Author bio- my full name is David Mendonca, but I like to go by D. Manuel Mendonca as a tribute to my father who died when I was 18. I married my best friend, who is also one of my biggest supporters. I am a massive night owl, even preferring to do most of my writing at night. Among personal hobbies I am the lead investigator of SIGHT a paranormal group, and I LOVE movies. I currently I have over 1000 different titles in my collection and I’ve spent most of my summer inside a theatre. You can visit my site Dmanuelmendonca.com to see what is in the works and even whats on my mind with my weekly blog. Welcome to author David. Thanks so much for taking the time to fill out 27 Questions so readers can better get to know you and your work!1. What got you started writing to begin with? That’s a hard one really, because it was never really one thing that got me started. My mother liked to write and she really encouraged me to open up my imagination and find my own worlds. Once I found I could create and expand on world’s that were mine I was hooked! 2. What was the first thing you wrote? I don’t actually remember the first thing I actually wrote but I know the first thing I actually wrote and finished was my short story THE OMEGA VIRUS. 3. What inspires you? EVERYTHING! i find inspiration in everything, I actually wrote one of my books Jack Ryder: Soulless after joking around at work. The joke of a soulless man kept with me and like that I created the world around it. But I guess if I had to pick more traditional inspirations I would definitely have to go with my wife and mother, both who have helped me when I get stuck and both who allow me to flourish. 4. Do you “people watch” for your writing? Not just for my writing, I love watching other people. And if that sounds creepy, its probably because it is. No I just love watching how people interact with each other and then I think…hey what if that old lady became a zombie and attacked her grandchildren? 5. Who are you favorite authors? I am really fond of J.K. Rowling. Her ability to get kids of these days to read. I also like Suzanne Collins and her hunger games trilogy. 6. What is your favorite book? A child called it by Dave Pelzer. It is one of the most heartbreaking, inspirational books I have ever read. 7. What genre do you most like to read? I love reading Sci-Fi and Horror, especially dark horror. It really helps get my mind churning. 8. What genre do you write? Is this reflective of what you read? I like to write a little bit of everything. I have books in fantasy, horror, post-apocalyptic, thriller… I even have a children’s book out! But I guess they are kind of reflective on what I write because a lot of the time the themes go off fear. I just like to push myself and see what I can come up with. 9. What genre do you have a difficult time with that you wish you could write? I seem to have a hard time working on anything with love or romance. Actually my wife loves those kinds of stories and I tried to write one for her birthday last year… yeah that was a disaster. 10. What kind of research do you do or have you done for your story? Most of my research comes from finding stuff online, where certain sites are, how far they are from others, certain mythologies. If something is close to me I sometimes like to go to that area and live out the scene I want to write to see if it makes sense. I’ve even had others ask what I was doing and if they could join in. 11. Do you have any writing rituals like eating chocolate or lighting incense? I am probably the worst person when it comes to paying attention to one thing at a time so usually when I write I like to have a big bag of pretzels near me and something on the television I can look at whenever. Usually I have the Simpsons running in the background or one of my favorite movies…most recently I had Jurassic Park running but I had to stop it because I spent more time watching then I did writing. 12. Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what kind? Music however is ironic for me, I can watch T.V and write but I can’t listen to music and write. I think its because I tend to become so wrapped up in songs that I mess up my stories. But I am partially inspired by songs, Revisited actually came to me when I was listening to Keith Urban’s song, for you. 13. Introduce us to your current book. My latest book is called Revisited: OMEGA VIRUS. This is actually a sequel, taking place sixteen years after the Omega Virus was created and set loose on the planet killing over 90% of the earth’s population, turning many of them into zombie like creatures. In Revisited Hope, the daughter of two former main characters has reached 16 which is considered adulthood on the island she lives on. She must figure out what she wants to do with her life which causes her to panic and offer to go back to the mainland on a rescue mission. Once there she is faced with more challenges then just zombies… 14. How long did it take you to write it? That is the scary thought, I wrote Revisited in about six weeks… six very long weeks. 