Brian Drake Bullet for One Release Party

1)    Tell us about Bullet for One.

John Coburn is a private eye who won’t let the law get in the way of justice.

Five years ago Coburn watched as his father was gunned down by a masked man. Tortured by the fact that the killer was never caught, he fights the feelings of failure that haunt his every waking moment.

Now, history has repeated itself.  When his best friend Felix is murdered after agreeing to protect a witness, John Coburn dives in to catch the killer before the police and FBI.  Battling official law enforcement and his own demons, Coburn turns over every lead, rattles every cage, and stretches his own moral code to the breaking point.  As he digs deeper into a mystery that involves a team of thieves, corrupt businessmen, and a mafia kingpin with a price on his head, Coburn realizes that revenge has a cost he cannot calculate.

If he fails, can he live with another ghost?

If he succeeds, can he live with the consequences?

2)    In this book you wrote about a private detective. In Justified Sins you wrote about a vigilante. Many short stories in Reaper’s Dozen feature crime busters who are not cops and one or two feature criminal protagonists.  Show No Mercy was about a CIA agent.  So most of your work features “outsiders” who do not operate within an organized bureaucracy.  Why does the independent hero appeal to you?

Truthfully I’ve never noticed the pattern, but since you ask I can say that members of a bureaucracy are locked into a culture that prevents them from doing anything productive, so only an outsider can solve a problem.  He’s not loyal to anybody or kissing up to get ahead.  When you mix an outsider like Coburn with the FBI agents and police officers he encounters in Bullet for One, you get a great cocktail of conflict and suspense.

And I can’t believe that you used “organized” and “bureaucracy” in the same sentence.

3)    You have said on your blog that Mickey Spillane had a strong influence on Bullet for One.  Why?

There’s a narrative power behind Spillane’s best work that grabs you by the throat and demands attention and his sucker punch twist endings have no equal.  The final line of Vengeance is Mine always makes me smile and no writer since has been able to end a book like that one.  I wanted Bullet for One to have the same effect.  I think the ending is shocking in its own way.

4)    Why should readers care about this book?

On the surface you might think it’s just another Death Wish rip off but I tried to do something different with that subject matter.  I wanted to treat the subject of “revenge” in a different way.  Coburn wants to kill the man who killed his friend.  In any other book, that’s the extent of the emotional content and there’s a shootout and the bad guy gets it.  I wanted a story that showed that such an effort does more damage than the personal loss that instigated the effort.  The futility of revenge became the theme of the book, and I think that’s what makes it different from others like it and why readers should care.  What happens in Bullet for One will follow Coburn into future adventures and he’ll have to deal with it somehow.

5)    So we can expect a sequel?

I have at least two planned that will tie up certain plot points in Bullet for One which I decided not to address because it’s part of the back story that motivates events.   But it’s from that back story that we will get the sequels.  I’ll do one or two in 2012.

6)    What else is coming next?

I have another novel called The Rogue Gentleman that will be out in September or October.  That finishes my writing schedule for this year.  Starting in January, I will release a novella once a month featuring the Rogue Gentleman character and his fellow buccaneers.  Each story will have its own adventure but there will be a common plotline running through each that will be resolved at some point.  I want these to be like an episodic television show, along the lines of White Collar and Leverage, which feature a similar formula.  And, of course, I will do a couple of stand-alone novels.  The novellas are already written and I’m waiting for January 2012 to release them.

Please leave a comment for your chance to win a copy for your Kindle will draw names at Noon Eastern Standard Time July 4th 

Suzanne Tyrpak Ghost Plane

New collection of short stories, Ghost Plane and Other Disturbing Tales, is now available on Kindle for just .99 cents. It will be available via Nook and Smashwords on all eformats in a few days.

Here’s a description:

Take a ride on the Ghost Plane: eleven twisted tales about life, love and insanity, eleven tales that explore the dark recesses of hearts and minds. If you’re afraid to look in the mirror, read no further, because in these tales—you may meet yourself.

Scott Nicholson says: “Horror can hit you in the gut or mess with your head, but at its best it can reach into your heart as well. And these tales reflect perhaps the biggest horror of all—that we are alive, and this life is full of pain and death and love and sharp edges.

Enter this circus, and let Suzanne show you why horror is the greatest show on earth.”

This collection of eleven short stories is comprised of three segments: Airport Stories, Hot Flashes and Gothica. The stories range in length from 100 words to over 3000.

Please check it out! Ghost Plane and Other Disturbing Tales

Sara Dagan interview

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

I'm a night owl J My best hours are from 20:00 onwards, deep into the night. However, when  the book  starts to get  its  identity,  i.e. when it is almost completed, I am charged with extra creative energies for daytime as well...

