working on trailer for "Listen"

Working on a new trailer for my new book "LISTEN" here is a shot from the set

Excerpt from Closing My Eyes Helps Me To See Clearly

As her eyes open wide, they burst and become pools of blue liquid.  She reaches her tiny mangled hand up and caresses my cheek.  As soon as I feel her hand upon my cheek, her skin turns to the liquid blue.  Suddenly, her whole arm fills with the blue liquid, filling up like a water balloon, and then bursts. 

The liquid fills the bottom of the elevator soaking my feet up to my ankles.  The blue solution continues to take over the rest of her body.  As each body part fills, it bursts, empties into the elevator to the point where I swim upwards to keep above it. The liquid takes over holding my breath, I scramble to reach the top, but it seems to move farther and farther away.  I look back down and the elevator seems to be nothing but a glimmer of light at the bottom of this watery blue shaft.

Sidney Williams Blood Hunter review

5.0 out of 5 stars No vampires or zombies YAY!! A fun fast paced read of a reporter helping out a beautiful young lady look for the killer of her brother. Filled with blood and gore as they uncover the truth. If your a fan of Dexter and the X Files you will love this book. I can't wait to read more from Sidney Williams. This is the first of many of Sidney’s novels we’ll be re-releasing. In order to help get his name back out there, we are offering Blood Hunter at a special reduced price until the first of September. Grab your copy now! Legends abound about hideous creatures who live in the swamps near Aimsley, Louisiana. They’ve picked up the name Mormo, and they are said to be terrifying. but Jag Walker and Debra Blane discover the creatures are at the root of a larger conspiracy as they begin a search for her missing brother. As they unravel ancient secrets and modern evil, they find they must confront a nightmare. Author’s Note for the E-Edition It’s hard to believe Blood Hunter was written twenty years ago, and the unsold screenplay on which I based it even further back. That screenplay entailed what is now the latter portion of this story. I opened the tale up a little more when I turned it into a novel, my third published book. It was written while I was a young reporter, though not, by that point, as green as Jag, this book’s protagonist. Recently, someone sent me a You Tube clip of an interview I did at a science fiction convention around the time of the original publication. I remember doing that sound bite, and it seems like yesterday. This new edition is much like the original edition. I’ve tightened the prose in places and touched up a few plot points, but I haven’t tried to update it or do major overhauls. This is a story set in the 1990s. It’s interesting, in re-reading the text after some time, to note how the world has changed. Characters make a lot of pay phone calls and struggle with communication issues that are no longer a challenge. They also refer to a troubled economy and the impact of fluctuating oil prices. Some things don’t change at all. There were certainly no e-books when this was first written. It’s exciting to see it gain new life in a new era. Happy reading. INTERVIEW http://kippoe.blogspot.com/2010/09/sidney-williams-interview.html

Beth Hart My California (a rant)

My California release date announcement

Attention everybody! The moment you’ve all been waiting for has arrived: the release date announcement of My California. Mark the following dates on your calendar: Denmark will be releasing Beth's new album My California on October 11th. The rest of Europe will be releasing the album a week earlier, on October 4th. Unfortunately the US fans will have to be patient a little bit longer, there the album will be released in the first quarter of the new year.

Track list:
01 My California
02 Life Is Calling
03 Happiness… any day now
04 Love Is The Hardest
05 Bad Love Is Good Enough
06 Drive
07 Sister Heroine
08 Take It Easy On Me
09 Like You (and everyone else)
10 Everybody Is Sober
11 Weight Of The World
12 Oh Me Oh My (limited edition: bonus track)

Audio clips of all songs will be made available soon.

Pre-order My California at your favorite record store!

 Ok here we go this dose not make any sense to me at all, come on Beth you know I luv ya but what the Hell? This is a perfect plan to kill a release. You offer your record to one part of the world in October, but the US citizens wont be able to purchase the cd or download the music till next year?

