Category: ‘the Art of Writing’

Conclusion ~ Interview with author, Christina Dudley

Q. Do you think we will see, in our lifetime, the total demise of paper
books?

CD. I doubt it. They’re expensive, but plenty of people love paper books. I do think traditional publishers might start to do smaller print runs for books that aren’t expected to be blockbusters. I myself don’t do print anymore unless I want to look at maps or find it at a used bookstore, because who has the space?

Q. What makes a writer great?

CD. No two readers will ever agree on this! When I put my own fiction-reader hat on, I’m looking for books with rounded characters and plausible situations, even if it’s set in a fantasy world. Bonus points if the story makes me laugh. Not too much navel-gazing, please, and a plot with a traditional conflict-rising action-climax-denouement. I must be too old to enjoy the stories where there’s no real conflict, or where it’s resolved with 25% left to go, and then it’s just 25% of people riding off into the sunset. Yawn.
When it comes to nonfiction, which I also love, I want to learn something and have it told to me like a story. Books like The Boys in the Boat and Into Thin Air delight me.  

Q. How have your life experiences influenced your writing?

CD. With Pride and Preston Lin, I threw in everything from my life, it felt like. I sent Lissie Cheng to my high school and had her live in my hometown. The family restaurant was one I ate at frequently throughout my life. My husband and I met in grad school at Stanford, so that played a prominent role. Heck, even my English country dance lessons and my time as a swim official for youth swimming made it in! And though the book takes place mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area, I placed a pivotal scene at the King County Aquatic Center up in my neck of the woods, as a nod to all the hours and hours I spent there when my kids were swimming.
But even my Regencies reflect my life: my love for Austen and Regency romances; how I almost studied 18th century literature in grad school because I had a fabulous professor for an Austen seminar; how my favorite stories involve lovable families (think Laura Ingalls Wilder and Betsy-Tacy and All-of-a-Kind Family); how I love English literature in general, from Renaissance poetry to the end of the 19th century, etc.

Q. What’s your downtime look like?

CD:  I walk daily, am involved at my church, belong to the same book club I’ve been in for decades, and otherwise love all things sedentary, including reading, eating, and watching baseball.

Q. Have you or do you want to write in another genre?

CD. Yes! I’d love to do more contemporary romance and am excited to do another. But I’ll always love Regency.

Q. Note to Self: (a life lesson you’ve learned.)

CD. Trying to make a living wage writing is like trying to be struck by lightning. You can’t make it happen, but you can put yourself in the best places where lightning strikes.

Did you miss  the beginning of my  Interview with the talented, Christina Dudley?
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A few BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

                                                       

 

 

 

PoetrySoup honors my Poem

Dear Trisha,

Congratulations, this is just a quick notice to let you know that your poem A Chip Off the Old Bukowski Block is one of the poems being featured on the PoetrySoup home page this week. Poems are rotated each day in groups of 14-16 to give each poem an equal opportunity to be displayed.

Thanks again and congratulations.

 

Sincerely,  PoetrySoup

A Chip Off the Old Bukowski Block ©
i sit here on the toilet, looking at the cane by my side
when did this happen?
its pronged feet could, at any moment, scamper into a tidal pool,
so much does it remind me of a robotic crab
my mornings now consist of pills, shuffling to the next room to pour cereal then work up a s*** before I can leave the house
When did this happen?
bodily functions take priority as I can no longer trust this body not to embarrass me in public
when did this happen?
my knees are shot to hell
my bowels rumble and twist
my arthritis tears at me with sharp little teeth
my vision is perfect, cataracts blasted away by another robot
when did this happen?
the other day my mind went on a holiday leaving me behind, confused and blank, frightened
is this a harbinger of what’s to come
when did this happen?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Have you seen the wonderful anthology, “Radiant Verses“, that PoetrySoup published.
They honored two of my poems by including them in this book. 

 

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~More poetry by Trisha

Part 2 ~ Interview with author, Christina Dudley

Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing?

CD. Oh, so rarely! Only about 10% of the time does a chapter just write itself. The rest of the time it can be a slog, an act of discipline. Is this scene doing anything? Is it developing the character or moving the plot along? If not, into the trash it must go…Though even then, certain lines or bits can be salvaged and pasted back in later.

Q. What compelled you to choose and settle on the genre you now
write in?

CD. I started in women’s fiction and general fiction, but when I wrote a contemporary adaptation of Mansfield Park and rediscovered the world of rabid Jane-ites, I decided to write a Regency romance like all the ones I’d read and loved when I was younger. Jane Austen is a like a public-domain Marvel Universe—so many of us have launched ourselves from her work.

