Blogcritics Author: Ambrose Musiyiwa

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

The Diary of an Asylum Seeker: Anatomy of A Work In Progress

Ambrose Musiyiwa — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 05:24:04 EDT

I’ve taken a leaf off George Bernard Shaw’s book and have written a very long introduction to my work in progress, the Diary of an Asylum Seeker.The introduction is really a ‘back story’ in that it shows part of how the Diary came about; it shows part of how I’ve been working on the Diary and it shows part of the reception the Diary has received so far.I started working on what is becoming the Diary of an Asylum Seeker in late 2004 or early 2005 after coming into contact with the Assist Service, a medical practice which provides specialized primary health care for asylum seekers in Leicester. There, one of the people I was and still am in dialogue with is Jan Moore, the practice therapist, who suggested that I keep a diary. Which I did. For about a week or two.I wish I’d kept the diary more religiously. I wish I’d kept it like medicine. I didn’t. I tell myself that the reason for this was because, soon afterwards, I started writing a lot about asylum seekers, about who they are, about the pressures that force them to leave home and country, about the countries they claim asylum in and the reception they receive in those countries. Some these articles have been published in places that include UK Indymedia, Worldpress.org, OhmyNews International, Labour Left Briefing and the British Journal of Occupational Therapy.In both the fiction and non-fiction writing that I do, each time I focus on a subject, I do a lot of reading around it and I make extensive notes on it. In some cases, the subject dominates or takes over and I start living for it. Writing about the subject becomes the reason why I’m here, it becomes the reason why I’m alive. It becomes difficult to stop thinking about it and I start talking about it incessantly. Aspects of the subject also invade my dreams when I sleep and I start living them intensely that way. Because of this, the diary became a journal and then it became a notebook on asylum seekers and aspects of the immigration and asylum system and then it became a journal and then it became a diary. And then I thought, “Instead of writing newsy stuff about all this, why not a short story or a novel that will focus of a day, a week, a month or a year in the life of an asylum seeker?”The Diary of an Asylum Seeker was born out of these questions.While I can’t think of a novel focusing on the life of an asylum seeker or a group of asylum seekers that’s been written in the form of a diary, I’m aware that there’s a body of work out there which, each in its own way, sheds light on how dehumanizing the asylum process can be. One of these works is the highly original and influential play, The Bogus Woman by Kay Adshead. Another is the novel, Refugee Boy by the indefatigable Benjamin Zephaniah.The Diary of an Asylum Seeker is a work in progress. I intend to push the narrative as hard as I can and see if I can’t turn it into a novel.Because it is a work in progress, it’s not static: a sentence will change here, and another one will change there; paragraphs will be added, others will be moved; new entries will be made while other entries will be removed… such is the life of a work in progress.If I manage to pull it off, I think the Diary will be a double-first in Zimbabwean literature. It’s already the first attempt at a novel in the form of a blog by a Zimbabwean writer. If I pull it off, it’ll be the first such novel by a Zimbabwean writer.Even though it’s a work in progress, the Diary has been well received.Its very first version received a commendation in the 2005 Leicester and Leicestershire Library Services Annual Short Story Contest. A year later, a slightly different version was published on both the U.S.-based Glimpse Abroad website and in the Glimpse Foundation’s quarterly magazine. This year, extracts from the Diary were published in the second issue of Tripod Magazine. Another extract, "Living on Promises and Credit" (which was written in 2002 and which I intend to integrate into the Diary) was published in Writing Now: More Stories from Zimbabwe (Weaver Press, 2005).I’ve also received some very interesting and encouraging comments from some of the world’s finest writers. For example, Maurice Suckling, the versatile computer games scriptwriter and author of the collection of short stories, Photocopies of Heaven (Elastic Press, 2006) said, “Crickey… That’s pretty [fill in appropriate adjective here, since I don’t know how to sum that up in one word].“When do you think this novel might be finished?”Nigel H. Thomas, author of the critically acclaimed collection of short stories, How Loud Can the Village Cock Crow? (Afo Enterprises, 1996) and Why We Write: Conversations with African Canadian Poets and Novelists (TSAR Publications, 2006) said, “The writing is forceful. It takes skill and experience, I think, to produce excellent fiction using the epistolary mode, and the excerpts you posted attest to this.”Gordon Hauptfleisch, in his review of Writing Now: More Stories from Zimbabwe, described “Living on Promises and Credit” as “earnest and affecting.”To go back to Maurice Suckling’s question - I have every intention of finishing the novel.Although I haven’t been updating the version of the Diary which appears on the blog, Brave New World Revisited, I’ve been working on it in earnest since about February of this year. In April, the winds rose and it’s been taking a lot of energy to just stay on my feet. When the winds settle down, as they are bound to, the novel should start moving more markedly. Until them, I’ll continue doing what I always do… my best. The material is there in my own life and in the lives of the asylum seekers I’m in contact with. The challenge is to see if I can tell this story in 50,000 words or more and still be able to hold the reader’s attention right through to the end.The Diary of an Asylum Seeker is currently being hosted on the blog, Brave New World Revisited.

Ambrose Musiyiwa has worked as a freelance journalist, book reviewer, and a teacher. One of his short stories has been featured in an anthology of contemporary Zimbabwean writing, Writing Now: More Stories from Zimbabwe (Weaver Press, 2005.) He is a regular contributor to OhmyNews International. Currently he is working on a series of interviews with published and self-published authors on the work that they are doing.

Literary Works Re-imagine The Life of Christ

Ambrose Musiyiwa — Thu, 9 Aug 2007 20:34:50 EDT

A few weeks ago, when I was browsing through the shelves at the Dudley Library, looking and hoping I'd find one or two titles by Dambudzo Marechera, I came across The Gospel According to the Son.The title was like a magnet.Many years earlier, while browsing through the shelves of a bookstore in Harare, Zimbabwe I'd stumbled upon Kahlil Gibran's Jesus, the Son of Man and I'd been completely taken in by the idea of a novel about Jesus Christ. I'd found Gibran's book so engaging that it's now top on the list of books I keep reading and re-reading. Norman Mailer's Gospel According to the Son is also joining that list.The two books are similar to each other. They are both based on the Gospels. They both take a familiar story and they re-imagine and re-tell it. They both present an imaginative account of the life and work of Jesus Christ and explore the effect that Jesus had on the lives, hearts and minds of the people he lived and worked among. The story in both books is presented in the first person by a person who was close to the action. And, to me, the spirit that informs and pervades both books feels so authentic that each of the books reads like an alternative Gospel.The main difference between the two books is that Jesus, the Son of Man was first published in 1928 while The Gospel According to the Son came out in 1998. Also, while The Gospel According to the Son has one narrator, Jesus, the Son of Man is told from multiple perspectives. It is told from the individual point of view of a variety of characters who'd known, lived with, met or heard about Jesus Christ. Most of the characters whose voices we hear in this book are also mentioned or implied in the Gospels. These characters include Anna, the mother of Mary; Mary Magdalen; Caiaphas, the High Priest; Joseph of Arimathaea and Simon, the Cyrene. Jesus, the Son of Man gives these and other characters more time and space than they were given in the Gospels and allows each of them to tell what they saw, heard, thought and felt about Jesus in their own words.In The Gospel According to the Son, Norman Mailer does more-or-less the same thing. While in the Gospels which appear in the Bible, we hear about the life and work of Jesus from people who heard about him from his disciples, in The Gospel According to the Son, Mailer allows Jesus to tell his own story in 'his own words'.Mailer allows us to imagine how Jesus Christ might have told the story of his own life. He allows us to imagine Christ as a man like any other man and to see some the inner conflict Christ must have felt and experienced and how he resolved or failed to resolve this conflict. Mailer allows us to imagine what Christ might have thought and felt about key stages or events in his life, among them: his birth; his apprenticeship as a carpenter; his relationship with his mother and immediate family; his relationship with his disciples; his relationship with God; his relationship with religious leaders of the time; his death; his resurrection and the wars that have been fought in his name.Both Jesus, the Son of Man and The Gospel According to the Son are written in language that is accessible and easy to read. They contain nuggets of observations on life and spirituality that encourage the reader to think about life, religion and his/her relationship with others and with God. The books also have the effect of making the reader want to go back and re-familiarize himself/herself with the Gospels and the account they present of the life and work of Jesus Christ.

