Wednesday, March 30, 2011

The Rot & 2 Bonus stories now on Kindle .99 cents



I put The Rot up on Amazon for your Kindle it has been getting rave reviews on Smashwords.com, So as a Bonus special when you get the Kindle version you also get my two other short stories. "Closing My Eyes Helps Me To See Clearly" and also a remix of "Die Already" all for .99 cents.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Rot-ebook/dp/B004UB2M3S/ref=sr_1_cc_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1301444827&sr=1-2-catcorr







.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Amazon offers CLOUD service for music on Web & Android



http://www.amazon.com/gp/b/ref=pe_71760_19315130_pe_00_head/?node=2658409011



How to Get Started with Cloud Drive and Cloud Player


Step 1. Add music to Cloud Drive
Purchase a song or album from the Amazon MP3 Store and click the Save to Amazon Cloud Drivebutton when your purchase is complete. Your purchase will be saved for free.

Step 2. Play your music in Cloud Player for Web
Click the Launch Amazon Cloud Player button to start listening to your purchase. Add more music from your library by clicking the Upload to Cloud Drive button from the Cloud Player screen. Start with 5 GB of free Cloud Drive storage. Upgrade to 20 GB with an MP3 album purchase (see details). Use Cloud Player to browse and search your library, create playlists, and download to your computer.

Step 3. Enjoy your music on the go with Cloud Player for Android
Install the Amazon MP3 for Android app to use Cloud Player on your Android device. Shop the full Amazon MP3 store, save your purchases to Cloud Drive, stream your Cloud Player library, and download to your device right from your Android phone or tablet.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Scott Nicholson's new book LIQUID FEAR

Scott Nicholson's new book LIQUID FEAR is now out click your way to the store and buy it no gas required .



LIQUID FEAR
A Suspense Thriller





When Roland Doyle wakes up with a dead woman in his motel room, the only clue is a mysterious vial of pills bearing the label “Take one every 4 hrs or else.”
Ten years before, six people were involved in a secret pharmaceutical trial that left one of them murdered and five unable to remember what happened. Now the experiment is continuing, as Dr. Sebastian Briggs wants to finish his research into fear response and post-traumatic stress disorder. He’s backed by a major drug company and an ambitious U.S. Senator, but he also has a personal stake in the outcome.
Only by taking the mysterious pills can the survivors stave off the creeping phobias and madness that threaten to consume them. But the pills have an unexpected side effect—the survivors start remembering the terrible acts they perpetrated a decade ago. They are lured back to the Monkey House, the remote facility where the original trials took place, and Briggs has made special preparations for their arrival.
Now they are trapped, they each have only one pill left, and cracks are forming in their civilized veneer.
After the pills are gone, there’s only one option left.
“Or else.”


Sunday, March 27, 2011

Nicole Chardenet Interview




1: What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?
The weekends.  Assuming I don't have any hot dates with George Clooney (sometimes I have to pretend I didn't get his texts, phone calls, emails, IM's, or carrier pigeons.)  I work in the glamourous, desperately sexy field of software sales during the week, and evenings are often spent with chores, email, a social life, and avoiding George Clooney when I've got shit to do.

2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer?
ROTLFMAO!  What is this, 1978?  Of course I use a computer!  In fact, “Young Republican, Yuppie Princess” was originally written on my father's old cast-off Tandy XT computer system.  It then got converted over the course of the next fifteen years to Ami Pro, Microsoft Word, and finally OpenOffice, to the point where it was practically unintelligible what with all the formating problems that arose along the way.  Today I write on a spiffy Ubuntu Linux computer and a Linux Lite Netbook.

3: What do you draw inspiration from?
I have a t-shirt that says, “Careful, or you'll end up in my novel.”  That's fair warning.  I draw a lot from the people I know, the people I've met – you stand a better chance of winding up in one of my novels eventually if you act like a dick, like a certain Homeland Security sparky in Buffalo who morphed into a character's vicious ex-husband.  However even the well-behaved can provide inspiration.  I read a lot as well so I'm always getting ideas from pretty much everywhere.  I've also drawn on my 20+ years as a practicing Pagan, my days in the Society for Creative Anachronism, and my belly dancing experiences.  Belly dancing shows up a lot in my novels, actually...I don't do it myself anymore.