 Beth Hart is one of the most amazing musicians on the planet that no one really knows about, I cringe and  want to send a shiv into my eardrums with what the networks wants us to buy into with American Idol, So many true musicians never see the light of day that are TRUE musicians.

 Beth has a rabid fan base if you know who she is you adore her she lives the music, but who ever is running the show for you hun is not doing you any favors, This is the age of digital downloads, and if you don't make it available to some and available to others well lets just say people do find ways to get what they want.

This is a sure fire way to lose sales like crazy.

This is my rant for the day now back to your regular programing.

Kipp Poe  

David Fingerman Interview

1: What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?

It varies day-to-day.  Some mornings I'll wake up with an idea kicking around in my head and I'll write until my brain starts to fizzle.  Other days it's a struggle and words don't start revving up until later in the day.  On rare occasions (and my favorite) three o'clock in the morning is best - no distractions.

2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer?

99+ percent is done on my computer.  If i'm not around my computer I'll certainly jot ideas down on paper, but for writing I'm most comfortable in my office.  That's where I have the least amount of distractions - and I do get distracted easily.  

3: What do you draw inspiration from?

Anything and everything.  I've got a very active, and warped, imagination.  A breeze can feel like a ghost's touch, a squirrel dodging a car can be a contest, pretty much anywhere my mind takes me can be an inspiration.  I saw a crack in a wall once and wrote a story about a good wall vs. an evil wall. It was so bad it's one of a very few stories I deleted all traces of, but still, that wall inspired me.

4: Do you set yourself goals when you sit down to write such as word count?

Not anymore.  I used to set a goal of 3000 words per day, but I found I was getting too caught up in meeting that goal and became less concerned with quality.  It was a bit self-defeating because I spent more time deleting and rewriting than if I had just written less words.  I just have to make sure I write everyday (Monday through Friday) which isn't a problem most of the time.

5: Being a self published author how do you come up with your cover art?

"Silent Kill" is published by L&L Dreamspell, a POD but traditional publisher.  One day I got an email with an attachment saying here's your cover.  I loved it.  It was better than the visions I had.  I'm guessing that if I had a problem with it we could have talked it out.  They're a very approachable and author friendly publisher.  I feel very fortunate to have stumbled upon them.

6: What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?

I can't not write.  A writer is something I've wanted to be for a lot of years.  When I worked in the court system, things fell into place where I could walk away.  I jumped at the chance and have been writing full time ever since.

7: Do you own an ebook reading devise?

Not yet.  I'm still old school.  I love the feel of a book in my hands and want to manually turn the pages.  I've gotten to the point where I see a lot of advantages to an ereader and it's just a matter of time before I buckle.  So far I've read three ebooks on my computer and I found it very annoying and uncomfortable.

8: Who are some of your favorite authors and What are you reading now?

Right now I'm reading "The Given Day" by Dennis Lehane - I highly recommend it.  Some of my favorite authors are Harlan Ellison, Andrew Vachss, Stephen King, Neil Geiman, Walter Mosely to name just a very few.

9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any?

I'm beginning to be swayed toward them.  I've seen some really good ones and some really schlocky ones.  But even some of the good ones haven't gotten a lot of hits.  I think what's holding me back is that I've never heard about a person buying a book because they saw a trailer.  I see you make trailers - convince me.

10: What are you working on now that you can talk about? 

I'm working on the third Louise Miller novel (the second has been accepted by L&L Dreamspell and will be released next year), I'm also playing with two horror novels, and dabbling in a couple of short stories.

Karen McQuestion Easily Amused Review

 One Of Kindles greatest treasures,


This book is a great fun read many laugh out loud moments and so well wrote characters and nice flowing story that will keep you reading just to see where it will end up. Do yourself a favor and read it and the rest of her work you will be glad you did

Cathryn Louis Interview

1: What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?

  Evenings – after 6 pm. My daughter is doing her homework; dinner has been enjoyed; hubby is occupied; television is off. The atmosphere is quiet and calm.

2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer?

  Mostly computer now. I still carry a notebook and a pen – just in case I get in the mood to make words flow across the page. I haven't used them in a while though.

