FEATURED AUTHOR: M PEPPER LANGLINAIS

ABOUT THE BOOK

In 1960s London, British Intelligence agent Peter Stoller falls in love with a cab driver and his life goes off the road. When his lover is accused of being an enemy agent, Peter manages to extract them both, but the seeds of doubt have been planted. Is ignorance truly bliss or merely deadly?


INTERVIEW WITH M PEPPER LANGLINAIS

How did you get started writing?
Oh, the pat answer is to say I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. Which is true. I used to make magazines for the kids in my neighborhood and fill them with made-up stories and crossword puzzles. In middle school I wrote a book based on characters my best friend and I had made up—a pair of sleuthing sisters called the Hemlock Sisters. In high school I used to write in this notebook—it was an ongoing soap opera story, and it would get passed around and then returned to me so I could write the next chapter. So I’ve really just been writing forever.

What's your favorite thing about the writing process?
Living as a lot of different, interesting people. I love exploring character. And I love building their worlds for them, their lives.

Do you have a writing routine?
I should be more disciplined about it. Mostly I faff about online and then finally feel guilty enough to start working. I do better when I know people are excited about it, when I have them cheering me on. Then again, that adds a lot of pressure, too.

Do you write every day?
Yes, despite my procrastination. There are very few days I don’t write at least a little. I start to get cranky and unpleasant if I go very long without writing.

What do you wish you’d done differently when you first started the publishing process?
Been more patient. I still wish that. We all want to be done as soon as possible, but the truth is, in order to have a good book you have to take your time with it. It’s not perfect after one draft. You can’t type “The End” and then immediately start sending it out, or immediately self-publish it. Not if you want it to be the best possible work it can be.

What do you think is hardest aspect of writing a book?
The actual sitting and writing is difficult for me. If oral storytelling were still a thing—if I could make a living that way—I’d find that much easier. The thing is, once the book is published, it becomes a static thing. I know you can always go revise an e-book, but in general there is a sense of permanence that . . . It makes me want to get it right, get it perfect. And putting the words on paper (or computer screen), I know it will never be perfect. It can be damn good after lots of work, but once it’s done, it’s done. When you tell a story verbally—this is like live theatre versus something filmed—it’s living and breathing and can change a little every time you tell it. You can always make it better, closer to perfect. I’m not sure I’ve answered your question, but in a nutshell, the pressure to get it right is one of the hardest things about writing.

What’s more important – characters or plot? (You cannot say both!)
I’m a character writer. I believe character informs plot. My books are about people and how they act and react to situations. So I begin with character, with knowing a person, and then test them with plot.

How often do you read?
Every day, even if only for a few minutes over my lunch.


What do you think makes a good story?
I think it’s subjective. And I think it depends on what you’re looking for at any given moment. A good story is any story that suits my mood or serves my need at the time.

What books do you currently have published?
I have three Sherlock Holmes stories, an anthology of short stories, and an odd duck novel about reincarnated Greek gods on a film set. And then my latest is The Fall and Rise of Peter Stoller, which is a British spy novel set in the 1960s.

Do you have any secret talents?
I don’t know if it’s a talent, but I read Tarot cards and astrology charts as a hobby. I’m also the person my friends come to when they need a dream interpreted.

Is writing your dream job?
I think if I had my druthers I’d be in a more social situation. Which is funny because I really do like to be alone and can’t work with other people even in the house. But I miss some of the camaraderie of working with others. I wouldn’t say no to being on a film set again, or in a writer’s room.

How often do you tweet?
Almost every day, I think, and sometimes two or three times a day if there’s anything interesting going on.

How do you feel about Facebook?
I resisted getting a Facebook author page for a long time, but now that I have one, I find I enjoy it. I’m still trying to get people to Like it, though. And I think Facebook has some underhanded practices in burying posts if you don’t pay to promote them.

For what would you like to be remembered?
I’d like to be remembered as a good author, plain and simple.

What scares you the most?
Failure. The idea that I’ve put in so much time and effort and it still wasn’t good enough.

Would you make a good character in a book?
No, I’m too boring. I think I’m good at dinner parties, good in short bursts, but not interesting enough to sustain a novel.

What’s one thing you never leave the house without?
Sunglasses. (I live in California.)

What do you love about where you live?
No snow! I can do cold, I can do wet, but I don’t do snow.


What’s your favorite thing to do/favorite place to go on date night?
I like fondue, or going bowling or miniature golfing. I like museums, too.

What's your favorite treat for movie night?
Buttered popcorn. Classic.

What’s your favorite fast food?
Wendy’s.


What’s your favorite beverage?
Dr Pepper.

What drives you crazy?
I have low tolerances for just about everything: noise, stupidity, a**hole drivers . . .

