Hope from the Past

We all need hope, don’t we? Life is too difficult to face unless we have hope sprinkled throughout this journey of life. That’s why I write about hope.

I have a series all about Hope. Hope for Tomorrow, Hope for the Journey, and Hope from the Past. As we walk down this road, we face many obstacles. Sickness, death, destruction, fear, failure. The list goes on and on. Throw in our past, and sometimes, the guilt, the shame, and regret is just too much to bare.

But then, God shines His light on us and we receive hope. Hope to deal with the sickness or death we or our loved ones face. Hope that, though death may claim someone dear to our hearts, we will see them again, and they are finally pain free. Hope for the destruction we see in our troubled world because we know this isn’t all there is. One day, our world will be made new. Hope that God’s perfect love casts out our fear. Hope from the burden of guilt and shame and yes, freedom from regret.

           Hope from the Past introduces us to Arthur Hendrickson, a man running from his past, barely lives in the present, and wishes for his future to be over. Arthur meets his neighbors, Luke and Brittany, and they embrace the older man. Through their love and friendship, and that of Brittany’s family, Arthur faces his past and finds hope from the things he lived through.

What about you? How have you experienced hope?

Joi’s books are on Amazon

Susan:  Hi, Jim. It’s so nice to be here. Thank you for inviting me to be on your blog.

Jim: I understand you started your first novel at age eleven. What happened to it?

Susan:  Who knows? Hopefully my parents burned it. My mother’s family originally came to Texas in a covered wagon and settled in Groesbeck, a small town in East Texas.  I wanted to write about that journey, but I didn’t really know anything about traveling by covered wagon and I didn’t understand about research. This was years before Google. It might have made an interesting story. My great-grandfather was the sheriff, and they lived in a small apartment above the jail. That’s where my grandfather was born. I’m told, whenever he got into trouble as a kid, my great-great-grandmother would say, “What can you expect from someone who was born in jail?”

Jim: Okay. Tell us how you got back into writing after such a long sabbatical.

Susan:  My husband retired. LOL. Anyone with a retired husband will understand.

Jim: You’ve travelled around the world a good bit. Have you been able to use that in your book? Or do you see that as a part of future books ?

Susan:  I haven’t been able to use it so far, but I’m considering writing a book set in Australia and then writing off a trip there as research. With my luck, I’d end up having to write it from federal tax prison.

 Jim: The Secrets on Forest Bend is your first novel. Can you tell us how that came about?

Susan:  It’s not my first novel. Discounting the one about wagon trains, there’s another sitting under my bed that will never see the light of day. Someone mentioned to me that paranormal romance was the ‘in thing’ and I thought,  I can do that. Followed quickly by, No, I can’t. Vampires are supposed to be cold to the touch, and I couldn’t picture my heroine saying, “Oh baby, you turn my blood to ice.” Zombies are just gross, and with werewolves, there’s that constant need for electrolysis.

That left ghosts, and I decided I could manage one little ghost, although Heather turned out to be harder to handle than I imagined. I paired that with the idea of following the life of a gun. How much damage had it caused over the years, and what effect did it have on people’s lives?

Jim:  How about a brief blurb on the book, if you don’t mind.

Susan: The Secrets on Forest Bend is a paranormal romantic suspense. It has a hunky hero, a crooked cop, an intriguing woman, and a vengeful ghost. What more could you want in one book?

Another day . . . another dead body.

When Detective Adam Campbell learns that a WWII gun is connected to several murders he’s investigating, he hopes that tracking down the killer will be as easy as tracing the gun’s history. When he meets Jillian Whitmeyer, the last known owner of the weapon, the case becomes anything but simple.

Adam soon learns that people who get close to Jillian have a bad habit of turning up dead. Jillian claims that the spirit of her sister, accidently killed with that same gun, is responsible for the deaths. She warns Adam that he is likely to become the next victim. Adam’s been a lousy judge of women in the past and this one’s obviously a nut case. Or is she? How does a just-the-facts detective deal with a ghostly serial killer and the sexy-as-hell sister she won’t set free?

Jim:  You’ve got my interest. I understand you are a member of several writers’ groups. How have they helped you in your writing?

Susan:  My first novel (the one hiding under my bed) could be a textbook example of every mistake new writers make. I joined RWA (Romance Writers of America,) took classes, went to workshops, read craft books, and found a critique group.

A good critique group is essential. They don’t just check your spelling and grammar. Spell check can do that, although auto-correct can get you into big trouble.  They help you brainstorm when you write yourself into a corner, they point out plot holes, they call you on it when your heroine is TSTL, (too stupid to live,) and they encourage you when the demon self-doubt attacks.