An Interview with Rose Paisley, author of A Wild Love: Escape

Ambrose Musiyiwa — Wed, 8 Aug 2007 01:01:36 EDT

Rose Paisley grew up in a small town in the Amish Country of Mifflin County, Pennsylvania. She subsequently moved to Harrisburg where she went to college when she was in her forties, and graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology.She has worked as a waitress, a truck driver and as an electronics technician building speakers. She currently owns and publishes Romance at Heart Magazine, an online magazine as well as Romance At Heart Publications, a small publishing company that puts out about 12 e-books a year from selected authors.One of her own stories, A Wild Love: Escape was published by Lavender Isis Press in March 2007.In a recent interview, she spoke about her writing.When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?Actually, I didn’t decide to be a writer. It was decided for me in that I took the dare of two long time friends, Carole and Kate. They dared me to submit something because they said my writing was good enough to be published. I didn't react to the dare at first, then I stumbled onto the Lavender Isis Press and their short story contest. A Wild Love: Escape was long enough, so I thought, "O.K., I will prove those two wrong!"I have played around with stories, but never consider myself as a serious writer, it was an accident... That is my story, and I am sticking to it with a vengeance.How would you describe the genre in which you do most of your writing?Paranormal Fantasy. I love outlandish scenes, settings, characters with grit, shape shifters etc. so I try to create my own versions of them for my own pleasure.Who is your target audience?In the past, before I thought of being published, I wrote for myself and a few friends... I guess now a target audience would be those who read paranormal romances.What motivated you to start writing in this genre?My love for authors like Christine Feehan, Ronda Thompson, Amanda Ashley, Cathy Spangler, Susan Grant, Susan Squires, and then Sherrilyn Kenyon, when she came along.I did a fan fiction on an ezboard site dedicated to Christine Feehan. It took me ages to get it done. Then, I was prodded every step of the way by readers on the board. They got lucky I think. I have trouble stringing more than 10,000 words together in a coherent way.I do not have a link to the piece I wrote... It was done years ago and I think it is long gone from the site. It was called "Of Darkness and Light" and needs a good editor! (Laughs out loud!)Who would you say has influenced you the most?Christine Feehan… her stories make me laugh, cry, rage, and root for her characters with abandon. Ronda Thompson… she has a wicked sense of what could be, what has been, and writes vibrantly. Amanda Ashley… she brings the dark side close to home, yet allows us to believe in their future. Cathy Spangler…who has a delightful imagination of the future and shares it willingly. Anne McCaffery… she showed me you can step out of the bounds of the “real” and create it yourself. R. Casteel, Carole Ann Lee, and S. L. Carpenter for also having faith and guiding me.What would you say are your main concerns as a writer?(Laughs out loud.) You are taking it for granted I am a writer. If I really was, my concern would be that my books would tempt and tantalize the reader's imagination, and the characters and their problems would truly “live” in their minds as they read about them.To me, a writer is generally someone who is talented enough to carry off the story and the characters in such a way that the reader can get lost in the action, and can almost "see" the story as it unfolds. I think a writer has to be pretty dedicated to the story and the characters and must have the desire to entertain and carry the readers away on a flight of fantasy, suspense, or in the eroticism of the tale. Most writers enjoy writing, and most love the research, the plot development, and every aspect of their craft.I am driven, but I don't like the "out of control" feeling I get when I write... There are times when I have to do it... it is like a compulsion at times.How have your personal experiences influenced the direction of your writing?Um… nah, I don’t think so. Given my subject matter, I wouldn’t know how my personal experiences could possibly influence my writing. I am neither a shape shifter, a vampire nor a ghost, nor do I have any kind of paranormal talents like they are reputed by legend to possess.What would you say are the biggest challenges that you face?Actually being published. I am not sure about the whole process, and think the ladies of Lavender Isis Press are really brave to take on the short I wrote. I will do my best, however, to live up to their faith in me.Being published is a challenge because I don't know that I can do it again, and at this point it is almost "expected" that another book or short story would be coming. The biggest challenge is being able to string the words together to tell a good story, one that readers (other than my friends) would really want to read.How are you dealing with these challenges?I just do my best.Like I said, I am not truly a writer, at least not one of romance or fiction, reviews on the other hand, oh yeah, I can write a wicked review. This... trying to write another complete story... I will just have to handle one day at a time, and do my best each day.How many books have you written so far?One only. A Wild Love: Escape which was published by Lavender Isis Press in March, 2007. It is the story of a man, a shifter named Hajj who has been long isolated on an island. The house he had built for his mate and family has been usurped in his absence by a vile and greedy man and then Hajj finds he may not be as alone as he thinks. It's a discovery which leads him to hope he can escape and find his true mate.Do you write every day?I don’t write every day. Christine Feehan (a favorite author as well as a friend) says I should, but I can’t. My husband and I run a website that sells consolidator airfares and there is always work to be done there, updates, new postings, etc. I also run the review site Romance at Heart and the publishing house Romance At Heart Publications.Which aspects of the work that you put into A Wild Love: Escape did you find most difficult?How to answer that…writing like that does not come easy to me. There are times when my mind blurts stuff out. If I am in a position to write it down, then it is O.K., but I can’t just stop and write. My businesses would suffer, and I can’t allow that to happen. Others depend on me, and it would be irresponsible to let something I do, only because I am driven, to interfere.Which did you enjoy most?That... I really don’t know. When it comes to writing, it is not done for enjoyment, it is something I am driven to do, then when the urge goes away, it is just that, gone away and I am left alone again for a while. To say I enjoy it would not be truthful.How and why is it that you are driven to write? Why do you write?I can't answer those questions, I am sorry. I am not certain I have the answer. I have told myself again and again to stop the foolishness, but my brain doesn't listen. There is something in me that drives me, and I really can't fully answer the questions as to why I am driven to write, or why I do it... they are truly beyond me.What does writing do for you?I know being able to write reviews releases some of the tension I live with in life, from updating websites to making certain they run smoothly, to making sure all the reviews, articles, and whatever else have to be posted to the site is done and without errors. The rest of it? Well, that part of the writing, the "novel/short story creative writing" only adds to my frustration, but as I said, it appears to be a compulsion.What sets A Wild Love: Escape apart from the other things you have written?The fact that it is a book, well a short story. I wrote and still write reviews, not books, so that is a big difference.In what way is it similar?Dunno. I never tried comparing reviews to the books I read to write about. I would have to think on that a while.What will your next book be about?Um, If my editor has her way, it will be a few more shorts in the same vein. A Wild Love: Escape is just one of a bunch of silly shorts I was actually driven to write inspired by art, music, and the above mentioned talented authors. I call them silly because they were done on a whim, during a flight of fancy as it were, and were actually only meant to be examples of contest entries. (At Romance at Heart we were running writing contests.)How have they been received by readers?So-so, but then I wasn't expecting any great gushing of appreciation. I do understand A Wild Love: Escape is doing O.K., and I have been asked if there will be a sequel, and will it be longer... *sigh* I can promise only to try my best.What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?Significant achievement? Having Lavender Isis Press publish my writing.How did you get there?As I said, it was a dare, and I was proven wrong. Someone did actually want to publish what I wrote, and I am grateful for their faith in my work.

