interviews with authors Archives - Page 12 of 13 - Trisha Sugarek, Author, Playwright & Poet

‘General Noggin and I Really want to play Basketball, Boss Mom!’ An Interview with author, Cathy Lamb

best sellers, books, fiction, Cathy Lamb — Photo by Marv Bondarowicz

An Interview with best-selling author, Cathy Lamb (Part 1 of 3)

CL: ‘ I became a teacher because I wanted to become a writer. It was difficult for me to become proper and conservative but I threw out my red cowboy boots and persevered. I had no choice. I had to eat and health insurance is expensive. I loved teaching, but I also loved the nights and summers where I could write and try to build a career filled with creativity and my strange imagination.

I met my husband on a blind date. A mutual friend who was an undercover vice cop busting drug dealers set us up. My husband jokes he was being arrested at the time. That is not true. Do not believe him. His sense of humor is treacherous. It was love at third sight. We’ve now been married a long time. I drink too many mochas. I love chocolate. I run. I walk. I love to read. I often cry when I’m writing my books, and I laugh, too. I love walking through the waves at the beach and I believe that daydreaming makes you a better person so I do it a lot.’

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Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing?

A. I write everywhere. Upstairs on my bed looking out the window at my maple trees, on my couch staring at my petunias and an

interviews, writing, best selling authors — the Deschutes River. my husband fly fishes. I journal.

occasional hummingbird, and at Starbucks. I write best late at night. Ten o’clock to two o’clock in the morning. It’s quiet. My kids are in bed. My brain stops buzzing. I can dive straight into my imagination and hang out there for awhile like a crazy lady.

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

A. I look at email and then I feed my small, but mostly healthy addiction to the New York Times. I get ticked off at what I’m reading sometimes and sit back and think what I would do if I was president and which politicians I would immediately get rid of. It entertains me.

Q. What is your mode of writing? (long hand? Pencil? Computer?)

A. Pretty journals. One journal to five journals per book for writing ideas, characters, plots, and working through all sorts of literary problems. I write the story, however, on my computer. I write straight through, 2000 words a day, 10,000 a week, for the first draft. I edit every book eight times before it even goes to my editor. I edit it another four times after that. Yes, twelve edits. I want to bang my own head through the keyboard just thinking about it…

Q. Do you have a set time each day to write or do you write only when you are feeling creative?

A. Waiting to “feel creative,” for me, is like waiting for the moon to drop on my head. Or for my flying Porsche to arrive. People who only write when they feel creative rarely get published. I make myself get creative. I give myself goals every day, every week and I meet the goals.

being different, outcasts, love, scorn, achievement — A captivating story about a young boy who teaches us what ‘normal’ means

Don’t Miss Part 2 and 3 of this Interview on August 27th and 28th.

A REVIEW of “If You Could See What I See” Click here

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month. These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Karen Robards, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Cathy Lamb, Raymond Benson, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Sue Grafton is August’s author with a bonus chat with Cathy Lamb. September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is November’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Raymond Benson is January’s author. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To receive my posts sign up for my On the home page. Enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

PI, Kinsey Millhone is Hot on the Trail, Again! an Interview with Sue Grafton

An Interview with Mystery Writer, Sue Grafton (Part 1)

Author, John D. McDonald died suddenly back in 1986 and took Travis McGee with him. I owned and had read every book of McDonald’s…..Now what was I suppose to do?? I didn’t read many mysteries (back then) but I was especially fond of Travis and his bear-of-a-man friend, Meyer. So back in the eighties, (when you shopped at a real book store), I looked through the aisles for someone worthy of replacing John McDonald. There I found “A is for Alibi” with the formidable and quirky, Kinsey Millhone. I’ve been reading Sue Grafton ever since. TS
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this entry from Sue’s journals;

Dear Shadow . . . Self . . . and Right Brain, Doing everything I can here to make life possible. I’ve abandoned the old story . . . cleaned out my computer . . . sorted and tossed and filed away old notes and articles. Now I need help in launching myself again. Please speak to me. Please let me know where the new book is coming from. I really need your assistance and I’m hoping you’ll spark something so I can get to work.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Love & kisses,

Sue

Response from Shadow Self: How about an old-fashioned unsolved murder case? Parents are angry because nothing’s been done. Case is old & cold, with no new leads coming in.
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Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing?

best sellers, Sue Grafton, — Sue Grafton’s work space

A. I have an office in both my homes; Montecito, California and Louisville Kentucky. The two are different in terms of size and style but I can’t tell you that I’m more productive in one than in the other. I like lots of light. I like tidiness. I like space. I like quiet. When I’m working my desk is usually a mess, but I do make an effort from time to time to restore order. The creative process is messy enough. I don’t need to look at chaos as well.