3: What do you draw inspiration from?

  It probably sounds cliché – but everywhere. My experiences, books I've read, movies I've seen, everyday occurrences. The inspiration for the scene in Second Best, believe it or not, was a cat stalking a bird in my back yard.

4: Do you set goals for yourself when you sit down to write such as word count?

  I set a goal for time. My goal is no less than 1 ½ hours every day. In that time, I may be writing on my new novel, a short story or even a blog post. I find if I try to constrain myself to writing a particular thing, I get blocked. If I try to constrain myself to word count, I get blocked. So I just let it flow and see what happens.

5: Are you a published or a self published author and how do you come up with your cover art?

  My first novel is self-published and the cover is very simple – a gift from my daughter. How does one refuse such a thing? I chose not to.

6: What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?

  I've been in technology all my career, but I've got reams of stuff that I've written over the years for my own amusement. So reading with my daughter inspired me to pull some of my writing together into a coherent story. The next thing I did was get a writing coach so that I could learn the craft of writing. The first result is Sunrise on the Pier. I loved writing the book. There's something about visualizing a story in my head and making it visible to readers through words that I simply love.

7: Do you own an ebook reading device?

  Certainly! A Kindle of course. :)

8: Who are some of your favorite authors and What are you reading now?

  There are many authors that I read and have read, but can't say that I have a favorite. Of course I'm a big fan of Mary Stewart, one of the grand dames of romantic suspense; and I also love espionage fiction. There are also many new (to me) authors that I'm reading, many of whom are indie. Great indie authors out there – it's hard to name just a few. Now I'm rereading Mary Stewart – as a student of the romantic suspense technique.

9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any?

  I think it's a wonderful idea. I may do some – when I can tear myself away from the page.

10: How did you come up with the title of your latest book? 

The title of the book is the name of the painting that Jarin paints. He is the hero in the story. So it could be anything – name the painting, name the book.

11: What are you working on now that you can talk about?

  I'm working on a new novel, also about people associated with Skye Pointe, the fictitious community I created in Sunrise on the Pier. It's a completely different story with completely different characters, so it isn't a sequel. I'm also finding my voice in short stories. I post them from time to time on my blog.

http://www.cathrynlouis.com/

Tom Wiseman Interview

1: What is the most productive time of the day for you to write? 

I find that the best time for me is mid-morning to early afternoon, but since those hours conflict with my work schedule, I purchased a miniature voice recorder to capture any ideas I might have as they come up. Then after work I’ll sit down and write based on what has been recorded.

2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer?

All of my writing projects are done electronically, including outlines, drafts, and reference spreadsheets. For me, it just makes more sense to have everything available on a single medium.

3: What do you draw inspiration from?

Like every other writer, I draw from real life, but to completely immerse myself into a scene, I love to look for pictures on the internet that represent what I have in my mind’s eye. Visual cues help to stimulate my imagination and allow me to accurately describe what I envision for that particular setting.

4: Do you set goals for yourself when you sit down to write such as word count?

Stephen King says it best in his book “On Writing”, when he states that as writers; we need to force ourselves to write every day. Whether our goal is to reach a specific word count or to write for a certain amount of time really doesn’t matter, as long as you write.
5: Are you a published or a self published author and how do you come up with your cover art?

Currently I am only self-published, although I have high hopes that the novel I’m working on now will appeal to an agent and eventually be published in the traditional fashion. As far as my cover art is concerned, again I go back to visual representation. I want to convey as much information as I can with the pictures or artwork I select for the cover. To accomplish this, I summarize the story into a few short words, and then from there it’s just a matter of finding or creating the images that accurately depict those words.

6: What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?

The lofty dream of making a million isn’t why I write. It’s about losing myself in my own stories as if I’m reading someone else’s book; flipping the pages as quickly as I can read to find out what happens next and when I’m finished with it, wanting to share it with everyone I know.
7: Do you own an ebook reading device?