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

It's all on my pc. Before I had my Iphone, I used to keep a small notebook  in my purse in case Lady Muse decides to favor me (In Hebrew, my mother tounge, Muse is a feminine noun). I still keep one on my chest of drawrs near my bed – many of the  ideas occure just before I fall asleep.

3: What do you draw inspiration from?

Everything that stimulates my heart and imagination. Some of scenes are based on personal experience, other on the media and books I'v read (fiction as well as non fiction). In Princess Maya & the Crystal Ball, some significant themes were written under  the inspiration of  Nobel Dame, the famos song of Hadjidakis'.

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

Absolutely. This is how I keep my self discipline. The best that works for me is setting a deadline according to my Life Map which is based on the Biographical Work principles (a spiritual coaching technique). Since I am also a biographical coach, I use my life map to set my goals accordingley and reach them as well. My first book, was completed when I was 48yo because I was  consiousley following my life map guidelines. Whenever I reach a goal, I reward myself with 'little things' such as watching an excellent BBC series in one go, or pamper myself with a cappuccino together with a 'calory bomb' almond butter pastry.

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

I am a self upblished author. Making the cover is quite a challenge for me. I use the paint.net software  as well as photos from stock. I still have a lot to learn but lately I started  to enjoy it.

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

I wanted to be a wrtier ever since I was 12yo. This is the best way for me to express both my ideas and feelings, I feel lucky I can  merge it together with my other caree – the  Biographical Work which requires certain writing skills, My first book, Identifying the Hidden Thread, a Biographical Journey"   is actually a guide to drawing a life map. My writing career fertilises my biographical career and vice versa.    

7: Do you own an ebook reading device?

At the moment I only have a kindle for pc and an iphone.

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

J.R.R. Tolkien, Jhumpa Lahiri, Chitra Banerjee Divakarun, Halldor Laxness, Marlo Morgan and Edna Mazia and Stieg Larsson. I am now reading "To Have or To Be?" by Erich Fromm.

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

I think authors today are very fortunate with this abundance of virtual tools to help them  promote their work. It's on my To Do list.

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

That's interesting. The title came out before the story did. I recall I was walking down the street, thinking that I would like to start writing a fairy tale. All of a sudden the words Princess Maya & the Crystal Ball poped up.

 

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

I am working on Princess Maya Meets Prince Karma, the second book in the trilogy.  

These days I am also working onWriters-online-Biographical-Coaching-Program which was developed in order to provide writers with a coaching-plan together with a platform for their work.  Further  info will be posted  in my blog soon.  

LINKS:

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/60954

B&N (Nook): Princess Maya on B&N

My blog: http://saradagan.blogspot.com/

My facebook profile: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1478648021

Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/edit?trk=h-gnav-name-link-0

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/#!/SaraDagan

Thank you, kipp poe, for this platform J

William T. Prince interview

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

I’ve always been a night person, so I get most of my writing done late at night after the rest of my family has hit the sack.  Even if I lived alone, I’m sure that my routine would be the same.

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

I may be an old-fogy about a lot of things but not about technology.  It’s 2011, and I use a computer—period.  I rarely hand-write anything anymore.

3: What do you draw inspiration from?

Good writing inspires me.  When I read Russell Banks, John Irving, or Ron McLarty—when I am moved by the complexity of their characters and by their wonderful storytelling—it makes me want to write.  In my wildest dreams, I could never hope to reach their level, but they do make me want to try.  I also draw inspiration from real life.  Although I write fiction exclusively, I look to my own experience and knowledge for the basic characterization of my novels as well as some plot details.  To me, fiction is always better than non-fiction, but all fiction is based to some degree on real people and events.

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

No, not at all.  I don’t use outlines either.  My wife is an English professor, and it drives her crazy that I rely so little on structure.  I don’t like feeling constrained.  Specific plans for word counts, page numbers, plot details, or whatever else some folks might be inclined to map out in advance are too restrictive for me.  I prefer just to sit down and go wherever the words lead me.

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

I self-published my first novel and will do the same with my second.  My POD publisher is Infinity, and their art department designed my first cover.  In all honesty, they absolutely nailed it.  I truly could not have asked for any better, so I’m confident that they will do a good job on the second as well.