Jim: I couldn’t agree with you more. So, what are you working on now, and do you have a target date to finish it?

Susan:  I’ve already finished the next book in the series. The Witch on Twisted Oak is the story of Adam’s partner, Ruben. It is due out from Soul Mate Publishing the first of September. I’m working on the third book in the series, Voodoo on Bayou Lafonte, and hope to have it out by early 2014. For those who have read The Secrets on Forest Bend, if Witch is Ruben’s story, who do you think is the protagonist in Voodoo? The fact that it has’ bayou’ in the title should give you a hint.

Jim: What is the best piece of advice you’ve received that helped you complete or improve The Secrets on Forest Bend?

Susan:  I needed to set up a meth lab – I’m not telling why, read the book- so I Googled it. Yes, you can learn anything on Google. I got a list of all the ingredients, but I didn’t have a feel for the lab part. So I called my son-in-law, a scientist.

He spent a long time describing labs and how they worked. Later my daughter asked him what I wanted. “To know how to set up a meth lab,” he said.

“Why?” she asked.

“I have no idea.”

Now, that’s trust.

Jim: And where is the best place for us to find and buy your book?

Susan:   The Secrets on Forest Bend is available through my publisher, Soul Mate Publishing, or from B & N and Amazon.  Here’s the link to Amazon, just in case you’re interested. You can read the first chapter. http://tinyurl.com/b3g2fpj

My web site:  www.SusanCMuller.com

My author page on Facebook: Susan C Muller, Author

Follow me on Twitter @SusanCMuller

Jim:  Thanks for sharing with us, Susan.  I hope a number of people will leave you a comment.  Good interview.

Ever make a really bad typo?  I mean really bad.

My worst ever professional mistake was in an Annual Report for a one-hundred-million dollar corporation, in which an innocent little ‘t’ went missing from the word ‘assets.’  The board was not amused by “This year, we experienced an increase in corporate asses.”

Today, I found out what one little vowel can do to Rowena And the Dark Lord , book 2 in the Lands End series.

Okay, REALLY uncool when you misspell the name of your own book on your own blog.
Rowena And the Dark Lard is probably not the best way to get sales for a fantasy series. However, as I do write comedy, I’m thinking about a parody.  (Is it okay to write a parody of your own book?)

Draft one: Rowena And the Dark Lard

Synopsis 1: Rowena moves back to Land’s End and opens up a bakery.

Synopsis 2: Cedric’s use of dark magic goes totally out of control, and so does his appetite.

Synopsis 3: Thane and Rowena return to Land’s End and become pig farmers.

Synopsis 4: Rowena messes up another spell that causes all who look at her to turn into donuts.

Synopsis 5: Rowena kills off Nigella Lawson in a battle with pastry rollers, and assumes the role of Prime Time Network Food Goddess <sic>.

Synopsis 6: Someone takes a totally justified whack at the author. End of series.

Excerpt from Rowena And the Dark Lord

Men’s voices again, echoing like souls lost in a fog. The mist lifted in one swift movement to disappear into nothingness. In its place, were at least a hundred men.

Bugger. I messed up.

“Houston, we have a problem,” I said out loud. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I must have pronounced one of the spell words wrong.

“Who is Houston?” Lars said.

“Romans!” Gareth hissed. He drew his sword.

“Romans?” I stared at the battle-scarred men before us. They looked exhausted. They also looked bloody, dirty and rather short. Not to mention confused.

How the heck could they be Romans?

Someone yelled “Form Square!” in—yup—that was Latin.

“What the hell?” I stared. The men came to life moving with purpose into a square. Within seconds we were facing a shield wall bristling with spears.

The man on horseback stared at me. No stirrups on his saddle. A helmet that was in history books. Definitely Roman. I stared back at him.

Romans? In this time? What the poop had I done?

“It’s a freaking temporal rift!” My laugh was strident. “Where the hell is Spock when you need him?

Okay.  That gives you a feel for Melodie’s work.  You can find more about her at

www.melodiecampbell.com   www.funnygirlmelodie.blogspot.ca

Rowena And the Dark Lord , book 2 in the Land’s End series, is NOW AVAILABLE at the special introductory price of .99! (regular price $3.99, after May 1.) Buy Link:

http://www.amazon.com/Rowena-Dark-Lord-Lands-ebook/dp/B00CIZZS70/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1367004079&sr=8-3&keywords=rowena+and+the+dark+lord

And the one that started it all: Rowena Through the Wall , book 1 in the Land’s End series

http://www.amazon.com/Rowena-Through-Wall-Expanded-ebook/dp/B007B4Q868/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1367012382&sr=1-3

AND, don’t forget to leave her a comment. She’ll appreciate it – and so will I.