Not yet, but I will by Christmas. I’ll be buying my wife a Kindle very shortly for her Christmas present.

8: Who are some of your favorite authors and what are you reading now?

Michael Crichton, Dan Brown, Robert Harris and Mario Puzo are the first that come to mind. There are plenty of other authors that I enjoy reading, but these four always seem to capture my attention. I’m currently reading “Tutankhamun, the book of shadows” by Nick Drake.

9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any?

Quite honestly, I haven’t thought much about them before, so I don’t have an opinion of whether I like them or not. I do not have any plans right now on creating any.

10: How did you come up with the title of your latest book?

 Grey Skies Ahead” just seemed to fit the overall storyline. It was the first title I came up with and it just stuck. “Humanoids”, my current project, is still a working title, so it may yet be changed, but it too seems to encapsulate what the book is about. During the outlining process I was calling it “Mortal Lives”.
11: What are you working on now that you can talk about?

“Humanoids” is my current project. It’s a Sci-Fi thriller set in the 22nd century and currently at around 46,000 words, or about halfway through the first draft. The synopsis is: “For generations, scientists fought to create artificial life. In 2020, they do just that. A century later, the craft has nearly been perfected. Humanoids are now common-place, walking among us in our day-to-day lives. They work, play and seek out the same thrills and success as we do. But who among us is human and who exactly is humanoid. Technology has blurred the lines between the two. Ethan Stawls, the notorious Body Shredder, somehow escapes from prison and is on the hunt for the reclusive, retired judge who sent him away. Lieutenant, Brian Stone and his team have been assigned the case. When they begin plucking at some loose strands they unravel a nightmarish mystery, hidden deep within the city government.”

            For anyone interested in reading more, you can actually read the first chapter ‘teaser’ I have posted on my web site. http://home.comcast.net/~vern_49/GSA.html

 

Justified Sins Review 5 STAR

 BAM No turning back


You are put right into the action guns and amazing characters. You will be hooked from the first paragraph. Since i purchased my Kindle I have fallen deep into the crime novels. With the likes of Ed McBain, and Raymond Chandler. So I thought i'd give Justified Sins a try and downloaded the sample and went instantly to hit the buy button. So glad to of heard of Brian Drake work and had the privilege to interview him about the book. 




READ THE INTERVIEW:


http://kippoe.blogspot.com/2010/09/brian-drake-justified-sin-release-party.html

David Dell Johnson Interview

1. What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?

Mid-morning works best for me. The caffeine’s kicked in and I have lots of energy.

2. Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on computer?

My book “6001 Things You Won’t Miss When You’re Dead” is not a book with a narrative. It’s basically a catalog of things you won’t miss when you go. The potential entries would basically pop into my head and I would quickly write them down so as not to forget them. At some point I’d transfer them to my computer.

3. What do you draw inspiration from?

Everyday irritants and mystifying crap that you won’t miss when your time has come. I can’t say it was inspiring, but it was challenging to see how many things I could come up with.

4. Do you set goals for yourself when you sit down to write such as word count?

No. I would go in spurts with this project, coming up with 50 things on day and maybe just a few the next.

5. Are you a published or a self-published author and how do you come up with your cover art?

On this project I started out trying to get this published the traditional route. I had an agent who shopped it around, but ultimately found no takers. I then decided to go the self-pub route and try and have some fun with it. It’s definitely ben a learning experience because the onus is on you to get it marketed. As for the cover art I came up with it myself. I’m not an artist so it was kind of a fluke that I came up with something that’s gotten a lot of great comments.

6. What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?

Writing is not a career for me at this point. I have a full time career with the federal government. If I decide to pursue writing full time it will probably have to wait until I retire.

7. Do you own an ebook reading device?

I have a Kindle app on my iPhone and plan on buying a Kindle later this year.

8. Who are some of your favorite authors and what are you reading now?

I absolutely love Dennis Lehane. He’s got a new book coming out next month. Stephen King is always good. I also love trivia books such as “1001 Facts That Will Scare the S#*T Out of You” and “Why Men Have Nipples”.

