Interview with the Lovely and Elegant Anna del C.

Deirdra: When did you first know you wanted to be an author?

I didn’t actually ever think I would be an author. It was my husband who commanded it. He said I had to do it if he was going to live to 40. He believed my imagination would kill him.

Deirdra:  What makes you passionate about writing?

A love for things medieval and curiosity to see if I can do it. 

Deirdra: What was the pathway like for you to get your first book published?

My husband took care of it after some rejection letters. He studied the self-publishing market and we choose the one we thought would be a good match for us. I was picky on what I wanted and stubbornly fought to get it. I was having too much fun writing to care who the publisher was.

Deirdra: Were you ever discouraged along the way? If so, how did you deal with it?

 Yes, I reached my lowest when I realized that I really didn’t know anything about promoting my book. I spent hours trying one thing and another with little result. I have learned that promotion is a necessary evil and just continue to pluck away at it.

Deirdra: When did you write your first book?

 I wrote my first book eight years ago and two years later it was published

Deirdra: What books have most influenced your life?

 Lord of the Rings. It opened my mind so wide that all these stories started falling out.

Deirdra: What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?

I love the power I have to inspire, in a clean beautiful way, all the new generations of readers. I hope my books will inspire them to find their way safely. There are only two ways you go through life, one is happy and the other sad. I want them to be happy.

Deirdra:  Where do your ideas come from?  How do you know the idea is good enough to write a book about it?


Well my elf series was inspired by Lord of the Rings.

One of the books in my princess romance series was inspired by the play Aida.

Emerine’s Nightmare was inspired by a challenge in a online writer’s group They suggested to write a Fairy story. I never read one before so I did, and then wrote my own.

My Sci-Fi series was inspired by a class I took in a writer’s symposium (LTUE) given by Librarians.

Also a retired librarian gave me an idea for a children’s series. The ideas come from any place or circumstance, you just have to see them.

Usually the stories come to me complete from beginning to end, and that is enough to know if it will work.

Deirdra:  Can you tell us a little about your book, Flying Elf?

It is book number six in my Elf Series. The series has seven books so I am almost done with it. Here is a back cover blurb:

What would you do if the world as you know it comes tumbling down? That is what happens to Shahira every time she tries to fly. You see she is an eagle and eagles fly…then why can she not?

The wizard Huzan has spent all his life under the shadow of his renowned brother Zanteon. But no more… He has discovered the book that is key to his brother’s secret. Now he is going to use it to destroy all the wizardry school.

Llorradinn’s life has been simple and peaceful in the land of the elfs. That is until the human caravan comes and he is caught by the claws of a giant eagle. What does he want with him? Elfs have not seen the giant eagles for many centuries; then why now, and why so hostile to the elf race?

You will find all the answers in Flying Elf the next epic book in Anna del C’s elf series. Writing in the line of Tolkien, Anna del C. has created another tale to take the reader to a new world, full of twists, secrets, and love.

You can find my books on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords.

Deirdra, I am so thankful to you for having me visit your friends. If you would pick three commentators in this blog, I will send them a PDF of Flying Elf. I would love for them to do a review of it letter. Imagine the imaginable with Anna del C. Dye.

Interview with Paula Martin

Neve Dalton loves her job as a tour guide on a River Nile cruise ship as much as she values her independence. She isn’t ready to settle down with her Egyptian boyfriend, despite his repeated proposals and his father’s desire to see him married.

Nor is she ready to meet Ross McAllister, a compelling and fascinating archaeologist.She struggles against her growing attraction to him until she can no longer ignore what her heart is telling her. This is the man who sets her soul on fire.

When she starts receiving cryptic messages, and Ross’s work in the famous Valley of the Kings is threatened, Neve has to make a heart-breaking and life-changing decision which she feels is her only option.

Can they discover whose enmity is forcing them apart before it’s too late?

Deirdra: When did you write your first book and how old were you?

Paula: I’ve written stories ever since I learnt to write, and wrote my first full-length novel when I was about twelve. It was all about a group of 10-12 year olds who had ponies, and went to ballet and acting lessons - all the things I longed for but never had the opportunity, so it was very much wishful thinking on my part! The same could be said for the romance stories I went on to write in my teens, and in fact my first published book, when I was twenty-five, was a full-length development of one of those teenage stories.

Deirdra: What was the pathway like for you to get your first book published?

Paula: I’m sure this will make a lot of people very jealous, but the very first romance novel I wrote was accepted by the first publisher I sent it to i.e. Mills and Boon. In those days (i.e. back in the good old 1960s) it had to be typed out and then parcelled up and mailed. I fully expected it to come back by return of post! But about a month later I had a letter, signed by THE Alan Boon himself, saying he liked my story, and if I was prepared to make a few minor changes, he would consider it for publication. IF I was prepared?? I sat straight down and made those changes, and then had to type the whole manuscript out again to re-submit it. Two weeks later, I got the acceptance, together with a contract for two more novels.

I wrote three novels for Mills and Boon, and one for Robert Hale, but then real life got in the way with my family and my teaching career. I came back to writing romances about 5 years ago, and have had five more books published since June 2011.

