communities at the turn of the twentieth century; you’ll see them when you read Thirsty. Who would have thought? (To get a glimpse into my writing life in Shanghai, check out the video interview with me at YouTube.
Tell me a little about your life in China - why did you migrate?
In 2005, my husband (who was then my boyfriend) said to me, “How would you feel about living in China?”
“China?” I said.
“Mmmhhm,” he said, “my company wants me to go there for a couple of years.”
Until that moment, I hadn’t ever considered living in China. Italy? Sure. Greece? Absolutely. But China?
It didn’t take me long to make a decision. I was an adventurous writer and a woman in love. Why not move to China? After a few short seconds, I said, “Sure, let’s go.”
Five months later we were married and living in Shanghai. I didn’t speak a word of Mandarin, didn’t know a soul, and honestly, knew very little about Chinese culture (other than what I’d gleaned during our three-day cultural training class). But I was fascinated. I grabbed my Mac and my camera and set off. I’ve been exploring ever since. (My second book is about China.)
How did you find Swallow Press (or did they find you)?
For the publication of Thirsty, I owe a big fat thanks to my good friend and writing colleague Christina Katz (a.k.a. the Writer Mama). She has been one of Thirsty’s greatest cheerleaders since we were in grad school together at Columbia. (She was also one of Thirsty’s first readers.)
In early 2008, Christina was at a writers’ conference in the United States. As always, she was talking up Thirsty to fiction folks, and on this particular day, the timing was right. She said something like, “My friend Kristin has written this amazing novel called…..” Someone looked up and said, “Ooh, Kristin should send the manuscript to Swallow Press. Sounds like a good fit.”
I did. And voilà! A short time later I had a book deal.
Talk to me about some of the promotional complexities that you've got. Is most of your promotion via Internet? Are you able to tap into ex-pat writing groups/communities or do you really feel like your day to day life is in one location and your 'book life' is in another?
Promoting a debut novel in the U.S. while living halfway around the world in Shanghai, China, is, well, a little nuts. After all, I live in a country that “manages” access to the Internet. I’m blocked from all social media sites—Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.—as well as many blogs and lots of writer-related sites. (I’m even blocked from my own blog!)
Thankfully I’m a creative soul and a determined author. And because I’m also the reigning queen of VPNs (Virtual Private Networks), I manage to get to blocked websites on a fairly regular basis and therefore connect quite often with readers and writers.
In late September, I flew home to the U.S. for the launch of Thirsty. (October 1 was the official release date.) And from the time the airplane touched down, I was the (very exhausted, but very happy) marketing maven. I did an author’s feast at the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association convention in Cleveland, a flurry of radio interviews, a webcast interview with the books editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and a bunch more things that have become a blur. I also read and signed books at a number of bookstores in Pittsburgh, Massachusetts, and Maine, went back to my high school alma mater to yak with students in the creative writing classes, and talked to anyone anywhere who looked like they might be a reader. (I was the one in the international terminal at the airport calling, “Hey, hey, you! Yes, you! Do you read? Have you seen my debut novel Thirsty?”?)
We also have a terrific reading/writing community in Shanghai, and folks are very supportive of fellow expats. In the coming months, I’ll be doing as many events in Asia as possible. Right now I’m scheduled to speak to a handful of reading groups and give a talk at the most amazing Shanghai International Literary Festival (March 2010).
Living in China and publishing in the U.S. has forced me to think outside of the box. There’s lots more creative marketing ahead. Stay tuned!
You're a real juggler aren't you? (I know what it's like!) Tell me about some of the things you're juggling right now, and some of the balls you hope to add into the juggling mix in the future.
Yep, if this writing thing doesn’t pan out, I’m sending my resume to Cirque du Soleil.
Seriously though, in addition to being a new author, I’m mom to a brilliant, energetic, chatty 22-month-old. I blog, run a reading series in Shanghai for local writers, teach writing, and write a monthly column for Writers on the Rise. [link = http://writersontherise.wordpress.com/] I’m close to completing my second novel and a memoir (that’s the book about China). Since my husband is from Ireland and I’m from the U.S., we do a good bit of international travel. Therefore I spend a good bit of each year recovering from jetlag.
All in all, it’s a pretty cool life.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Virtual Reality Interview at Terric Coffeeshop
Netera Landar talks to "me" (that's Poet Ozigard - whether it's me or not is the subject of poetry) at the Terric Coffeeshop in Second Life (whether or not that's a place is a subject for Philosophers). This is kind of ground breaking (whether or not it is is something I'm open to discussing), and new (for me at least...), and I'd love for you to join us. Second Life is free, and you can join in and interact with us in the session. Please come along, even if you find it creepy, and help support "me" as I muddle my way through virtual reality. Refreshments available (whether or not they're refreshments...). That's 7pm Central US time on the 10th (12 midday on the 11th if you're in Sydney).
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