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

I don’t know that I make enough money to call myself a “professional” yet, but I do hope that writing will one day be my true career.  I’ve had several, and hopefully this will be my last.  I’ve always taken great pride in my writing, but I never really thought that I could tell stories.  I wrote to inform—not to entertain.  Although my first book hasn’t sold particularly well, the reviews have been outstanding, and now that I know that I can indeed tell stories that people enjoy reading, I want to keep going.  Career-wise, I don’t think that anything has ever made me feel better than someone telling me how much he or she enjoyed my book.  Hopefully they like the second as well—and the third and the fourth and so on.

7: Do you own an ebook reading device?

I just got a Kindle for Father’s Day.  I’m such a newbie that I can’t say much about it, but I think I’ll like it in the long run.  Like it or not, people are going to have to get with the program.  E-books are the future of this industry.

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

I have a lot of favorites—Russell Banks, John Irving, Ron McLarty, Joyce Carol Oates, Jodi Picoult, Maeve Binchy, Wally Lamb, and too many others to list them all.  I just started Ron McLarty’s Art in America—my very first Kindle read.  McLarty has such an incredible gift for creating memorable characters, and this book is starting out very well.  I’m already hooked.

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

I have a book trailer for my first book, and I intend to create one for my second as well.  I like them, but I don’t think that they particularly help sales.  There’s only a very weak correlation between my trailer views and my sales.  Even so, they’re pretty cool and not very expensive, so I don’t see any reason not to use them.

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

The Education of Clint Buchanan (my second novel, still in edits) is a sequel to The Legend of Sasquatch.  Sasquatch/Clint has moved on to the next chapter in his life, which involves attending college, but it involves other life lessons as well—dealing with love, loss, and deception and hopefully learning from those profound experiences.  Education (formal and informal) is the underlying theme, so it seemed natural to include it in the title.

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

I’m not really working on anything at the moment, although I should be working on the aforementioned edits to The Education of Clint Buchanan.  Life has thrown me several curveballs in recent months, but hopefully I can get on the stick, finish those edits, and get the book published sometime this year.

LINKS:

Website: http://www.williamtprince.com

Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/txsasquatch

Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/-9ix124qXts

Amazon (Paperback): http://amzn.to/kL925U

Amazon (Kindle): http://amzn.to/mtX7P6  (On sale for a measly 99 cents!)

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/12007  (Only 99 cents!)

B&N (Paperback): http://bit.ly/l99kKQ

B&N (Nook): http://bit.ly/kUynwY  (Only 99 cents!)

Stacy Juba interview

Although Stacy Juba specializes in writing adult mysteries, she has also authored books for children and young adults – she pursues whatever story ideas won’t leave her alone. Stacy’s titles include the Amazon bestselling adult mystery novels Twenty-Five Years Ago Today and Sink or Swim, the mystery short story Laundry Day, the children’s picture books The Flag Keeper and Victoria Rose and the Big Bad Noise, and the upcoming young adult novels Dark Before Dawn, Face-Off and Offsides. She is a former journalist with more than a dozen writing awards to her credit. 

Web site: http://stacyjuba.com/blog/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/stacyjuba

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stacy-Juba/100155471301

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

Definitely the early morning, around 6:30-8:30 a.m., when the rest of the house is still asleep. I wake up excited to go on my computer and write. At night, I focus on book promotion tasks - I'm alert enough to do straightforward tasks like marketing, but am too tired to tap into the creativity I need to write fiction. 

2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer? When I was younger, I had to write it all on paper. After I started working as a reporter in my early twenties, my editor cured me of that habit pretty fast.  Most of my writing is done on my home computer. A friend also gave me an AlphaSmart word processor and I love using that to write on the go. I have a laptop, but don't use it much as the word processor is much lighter and faster to use on the go.

3: What do you draw inspiration from?  I draw inspiration from my interests and situations that I've been in, although everything I write is fiction. For Twenty-Five Years Ago Today, I was inspired by my old job as a newspaper obit writer and editorial assistant. One of my responsibilities was using the microfilm to research snippets for my daily 25 and 50 years ago today column. One day, I looked back on that experience and got an idea: What if a newspaper editorial assistant stumbled across a murder while researching her 25 years ago today column and was driven to solve it?     

For Sink or Swim, I was inspired by the popularity of reality TV shows. I chose to make my character, Cassidy, a personal trainer as I once worked in a health club and could draw upon that experience. My children's picture book The Flag Keeper was inspired by my husband's respect of the U.S. flag. 

4: Do you set goals for yourself when you sit down to write such as word count?  I try not to worry about page numbers or word counts when I'm writing a first draft, but I do set writing goals. I like to finish at least half of a scene in one sitting. Instead of saying, I'll stop after 5 pages, I'll say, let me try to get to the part where the phone rings. Then the next day, my goal will be to finish the scene.  I like to finish at least one solid chapter per week - "solid" meaning that once I get it down, I might edit it a few times before moving on to the next chapter. 