Deirdra: Where do your ideas come from? How do you know the idea is good enough to write a book about it?

Paula: Ideas come from many different places. ‘Her Only Option’ was first conceived when I was on a Nile cruise two years ago and idly started to wonder if it would be possible to vault the rails from the sundeck of one cruise ship to another when they were moored alongside each other at Aswan.

Another of my current ‘works in progress’ was partly inspired when I was in a village in Ireland where part of ‘The Quiet Man’ was filmed (starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara). In the small cottage museum about the film, I saw Maureen O’Hara’s name in the visitors’ book and was told she often visited when she was in Ireland.

My other work in progress was inspired by a newspaper article about an apartment in Paris, abandoned since 1939, which turned out to have quite a history about the previous owner.

You simply never know when something you see or hear might strike the right chord in your mind, but when it does, you know you could develop or adapt it as part of a story.

Deirdra: What is your process of brainstorming a story? Do you just sit down and write, waiting to see what happens next? Or do you outline first?

Paula: I’m very much a ‘pantser’. I tend to begin with the hero and heroine and a ‘situation’ that brings them together, or into conflict. I have a vague idea about how I think it will end, but I let the characters run with the middle of the story. Sometimes I have to haul them back, but most times they know their story better than I do, and other characters make their way into the story that I hadn’t even thought about when I started the story.

One example of this was in ‘Her Only Option’ which is set in Egypt. The two main characters cross the Nile with a boatman who sings Elvis songs. I have no idea where he came from, he simply ‘appeared’ as I wrote the story, but I liked him so much, I gave him a bigger role to play later in the story. Or maybe he appeared because he knew he had a bigger role to play?

Deirdra: What is the best thing about being an author?

Paula: I love the way my characters come to life as I write the first draft. To begin with, they’re simply names, and maybe I know their hair and eye colour, and their occupations, but fairly soon they develop their own personalities and I get to know them better. By the time I’m about half way through they’ve definitely become ‘real’ to me – and that’s when they can surprise me by saying or doing something I hadn’t thought of.

Deirdra: Can you tell us a little about your book, Her Only Option?

Paula: While I was on my Nile cruise, I started thinking about the characters. The heroine would be a cruise ship tour guide, and the hero an archaeologist working in the Valley of the Kings. I had no idea when I wrote the first scene with these two meeting each other that it would develop into a story with mystery and intrigue as well as romance.

Here’s the blurb:

Neve Dalton loves her job as a tour guide on a River Nile cruise ship as much as she values her independence. She isn’t ready to settle down with her Egyptian boyfriend, despite his repeated proposals and his father’s desire to see him married.

Nor is she ready to meet Ross McAllister, a compelling and fascinating archaeologist.She struggles against her growing attraction to him until she can no longer ignore what her heart is telling her. This is the man who sets her soul on fire.

When she starts receiving cryptic messages, and Ross’s work in the famous Valley of the Kings is threatened, Neve has to make a heart-breaking and life-changing decision which she feels is her only option.

Can they discover whose enmity is forcing them apart before it’s too late?

Deirdra: What is the best compliment you could receive from a reader?

Paula: I get a thrill when someone says they couldn’t put the book down once they started, and I’m happy to say I’ve had a lot of comments like that in reviews. I’ve also loved comments like: “Neve is a very appealing character and I did not want to finish the book and leave her” and “This a great blend of strong, believable characters, a compelling storyline, bursting with mystery, intrigue, and romance.”

Deirdra: What are you working on now?

Paula: I’m working on a contemporary romance set in Ireland. I’ve been there several times in the last few years, and fallen in love so many different parts of the island, especially Connemara in the west. I decided to have my hero and heroine meeting when they jointly inherit a house on the west coast of Ireland from someone neither of them has ever heard of. It’s a ‘story within a story’ as the two characters try to solve the mystery of the unknown benefactress and why they are both considered as ‘family.’ They gradually work out the links to the past by exploring their family histories, and they discover a past love story, as well as (initially) battling against their mutual attraction to each other. The lovers in the past were destined not to have a ‘happy ending’ – and it seems the same thing will happen to their two descendants – or will it?

Deirdra: Any final words you would like to share?

Paula: Thank you so much for having me as your guest, Deirdra.

Readers can find me at my blog http://paulamartinpotpourri.blogspot.com, my website http://paulamartinromances.webs.com or on my Amazon page http://amzn.to/Y0HowL where you can find all my romance novels.

Interview with Diann Thornley Read

About Diann T. Read and Her Books

Originally from northern Utah, Diann Thornley wrote her first story at the age of five and never stopped writing. She taught herself to type—with two fingers—on her father’s ancient manual typewriter at the age of six because it was faster than pushing a pencil. After winning a statewide writing contest, junior high division, at the age of fourteen, she began her first novel, which was based on the Arthurian legends. This endeavor filled most of her high school years and freshman year of college, until a handful of friends introduced her to science fiction by “kidnapping” her to go see an obscure little movie called Star Wars. The rest, as they say, is history.