 MORE TO LIFE THAN ROMANCE? REALLY?

 There’s more to life than romance. An odd statement coming from someone who writes romantic suspense novels, but the truth is the truth. We can’t survive on romance alone. We all need connection with other people in all sorts of different relationships—not just romantic relationships.

Friendships are important!

Betrayed, the second in my Sisters by Choice series, will be released soon. Deception, the first, features Patti Jakowski. As Patti searches for her estranged twin, she forges a bond with an unlikely choice, the wife of a terrorist.

So, why did I choose the name Sisters by Choice for the series, especially when they are romantic suspense?  Isn’t the story about a romance?  It is but as in life, not everything is about the romance!

For many people, their friends are more important in their daily lives than their family. In fact, with families scattered from one end of the country to the other and even in other countries, the friendships we form often replace the family bonds from past eras.

Sure, we love our families but if they aren’t nearby, they can’t be very helpful during a crisis and the reverse is true as well. We can’t be helpful to them when they need us either.

It can make for loneliness and feelings of isolation—if we let it!

But we don’t have to let it. We can be there to help others during their crises and as we do emotional bonds will form. Those bonds can take strangers, acquaintances, and even friends, and transform us into family.

That’s what I want to show in my Sisters By Choice series. Women who are willing to help others in their time of crisis. Women who will go the extra mile—the extra time—the extra energy to help another woman in need.

As they do, they become family to each other.

And we all need family—whether it’s by birth or by choice.

Jim:  Excellent advice, Lillian.  Here’s a brief description of her book, Deception.

Twins are supposed to have an unbreakable bond, but Patti and Jamie have serious relationship issues. They haven’t spoken since Jamie ruined Patti’s upcoming nuptials years ago.

When a niece she knows nothing about telephones, Patti must unravel the yarn of Jamie’s life and her mysterious disappearance.

Amazon: http://buff.ly/151nyZM

Barnes and Nobles: http://buff.ly/16M5Wxa

To learn more about Lillian and her books, visit: www.lillianduncan.net.  She also has a devotional blog at: www.PowerUpWithGod.com  as well as her personal blog, Tiaras & Tennis Shoes at www.lillian-duncan.com

You woke up one day and decided to be a writer. Next thing you know, you’re sneaking away with your netbook and finding stolen minutes to slip words into Microsoft. After months or years of laboring over a keyboard, you finally write the magic phrase, ‘The End’. Nonetheless, it’s not the end. It’s the beginning. As you wait for an agent or publisher to spot you across their crowded slush pile, take a moment to consider your online platform.

If you happen to be a celebrity, you have a platform. If you’ve been on the news for white-collar crime, you have a platform. Yet for the millions of unwashed masses looking for a contract, only your mother knows you, and she may not be online.

In my case, I had a dream in high school of a complex family, an English Regency family (think conflicted Pride and Prejudice), who struggled with issues of honor, scandal, and faith. I let the idea sit dormant for years, until my obstetrician told me I had to sit my workaholic bottom down and not move. Of, course that meant I could sit around and write. When I started winning contests, I knew it was time to build a platform.

Yet, three years ago, I had no book to hock. Just contest wins. At the time, I didn’t think a blog to talking about my random life would be interesting enough to draw an audience.  Offering writing tips again did not seem credible as a new unpublished writer, unless it was a list of duh’s. Then it hit me. I write Regency. I should have a site dedicated to Regency.

Thus, my platform started as a web site to highlight all things Regency. My site, www.ChristianRegency.com, is a resource for everything a reader wants to know about the life and times of the English Regency. On this site, a reader will get to see a Regency fashion show, articles, and other resources on this dynamic period in history.  It also hosts a book parade of great Christian Regency books. It’s the one stop shop concept. Currently, it receives over 11,200 visits per month (120,000 hits per month).

From the day it launched, I branded the web site as Vanessa Riley’s Christian Regency. Now my debut book, MADELINE’S PROTECTOR is featured there. It was a great pleasure to put it on the Book Parade.