Q. Are you working on something now or have a new release coming up? If so tell us about it.

CD. I’m working on Book Three in my current Regency series Lord Dere’s Dependents. The Bestowed Bride is the widowed sister-in-law’s story. And then after that I am contracted to write my second traditionally-published romance, an Emma-based follow-up of my first trad book Pride and Preston Lin.

Q. Do you think we will see, in our lifetime, the total demise of paper books?

CD. I doubt it. They’re expensive, but plenty of people love paper books. I do think traditional publishers might start to do smaller print runs for books which aren’t expected to be blockbusters. I myself don’t do print anymore unless I want to look at maps or find it at a used bookstore because who has the space?

Q. What compelled you to choose and settle on the genre you now
write in?

CD. I started in women’s fiction and general fiction, but when I wrote a contemporary adaptation of Mansfield Park and rediscovered the world of rabid Jane-ites, I decided to write a Regency romance like all the ones I’d read and loved when I was younger. Jane Austen is a like a public-domain Marvel Universe—so many of us have launched ourselves from her work.

Q. Are you working on something now or have a new release coming up? If so tell us about it.

CD. I’m working on Book Three in my current Regency series Lord Dere’s Dependents. The Bestowed Bride is the widowed sister-in-law’s story. And then after that I am contracted to write my second traditionally-published romance, an Emma-based follow-up of my first trad book Pride and Preston Lin.   

Q. Do you think we will see, in our lifetime, the total demise of paper books?

CD. I doubt it. They’re expensive, but plenty of people love paper books. I do think traditional publishers might start to do smaller print runs for books which aren’t expected to be blockbusters. I myself don’t do print anymore unless I want to look at maps or find it at a used bookstore because who has the space?

Q. What comes first to you? The Characters or the Situation?

CD.  They’re almost simultaneous.

Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing?

CD. Oh, so rarely! Only about 10% of the time does a chapter just write itself. The rest of the time it can be a slog, an act of discipline. Is this scene doing anything? Is it developing the character or moving the plot along? If not, into the trash it must go…Though even then, certain lines or bits can be salvaged and pasted back in later.

Q. What makes a writer great?

CD. No two readers will ever agree on this! When I put my own fiction-reader hat on, I’m looking for books with rounded characters and plausible situations, even if it’s set in a fantasy world. Bonus points if the story makes me laugh. Not too much navel-gazing, please, and a plot with a traditional conflict-rising action-climax-denouement. I must be too old to enjoy the stories where there’s no real conflict, or where it’s resolved with 25% left to go, and then it’s just 25% of people riding off into the sunset. Yawn.
When it comes to nonfiction, which I also love, I want to learn something and have it told to me like a story. Books like The Boys in the Boat and Into Thin Air delight me.  

Did you miss the beginning? Interview
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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A few BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

                                                       

 

 

 

 

World of Murder, (A Collection) Now in AUDIO Books

My collection of true crime mysteries is drawn from the ten books in the series. Now available in audiobooks.

Click here for more information and to hear a sample of the audio.   

Included are three complete novellas. 
* Dance of Murder
* Act of Murder
* Angel of Murder 

Synopsis: In the World of Murder series, Detectives Jack O’Roarke and Stella Garcia, two murder cops, seek out killers on the streets of New York City. Their investigations take them from the sleazy world of strip joints to Manhattan’s upper Eastside. Poor and rich alike, no one is exempt from murder. O’Roarke and Garcia are stars at NYPD with their careful forensic investigative skills and just plain, solid cop work.
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A few BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

                                         

Just Released in paperback and eBook

               

 

 

Ain’t Nuthin’ Gonna Separate Us, a tale of the ol’ South….

My audiobook “Ain’t Nuthin’ Gonna Separate Us” is now live and available for purchase in the Amazon Store and on Audible.

Synopsis:          1950. In a shack in the Georgia backwoods, two siblings, Hannah Mae and Jerry, find themselves suddenly orphaned. The swift and unexpected death of their mother casts a long shadow of foster care, threatening to tear them apart. But fierce and resolute, Hannah Mae vows to keep the system from swallowing them whole.

In a desperate bid for freedom, they hit the dusty roads, aiming for the sultry embrace of Mississippi and an obscure auntie, a phantom relative who exists only as a whisper in their memories and a faded photograph in their father’s old Bible. She is their only hope, their sanctuary against the storm.

Amidst this turmoil, Jerry grows up fast, his soul ignited by the mournful wails of the blues. When he discovers the harmonica, nothing can stop him from mastering the instrument that fills his soul with song. Self-taught and brimming with raw talent, Jerry catches the ear of Jerimiah Johnson, a great ‘bluesman’ who had silenced his music a decade ago after a personal tragedy. Inspired by Jerry’s prodigious gift, Jerimiah takes the young harmonica player under his wing.
From the cotton fields in the Mississippi Delta, where the blues echo the heartbeat of the oppressed to the jazz clubs of New Orleans.