Interview with Emma Sanders, Author of One Wrong Move

Ambrose Musiyiwa — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 17:06:29 EDT

Emma Sanders lives in Texas where she works in the district attorney's office.She writes romantic suspense novels and short stories in her spare time and has published two novels, Holding Fast (Wild Rose Press, 2006) and One Wrong Move (Wild Rose Press, 2007), both of which are available as e-books and as trade paperbacks.Two of her short stories, Christmas Bells (Wild Rose Press, 2006) and Hope, Love and Treats (Wild Rose Press, 2006) are also available as e-books.Currently, she is working on a third novel.In a recent interview, Emma Sanders spoke about her writing.When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?I’ve always thought about writing but it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I knew I had to write if I wanted to maintain my sanity. There was something missing in my life that I can’t quite explain. A restlessness that could only be cured when I was writing.How would you describe the genre in which you do most of your writing?I write romantic suspense which can be and has been described in several different ways by different people.To me, though, romantic suspense is a blend of romance and the mystery of falling in love… the how, when and where, the inner conflict etc. It’s also the suspense of something bigger out there that seeks to destroy a person or a love. Impending danger that usually isn’t there with a contemporary romance novel. Whether it’s a serial killer or an unsolved mystery, as long as the suspense keeps us wondering, I believe that's what makes a great romantic suspense.What motivated you to start writing romantic suspense?I always thought I’d write contemporary romance novels but I got hooked on romantic suspense when I started devouring Sandra Brown’s books.I love the way she blends words without making me feel like I'm reading something someone actually wrote and the way she balances the romance and suspense. I love the way she describes things without going into full detail and when I'm reading her books, I feel like I’m in the same room with the characters. I love the way she puts me in the character’s head and there's no question who's feeling what and I love the way she makes perfect characters out of imperfect people, even the villains.You've suggested that contemporary romance and romantic suspense are separate genres. What's the difference between the two?I love the contemporary genre as well as romantic suspense but the way I define it separates it from romantic suspense because, even though it may offer a touch of suspense, imminent danger doesn’t await the characters at every turn and there's usually not a mystery to solve.A contemporary romance is built mostly around the romance. A romantic suspense is half romance, half suspense, where the couple gets together in the end, but the mystery is also concluded.Also, the contemporary genre, in my opinion, doesn’t have a true villain, someone out to destroy the main characters, in a way that romantic suspense does. One of my favorite contemporary authors' books, Susan Elizabeth Philips, are a perfect example of this.In the writing that you're doing, who'd you say has influenced you the most?My mother, though she isn’t here anymore and died when I was 15, before I truly knew I wanted to write.She wanted to be a writer but I never knew how much until I started reading her journals after her death. She got sick when she was young and she wrote, off and on, for years up until she died.We lived in a small town and in that day and age, information was harder to come by. We never talked about our writing dreams, so I’m not sure why she never got around to publishing some of the things she was writing. A lot of people don’t ever get around to fulfilling their dreams because of the lives they lead and duties they have or their fears that they just aren’t good enough. That’s one of the reasons I decided to go for it... because I didn’t want to regret not pursuing my dreams.How have your personal experiences influenced the direction of your writing?Personal experiences are a huge part of my writing, not necessarily in what happens in my books but in what I’ve learned in this world. Creating characters, creating plots and subplots, creating emotions. I can always pull a part of my personal experiences into my writing.I love to listen to people and consider learning about their individuality, a huge experience. I’ve taken aspects of the knowledge I’ve gained about people and put them into my characters. Most of my legal knowledge has stemmed from my full-time job, because I work for the district attorney and have done so now for nine years. Every experience can be a learning experience, if you let it.What are your main concerns as a writer?Time... if I’m good enough to sustain a writing career... getting my name out there and promoting myself (which is the hardest part of what I do because I'm very modest).There’s always the fear that you have only one story to tell, and others won’t come afterwards (though the voices in my head don’t stop.) It’s difficult, because I actually have a full-time career and do my writing on the side, so it takes a lot of time management, self-discipline and giving up things you might want to do, like enjoying a summer day at the lake.How I'm dealing with all this is, I look at the future and not the here and now. Writing is my passion. I know I have to set deadlines for myself, appointments for writing, and I have to discipline myself to get it done. When you have a passion for something like this, you’ll make the time to do it.How easy or difficult is it to stick to these appointments?I have good days, bad days and days when I sit down at my computer and the words won’t stop coming. Then, when I’m so tired I can barely keep my eyes open, I’ll take a recorder and pen and paper to bed because I have to jot down or record my ideas. I’ve lost many ideas because I couldn’t remember them, so I’ve learned my lesson. It may only be a line or two that comes into my head that I can go off of later.Other times, it seems like my words are dry and stale and I couldn’t tell you the basic color of the sky. During the good days, I write as much as I can. During those stale times, I still write - I do a lot of reading, journaling, researching, watching movies, even coloring… anything to get my creativity juices flowing again. I also remember that this too shall pass.Do you write everyday?I hate to admit that recently, I haven’t written everyday but I make up for this during those times that I do write.I used to write everyday for a couple of hours but sometimes life gets in the way of writing and I have to readjust my schedule. I try to write some in the morning before work and some in the evening.What's been happening that's made it difficult for you to write?As I mentioned before, I go through spells, but I usually resolve them because I won’t buckle under the stress and writing is my passion. There are weeks or even months in my job that are more stressful than others, such as trial weeks, grand jury weeks etc. that make it difficult to write.Also, I work at a computer most of the day and sometimes the last thing I want to do is come home and sit down again at the computer.When you do write, how do you approach each of these sessions?I don’t have any type of tradition or ritual to precede my writing. I usually just sit down and begin where I left off, usually by reading what I wrote the day before. If I’m having a hard time, I’ll sit in silence with my eyes closed, breathing and thinking about my story, or about nothing.It’s usually not too hard to stop and then continue later if I’m on a roll, and I usually stop writing for the day when a particular scene I’m writing concludes and I don’t feel I can do anymore. I’ll make notes to myself for the next scene, which helps me to get started at my next session.How many books have you written so far?I have two novels published and two short holiday stories, all with The Wild Rose Press.What is your latest book about?One Wrong Move focuses on a journalist, Rayma O’ Riley, who's just moved from a bad relationship and has met Camden, a chef for a restaurant which is the center a drug-smuggling ring. Rayma and Camden's worlds collide when she releases a story on this and gets a contract put out on her life.Which aspects of the work that you put into One Wrong Move did you find most difficult?Research is always the most difficult but also one of the most enjoyable. I have to do enough research so that I understand the mechanics and then fuse the material into the book. The amount of research I do depends on how well I know my subject and how much I still need to learn. For example, I know a lot about the legalities of Texas because of my experience working with the district attorney’s office and can usually get any questions answered through them or the various law enforcement offices. The internet, library and individuals are also wonderful places to learn.Also, when I was writing One Wrong Move, I particularly enjoyed those moments when the words seemed to fly off my thoughts and onto the page... those moments when everything just seemed to flow together the way it should. That was the best experience ever.What sets the novel apart from the other things you've written?It’s spicier and sexier than either my first novel or the one I’m working on now. It’s also not really a “who done it” plot but a “how will they get out of this” plot.One Wrong Move is similar to Holding Fast in that Rayma O’ Riley was a secondary character in Holding Fast and she’s also a journalist. And of course it’s mysterious and romantic like my others.What will your next book be about?I don’t like to talk about my works-in-progress but I’m very excited about this one.

