Interview with Author Joanna Allred McKethan

  

Today I’m interviewing Joanna Allred McKethan. Her book,A Holiday Folly, is a mainstream gothic/romantic suspense and was released on December 17, 2011.

Welcome, Joanna. You and I have met and recently shared lunch at your North Carolina art studio. I cannot believe you teach students to paint and have time to write. Please tell my readers a little bit about your book.  

Holidays are always a bit stressed, but this holiday knocks “stress” off the charts to make it a holiday of dark foreboding. Sinclair, artist and daughter of the Wards with an empire who live in a hidden spot of the Sandhills of North Carolina, is invited back home and brings her current boyfriend with her. Tensions and events escalate in this hilly N.C. setting which brings together a senator, horse people, rich relatives from all over the U.S., and an ex-boyfriend invited by Sinclair’s mother. The holiday is the time for receiving bad news.

Many authors are basing their stories in North Carolina, and I am glad to see it. This state has the ocean beaches and mountains to the west. Describe the genre of this particular title, and is it the only genre you write in?  

A Holiday Folly is written in contemporary gothic genre, and it is, more or less, the home setting to which I return. One book may emphasize one aspect of gothic or another.

I know first hand that getting published can take years. Did you have several manuscripts finished before you sold? If so, did you send them out yourself?

No, but I had one single title finished (also a gothic) and another abandoned (a fantasy). And I made all the mistakes, for example getting people eager to see the novels I was working on before I had finished them, and then not being able to follow through.

Why have you become a published author? Besides the money, of course (LOL!)    

Largely due to the encouragement of my writer peers, and to Wendi Felter of Red Rose Publishing, who called my book “a perfect match for Red Rose Publishing.”

Do you have any rejection stories to share?

No—they’re all the same. Most of my rejections have been kind, however.

The dreaded form letter…been there, done that, but you kept at it (lucky for your readers!) Writing is a profession and my readers are curious to know what your writing routine is like.

I’m an artist, as well, and I have finally bought a downtown storefront for both my writing and my art-based business, and it is my dream come true. It is a haven for me, and the place I write every morning, when I am in the birthing-a-new-novel phase. I do creative writing at the beginning of the day usually. It just depends on where I am in the process. Some days I have to just sit, staring. I’ve even gotten my art students interested in writing or improving their writing.

How nice to get them involved! I have several family members I use as sounding boards. Now to the nitty-gritty after the sale question. What sort of promo do you do? Do you have help?

You, Nancy Lee Badger, are a fellow author I met at my local RWA chapter meeting. Also You and Betty Ann Harris are Red Rose Publishing’s published authors. I was plunged headlong into promoting before I was ready, and Nancy helps me sort out the different avenues, helped me set up twitter, etc.

Betty Ann has been a great help, I hear. Getting the word out is tough, but having you here today is just one step. On the plus side, having achieved your goal to be a published author, what is the most rewarding thing?    

Seeing my title and a beautiful cover with my name under it!

Your cover is lovely. My three covers created by the artists on staff at Red Rose Publishing were also spot-on. You and I met at the local Romance Writers of America chapter, the Heart of Carolina Romance Writers. We are nearly 130 strong. I had no idea there were so many authors in our area. Are you a member of any other writing organizations and, if so, have they helped?

The Heart of Carolina Romance Writers is a wonderful group of local authors with large
Readerships. Romance Writers of America is one of the most super organizations in the world
for its unselfish fostering of new talent by mingling us beginners in and fostering the feeling of a humongous sisterhood. The North Carolina Writers Network have given me countless courses, all helpful. The Poetry Society of North Carolina and the Poetry Society of America are two wonderful groups.

My readers and fellow authors know I am a big advocate of the term pay it forward. Will you share some encouraging words for authors still struggling for that first contract? 

You know, it’s hard for me to know how to encourage, but I know I wouldn’t ever give up. Maybe I should have long ago, but I didn’t. And I’m just dogged enough, and just ornery enough to ignore the nay-sayer’s and keep right on at it, so of course, that’s how I would encourage would-be authors. It’s not over until it’s entirely over and what else will you do with your time? Somebody else’s club duties? Busy work? Nah. Keep at it.

