Category Archives: Interviews/Guests

I Get Serious, Silly, and a Little Witchy Woman with Author Elizabeth Cheryl

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I’m nervous about doing this interview. You don’t get it, I don’t get it, no one understands! I read Elizabeth Cheryl’s book, The Summerland, and generally I don’t get a chance to read the books for the people I interview. This time, I did. Should make the interview easy, right? You would think, but that’s not the case. I think it’s because the book revolves around death, love, desire, witches, time travel, general angst. It’s the dirt where I call home, but again, so nervous! Inexplicable! But I have a plan. Let me talk first about the fabulous Elizabeth Cheryl.

Elizabeth Cheryl has spent many years researching the phenomenon of witchcraft in Europe and New England. She was born and raised in Northern California. Her mother, Cheryl and her family were from a small town in Massachusetts called Newton. After moving to California in 1968, Elizabeth’s mother began exploring her role as a woman in the modern-day church. Elizabeth grew up over the years learning and absorbing her mother’s spiritual teachings through many types of religions.

And let’s talk about her book, The Summerland.

Abigail thought her life was almost normal—until she awoke in the year 1692. When Abigail Parker graduated from high school, she thought she was going to spend her summer enjoying social events with her friends and prepping for college. But after the sudden death of her mother, she was forced to move to Salem, Massachusetts, with her eccentric Aunt Bridgette. Unearthing an old book from her closet, Abigail begins a journey like no other……..

 

Elizabeth will always have a special place in my heart. We bonded at RT, and as most writers know, conferences have a way of forging relationships like war. In the end, writing is more about war than most things, so I guess that makes sense.

So, this is what I am going to do. I am going to start out deadly serious and work my way to silly. Cover me, I’m going in.

Aaron: A lot of YA novels start out with the main character struggling with the death of a parent. My own YA novel, The Never Prayer, has such a start. But for you, things are different. You lost your mother during the writing of the book. How did that affect your book?

Elizabeth: Well first of all I wanted to thank you for having me on your very fun and thrilling blog. I always enjoy working and writing with you. We had a lot of fun at RT, my BFF!

But to answer your first question, it was something I never expected when I started this journey, Aaron. The ironies in this book and what has happened in my life recently, frankly are spooky. Abigail, my main heroine in the story, is from Boston, as was my mom. Abigail loses her mother to cancer as I did my mom. Throughout writing this story over an eight-month period, my mom sort of took on the role of my editor. It was a beautiful time for her and I. We laughed and cried through the process. My mom passed away the week after we completed the book. Needless to say it was beyond heartbreaking. My life has not been the same since and not sure it ever will. When my novel was published, the road of edits began. I had to make some changes to Abigail’s outlook on the loss of her mother because now I was writing it from a much realer perspective unfortunately.

Aaron: Did you feel close to your mother during the novel? In what ways?

Elizabeth: Absolutely…I felt as if I was writing for her most of the time. I would write one page, print it and she would sit and read it right away. I would anxiously await her reaction. She was my inspiration.

Aaron: Your novel revolves around the Salem Witch trials. Why do you think witch-burning was a part of our collective history? And why do you think it stopped?

Elizabeth: That’s such an interesting question. You’re really making me think on this one. I think through history we as a society are fascinated with stories of trials and tribulations. I think anytime you cannot fully explain or understand an event that had consisted of unfortunate bloodshed it creates a frenzy of rumored curiosity.

As for why it stopped, there are a few records indicating that the Governor of Massachusetts, Sir William Phipps, was the man who eventually stopped the trials. He turned a blind eye to the brutal killings until finally his own wife was accused. You can imagine how quickly it was all brought to a halt.

Aaron: While you were working on The Summerland, you met a girl who looked exactly like your main character, Abigail Parker. Tell us a little about what happened and what that led to.

Elizabeth: Yes it was crazy! I was at a Waffle House and there was a teenage girl that looked exactly as I pictured Abigail to look. I approached her–I’m sure she thought I was crazy. I told her I was writing a book and she looked just like I had pictured my Abigail. She smiled huge and said that she was moving to LA to be an actress and that she wanted to keep in touch with me in case the book would ever be made into a movie. This was two-and-a-half years ago and we are still friends. We are waiting patiently for the book to be a movie and her adorable face as Abigail. 😉

Aaron: Your cover is striking. Where did you get the wonderful picture of the tree and what is its significance?