Interview with Maurice Suckling, Computer Games Scriptwriter and Author

Ambrose Musiyiwa — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 04:32:39 EDT

Maurice Suckling has produced and directed plays for a number of British theatre groups. He has also worked as a radio and television scriptwriter and a creative consultant for a number of national and multinational companies. Since 1998, he has been working as a writer, editor, designer, voice director and project manager in the computer games industry. His first collection of short stories, Photocopies of Heaven (Elastic Press) was published in 2006.When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?I think I always wanted to be one. I always wrote stuff, little ideas, thoughts - that kind of thing.The first story I really remember and was maybe worth remembering was called The Island of Blue Glass. I’m not sure how to explain it - it was a kind of surreal love story in which I wanted to never write the word love, because I thought there were lots more interesting ways of writing about the subject. I wanted to try and write a love story without clichés or laziness.I never showed it to a publisher. Only a handful of people have read it. Amongst the people who read it were some of my brother Laurence’s students from across Europe. Some people wrote to me to tell me how much they liked it - so I suppose it was received well, if not that widely.How did you feel about this?It made me feel fantastic - that I’d communicated with people I didn’t know who lived thousands of miles away and that they’d felt something that made them want to write to someone they’d never met. I thought maybe I should write some more and see what else happens…How have your personal experiences influenced the direction of your writing?Everything I read, watch, listen to, everywhere I go, everyone I meet makes some kind of impression somewhere and it all goes in, and sometimes finds a way out. I tend to write about people who live now, are used to a technology-rich, consumerist-heavy and religiously- or spiritually-poor world. People like me, and people like my friends. Maybe that doesn’t answer the question.To you, what are aliens?Slimey green beings from other planets with lots of tentacles, though there are probably lots of different styles; some maybe wear human suits. I’ve never met any aliens (as far as I know) but I like writing about them because they are cool. They’re very pliable for dramatic purposes - invasion stories, horror stories, stories about the strangeness and surprising nature of the universe, and also, because of certain imagery and preconceptions about them in popular culture, they also have lots of potential for humour.What is your latest book about?It’s called Photocopies of Heaven. It’s about how miracles are all around us but we don’t always notice them, about how the tiniest of everyday things is amazing, about how technology shapes our lives and the stories we tell about them, about how nothing means anything, and everything means something.How many stories are in the collection?Twenty-eight, though one is in six episodes.What unites them?I think they’re all about characters looking for meaning in their lives; about people who feel moments of intense spirituality but don’t have religion and don’t know what to do with those feelings, or about people who don’t feel any spirituality, but are surprised when they do (or feel something they have no better word for than ‘spirituality’ but it doesn’t fit with the way they view the world), or would be surprised if they could ever see the world more clearly. They’re stories about everyday miracles, the most amazing things that we take for granted, and, mostly, about people who are alive now and have the same kind of references to pop culture and contemporary technology as I do. In addition to that a number of the stories also share characters, sometimes re-appearing in minor roles, so you get this sense that people move on and they’re not just trapped in the character arc of one simple story. It’s quite exciting, because it means there’s a way of giving longer and richer character arcs to characters in short stories - and I think this is something I’d like to have another look at in the future.How did the idea behind the book come about?I wanted to write about the kinds of people I mix with and meet in my life; people who don’t have lives like action movie plotlines, people who are scrabbling around, trying to make sense of their lives, and, for the most part, just trying to do the best they can. I’m interested in what these people think about, and how they live - that’s really exciting to me. So much of our lives are shaped around popular culture and technology it seemed important to address that - it seems that’s where we do a lot of our living. I also wanted to explore it without resorting to the laziness of cynicism. I wanted to find ways of writing about how amazing life can be sometimes and how people have feelings that are almost spiritual even if they aren’t religious - and I wanted to do this without being dogmatic or facile.What is the significance of the book’s title?It shows the collusion between technology and spirituality in the stories. It also hints at two key interpretations of many of the stories; that the best we can get of heaven is just photocopies of it, i.e. something insubstantial and something that is less than what it was, something reduced by trying to talk about it, and reduced by the way we experience it; and secondly, more optimistically, that to be able to photocopy heaven is fantastic because we can at least see a version of it - and if that’s the best we get, so be it, but at least we get that.How long did it take you to write it?About two years, on and off. It was published in the U.K. by Elastic Press in 2006.Which aspects of the work that you put into Photocopies of Heaven did you find most difficult?There are cartoons in the book - well, sort of a graphic story told with imagery like in plane safety cards or in self-assembly furniture instructions. Finding the right people to do them was hard. Then I found rm*, Gaylie Runciman and Debs Norton, two very talented artists based in Glasgow - and I couldn’t have been happier.They tend to specialise in installation art and digital media, but they’re also animators. They won an award just recently: The Scottish Style Awards ‘Taste Maker of the Year’.What was it about the work rm* did that you found particularly pleasing?They just immediately got what I was talking about - and that was such a delight. They never forced the imagery -- the story they worked on ("The Amazing Adventures of No One in Particular") needs the imagery to almost strike you as bland -- and it’s the collision between the words and pictures that gives it its heart. They also really liked the story too and found the same things funny in the same kinds of ways as I did, so that made things trip along very nicely for all of us.What did you enjoy most during the process that led to Photocopies of Heaven?I liked working on all of it - I really set out to have fun with storytelling and to experiment with techniques and ideas. For example, the Amazing Adventures I just mentioned. There’s one story written entirely in text message form, because there were lots of characters and I wanted them all to speak with their own voices and for the sense of an authorial voice controlling them all to be masked.There’s a story that tracks a relationship through the things that the couple buy. There’s another tracking the state of mind of a guy as he grows up and hits his 30s through the gadgets he has. There are various stories where I’ve played about a little with linearity and jumping back and forth in time.I already mentioned having characters return and feature in more than one story in the collection, and that was one of the most exciting experiments to me. I thought not many people would notice - but they have and I’m really delighted about it.What sets the book apart from the other things you have written?Most of what I’ve written to date is for clients -- people who hire me to tell stories -- mostly in computer games, but sometimes other mediums. This book is different because it’s the first thing I’ve published that’s by me, where the copyright and all the words and ideas aren’t owned by a company that paid me. It’s really me expressing myself, which is something I only get to do professionally in a more limited way, as a general rule.In what way is it similar?It’s not. A lot of computer game stories I write are set in a crime, or an adventure, an action, or a sports world. Here I wanted to set stories in a contemporary world recognisable as the one where people, like me, are used to having crime, action, adventure stories etc all around us, where we’re used to wondering how come our world isn’t as full of story and drama as the TV and movies we watch are.How many of these stories have you done so far?Including games that don’t really need stories, but just need some editing, I’ve currently worked on 13 games.Do you have examples of some of the stories you’ve been hired to tell and some of the media through which you have told them?Probably the best known stories have been for a series of games called Driver. These stories have been written as screenplays and are delivered as CGI animation - often using motion capture. I often direct the voices for these stories too and sometimes the publishers bring in famous names like Mickey Rourke and Iggy Pop and I get to work with them.How long have you been doing this?About nine years.How did you start?A friend took a job at a company that made games and they needed a writer and I got asked if they could book my time for a couple of weeks. I’ve been working in games ever since.What are some of the challenges that come with this line of work? And, how do you deal with them?It’s not like when you write your own material. Firstly you have to sign away all your copyright - and there’s no way around that, apart from to have a bestselling novel or something in the first place, in which case the games companies would come to you to license the title.You can also have vast swathes of people looking over your shoulder and chipping in -- producers, designers, animators, programmers, artists -- there are a lot of people to try and keep happy. Most people think they can write, and most people have seen movies they think you should be ‘absorbing’ into your work. You can deal with this by being selective, or more often lucky with whom you work, or, more often than that, just by rolling your sleeves up and taking the time to keep people on-board. This can involve visits to clients and lots of clear headed thinking and a basic ability with handling people.Recently you presented a lecture at De Montfort University? Had you done something like this before? How did you find the experience?I did a guest lecture for Kate Pullinger’s online MA writing course. The lecture was an asynchronous forum, so I didn’t make my way to Leicester, it was all done online. I spent my time answering the students’ questions about writing in games, the nature of interactive narrative and techniques for designing interactive stories.That was the first time I did an asynchronous forum, but I’ve spoken about this kind of thing and related topics before all over the place - Reading, Newcastle, Tokyo, Kyoto, Shanghai , Chongxing, Chengdu , Hanover last week, and I’ll be talking in Malmo in May. I travel quite a bit with my work and for my company, The Mustard Corporation, because of our clients and because of the games conferences all over the world -- it’s GDC in San Francisco in early March. And also because I do quite a bit of voice recording of actors for games and that usually entails being in L.A. and -- that’s another thing --you find ways of making good use of time when you spend so much of it travelling.I really enjoyed the experience - I think it went down okay, people thanked me, and said they found it interesting. I can’t remember if I mentioned it, but I’m also working towards a Ph.D. in creative writing at Newcastle University and I like the idea of maybe doing the occasional guest lecture again to students sometime in the future.How do you find the time for all the projects you are working on?Well, there’s no real magic to it - I just work hard. It’s not like it’s a chore because I like it - and if I didn’t do it it just wouldn’t get done and I’d be left feeling I wished I’d done it. Plus I actually like working on a few things at once - it keeps them all interesting and bits of my subconscious just take care of things on projects in the back of my mind. Then when I go to work on them my brain has already done some of it for me -- my PC is still just single processor -- I wonder if I got a dual core one it would do this kind of thing for me…I’m good at making minutes count too - and they add up.What will your next book be about?It'll be about the same kind of world, themes, concerns, with characters not too distant from those in Photocopies of Heaven, but it will be a novel.Do you have a working title for the novel?Yes I do, though I don’t want to jinx it by mentioning it just yet.When do you think you will be submitting it for publication?Maybe another 18 months. I think I’d like to finish it before I show it to a publisher.How long do you think it will take you to write the novel?From start to finish it’ll be about two and a half years. It’s slow going when I’m working on so many other things at once.What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?To have been self-employed for over 10 years, and counting -- and not to have had my credit card re-possessed. It might sound not much, but trust me, it's a lot harder than it sounds.How did you get there?I work hard, I schmooze, and I never stop learning and being interested in stories and storytelling.