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

Like many authors nowadays, I'm a combination of both. I've been published in print by Avon and Mainly Murder Press. I have the e-book rights to my books and Mainly Murder Press allows me to use their trade paperback covers for the e-book versions, which is wonderful. I've self-published my picture books and short stories. When I do need covers designed, I'm very fortunate as my husband is a graphic designer. 

6: What drives you to choose the career of being a writer? I've been writing stories since elementary school and had my first book published at 18, though there were several years of rejection after that. I majored in exercise science in college, and worked briefly in a health club and a hospital cardiac rehabilitation program, but I wasn't excited about going to work in the morning. In fact, I dreaded it and it felt wrong, despite my interest in health and fitness. I found that writing was the career that excited me and that I was best at. Although publishing novels has always been my main goal, over the years I've also been a newspaper reporter, a newsletter editor, a publicist, and a freelance writer. But, my passion is writing and marketing my books and I love the ability to independently publish my e-books and be in charge of my career.

7: Do you own an e-book reading device? Yes, I own a Sony Touch, which I love. I like it because it can also read Word files and PDFs. I am considering getting a Kindle also, as I feel like I'm missing out on some of the free books that Amazon offers, but it wouldn't replace the Sony - it would complement it! 

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

I enjoyed J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series and also enjoy Lisa Gardner, Jodi Picoult and Joy Fielding. I also like to reads books by indie and small press authors that I've developed friendships with. I have about 130 books on my e-reader including books by my friends Darcia Helle, Maria Savva, and Lisa Scott.

9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any? I have created three book trailers, for Twenty-Five Years Ago Today, Sink or Swim, and The Flag Keeper. You can see them on the Screening Room of my web site at http://stacyjuba.com/blog/books-2/book-trailers/  . They were fun and inexpensive to make and I think they do a good job of depicting my books in a visual way. They have catchy music also. Honestly though, I don't think book trailers affect book sales in a significant way.  I'll probably make them for future books as I enjoy doing them, but now I know that it's a project for lower down on the priority list.       

10: How did you come up with the title of your latest book? Sink or Swim is about a young woman who goes on a reality show set aboard a Tall Ship, and the name of the TV show is Sink or Swim as losers are required to walk the plank. The book starts when the show has ended and she is returning to her normal life as the target of a stalker, so the Sink or Swim also has a double meaning - will she rise above this adversity or will she let the stalker control her life?  It was one of those books where the title came to me immediately.

11: What are you working on now that you can talk about? I'm working on editing and formatting e-book editions of my out-of-print young adult book Face-Off and it's previously unpublished sequel Offsides. I'll probably also do a double edition paperback since many kids don't have e-readers. I'll have one more picture book coming out and will be releasing an e-book bundle of all my picture books.  My young adult paranormal thriller Dark Before Dawn is coming out from Mainly Murder Press in January, so I'll be preparing for the book launch and will also be working on the e-book editions. Once all these projects are finished, I'll return to writing my novel-in-progress Sign of the Messenger, the first book in a series, and I also have a novella that I'd like to polish up, called Doll House.   

Toni Dwiggins interview

1: What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?
Morning, after taking in the day’s news in the paper and getting well caffeinated. Also, usually after a walk/hike chewing over plot issues.

2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer?
I’ll take notes with paper/pen (on those hikes, waiting in line at the market, etc) but once I start writing it’s all on the computer. So easy to delete that overwritten paragraph I loved the day before!

3: What do you draw inspiration from?
I’ll get ideas from the news, from overheard conversations, from those painful life lessons—that sort of thing. Inspiration, when it comes, most often comes from the characters on the page who start insisting it’s their story. In which case I shut up and type. And, I’ll sometimes take inspiration from my cats, who always do what they’re intended to do. They know it’s time to nap in the sun and so they do.

4: Do you set goals for yourself when you sit down to write such as word count?
Not word count, but I will set a goal of, say, finishing a scene or solving a plot problem. If I reach the goal I get chocolate.

5: Are you a published or a self published author and how do you come up with your cover art?
I’ve been traditionally published, a good long while ago by TOR Books. Going Indie is a new venture, with a new series.
For the cover art, I knew it had to be fairly simple (to work in thumbnail, in grayscale). I wanted something that would give the reader an idea what the book is about at a glance. In this case, radioactive material loose in Death Valley. From there, I found some stock photos of rad symbols and deserts and learned the basics of Gimp and came up with a not-too-awful cover. I posted it on Kindleboards and people gave me great suggestions. I also heard from a cover artist who liked my concept and offered to improve it (my words; he was more circumspect). I think he did a terrific job.