If you are a writer and you are beginning to think about platform building, here are some tips that can help:

1. Think about the themes you write. Do you write about quilts or craft makers? A site displaying pictures and articles about the art of quilt making would be of interest to those who like quilting and potentially those who read about quilts. Do you write about espionage? Maybe your site will review other spy books.
2. If you are not a blogger, don’t do one. The worse thing in the world is to start a blog and let it die of neglect. Look for guest blogging or group blogging opportunities. Check out RegencyReflections.com or InfiniteCharacters.com to see what I mean.
3. Create artifacts, anything online that will link you to your topic: articles, reviews, etc.
4. Go ahead and grab your twitter name, pinterest
   name, and Facebook name before it’s gone. You can keep them idle until you are ready, but I would start engaging: pinning, tweeting, and liking, now.
5. Make your online platform professional.  Yes, your cousin’s barber’s son may know html, but this is where agents, fellow authors, publishers, and readers will find you. First impressions count.

As you wait for publication, use those spare moments to create your online platform.

Vanessa writes from the comfort of her southern porch with a cup of Earl Grey or Cinnamon Spice.

Madeline’s Protector

If all young men leapt off a cliff, Madeline St. James wouldn’t care. Yet a chance meeting and a bullet wound change everything. She must trust that the Good Shepherd has led her to marry a dashing stranger, Lord Devonshire. Can
they forge a true bond before the next disaster strikes?
See the trailer:      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2OnXfFNwps

Jim:  You started out in journalism, writing features. How did those help you once you started writing books?

Radine:  Writing features for newspapers and magazines helped me learn to write quickly and smoothly. Writers often have a “learning curve” as they perfect their ability to use language. My early writing guided me through this. Working on my news program put me in contact with both the county sheriff and the police chief in the town nearest our home, as well as with their deputies and officers. Since I write crime novels, these associations remain a tremendous help. I also learned to be relaxed and comfortable when asking law officers and other officials of many types–national to local–for needed information.

Jim:  You first book was the non-fiction book Dear Earth: A Love Letter from Spring Hollow. Give us just a brief glimpse into this environmentalist memoir.

Radine:  Dear Earth is the story of my husband’s and my transition from career-oriented city dwellers to happy “country bumpkins.” During summer vacations we always chose natural areas as destinations. We stayed in a cabin in Maine, camped in national parks in the USA and Canada, and fell in love with the world outside of cities. After several years of this we were able to buy land in the Arkansas Ozarks, and Spring Hollow was born. This place was so important to me that I had a compelling urge to share my love with everyone by writing about it for newspapers and magazines. Dear Earth is largely a collection of that writing. It’s a love story dedicated to learning about and preserving nature as we find it, in as large a piece as we can. About ten years after we bought Spring Hollow and built a cabin in the woods where we could spend weekends, we gave up city jobs, sold our Tulsa home, and came home to our hills and hollows in Arkansas.

Jim:  That book garnered some good press. But it was seven years before your first fiction book, A Valley to Die For, came out. Is there a story behind that?

Radine:  Dear Earth was released in 1995. After it came out, and initial promotion work was done, I decided I’d like to try writing a mystery novel, since mysteries had provided my favorite reading since Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys days. I found my characters and the story inside my head, and began writing when I could steal time from work on the larger home we were then building. I completed A Valley to Die For in 1998, but it took me several years to connect with a publisher who loved the story as much as I did. The novel sold well, went into a second printing, and my publisher ended up releasing five more To Die For novels featuring Carrie McCrite, Henry King, and their friends in the Ozarks.

Jim:  Of course, that launched a seven (so far) cozy mystery series and a number of awards leading up to being inducted into the Arkansas Writers Hall of Fame. Tell us which award made the biggest impression on you, or which one you liked the best.

Radine:  Oh, I do remember . . . way back when . . . In 1992, Dear Earth, as yet unsold to a publisher, earned an Honorable Mention for a nonfiction book in a contest sponsored by Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc. I don’t think it was even a First Honorable Mention–probably about third. But, when I walked to the front of the room at that convention to receive my certificate, I felt like a queen gliding forward to accept my crown. I can still remember the thrill of that first award. None has meant so much since, not even the first place awards other books have received. However, being chosen as the 2011 inductee into the Arkansas Writers’ Hall of Fame is probably a close second.

Jim:  Your 2010 book, A Journey to Die For won the 2010 Silver Falchion Award at Killer Nashville. Did you and your husband take a journey that inspired this mystery?

Radine:  Yes. I do detailed research for my novels since they are all set at popular tourist destinations in Arkansas. This novel opens on the (real) Arkansas and Missouri Railroad Passenger Excursion Train going from Springdale to Van Buren, Arkansas. My husband and I took that trip several times, and spent a lot of time in the historic downtown area of Van Buren. History always feeds my stories, though they are set present day, and Van Buren is loaded with history. It’s an Arkansas River town founded in 1809 to sell wood to steamboats traveling up river to bring supplies to river towns, and especially to Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. Imagine: A steamboat loaded with valuable goods sinking into river mud during the Civil War, and . . . !