An Interview with Patrick Mackeown, Author of The Expendability Doctrine

Ambrose Musiyiwa — Mon, 5 Mar 2007 19:13:50 EST

Novelist Patrick Mackeown was born in London in 1966 and grew up in Turkey, Wales and in several parts of England. He studied analytical philosophy and worked as a chef, a salesman, a computer operator and as a senior technician for Demon Internet as well as for an internationally renowned news corporation. His debut novel, The Expendability Doctrine, has been described as "a suspenseful saga" about oil, greed and murder.In all, how many books have you written? So far, I’ve only written one book, The Expendability Doctrine. It’s been highly recommended by the Midwest Book Review. It’s only been out since November of 2006. But, already it’s been featured on the front page of Independent Publisher Online Magazine, Christmas edition.I also write satires as an outlet for my cynicism. President Bush has done badly by my hand, I must admit, much to the delight of several American webmasters and radio talk show hosts. Lisa Casey’s website All Hat No Cattle, and Terry Coppage’s Bartcop have posted copies of my parodies on their pages. I’d have to say that in addition to contributing a little towards the entertainment of Lisa and Terry’s website viewers, I’ve also had great fun myself.What is your latest book about?My next thriller, The Cardinal’s Blood, combines details from the mysterious death of an Italian banker in London in 1982 with a series of Mafia crimes. I’m still writing it. I have been working on it for more than a year.Which aspects of the work that you put into the book did you find most difficult?I’d say that I find researching my books most time-consuming. I wouldn’t say that it’s difficult. Perhaps it’s difficult to know when to stop. I think when the author begins to wonder exactly how much darker a carpet would have been, given a certain amount of exposure to sunlight, a decade ago, and so on, it’s time to take a break!Which did you enjoy most?When my characters say funny things I find it entertaining.What sets the book apart from the other things you have written?The main difference between The Cardinal’s Blood and The Expendability Doctrine is that the former novel is written in the recent historical past. It’s not an extraordinary challenge, because of course, I’m quite familiar with the Eighties, but still, it’s more challenging, I’d say, setting a narrative in a different time-frame from the one in which the author sits.In what way is it similar?The fact that it’s a thriller, and that it’s international in its scope characterises it as one of my novels.What will your next book be about?I’m not sure yet what my third novel will be about. There are so many interesting subjects.When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?I’ve decided to be a writer several times. The first time was when I must have been seven or eight years old. My parents gave me a book, and on its rear-cover the publisher encouraged its readers to send anecdotes and what-have-you to their London head office. I submitted to them The Trials Of A Young, Welsh, Hill Sheep-Farmer. Since then I moved house several times and lost the publisher’s response. But, I remember that it was a charming one.Who would you say has influenced you the most?Very recently, Ismail Kadare’s Broken April, without question. It’s a story that haunts the reader long after its final page. It has a sadness that hangs outside the novel. It touches the subject of mankind’s beastliness in a tender and almost loving fashion.And, of writers generally, I’d say that Gerald Durrell’s humour is rarely far from my mind. To constantly poke fun at life, I think, is a writer’s solemn duty. Any refugee from Dickens’ Hard Times, who has been made to sit through a dose of Josiah Bounderby’s insufferable rhetoric, will know that well enough. In contemplating what cannot be contemplated, William Golding’s The Inheritors showed me that an author can write magnificently about sensory perceptions which Neanderthal Man possessed, and modern humans do not.How have your personal experiences influenced the direction of your writing?I can’t honestly say that many of them have, at least not that I’m aware of. Thankfully I’ve never been pursued by armed men, or tortured. That said, however, I suspect that the cynicisms, which I acquire during my researches, find an outlet in my poems. "Cruel World" is a good example. It was published only days ago, in Lionheart Press’ poetry anthology: Ancient Heart Magazine.What are your main concerns and challenges as a writer?That’s a difficult question, almost too difficult; I have several. The accuracy of my research troubles me to distraction. I’ve been known to telephone foreign embassies to ask them about the colour of their carpets. I must stop doing that. But, on a more sombre note, I’d have to mention corruption and genocide.It’s a task of thriller writers to point out how political elites abuse their charges. And, it’s certainly a task I relish. However, it’s difficult to study inhumanity on a daily basis and still believe in goodness. I’d have to say that I find that aspect of my work challenging.How do you deal with these challenges?Put simply, the question is: How can I continuously write about abuses of authority without becoming jaded and cynical? There might be a temptation to assume that I succeed! I hope it’s possible to be cynical without becoming too jaded.Cynicism visits all of us, occasionally, I’m sure. But, my wife reminds me, simply by being there, that life itself has a beauty which can’t be measured. I think, when pressed, I remind myself that mankind possesses the unfortunate ability to promote his own interests above everything else. And, this is a mistake. I suspect that it’s my realisation that individual men are in error which releases me from a constant cycle of worry.Do you write every day?I write for at least eight hours a day. But, I do include research in that calculation.