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

A. Often I do a short stint of self-hypnosis which helps quiet the chatter in my head and helps me focus and concentrate. I learned the technique from a book on the subject that I got at a book store and it’s been a wonderful way to keep ‘centered’ if you’ll forgive the term.

Q. What is your mode of writing? (long hand? Pencil? Computer? Etc.)

A. A computer, of course. Which I claim has greatly improved my skills. In the ‘olden’ days of white out and cutting and pasting, I got hung up on whether the page ‘looked right’. I hated adding anything that forced me to repaginate because I didn’t like all the extra work. If I deleted 11 lines, I got so I could exactly replace the missing lines with something that would work as well so that I didn’t have to retype everything. To my way of thinking, this is not the key to writing well. On a computer I can and do write every line over and over until it suits me. The tinkering is infinite. I when a line is right and when it’s not, I revise and refine and cut and amend until it sounds right to my inner ear.

Q. Do you have a set time each day to write or do you write only when you are feeling creative?

A. I’m usually at my desk at 8:00. I check emails and make a brief visit to my Face Book page where I chat with readers. I never feel truly creative. I work until lunch time when I take a short break. go back until mid-afternoon when I usually take a walk with one of a number of friends. I work seven days a week because it’s easier to stay connected to the writing. In completing “W” I worked double-sessions, returning to my desk after dinner. I cut out our social life. I nixed all the walks which I found interrupted the work too often. I didn’t run errands. I didn’t stop to get my hair cut.

Part 2 of this Interview will be posted August 6th

And to read more in the fascinating Journals that Sue keeps for each book, go to: www.suegrafton.com
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Karen Robards, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Raymond Benson, Amber Winckler, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author with a bonus chat with Cathy Lamb later in the month. September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is November’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year. Raymond Benson is my January author. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To receive my posts sign up for my Go to the home page; On the right side you’ll see a box where you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

The birth of CSI …an Interview with Rhys Bowen (part 2)

I SAT DOWN WITH Rhys Bowen (wish that were true) and HERE IS PART II of my INTERVIEW WITH HER.

Catch up with Part I of this great interview!

Q. and the all important: What does the process of going from “no book” to “finished book” look like?

A. I write historical mystery series so I come to a new book knowing a lot about my main character, a lot about her background. So I am not starting from a blank canvas each time. I usually start from a setting, an environment. I know I’d like to send Molly to an enclosed convent in search of a missing baby. I have no idea what will happen there or who I will meet until I start to write it. My books always go in directions I hadn’t suspected. (sound familiar?)

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

A.With Molly Murphy I knew I wanted to write a feisty first person female who didn’t know when to shut up. With Lady Georgie I wanted to write the most unlikely sleuth I could think of—royal but penniless.

Q. What inspired your story/stories ?

A. The Molly books were conceived because I visited Ellis Island and was so emotionally overcome by what I saw and felt there, I just knew I had to set a story there. The Royal Spyness books started from wanting to write something fun and funny and about British aristocrats in the 30s.

Q. When is your next book coming out? (or) What are you working on?

A.March 5. It’s a Molly book, The Family Way. My next Royal Spyness book will be out on August 6, called Heirs and Graces. (reviewed here in August). I’m currently writing the 13th Molly book, called City of Darkness and Light. It takes place among painters in Paris.

Q. As a fan of your work I am currently reading “Royal Blood” (from the Royal Spyness series). What inspired the story line? Had you visited ‘Bran Castle’? Met royals? Attended a royal wedding, perhaps?

A. I wrote Royal Blood because vampire novels were suddenly so popular that I wanted to write a spoof on all things vampire. I haven’t visited Bran castle but I have been to plenty of similar castles in Germany, Austria, Czech Republic so I had a good feel for it.