9. What do you think of book trailers and do you have plans to have any?

I’d love to have one; however, it costs money to have one professionally made. Perhaps with some strong sales on “6001 Things” I could pursue it.

10. How did you come up with the title for your latest book?

For “6001 Things You Won’t Miss When You’re Dead” it was actually pretty simple. I wanted it to be direct and to the point. Something that would make someone say “Hmmm, interesting, maybe I’ll take a look.”

11. What are you working on now that you can talk about?

Nothing at the moment. I’m trying to market “6001 Things” which is a job in itself. I have some ideas on other projects, but they will likely have to wait.

Vanessa Morgan Interview

1: What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?

The most productive time for me to write is during the evening. Apparently, that’s typical for many creative people. Nighttime seems to stimulate the right hemisphere, while daytime is better for more logical tasks such as editing and rewriting that require the activation of the left hemisphere.

2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer?

I almost never write with paper and pen. I only use it when I’m stuck and need a solution for a specific problem. Switching from computer to paper and pen helps to order my ideas. A writer friend of mine, Daph Nobody, does exactly the opposite. He writes his entire novels in a notebook and only uses his computer to transfer his text once the book is finished.

3: What do you draw inspiration from?

I believe my best writing comes from inside, but I occasionally draw inspiration from horror movies and the people around me. The seventies vampire movie Let’s Scare Jessica to Death inspired part of my horror novel Drowned Sorrow. The stories have nothing in common, but both have dead people coming out of a lake and the New England village I describe in the novel is actually the one from the movie. If you’ve read the book and have seen the movie, then I’m sure you’ll notice the similarities.

The Strangers Outside on the other hand is almost entirely based on reality. But let me warn you, because what follows is really creepy. I’ll start with the fun part. A little over a year ago, my sister Jennifer asked me to use her as a character in one of my stories. I already had an idea for a story with a foreboding atmosphere and dark inhuman figures showing up at different places in a village. Anyway, I thought she was perfect for the story and now the character Jennifer in The Strangers Outside not just resembles my sister, she IS my sister; even the dialogue is based on things she actually told me. To blur the line between reality and fiction even more, I described a real setting and a real house. Now comes the creepy part… Whilst I was writing The Strangers Outside, a few people I know got a call from a psychic who said things about the end of the world being near and seeing dark ghost-like figures when it was about to happen. Those dark figures have now started to show up on different occasions.

4: Do you set goals for yourself when you sit down to write such as word count?

Never. I write with the objective of creating the creepiest novel or short story ever. I don’t even know how much words I write in a day.

5: Are you a published or a self published author and how do you come up with your cover art?

Llumina Press published my first horror novel Drowned Sorrow. A year ago, I was asked to contribute a short story to a compilation with only female horror writers. That story was The Strangers Outside. The project fell apart though and so I decided to publish it myself on Amazon Kindle. I was very lucky to have found Allan Beurms to design the cover art for The Strangers Outside. I gave him my idea of what I wanted the cover to look like and he came up with something brilliant.

6: What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?

It’s the only thing I can see myself doing at the moment.

7: Do you own an ebook reading device?

No, not yet. I’m planning to purchase a Kindle, but  I have many book and movie projects coming up and not enough time to read right now.

8: Who are some of your favorite authors and What are you reading now?

My favorite authors are Michel Houellebecq, Carol Drinkwater and John Saul. The last book I read was a true story, The Pet Psychic by Joanne Hull.

9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any?

My novel Drowned Sorrow has a book trailer. You can watch it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ild3ZunVlz8.  The trailer reminds me a little of M. Night Shyamalan’s movie The Village.

10: How did you come up with the title of your latest book?

The title The Strangers Outside was there even before I came up with the story. I just had a vague idea of dark figures showing up at different spots in town and conveying a sense of dread. It’s the title that inspired me to write the story.

11: What are you working on now that you can talk about?