Ganwold’s Child, first book of the The Sergey Chronicles, took seven years to complete, due to completing college and entering the U.S. Air Force. Following a year-long tour of duty in the Republic of Korea, Diann finished Ganwold’s Child while stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. Echoes of Issel and Dominion’s Reach, the second and third books in the Sergey trilogy, were also written in Ohio.

Diann transitioned into the Air Force Reserves following Desert Storm, but her military career spanned 23 years and included deployments to Bosnia and Iraq. In December 2000 she married Jon Read, NASA rocket scientist and martial artist, and moved to Texas. Diann retired from the Air Force in June 2009 to return to her writing career and spend more time with Jon.

Check out Diann’s website at www.diannthornleyread.com, find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Diann-T-Read/291193624316145?ref=hl, follow her blog, “Hero Journeys,” at www.diannread.wordpress.com and on Twitter @DiannTRead.  You can find her books on Amazon at www.amazon.com/author/diann.t.read.

Deirdra: When did you first know you wanted to be an author?

Diann: I wrote my first story when I was five, on wide-lined paper with a fat pencil. I wrote stories mostly for fun, for vicarious adventure, and shared them with friends. Even after winning the junior high division of a statewide writing contest at age 14, I didn't seriously think I could become an author until high school, when several of my friends decided the novel I was writing then needed to be published.

Deirdra: Were you ever discouraged along the way? If so, how did you deal with it?

Diann: Oh, yes, I got discouraged! I pressed on. I had enough faith in myself and my budding talent to keep working at it. I still get discouraged sometimes, but I'm still pressing on.

Deirdra: What is your writing schedule like?

Diann: I was active duty in the Air Force while writing Ganwold's Child, first book in the Sergey trilogy. It took me seven years because I had to write in whatever off-duty time I could grab. These days I work from about 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM (or later) Mondays through Fridays, and on Saturdays if I don't have other obligations. I guard that time like a treasure!

Deirdra: What is your process of brainstorming a story? Do you just sit down and write, waiting to see what happens next? Or do you outline first?

Diann: I outline, but I allow myself to digress as better ideas come along in the actual writing. I highly recommend David Farland's "Million Dollar Outlines" and Les Edgerton's "Hooked" for outlining guidance.

Deirdra: Do you need absolute quiet to write? Do you listen to music when you are writing?

Diann: Music is good! I prefer movie music soundtracks like 13th Warrior, Last Samurai, all of the Lord of the Rings, things like that--as long as there aren't lyrics or I'd start singing along! I listen to Celtic music when I'm writing from my Scottish character's POV, and Navajo flute, drum, and chanting when writing in my protagonist's shamanic culture.

Deirdra: What's your secret to making the characters in your books come to life?

Diann: I get into their heads and hearts. I like writing in 1st person POV for that reason. When I switched from 3rd person to 1st person I discovered that my current protagonist is kinda snarky, and that's fun!

Deirdra: How do you come up with your characters' names?

Diann: I collect names. I've collected lists of names from around the world and I give my characters names that reflect their culture. For example, my current protagonist's name is Akuleh, an American Indian name that means "Looks Up," which he has to learn to do on a few levels.  

Deirdra: What are you working on now?

Diann: A YA series called The Seventh Shaman. It's about a boy in a shamanic culture whose abusive stepmother has led him to believe he's destined to become Death Bringer, the incarnation of his people's Satan figure. So he runs away from home, lies about his age, enters the military, and becomes a fighter pilot. He has these latent abilities to work the elements, which come into play at critical times. Eventually his true destiny will catch up with him and he'll discover that his life has an overwhelming but magnificent purpose.

Deirdra: What do you hope readers will get from your books?

Diann: I hope they'll realize that in spite of where they may be coming from, no matter what horrors or challenges they've been through, that their lives DO have divine worth and meaning and purpose, and they're never really alone. I feel a great sense of urgency about these books; they're sort of a mission for me. 

 

Deirdra: What is the greatest compliment you could receive from a reader?

Diann: That my books changed their life, inspired, uplifted, encouraged them, or motivated them to pursue their own dreams with confidence, knowing they can achieve great things.

It Comes Out Today!

The Buttersmiths' Gold

BATTLES. BLUEBERRIES. BOVINES.

TORBJORN AND STORFJELL’S HISTORY UNFOLDS IN AN EPIC EVERTASTER NOVELLA.

Everyone knows the most coveted treasure of the Viking Age was blueberry muffins. Blueberry muffins so succulent that if you sniffed just a whiff, you'd want a whole bite. If you bit a bite, you'd want a batch; if you snatched a batch, you'd stop at nothing short of going to war just to claim them all. 

Young Torbjorn Trofastsonn comes from the clan that makes them. He's a Viking through and

through – he's thirteen winters old, larger than most respectable rocks, and most of all, a Buttersmith. That's what he thinks anyway, until a charismatic merchant makes Torbjorn question his place among the muffin-makers. When Torbjorn lets the secret of his clan's muffin recipe slip, he calls doom and destruction down upon his peaceful village and forces his brother Storfjell and his clansmen to do the one thing they are ill-prepared to do: battle for their lives.