I have met plenty of real royals… all English. I had tea with the current queen. I was presented to the queen mother. I met Princess Margaret and saw Queen Mary when she was very old but still so regal and stately. But alas, no royal weddings. I’d have liked to be at William and Kate’s.

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

A. I suppose like all writers I’d like to write that one definitive literary novel.

Click here to read Part I of this interview
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A review of Bowen’s “Oh Danny Boy”, another Molly Murphy mystery.
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name:: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Karen Robards, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Caroline Leavitt, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is November’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year.
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A Review! ‘Oh Danny Boy’ by Rhys Bowen

Review Rating: 5/5 quills “OH DANNY BOY” by Rhys Bowen

The best way to read the Molly Murphy Mysteries is in order (which is what I am doing) so I can’t review a newly released book of Rhys yet. They are lined up on my bookshelf (not read yet) just waiting for me.

These books are set in New York City in the early 1900’s. Molly, fleeing Ireland and murder charges (she didn’t do it) finds herself in NYC with no friends and no family. The characters she meets, befriends, rescues, and loves are rich and interesting. And the best part is you find them in the following books.

‘Oh Danny Boy’ has several story threads and what I really enjoyed was witnessing the birth of CSI. (Crime Scene Investigation). Molly and her cohorts are just beginning to realize the significance of blood samples, hair comparisons, etc.

Rhys also introduces her readers to Sabella Goodwin, historically one of the first women to be in law enforcement in 1896 . Hired as a police matron, she supervised women after their arrest. Married to a policeman, she was given undercover assignments, after his death while on duty. Sabella proved to be so successful at these that she was promoted to detective by 1910.

I highly recommend the Molly Murphy mysteries. Click here to read a recent interview with this talented author! Part II is tomorrow, July 5th.
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name:: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Karen Robards, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Caroline Leavitt, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

Tuesday, June 11….Part 3. Interview with Caroline Leavitt

DON’T MISS PART 3 of this entertaining interview with bestselling author Caroline Leavitt

Tuesday, June 11th

Excerpt: “I can’t go on without a good first chapter because often, when I am in the middle of the book, and I feel it’s a mess, I need to go back and say, “Well, I wrote a really great first chapter, I can’t give up now, can I?” And I don’t.
Then comes the writing. I write and rewrite, sometimes up to 30 drafts….”

An Interview with Caroline Leavitt (part 2)

An Interview with author, Caroline Leavitt (Part 2)

(Me and Minnie, the turtle)

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

A. I always wrote seriously. I was sending things out from the time I was sixteen, and of course, they always came right back, rejected. While I was at Brandeis University, I took a writing course with a famous writer who told me flat out that I would never make it. He used to attack me in class, and though tears would stream down my face, I never left the class. I was in my late twenties, sending stories out every week (and getting them back every week with rejection letters) when I finally won the Redbook Magazine Young Writers Contest!

Q. How long after that were you published?

A. That contest opened up doors for me. I got an agent. I got a book deal based on the short story. I became sort of famous, and I thought it would last. But my next four publishers all went out of business. I was with two major publishers who wouldn’t take my calls or emails, and though my novels got stellar reviews, they had enough sales for me to buy groceries. When I submitted PICTURES OF YOU to my last publisher, they rejected it, saying, “I’m sorry, this just isn’t special.” They didn’t want to publish anything else of mine. I knew my career was over because who wants to publish someone who has published 8 novels and has no sales? But a friend of mine was with Algonquin and she offered to show her editor my novel. Algonquin bought it in three weeks and they did something no other publisher ever did for me: they treated me with respect. They invited me to come talk to them! They said, “We’re going to change your life.” And they did. Six months before the book even came out it was in three printings (it eventually went into 5). They got it on the New York Times bestseller list and the USA Today e-book bestseller list. It was one of the top books of 2011 from the San Francisco Chronicle, the Providence Journal, Bookmarks Magazine and Kirkus Reviews! I always tell people that I am living proof that you should never, ever, ever give up! You never know what can happen.

