question #4

January 31, 2016

Sexy Six Authors Q&A #4: When did you decide to become a writer?

This post would be the continuation of Q&A session with the Sexy Six team and in case you’ve missed the third one, here is the link to it.

It’s a pleasure to interview the six sexy authors from the Sexy Six team. A warm welcome to our blog and we hope that you’ve enjoyed the interview session with us.

We’ve asked them a few questions and the answers for each question from all six of them will be published as a series. Let’s check out question #4

When did you decide to become a writer? 

Chris Lange 

I read my first real book at the age of five and I wrote my first short story when I was a teenager. After college, life happened so I stopped writing for a lot of years. But I’m back now.

Leanore Elliott

In 2006. After writing on my (Great American) Novel for 10 years… I finally started to try and get published.

Jennifer Theriot

After reading Fifty Shades, my girlfriends and I met for drinks and dinner and we had a long discussion about the book. Our conversation led to romance between middle aged women and it kind of evolved from there. They put the dare out there and my mind started swirling with character ideas.
Maggie Nash

About 15 years ago I ran out of books…started writing my first book…and I haven’t stopped!
Morticia Knight

Very young, but it became an actual serious decision when I was twelve. The kids all thought I was crazy because all I cared about was scribbling away in my notebooks. When they finally asked me to read my stories out loud to them, it all changed. Then they’d bug me about writing new chapters so they could find out what happened next !
Sandy Wolters

I started writing paranormal romance relatively late in life. I was fifty-years old when I published my first book.

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October 13, 2014

September Author Interview Answer #4: How supportive is your family and friends in your writing career?

Hello everyone, I hope you have enjoyed reading the third post in this interview series. This is the continuation of the interview with author Debby G. Kaye and Linda Gray Sexton. Please check their bios out via the links you can see below.

Let’s check out the answers for question #3 from them.

“How supportive is your family and friends in your writing career? ”

Author #1 D. G. Kaye

A writer’s life is complex. Much of the time, we live in our heads. I don’t feel that many of the people in my life really understand the life of a writer; all the time and seclusion involved. With saying this, I do have two of my closest friends that cheer me on and don’t give me a hard time for the lack of my presence in their lives. My husband is wonderful. He lets me be and doesn’t approach me when he sees me at the keyboard or with pen and paper at hand. He doesn’t quite understand all that I do, but he supports me, applauds me and loves me, so I am truly blessed. Others in my life have no conception what is involved to be a full-time writer and can’t get past regarding it as a past time or a hobby.

Author #2 Linda Sexton
Moderately.  My sister says, “I wish you could find something that would make you happy.”  My father wasn’t too keen, either.  My mother said before her death, “Never be a writer.  I will follow you around like an old gray ghost.”  So I guess I can’t say my family was supportive.  Friends are supportive, mostly, though some don’t buy my books, which I find odd.  I’d say the people who are the most supportive are my husband, my ex-husband, my readers and my friends who are writers.
I can’t thank you both enough for sharing your opinions genuinely. I can understand that the support from family members and friends can be a little disappointing when it comes to writing memoirs. This can be a bit different from the support fiction writers receive from their families and friends. Keep up the good work and we all admire your courage!
I’ll be posting the answers to the fifth question next: “Writing memoirs can be very liberating. Tell us how you felt when you managed to complete a book?”
Share your thoughts and views below.
August 23, 2014

MARSocial Special Interview: Question & Answers #4

Hello everyone! So, finally we received all answers from our participants from MARSocial author network. Are you excited to read the answers yet? Question #4 is “When did you decide to become a writer?” from Viv Drewa.

Let’s check out the answers from all 11 author participants !

1) Coleman Weeks

I have wrote since Grammar School, maybe I should have been listening more?
 

2) Viv Drewa

In 1963 after reading JR Greene’s “The Whistling Sword”. I had read all the Hardy Boy and Nancy Drew mysteries and wanted to try something new. Greene’s novel took me on an adventure in the Middle East following a young boy who met a group traveling led by Ghengus Khan. It was thrilling and I was interested in writing from that point on.

3) K. J. Rollinson

I have written stories as long as I can remember, but it was not until I joined Wordplay Writers’ Forum, Spain, which has its own publishing firm, that I thought having my books published.