Elizabeth: Aw… Thank you, Aaron. I love the cover as well. I found the tree on i-stock and my publisher had the graphic artists do their magic. The meaning of the tree is one that was important to the story. The accused during the trials were hung on a large Oak Tree. It was sad to see such a beautiful, strong tree to be used as a killing machine. To have its magnificent branches strapped with nooses to take a life. I wanted to picture the Oak as it should be and that’s glorious and strong.

Aaron: Okay, girlfriend, your website rocks the party, rocks the party right! How did you get such an amazing website? Amazingly amazing. I’m amazed. Cheryl’s website (heads-up; music plays when you click the link).

Elizabeth: Really?! You thought it was amazing? I am a green pea at making websites and I’m learning as I go. Thanks for the props though on finding a way to stick my website in the article!

Aaron: If I traveled back in time to 1692, I would miss the following things: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (yeah, try to burn Willow, I dare you), bicycles, Pellegrino, decaf coffee with Silk brand soy creamer, modern Mexican food, and hot tubs. What would you miss?

Elizabeth: Haha… I would miss, black and white Starbucks coffees, Bloody Marys, True Blood, showers with body wash, straightening iron, and sushi.

Aaron: If you could bring any of the characters in your book to life, who would you choose and why? Man, that is such an awesome question, I want to answer it, but I’ll restrain myself.

Elizabeth: Hmmmm that is a good question! I would bring Mary Elizabeth, I think. She is so wise and I could learn so much from her. Plus, she could teach me to time travel!

Aaron: Okay, last question, though I’m still hung-up on the question from before. I so impress myself. Let’s say you and Abigail teamed up to bring a group of people from 1692 forward in time to the present day for a weekend. Where would you take them? What would you do?

Elizabeth: Oh Geez…. Let’s see. I would take them to San Francisco for sure. They would be in shock if they saw our advances in technology. And I would take them on a Cable Car ride through the hills. We would eat clam chowder on the wharf and end the weekend on a ferry ride to Alcatraz stopping for pictures under the Golden Gate Bridge. It would be breathtaking.

Thanks so much, Elizabeth!  Had a great time!

The Summerland Novel page
Elizabeth on Goodreads
Elizabeth’s guest post on this blog: The Demons of Addiction
Elizabeth’s Crescent Moon Press page

I Get Empathic and Stutter with Publishing Icon Heather Savage

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I met Heather Savage from Staccato Publishing at Romantic Times this past year and she is a nuclear explosion of power and publication. And caring. Can a nuclear blast be caring? Most definitely, if you’re talking about Heather, who like many of us poor writers, started out in life scribbling and when her day job turned slow, started her YA Paranormal novels, the Empath trilogy. Which lead her into the world of publishing, and while most might have turned all their attention to their own work, Heather started Staccato Publishing, to help the rest of us.

When I asked her which she wanted to focus on, the Empath trilogy or Staccato Publishing for this interview, she said one lead directly into the other, so this is going to be a blended interview. Like a Frappuccino. Yum, it’s summer, Frappuccinos. Okay. Must. Focus.

HK Savage has been a voracious reader of anything she could get her hands on going back to the second grade when she would set her alarm two hours early to read before school. Her passion for the written word has continued and flowed into writing going back nearly as far. Her books have fans in twenty countries on six continents with hopes of attracting attention on Antarctica if for no other reason than to check a box.

Staccato Publishing

Currently, HK is a mother, wife and black belt in Karate as well as an avid dressage rider. Her three dogs: a Doberman she uses for therapy dog work and two ancient Doxies keep her busy when she is not writing or working or whatever else.

In addition to editing for the past ten years in advertising, HK has been an editor for several newsletters over the years; her favorite being for Heifer International where her ideas were put into effect and complimented by those on high. Currently her skills are being focused on clients in the writing world.

Paranormal is her favorite genre and science fiction because both address the possibilities we have not yet realized and the darker things we have. Her favorite premise: “what if?”

Aaron: Heather. Hit me. Our conversations started out with what you studied in college. What did you study? How has that helped you in dealing with writing and authors?

Heather: I started in Biology until I realized it was hard so I switched to something a little easier: Psychology. With a minor in Religion I think the combo is a perfect setup for life and the bizarre writer’s mind that now controls me.