4: Do you set goals for yourself when you sit down to write such as word count?
I did in the past, when I was trying to get traditionally published.  When I first started writing, 130,000 words was considered okay, then it dropped to 100k, now it's down to like 75k.  There isn't any valid reason for that arbitrariness that I can see, and now that I'm independent I don't feel bound to it.  However, it's easy for writers to fall in love with their own writing and not see where they need to cut (horrors!) so I think 100k-130k is a good goal to aim for.  Particularly for indies and the very famous who are both particularly susceptible to egotistical non-editing.

5: Are you a published or a self published author and how do you come up with your cover art?
I'm an indy – I gave up temporarily on traditional publishing after it went south with the economy in 2008 and it became quite clear they weren't interested in any new author who wasn't toting a guaranteed blockbuster about a vampire boy wizard with a secret the Catholic Church would do anything to prevent the world from learning.  With so many established writers going indy themselves, and folks like Amanda Hocking proving you don't need to have a 'name' to make yourself a success, I think this is a terrific time to go indy.  I know Hocking is a bit of an anomaly but one can learn from her success and be the best you can be, even if you don't sell a million novels.  I haven't given up on traditional publishing, I'm just waiting for it to get its shit together.
I did the cover art with help from a local friend who did it for his wife's book.  We got some local models to pose for it, then Evan worked his Adobe magic on it.  I think it turned out very well.  Good cover art is so important for a book and when you're traditionally published you just don't have that kind of freedom.  Gonna have cleavage on the next cover – erm, not mine ;)

6: What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?
I had your typical “WTF am I doing with my life?” midlife crisis when I turned forty.  I wasn't where I wanted to be in life and was wicked depressed.  I read a terrific book by Dr. Kenneth Christian, “Your Own Worst Enemy: Breaking the Habit of Adult Underachievement” and it really gave me the kick in the arse I needed.  I was tired of feeling like I was all talk and no action.  That book really crystallized for me that what I wanted to do was write, starting with the novel that had been kicking around in my head for years.  That wasn't “Young Republican, Yuppie Princess,” but it's most likely the next book I'll bring out, probably in a year or so.  With cleavage!

7: Do you own an ebook reading device?
I'm old-school.  I'm not one of those people who gets an orgasm from holding a 'real book' in my hands, I'm one of those people who's too much of a cheap-ass to spend hundreds of dollars on a device to read books with conflicting e-book formats when pulp 'n' ink has been compatible with human eyeballs for over 5,000 years.  I think e-readers are great, they're just too expensive.  When the price comes down to $99 or less I will buy one.

8: Who are some of your favorite authors and What are you reading now?
I don't really have any favourite authors as I read a lot of non-fiction.  I pretty much read whatever catches my fancy in the bookstore (it helps if it's in the remainder bin ;) or whatever I need for whatever I'm writing.  At the moment I've got three books I'm working on.  “Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History” by David Aaronovitch, because silly-ass conspiracy theories are great fiction for fiction-writers, “Leap of Faith” by Queen Noor of Jordan, who's an American woman who married King Hussein in the '70s, and for some light, fun reading over dinner I'm just finishing up Starhawk's “The Pagan Book of Living and Dying”, just because, well, I like to be prepared for everything.

9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any?
I won't rule it out but it's not really on my 2-do list for Young Republican, Yuppie Princess.  I know they're all the rage but I'm reading that the vast majority of them don't get much attention.  I've also seen enough of them to understand why...I think you really have to spend some serious cash to have it done professionally for it to work.  I'll stick with bribing George Clooney to stand on the street corner in a sandwich board to push “Young Republican, Yuppie Princess.”

10: How did you come up with the title of your latest book?
I didn't really, I am terrible at titling books.  It came from my buddy Cameron who did the layout and has been providing marketing advice to me.  He said it offhand in a conversation over a couple of brewskis and I went, “That's IT!  That's the title!”  I came up with all kinds of lame ideas myself like, “Oh My God, The Prince Is From New Jersey.”  Oh my God, What A Bloody Awful Title!