What do you like to do when there’s nothing to do?
I get bored really easily. If there’s nothing to do, I’ll hop in the car and drive around while listening to music really loud. Or go for a walk with my headphones in.

Where is your favorite place to visit?
London. My goal is to have a flat there one day. But I also love New Orleans, which is where my family is, and Savannah.

What would you name your autobiography?
Coloring My Roots.

What’s your least favorite chore?
Cleaning the bathroom. Because ew. But I do it. Because if you don’t . . . ew. It’s just ew all around.


Would you rather be a movie star, sports star, or rock star?
Movie star. Or an actor at any rate. I loved being on stage.


Do you give your characters any of your bad traits?
Probably, but not consciously.

What’s in your refrigerator right now?
All kinds of things. A lot of cheese, and some pork chops and bacon and sausages. Brussels sprouts, carrots, berries (for the kids; I’m allergic). Refried beans, black-eyed peas, yogurt, chai, milk, soda, apple juice, eggs, and a massive collection of salsas.

What’s one of your favorite quotes?
There’s a line in a Tabitha’s Secret song: “All is nothing in moderation.” It took some noodling for me to understand that, but now that I do, I really like it.

What would your main character say about you?
I have no idea. Peter is very reticent, can be somewhat inscrutable. One might never know what he honestly thinks of you. That’s great for his work as a spy, but it makes getting to know him difficult and causes real trouble in his relationship with Charles.

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to write?
A paper for school maybe? Or I was once commissioned to write a screenplay for an indie director, and I found it very difficult to write because he wanted something that was outside my usual realm. It took me a long time, but it turned out well, I think. He plans to make the movie when he can get funding.

Where is your favorite library and what do you love about it?
We have a beautiful library in our town, and I love the café they have there—I meet friends there from time to time. They also have a great little used book shop.

Who is your favorite fictional character?
I guess I should say Sherlock Holmes since that’s what I’m known for. He’s fun to play with, has so many layers. But if we’re talking about something completely outside of anything I write . . . I like Peter Grant (from Ben Aaronovitch’s series).

If you had a talk show who would your dream guests be?
Rob Thomas, Robert Downey Jr. . . . Just people named Rob in general, I guess. Oh, except also David Tennant. But we’d call him Rob just to keep from confusion.

What’s one thing that very few people know about you?
Well, if my kids are to be believed, I’m actually a dragon in human form. (This was actually the inspiration for a young adult fantasy novel I just finished writing.)

You have a personal chef for the night. What would you ask him to prepare?
I like comfort foods. Down-home stuff. I’d ask for some chicken fried steak with gravy, some sausage jambalaya. Fried mac ‘n’ cheese balls or something.

How do you like your pizza?
New York style with lots of pepperoni.

What is the wallpaper on your computer’s desktop?
A painting of Westminster in London (Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament).

What’s your favorite song?
Do I have to pick just one? I’m sure it changes with my mood, but I’ve recently enjoyed rediscovering Steve Winwood’s “Roll With It.”

What’s your biggest pet peeve about writing?
That it takes so long. The process of getting something from my head to paper, and then getting it sorted so that it makes sense to readers . . . It’s exhausting and takes a long time.

What would you do for a Klondike bar?
I wouldn’t. I don’t mind Klondike bars, but I’m not any huge fan of them.

What is your favorite movie?
Young Sherlock Holmes. I used to come home from school every day and—no exaggeration—pop it into the VCR and watch it while doing my homework. Every. Single. Day. And I still love it.

Do you have a favorite book?
There’s not any one book I’d call my favorite. I’d say Richard Adams’ Watership Down and Zilpha Keatley Snyder’s The Changeling have had the biggest impact on me though.

If you had to choose a cliché about life, what would it be?
It isn’t fair. It’s not a meritocracy, you know. That’s been a big let down in life. Sometimes you work really hard and you still don’t win. Sometimes people who didn’t work as hard, or whose work wasn’t as good, still get ahead. The best way to keep that from bothering you is to only focus on doing the best you can. Don’t compare yourself to others because you’ll only find reasons to be unhappy.

What are you working on now?
As I mentioned above, I just finished a young adult fantasy novel, so I’m looking for agents or publishers for that. I anticipate it being the first in a trilogy. And now I’m writing a Regency romance because I needed something light and a little silly after Peter and the YA novel, both of which have a lot of weight to them. I’ll be writing more Sherlock Holmes in the future, too, and possibly another book in the Peter Stoller series; I have an idea of making his assistant Simeon the center of the next one.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

M Pepper Langlinais is best known for her Sherlock Holmes stories. She is also a produced playwright and screenwriter. She lives in Livermore, California.