4) Sam Reese

I’ve always written and told stories of some sort, but I started actively writing back in college, probably ten years or so ago.

5) Neil McGowan

  I’ve wanted to write for as long as I can remember – I think I was 4 or 5 when I wrote my first ‘book’ and illustrated it. (It was a sheet of paper folded in half to make the pages.)

6) Marion Lovato

I started writing poetry when I was in college and always thought about writing a novel.  Thinking was as far as I got!  However, when I became a cat owner, I had to share all the funny things.

7) Jaro Berce

It was not a time stamp somewhere in the past. It was rather a process that I followed. It begun by publishing professional subject articles about the researches I did. Becoming more conscious of the society I slowly moved to a “lighter” genre writing for public newspapers. As there were thoughts and subjects accumulating in my mind writing a book was not so far apart.

8) Marie Lavender

I often chuckle at this question because I can recall at an early age telling people, “I’m going to be a writer!”  Actually, I used the terms writer/author/novelist interchangeably, and this is the truth.  The moment you put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard with the intent of “writing”, you’re a writer.  The moment those words spill out of you, sometimes even chaotically, you’re automatically a writer.  I have always been a writer, and I probably started this wild journey when I was nine years old.  Another thing I want to point out is that I didn’t just up and decide to be a writer.  It chose me.  I could no more stop “writing” than I could stop the passage of time.

9) LaRae Parry

I didn’t decide. My desire to write is an umbilical urge.

10) Theresa Moretimer

 I have been writing all my life. I started at the age of 5 telling scary stories about the areas we would drive through and after the ordeal I went through I wrote a book and published it.

11) Annie Edmonds

Thanks Vivi, I love this question. I don’t think it’s a decision that you make. You either are or you aren’t. I have to write. I constantly have one or two stories going on in my head at all times. It’s just finding the time to put them down on paper so to speak. 
 

The next question is “There was recently a message on ‘Books and Writers’ saying ‘please stop giving your books away’. What do you feel about this?” from Kathy. Stay tuned with us for the next post !

July 29, 2014

June Author Interview Answer #4: “Do short stories make better mystery books?”

We are now coming to the 4th question of the June Author Interview series. We had posted the answer for the first three question recently. If  you have not read the post, do it so now to learn more about them. So, it’s time to check out the answers for the 4th question from the Murder Mystery/Thriller/Suspense/Horror genre participating in the group interview. “Shorter stories (below 350 pages) are better for mystery/thriller or suspense books. Do you agree with this statement? Do you think the suspense elements in a book are difficult to retain when the story is longer?”
Just in case if you are wondering who we are interviewing this month, you can check out this link and get all your author friends from The Memoirs/Biography genre to participate in the next group interview.
1) Author #1: J. J. DiBenedetto
In general, I think that makes sense.  With mysteries, you also run into the problem that either the reader figures things out before the characters do, which is frustrating; or things are drawn out unreasonably.
But there are exceptions to everything – if the story warrants it, and it’s done well, a longer suspense story can work just fine.
2) Author #2: Fran Veal
Well, since my books are around 225 to 250 pages each, I’d have to give that question a resounding YES! I think much longer than 350 pages would be exhausting – especially for someone like me who wants to sit down and read a mystery from beginning to end with no breaks.
3) Author #3: Jim Strait
It depends on the story, but I do believe that books that go beyond the page count mentioned will often contain too much character development for my tastes. Keeping the story taught is more difficult the longer the story…there is an optimum length for each story, but I’d not limit my page count if my story races beyond 350 pages. Basically, the story is told when the story is told. To this point I’ve been able to sense when the story is complete and have wound up with novel page counts of 303, 345, and 394. I guess your number represents the standard deviation.
4) Author #4: Kelli Sue Landon
 No, I do not agree. I actually think novels are better for mysteries, because more of the story unravels as the reader gets more and more involved with the characters’ lives. I’d say it’s more difficult for a short story, because you don’t have much room for a full mystery to start, unfold, and be explained.
Do you think shorter stories make better mystery novels? I look forward to reading your comments below.
Next, we will be revealing the answers for question #5 which is “What makes you feel good writing a thriller/mystery novel? ”
Stay tuned for the next post! Thank you! 🙂
June 23, 2014

May Author Interview Answer #4: Why the Young Adult genre?