11: What are you working on now that you can talk about?
I've not had much time to write since I took on the “Young Republican, Yuppie Princess” project but I've been sloooowly working on a story that takes place in Toronto, the most sexually repressed city in North America and quite possibly the Milky Way galaxy, and will be a humorous paranormal fantasy that demonstrates beyond all argument that no matter how desperate you are for a boyfriend, it's just a really, really, REALLY bad idea to bring one back from the dead no matter how hot he was when he was still alive.  It will also explain why you should never be alone with Paul McCartney.  And that's all I can say on that subject.  ;)

“Young Republican, Yuppie Princess” is the twisted tale of Joyce Bacyrus, a Ronald Reagan-loving Young Republican and her three dork-o-rama friends who travel into an alternate medieval/modern universe to find a missing student.  Along the way they encounter the world's most disgusting prince, a feminazi witch, a race of Conan-style barbarians (but only half as smart), incredibly hot naked undines and the prince's sidekick, evil magician and heavy metal-troubadour Malsorcier...

Buy it now on Amazon! http://tinyurl.com/4lgeyrp

Or Barnes & Noble! http://tinyurl.com/4awwmhn

Nicole Chardenet, Humorous Fantasy Author's web site – http://nicolechardenet.com

Tongue of Dog's Breakfast – A Mélange à Trash blog – http://tongueofdogsbreakfast.wordpress.com


Michael Harris Interview





1: What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?
The morning first thing.  After breakfast and coffee.

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

3: What do you draw inspiration from?
Non-fiction:  my own experiences (I wrote Always On Sunday after working on the Sullivan show for 11 years;  The Atomic Times after witnessing the H-Bomb tests during Operation Redwing).
Fiction:  People I know or know of and their experiences.

4: Do you set goals for yourself when you sit down to write such as word count?
I write until I'm too exhausted to continue.

5: Are you a published or a self published author and how do you come up with your cover art?
Published author who got the rights back and self-published.  Cover art:  I discuss it with my designer Stewart A. Williams (Pittsburgh) and then he goes to work.

6: What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?
Need.  Can't not write.

7: Do you own an ebook reading device?
Not yet.

8: Who are some of your favorite authors and What are you reading now?
Elizabeth Trout.  Salinger.  Hemingway.

9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any?
Good idea but not for me right now.

10: How did you come up with the title of your latest book?
The Atomic Times.  It was the name of the newspaper I edited during the H-Bomb tests.  The idea for the title came from an editor at a hardcover publishing house I didn’t sign with.  Fortunately.  The company went bankrupt.

11: What are you working on now that you can talk about?
Nothing I can talk about.



Friday, March 25, 2011

My new Flash Fiction The Rot is now up on KindleObsessed




My new Flash Fiction The Rot is now up on KindleObsessed Bog stop by and give it a quick read Enjoy

http://www.kindleobsessed.com/writers-block/flash-fiction-the-rot/


HD Hatcher Guest Blog






Author HD Hatcher is no newcomer on the literary scene.
He is author of In the Heart of the Closet, a
piece nominated for both the 2006 Stonewall Book
Award and the 2005 Lambda Literary Award. He is
an avid supporter of gay and lesbian causes, suicide
prevention programs, as well as Animal Rights.
Hatcher currently resides in the Grand Strand area
of South Carolina, near his hometown of Conway,
with his Life Partner of ten years, Jerry.
A Cold Dark Place
One Too Many (a short)
About A Cold Dark Place:
On a chance meeting, (at a mutual friend’s house) Luke finds the love of his life. Andy is what Luke has been longing for all of his adult years: the perfect man. But, this perfect man is not only straight—he is married to a woman who is more devilish than Satan himself.
In a bittersweet journey that will change his life forever, Luke must reach deep inside and find the strength he never knew existed. A Cold Dark Place is the story of a man who must pick up the pieces of his broken heart after a lifetime of heartbreak and betrayal.
HD Hatcher- On Reviews

So, you have gotten your book published. Your friends and family love it, and readers that you don’t know are leaving favorable reviews for you online. Then one day it happens; the dreaded one star review.

Someone actually hated what others really seemed to love. Are the readers leaving favorable reviews just blowing smoke in an attempt to avoid hurting your feelings? Hardly.