Connect with the author:
Website   |  Blog  |   
Facebook  |   
Twitter  |   
Goodreads  |  

Buy the book:
Amazon (US)   |    Amazon (UK)   |    Smashwords   |     iBooks   |   Kobo   |   Nook   

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Featured Author: Brent Hartinger

About the book:

Brent Hartinger's tenth novel, The Thing I Didn't Know I Didn't Know, tells the story of a young gay guy, just out of college, trying to make sense out of life and love in the boomtown that is Seattle in 2014. The book, his first in the "new adult" genre, will be released December 15, 2014.

In 2003, Hartinger made a big splash documenting the lives of gay teens with his humorous young adult novel Geography Club. It spawned three sequels, one of which won the Lambda Award. Geography Club was eventually adapted as a feature film, released in 2013, co-starring Scott Bakula.

In The Thing I Didn't Know I Didn't Know, Hartinger turns his attention to the lives of gay twentysomethings. The result is a book with plenty of Hartinger's trademark humor, but with a sexier, more contemporary edge, exploring topical issues like online hook-ups, FWBs, and PrEP HIV prevention.

Russel Middlebrook, the protagonist of The Thing I Didn't Know I Didn't Know, is also the lead in Geography Club and its sequels, making him the rare literary character to jump genres (from young adult to adult books). This latest book is also the start of a new series, Russel Middlebrook: the Futon Years.

Like Armistead Maupin's classic Tales of the City books, The Thing I Didn't Know I Didn't Know is set in a very specific place and time—in this case, Seattle in the summer of 2014.

In the book, Russel is twenty-three years old and living in this trendy and completely pro-gay city. But Russel's life isn't keeping up with the hype. Most of his friends have a direction in life—either ruthlessly pursuing their careers or passionately embracing their own aimlessness. But Russel is stuck in place. The only thing he knows for sure is that crappy jobs, horrible dates, and pointless hook-ups just aren't cutting it anymore.

What's the secret? What does everyone else know that he doesn't?

Enter Kevin, Russel's perfect high school boyfriend. Could rekindling an old flame be the thing he needs to get his life back on track? Or maybe the answer lies in a new friend, an eccentric screenwriter named Vernie Rose, who seems to possess more than a bit of the wisdom of the universe. Or what the hell? Maybe Russell will find some answers by joining his best friend Gunnar's crazy search for the legendary Bigfoot!

One way or another, Russel is determined to learn the all-important secret to life, even if it's a thing he doesn't even know he doesn't know.

Brent Hartinger Answers the Dirty Dozen

1.    What’s one thing that drives you crazy?
Self-centered people. I run into people all the time who seem completely oblivious to the fact there are other people in the world. Either that, or they're aware and they just don't care. I'm not sure which is worse.

2.    What is your guiltiest guilty pleasure?
My secret shame is . . . all-you-can-eat sushi bars! In the case of sushi, I sometimes will choose quantity over quality. Maybe even often!

3.    What is your most embarrassing moment?
This may not be the most embarrassing, but I got home from Christmas shopping at the mall yesterday, and I realized that I'd had my fly down the whole time. And not just a little bit down -- it was wide open. Yikes! At least I was wearing underwear.

4.    At least! What is the stupidest thing you’ve ever done?
Let's just say I've accidentally thrown more than one iPhone into the washing machine and leave it at that, okay?

5.    Yikes. What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done?
In all seriousness, it might be deciding to become a writer -- although I didn't think of it as "daring" at the time. I was absolutely determined, and I never really had a back-up plan. If I'd known how incredibly impractical it is, I'm not sure I would've done it!

6.    On what life choices would you like to have a re-do?
Yes, yes, if we redo things, then we wouldn't be the person we are, blah, blah, blah. Let's get real. If I had a choice, there's one two-year relationship that never would've happened and an entire website, now defunct, that I wouldn't have founded. Both were complete wastes of my time.

7.    What makes you nervous?
I just produced a music video (for a song based on my latest book, The Thing I Didn't Know I Didn't Know). I had absolutely no idea how much work it would be -- all for a three-minute video.

For days before, I was a complete wreck. But mostly I was nervous that I would disappoint all the people who had put their faith in me, that they would feel like they wasted their time.

Interestingly, it all worked out pretty well!

8.    What makes you scared?
I'm often scared I'll fail as a writer. I've been doing this long enough that I now know that not everything I do works. And I've also been at it long enough to know that my own judgment of my work is sometimes very skewed. Then, of course, everything is complicated by the fact that sometimes the work really is good, but not everyone can see it.

It's the hardest thing in the world, knowing when to stick to your vision in the face of criticism and when to say, "Hold on, wait, I think my vision sucks."