15. Which character(s) of yours do you most relate to? There is a character called The Major in Revisited that I kind of based off myself. At first he is seen as cold and uncaring but after getting to know him you realize that he actually cares and everything he does is more to protect the others. 16. Who is your favorite character in this story? There is a character named Fanny who I rolled over from the original story that I loved. Her real name is Stephanie Goyer, and she is kind of the adopted sister of Hope. In the original story she was only about 11ish and I just really like what I did with her. Actually if any of my characters could come to life I would want it to be her. 17. Which character is the best role model for readers? In a way I think all of them are good role models. Fanny is the character who goes out of her way, and comfort zone to make sure Hope is safe. Hope shows you that sometimes you need to be yourself, and so on… 18. How did you decide on your cover? I was actually looking for someone to help me design a cover, I love to write but I couldn’t draw to save my life. I ended up on Fiverr.com and found a graphic artist Fayefayedesigns who asked me what the book was about and if I had any ideas…I didn’t. it took her two days but when she sent me what she had I just loved it. 19. What do you hope people discover while reading your story? I hope people can realize that real character can’t be decided, especially young. Sometimes you have to go out into the world and have real experiences to help you discover who you really are. 20. Have you written anything else? Tell us about it/them. Some of the stories I have written are Jack Ryder: Soulless, where a man has his soul stolen by the devil and he must fight back to regain his soul and finally move on. Strangers alone, is about 12 strangers are invited into a house and one by one are killed as they try to figure out who among them has staged this whole event. Siege of Ignottia, Hall of immortals, this is another series I really liked working on. My take on the fantasy world about a world parallel to ours inhabited with all kinds of monsters. And of course surviving the horror which is the story that leads up to Revisited. All of these stories actually have something in common, for each of those titles purchased I donate half of the proceeds to a charity…the charity of choice right now is Make a Wish. 21. Do you experience writers block, how do you deal with it? I think every writer experiences writer’s block. Sometimes the day is too much or you just feel overwhelmed. That’s why when I get blocked I walk away from my writing and play a game, or whatever else I can find. 22. What do you not like about writing? I think the worst part to writing is finishing. Even now about three years after my first book A cursed earth I still have ideas on how I could make it better or improve something. 23. Are you working on anything now? I have about 15 saved files of stories I am working on right now. Among them are sequels to Jack Ryder which is entitles, the 4 reborn and the final book of the Ignottia saga tears of a god. 24. How do you market your work? I use a lot of social media. Facebook, twitter, whatever. I feel like that is a good way to spread a title around and get it going. 25. What would you say to readers? I hate to admit it, but I love to talk about my books. Like I said before I hate finishing and I always have other things on my mind, and if anyone ever wants to talk about them I always put an email address inside the book in case anyone has any questions concerns, critical advice…I welcome it all! 26. What would you say to writers aspiring or otherwise? There is a saying, write what you know. I hate that saying, I feel it’s better practice to write what you’ve experienced. As well as being an author and working full time and being a husband I’m also a paranormal instigator. And because of my experiences I feel I bring more into what I write. 27. Where can one purchase your book(s)? my books can all be ordered on Amazon.com or Barnesandnoble.com
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Sometimes, as an author, I get to find music that really speaks to me. Sometimes it's the aesthetic of a particular scene, a theme for the overall story, but a lot of the time it's something that closely speaks the mind of a character. Right now I'm working on The Blue Siren, a kind of retelling of Blue Beard that is through the eyes of his female counterpart (my own invention so don't be confused): the Blue Siren who––instead of killing her husbands when they've looked into her secret room full of dead bodies––hunts the Blue Beards that kill their wives that do. This one has been a psychological process. A chance to explore the dark voice in my mind (yes, if I must be labeled as a masochist or sadist, I'd be a sadist) and recognize how tragic it is to suffer from a kind of illness that is the Blue Siren (the equivalent of a sociopath, sadist, narcissist, and psychopath). What is supposed to be a saving grace for a fallen Beauty (Beauty and the Beast) is ultimately the road to complete insanity, and if her Beast abandons her completely there's no way to save her. The premise of this curse is that a Beauty from Beauty and