An Interview with Bhaswati Ghosh, Author of Making Out in America

Ambrose Musiyiwa — Sat, 3 Mar 2007 19:54:49 EST

Freelance writer Bhaswati Ghosh has worked as a television news producer and as an editor in two publishing houses. She has also been on the editorial board of a children's newspaper. Her work has been published in major Indian daily newspapers, in the United States, and on websites that include Chowk and the bimonthly online magazine, Seven Seas as well as on the food and writing blogs that she maintains. Making Out in America is her first book-length work.What would you say are your main concerns as a writer? In fiction writing, my major concerns are gaining a grip on the craft of writing, such as more show and less tell, writing convincing dialogue, creating real and enduring characters. The themes that concern me are those pertaining to the social fabric around me - a dynamic pattern that’s changing and throwing up new questions every day. Ordinary lives like my own interest me the most, and I write stories on how the existing and evolving social systems play themselves out in the day-to-day living of ordinary people.In nonfiction, which also happens to be my source of income, my main concern is to widen the scope of my writing. I constantly educate myself to write about diverse subjects. I am still a greenhorn in the freelance writing trade and have a long way to go. Being an ardent learner, I am enjoying the journey.How have your personal experiences influenced the direction of your writing?All my writing stems from personal experiences, direct or perceived. The seeds of writing itself could have been planted in my subconscious both through genetic influence as well as from watching my grandma pouring herself out on foolscap sheets. A supportive school boosted my literary inclinations as did the extensive reading atmosphere at home (we have five or six huge iron trunks loaded with books and magazines).Over the years, events in my life or in the lives of people around me have made their way into my writing. While I mostly write about what I know, occasionally issues that concern me at a deep level, yet are far removed in terms of geographic location (the Palestinian struggle, for instance), also form the raw material of some of my stories.How many books have you written so far?My debut book, Making Out in America, has been purchased by Cavern Press and is awaiting publication. The book is an anecdotal, humorous account of my brush as an outsider with everyday American lingo. The tone is informal, and the chapters are themed.The book is different from the other things I have written in a number of ways. For one, its length. Most of my writing is short - articles, features, short stories. The other major difference is the subject matter. Most of my writing tends to be serious in nature and tone; the book is lighthearted and makes for easy reading.It is similar to the other things in that although interspersed with humor and candid recounting, the book carries a voice that my small band of readers (mostly friends and fellow writers) have come to associate with me. So in that regard, it carries a personal narrative stamp.Which aspects of the work that you put into the book did you find most difficult?Weaving in different anecdotes that would let the prose flow smoothly and make it enjoyable for readers was the toughest.Which did you enjoy most?All of it. The intense and fun research, constant rewriting of chapters following reproaches from the book’s editor, perennially bothering friends to share relevant anecdotes, jumping with joy on finishing the manuscript, detailed editing -- all of it.How much time do you spend on your writing?Since writing is my primary vocation, I have to do it every day by default. Roughly speaking, I spend between four to six hours on writing.When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?I don’t remember making a conscious decision to be a writer. While in middle school, I had zeroed in on two possible career choices -- engineering or journalism (nothing in common, I know). I went on to study journalism after school and got steered into the writing side of it, as a news report and anchor scripts writer. The love affair with writing had started in school itself and continued through the newsrooms and a couple of other jobs I held (publishing house editor, web content writer).Who would you say has influenced you the most?Two or three people. My maternal grandmother to begin with. A talented Bengali writer, she was way ahead of her times and provided constant insights into the struggles of the writing life. She also showed by example what discipline as a writer meant. She would write every single day while juggling house work, her government job, and a million other concerns.I can’t forget the role played by two of my writing gurus in shaping my progress with the pen. The first is my middle school English teacher. She was the first person to point out that I could write a bit and encouraged me to hone the skill. The second person is a former editor and columnist of a Tennessee newspaper, who became my writing mentor through a writer’s forum I used to frequent. He taught me some of the most valuable writing lessons, particularly with regard to nonfiction writing -- lessons that have aided me invaluably in my career.What would you say are the biggest challenges that you face?Procrastinating and facing the inner critic that makes me feel daunted at the specific set of challenges for particular writing projects. I baulk at the idea of tackling book-length works, having had to focus on writing concise and brief pieces through most of my bread-and-butter writing jobs.How do you deal with these challenges? By writing one word at a time. That’s what my editor mentor taught me. It’s always one more word I need to write. In time, it always adds up, amazingly! I am also getting more organized about my writing and devote particular time chunks to different projects. This has certainly made a big difference vis-à-vis my productivity.What will your next book be about?I am plodding my way through a memoir. It’s the story that spans across three generations -- from my grandmother’s to mine. The book has layers of history, politics, family dynamics, and personal stories of trials and triumphs.What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?In tangible terms, not much. However, being a writer has probably made me more sensitive and less apathetic to social dilemmas. I don’t know if that would count as an achievement, but it certainly makes me care for this world more passionately.You've also been having a few problems with your publisher. How are you dealing with these problems?The publisher of Cavern Press, Tammy Perron, offered me a contract in December 2005 and verbally promised me to bring out my book by 2006. The contract, however, mentions no publication/release date. I was also promised a three-part advance, of which I only received the first installment.The printing for the book kept getting postponed. The publisher mentioned financial constraints a few times. My last interaction with her was in October 2006, when she said she still didn't have a firm release date for the book.Since that time, the publisher has pulled a vanishing act. She hasn't responded to any of my emails or snail mails. This coincided with her not paying the authors and editor of Shadow Regions, a horror anthology she brought out in the latter half of 2006. She has failed to respond to all their efforts to contact her, as well.So far that's the update. I have since sought legal view on the situation and decided to pull out of the contract and pitch my book to literary agents.