About The Buttersmiths' Gold

The Buttersmiths' Gold is a spin off novella in the Evertaster series that tells the story of two Viking brothers and their adventurous past. The Evertaster series (Book #1 released June 14, 2012) is about Guster Johnsonville, who goes searching for a legendary taste rumored to be the most delicious in all of history. Along the way he meets a slew of mysterious characters, including two Viking brothers Torbjorn and Storfjell. The Buttersmiths' Gold is their story. 124 pages. By Adam Glendon Sidwell. Published by Future House Publishing. 

Evertaster, Book #1:

A legendary taste. Sought after for centuries. Shrouded in secrecy.

When eleven-year-old Guster Johnsonville rejects his mother’s casserole for the umpteenth time, she takes him into the city of New Orleans to find him something to eat. There, in a dark, abandoned corner of the city they meet a dying pastry maker. In his last breath he entrusts them with a secret: an ancient recipe that makes the most delicious taste the world will ever know — a taste that will change the fate of humanity forever.

Forced to flee by a cult of murderous chefs, the Johnsonvilles embark on a perilous journey to ancient ruins, faraway jungles and forgotten caves. Along the way they discover the truth: Guster is an Evertaster — a kid so picky that nothing but the legendary taste itself will save him from starvation. With the sinister chefs hot on Guster’s heels and the chefs’ reign of terror spreading, Guster and his family must find the legendary taste before it’s too late.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can get the book on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615654495/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0615654495&linkCode=as2&tag=evertaster-blogger-20

Interview with Lea Carter

Deirdra: When did you write your first book and how old were you?

I have been writing since I was nine, but did not complete an actual book until I was about 25.  It only took me three months to write it, but since I did not really know what I was doing, it took me seven years to get it edited and published.


Deirdra:  What is your writing schedule like?

As a public transportation rider, I primarily write while travelling between work and home.  Sometimes things do get slow enough at work to write a little, though.

Deirdra: What do you do to relax and unwind?

I enjoy watching a good movie or listening to an old-time radio program.  If it makes me laugh or start thinking, either way things around me seem better.

Deirdra:  Where do your ideas come from?  How do you know the idea is good enough to write a book about it?

My ideas come from a wide variety of sources.  It might be a song or a movie reference, or just a “what if…”.  Then a character is in my mind as vividly (sometimes more vividly) as if it were an actual person.  Their story just begs to be told, often surprising me in the process.
I’m not sure asking if a story is “good enough” is quite how I’d phrase it.  Many times a story will not catch my attention but will fascinate other people I know.   The ideas that won’t leave me alone are typically the ones I write down, but I strongly recommend that beginning writers focus on the verb – write.   Sometimes the best writing exercise is forcing yourself past the easy part, finding out by trial and error whether you prefer a bullet-point list or brainstorming.


Deirdra:  What do you hope readers will get from your books?

I sincerely hope they experience the escape that I consider so much a part of what I enjoy about reading.  If I learned that people found something illuminating or uplifting in my books, that would make me very happy.


Deirdra: Do you ever experience a snag in a story, a form of writer's block? If so, how do you deal with it?

I certainly have during my third book, Silver Verity, though for me it seems to act more like a snarl than a block.  I find that giving it a day or two to unravel itself, taking time to go back over points in the story and make sure I haven’t missed a connection, or discussing it with my biggest fan (hi Mom!) is enough to rattle a surprise loose.

Deirdra: Do you need absolute quiet to write? Do you listen to music when you are writing?

I don’t need quiet, but some things are almost impossibly negative and hard to ignore.  Quarreling people and profanity are particularly distracting.  I do listen to music at those times or when I need to make real progress.  I choose songs that I can tune out or in at will.


Deirdra:  What authors do you admire, and why?

I am particularly fond of reading Emily Loring and Louis L’Amour.  Their books are primarily clean and intriguing.  I will admit that Emily Loring’s can be a bit predictable but that’s sort of like complaining because you always enjoy your favorite dessert.  Louis L’Amour’s Sackett series has never seemed predictable to me and I would love it if Silver Sagas became an extended family series.

Deirdra:  How do you come up with your character’s names?
For the Silver Sagas books, it depends on the “tribe” they are from.  I might take a word and visit Google translate, see how it sounds in Latin or Greek.  I have also researched things native to their land, such as mountains, trees, or plants, until I found something that I thought sounded unique and like a name at the same time.


Deirdra: Where can readers go to find your books and order them?

At the moment, my books are only available digitally from Amazon.  I look forward to a time when they are out in print and am even working towards it, but I am temporarily stumped on that front because of the many contracts inherent in Print on Demand publishing.  When I know more I’ll post it on my site, https://sites.google.com/site/leasbookshelf/.

Family Size and Interview with Maria Hoagland

Jessica loves being the mom of an ever-expanding family, but when an ultrasound throws her a curve, can she adapt with grace?

Dragged away from home, Maya feels deserted by her workaholic husband in a land of confusing accents and church cliques. What will it take to acclimate and save her marriage—or does she even want to?

Sloane is an algebra teacher and runner who would give up both to be a mom, but no matter what she does, pregnancy remains elusive. Can she adjust her thinking and find purpose in her life?