“Ain’t Nuthin’ Gonna Separate Us” is a symphony of hope and heartache, a story of rhythm and resilience. As Jerry’s music and fame rise it becomes a beacon of unity, challenging the status quo and inspiring those who hear it.
Join Jerry “Slide” McAllister on his odyssey through an era of transformation, as he seeks to harmonize a world out of tune, proving that nothing—not even the harshest discord—can separate us from the music that binds us together.

Click here for more info and a sample of the audio
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A few BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

                                         

Just Released in paperback and eBook

               

 

 

   

Song of the Yukon is Now an AUDIO-BOOK

I’m so delighted to announce that the long-awaited audiobook of Song of the Yukon is now available on www.amazon.com

“This amazingly well-written book is based on a true story that is both captivating and a compelling read. The characters are so real, and their adventures were entertaining and thought-provoking. I spent an entire four-hour plane ride devouring this book and I would love for the author to write a sequel.”
—Bonnie Jo Davis

Synopsis:   Alaska was calling! LaVerne’s dream was to follow the poet Robert Service’s footsteps to the wilds of Alaska. At sixteen she was already writing her own music and believed that her talent could only flourish on the back trails of the Yukon. In 1921, at seventeen, she leaves her home in Tumwater, Washington in the middle of the night and alone. Impersonating a boy, she hires aboard a freighter, out of Seattle, and works her way to the north.

From boat rides on the Yukon, encounters with a native tribe, fighting off male suitors to filing homestead papers, falling in love, and working the land, LaVerne uses newfound frontier wisdom as a basis for expanding both her music and her perceptions. Black-eyed Joe, a native of Alaska told her, “No man owns what Mother Spirit does not freely give”. “What a charming folk tale, LaVerne thought. I could use the story in one of my songs.”

It was in Alaska she learns the realities of frontier life that will shape her future, help her create music, and lead her in directions no woman has explored alone before.

This compelling historical fiction book is based on the true-life story of the author’s Aunt LaVerne. Perfect for anyone who enjoys adventure, the outdoors, tales of survival and triumph against the odds.

The newest stories of the ol’ South will be in audio books next week. Ain’t Nuthin’ Gonna Separate Us and Mother Mac’s Boarding House. 
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A few BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

Now Available!

                                         

Just Released in paperback and eBook

               

 

 

                                   

 

 

 

 

Interview with Author, Christina Dudley

A Chinese American from the San Francisco Bay Area, Christina fell in love with English literature and the classics after going through an obsessive Regency-romance phase in her early teens. While her reading tastes have grown to include sci-fi with robots, survival epics, and doorstop-sized histories, love stories will always be her favorite.  She and her family live in Bellevue, Washington.

Christina Dudley is the author of fourteen indie-published Regency romances, as well as the traditionally-published contemporary romance Pride and Preston Lin, a modern adaption of Austen’s classic which was named to the 2024 Best Romance lists for Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, and Library Journal.

 

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, or special space for your writing?  Or tell us about your ‘dream’ workspace.

CD. I have taken over the dining room as my office because (1) it’s close to the kitchen, so I can keep heating and reheating my cup of tea; and (2) it has a big window looking out on the backyard, where I can see trees and rain and occasionally deer!

Q. Do you have any special rituals or quirks when you sit down to write? (a neat workspace, sharpened #2 pencils, legal pad, cup of tea, a glass of brandy, favorite pajamas, etc.)

CD. I always start the morning with a cup of tea and waste too much time scrolling on my phone. I also always have a puzzle going on a table in another room, so that I can take little breaks, “rewarding myself” if I actually gets some words down, or letting things bounce around in my head when I’m stuck. After lunch every day, I take a half-hour walk because it’s a great way to clear my head or sort out plot points.

Q. Could you tell us something about yourself that we might not already know?

CD. I went down in flames on Jeopardy! in 2008, coming in dead last on my one episode because in the first round I was confounded by the clicker thingy, and in Double Jeopardy I didn’t know many of the answers. Only Final Jeopardy helped me avoid complete humiliation because it was a Dickens question!

Q. What tools do you begin with? Legal pad, spiral notebook, pencils, fountain pen, or do you go right to your keyboard?

CD. My tools are mostly online. Without the internet, I would be lost. Because, while I have a shelf of research books which I consult often, I write with the online Oxford English Dictionary open. It’s essential for checking word usages, in the endless battle to avoid anachronisms and Americanisms in my historical writing. (It’s not foolproof—since I don’t know what I don’t know—but it helps.)

Q. Do you have pets? Tell us about them and their names. 

CD. Nope. Only “pets” I follow on Instagram. My youngest daughter and I send each other cute cat videos.