9.    What’s the biggest lie you’ve ever told?
Whenever I teach creative writing, I act like I know what I'm talking about. Sometimes I even feel that way at the time.

But the truth is, I'm not sure writing can be taught, and even if I can, I'm not sure I'm smart enough to do it. Good storytelling is the hardest thing in the world, which is why it's so incredibly rare.

Still, I always do the best I can, so maybe it's not really a lie.

10.    What’s the biggest mistake you’ve ever made?
Other than that two-year relationship?

Yes, other than that!

Honestly, there was a girl in my Catholic high school who was once berated for getting pregnant by a teacher in front of the whole class. It's one my huge regrets in life that I didn't stand up and say to that teacher, "Shut your pie-hole, you miserable, small-minded, pathetic excuse for a human being!"

Even now, it still makes me furious. That might be the exact moment I became a liberal.

11.    When was the last time you did something for the first time?
Wow, good question. Lately, I've been learning type-setting (of books?). There are certain "rules" that aren't supposed to be violated. At the same time, the manuscript itself can't (usually) be altered. So how do you set the type in such a way that you don't violate these "rules"?

Compromises, compromises. In type-setting, as in life, sometimes there simply are no good choices.

12.    One of your main characters has to die. Which one would you kill off?
In my next book, I just killed off all the main characters except one. Which makes sense since it's a thriller. But even so, it was really hard. You spend all this time creating characters, and in some sense you "like" them (or you wouldn't have written them).

Needless to say, there won't be a sequel.

Check out the video: The Thing I Didn't Know I Didn't Know

About the author:

Brent Hartinger is an author, playwright, and screenwriter. His latest book, about a gay 23-year-old trying to make sense of life and love in Seattle 2014, is out now. His first novel, Geography Club, is also a successful stage play and a feature film co-starring Scott Bakula and Nikki Blonsky. He also has a number of film projects in active development.

In 1990, Brent helped found one of the world's first LGBT teen support groups in his hometown of Tacoma, Washington. In 2005, he co-founded the entertainment website AfterElton.com, which was sold to MTV/Viacom in 2006. He currently co-hosts a podcast called Media Carnivores from his home in Seattle, where he lives with his husband, writer Michael Jensen. Read more by and about Brent, or contact him at brenthartinger.com.

Brent Hartinger is available for podcast, blog, newspaper, and other media interviews.

Connect with Brent:
"Brent's Brain"  |  Facebook  | Twitter  |  Goodreads

Check out Brent's new podcast, Media Carnivores.   

Subscribe to Brent's newsletter (and get a free book!) 

Buy the book!

Other books by Brent Hartinger

Featured Author: Christoph Fischer


I'm very happy to have the talented Christoph Fischer back today to talk about his third book in the Three Nations Trilogy. On the market for less than a week, the historical fiction/family saga The Black Eagle Inn is already an Amazon best seller. Christoph is a three-time A Blue Million Books guest. He's been here to talk about the first book, The Luck of the Weissensteiners and the second, Sebastian. You can read those interviews here (first book) and here (the second).

What reviewers are saying:

-A comprehensive, entertaining historical novel that does not hold back any punches.
-Brilliant historical fiction: fascinating and entertaining.
-Simply a masterpiece.

About the book: 

The Black Eagle Inn is an old established Restaurant and Farm business in the sleepy Bavarian countryside outside of Heimkirchen.  Childless Anna Hinterberger has fought hard to make it her own and keep it running through WWII. Religion and rivalry divide her family as one of her nephews, Markus has got her heart and another nephew, Lukas got her ear. Her husband Herbert is still missing and for the wider family life in post-war Germany also has some unexpected challenges in store.

Once again Fischer tells a family saga with war in the far background and weaves the political and religious into the personal. Being the third in the Three Nations Trilogy this book offers another perspective on war, its impact on people and the themes of nations and identity.

Interview with Christoph Fischer 


Christoph, you get frequent flier points for being such a good friend to A Blue Million Books. I'm happy to have you back. Can you briefly catch us up with your Three Nations Trilogy and give us your elevator speech for The Black Eagle Inn?

In The Luck of the Weissensteiners, I showed the terror that was WWII and its effect on one particular area and ‘nation’ in Central Europe. In Sebastian, I went to a happier time before WWI to show the issues of nations and identity then. In The Black Eagle Inn, war is in the past and the people who find themselves in Western Germany have to pick up the remains from the ashes and form a new nation.

What’s the inspiration for your characters?

I got some inspiration from life and real people that I have met over the years, from Bavarian and German stereotypes and characters, from comments I overheard on a bus or a train, from stories I picked up and some from the characters themselves as they began to form their life in my book.

You just retired from your “day job.” Are you happy with your decision to retire?