Aaron: Like many, when you get sucked into writing, you become extremely focused. No sleep. No food. IV fluids only. Before you know you are going to get into a project, are you ever reticent, or do you look forward to the obsessive madness?

Heather: Funny you ask that. Next week I’ve cleared the decks to start work in earnest on the follow up to my new series, The Path (March 2012). The Empath Trilogy is done and I’ve put it to bed but people are begging for more Claire and James as well as some of their other favorites. I’m honestly having a hard time getting my thoughts straight. Usually I am singularly focused to the point I turn off the phones and if it weren’t for an energetic puppy I would never even put on pants and go outside. I know that once I’m in that mode it will take over and I will have a terrible time pulling out. It’s almost painful to not be able to write once I get started. The guilt is somewhat assuaged by making dinner for the family and spending a few hours with them before packing them off to bed and staying up all night because “I’m on a roll.” My husband is very understanding.

Aaron: If I were the beleaguered father of three triplet toddler boys still mourning the loss of my wife who died in childbirth, how would you pitch the Empath trilogy to me?

Heather: I’m actually really bad at selling my books. If you were that poor man I would probably offer to watch the kids while you went to get a cup of coffee and do nothing but drool on yourself for an hour. No longer though, seriously, three boys? Sheesh!

Aaron: Since you have a ton of experience dealing with writers, which one of your characters from the Empath trilogy do you think would make the best writer? Which one would make the worst?

Heather: I think the best writer would have to be Henry. He’s crazy old and has had tons of experience and has a lot to be sorry for. His deep secrets and pain would make him a dark, brooding type while his revelation (sorry, can’t give you much but you learn WTH in book 3) would make it an inspiring read.

Worst would be Gina. She’s a little more than a bit player in books 1 and 2 but she’s balls-out crazy. It would read more like a manifesto and no one should read those except as case studies.

Aaron: Why did you start Staccato Publishing? Temporary madness? Cocaine addiction? Or did the angels come a-callin’?

Heather: If only I did coke then I could refuse to ever succumb to sleep. No, I started Staccato out of a need to help. It is the double-edged sword that I endlessly cut myself with. When I started down the writing rabbit hole I learned a lot. Not all of my mistakes were bad and I’ve learned a ton. Hearing other writers struggle as they navigate the landmines made me think that since I came from print advertising and editing, had a decade’s knowledge of printing, and now could add figuring out ISBNs to my repertoire, this progression to full on publishing nut was natural.

Aaron: In the writing community, there are those who read all their reviews, good and bad, and there are those who don’t. Do you read your reviews? I read mine, and I hate them all. The good ones aren’t good enough, the bad ones not scathing enough. But my grasp on reality is tentative.

Heather: I don’t think any fiction writer has a solid grasp on reality. Otherwise they are the Nicholas Sparks of the world and they blow. Did I say that out loud? Sorry. I prefer my mindless drivel a little more, I don’t know, bitey. In the beginning I read them all. The first fifty or so were great and then I got my first 3 star and was inconsolable. Yep, serious neuroses here. If they found a flaw then certainly I was a failure. Nothing I wrote was worth the megabytes it took to store. I’ve stopped reading reviews and have done some signings. The most recent one, a fan drove over an hour in a rainstorm to come see me and said that I was her favorite author and made me pose for a picture; possibly the only picture of me as HK Savage in existence, by the way.

The most meaningful review/comment though came from my husband. He was traveling and wanted something to read. He’d read my trilogy and loved it as well as my standalone, Life Blood (written for my mom who hates paranormal- it’s a paranormal disguised as a thriller). But he took The Path with him. I was thinking of fulfilling a lifelong dream and enlisting in the Navy, going for an Intelligence position. He said that I couldn’t stop writing because I’d found my voice and it was good. Really good. Whether he didn’t want me to go away on deployments, knew I was struggling, or just wanted to be kind I don’t know. But his voice comes back to me when I worry I’m not good enough and the kind people who read my work are out there writing god awful things I’m not reading. Someone likes what I’m saying so if nothing else, I’m writing for him.

Aaron: What is the best part of working with writers and getting their stories out in the world? Notice, I didn’t ask for the bad parts. I’m all about the positive.