Opinions are just that; opinions. As much as we would love for our books to be the next American literary darling with hundreds of five star reviews, it isn’t going to happen without a little heartache along the way. I can guarantee you that there will be at least one person that is willing and capable of ruining your perfect track record.

I have said this many times, and I will say it again: 

Don’t sweat the small stuff. Everyone is not going to love your style of writing, and not everyone is going to give your book a “stand on their head and clap” review. So be it. But, in the same breath there is someone out there that will.

During one of my journeys through amazing.com, I found an author that had received several bad reviews in a row after previously receiving quite a few positive reviews. The author was heartbroken and was compelled to leave a sincere and tearful apology to the readers that hated her book.

This was such a sweet gesture on the author’s part. However, did it make the one star reviewers change their mind? Nope. Some of them actually came back to their original reviews and left comments within their original review that stated how unprofessional and desperate the author sounded.

I thought that the whole fiasco was mean-spirited and uncalled for.

I myself would never apologize to anyone that didn’t like my work. I poured my heart and soul into every page, and if it wasn’t good enough, then too bad.

It is rare for me to provide advice twice back to back in a single post, but my second word of advice: Stay away from sites like amazon.com and goodreads.com when it comes to your own book. The online world is much more vicious and unfiltered than real life.

Just as there are people that hang on every word of a review to decide their next purchase, there are those of us that really don’t care about what other people think and will still buy your book.

I hope the advice that I have provided was insightful and helpful.

Thank you for having me, and I hope that we can do this again sometime.







Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Mike Dennis Interview




1: What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?
I generally get up, go to the gym, shower, check my email, have lunch somewhere with two newspapers, then return home to write. Usually around 12:30 or 1:00. From then until early evening, I can almost always be found in front of my laptop.

2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer?
Way back when I wrote my first novel, I didn't have a computer or even a typewriter, so I wrote it in longhand with a pencil, on plain white paper from Walgreen's. It didn't take me that long to write and frankly, I felt a lot closer to my characters than I have in any of the subsequent novels that I've written on a computer. I've been very tempted to try it again. I've just started a new novel, so maybe I'll switch back to longhand. I do think about it with each novel I write.

3: What do you draw inspiration from?
Inspiration, of course, can come from anywhere and it can (and usually does) hit you when you least expect it. My current novel, The Take, stemmed from one verse in the Marty Robbins song El Paso. The ending of The Take was inspired by a film noir classic—to avoid spoilers, I won't say which one. I had a verse from a song and the ending from a movie, and from that came the novel.

4: Do you set goals for yourself when you sit down to write such as word count?
Not really. If I can do 1200-1500 words a day, though, I feel like I've accomplished something, but I don't drive myself to pile up words. It's more a matter of crafting scenes and sufficiently propelling the story line.

5: Are you a published or a self published author and how do you come up with your cover art?
The Take is traditionally-published, so the publisher did the cover.
My latest effort, a collection of three short stories called Bloodstains On The Wall, is self-published. The cover was designed by Ronnell Porter, who I think did a superb job. I'm waiting right now for the final corrections in the formatting, so it should be on Kindle et al by the time this interview is published.

6: What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?
You know, I'm the only writer I know who never aspired to writing. Years ago, when I was living in New Orleans, I took trips to Africa and Central America where I had some, shall we say, unnerving experiences. I was urged to write them down, so I did, then showed the 125-page account to a friend of mine who was herself a writer. She told me I should "try fiction", but of course, I laughed it off. Fiction? That was for real writers.
Well, anyway, she hounded me nonstop until one day I sat down with that 79¢ sheaf of white paper from Walgreen's and a box of pencils. After looking at that blank sheet of paper for about two hours, I was ready to give up and go tell her that I couldn't write fiction.
But then, an opening line came to me. I wrote it down and looked at it for the longest time, marveling over it. The first line of a novel! And I had written it! I couldn't quit now.
A central character suggested herself, plot developments unfolded themselves in front of me, and the novel took flight. Believe me, there's no greater sensation than that. I was hooked from that moment on.

7: Do you own an ebook reading device?
I bought an iPad a couple of months ago and I'm reading my first book on it right now.

8: Who are some of your favorite authors and What are you reading now?
Jim Thompson, David Goodis, Gil Brewer, Lawrence Block, Vicki Hendricks, many others. Right now I'm reading One Lonely Night by the great Mickey Spillane on my iPad. A couple of months ago, I read White Shadow by Ace Atkins. What a terrific book!