Q. Do you enjoy writing in other forms (playwriting, poetry, short stories, etc.)? If yes, tell us about it.

CD. This is a funny question because my other form of creative writing is skit-writing for the church Sunday school! Yep, if you need a ten-minute skit to illustrate some Bible story or concept, I’m your go-to gal. I always try to make it entertaining and relatable for all ages.

Q. What’s your best advice to other writers for overcoming procrastination?

CD. I have none, since I have daily struggles with procrastination. But I firmly believe time away from the manuscript isn’t wasted because your brain, especially your subconscious, is always working.

Q. Where/when do you first discover your characters?

CD. For my Regencies, because I write in series, I always start with a family situation. How many are in the family? Are they rich or poor? What is the overriding crisis they face? Once I have my family, each book is a chance to develop one character, while still checking in on or charting continuing growth of other characters.

Q. What first inspired you to write?

CD. In high school, friends and I used to write collaboratively, passing pages of ridiculous short stories back and forth. With one friend the stories were just words, while with another we tried our hand at graphic novels (she was a way better artist than I was!). But then I didn’t really write again until my kids were in elementary school, and I found myself with a few hours a day I could call my own. I had to stop again during their teenage years because bandwidth, but since I started again during the pandemic, I’ve been going strong!

Q. What comes first to you? The Characters or the Situation?

CD.  They’re almost simultaneous.

Don’t miss Part II coming next week!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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A few BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

Now Available!

                                         

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Book Review ~~ Rolling Toward Clear Skies

5 out of 5 stars  Book Review

Catherine Ryan Hyde plucks her ideas for a story…where?…we can only guess.  My best guess about Rolling Toward Clear Skies is that it’s based around the horrific wildfires yearly in California.  And the author’s Doctors on Wheels loosely resembled the 58+ medical and mental health professionals that delivered direct health services to residents by the International Medical Corps.
Throw in a couple of lost kids and you’ve got another one of Catherine’s GREAT stories. 

The writing is suburb and consistently in Catherine Ryan Hyde’s unique voice. An author, myself, I’m envious of her flawless writing. 

Many years ago I stopped saying “this one is my favorite….” because every book this prolific writer puts out is my favorite… until the next one!   I highly recommend this book to my followers. 

Did you miss my interview with this author? 
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A few BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

                                                       

 

 

Book Review ~ By His Grace and Favor

 

5 out of 5 stars ~~ Book Review

Delicious….but more than that
the  story taught me something I previously didn’t know about.  Fleet Street Prison in London was a ‘debtor’s prison’ exclusively and notorious for its appalling conditions.  If a person, common folk or a member of the aristocracy, couldn’t pay their debts they could be charged by the creditor, tried and sent to ‘Fleet’ until their debts were paid. I don’t know how anyone could think that a person could accomplish this while incarcerated.
Many prisoners spent decades there and sometimes died while still in prison.   

By His Grace and Favor, written by Christina Dudley, is a delightful regency story that delves into the horrific conditions of the  prison and the neighborhood that grew up around it to service its needs. 

Our Founding Fathers were careful about importing any of the policies or laws that governed England at the time to our new, fledgling democracy. With regard to a ‘debtor’s prison’ I am assuming that’s why we eventually had bankruptcy relief laws. Our law makers saw the folly of Fleet Street Prison. 

The story telling is superb and the characters all engaging and well developed.  It’s book one in the series, Lord Dere’s Dependents and I can’t wait for the next one.  
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Review ~ Stone Song by Tricia O’Malley

One star out of 5  ~~~Book Review

I go to great lengths to NOT give an unfavorable review of my fellow writers.  I strive to uplift and support my fellow storytellers. But, Stone Song is a teachable moment. So I’m going to take advantage of it. 

I have preached (ad nauseam)  about those words that we writers resort to using (unconsciously) over and over. The two words that I use to excess are:
‘just’ and ‘that’. Don’t ask me why but we authors all have them. 

This writer used the word ‘squeal or squealed’ EVERY time her female protagonists exclaimed about something or someone. I gave up counting at 9 times within 50 pages!  The second word she used to excess was the word ‘core’ as in someone’s core. 

Now there are lovely synonyms for both of these words and it’s the responsibility of the author to use them in order for their book to be the very best that it can be.  ‘Squeal’ could be replaced with:  screech, scream, shriek, squawk, or howl. The word’ core’ could be replaced with: heart, nucleus, soul, essence, center, root, or mainstay. 

The story itself was a bit shallow and predictable. The premise was good but the follow through was weak. The characters were likeable but I didn’t care enough about them to finish the book.  
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A few BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

Now Available!

                                         

Just Released in paperback and eBook