Hello everyone! It’s time to reveal the answers for the 4th question for May Author Interview featuring 13 Young Adult authors. Answers for question #3 can be found here.
Just in case if you are wondering who we are interviewing this month, you can check out this link and get all your Crime Fiction/Horror/Mystery writers to participate in the next group interview.
So, the third question is “Why do you choose to write Young Adult books?”
1) Author #1 : Delshree Gladeen
I love YA. I always have and I always will, even when other opinionated people think it’s juvenile. I love the excitement and emotional drama of teens. Not in real life, mind you, just in fiction! YA is my primary genre, but I actually do write contemporary romances as well. I have one published so far (Date Shark) and two more scheduled for release this year as long as everything goes to plan.
2) Author #2: N.W. Harris
Firstly, I like to read YA (especially YA that appeals to boys). Because I find it hard to find YA that appeals to boys, I’ve always felt like it was an area where we need more writers to focus. Also, I like YA characters–I like all the conflict and newness to life and experience that they offer (if that makes any sense). I don’t know if I’d be good at writing in any other genre. Regardless of the age of my character, I expect they’d all end up sounding YA.
3) Author #3: K.C. Finn
Actually I do write a lot of other books that aren’t YA. I have a new adult series Shadeborn and a few books that are suitable for all ages. For me the story dictates the ages of the characters, so I always write what is suitable for the kind of story I want to tell. When I do write YA, those books tend to be a lot about self-discovery, first loves and the pressures of growing up. I find those kinds of issues very enjoyable to explore.
4) Author #4: M.J Cunningham
It’s just more fun. I like good, clean writing. I don’t want to worry about a lot of swearing or sex, which I think is inappropriate for YA. Plus, it makes me feel young again!
5) Author #5: Chrystal Vaughan
Actually, Dead in the Water is my only Young Adult novel. My other two books (Sideshow, out now, and Conspiracy of Ravens, due for release at the end of June) are both horror novels for adults.
6) Author #6: Jessica Tornese
A lot of my favorite books are YA- and also, that is the time in my life when I really became close with books. I love that age- an age of finding one’s self and also testing boundaries.
7) Author #7: Amanda Strong
I love writing YA!  Maybe because I had such a sad social life when I was sixteen (and I want to live vicariously through my characters) or maybe because I want to relive the first kiss over and over again!  Writing YA is all about firsts; first kiss, relationship, betrayal, breakups, and self-discoveries, etc…  I may one day dabble in the exciting new world of New Adult (shh…don’t tell anyone!)
8) Author #8: Erica Keifer
Having spent a number of  years working with youth as a Recreation Therapist, I am more comfortable with teenagers than I am writing for adults or younger kids. Also, as a teenager, that’s a time where I felt like I had a ton of growing experiences and emotional episodes to pull from! It’s also an age where so much growth can happen for characters who are experiencing life, some events for the first time. It’s fun to go back to that time in my own life and visualize what it might be like for different characters.
9) Author #9: Kelly Risser
I mostly read Young Adult books, and I have long before the Twilight series. A romantic at heart, first love gets me every time, and I love coming of age stories, too. There is something magical about all that possibility in youth. I may someday write other genres, but for right now, I really enjoy this one.
10) Author #10: Lauren Taylor

I’m in love with Young Adult fiction. It’s the raw emotional honesty that gets me. And the innocence and experiences that are quite often for the first time. There’s something very special about that period in our lives. Also I have the maturity of a sixteen year old so it suits me pretty well.

11) Author #11: Sherry D. Ficklin
I read YA. It’s my favorite. I like the ability to allow my characters to experience things for the first time, love, loss, hope. It’s all so much fresher and more real at that age.
12) Author #12: Sheenah Freitas

At the time when I first started writing, I was in high school, so the young adult genre was natural to me, despite me reading mostly adult thrillers. I felt that I could accurately write about a teenager because I was a teenager. Now that I’m older, I don’t think I’ll stop writing YA. There’s just something fascinating about that age group; there’s so much hope and desire and innocence and imagination. It’s like, you’re invincible and you feel you can change the world with just one tweet.