9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any?
I'm not sure book trailers really work. I've seen some very good ones, with extremely high production values. Most of the ones I've seen, though, are lacking. I would think you'd need good production to have it be impact your sales, just like a good movie trailer. Problem is, books don't sell as well as movies, so a quality trailer might not be cost effective.

10: How did you come up with the title of your latest book?
I had this title (The Take) in mind years ago when I was thinking about the book. I honestly don't remember where it came from. I know I wanted a terse title, so maybe that was it.

11: What are you working on now that you can talk about?
Well, as I mentioned earlier, I've just started a new novel. Since I don't work from an outline, I have no idea what's going to happen yet. No title, either.
I've got three other novels, however, that are essentially ready to go right now. I've been working on editing and polishing them for the last year, reading them in front of critique groups, tightening them up, and so on. They're three standalone books of Key West noir, set way back in the shadows and the alleys of that island city where the tourists never go. The first one is called The Ghosts Of Havana, and I'm torn between self-publishing it or seeking a bigger print deal than the one I have now. I think if Bloodstains On The Wall, my short story collection, does well, then I'll self-publish it, but we'll have to wait and see.
Oh, and speaking of critique groups, I'd like to take a moment to urge every writer who is reading this to join a critique group. From 2006-2010, I lived in Las Vegas and was a member of the Henderson Writers Group. I can say without reservation that belonging to that group made me a much better writer, and it will do the same for you. Not just getting your stuff critiqued, but doing the critiquing yourself of other people's material…these two activities work like a tongue-in-groove to improve your writing skills.
Now that I've moved back to Key West, I belong to two such groups and I attend every meeting.



Monday, March 21, 2011

Edward Grey Interview




1: What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?
 When I first started writing I was young and didn’t have the luxury of having a set time to write. It was always anywhere I could find time to do it, and I think that conditioned me to be productive any place at any time.

2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer?
It's all done digital, which is efficient and probably the best way for me anyway. My penmanship is about as good as trying to write with your feet during a 10.0 earthquake. I can't read my own scribbles, so trying to transfer the auto-cryptography to computer is impossible.

3: What do you draw inspiration from?
Anything and everything I can get my hands on, ears to hear, and eyes to see is inspiration. I love writing normal characters and sticking them in extraordinary situations.

4: Do you set goals for yourself when you sit down to write such as word count?
Never. I did at one point, but I realized that by doing so I was forcing myself to focus more on obtaining a goal than crafting quality story. I’d rather have 10 pages of amazingly constructed paragraphs than 30 of prose so wickedly bad that my computer would likely hunt me down in the middle of the night to slay me for storing such crap on the hard drive.

5: Are you a published or a self-published author and how do you come up with your cover art?
I am a self-published author, and I find it incredibly relaxing. However, it’s also considerably more work. The covers for my books are all done by a good friend of mine, who I’ve contracted to do the next two books as well.

6: What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?
I love writing. I've had a few careers in my life, and at the end of the day writing was something that always made me happy no matter how challenging it became. So, I decided the best thing to do was make a career out of what I love.

7: Do you own an eBook reading device?
Yes, I certainly do. There's nothing handier than having a book available to distract you when your mother-in-law is talking your ear off, waiting for B936 at the DMV when they’ve called B053 twenty times, or any other place you find you could use some immediate entertainment.

That reminds me of a story. A few months back while I was driving on the freeway, I saw this very talented--albeit equally dangerous--young woman who was reading from her Kindle, drinking a bottle of water, and steering with her knee. I'm not sure what the recipe for freeway disaster is, but it looked like she might just be the next great American chef.

8: Who are some of your favorite authors and what are you reading now?
Dean Koontz and Stephen King are two of my favorite writers, and I'm currently reading Breathless, Darkness Under the Sun, and Under the Dome.

9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any?
Book trailers work well with how popular television and internet hubs like Youtube have become. Also, with integration into the website, you can give visitors a fantastic visual preview of your book. I am currently working to have one made for Dark Hearts.