Wow! A woman after my own heart! What’s next for you?

1. I’m taking a break from marketing my first manuscript. It earned me my PRO status in RWA. It is titled A Deadly Provenance, and I am about to take everybody’s advice and do a little up-front renovation on the book.

2. I’m finishing my first Scottish Gothic, set in Scotland and N.C., Stone of Her Destiny. It has my family’s lineage in it and a preposterous scenario which come together in what I think is a really exciting entity.

As a reader of and writer of Scottish romance I am looking forward to your next book. Thanks for stopping by today. Here is more information about Joanna’s latest release A Holiday Folly, a gothic mainstream romance about a Southern gal, Sinclair. 

BOOK BLURB

Used to a rich life style amongst the powerful, Sinclair has chosen the creative (and not-so-privileged) life of an artist and chosen a red-headed geologist as the love of her life. Invited to the 20,000 sq. foot family house in the heart of the Sandhills in North Carolina for Christmas, the lovebirds have no idea of the evil that awaits them and others in the upscale Ward family.

Sinclair, the youngest daughter to four older brothers, finds she must navigate tricky personal waters when she returns. Her love, Allan, is more than she bargained for, and a commitment begins that she might not be ready for in this Gothic-tinged suspense.

EXCERPT  link

How can readers buy your book?

ISBN 978-1-4513-0130-1

Red RosePublishing    

Amazon  

All Romance E-Books  

Fictionwise  

A little more about the author

Joanna McKethan is a Southerner with a foot in the Old South and the New, a wife, mother, and grandmother who lived for nine years in Europe and returned from abroad to her country home in the south. She is an artist, a poet, a teacher, as well as an arts business owner. She has always wanted to paint and write, and has hidden her love for novels behind her paintings until recently. She has worked as an assistant editor, written feature stories, and published her poetry. Now her lifelong dream of publishing novels has begun. Her grown children visit her and one of her grandchildren blow bubbles with her on the lawn. Her "grand-cat," Buddy Number Two joins her and her husband on the deck which faces the woods. From there they see all manner of wildlife, including 8-10 deer at a time. You can sample her creativity at www.joriginals.net

Website:  http://joriginals.net
Twitter:   @JoMcKethan

Lady in White is another romance by Joanna A. McKethan.

It is a mainstream romance with gothic suspense. The heroine, Michaela paints a new life for herself when she eagerly accepts an offer of art exchange student in what was a Communist country only a few years before. An artist by craft and by nature, she wants to prove her talent in foreign waters. Her love of truth requires her to question everything and dig for answers.

In Estonia she meets and falls in love with Peeter, an art professor, government contractor, and a royal. He loves her desperately, admiring her staunch separations of black and white. She loves Peeter wholly, not realizing a secret shame drives him. How he deals with life is challenged by his new wife and her unwitting exposing of the past so that he must finally confront his and his father’s unpardonable sin. Michaela plows through danger, even her own. Any single move might redeem her—or kill her.

Lady in White Buy Link

INTERVIEW WITH DIVA JEFFERSON

Today I’m interviewing Diva Jefferson. Her book, To Love An Irishman is a historical romance with paranormal elements and was released on March 17^th, 2012.

I am so glad you stopped by, Diva. I have a few questions for my readers, so let’s start: Why have you become a published author?
Over ten years ago, I read my first romance novel. I believe it was A Rose In Winter by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss. I loved her writing style, the way her characters talked, and the details laden within the story. I loved mysterious heroes, and beautiful heroines who need their love in return. Five years later, an idea generated a story in my head and I wrote a novel.

Life gives us so much throughout the years. We have an opportunity to learn, grow, and adapt to changes. Stories give us an opportunity to read someone else’s life. To see what they see, and experience what they experience. Sometimes they empower us.

My road to publication hit rock bottom after I wrote my first novel. Rejection after rejection kept pouring in, but I never gave up. So I tried self-publishing. Yes, it took more work, but my story was told to those who’d read it. I just wanted people to read it.