As their lives intertwine, can friendship and faith help these women hurdle expectations of an ideal family size?

“Hoagland has a talent for taking us into people’s hearts, allowing us to see both the bad and the good, and showing us the strength that comes only from trial. The characters in Family Size could be your neighbors or anyone from your ward. They think as we think, learn as we learn. They fail and weep, and then they dust themselves off and try again. In the end they come through for each other—and brilliantly. I very much enjoyed this novel.”—Rachel Ann Nunes – Bestselling author of Line of Fire and Before I Say Goodbye

“Family Size is a touching story of three women who know heartache and trial, but also know where to turn for help. I loved this book. I laughed. I cried. I believe every woman will relate to the different tales of heartache and hope and come away with more compassion and understanding for others. I would recommend you not only read Family Size, but share it with all the sisters in your life.” –Cami Checketts,The Broken Path

“Family Size is a touching story of three women's struggles with motherhood. Their issues with pregnancy, health, and fertility are well balanced and told so any woman can relate to them. Another great book by Maria Hoagland.” –Heather Justesen, The Switch

Maria Hoagland has written two books: Nourish & Strengthen and Family Size. She earned her degree from Brigham Young University in English. She and her husband have three children and have lived in Texas, Missouri, Utah, and Idaho. Maria enjoys watching anything her children are involved in, going to book clubs and lunch groups, long-distance running, walking barefoot in the green grass, and eating raspberries from her backyard. She loves to connect with readers at the following places:

Website: http://www.mariahoagland.com/

Blog: http://mariahoagland.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariahoaglandauthor

Twitter: @MariaHoagland

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5294354.Maria_Hoagland

Deirdra:  What is your writing schedule like?
Maria: Because I started a part-time job recently, my schedule is in flux…but who am I kidding? I never really had a set schedule to write. I do it when I get the chance because I love doing it, but being a mom, sometimes other things take precedence. My best writing time, though, is when it’s quiet and the kids are at school. I like to write in my home office, an upstairs converted bedroom I call my “tower” (because my husband’s office is in the basement which we refer to as the “dungeon”), but I also love to write outdoors at picnic tables, stone benches, in the grass under a tree, and occasionally in a squishy armchair at B&N or Starbucks. Also, I take my netbook everywhere so that I can write when I’m waiting in the car for my kids, or waiting for their concerts/games to begin.

Deirdra: What do you do to relax and unwind?
Maria: I have a love/hate relationship with running. Most of the time, it helps me get away from writing as well as to get things straight in my head so I can move on. Sometimes, though, I just like to veg on the couch with my husband and watch TV.

Deirdra: What is your process of brainstorming a story? Do you just sit down and write, waiting to see what happens next? Or do you outline first?
Maria: I’m a collector. When I see, hear, read, or experience something I think would go great in some kind of story, I write it down. Usually I carry a small notebook for just such occasions, but I also use my phone, scraps of paper, or whatever else is handy. The problem with that is that when I’m ready to write, I’ve got to pull all those resources together and get them into some kind of organized mess. To do so, I use Post-It notes on my wall (easy to move around), the Scrivener notecard feature, and an outline. That, of course, doesn’t mean that I stick to the outline as I write, but it makes thing easier if I do.

Deirdra: Who has made the greatest difference for you as a writer?
Maria: One of the things that has helped the most with my writing is surrounding myself with people to help me. It took someone who invested countless hours helping edit my first book to make me feel truly confident enough to share my writing with other editors and publishers and to eventually feel ready to publish on my own. Now being part of a critique group and the encouragement and help of other writers and editors helps me create a quality product, and more than that, helps me fulfill my dream.

Deirdra:  What are you working on now?
Maria: I’m in that collecting/ outlining mode right now as well as doing a little research on the side. I’m excited about the book, but it will be a bit of a stretch for me and I am looking forward to the challenge. I don’t want to say too much about it, though, because I don’t know how much of it I’ll change before it’s ready for the light of the world. It will be in the same genre—LDS women’s fiction—and another stand-alone book.

Deirdra:  What do you hope readers will get from your books?
Maria: I like the idea of taking LDS issues and tackling them honestly but with faith. I want readers to feel uplifted and strengthened and to feel good about themselves and others around them.

Deirdra:  What is the best thing about being an author?
Maria: It is thrilling (and scary) to see someone reading about my book, but my favorite part of being an author is seeing that book in someone’s hands, or hearing from them after they’ve finished and have them talk about how the book made them think. I just love hearing people’s reactions.

Deirdra: Where can readers go to find your books and order them?

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Family-Size-Maria-Hoagland/dp/1481151290/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365127783&sr=8-1&keywords=maria+Hoagland

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/maria-hoagland?store=allproducts&keyword=maria+hoagland

Thank you so much, Maria. It’s a real honor to get your insights.

Interview with the Amazing C. David Belt!!!!!