the Beast is rejected by her Beast. Instead of accepting her love and taking her away to live happily ever after, he runs away for whatever reason. Sometimes it's just a sad ending for the girl, but for some––for those who have a seed of darkness in them––it becomes the road to a new tale. A tale that very well may destroy the pureness of Beauty's heart. If you've been following the Tales of Evermagic series, then you've probably read The Monster & The Beast, a retelling of Beauty and the Beast in which there are two relivings going on at the same time. The one that matters for The Blue Siren is that of Serren and Ber's side. There have been a lot of reviews complaining about the lack of closure between these two, but I promise. It's not over. Though, I'd like to argue that there can't always be happy ever after, and to be honest––I love tragedies. I love writing things that are painful and beautiful and not your super sugar sweet stuff that makes you feel all good on the inside all the way through. This is the first time I'm taking a big risk (in the world of Evermagic) in writing something so dark and gruesome, but I've always felt that for Ber and Serren, this was a necessary part of their story. Instead of being a simple fairy tale we're used to, this becomes a chance for them to be something so much more than a feel good couple. These two are a pair that I've been able to see grow from the early stages of love blossom to a couple going through real struggles fighting to maintain that love. Fighting to save each other from something so much more benevolent than a simple alteration of appearance. It's not just about being able to fall in love with someone despite their appearance anymore, it's about continuing to love each other through everything hard that comes after the initial bliss of a young relationship. Hard things that seem to be impossible to overcome, things they're sometimes not sure are worth facing. There was a reason I didn't give Serren and Ber an immediate happy ending, and that reason is The Blue Siren. SPOILER Ber doesn't change back into his human form when the curse is broken on his sister and his home and so abandons Serren, not wanting to force her to be with a monster for the rest of her life. Serren, as you learn throughout the book The Monster & The Beast, has this darkness inside of her. This ill feeling she can project to scare people away but has to be careful about using because it has made her do terrible things when she has lost control to it. The Blue Siren is born from this darkness when Ber leaves, released by Serren's sorrow and feelings of abandonment. Ber's simple rejection, his attempt at saving her, becomes warped into a harsh, cruel, and hateful betrayal that drives her mad. And so the Siren takes over, cradling Serren into darkness so she doesn't have to feel the pain of his loss any more. But his voice, saying words he never said, keeps echoing in her mind, and the only way to shut it up is by killing Blue Beards––men who choose to let the fairy tale magic turn them into monsters. And so Serren, Ber's Beauty, becomes a monster to kill monsters so as to shut up the voice in her head. His voice. Saying terrible things he never said. AND SO Here we have "Dead To Me" by Melanie Martinez, which seems to speak loudly of the feelings the Blue Siren has as she learns what kind of beast she's really become. Ashley Jeffers writes Fantasy and Paranormal Romance. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in English from the University of Michigan. A certified night-owl, she spends most her nights writing, as her days are occupied being a full-time mom to three young children and working in an alternative education program for high schoolers. Both Heart of Lavora and her first novel, Blood of the Immortal, are available on Amazon and through Barnes and Noble. Thanks to a combination of ADD and OCD, she has several other projects in the works. She currently lives in Michigan with her husband, three kids, and two dogs. Find out more about Ashley's books by visiting her website: ashleyrjeffers.wordpress.com Welcome to author Ashley. Thanks so much for taking the time to fill out 27 Questions so readers can better get to know you and your work!1. What got you started writing to begin with? I’ve always enjoyed telling stories, but started writing in middle school. 2. What was the first thing you wrote? My first book was sort of a cross between Sabrina and Harry Potter, and was only about 100 pages (which I thought was impressive at the time). I’ve since abandoned that story, but may go back and improve it later on. 3. What inspires you? Most of my ideas come from dreams. I’ve had a lot of crazy ones! 4. Do you “people watch” for your writing? For the most part, no. I do have characters in my stories that are based on real people in my life, or a mash of a couple people, but it’s rare that I see someone and think, “Oh, they’d be perfect for this story.” 5. Who are you favorite authors? Growing up, I loved Mercedes Lackey and Christopher Pike. I’m also a fan of Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Anne Rice, and Kristen James. 