Last year, my new year’s resolution was to find a publisher or an agent. Of course, I took a pitch course and queried different editors. Soon all I needed to do was to wait. A few months later, I received a manuscript request, and then offered a contract in May. I continued an agent search, but realized I could do it alone. Now I am able to reach so many more readers and like before, I have another opportunity to share my story with everyone. This is why I’ve become a published author. I love sharing my stories!

Isn’t it wonderful when dreams comes true? Having achieved your goal to be a published author, what is the most rewarding thing?

The most rewarding thing about being a published author is not only reaching more readers, but I am able to provide my experience to help others reach their goals. Before, I could only guess what happens from query letter to contract and contract to publishing. Now I have so much more information to give!

I call that Paying It Forward. Helping another writer is something I try to accomplish as well. I found the most help within my local Romance Writers of America chapter. Are you a member of any writing organizations and, if so, have they helped?

I am a member of Romance Writers of America, Celtic Hearts Romance Writers, and the South Carolina Writer’s Workshop. SCWW is my local critique group, and without their ongoing guidance my rejection letters would’ve drained my confidence. With RWA and CHRW, I am able to connect with those who write in my genre, and I know if questions arise, there is always someone willing to help. It’s always good to have writers on your side. If you could join a group, you won’t regret it!

Now let’s talk about the gritty part of publishing a book. What sort of promo do you do? Do you have help?

I use Facebook and Twitter for most of my promo. I create book trailers, mention my books in new blogs, and constantly update all social networks with current book news.

Sounds time consuming and some writers find they have little time to write their next book. What’s next for you?

I am currently writing two novels. One is a sequel to my first self-published work, and the second is a Scottish romance taking place during the Jacobite Rising of 1745.

Glad to hear you have kept busy and, as my readers know, I have a soft-spot for all things Scottish! Cannot wait!

BOOK BLURB

She is left with an offer she cannot refuse...

Upon his death in 1823, English nobleman, Lord Peyton leaves his daughter Lady Aveline with two choices—stay single and inherit only a small farm in Ireland, where she might just be able to eke out a living, or get married and live in luxury, inheriting all his wealth and property. Fiercely independent, Aveline heads for Ireland only to run afoul of her father’s farm manager, the devastatingly handsome Ciaran O’'Devlin. Alone in a strange country, Aveline yearns for love and friendship, but Ciaran offers only criticism and disdain. Confused and angered by strange visions and her growing attraction to Ciaran, Aveline is determined to make the farm prosper—despite the insufferable Irishman.

He has a secret he cannot reveal...

Ciaran mistrusts Aveline’s intentions and refuses to admit that a willful, English woman now owns the farm that should have been his. Although he insists Aveline should go back to England, he cannot deny their budding passion. Yet, he knows—even if she doesn’t—that nothing will come of it. Not only can’t a poor Irishman marry an English noblewoman, but when Aveline learns of his past, she’ll want nothing more to do with him. Ciaran has always known that each decision carries a consequence, but it’s only when he stands to lose Aveline that he realizes what a heavy price his past decisions may have.

AUTHOR BIO

Diva Jefferson was born in sunny Orlando, FL. Later, she moved to South Carolina where she currently resides. She lives with her amazing cat named Muffin and her fiancé, Connor.

She has a colorful relationship with the romance genre. She’s been writing for over ten years and wouldn't trade it for the world. She is a member of the National Romance Writers of America, Celtic Hearts Romance Writers, and the South Carolina Writer's Workshop. She truly believes that life is a journey worth making.

EXCERPT LINK

HOW CAN MY READERS BUY YOUR BOOK?

Readers can go to

BLACK OPAL PUBLISHING

AMAZON

BARNES and NOBLE

You can find more information about Diva Jefferson and my
book, To Love An Irishman by visiting
my website, http://divajefferson.com
or my blog at http://diva-jefferson.blogspot.com.

Twitter: www.twitter.com/diva_jefferson

Facebook: www.facebook.com/divajefferson

Thanks so much to joining me today, Diva!

Nancyhttp://www.divajefferson.com/

MY FIRST WRITING AWARD!