Jim:  Okay, you’ve got us hooked on that book.  How has your background in journalism and broadcast helped you market your books.

Radine:  You’re right in guessing it’s been a tremendous help. First, I have a high respect for people in those professions, and an understanding of how they work–both the difficulties and triumphs. Several writers and broadcasters have given me support, doing newspaper and magazine features about my writing, and interviewing me for radio programs. They have supported me in other ways, including listing and announcing book events. Good friends, all.

Jim:   A Fair to Die For is the seventh in the series. What do Carrie and Henry face this time?

Radine:  Ahh, what could possibly go wrong at the most popular and largest Ozarks Craft Fair, a truly happy occasion? The story is largely set at the War Eagle Fair, a real craft fair in steady existence since 1954, and currently drawing almost two hundred thousand attendees over its four days in October. This novel gave me a great opportunity to, once more, feature Carrie’s best friend, Shirley Booth, whose baby quilts and “Cuddlies” have been chosen for sale at the fair. (Shirley is tremendously popular with my readers.) Carrie and Henry will be helping her with sales. But, a mysterious cousin Carrie knew nothing about appears, and she admits a connection to drug dealers. She needs to find a former DEA agent who’ll be exhibiting his wooden toys at the fair, and can possibly tell her what happened to her missing father, Carrie’s mysterious uncle. I’m sure you have already guessed that drug dealing is the major crime here, as well as murder. Several people aren’t what they seem to be, and peculiar family relations are popping up in more than one place. Oh, how I enjoyed writing about all this and, of course, spending time at the fabulous War Eagle Fair, plus War Eagle Mill and nearby Hobbs State Park. All these appear as settings in the story.

Jim:  You switched to Oak Tree Press for this seventh book. Do you care to tell us why?

Radine:  Not at all, and this is something that happens to many writers. My first publisher closed their mystery imprint after publishing my fifth series novel, a tough blow for me. However, knowing my publishing record, other publishers were interested in “adopting” me, and I chose a small press with goals and ideals that matched mine. However, after they released Journey to Die For, they, too, decided not to continue in the royalty publishing business. I had heard positive things about mid-sized Oak Tree Press, and have a friend who is one of their authors. Fortuitously, the publisher at Oak Tree and I met at two major Writers’ Conventions in 2011, and connected like old friends comfortable with each other. That eventually led to my decision to apply to them. My seventh “To Die For” novel was accepted by Oak Tree Press in late 2011, and released in 2012.

Jim:  Will there be another “To Die For” book?

Radine:  Oh my, I hope so. One difficult thing right now is that many Arkansans have favorite locations they want me to use for a novel location. I am currently “interviewing” sites to see which one says “STORY!” to me the loudest.

Jim:  How about a one minute bit of advice for the writers who have not gained the success you have.

Radine:  Setting a goal and persisting until you get there is more likely than enormous writing talent to put your own book into your hands! (And this includes e-books.) Keep perfecting your craft, and NEVER GIVE UP!

Thanks for this very interesting conversation. It’s made me think about my life as a writer, and has been a lot of fun!

You can find out more about Radine at her website:  www.radinesbooks.com

And her books are on Amazon at:  http://amzn.to/YKdBw7

Both Radine and I would be pleased if you took just a minute to leave a comment.  Thanks.

She is married with three children and three grandchildren. For today’s post, Linda is interviewing Jackson Judge, a central character in her new novel, With Eyes of Love.

Linda:  Jackson, welcome. I’m still amazed at how you and your friends were able to pull all of those people out of the water.

Jackson:  Probably not as amazed as we were. Trust me, being in a small boat against a wave of water with nothing but a paddle and length of wood wasn’t like anything I’d ever done before, and hopefully never will again.

Linda:  Were any folks lost in the flood?

Jackson:  It might have felt like Noah’s adventure, but this time, no one was lost. We got to all of them before they disappeared. Only one area flooded badly, the rest were trapped because their cars stalled. But the Richardsons’ car was caught on a slight rise surrounded by the deeper water.

Linda: What did you think when you looked in the car window and saw the three girls in the back seat?

Jackson:  Well, I just did what I always do. I winked at them like I do to my sister when she’s upset, but it didn’t exactly calm them. Instead, the older one stuck her nose in the air like I’d tried to pick her up or something.