C. David Belt was born in Evanston, WY. As a child, he lived and traveled extensively around the Far East. He served as an LDS missionary in South Korea and southern California (Korean-speaking). He graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and a minor in Aerospace Studies. He served as a B-52 pilot in the US Air Force and as an Air Weapons Controller in the Washington Air National Guard. When he is not writing, he sings in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and works as a software engineer. He collects swords (mostly Scottish), axes, spears, and other medieval weapons and armor. He and his wife have six children and live in Utah with an eclectus parrot named Mork (who likes to jump on the keyboard when David is writing). 

The Unwilling: 

In all the 6,000 years that the Children of Lilith have walked among us, there has never been an unwilling vampire...until now.

Carl Morgan has lost everything. His wife and children were killed in a senseless accident. Then he witnesses the murder of his sister at the hands of a beautiful and mysterious woman named Rebecca. When the police cannot locate the killer, Carl takes matters into his own hands. But his search for justice costs him everything he holds dear.

Carl is unknowingly transformed into the world's first and only unwilling vampire. He is cut off from the light, damned to an eternity of darkness, barred from heaven and any hope of a reunion with his family.

Moira MacDonald, a repentant vampire, has roamed the earth alone for centuries seeking redemption. The very existence of an unwilling vampire, something she thought impossible, changes everything. Has she finally found a path to redemption . . . and an end to her loneliness?

Carl and Moira discover that Rebecca's vampire Master, Michael, plans to unleash a plague of vampires on the city. Can Carl and Moira stop the slaughter of countless innocents?




The Penitent:

In 6,000 years, no vampire has ever defied Lilith, Queen of the vampires...until now.

Moira and Carl Morgan have saved the city from the horror of Michael and his evil wives, but victory has come at terrible cost.  And there are consequences to every choice, every victory.  Word has spread that someone has broken Lilith's power, that someone has defied the ancient Queen of the vampires.   And she's not happy about it.

The Prophecy:
For 6,000 years, Lilith and her Children have walked the earth, hunting, preying, seducing, corrupting, ruling from the shadows...until now.

An ancient prophecy, spoken by Adam, Lilith's grandfather, foretells her doom. She will do anything, corrupt any innocent, murder countless mortals to save herself.  To survive, she knows she must destroy Carl and Moira Morgan.  The war has begun.  And Carl and Moira know, win or lose, it all ends here.







Deirdra:  What is your writing and educational background?
Dave: I’ve been writing stories, poetry, and songs since I was a child.  I wrote a few short stories in high school and college, but I only started to write my first novel, The Unwilling, in December of 2009.  I was forty-nine years old.  I never took a creative writing course in college.  I have a degree in Computer Science from BYU with a minor in Aerospace Studies (i.e., AFROTC).

Deirdra: What was the pathway like for you to get your first book published?
Dave: Lots and lots of submission packets, lots of rejections, and lots of research.  I think most times, a publisher would read my query letter, get to the words “LDS” and “vampire” in the same sentence, and stop reading.  My publisher, Parables, actually rejected the manuscript originally.  They sent it back with edits (so they DID read it), but said, “I want more imagery.  The storytelling is too sparse.”  I said, “If I were to expand the imagery, would you take another look?”  They said they would.  So I expanded the first four chapters, added about 5K words, and sent it back.  The response I got back was, “I love, love, love your book!”  So it went to the next level, the next approver, and the next, and soon I was offered a contract.  Parables publishes only about three books each year and they had already hit their limit for that year, so they asked, “Would you be willing to have it published as an e-book first and a paperback a year later?”  My response was, “Was that a trick question?  Absofraggin’lutely!”

Deirdra: Were you ever discouraged along the way? If so, how did you deal with it?
Dave:  Of course.  Frequently.  I considered self-publishing, though I didn’t know how to go about it, but I really needed the validation that somebody other than friends and family thought my work was good enough to publish.  So even though I was discouraged, I just kept plugging away.  I don’t think I’m capable of giving up on something I love, so I just kept on fighting. 


Deirdra: What books have most influenced your life?
Dave:  Some people might say, “The scriptures,” or something like that.  Don’t get me wrong: the scriptures have affected my life profoundly, and I don’t want to belittle that.  But when I read the scriptures, I’m always looking for motivation: why did Moses or Nephi or Moroni say or do that?  How can I relate that to me?  What would I have done in that situation?  That said, as far as literary influences go: Dracula, by Bram Stoker, Shakespeare’s MacBeth, King Lear, and Hamlet, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol, and Oliver Twist, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein, Mary Stewart’s The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, The Last Enchantment, and The Wicked Day, J. R. R. Tolkein’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Robert Heinlein’s The Green Hills of Earth, J. Michael Straczynski’s Babylon 5 (OK, that’s not a book, but it could have been and it has been a profound influence), about one half or one third of a few of Stephen King’s books (wishing I could throw the rest of it away), Stephen R. Donaldson’s Daughter of Regals, and just about anything by Neil Gaiman, particularly, The Sandman, American Gods, Anansi Boys, and The Graveyard Book. 

Deirdra: What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?
Dave: I told the story that possessed me.  The story simply would not let me go until it was told.  When it was finished, I breathed a huge sigh of relief.  Then I realized how much I was going to miss the characters!


Deirdra:  What is your writing schedule like?
Dave: I write whenever I can get a few moments.  Mostly, it’s late at night.