I was thrilled to hear, last month, that my first self-published title, DRAGON IN THE MIST, was a finalist in its category in the Silken Sands Self-Published STARS contest.

A month of finger crossing and prayers while I continued to work on  my next manuscript came to the best conclusion I could have hoped for.

I WON!


I was even more surprised to get the photo of my prize from fellow-author Rashda Khan who graciously accepted the award for me at the Gulf Coast Romance Writers of America Chapter’s conference this past weekend.

Thanks, Rashda! (check out her website HOT CURRIES & COLD BEER )

DRAGON IN THE MIST was my first attempt to self-publish and I was happy to see a contest open only to self-published novels. How else can I get readers to see that my book is a fun-filled contemporary fantasy that happens to include the Loch Ness Monster and a present-day American geoligist?

Intrigued? Check out the book blurb at
Amazon,
Barnes & Noble,
or Smashwords only $.99

Nancy

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Even though there doesn't seem to be a drop of the Irish luck flowing through my veins (darn!), I want to wish all my Celtic Heart Romance Writer pals a great holiday. CHRW is an on-line chapter of Romance Writers of America and is for authors whose romantic fiction is set in/or deals with characters of Scotland, Ireland, or Wales.

Check them out at  http://www.celtichearts.org/authors.html

If you are already a paid member of RWA, please consider joining us!

Nancy

Interview with author Cynthia Woolf

              

Today I’m interviewing Cynthia Woolf.  Her book, Centauri Midnight is a sci-fi romance and was released on January 9, 2012

Please tell my readers a little bit about your book.  

Centauri Midnight takes place on the planet Gregara.  My heroine and hero have tracked a murderer to the planet and are determined to take him back to Centauri for trial.

Nice! I like suspense, far away planets, and romance! Describe the genre of this particular title, and is the only genre you write in?  
This is a sci-fi romance or space opera.  I also write western romances set in 1880’s Colorado.

Sci-fi AND westerns? You must have quite the imagination, which a great writer needs IMHO. When did you start writing toward publication?  
I’ve been writing for years.  I started my western, Tame A Wild Heart, in 1990.  After several rejections from publishers over the years, I decided to publish it on my own.  It has become my best seller.  I guess the big publishers in New York don’t know everything, huh?

I can attest to that. My own jump into self-publishing has given my readers Dragon In The Mist and Southern Fried Dragon. Why have you become a published author?   
I became a published author because I love to write.  Now I hate to edit, but the initial writing stage, “the puking phase” where you just write and get it all out, is the part that I love.  I know sounds disgusting but I believe that Nora Roberts was the first one I heard use that phrase and it is so descriptive of what actually happens when you write the first draft.

I love Nora. At a conference I heard her say something like ‘Get your butt in the chair and write.’ Our local RWA chapter has ‘Book In a Week’ where participants throw garbage at the screen to rack up pages and worry about edits later. Very freeing. After your edits are complete and your book is out, what sort of promo do you do? Do you have help?

For promo, I tweet, facebook and blog.  I think that blogging is the biggest helper and provides the steadiest flow of sales.  I don’t have any help, I haven’t paid to go on a blog tour although I might do that in the future.  Setting up your own blog tour takes a lot of time and effort as you well know.

I hear you. Writing guest posts and interviews can take time, but blogging on other blogs really helps (which is why you are here, today!) I mentioned I am a member of Romance Writers of America. Are you a member of any writing organizations and, if so, have they helped?

I am a member of RWA and Colorado Romance Writers.  CRW has been very helpful.  Their classes and mentoring attitude have taught me the process of writing and allowed my creative spirit to soar above all my expectations.  I don’t think I’d be published now if not for CRW.  I belong to RWA because I need to in order to belong to CRW.

Will you share some encouraging words for authors still struggling for that first contract? 
Don’t wait for the public to come to you.  Publishers are becoming less and less likely to publish new authors because of the self publishing phenomenon.  Take advantage of this and publish yourself.  Make sure that you have a good product.  Get a professional cover, have your book edited and put the best product out there that you can and then promote, promote, promote.  Find your readers.