Yes, totally. A lot of it is to do with the changes at the old work place, but I am also happy to have more time for my family when they need me.

Do you have a routine for writing?

When the muse drives me I just sit down and write. All I need to do is walk the dogs first or else Molly will kick my hands of the keyboards and demand attention.

Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?

In my little office space, preferably starting very early in the morning, when it is quiet.

Where’s home for you?

I just returned from a trip to my ‘home’ town in Germany. Now I am back in the UK, home from home if you so will, and despite the lovely time I had ‘back home’ and despite the many things that make me feel like an ‘alien’ in the UK, when we got out of the channel tunnel I felt I was home.

Neil Gaiman said, “Picking five favorite books is like picking five body parts you'd most like not to lose.” So…what are your five favorite books and your five body parts you’d most like not to lose?

The Books: Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas, The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng, and We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver.

Body Parts: Head (never bodes well to lose it); Heart (been my partner’s for so long, I’d hate to transfer it now); Voice (how else would I be telling people about my books or tell my dogs to give me back that tennis ball); Hands (writing, preparing food); Legs (jogging and running away from danger).

You’re leaving your country for a year. What’s the last meal (or food) you would want to have before leaving?

Tofu salad.

Would you rather work in a library or a bookstore?

Definitely a library, there’d be no commercial pressure to sell anything.

Where is your favorite library and what do you love about it?

My home town library in Bavaria. I used to work there, I know the staff, and they stock my books. Tons of others.

Give us an update on your dogs!

Wilma had six puppies in February and turned out to be a great young mother. Two of the puppies, Ianto and Molly Junior, are living in the vicinity, and we get to see them often. In two years’ time we will see if Wilma wants to have another go at motherhood. Molly senior will be 9 in November and Greta is most happy at this time of the year for her love of Conkers.

Um...what exactly is Conkers?

They fall from trees like chestnuts. Brown and shiny, once out of the shell. We call Greta conker bonkers when she gets hold of one.

Ah! I see. There's no easy way to segue from dogs and Conkers to publishing, so I'll just get to it. Why did you decide to self-publish?

I was put off by the difficulties to even get an agent to take your calls. As much as I can see why that is, it did not seem a trust-inspiring start. I also hear how new authors are required to do much of their own marketing and publicity work. It seemed easier to do it myself and see where that would lead me.

Are you happy with your decision to self-publish?

I am very happy with the decision. I was fortunate enough to have an Academic partner, a designer friend, and an editor friend who were willing to work with me. I also met a few great writers who have functioned as beta readers for my books and helped me find my foot in the world of FB, Twitter and blogging. Self-publishing is hard work, but it is also great fun.

What steps to publication did you personally do, and what did you hire someone to do? Is there anyone you’d recommend for a particular service?

My partner did all the formatting, and together with Deborah Wall he did the editing.
Read my interview with Debra here.

Design artist Daz Smith.

Do you have any advice for an author who is getting ready to self-publish?

Make sure to do the best you can in terms of formatting, editing and design. People will judge you on formalities, regardless of how good your book is. But also, don’t let anyone discourage you to follow your dream (big symphonic sound track).

What marketing or promotion ideas have worked best for you?

Facebook, blogging and Twitter in combination. Since I got seriously involved on Twitter (and it was hard work to get going) my sales have doubled.

In your last interview here, you quoted Neil Gaiman as one of your favorite quotes: “Everybody has a secret world inside of them. I mean everybody. All of the people in the whole world, I mean everybody — no matter how dull and boring they are on the outside. Inside them they've all got unimaginable, magnificent, wonderful, stupid, amazing worlds... Not just one world. Hundreds of them. Thousands, maybe.” Can you tell us one of your secret worlds?

I just told you about those secret worlds in my books.
Okay. I do occasionally meditate and one of my ‘happy places’ I retreat to is a dark green mossy area next to a wild mountain stream, bearing both Bavarian and Irish features, if that makes sense.

One of your characters has just found out you’re about to kill him off. He/she decides to beat you to the punch. How would he kill you?

If he is anything like me, he’d just take a hammer and smash my head. No need to beat around the bush.

What’s your favorite candy bar? And don’t tell me you don’t have one!

A German kinder bar.

What are you working on now?

A Time to Let Go, a novel about a family in contemporary England. The mother has Alzheimers and the rigid father and the chaotic daughter fight over how to handle the illness.

Excellent. And you will be back to tell us more about it--right?

Guest Post

Politics in The Black Eagle Inn

by Christoph Fischer

To write about any Nation and its generational renewal party politics are difficult to avoid, even more so in the case of Germany where for 12 years one party dictated world history. In one plotline of the book I have gone deep into the rivalry between the two main parties in post-war Germany, which exists to this day.