6. What is your favorite book? My all-time favorite book (that I’ve read so many times I can quote parts) is The Starlight Crystal by Christopher Pike. 7. What genre do you most like to read? I like to read paranormal/fantasy romance, though I’m not opposed to others. 8. What genre do you write? Is this reflective of what you read? Actually, most of my work is paranormal romance or fantasy romance. I have a couple WIP that are outside of these genres, but not many. I do tend to read along the same genre that I write. 9. What genre do you have a difficult time with that you wish you could write? Science Fiction. I had a friend dare me to write a short story about robots/androids, and it was torture. There are so many fun things that can be done in that genre, but I just couldn’t seem to get into it. 10. What kind of research do you do or have you done for your story? Quite a bit, to be honest. It really depends on the story, though. For some, I don’t have to do much because it’s my world, not the real world. But for others, I have to make sure I’m staying true to the accepted ideas of whatever I’m working on. 11. Do you have any writing rituals like eating chocolate or lighting incense? I wish I could say I did something interesting, but I really don’t. 12. Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what kind? Yes. The kind depends on what I’m working on at the time. I have a couple WIPs that I’ve created playlists for (with different kinds of music on them), and others I just listen to songs that are along the mood of the story at the time. Sometimes it’s love songs, sometimes upbeat, bounce-around music (ok, pop), and other times it’s hard rock or Emo. I rarely listen to country. 13. Introduce us to your current book. My latest published work is Heart of Lavora. It is a new adult fantasy romance about a 20-year-old college girl discovering that all the things she thought were just myths (love at first sight, magic, other worlds) actually exist, and she’s smack in the middle of a war that could destroy two worlds. 14. How long did it take you to write it? If I take out all the time I spent working on other projects, it was probably about a year. Realistically, it took about two and a half years, since I can never seem to focus on just one project at a time. 15. Which character(s) of yours do you most relate to? I feel like I relate to all of them in some way. With Skye, it’s her independence. She doesn’t like asking for help, and neither do I. Hanna is fiercely loyal to those she loves, and so am I. Aiden, Bryce, and Marek are protective of friends and family. 16. Who is your favorite character in this story? In this story, it’s Skye. Despite everything, she’s strong, and intelligent, and will fight for what she believes in. 17. Which character is the best role model for readers? Again, I’d have to say Skye. Although, Aiden would be a good role model for guys. He is strong and sweet, and won’t let anyone harm those he loves. 18. How did you decide on your cover? I found the image on a file-sharing site, and instantly knew it would be perfect for the story. 19. What do you hope people discover while reading your story? If a reader takes a new look at the world, or at life/love/friendship from my work, I’d be happy. I’ve had a reviewer complain that the love happens too fast in my stories, but I’m a firm believer in love at first sight (I’ve had it happen to me). I really hope others are able to see that love doesn’t have a timeframe. 20. Have you written anything else? Tell us about it/them. I have a paranormal romance published, Blood of the Immortal. It is the first in a planned trilogy, and is about a group of vampires and immortals. Quite a bit happens in the first story, so it’s a bit difficult to explain in just one paragraph. But it’s a story of love, family, trust, and betrayal. 21. Do you experience writers block, how do you deal with it? I think at some point everyone does. When I get it, I either move on to another WIP, or I just take a break and do something else entirely. Unfortunately, this can mean things take longer to complete. 22. What do you not like about writing? I don’t like that it can become an obsession at times. There are times inspiration just doesn’t want to wait for me to be able to write, and that drives me crazy. Of course, there are other times I’m on a deadline, but can’t pull a sentence out of the ether to save my life. 23. Are you working on anything now? I actually have a couple things that I’m working on. I’m hoping to have the second book in the trilogy done by the end of October, a fictionalization of a real love story that I’m hoping to have done by next August, and a few others that are just in the beginning stages. 24. How do you market your work? I post information about my books to different books on Facebook, I have contacted blogs about the books, and I have both books in two local bookstores near me. 25. What would you say to readers? Don’t be afraid to try out new stories. You never know when you’ll find a gem. 26. What would you say to writers aspiring or otherwise? Writing is a lot harder than you’d think. It’s real work, but it’s worth it. Don’t give up. Keep working and keep getting better. 