Cynthia Woolf, author

BOOK BLURB
Kitari ‘Kiti’ Dolana wants justice for her murdered brother. She’s trailed the man responsible to a distant planet where swords outmaneuver blasters.

Garrick Marcus, Spaceship Captain, is on a mission to hunt down a ruthless killer. The same man Kiti is after.

But Kiti and Garrick discover an explosive attraction that makes it hard to keep their minds on their goals.  As they try to bring down the killer, they find that love and vengeance are a volatile mix.

A little bit about the author

Cynthia Woolf was born in Denver, Colorado and raised in the mountains west of Golden.  She spent her early years running wild around the mountainside with her friends.

Their closest neighbor was one quarter of a mile away, so her little brother was her playmate and her best friend.  That fierce friendship lasted until his death in 2006.

Cynthia was and is an avid reader.  Her mother was a librarian and brought new books home each week.  This is where young Cynthia first got the storytelling bug.  She wrote her first story at the age of ten.  A romance about a little boy she liked at the time.

She worked her way through college and went to work full time straight after graduation and there was little time to write.  Then in 1990 she and two friends started a round robin writing a story about pirates.  She found that she missed the writing and kept on with other stories.  In 1992 she joined Colorado Romance Writers and Romance Writers of America.  Unfortunately, the loss of her job demanded the she not renew her memberships and her writing stagnated for many years.

In 2000, she saw an ad in the paper for a writers conference being put on by CRW and decided she'd attend.  One of her favorite authors, Catherine Coulter, was the keynote speaker.  Cynthia was lucky enough to have a seat at Ms. Coulter's table at the luncheon and after talking with her, decided she needed to get back to her writing.  She rejoined both CRW and RWA that day and hasn't looked back.

Cynthia credits her wonderfully supportive husband Jim and the great friends she's made at CRW for saving her sanity and allowing her to explore her creativity.

Thanks for stopping by today. How can my readers buy your book?  
Readers can go to Amazon or go to Barnes &Noble

You can find more information about Cynthia Woolf and her book, Centauri Midnight by visiting her WEBSITE or her BLOG

Nancy Lee

Interview With Author James Hutchings

Today I am interviewing James Hutchings. His book, The New Death and others is a collection of fantasy short stories and poems and was released on September 27^th, 2011.

Please tell my readers a little bit about your book.

It's a collection of stories and poems, 63 pieces in all. It's only a bit over 41,000 words in total, so most of them are quite short. Most of the stories are fantasy, but there's some 'general fiction' in there as well. The style ranges from funny to very grim. I'm much more influenced by older writers like Tolkien and Robert E Howard. In fact, I've never read any of the Harry Potter, Twilight or Game of Thrones series, or most other popular modern fantasy authors.

I do not think I have ever met anyone who has not read Harry Potter! When did you start writing toward publication?

I did a Bachelor of Arts majoring in creative writing and media, but I didn't do anything with it after graduating. Years later I created a fantasy city called Teleleli or Telelee as a background for role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. Once I finished I realised there wasn't any demand for it. My ex suggested I use it as a setting for stories instead, and that's how I got started. I wrote the pieces in The New Death and others over about a year, from September 2010 to September 2011.

Many people have no idea how long it takes to create a work of fiction. On that note, do you have any rejection stories to share?

I got a rejection email for one of my poems which said that "There were several amusing parts in this poem, but it’s not consistently funny throughout, which is what I’d be looking for in a humour poem. I think the problem (as I see it) is that you’re often vague or allusive; specific details tend to be funniest." This would have been a lot more encouraging if the poem was meant to be funny.

Oh, no! How funny…or not. I hate rejection letters unless they are filled with constructive criticism. The show must go on. What is your writing routine like?

I make myself write every day. I think if I tried to write, say, three times a week, that would actually be harder, because it would be too easy to put it off and say I'll do it later. If it's every day I 'have' to write now. I usually write at the end of the day before I go to bed (actually early in the morning).

I used to work 3^rd shift and found writing before sleeping through the day was relaxing, knowing I accomplished ‘something’. Will you share some encouraging words for authors still struggling for that first contract? 

Self-publishing through Amazon and Smashwords has become much more common, and much more potentially rewarding, to the point where it's likely to be the 'default option' for writers in a few years.