I must apologise for any perceived bias and any offensive remarks against either of the parties portrayed. Party politics at the time were more differentiated than I could afford to showcase them in this book. The fictional party affiliation of some of my characters in the book was determined by certain ideas they stand for and which of the actual parties at the time would have fitted their profile the most.

In my view politicians of every party can be corrupt as they can be idealists. By no means would I like to imply that I favour the politicians of one party of another. My book is not a manifesto for political ideas per se but for humanitarian ideas that should be the foundation for any type of politics.

Politics can also be a frustrating and hard business and I applaud all of the idealists who go into politics and struggle hard for their visions and beliefs. I do not have the endurance for it myself and would like to thank those who have done so and who selflessly help to form and shape Germany into a modern state that has learnt from its past.

About the author:

Christoph Fischer was born in Germany, near the Austrian border, as the son of a Sudeten-German father and a Bavarian mother. Not a full local in the eyes and ears of his peers he developed an ambiguous sense of belonging and home in Bavaria. He moved to Hamburg in pursuit of his studies and to lead a life of literary indulgence. After a few years he moved on to the UK where he is still resident today. The Luck of The Weissensteiners was published in November 2012; Sebastian in May 2013. He has written several other novels which are in the later stages of editing and finalisation.

Connect with Christoph:
Website | Blog | Facebook | Facebook/Black Eagle Inn
Goodreads | Goodreads/Black Eagle Inn | Twitter |

Buy the books:
Amazon Author page  | The Black Eagle Inn on Amazon 

Double Feature: Kathleen Shoop and Alex Akira

Guest Post
How to Avoid the Rejection Blues

by Kathleen Shoop 

How to Avoid the Rejection Blues—well, once you decide to go indie, you find the type of rejection shifts from agent/editor rejection to reader rejection. It’s hard when readers don’t like your work—actually that’s not as hard as the blanket, “I hate this, it’s the worst, most depressing thing I’ve ever read...” It’s so important to recognize everyone will not like or love or even tolerate your work. That’s what makes all this work. There’s something out there for every reader and dealing with the negatives is just part of the job. Again, I can’t say how glad I am to be able to participate. That’s what matters to me.

Why Book Covers are So Important—A book cover draws readers in, gives them a feel for what the book is about even if the image isn’t a literal representation of the content. A good cover is everything!

Practical Advice for Beginning Fiction (or other genre) Writers—Just write. Don’t worry about it being fantastic. It won’t be—the first draft won’t be. But you have to have a draft in order to mold and shape it. The first draft is akin to an artist formulating her own special clay to shape. Your first draft is your clay—the recipe is complete—after you have your clay you need to actually sculpt, shape, mold...for me that’s the hard part. Just start.

Five Mistakes Writers Make When Querying Publishers

Booksigning Tips to Sell That Book—Pull a theme from your book and create an event around that theme. Yes, you’ll be signing books and that’s great, but make the day enjoyable for readers. With my first book The Last Letter, the tagline was “for every daughter who thought she knew her mother’s story...” And we had a pre-mother’s day signing complete with sets of books, stationery, letter boxes, mother/daughter stuff, relaxation baskets both for sale and for raffle. Find a theme and exploit it!

How I Made My First Sale—I put an ad in Mary Jane’s Magazine, and I got an email from a woman who couldn’t wait to read it. She did and she loved it, and she became my northeast territory sales person! She gave my book away, asked indie book stores to carry it and was just incredible to me. It was like something straight out of a movie. I will never forget that.

What Inspired Me to Write My Book—

My Publishing Journey or How I Became a Published Author
Why Blogging is Important—I’m not sure blogging itself is important. There are fabulous, wonderful, powerful bloggers who land book deals. But there are many more fabulous writers who stink or are unable to focus energy on blogging. There was a time I thought having a strong blog was important (and it can be for many, many people) but with Facebook and Twitter, I don’t feel the need to spend a lot of time blogging. I LOVE twitter because it’s not a mini-article that I have to proof and suffer over. It’s just fun. I’m probably wrong about this though, because I am not a marketing pro at all, in the least!!!

What Makes the Perfect Book Blog—one that is funny and reveals the true personality of the author...some authors have fantastic reader blogs and they converse with readers about all manner of topics and issues as well as their books. Others have sites more oriented toward writing and they draw an powerful following as well. For me, my blog is used to offer news, invite other writers for interviews, and to be a landing pad for everything related to my work. I don’t use my blog the way awesome bloggers do, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE having other writers and bloggers to my blog to talk.

How to be a Good Guest Blogger—Guest blogging is fun. You are exposed to new readers and often can entice them to pick up your work or follow you on Twitter, etc. Be sure to be gracious and have the owner of the blog guide you in what she wants to see in your post. However, if she invited you to her blog she probably understands your perspective, writing style and topics of interest for you.