Deirdra: What do you do to relax and unwind?
Dave: This going to sound weird, but hear me out:  I lie down on the couch and turn on Family Guy.  The show is so vile, that I turn the volume very low, close my eyes, and just tune it out.  I’m sleepy and ready for bed in five minutes or less.  I would never actually WATCH the show, but it puts me to sleep. 


Deirdra:  Where do your ideas come from?  How do you know the idea is good enough to write a book about it?
Dave: Usually, I get an image in my head.  If it simply won’t go away until I tell the story, then I know it’s a good one.  For The Children of Lilith, I had an image of a circle of vampires “ordaining” a man who did not consent to become a vampire.  In my head, I KNEW he was unwilling and that vampirism (like eternal damnation) could not be forced on anyone, but SOMEHOW it was being forced on him.  I knew he was the first and only unwilling vampire.  That image stayed in my head for more than a decade until I simply had to tell the story.  (It took me a decade to figure out how he could be forced to be a vampire if it MUST be voluntary.)


Deirdra:  Can you tell us a little about your book, The Children of Lilith: The Unwilling, The Penitent, and The Prophecy?
Dave:  The Unwilling is the story of Carl Morgan, a decent LDS man who loses his wife and children in an automobile accident.  Then he witnesses the murder of his wayward sister at the hands of the beautiful and mysterious Rebecca.  When the police can’t find the killer, he goes searching for her.  He finds her, but she takes away everything.  She transforms him into the world’s FIRST and ONLY unwilling vampire.  Vampirism is a choice, and you’re choosing to become a serial killer, because you can only survive on HUMAN blood, not animal blood.  Carl is unwilling to murder to survive and he really doesn’t understand what’s happened to him.  He’s found and mentored by Moira MacDonald, a two-hundred and seventy year-old Penitent (repentant vampire).  She teaches him how to survive without killing, how to stay true to his temple covenants (in spite of his condition), and how to get justice for his murdered sister.  But to Moira?  Carl’s very existence as an unwilling vampire turns her world upside-down, because Carl is an impossibility.  In the 6,000 years that the Children of Lilith have walked the earth, there has never been an unwilling vampire, because eternal damnation cannot be forced on someone: they must choose it, just as Moira did.  And yet, there’s Carl.  If he can exist somehow, there must be something about Moira’s condition that she doesn’t know.  Is it possible that, after two and half centuries of searching for redemption and repentance with no hope, perhaps there might be a way back?  Meanwhile, Rebecca’s vampire Master, Michael, plans to unleash a wave of new vampires on the city.  Carl and Moira must stop him before countless innocents are slaughtered. 


Deirdra:  How many beta readers review your manuscript before you send it to your editor?
Dave:  Four of my adult children, my wife, my mother, and two or three friends (among them, fellow authors).  One of my sons is my harshest and best critic.  My youngest daughter provides me with unique insights.   


Deirdra:  What do you hope readers will get from your books? 
 Dave:  There are themes and morals to any good story, and if I can help someone understand agency and the atonement of Christ (the themes of The Children of Lilith), so much the better.  Mostly, I just want to tell a good story. 


Deirdra: What is your process of brainstorming a story? Do you just sit down and write, waiting to see what happens next? Or do you outline first?
Dave:  I NEVER outline.  I sit down and write out character sketches, settings, rules (such as how vampirism works in my story), and plot points (not all of which will make it into the story).  I know how I want the story to end (in the broad strokes).  Then I stew for a long time on how to start the story (a process that is repeated at the beginning of each chapter), how to bait the hook.  Once I have the beginning, I plunge in and let the characters tell the story to me.  Occasionally, one of the characters will speak up in my head and say something like, “I would nae ever say such a thing, laddie!  Here’s what I’d do.”  That’s when I know that the character has really come alive for me.  That’s also the point when the story may go in a direction that I never anticipated, but will ultimately lead me to the where the story needs to go.  The most important thing, for me, is to know who the characters are before I can begin. 


Deirdra: Do you ever experience a snag in a story, a form of writer's block? If so, how do you deal with it?
Dave:  From time to time, I find that the story has taken an unexpected turn.  Perhaps it has become more violent than I intended.  Perhaps I’ve learned something about a character that disturbs me.  Then I have to stop and puzzle out what to do about it.  Sometimes I’ll brainstorm with someone else, but mostly I simply work it out in my head.  Things have to make sense and they have to be honest.  If not, the story isn’t worth telling.  So I have to listen and determine how the story should proceed.  The answers come with prayer sometimes.  Other times, I just lie awake in bed at night, working it over in my head.  Often, the answer will come while I’m sitting in the Choir loft in the Tabernacle or the Conference Center gazing at the vaulted ceiling during rehearsal. 


Deirdra: Do you need absolute quiet to write? Do you listen to music when you are writing?
Dave:  If I did need absolute quiet, I’d never get anything written!  I can tune out everything around me if the words are flowing.  If I can, I will listen to music: Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Celtic music (particularly Loreena McKinnett).  I’m particularly fond of Irish and Scottish drinking songs.  I have no idea why, because I don’t drink (obviously) and I’ve never been in an Irish pub.  (Although, I can tell you that I have recorded a couple of songs with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir that are folk hymns and were originally Irish or Scottish drinking songs!  One of my favorites is actually in our hymnbook… with different words, of course.)