Linda:  I’m sure she was just afraid. You being a stranger and all.

Jackson:  I have no doubt. But it was like one of those old sayings, no good deed goes unpunished. She was sassy as one of those yippy little pups, pint-sized and full of attitude. And had plenty to say to me before the day was over.

Linda:  I’m intrigued, what did she say?

Jackson:  She said not to flirt with her. Flirt with her? I was trying to be nice, and then she tells me about some guy named Elliot VanDusen or something that she was “almost” engaged to back home. What was that all about? Like I cared.

Linda:  Did you?

Jackson:  Don’t think I’ll talk about that right now.

Linda:  Sounds like you all had quite the Christmas in New Hope with all those folks stranded.

Jackson:  It was quite the Christmas, all right. The kindness of folks always comes out in disasters, don’t you think?

Linda:  The world was on the cusp of war when the Richardson family met the Judges, how did that impact your families?

Jackson:  My brother and I knew right from the start that we’d serve. What man wouldn’t? There were folks at home who needed to be protected.

Linda:  Anyone in particular?

Jackson:  I get the feeling you’re trying to get me to discuss old bright eyes. Like I’d spoil the story for the readers. Nice try, Jessica, but you’ll have to read the book to find out. Just make sure you have a box of tissues. I was totally on my game in the romance department.

Thanks, Linda for a great interview of one of your characters.  He could have passed for a real person.  Oh, he IS a real person to your readers.  You can find out more about Linda’s books on Amazon at:

http://amzn.to/10D5T52

And for more on Linda, check her websites at:

http://lindaglaz.blogspot.com/

http://hartlineliteraryagency.blogspot.com/

To leave a comment, click on the “Replies” button below.  Thanks.

JIM:   I’ve heard that you actually sold your first piece at the age of eleven.  Tell us about that early start.

Melinda:  I was interested in writing from a very early age. My Mother said that as a toddler, I would often flip through the pages of my favorite books—making up stories as I went along. I submitted a prayer to a Sunday School class publication. It was accepted, and I received a dollar for my work. I was thrilled and the rest is history!

JIM:   You’ve written a little of everything – short stories, poems, newspaper articles, books.  What is your favorite area of writing?

Melinda:  I love all types of writing but perhaps my favorite would be non-fiction. I enjoy doing all the research that is necessary for non-fiction, and I often find truth is stranger than fiction.

JIM:   One of your latest books is Crossing the Minefield.  Do you classify this as fiction or non-fiction?  Tell us a little about it.

Melinda:  Crossing the Minefieldt is non-fiction and is the story of my journey from grief to recovery. I started writing it to help me in the healing process after I lost my husband very suddenly in 2005. I began sharing it with other widows and discovered it was healing for others as well. I offered it to a small publisher and now it is part of bereavement programs, libraries, support groups and reading lists in nineteen states.

JIM:   You’ve had pieces printed in Chicken Soup for the Soul – Grandmothers and Chicken Soup for the Soul – True Love.  Tell us about that experience.  I’ve heard mixed reviews from authors who have written for Chicken Soup books.

Melinda:  I frankly enjoyed my experience with the Chicken Soup folks. But you have to keep in mind that you only make one flat fee for your article, so it isn’t very profitable. But I found them easy to work with and I continue to submit articles when I see a book topic that interests me. I guess the bottom line is that you don’t need to write for them if you want to make a lot of money.  Do it for the experience or just for the fun of it.

JIM:  Just seven days after Crossing the Minefield was released, you released Murder at the Oaklands Mansion.  Why did those two get released so close together?  Would you release books that close together again?

Melinda:  I didn’t find releasing the books close together was a problem since they were so very different. Murder at the Oaklands Mansion is a young readers’ fiction book. But I would not release two books that were quite similar close together.

JIM:   How about a little peek into Murder at the Oaklands Mansion, enough to convince the readers to stop what they’re doing and go buy a copy.

Melinda:  I will borrow a few sentences from the back of Murder at the Oaklands Mansion to give you a little peek:

Brooks Martin and his eccentric Aunt Mandy are always looking for a different adventure. But they never guess that their greatest adventure will involve murder. As rifles crack during a reenactment at their favorite Civil War historic site, a bloody stranger shakily grabs Brooks, thrusts a scrap of paper at him, gasps a few words and …dies!

JIM:   You’ve convinced me.It goes on my TBR list.. Shifting topics, there’s WOOF: Women Only Over 50.   Of course I wasn’t allowed to read it.  But, I take it this is not fiction, but I’m afraid to even speculate on what it covers.  Give us a hint.