6: What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?
I come from a family of writers. Dad was a newspaper aviation reporter, and then wrote books on the topic. Mom wrote a couple of B-movie scripts. Aunt and Uncle wrote westerns and detective stories. When I was twelve I barged into a meeting of hardboiled writers in their living room—having just finished reading GONE WITH THE WIND. I announced, with tears and snot running, that GWTW was the best book that ever had been written or ever would be written. A lot of polite coughing and a few snickers and one muttered you try it. The next day I wrote a short story about a little girl who loses her favorite doll, simply heartbreaking, and sent it to the New Yorker. Got my first rejection slip. And then just kept on trying.

7: Do you own an ebook reading device?
A Kindle, which I am finding to be very useful and very easy to read. Still love paper books, but that Kindle is soooo handy.

8: Who are some of your favorite authors and What are you reading now?
Favorite authors: Kate Atkinson, Barbara Kingsolver, Nevada Barr, CJ Box, Marcia Talley, Lisa Brackman, Scott Turow, Olen Steinhauer, Laura Lippman, Michael Chabon, and a boatload of others. I have a lot of favorites. Plus, I’ve discovered more favorites since getting the Kindle: J. Carson Black, Michael Wallace, David Dalglish. Right now I’m reading two books: Black’s THE SHOP on my Kindle, and Barbara Kingsolver’s THE LACUNA in hardback. Love ‘em both.

9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any?
I’ve seen a couple; one very good, one not so much. Don’t have plans right now to have one but never say never.

10: How did you come up with the title of your latest book?
The book is set primarily in Death Valley, and Badwater is an iconic site there, the lowest elevation in the country. Badwater also a play on words, because the bad guy is threating to contaminate the national park water supply.

11: What are you working on now that you can talk about?
The next book in the forensic geology series. It takes place in my forensic geologists’ home town—Mammoth Lakes, in the Sierra Nevada range. A volcano is rumbling, and FEMA has sent a rather psychopathic emergency-ops guy to get the town ready to evacuate, and the mayor’s body has just been found in a glacier.

Links:
BADWATER is available at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005466WQ6

http://smashwords.com/books/view/65431

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/BADWATER/Toni-Dwiggins/e/2940012940414

Nicholas McGirr interview

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

Usually early mornings. They are most productive when you have a fresh outlook from the day before.

2: Do you start your projects writing with paper and pen or is it all on the computer? A little of both. I find that my computer isn't always where I am, so I tend to carry the classic Composition Notebooks and plenty of pens wherever I go.

3: What do you draw inspiration from?
Music and the Greek Gods. I have been a musician since I was a child and my father is a musician as well. The Greek Gods have always intrigued me, so I decided to put my favorite things together and write about music and Greek Mythology all wrapped up into a new spin on how we as humans perceive the Gods.

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

Never. I write what comes, plain and simple. If I happen to write three chapters in one day or three words, it's always about setting aside the time to write and research. 

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

Self published. My cover art for the paperback version I asked my wife to draw up based on what she saw out of the book. The ebook version, I wanted to try my hand at a little photography.
6: What drives you to choose the career of being a writer?
I've always loved writing and telling stories. After finding that my adolescent rock star dream wasn’t going to come true, I began writing. 

7: Do you own an ebook reading device? Yes, I own the original black and white nook.

8: Who are some of your favorite authors and What are you reading now? Right now, I’m reading House by Ted Dekker and Frank Perretti. Some of my faves in the past have been Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King, and any tales I can find on Greek Mythology.

9: What do you think of book trailers and do you have any plans to have any? Over the past year, I’ve noticed a lot of different types of marketing tricks and seeing which ones work. As for now, I have no plans on creating a book trailer. 

10: How did you come up with the title of your latest book? The Growing Dim Project was a contradiction in the title, and I love irony. I’m also a big fan of not really getting the title until you read the book. That’s exactly the case with The Growing Dim Project.

11: What are you working on now that you can talk about?
Currently, I’m working on two projects. The sequel to Book One: The Growing Dim Project which is entitled Book Two: Popular Jazz. This book will answer a lot of the questions that are brought up in Book One taking out some of the mystery and will hook the reader to wanting more of this series.
The second project I have is releasing Life of Death into ebook format. This was a project written long before The Growing Dim Project was even thought of. 


http://www.amazon.com/Growing-Dim-Project-Book-ebook/dp/B004WLPWRE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1308944585&sr=1-1