10: How did you come up with the title of your latest book?
Honestly, it just came to me. The story follows a tone that takes the reader down a dark road paved by the evil hearts of men. However, it’s not typically that easy. Often times, my short stories or novels spend much, if not all, of the initial phase of writing as “Untitled Novel” or some project name.

11: What are you working on now that you can talk about?
Twisted Tales is available May 15th, 2011 that features 10 short stories, and a sneak peek at my next novel Shadows of the Mind, a supernatural thriller.


Current Book: Dark Hearts

Description:
It's 1996; twelve-year-old Heather walks the street covered in blood until the Matron of an Orphanage finds her. Heather can't remember anything. Even after she gets help, her past remains a dark mystery.

Fast forward fifteen years, Heather's normal life is suddenly thrown into turmoil when she becomes involved in a grocery store robbery. She turns heroine when she shoots the man before he can kill anyone else, but her fame begins a treacherous new phase of her life when the incident is picked up by the local news channel.

After seeing the report on TV, John Doe—a psychopathic killer—is prompted to search for her. He knows she is Krystal, the one who got away so long ago. Now, he embarks on a search where murder propels his quest to find her—and he doesn't care how many he has to kill to do it.

A Detective named Taft is unexpectedly pulled into Heather’s life, and as they struggle to remain alive, they uncover details of her horrifying past. However, John has a long history of death on his hands, and he plays the game well. He crosses all the lines into the darkest reaches of human behavior, which forces Heather and Taft to face him head-on.

Links:
Amazon ISBN: 145640489X
Kindle AISN: B004RZ265Q


New Flash Fiction The Rot is now on Smashwords for FREE



https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/48559


Review by: Chantale Reve on Mar. 21, 2011 : star star star star star
I have just read "The Rot" and am absolutely chilled to the bone. With an economy of words but an expanse of compassion, Speicher keeps the reader of this cryptic tale in suspense until the end. Palpable, odorous, stifling and frightening, Speich's masterful flash fiction left me wobbly in the shoes of his everyman protagonist.
(review of free book)
Review by: Tom Raimbault on Mar. 21, 2011 : star star star star star
A hot-button topic has recently appeared in every day conversation, suggesting that our country's leaders may not be looking out for our best interest. Who hasn't come to this conclusion in recent times? It would appear that politicians and company CEOs, alike, have it their only objective to make obscene amounts of money--whether it be for personal use or campaign funds. How far will these leaders go to get exactly what they want? What sort of sacrifices can be made? To make this issue all-the-more angering, it would appear that it's the ordinary, everyday citizen who pays the bill and often receives one injustice after another in doing so.
Conspiracy theory: it's a topic that creators of horror fiction have suddenly embraced. We truly are fearful of those who lead this country. What if politicians could do something horrible, and do it to those who are in most need of help in this country, all for the sake of a personal gain?
When reading the first, few paragraphs of The Rot, I couldn't help but feel for those less fortunate than me. When waking up this morning, I heard nothing but peace and quiet in my house. I had hot water in my shower, and the plumbing didn't sputter and spray air for some moments before finally spiking cold water. I'll go so far as to say that my environment was nice and clean; and I had food in my refrigerator for breakfast. Is it any wonder that I had a sense of guilt while experiencing a small moment of the main character's day?
But his day was only going to get worse!
I give this story 5 stars. Kipp did a great job in embracing a new terror that disturbs and outrages us. Well done!

Tom Raimbault
Chicago, Illinois
(review of free book)
Review by: Bridget Squires on Mar. 21, 2011 : star star star star star
Wow!!! So so creepy. Love the end! Another fantastic tale by the talented Kipp
(review of free book)
Review by: Mark Stewart on Mar. 21, 2011 : star star star star star
Cleverly written. Enjoyable to read with a good twist at the end
(review of free book)

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Patrick Skelton Interview




1: What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?
I’m forced to work in the evenings because I work a fulltime day job as well.  Other than that, I really have no preference.

2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer?
I keep a notebook with a rough outline of the story.  The rest of my writing time is spent plugging away on the computer.

3: What do you draw inspiration from? 
My stories are inspired by government corruption, secrecy and classic dystopian fiction:  1984, A Clockwork Orange, Brave New World.

4: Do you set goals for yourself when you sit down to write such as word count?  I generally try to type two pages a day.