An Interview with Anne Douglas, Author of Position Vacant

Ambrose Musiyiwa — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 18:17:37 EST

Erotic romance author Anne Douglas was born in New Zealand where she worked as a dispensing optician. In September 2001, she moved to Florida with her family. So far, she has written three books, Tea for Three which is due for release in June 2007, Position Vacant (2006) and The McCabes: Persuading Jo (2006). All three are published by Loose Id.When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?Well, it was more a case of when did everyone else decide I was going to become a writer. I'm an avid reader. No, that's not quite right… I'm a voracious reader. I don't know what I would do with myself if I didn't read. Some girlfriends joked that having read so much I should be able to write romance novels in my sleep. So I took it as a dare and in January of 2006 I sat down and started typing.I've always had, like many people, this little idea in the back of my head that one day I might like to try writing. I guess my one day came around sooner than I thought it might.As to why I decided on erotic romance? Well, that can go back to sneaking into my dad's wardrobe at some stage in my teen years and finding a copy of The Pearl, vintage erotica at its best. But it wasn't until recently that I decided to start a little erotica collection of my own and from the back of one of those books I found Ellora's Cave, and from there all the other houses publishing erotic romance. So it just seemed logical to write what I liked to read (though I'm a big historical fan, but I don't think I have the patience for legwork for writing historicals).Who would you say has influenced you the most?This is tough. I can’t say any one person. I would like to say something all sentimental and sappy about my Great Aunt Betty being a driving influence but she’s not (she's still a lovely lady though!). Life is my biggest influence — there is so much living to be done by everyone, that there is a story waiting around every corner.Among the authors that you read, who would you say influenced you the most? Why and how is this?To tell you the truth, I don't look at any one writer and say "I want to do that". I can find a little something in many authors that I like - a turn of phrase, or the way they can put you in a scene. I love the way Clive Cussler gets you all hyped up in his Dirk Pitt series, but on the flipside I like Minda Webber's hilarious takes on the old horror standards and the sarcasm in chick lit (though some of the chicklit heroines need a good kick in the patootie!)So I guess I can say I'm ecelctic when it comes to author influences. I can do funny, but I'm still working on the heart-revving action adventure side of things - one day I might be Clive Cussler good, you never know.What are your main concerns as a writer?That one day I will stop dreaming these amazing Technicolor movies in my head and whoosh, all my ideas go out the window.How have your personal experiences influenced the direction of your writing?Not the direction so much, but I do draw on my personal experiences to give body to my stories. I can describe how it feels during and after a major car accident because I have been there; divorce as a child or spouse — been there, done that; kids with problems, add that to the list, too!I'd love to say that I've experienced all the erotic portions of my stories, but alas, I've yet to meet a hunky elf in the flesh. Instead I rely a lot on good old-fashioned fantasies. We've all got them, so why not use them!What would you say are the biggest challenges that you face?"Where are we going with this little story, Anne?" Yup, that's a question I ask myself daily. I have lots of great beginnings, but where are those beginnings going?How do you deal with these challenges?Gnaw on it a little. Yell at it. Rant and rave until an idea comes. Sometimes it comes in a rush, other are a struggle for each little piece.My first book was written on the fly; I just sat and wrote. The sequel to that story was plotted out, chapter by chapter, as the books told me I was "supposed" to do. Yeah, well, that sucked, major rewrites needed. The next story I just sat and wrote again and my editor snapped it up before I had even finished it! So this idea of having an ending before I start I'm kind of in two minds about - while it's nice to know where I'm supposed to end up, not knowing how I'm getting there seems to work for me.How many books have you written so far?My first is a novella -- The McCabes: Persuading Jo, published in July 2006 at Loose Id. Persuading Jo is about three friends as they make the step from a couple and one friend, to a trio pairing.My second is also a novella, but much shorter than a first. My publisher calls it a Fling -- Position Vacant, published December 2006 at Loose Id again. Position Vacant is my take on life up there in the North Pole. Nick Klauson (a.k.a. Santa) and his best friend, Simon Witte come up with a scheme only men could think would work. Beatrice Raymond throws them both for a loop by falling in love with the wrong man.My third, Tea for Three, is in the editing stages. The release is planned for June 2007, again with Loose Id.Tea for Three is my most recently contracted, though I am working on others. This one took me about two months in the end. I put it down half-way through to concentrate on edits for Position Vacant.Which aspects of the work that you put into Tea for Three did you find most difficult? And which did you enjoy most?This book was set back home in New Zealand, which was both good and bad. It made it easy to set my story as I knew the area so well, but it made me homesick at the same time! (I live in Florida at present.)I'm also very aware that Tea for Three has a bisexual couple in a same-sex (male) relationship at its core. I firmly believe you are what you are - some people prefer men over women and vice versa, and others are equal opportunity lovers. You can find love in many places and I don't believe you should be persecuted for finding it within your own sex. With Tea for Three I didn't want to convey the message that as a man you need a woman to feel whole. I hope that I have successfully been able to show that the men in Tea for Three were able to expand on the love they already had by looking outside the box, not that they were 'converted' to another way of life.What sets the book apart from the other things you have written? Tea for Three is another ménage story, yes; however, it expands over time as the characters become friends, then lovers; whereas Persuading Jo was a small snapshot of time as the two men open Jo's eyes to the possibilities with what she already has. Being that the tale told is spread out and the actual manuscript is longer, I hope I have been able to dig in deeper and give a lot more depth to my characters; that readers can relate to them more. After all gay, straight or bi, we all age and question what we are doing with the time we have on this earth.What will your next book be about?The next two or three are in process already. The WIP link on my website lists lots of little ideas floating around there! Plus you can check out excerpts from all my published stories!Do you write every day?No, I would like to, but life has a pesky way of intruding. I do something relating to writing every day. Blogging, advertising, promotion work, and with luck, some actual manuscript work! I tend to end up with blocks of time spent on one thing or another -- writing, sewing (my other sideline), or the dreaded housework.What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?Actually sitting down and writing. Considering how one year ago I hadn't written a word of fiction, let alone erotic romance, I think I have come a long way, and learned rather a lot. There comes a point when you just have to stop saying "maybe one day" and grab the bull by the horns and do it!

An Interview with E.A. Saraby, Author of The Light of Pensieri

Ambrose Musiyiwa — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 01:33:37 EST