Heather: For me it’s about the positives too. Trust me, there are negatives but I see them as obstacles. We are in this to build careers and develop audiences. The first book might take a little while to catch on, but we will find the audience whether it’s out on the internet or hiding in the back room of a Joann Fabric. My favorite part of publishing is sending the advance copy of an author’s first book to them and getting that call or email. We send out bookmarks for each author to hand out as business cards and I ask for a signed bookmark for myself and each member of our staff. They are some of my most prized possessions.

Aaron: Here is where you tell me everything Staccato Publishing can do to make the world a better place. I started with nuclear holocaust, let’s end with a voice of hope and happiness calling out in the wilderness. Yes, hope. Better living through Staccato Publishing. What services does Staccato offer us?

Heather: Staccato Publishing can paint your house, weed your garden, walk your dog. Wait, we’re holding off on that until they threaten to turn the lights off. For now we offer editing (yes, you need professional editing, not Aunt Edna who “reads a lot.”) We’ve recently participated in a local book festival and run both a publishing workshop as well as an editing workshop with our lead editor, Sara Johnson. Both were full and got great feedback. We told them the same things I can tell you. Edit professionally, have someone do your promotions and develop your online personality. Be a reviewer, don’t just pimp your books or people will see you coming and run the other way, calling you a spammer. Staccato edits for those who we publish as well as offering our services freelance. Additionally, and equally important, we do promotions. That’s getting you locked into over 350 bloggers and reviewers and sending out to them weekly. We don’t just hit all of them in the first month. We prefer to build you up so we promote for about 9 months and then let things cool so that when we come in again with book 2 and hit them they say, “oh, I’ve heard that name.” It’s all advertising. You are your own brand and we help to manage that.

Aaron: Thanks so much, Heather!

Heather’s author page at Staccato Publishing
On Amazon

From Amazon, I grabbed the Empath summary:

Claire Martin is a young woman with the unwanted talent of empathy. She’s lived her entire life as a slave to a constant barrage of emotions that aren’t hers. Leaving for college, she hopes simply to blend with the crowd. Instead, she meets Stephen Andrews, a fragile-looking boy who instantly recognizes Claire for what she is. Through Stephen, Claire meets James, a vampire with a talent of his own. As soon as they touch, their abilities connect in a way that has not occurred in over three hundred years, forming a bond that cannot be broken.
Empath is book one in the Empath Trilogy.

I Talk Heart of Darkness and Fledgling Shapeshifters With YA Author Natasha Brown

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Writers can pop up literally anywhere. In your shower, late at night. Hotel rooms in bad parts of town. Kathmandu, Nepal. We are an elusive breed, shadowy, here one minute, gone the next. So was I surprised to find that a writer was haunting the halls of the Montessori school where my children go? Not in a horribly-scarred-phantom-of-the-opera type of way. Natasha Brown was just a parent, but so much more. I wasn’t surprised that Natasha had written a book, but I was impressed by her really good Amazon ranking. And the fact she finaled in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Gold contest. And that she had gone rogue, e-pubbed, and was doing well.

A little about her book, Fledgling (The Shapeshifter Chronicles):

Set apart from other eighteen-year-olds, Ana Hughes knows she is different. A life-threatening heart condition smothers her future and she yearns to feel normal. Her hopes are pinned on a fresh start in a remote town far from her native Colorado. Among the locker-filled hallways in Clark Bend High, Ana keeps to the shadows, not wanting to draw attention to her violet-tinged lips and wilted silhouette. And she almost succeeds, until she meets Chance Morgan.
Struggling to keep up appearances, she soon suspects Chance is hiding something as well. His animal-like senses, miraculous healing ability and peculiar reaction to her Thunderbird necklace compel Ana to question if there’s more to the stories about his Navajo ancestry. Without any other explanation, she fears he is playing tricks on her. But the truth may prove too much for Ana’s delicate heart…

We talked, and this is a little of what we talked about.

AARON: Okay, Natasha, at what point in your life did you want to write a novel? Where were you, what were you drinking, and were olives involved?

Natasha: It was the perfect storm – inspiration, courage and my family left me alone for a whole glorious weekend. I do love olives, but alas, they weren’t involved.

AARON: When we talked, you said you were inspired by J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer. What about them inspired you? Haircuts? Choice of shoes? Mormonism? Britishism?