27. Where can one purchase your book(s)? Both my books are available on Amazon in Kindle format and paperback. Heart of Lavora: http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Lavora-Ashley-Jeffers/dp/1508787115/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439921302&sr=8-1&keywords=Heart+of+Lavora Blood of the Immortal: http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Immortal-Volume-Ashley-Jeffers/dp/1499176392/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8 Originally from Ohio, Julie always dreamed of a job in science. Either shooting for the stars or delving into the mysteries of volcanoes. But, life never leads where you expect. In 2007, she moved to Mississippi to be with her significant other. Now a mother of a hyperactive red headed boy, what time she’s not chasing down dirty socks and unsticking toys from the ceiling is spent crafting worlds readers can get lost in. Julie is a self-proclaimed bibliophile and lover of big words. She likes hiking, frogs, interesting earrings, and a plethora of other fun things. Welcome to author Julie. Thanks so much for taking the time to fill out 27 Questions so readers can better get to know you and your work!1. What got you started writing to begin with? I first started writing in 2011 when my sister called me from ship. She was serving aboard the USS George H W Bush and had entered an area where their internet access was restricted for security reason. Unfortunately that meant that her entertainment option were also restricted and she was bored out of her mind. When she asked for reading material, I put a story together for her. After the first few chapters, I started getting requests from her shipmates for the rest of the story. Apparently she had been sharing my work, but hadn’t bothered to send her friends the previous chapters. By the time the story was done, I was emailing around twenty sailors and getting requests for more stories. So I continued. 2. What was the first thing you wrote? My first story was a fanfiction based of an anime. It was fun, but nothing I would be really proud of. 3. What inspires you? Everything has something that inspires me. Mostly I get my ideas from people watching or dreams. 4. Do you “people watch” for your writing? All the time. Fact is far stranger than fiction is. You can see that in the types out there. Just watching them give me ideas. 5. Who are you favorite authors? I have a lot of favorite authors, but the ones I keep going back to are Piers Anthony, Patricia Briggs, Neil Gaiman, H. P. Lovecraft, and may others. 6. What is your favorite book? I’m not sure I have a favorite book. There are ones I go back to all the time and ones that I can pick up to read from any point in the book. The Hobbit is one of those. Love that story. 7. What genre do you most like to read? I read just about everything. I enjoy a good romance novel as much as I love the goosebumps I get from mystery or suspense novels. I’m not so much into horror because I have a vivid imagination and will never sleep again. 8. What genre do you write? Is this reflective of what you read? I write mostly paranormal, romance, and fantasy. I’m not so sure it reflects what I read as much as who I am. These are things I know and come easiest to me. I do have a science fiction story set, but I need to do some more research on that before I get started. 9. What genre do you have a difficult time with that you wish you could write? I haven’t really had a difficult time writing in anything yet. But I haven’t gotten into writing other thing. The only one that I’ve had issues with is the science fictions and that’s just due to the amount of research I’m going to have to put into. And that’s more of a time issue than anything dealing with actual writing. 10. What kind of research do you do or have you done for your story? I really don’t know how to answer this. Most to the research I do is looking up facts to make sure I have them right. A little mythology, a little history, and a lot of words to make sure their correct. I haven’t done anything that has required much research. 11. Do you have any writing rituals like eating chocolate or lighting incense? I would say coffee, but that’s more a necessity than a ritual. Otherwise the only thing I need is a nice quiet place and my computer. As long as I can concentrate, I’m good. 13. Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what kind? I usually like it quiet. Music distracts my brain from what it’s supposed to be doing. But if there is noise in the background, I will get something with a upbeat tempo that has no words in it to distract me. Right now I’ve been listening to Purgatorium/Silver Night BMG on youtube. Someone has it on there for a 10 hour loop and it helps me when I need to concentrate. 