13) Author #13: Michael Thal

I taught middle school for 28 years. The old adage says, “Write what you know.” I know kids. As a reading specialist, I also understand what keeps them focused on their reading. Two of my novels are for the MG crowd—The Legend of Koolura and Koolura and the Mystery at Camp Saddleback. Both books are about a very cool pre-teen with extraordinary psychic powers. Kids like that. How do I know? Because when my daughter was 11 years old, she told me what she liked. So I decided to write a book she would read. That was how Koolura was born.

I do write a column and articles about parenting and education. You can find that on my blog athttp://blog.michaelthal.com and my Examiner column at http://exm.nr/1x80d4P.

Stay tuned for the next post. Be sure to follow this website via email to get notified when new posts are being made.
Best regards,
Jasveena
Founder of International Book Promotion
For video marketing and book trailers, visit our temporary sitehttp://www.internationalbookpromotion.yolasite.com
May 26, 2014

April Author Interview Answer #4 “Does sex sell?”

So, what do you think? Can sex sell a book? Is Fifty Shades of Gray a good example to look at? It’s time to know what all SEVEN Romance & Erotica authors think about this. Yesterday, we revealed the answers for Question #3 “Who is more powerful in your story? The hero or heroine?“ For those of you reading this post and not knowing what’s going on, we interviewed Romance and Erotica authors last month. You can click on the authors’ names below to learn about them more.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank all seven authors who took part in this author interview!

This month, we are interviewing Young Adult authors and if you have any questions for them, please send in your question via this link. It will take less than 5 minutes. I promise! 🙂 

Here is the answer to the 4th question: “If you write sex scenes, do you write it because you feel it is important to the story, or because you think you need one to sell the book?”

1) Author #1 Anne Conley

Haha!  A lot of my sex scenes I write into the story because it’s the natural progression of the arc of the type of romances I write.  Other times, I’m writing about a topic that’s close to my heart, and I write the sex to cheer myself up.  Falling for Him was about a marriage that needed help, and that one was incredibly close to me, and ended up being pretty erotic…

2) Author #2: Marie Lavender

No, I never write to “sell” it.  I write a love scene if I feel it is necessary for the story or characters.  I have also written books with little or no details regarding sex.  I think it completely depends on what the book is about and who the characters are.

3) Author #3: Emily Eck

A little of both. I like to read sex, so I like to write sex. In the romance genre, depending on your target audience, you may need the sex to sell the book. I feel like I keep coming back to this idea that each person likes different things. My mother read my books and said in regards to the sex scenes, “Maybe you could have left more to the imagination.” That was her opinion. I told her to go back to her biographies of Holocaust survivors. (She loves those!) For my story, the first book is laden with sex as that is when the hero and heroine fall in love. In book two, there is very little sex, as that was not the focus of the story line. I think it all depends on the story, the author, and the reader. 

4) Author #4: AJ Summer

I struggle incorporating sex into my books. I always think of my Mom reading it. I don’t plan sex scenes but if it happens, I just go with it. 

5) Author #5: Lucien Bane

For me, sex is the deepest language of love. My book would be an empty shell without it, because when I have sex with the woman I love, my entire universe is speaking and expressing itself. It’s very three dimensional for me and no erotic story of mine could ever exist without that language.  

6) Author #6: Annie Edmonds

I chose to write erotic romance and that involves sex scenes. To sell books the story has to be good. Or It doesn’t matter how much sex you put into your books.

 And the sex has to be real.  Sure I go a little overboard with how much sex Sammy and Jake had in Second Chances. But it’s fiction. And the way I look at it is it sure would be fun to try and have all that sex. 

When I read an erotic romance I can’t wait for the sex scenes. So what I tried to do is put a sex scene in every chapter. And may I add that it wasn’t easy. 

7) author #7: Larae Parry

I don’t write sex scenes. I have some wonderful author friends who take care of that department extremely well. I’m just happy when my characters kiss.

Question #5 is “Have you ever incorporated violence in your story? What do you think of stories exhibiting male dominance? How detrimental is the effect of it to readers?”

What do you think these authors’s will be? Watch out for the next post !

Signing out,

Jasveena

Founder of IBP

http://www.internationalbookpromotion.yolasite.com