Melinda:  WOOF: Women Only Over 50 is the result of three friends deciding that we would rather laugh at aging than moan about it. Everything is done with a “dog” theme and you are right—most men would probably not “get” our menopausal humor.

JIM:   What do you find the most difficult about being a writer and having books in print?

Melinda:  To me the most difficult thing about being a writer and having books in print is AFTER you write. I spend much more time on editing and revising my work than I ever do actually writing it. I think it is vital to have everything as clear and concise as you possibly can.  And—you don’t want your reader distracted by numerous mistakes with grammar, etc.  That is one of the problems I see with self-publishing. Writers often just crank out the words and get that into book form. Sometimes the result is a book riddled with mistakes. I also find the marketing difficult. It is hard for me to “sell” myself.

JIM:   And how do you deal with that most difficult aspect?

Melinda:  Discipline is how I deal with the editing process. I make myself check things over and over. I also ask other writers to help me edit my work. With Crossing the Minefield, I had other widows read the manuscript. I got some great suggestions that way.

The marketing part I am trying to improve. I am forcing myself to spend more time on marketing my books. There are some great marketing websites and I am trying to learn as I go.  It is hard, but you have to put yourself out there if you want to reach an audience. I am starting small—like offering to speak to various groups where I can sell my books after I talk. This seems particularly important with Crossing the Minefield. I can’t help other widows if I don’t reach out to them. With this book, I have also contacted various hospices and support groups and offered to send them a free copy of the book.

JIM:   Who helped you the most in your writing, and how did that person do it?

Melinda:  No doubt about it—Mrs. Alyce Sheetz was the person who helped me the most with my writing.  She was my high school journalism teacher. To be very honest, I was more interested in boys than I was in writing, so I often wrote my stories quickly so I could get on to my main interest. Mrs. Sheetz would throw the paper right back at me (often bringing me to tears), and would yell,“I know you can do better than this!!” So I would rewrite and rewrite until she was happy. I think she saw the potential in me and didn’t want me to just “get by.” I am so grateful that she pushed me. Her words, “I am totally bored with this story! Make me excited! Make me want to read through to the end!” stick with me today. I don’t write a word without thinking about Mrs. Sheetz and how she made me settle for nothing less than my best.

JIM:  What a great story, and an excellent lesson to students.  You can find out more about Melinda and her books at:      www.melindalyons.com

Here books are on Amazon at:     http://amzn.to/11T2hQW

The Storyteller Magazine

Jim: I know you’ve been in publishing for twenty years, and have the respected Storyteller Magazine. What brought you to start Mockingbird Lane Press?

Regina: I’ve been interested in books since my mother read aloud to the family after supper when I was little. It just seemed natural to take that interest and try to bring books like I fell in love with to print today. I love books!

Jim: Where did the name come from? Did you like the Mockingbird Lane TV series?

Regina: There have always been mockingbirds around my area and I remember when I was a child, stopping to listen to their songs because they’d change from one minute to the next. And To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorite books. I couldn’t think of a better name for a publishing company.

Jim: And just how do your two publishing ventures fit together?

Regina:  Sometimes—not so well! As editor of both, it is time-consuming and finding time for both is always a challenge. I usually try to set aside a couple hours a day just to work on the magazine, then it’s back to the books.  Depending on which deadline (book or magazine) is coming up first, one or the other will take precedence.

Jim:  Do you maintain editorial control over both? Have you expanded your staff, or does everybody just work harder?

Regina: It’s a mother-daughter team. I take care of all the editorial processes and my daughter does the covers for both the magazines and the books. She also creates the trailers for You Tube and pretty much anything on the internet. I do maintain editorial control over both. Someday soon, I hope to expand our staff.

Jim:  You’re open to a wide range of fiction and non-fiction. What do you specifically NOT want to receive?

Regina:  I don’t want to see any knock-offs of the Star Wars Saga, To Kill A Mockingbird or any other book. If you are going to write a book, what will sell it is your own unique personality and the qualities a writer gives his/her characters. I want fresh and new. That’s not to say I don’t want a romance along the lines of Love Story, it just means a writer must infuse it with fresh characters, ideas and thoughts. I don’t want meandering stories that have no point. Engage the reader immediately and keep it interesting enough so they’ll keep turning pages. I don’t want to see anything pornographic, erotic, racist or just in bad taste.

Jim: I must say, you caught my attention with your signature line, Southern Weird. Tell us a little about that?