First time novelist, E.A. Saraby is a teacher and a mother of three. Her debut novel, The Light of Pensieri (Lulu, 2006) centres around Elie, whose quest leads her into the Pensieri Mountains, where malignant spirits drive people to madness and despair.In a recent interview, E.A. Saraby spoke about her writing.What would you say are the biggest challenges that you face?My biggest challenge is finding the time to write and being able to clear my mind enough to do so. I am a full-time teacher and mother to three small children. I have maybe one or two hours to myself during the day, and often that time is taken with preparing for the next day's class lessons. Often I'll get ideas as I stand in the shower or drive to work - I try to outline them as soon as I can, but often I'm interrupted before that's possible.Luckily, my husband is a saint. When I get in 'the zone' and actually have some time, he will do what he can to take care of the kids and allow me an hour or two to write. He's often gone to bed alone on the weekend because I'll burn the midnight oil writing and sleep the next day, leaving him to fend for the kids again. He was quite glad when Pensieri was finished (as was I) because I could have weekend time with the kids again. I also carry a small journal with me to jot down ideas by hand (normally I write on a laptop), so if something comes to me when I'm on the go, at least I have a chance to catch it.How many books have you written so far?I've written several short stories and poems. Pensieri is my first full-length novel. I published it via Lulu in August of 2006.Which aspects of the work that you put into the book did you find most difficult?In addition to the time factor, there were bits and pieces where I really had to delve deep into myself and confront my own demons for a scene. I'd close my eyes, feel the tears and just type. The book was a safe way for me to confront a few of my demons in a creative, hidden sort of way.Which did you enjoy most?There were characters I absolutely loved writing. They literally made me laugh. I really don't know where half of the book came from, so when inspiration hit to write certain parts I laughed out loud or rubbed my hands together ruefully.What sets the book apart from the other things you have written?Pensieri is more fictional, more fantasy. My other works tend to be more obviously personal and nonfiction. Pensieri is much longer, with a much richer plot-line. It took a lot more research to write it and I needed the assistance of others to ensure that my storyline was consistent and solid.It is similar to the other things that I have written in that there is still a great deal of personal material buried within the fantasy in Pensieri. The writing style itself is similar as well.What is your latest book about?Currently I'm working on the sequel to Pensieri, which has a working title of Strega's Crown Prince. It investigates the spiritual concept that demons exist in all of us; how we react to their temptations determines who we are.Do you write every day?As my life is pretty full without writing, I'm unable to write every day. I write when I have the time and when inspiration strikes. Pensieri took three and a half years to complete. My other works are usually completed in one sitting. Ideally, I'd love to be able to write every day.When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?I don't think I "decided" to "be" a writer. I'm a teacher by profession. I've enjoyed writing for years, ever since I was a child. It's an outlet; a way to safely express many different feelings deep in my soul with the twist of creativity. It is almost like a recreational activity for me... just as others might choose to go golfing or read to relief stress ... one of the activities I choose is to write.Who would you say has influenced you the most?God, by far. He's given me the confidence to just let the words flow and not concern myself with what others might think. As for other authors... Hemingway comes to mind, with his simple word choice yet deep symbolism. J. K. Rowling has an amazing ability to keep a multitude of characters straight throughout her stories, something I'm trying to work on. She also has an uncanny ability to suck a reader in and not let go, which I aim for. Dan Brown uses an incredible amount of religious symbolism in his work and adds twists and turns... I enjoy that academic approach. J.K.R. uses it as well. I'm an academic at heart, and in everything I write I like to learn more myself.What are your main concerns as a writer?I'd probably say my main concern is that readers find deeper meaning in something I write. Whether they find the meaning I intended is irrelevant, but I do hope they find something in my writing that touches them at a deeper level.How have your personal experiences influenced the direction of your writing?They are the direction of my writing. Everything I've written is in some way a manifestation of what's in my own soul, and that is based on my personal experiences. I don't write specifically about any event that happened in my life; rather, I write about the feelings inside that resulted from the events.

An Interview with Bettye Griffin, Author of One on One

Ambrose Musiyiwa — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 07:15:06 EST

Bettye Griffin has written over 13 romances and contemporary women’s fiction that feature strong African American characters. Her books include At Long Last Love (1998); A Love of Her Own (1999); Prelude to a Kiss (2001); Straight to the Heart (2004); The People Next Door (2005) as well as A Love for All Seasons and If These Walls Could Talk which will be appearing in May and June of this year, respectively.Since fall 2006, she has been writing Chewing the Fat with Bettye, a blog where she posts regular commentaries on current issues and events.In a recent interview, Bettye Griffin spoke about her writing.What are the biggest challenges that you face? And, how do you deal with them?Trying to come up with fresh ideas is a challenge, because I’d prefer not to write anything that’s been done a hundred times before!I keep on plugging at it until I come up with what I want. Just like Thomas Edison with the electric light and Alexander Graham Bell with the telephone. Except I don’t work in a laboratory, and what I’m doing isn’t going to change the world.Inspiration is everywhere, so I stay on the alert, listening to those human-interest stories on the news and in women’s magazines, and others. I have a couple of special sources I use in particular, but that’s a secret I will carry with me to my urn. Gotta protect my sources, as they say in the news biz.What are you working on at present?The working title (the publisher’s marketing department may choose to change it) is The First Fifty Years. It’s about four friends from childhood turning 50, and the life-altering events for each that stem from a tenants’ reunion of the Chicago public housing project where they grew up.It is due to my publisher, Dafina Books, by July 1st and will be published sometime in 2008.After The First Fifty Years I will probably write another romance. I’ve got a number of story outlines completed. I’m also working on the plot-line for a combined sequel to The People Next Door and Nothing but Trouble, because so many readers have asked for one. I can’t make any promises about when it’ll be ready - the process from idea to completed plot to proposal to publication can take quite a while.Which aspects of the work that you put into The First Fifty Years did you find most difficult?All that research. I’m not a Chicago native; I just moved up here less than a year ago, and even now I don’t live inside Cook County. It’s amazing how much you don’t know about a place when you try to use it as a setting for a book.Which did you enjoy most?Just letting the words flow from my brain to the computer screen, especially where the characters’ emotions are concerned.What sets the book apart from the other things you have written? And, in what way is it similar to the others?It’s the most ambitious novel I’ve ever written. I’ve got a bunch of folks out there doing wrong, and I’m trying to make them sympathetic.It’s similar to the others in that it features an ensemble, which all of my mainstream novels have. (Think of those ensemble dramas on TV, like Grey’s Anatomy.) I find that I like writing about numerous people. I did an extended family plus multiple neighbors in The People Next Door, and three families in my upcoming If These Walls Could Talk.What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?When I get letters from readers telling me the profound effect one of my books had on their life.For example, one of my early romances, A Love of Her Own (1999) addressed the topic of infertility. I heard from many women with this problem telling me how the book gave them hope, not of having a baby, but of finding a man who will love them in spite of not being able to give them children.In my book Love Affair (2001), which addressed the hospitality industry, I had a dozen hospitality majors ask me to help them get jobs at a real-life service, but of course that’s more of an example of seizing a possible connection than life-changing. (They recognized from the book that I knew what I was talking about and that I must have worked for a hospitality consultant service at one time, which I did.)Do you write everyday? I try to compose a minimum of 1,000 words a day, seven days a week. Most days I’m successful am exceed that.As a writer, what would you say are your main concerns ?To tell a good story.A good story is different things to different people. The general consensus is that characters have to grow and change, but I don’t necessarily agree with that. I’ve read several continuing stories that have been top sellers where the characters didn’t learn a damned thing from book to book, just kept on doing the same bad behavior, and the readers love it. So, I’ll say that a good story is one that the individual readers enjoy. As far as what the reading public wants, now, that’s the million-dollar question.When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?When I was six years old and in the first grade. The illustrated Dick and Jane readers didn’t have a single character who looked like me. They were all blond and blue-eyed.How did this make you feel?Pissed off, or the six-year-old equivalent of it.And when you decided to become a published author, why did you cho0se to write romances? I started writing romance not because I always dreamed of becoming a romance writer (I didn’t) but because that was the easiest niche to get into. This was in the mid-to-late 1990s, when only a few authors were writing contemporary mainstream fiction featuring African-American characters. The market has really exploded since then, but at that time E. Lynn Harris was probably still selling books out of the back of his car and Eric Jerome Dickey was probably still doing stand-up comedy.Who would you say has influenced you the most?As far as writing, Frank Green, the leader of the Bard Society, the critique group I belonged to when I lived in Florida. He offered much good advice about the craft of writing. I can’t say I agreed with everything he said but he was very enlightening. As far as authors, no one.How is this? Do you not need to be a reader before you can be a writer?Yes, but I’m not easily influenced. And I’m also very discriminating. There are writers I admire but I don’t necessarily want to be like them. I just wanted to be like myself and write good stories.How have your personal experiences influenced the direction of your writing?It’s all there - people I’ve known, places I’ve been, things I’ve done.