Natasha: They inspired me because they, like me, were mothers with an idea. An idea that they wrote down and had the tenacity to persist with. I thought if they could do it, then I would try as well.

AARON: Let me talk about myself for a minute, because, well, I am so very fascinating. I’m a big fan of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, which inspired the movie Apocalypse Now. Kurtz, in the jungle, going mad, worshiped by the natives. He went rogue, just like you. What made you throw off the shackles of traditional publishing to set yourself up in your jungle paradise on Amazon?

Natasha: Let me smear some war paint on my face first before I answer…
Like you mentioned earlier I finaled in the RMFW contest, which was fantastic. It gave me the confidence to start querying agents. I had a few nibbles, but ultimately it led to a dead-end. And then life happened. When you are busy with kids and work, those other things fall away, and that is what happened to FLEDGLING. Until an acquaintance found out I had a finished novel collecting dust. He had self-published and found great success. I decided, what with the state of the evolving book world, I would go ahead and give it a try myself. I am a web developer and designer so I designed my own cover. I set the hook and waited for a nibble.

AARON: Kurtz summarized his experience in the jungle with four words, well, two words repeated twice: the horror, the horror. What two words, repeated twice, summarize your experience as an independent publisher?

Natasha: Two words is all? Yeesh. Take courage, take courage.

AARON: Why do you think your Amazon ranking is so good? My ranking is like three million and fluctuates as low as eight billion, but you, you have a ranking, a steady ranking, in the thousands, which is awesome. Did I just use way too many commas? Maybe. I’m a little nervous asking this question. I’m pausing a lot.

Natasha: I stole some fairy dust and sprinkled my computer with it. Does wonders, although whenever I click my mouse, it giggles. No, seriously. I am lucky. There are SO many elements that contribute to a book doing well. Past the obvious, that the book has to be somewhat interesting and in a genre that sells, there is a lot to marketing a book. A good cover and book blurb are very important – they are the first impression. You need to be present in social media like, facebook, twitter and your own author blog. I am part of a great author group named the World Literary Café (WLC- www.worldliterarycafe.com) which provides many resources to indie and traditional authors. I couldn’t have made it this far without my new group of friends.

AARON: One of your inspirations for Fledgling was your daughter’s heart condition. What kind of heart condition does she have, and how does that play into the novel?

Natasha: The heart issues are a huge issue in the story and everything revolves around it, much like in real life. My daughter was born with multiple heart defects. She had transposition of the great arteries, hypoplastic-left heart syndrome, and a large ventricular septal defect. That might sound like a lot of gibberish to most people, but all of those conditions caused enough trouble for my daughter to have two open-heart surgeries. Heart defects make up about a third of all children born with birth defects. My daughter is not alone. The personality and specific circumstances of my daughter are not the same as the lead character in my book, but they do share many of the same experiences. I wanted to create a female lead who could be a heroine for my daughter to look up to. For anyone who was born with heart defects.

AARON: We talked about how hard the writer’s journey is. What themes in Fledgling could inspire a struggling writer to keep on keeping on?

Natasha: A writer’s journey can be tortured to be sure, but it is so much broader than that. Being a teenager has its challenges as well, and I think they are much the same. Will they like me? Will I fit in? Stand out? I’m not good enough.

Self-doubt and insecurities plague everyone. Especially writers. FLEDGLING, I hope, will leave the reader uplifted and hopeful. My own story, and even my daughter’s story, I hope, will inspire as well. You CAN do it if you persevere.

AARON: Natasha, if you had to exchange your writer’s life for another artistic passion, what would you choose? For example, if I had to give up writing for some other type of creative art, I wouldn’t choose rockstar or famous Parisian painter, I’d choose quilting. Dudes who quilt are dead sexy. What about you?

Natasha: Dead sexy to be sure…I think you even have another book idea in there.
My father is a fine art photographer (and in another life, a graphic artist) and my mother does poetry. Artistry is in my blood. I have dabbled with quilting, stained glass, painting, photography, jewelry making and graphic design. I’m not sure what else I could try, but I’m only happy when I am creating something. I wouldn’t mind hanging in Italy, the country where I got engaged, and just ‘go with the flow’.

AARON: Thanks Natasha!

Natasha: And thank you, Aaron!

Website for the book
Natasha on twitter
Fledgling on Amazon