Why Mentors Are Important I have too many mentors to count—writing mentors, marketing, pr, networking mentors. Even people in other fields who have started their own businesses are my mentors. Just like there’s never a shortage of material to inspire my writing, there’s never a shortage of people I can learn from. And, I return the favor. If someone needs help with any component of publishing I do my best to help them or find the person who can if I can’t. Mentors and mentoring is vital to being successful, I think.

Inside the Mind of the Author—it’s crowded, noisy, crazy...I hate the inside of my head and wish I was more organized and methodical in my writing. The only thing I can say is that I am exceptionally methodical in my dedication to the craft—I just wish the work came out in a packaged, neat form instead of the mess it does!!!

About the author:

Thank you for reading about me here and for purchasing my novel! I'm married with two children. I've been seriously writing for almost a decade although I dabbled much earlier than that! I've had short stories published in four Chicken Soup for the Soul books, am a regular contributor to a local magazine, Pittsburgh Parent, and have had essays in local newspapers as well.

I have a PhD in Reading Education and have worked in schools for over twenty years. I work with teachers and their students in grades k-8 and am lucky to learn something new from them every time I walk through their doors. This experience was a huge help in writing LOVE AND OTHER SUBJECTS--a quirky, post-college coming of age story.

My first novel, The Last Letter (2011 IPPY Gold Medal--Regional Fiction, Midwest, 2011 Indie Excellence Finalist Award for Historical Fiction and Regional Fiction, 2011 International Book Awards Finalist for Historical Fiction and Best New Fiction), was a fascinating trip through history, punctuated with fictional characters and events. The idea for the story grew from my great-great grandmother's letters (see My Dear Frank for the complete set of letters!) written during the year of her engagement to Frank Arthur. The beautiful letters are the inspiration for the novel, the seed from which The Last Letter's characters and their voices grew.

I've also written women's fiction--Love And Other Subjects--and have written another historical fiction novel, After The Fog, set in 1948 in a town not far from Oakmont, Pennsylvania. After The Fog is also an award winning book--silver IPPY and WINNER in the literary category of the National Indie Excellence Awards.

Right now, I'm finishing up a 20,000-word short love story for an anthology and am also using my characters and setting from The Last Letter as per reader request to show what happened between the two timelines in the original book! I hope readers will enjoy the fact I write about varied eras and places and that they will love each book for its unique setting and time.

About the book:

For every woman who wonders if she chose the right career...
In Love and Other Subjects Carolyn Jenkins strives for two things—to be the greatest teacher ever and to find true love. She’s as skilled at both as an infant trying to eat with a fork. Carolyn’s suburban upbringing and genuine compassion for people who don’t fit effortlessly into society are no match for weapon-wielding, struggling students, drug-using colleagues, and a wicked principal.

Meanwhile, her budding relationship with a mystery man is thwarted by his gaggle of eccentric sisters. Carolyn depends on her friends to get her through the hard times, but with poverty-stricken children at her feet and a wealthy man at her side, she must define who she is. The reality of life after college can be daunting, the road to full-fledged adulthood long and unscripted. Can Carolyn take control and craft the life she’s always wanted?


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Guest Post

A Day In The Life of Alex Akira

by Alex A. Akira

Well, I’m  a creature of habit, so at least four days of my week go like this:
I rise at four o’clock in the AM (yes you read that correctly) throw on some workout clothes and either run on my treadmill for thirty minutes or do warm-up calisthenics, followed by some light free weight work. I then go out to the dojo and do some bag work, generally punches. Then I kick the  heavy bag around some. If my partner is up (about three days out of seven) we do a little sparring, sometimes he drills me on a new or a particular skill. For those of you who don’t know this, my partner is my Sensei.

By six o’clock I’m in the shower wondering if the stuff I wrote the previous evening is any good. By six-thirty, I’m dressed, grab the bowl of oatmeal that my guy microwaved for me and seat myself before my iMac and check said stuff, out. Generally I’m surprised, it’s not as bad as I thought, but the errors are glaringly obvious.

After I munch down the oatmeal I start to make the changes as my partner tells me information relative (not) to my day...the weather, world disasters, what Obama said...you catch the drift. By now I’ve got my Thesaurus up and I’m probably on Wiki researching some information that I want to use in my story. Shortly after, I’m checking my email, answering it and if possible sending out a Tweet or checking FB.

During this process I am also rigging my iPod to my person. I have to be at my real life job between seven-thirty and eight o’clock. Okay I’m supposed to be in at seven-thirty, but I’m head of the design team, so they don’t really care if I’m late. Generally by seven-fifteen I’m saving whatever changes I made in my writing, shrugging into my scarf, grabbing my supplements and a protein bar to hold me over until I return home. After kissing my partner, I jump in the Jetta, crank up my music and drive the short four miles to the design studio.