Q. and the all important: What does the process of going from “no book” to “finished book” look like?

A. It looks like craziness. I’m always in between stages because I live in terror of that stage when nothing is going on. So while I am in the midst of writing one book, I’m thinking of the next book, making vague inroads. It’s much better to have a new work to focus on so you don’t drive yourself too crazy when your book comes out. So the first stage is the idea. I spend about 6 months writing up a detailed synopsis. I’m like John Irving. I have to know where I am headed for, what the character change is going to be. I liken it to creating the skeleton. Once you have that, you can add on the flesh, the hair, the clothing. Once I have the synopsis done, which is usually 30 pages, I show it to three different writer friends and they tear it apart—and I want them to. It doesn’t help me not to hear the critiques. Then I go back and keep redoing it until it feels like a story. I’m big on story structure. I know some writers “follow their pen” and find structure confining, but I feel it actually awakens creativity. And since using story structure, I’ve had my first NYT bestseller and I made the finals at Sundance Screenwriting Lab, so I think it works.

Don’t miss Part 3 on June 11th as we continue to visit with this fascinating author!
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Start your month off right!! DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . I have invited such luminaries as: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Mark Childress is our April author. Robert McCammon is scheduled for May. Caroline Leavitt is June‘s author. July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don’t Miss an Interview with best selling author, Caroline Leavitt

My next Interview is with Caroline Leavitt, Tuesday, June 4th, 6th and the final segment on June 11th.

“While I was at Brandeis University, I took a writing course with a famous writer who told me flat out that I would never make it. He used to attack me in class, and though tears would stream down my face….”

To read the entire interview, join us on June 4th.

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Mark Childress was our April author. Robert McCammon is scheduled for May. Caroline Leavitt is June‘s author. July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Vampires are Thirsty! A Review…Robert McCammon’s ‘I Travel by Night’

Rating: (4 out of 5 quills) “I Travel by Night”

From the first few pages the reader is catapulted into McCammon’s 19th century New Orleans, a city of shadows, indulgences, and exotic sights and smells. The descriptions are a rich tapestry of post-civil war days in the old south.

While the undead, horrific creatures, and spine chilling story telling are not exactly my personal taste in reading, I found McCammon’s style of writing captivating. I expected ‘blood and guts’ and got, instead, an attention grabbing vampire-hero who wants to redeem himself while rescuing humans. Like a fatal car crash I really didn’t want to look, but I couldn’t help but read it to the last riveting page.
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(excerpt) “…..horse-drawn carriages moved here and there in no particular hurry as if the night had no beginning nor end; piano music spilled into the puddled streets from rooms made golden by candlelight, the timeless river washed against the piers and pilings of exquisite decay, and the brick walls that had stood in the reign of the Ibervilles still stood in defiance of sun, wind, the dampness of the swamp and the hands of modern men. It was a magic and mystical city, wild in its freedoms and sacred in its charms…..”

The new story marks McCammon’s return to ‘the sort of flamboyant, go-for-broke horror fiction that has earned him an international reputation and a legion of devoted fans. The terrors of the Dark Society, and the tortured existence of the unforgettable vampire adventurer Trevor Lawson create a consuming atmosphere and will, once again, please McCammon’s loyal readers.’

‘For Lawson, the horrors that stalked the Civil War battlefield at Shiloh were more than just those of war. After being forcibly given the gift of undead by the mysterious vampire queen LaRouge, Lawson chose to cling to what remained of his humanity and fought his way free of the Dark Society’s clutches. In the decades since, he has roamed late nineteenth century America, doing what good he can as he travels by night, combating evils mundane and supernatural, and always seeking the key to regaining a mortal life.’

Released on May 31st. To read my interview with Robert McCammon click here. (review at the request of author/publicist)

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. This SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner” presents INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS!

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and plan on featuring an interview once a month . I have invited such luminaries as: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Robert McCammon, Rhys Bowen,Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sue Grafton, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, Jeffrey Deaver and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Mark Childress is our April author. Caroline Leavitt is June‘s author. July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August‘s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander.
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To receive my posts sign up for my Go to the home page; On the right side you’ll see a box where you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

Are you a fan of International Intrigue? A Review

I first met author, Andrew Grant, through his lovely wife, author Tasha Alexander. (Interviews with both coming later in the year) Andrew consented to an interview this winter in anticipation of his new book which will be released in 2014.