I will soon be working on a comic book project with Allan Beurms, the comic book artist who also designed the cover of The Strangers Outside. What the comic book will be about? It’ll be about my cat Avalon who also has a starring role in the film adaptation of The Strangers Outside. I’ve started a new novel too and I’ve been asked to write the screenplay for an upcoming vampire film.

http://vanessa-morgan.blogspot.com/

Chris Redding Interview

Thank you for having me on your blog today. I'm excited to be here.

1: What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?

 I am a morning person. My brain shuts down about 8p so I write in the morning. Especially if I have to write fresh. If I am revising I can do it in the afternoon, but evening does not work. Most days I am up by 5:30, but don't really get started until the kids are in school.

2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer?

Years ago I wrote paper and pen. Then I decided I hated the typing in time so I trained myself to write on the computer. I have a laptop so I can be anywhere when I write.

3: What do you draw inspiration from?

Anywhere. I see stuff on the news that gets my brain moving. I see a movie and think about how I would have told that story.

4: Do you set goals for yourself when you sit down to write such as word count?

When I am writing new stuff, I try for five pages a day. Doesn't sound like much, but I have a part time job and kids and a husband and their various activities. Revising I shoot for ten pages a day. Any more and I'm reading not looking at it critically.

5: Are you a published or a self published author and how do you come up with your cover art?

I am both, I guess. The Drinking Game is published as was Corpse Whisperer. But now that Corpse Whisperer is out of print, I put it out on Kindle. The cover art is a collaboration between myself and my son. He's very talented and creative.

6: What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?

I can't not write. I've wanted to do this since I was in fifth grade. I couldn't stop now.

7: Do you own an ebook reading device?

 No, but a Kindle is on my Christmas list.

8: Who are some of your favorite authors and What are you reading now? 

Lisa Gardner is my favorite. I'd love to list more indie authors, but until I get a reader, I can't say who I like. I look forward to discovering many new ones. Right now I am reading Pandora's Daughter by Iris Johansen, another favorite author of mine.

9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any?

 I don't watch them, but I do have one for Corpse Whisperer. I'm not sure if they are effective, but it didn't cost my anything so I had one made.

10: How did you come up with the title of your latest book?

 I began writing it around the time Horse Whisperer came out. Seemed a logical title to me since my heroine does talk to corpses.

11: What are you working on now that you can talk about?

 Write now I'm working on a new writer's workshop for next year. Don't have a title yet, but it is a two week course about layering in all the aspects of a story.

Thanks for having me today. I'm offering a prize! For one lucky poster I will send you a bag of chocolate. This is for US residents only.

cmr

 http://www.chrisreddingauthor.com/

http://twitter.com/chrisredding

http://chrisredddingauthor.blogspot.com/

CHURCH OF THE EYES - Teaser Trailer

First look at the upcoming COPPFILMS production CHURCH OF THE EYES, Directed by Andrew Copp, Written by Andrew Copp, Kevin Jones, Nick Williams, and Bryan Brassfield. Cinematography by Henrique Couto, Original music by Kevin Jones aka Swineburner.

Story: A man loses his one true love in a car accident and in his deep sorrow decides to find and kill God.

Grindhouse Trailer ( Tombs of Terror)

This one was lots of fun

Cult of the Jester

We shot this one on a very cold night

"Paid to Kill"

Another short film we made

werewolves of the relic part1 of 2

This is a short movie we made last year

werewolves of the Relic part 2

Suzanne Tyrpak Interview

1: What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?

Generally, I write best in the morning—I think coming out of dreamtime into consciousness helps me tap into a story, and I’ve even worked out plot problems in dreams. But I write whenever I can. I’ve been known to wake up at 3am and write. Sometimes I come up with wild ideas at night, and when I look at them the next morning I find I need to edit them…or hit delete.

2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer?

I scratch out notes all over the place—on napkins, my arms, on the back of papers I have lying around in my car (get a lot of ideas when I’m driving), but I tend to write mostly on the computer. My handwriting can be a mess—cross-outs, arrows, writing in margins—and I can’t decipher what I’ve written.