Regina: I’ve thought a lot about this question and how I could answer it so it would make sense.  But Southern Weird to me, is books like To Kill A Mockingbird and anything by William Faulkner. The book is set in the south, the characters are engaging, while just a tad off the norm scale, and the attitude is like nothing you’ll find anywhere else in the country. Take Gary R. Hoffman’s book, I Haven’t Lost My Marbles…They Just All Rolled to One Side. Now that’s a Southern Weird book because Gary is great at showing the reader the southern attitudes about things and how they see life. His story, Angel’s Place is a good example…Angel decides to open a funeral home, but decides to put “fun” in funerals and create a drive-through funeral home where people can can view their loved-one through the window. And a coffin that floats toward the ceiling, with the idea the loved one is rising toward heaven. That’s Southern Weird.

Jim:  Is The Unicorn in your Southern Weird imprint?

Regina: The Unicorn Tree is a YA novel set on the east coast, so no, it’s not Southern Weird.

Jim:  Tell us a little about The Unicorn.

Regina: While looking for a class project, Lisa Duncan finds a diary in a sea caption’s home that his wife had written years ago. The diary tells about how she waits for her husband to return home, standing under the unicorn tree as she watches the ocean for his ship. Because Lisa’s brother is sailing on a tall ship and is lost at sea, Lisa feels an affinity for Mirabelle and sets out to find the unicorn tree, with Mirabelle appearing to her to guide her way.

Jim:  Then, there’s Elizabeth Rose’s ‘Til the Last Petal Falls. How would you classify that book? And tell us a little about it.

Regina: ‘Til the Last Petal Falls is a modern take on Beauty and the Beast. Jolee is home from college when she finds an ad on Craig’s List about a job tutoring for a recluse in the mountains of Colorado. Lisa takes the job. Once there, the handsome recluse lures her in and she falls in love. Because this story is about love and abuse, which is sometimes hard to tell apart, the author will be donating part of the proceeds of the book to local women’s shelters in her home town and a national women’s charity as well.

Jim:  Of course, you also have a humorous book by Gary Hoffman, I haven’t Lost My Marbles … They Just Rolled to One Side, and a book of short stories and essays by Crow Johnson Evans. You’re covering a wide range. What’s your favorite area?

Regina: I do love the Southern Weird book and Gary, Crow and Barbara Deming (Aunt Lutie’s Blue Moon Café) bring all the weirdness to the fore. Characters with a different outlook on life are always more fun than the staid, upstanding citizen. I have two fantasies coming up this year; Myths of the Mirror by D. Wallace Peach and The Enchanted Skean a YA fantasy by Vonnie Winslow Crist. I never knew fantasy could be so much fun! We also have a book coming out in the next couple of weeks by Lou Honderick, entitled Ricki. This book is a middle reader and is geared to deaf and hard of hearing children and emphasizes they have the same hopes and dreams as hearing children. Underneath the title is the title in American Sign Language, which will help deaf children to easily pick it off the shelf.

Jim:  What are your short and long-range goals for Mockingbird Lane Press?

Regina: Short term goals are simply to get caught up. Practically from the minute we opened the doors, the books have been pouring in and while I haven’t accepted all of them, the gems certainly came to the surface and we have a full-range of books either out or in the process. Our long-term goals are to offer the best quality books possible and to find the brightest and best books out there.

The Poets Roundtable of Arkansas will debut their newest poetry book, seventy-five years + in the making for their 75^th anniversary. We are so excited to be a part of this project and hope people will take the time to order a book of some of the best poets in Arkansas.

I would like to mention our other books available or coming out later this year, if I may. Unexpected Gifts by S. R. Mallery, a historical fiction novel. Daemon Persuasion by S. K. Gregory (from Ireland) is a horror novel that is available now. The Far Side of Silence by Robert B. Marcus and K. Frank Richardson, is a political thriller. Still Driving on the Sidewalk by Marcia Camp, is a collection of Southern Weird short stories, and Thursday Night Confessions by Jana Caldwell is certainly a Southern Weird book of her ‘different way of looking at life’ anecdotes.

Regina: Thank you, Jim. I appreciate the opportunity to talk about Mockingbird Lane Press.

Jim:  Wow.  Does this woman have a lot of energy or what?  And whether you write short stories or books, Regina Williams is a name to remember.  You can see more about The Storyteller Magazine at:  http://www.thestorytellermagazine.com

And check out Mockingbird Lane Press at:  http://www.mockingbirdlanepress.com/

And please leave a comment for Regina by clicking on the “Leave a reply” link below.  Thanks for visiting.