I had never read anything by Andrew but I do try to do my homework because I promised my readers that I was interviewing my favorite authors. So I ordered Grant’s book , “EVEN”.

And I am so happy that I did.

Ranking: 5 out of 5 quills A REVIEW “EVEN”

Andrew turns out to be a slick, savvy, clever, and ‘surprise you at every turn’ kind of writer. And his humor is dry as your morning toast. Which, if you know me, you know that I love me some DRY humor!

British Intelligence operative, David Trevellyan is a take action sort’a guy. At one point in the story he is forced to sit in on one of the FBI’s endless meetings and ruminates to himself: “Staying on to help Tanya fight her demons was one thing. I was thinking about time spent in restaurants, and bars, and other, more secluded places. Not in offices. Not sitting through endless meetings. Talk of corporations was a bad sign. Any mention of conspiracies and government contractors was worse. Interagency cooperation was only a sentence away. Task forces would be proposed. I knew how it would end up. If I let the FBI go down that road I’d never get away. I’d be stuck here for months.” See? Very funny man!

I will be buying more of the Trevellyan series as they are great stories. I always felt like James Bond was a bit of a spoof….entertaining especially with Sean Connery’s tongue in cheek delivery. But Andrew’s characters are very real and believable. In “EVEN” (as in getting…) Trevellyan, a seasoned operative for the British government finds himself in the crosshairs of the NYPD and the Feebs. He is their prime suspect in a murder. There is a sadistic, female villain that will give me nightmares for weeks.

This story is brilliantly plotted with lots of twists and turns and I look forward to reading more of Grant’s work. I highly recommend it.

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Don’t Miss It!! MONTHLY INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS!

I have had a wonderful response from authors and will feature an interview once a month . I have invited such luminaries as: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, Tasha Alexander, Andrew Grant, and many others.

The Writer’s Corner…An Interview with Amber Winckler (part 1)

Author and Embalmer, Amber Winckler, is interviewed

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing?

A. My writing takes place all over. I am a memo book writer from way back and I have them everywhere: my purse, my locker at work, beneath the seat of my car… I often text or email ideas and thoughts to myself via my phone, so I don’t forget them. As any writer knows, good ideas tend to float away if you don’t quickly trap them in real time, dragging them from the abyss and converting them into words.

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

A. No consistent rituals. I do need to be alone. Sometimes I listen to music if I am writing a piece that needs to be colored by a particular emotion. Some entire scenes from my books have been written to a single song looped over and over for hours. Having my cat around is always nice.

Q. What is your mode of writing?

A. Long hand is still my first choice, but I am slowly converting my brain (and hand) over to the keyboard. Still, writing with a good, heavy pen that rolls smooth and easy is the way my thoughts flow best. After the accumulation of memo books and notes becomes too overwhelming, I begin converting them over to my computer.

Q. Do you have a set time each day to write or do you write only when you are feeling creative?

A. I am not a disciplined writer. I find that a set time brings out my innate need to rebel. I choose not to make my living through writing. In my mind, I earn my daily bread as a mortician. I write for me. That is how I try to protect my writing from becoming spoiled or tedious. When I have been on a schedule, my writing stalls. I also need lots of time in between writing to read. Reading classics inspire me, and I need to be exposed to men and women who string together words like music. Reading helps me remember why people write. It is glorious.
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A note from a fan, Lori S: An impressive creativity is found throughout the writings of Winckler. Plots are fascinating although disturbing and show an underlying wash of disgust. This is something one cannot just “put down” and read later. Those with an iron stomach and vivid imaginations will benefit most from the outrageous and bold detail the writer supplies. Witnessing a train wreck could compare. You want know about it, you don’t want to look — but you do anyway.

The writer offers a compelling combination of life experience to her writing with her background in embalming and working for a coroner, it lends her the ability to recognize every gory detail that would usually go unnoticed by a layman. One of her stories must be finished in its entirety, while you are sitting on the edge trying to determine how the tale will unfold. It is hard to distinguish a genre for these writings and in conclusion, it is believed that the reader determines that. For now it’s fiction for definition, but is it really?
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Don’t miss Part 2 on Wednesday, April 24th!
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Start your month off right!! DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

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