3: What do you draw inspiration from?

My own neurosis and people I meet. I’m not safe to be around—you could end up as a character.

The collection of nine short stories that comprise, Dating My Vibrator (and other true fiction) was inspired largely by my own experience: dating, divorce, desire, desperation—all that good stuff. Of course I changed names, condensed characters, embellished. Mostly I cut. Real life rambles more than fiction.

The novel I’m currently working on, Vestal Virgin, suspense set in ancient Rome at the time of Nero, was inspired by a travel book. I read a blurb that mentioned vestals were the most powerful women in the Roman Empire, sworn (as children) to thirty years of chastity—and, if they broke that vow, they could be buried alive. Ooooo, I thought, there’s a story! Then I did a lot of research including two trips to Italy.

4: Do you set goals for yourself when you sit down to write such as word count?

I tend to set goals like: I’m going to barrel through this chapter or this story. If things are going well, and time allows, I write for hours and word count is no problem. If nothing’s clicking, I try to get at least 250-500 words.

5: Are you a published or a self published author and how do you come up with your cover art?

I’ve had a number of short stories published in anthologies and magazines. Rock Bottom, and, Downhill, both included in Dating My Vibrator, were both previously published. The other seven stories were not. My friend, Blake Crouch, encouraged me to put together a collection of stories on Kindle. He and Joe Konrath have done very well on Kindle, especially with their collaboration, Serial. Blake introduced me to his incredible cover artist, Jeroen ten Berg. Jeroen read my stories, liked them and came up with two fantastic covers. I had a hard time deciding between the two. He’s also done a great cover for Vestal Virgin. I recommend him highly. Here’s a link to his website: http://jeroentenberge.com/

6: What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?

I’m an obsessive personality. That helps. In fifth grade we were asked, “what do you plan to ‘be’ when you grow up?” I said: a dancer, an actress, and a writer (in that order). And that’s what I’ve done. Of course, I’ve had a lot of “real” jobs to support my artistic habits. I’ve been a go-go dancer (long time ago!), worked for television producers in New York, sold and wrote commercials for radio—I currently do freelance PR work for the Durango Discovery Museum and work for an airline which allows me to travel. I love writing because I can do it anytime and anywhere.

7: Do you own an ebook reading device?

I’ve been reading on my pc, but I will buy a Kindle soon—easier to read on than an iPad.

8: Who are some of your favorite authors and What are you reading now?

I read eclectically and tend to get into a writer and read everything they’ve written. I love Jane Austen, and I’m a fan of all kinds of English novels…Edith Wharton, Thackeray, Henry James. I love sinking myself into a different time and place. I also enjoy mysteries and thrillers—just got to read Blake Crouch’s latest manuscript. Ruth Rendell is a favorite—she writes such deliciously insane characters. I’m also a fan of Tess Gerritsen and Thomas Harris. At this minute, I’m reading a mystery by Elizabeth George. And I love short stories by Flannery O’Conner and Raymond Carver. I also read a fair amount of psychology—I find the human psyche fascinating.

9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any?

I just participated in a webinar about how to make a book trailer—might be fun. I don’t know if readers really watch book trailers, though.

10: How did you come up with the title of your latest book?

A friend of mine said I needed a title along the lines of, Vagina Monologues. I had that rolling around in my brain, and when I went for a swim, Dating My Vibrator surfaced. Come to think of it, I’ve had a few titles surface while I’m swimming. Guess I should swim more often.

11: What are you working on now that you can talk about?

I’m completing a rewrite on my novel, Vestal Virgin. I hadn’t looked at the manuscript for a couple of years, so I’m attacking with the cold eye of an assassin. I’m enjoying slashing, cutting and rewriting. I’ve had a lot of interest in the book, but I’ve decided to publish it on Kindle and I plan to bring it out in trade paperback. Right now, I’m hooked on self-publishing. I like the immediacy. The independence. Or maybe I’m just a control freak!

Amazon Kindle 3 is going to be available at Best Buy this fall will this be e book reader domination ?