5: Are you a published or a self published author and how do you come up with your cover art?
I am self-published through Kindle, Nook and Amazon.  The cover art is the result of months of sleepless nights! J

6: What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?
 The thrill of sharing, writing and delivering ideas to the masses.

7: Do you own an ebook reading device?
I don’t. I’m more of a paperback kind of guy.

8: Who are some of your favorite authors and What are you reading now? As mentioned, I’m a big of classic dystopian fiction. George Orwell and Anthony Burgess are among my favorites.

9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any? 
I think book trailers are cool, though I’m not sure how effective they are at selling books. I do have one on You-Tube.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s6uvJ3gFrk

10: How did you come up with the title of your latest book?
My novel, The Device, is based on a mysterious object the main character discovers while hiking in Colorado.  Because the novel centers on the object, it only seemed fitting to title the novel “The Device”.

11: What are you working on now that you can talk about?
   No big plans at the present. I’m spending my free time promoting The Device.





http://www.amazon.com/The-Device-ebook/dp/B004LRP14S/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1298235274&sr=8-1

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Device/Patrick-Skelton/e/2940012136503/?itm=1&USRI=the+device

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Beth Mathison Interview





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

I like to write in the afternoon.  If I’m alone in the house at night, which is very rare, I’ll write then.  I’ll do a lot of marketing tasks early morning, before my brain actually hits “creativity level”.


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

I always write on a computer.  If I have a sudden burst of creativity when I’m not at a computer, I’ll jot notes on a scrap of paper or a sticky note.  If I don’t write down my ideas immediately, I know I won’t remember them.

3: What do you draw inspiration from?

Everything, really. A Johnny Cash song was playing on the radio, which inspired me to write a story called The Train Station.  My Mobster short stories are loosely based on my family.  My family doesn’t have the mobster background, but we do get a little crazy, especially around the holidays. I try to allow events and people to touch my heart.  What I write is a reflection of that touch.

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

When writing a longer work like a novel, I aim for 1,000 words a day.  For shorter works, I try to write about 500 words a day.  It’s very important for me to write every work day.  It’s also important for me not to beat myself up if I don’t reach my goal.


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

My publisher, Untreed Reads, handles all the cover art.  


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

I love to write.  I love the process, the final product, the creativity.  I think there is a beauty in the written word.  This sounds corny, but when I write time often speeds by, and all seems right with the world.  When a young person tells me that they want to write, I encourage them to look closely at what they want.  Do what you love to do.

7: Do you own an ebook reading device?

I have a Kindle – a K3.  I was kind of nervous at first.  I really enjoy the feel of actual books.  But I’ve found that the “story” of stories still translates to an e-reader.

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

I like Hemingway, e.e. cummings, William Gibson, Dan Simmons.  There are so many!  I’m currently reading Amanda Hocking’s Switched on my Kindle.  She’s a definite inspiration for indie authors.

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

Ooooh, confession.  I had to Google “book trailers”.  I’m adding this option to my potential marketing strategy.


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

I just finished a Mother’s Day Mobster story – A Mobster’s Menu for Mother’s Day Brunch.  All of the Mobster stories begin with “A Mobster…”  The Mother’s Day story has a lot of food references and is set in a restaurant, so I opted for “Menu”.


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

I’ve got a first draft of a novel that I’m editing.  It’s a mystery/romance novel a la Janet Evanovich.  I’m having a lot of fun with it – there are thrills, interesting characters, and a bit of romance thrown in.  I enjoy bringing up my file every day and thinking  Hmmmm.... where will these characters take me today?



My Amazon page:  http://www.amazon.com/Beth-Mathison/e/B004AXAX6O/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

If you need a specific Amazon page:

http://www.amazon.com/Mobsters-Toast-St-Patricks-ebook/dp/B004PLNIA4/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_3

http://www.amazon.com/Mobsters-Recipe-Cupcakes-Valentines-ebook/dp/B004JXVYI6/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_4

http://www.amazon.com/Mobsters-Guide-Cranberry-Sauce-ebook/dp/B004AM5DJW/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1

http://www.amazon.com/The-Killer-Wore-Cranberry-ebook/dp/B004A90DDQ/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_2

 My publisher:  www.untreedreads.com