I have written for two small publishers, but I ‘took the plunge’ recently with DRAGON IN THE MIST and SOUTHERN FRIED DRAGON, both self-published. What’s next for you?

The main thing I'm working on right now is a poem set in the old West, called 'Confession of a Bounty Hunter'. I've been encouraged to write a novel set in the fantasy city of Telelee, which is the setting of a few of the stories in 'The New Death and others'. I have a lot of background for this world, because I blog every day and most of it is setting detail. I also have a half-finished novel called 'All-American Detectives', which is a combination of a detective story and a story about superheroes, which I'll probably come back to in the future.

BOOK BLURB

Death gets a roommate...

An electronic Pope faces a difficult theological question...

A wicked vizier makes a terrible bargain...

44 stories. 19 poems. No sparkly vampires. There's a thin line between genius and insanity, and James Hutchings has just crossed it - but from which direction?

A little bit about the author

James Hutchings lives in Melbourne, Australia. He fights crime as Poetic Justice, but his day job is acting. You might know him by his stage-name 'Brad Pitt.' He specializes in short fantasy fiction. His work has appeared in Daily Science Fiction, fiction365 and Enchanted Conversation among other markets.

Excerpt from THE GOD OF THE POOR

In the beginning of the world the gods considered all those things which did not have their own gods, to decide who would have responsibility and rulership.

"I will rule all flowers that are sky-blue in colour," said the Sky-Father.

"I will listen to the prayers of migratory birds, and you all other birds," the goddess Travel said to him. And so it went.

At last all had been divided, save for one thing.

"Who," asked the Sky-Father, "shall have dominion over the poor?"

There was an awkward silence, until the Sky-Father said,

"Come - someone must. Those with no gods will grow restless and cunning, and in time will cast us down, and we shall be gods no more."

"Not I," said blind Justice, and her stony face flashed a momentary smirk at the thought. "Why not Fame or Fortune?"

"Darling I don't  think so," said the sister goddesses together.

There was a long pause. The gods shuffled their feet and avoided one another's gaze. At last a voice broke the silence.

"I will," said Death.

How can my readers buy your book?  

You can find more information about James Hutchings and The New Death and others by

visiting his blog at http://www.apolitical.info/teleleli.

The New Death and others is available on

Amazon 

Smashwords  

Barnes & Noble  

Thanks for visiting with me today, James.

Nancy Lee

LOVE IS IN THE AIR!

Love is a curious thing. Is it a profound message from the Heavens? Is it fate? Or, is it an animal's response to a creature of the opposite (or same) sex?

Whatever you or I believe in does not matter. If we are fortunate to find love, we should enjoy the feelings and strive to protect it.

Is there a certain special someone out there for you? I hope so. I have been fortunate in love, and now use my experience to bring it to my many characters. If I can show how a Scottish dragon can leave all she's known, fly across the ocean, settle into a human existence, and fall madly in love with a soldier...you can find love, too.

How do characters find love? It is different for each one, especially when my characters are different as night and day. Here are some examples:

SECRET LOVE MATCH  Becca, 21, wants to play tennis in the Olympics. Taylor, 40, is a former TV star going for the big screen.
DRAGON'S CURSE  The ward of a Scottish Laird, Brianna works like a servant. Draco, exiled since his kin were killed, is cursed to turn into a dragon at inopportune times.
DESTINY'S MOUNTAIN Destiny works at a college dining hall and lives on a mountain. Jacob is a stuffy college professor going through a divorce.
UNWRAPPING CHRIS  Army widow Jayne is searching for a better life. In walks Chris, the one guy who broke her heart.
DRAGON IN THE MIST Nessia has left the water of Loch Ness to find love as a human. American Scientist, Rory, is searching for a missing link.
LOVE TO THE RESCUE  Josie is a paramedic firefighter with the hots for one guy. Unfortunately, Pete calls her 'Joe', treats her like one of the boys, and has a dark secret.


If you are looking for love, KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN. If you have found love, CONGRATULATIONS! Remember, hold on tight and give more than you receive.


Nancy