Valmore Daniels Interview

1: What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?

When I write my first draft, I am most productive when I am isolated; in my busy household, that only occurs very early in the morning before anyone else is awake. I am rarely able to just jump right into the writing; I have to ease in slowly, let myself be drawn into the narrative, and when I’m completely immersed, I fall into a writing groove and can pound out page after page.  When I’m editing, on the other hand, I’m not bothered by such distractions and can edit anytime and anywhere.

2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer?

I may just have the worst handwriting on the planet. That’s one of the main reasons I learned to touch- type at an early age. I’m lost without a computer: When I’m outlining, I create a dozen notepad documents – one each for theme, logline, short synopsis, long synopsis, outline, character roster, plot points, random notes, and a separate character history for my mains. I usually have all these documents open at the same time while writing.

3: What do you draw inspiration from?

I’m a big fan of “what-if”.  Whenever I hear a news story, or a friend relates an anecdote, my mind immediately spins it into the most extreme variation.  Most often, I need a half a dozen of these what-if situations combined before I begin plotting out a story.

4: Do you set goals for yourself when you sit down to write such as word count?

Ideally, I would love to consistently put out two thousand words a day, but I word count is a secondary consideration, and I take a note of my progress only after I’ve completed a writing session. Some days I’ll write four thousand, other days four hundred, and some days I’ll cut out thousands of words if the story is heading in the wrong direction.

5: Are you a published or a self published author and how do you come up with your cover art?

As a self-published author, I am responsible for every aspect of the end product. While I’m confident in my writing and editing skills (although beta reader response is integral to this process) and I’m fairly handy with photoshop, I immediately recognized that I do not have the ability to draw or paint in a professional capacity. Also, due to a limited budget, I was not able to commission an original work of art. I spent hours and hours browsing stock photo websites and artist websites until I lucked out with both cover pieces. For my fantasy novel, the artist was willing to provide a license to use one of his completed paintings at an extremely reasonable price. For my science fiction novel, the artists had been commissioned to produce that artwork for another science fiction book, but the sale did not go through, and he put the painting on a stock photo website at a bargain price.

6: What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?

My imagination is way out of control; the only way to temper my thoughts is to organize and write them down. I would love to be able to make a living as a novelist, but even if I were never paid a penny for my writing, I would still write.

7: Do you own an ebook reading device?

I want one, and I’m going to get one.  I’ve tested many of the brands on the market and I think I will make my final choice within the next few months. In the meantime, I use Kindle for PC and Adobe Digital Editions on my laptop. Both look great, but the laptop can be awkward when I read in the bathtub (just kidding … I don’t do that!)

8: Who are some of your favorite authors and What are you reading now?

I love fantasy and science fiction, and for the most part, I stick within my genre. My literary heroes for science fiction are Isaac Asimov, Arthur C Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, Spider Robinson, Robert Sawyer, and Ben Bova. My favorite fantasy authors are RA Salvatore, Steven Brust, Charles deLint, and Dave Duncan. Once in a while, I’ll poke my head out and sample from other genres: James Patterson, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Jeffrey Deaver, and Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child.

9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any?

I made book trailers for both my novels, and while I recognize it as a marketing technique, I have never purchased a book because of a trailer. I’m not convinced the mediums mix well enough. Having said that, I think for my third book I will move in a slightly different direction; instead of a trailer, I’ll either do an author interview with myself, or read from the book, or render an essay on the subject of the book.

10: How did you come up with the title of your latest book?

Due to the limitations of current technology, humankind is unable to reach the stars. In a sense, until we find a power source capable of sending us through space at better than light speeds, we may as well be forbidden the stars …

11: What are you working on now that you can talk about?

I’m working on a contemporary fantasy novel at the moment called Angel Fire. It’s a paranormal drama concerning a young woman who accidentally kills her parents in a house fire started by her pyrokinetic ability, and how she tries to re-integrate with her home town ten years later.  With any luck, I should be able to release it early 2011.

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