Once I enter the studio, I turn on my iPod, make myself a hot drink, (coffee or tea) suck down my supplements and check out what design work I’ve got lined up. I design giftware, accessories, jewelry and other stuff for a long-standing firm that sells in the UK and America. It’s not rocket science, so generally I’m on automatic and am working out some feature in the story I am writing. The music coming though the iPod helps me isolate. Although no one is supposed to wear earbuds at the studio, when I was hired I made it a point in my contract...no iPod, no Alex. Plus everyone knows to “leave Alex alone.” They get better designs if they don’t interrupt me.

By two o’clock the protein bar I ate at noon is waning and I’m readying myself to go home. Two thirty is my official quitting time, but if I’m done, I’m done. I get in my Jetta, switch off the earbuds, switch on the cd player and return home.

Once home, I strip, throw on something more comfortable and if I didn’t have a coffee, I make  a cup. If not then it’s tea and some kind of snack like banana chips, both of which I take over to my iMac. I’m home alone in one of two ways, either my lover is sleeping because he’s working the night shift or he’s already left and I’ll see him after eleven.
So, this two-thirty and on time, is when I get most of my writing done. After bringing up iTunes or Pandora, I put my other headset on. Then I grab all the little Post-it notes I’ve scribbled on all day, sort them and add the prevalent information to my outline, timeline or appropriate place. I’ll generally take a quick look at what I worked on in the AM, maybe make some additional changes and then I’m checking my outline to see what passage(s) I think I can work on. I select the appropriate music for which character or scene I’ll be working on and lose myself in the story.

I’ll work until about five thirty, then take a break and fix something to eat. Generally steamed veggies or yogurt and fruit and sometimes soup. While I eat this I check my email, Twitter, and maybe send in that book review that is due. Afterwards I’ll wash the dishes and then bundle up, pod up and go out for a walk-about or sometimes jog-about. This clears my head and since I live in a college neighborhood, I re-energize as I walk/run among the students on campus.

By seven or seven-thirty I’m back at my keyboard, either writing or researching.  Sometimes I go into Photoshop and work on a cover illustration or a book trailer image. If I’m researching, I’ll put up another window and watch some MMA fights while I research for a couple of hours. If I get inspired, I’ll take a break, try some moves, do sit ups or some type of movement for a half hour, before sitting back down to resume writing/researching/drawing.

At about ten-thirty or eleven, I hit the shower, grab my Kindle and retire to the bedroom, where I’ll read to review whatever books are on my list. I keep my notebook nearby, because I am still fine-tuning my WIP, if anything comes to me, I make a note. I generally fall off  between twelve-thirty and one-thirty, depending on if my partner comes home and we make happy.

So that’s pretty much it, a winter day in the life of Alex A. Akira.

About the author:

Alex A. Akira spend a number of years traveling internationally as a jack of all trades dabbling in wide array of creative fields, theatre, martial arts, metaphysics, yoga, weightlifting, and accessories, jewelry and giftware design to name a few, before deciding to put pen to paper and later finger to keyboard, to craft various tales of young males struggling with emotional turmoil and internal conflict as they try to navigate their way through love and life in general. Why, yaoi, boy's love and m/m romance tales, you ask? ... well you do what you know. Alex is the author of Dojo Boys: The Italian Connection.

About the book:

This swiftly-paced two-volume romantic Yaoi love story tells the tale of the multi-talented thief/dancer Philippe Michael Ponty. First introduced in Dojo Boys: Dragon & Crow Volume II, the now twenty-two-year-old platinum haired petite Adonis struggles to make a home for himself in America.

Volume I finds Philip settling in Connecticut in disguise, as he doesn’t want to draw too much attention to his true line of work. Despite his caution, he meets and befriends a local rock musician, Tommy Sear, who despairs of ever having his band make it.

Quickly smitten by the dark-haired, shy Asian male that is Philip, Tommy seeks to make the young man his, but Philip doesn’t believe in love; besides, he has a very real problem. He can’t seem to get the victim of his last burglary, a green-eyed, virile Italian male...out of his mind.

With Philip’s encouragement, Tommy renews his efforts to get his band, Sear, a record deal. He makes a demo and shortly after a scout contacts him, from Italy no less. The Italian scout is coming to America hear them play in the hopes of signing Sear to the much sought-after label, Romano Studios.

But Tommy has a secret and he’s afraid that without Philip’s help, they may not get the deal.

Publisher’s Note: This book contains sexual content, explicit language and situations that some readers may find objectionable: male/male sexual practices.

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