Deirdra: What kinds of inspiration do you use during your story creation periods?
Dave:  Swords, axes, spears, war hammers, shields, toy spaceships, a replica of George Washington’s pistol, and my parrot.  And people, with all their glorious imperfections, quirks, and divine potential. 


Deirdra: Who has made the greatest difference for you as a writer?
Dave: My wife, who listens and lets me bounce ideas off her, my mother, because I never want to tell a story that she wouldn’t be willing to read, and Captain America (before Marvel messed him up), George Washington, Neil Gaiman, and J. Michael Straczynski.. 


Deirdra:  What’s your secret to making the character’s in your books come to life?
Dave: Give them a good backstory, know their physical appearance, and above all, listen to them.


Deirdra:  What authors do you admire, and why?
Dave:  Neil Gaiman, because he is able to breathe new life into the mundane and make the extraordinary and uncanny sound commonplace and credible.  J. Michael Straczynski, because he gave the world Londo Molari. 


Deirdra:  What is your favorite snack to have while you are writing?
Dave:  Snack?  Who has time to eat when the words are flowing?


Deirdra:  Besides writing what other talents or hobbies do you have?
Dave:  I sing in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  I love to act on the stage, especially in musical theatre.  My dream was to play Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, and I’ve done that.  I collect swords, axes, spears, and other medieval weapons and armor.  I’m fascinated with history.  I love Celtic music, especially Irish drinking songs. 


Deirdra:  What are you working on now?
Dave:  I’m currently working on a standalone science fiction novel with LDS themes and a main character who is LDS. Time’s Plague borrows themes for Shakespeare’s “King Lear” and is set roughly a century or so in the future. It starts out on a penal colony on Callisto (one of the moons of Jupiter). The story centers on Edgar Cordell, an innocent man, who has been sentenced for life (there can be no parole and no escape from the Hades penal colony) for a murder he did not commit. He was framed by his ex-wife and his best friend. The prison has no warden and is ruled by the prisoners, all of whom are male. It is literally a hellish place populated by murderers and rapists, the worst of the worst. New prisoners and supplies are dropped from orbit and no ship ever lands on Callisto… that is, until a shuttle crash-lands. There is only one survivor—Edgar’s ex-wife, the one person in the universe he hates more than any other. No woman can survive on Callisto. Edgar has to figure out a way to get her off-world and protect her from the other inmates.


Deirdra:  Are you planning on self-publishing, finding and agent, going with a small press or other? And why?
Dave:  I would LOVE to find an agent!  At present, I plan to give Parables first right of refusal on Times Plague.  Otherwise, I have no plans to self-publish.  I need the validation that somebody other than close friends and family find value in my work. 


Deirdra:  Where is your favorite place to write?
Dave:  In my office at home, surrounded by my swords.


Deirdra:  How do you come up with your character’s names?
Dave:  Names have power (which, coincidentally, is one of the themes in Time’s Plague), so I choose them carefully.  Sometimes, they are literary references and sometimes they are scriptural.  Often they are ironic: the vampire Master in The Unwilling is named Michael, which means, “like unto God”, something that Michael definitely is NOT. 


Deirdra: What words of advice do you have for other writers who desire to have their manuscripts become books in print?
Dave:  First and foremost: tell the story YOU want to tell.  Be honest: don’t force a story to work the way you want it to go.  If it can’t go there honestly, it’s not worth telling. 


Deirdra:  What is the best complement you could receive from a reader?
Dave:  A very tall member of the Choir came up to me one morning, grasped me by the shoulders, shook me, and said, “Your book made me weep!”  (I didn’t even know he had read it.) 

Deirdra: What are all the different ways you have promoted your book. 
 Dave:  I have a website that I engineered myself: www.unwillingchild.com.  I do book-signings and author interviews.  If I’m at a book-signing, and things are going slowly, I sing Celtic songs.  My voice carries to the ends of the mall.  People stop by.  They may or may not buy the book, but they’ll stop and listen and talk.


Deirdra: Where can readers go to find your books and order them?
Dave:  www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, and of course, www.unwillingchild.com, which has direct links to those sites.  The publisher’s website, www.parablespub.com, also has links to those sites.

Deirdra: Any final words you would like to share?
Dave:  Thank you so much for this opportunity. 

Small Town Superhero by Cheree Alsop

Small Town Superhero is about a boy whose life is turned upside down after a horrible accident tears apart his family and forces him to live with his relatives. Kelson struggles with the move to a small farming town where he becomes the target of the town’s gang. When circumstances turn dangerous, Kelson is forced to risk everything to save the town and the girl who changed his life and captured his heart.

Small Town Superhero has a fresh voice and frank point of view that draws you into Kelson’s life and helps you understand the boy who is fighting to overcome challenges made by both his decisions and the circumstances of a town struggling to face its past.

Social Media Links:

website: www.chereealsop.com

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