14. Introduce us to your current book. Well, that would have to be For the Memory of Dragons. It’s the second novel in the Dragons of Eternity series. In this world, dragons are shape shifters and Eternity is a military force that is designed to police and protect dragons. For the Memory of Dragons picks up the hunt for a group that’s been killing dragons. We join Alex as he finds a major break in the case. Unfortunately, he is shot out of the sky and crash lands in a cornfield. Terra is drawn into his problems when she comes to help. With a missing memory and only a few clues to help, they have to work together to find out who he is while being chased by the people that want to stop him from remembering. 15. How long did it take you to write it? This one took me about three months to write. 16. Which character(s) of yours do you most relate to? Probably Terra. She is a resourceful farm girl that knows how to face an issue. I like that about her and can see it in myself. 17. Who is your favorite character in this story? Alex. Who doesn’t love a man without a memory? And the fact that he is dark and moody usually add to his character. 18. Which character is the best role model for readers? I don’t really think of my characters as role models. They’re there to entertain people. If I had to pick, I would say Alex. He’s a man with a mission, and he pushes through all odds to get it done. 19. How did you decide on your cover? I have a cover artist that loves dragons. I told her I wanted a dragon crashing into a cornfield—since that is the first main scene in the book—and she worked her magic. 20. What do you hope people discover while reading your story? Enjoyment. Since I’ve been writing to keep my sister busy in her down time, I aim to distract people from life for a while. I don’t try to add in any hidden life message in there. These are just for fun. 21. Have you written anything else? Tell us about it/them. For the Memory of Dragons is the second book in the Dragons of Eternity series. The first if On the Accidental Wings of Dragons. There is also a prequel to the series that features a few key characters, but is set much earlier in their timeline. That is A Castle for Dragons. On top of the dragons series, I have a series of five books and a novella dealing with vampires. That starts with Kindling Flames – Gathering Tinder. That deals with an ancient vampire that’s denying his life as a vampire. When problems arise in the supernatural world, the alpha of the local pack brings the problem to him, forcing him to have to deal with the life he’d left behind with the help of his new personal assistant—who knows nothing of the supernatural world. The first two books in that series were original supposed to be one book, but my publisher asked me to split it because it was too long—clocking in at over one hundred and fifty thousand words long. So the first one does leave you on a bit of a cliffhanger, but it goes straight into the second book. 22. Do you experience writers block, how do you deal with it? I take a nap of take a shower. Usually that will help clear whatever is blocking me out. Or I gather my nick-knacks and go to the coffee shop to watch people. The change of scenery usually helps. 23. What do you not like about writing? Spelling and grammar. I know they are important, but they are my bane. I’m just glad that I have an editor that will deal with me. 24. Are you working on anything now? Right now I am working on the third book to the Dragons of Eternity series. I hope to have it done by the end of August. 25. How do you market your work? Most of my marketing is done through social media and blog sites. I spend a lot of time pushing the first book in the series. Once they get into that one, they will carry on over to the next. 26. What would you say to readers? Thank you. Without you, wouldn’t do what I do. And I hope you find a few hours of escape between my pages. Being a published author is a lot harder than I ever thought it would be. There’s a lot more involved than just putting a story together. You are putting your thought and ideas out for the world to see, and the world is not a nice place. You will be judged, hard. The best thing I can tell you is spend time with your work and make sure it’s the best it can be. Get someone to read it before you put it out there and listen to what they have to say with a critical ear. And the hardest thing to do—don’t take the bad reviews to heart. Your work may not fit everyone’s tasted. Write was please you and be true to yourself. And never stop. Being an author is a lucrative business and your audience is fickle. Just keep going. 27 .Where can one purchase your book(s)? For the Memory of Dragons will be release on August 31 on amazon at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011WJIAYA/ It will also be available on Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and iBooks after it’s release. The rest of the books are also available on all of these platforms. For a complete list check out my amazon authors page at http://www.amazon.com/Julie-Wetzel/e/B00MTMBD6C/ . Website and Social media links http://www.juliewetzel.com/ https://www.facebook.com/JulieWetzelAuthor https://twitter.com/JulieKWetzel http://www.amazon.com/Julie-Wetzel/e/B00MTMBD6C/ CC Hogan is a writer and musician who loves growing hot chilies, cooking, and generally thinks that laughter is the best form of love. He spent many years in the media and entertainment industry but now enjoys peace, quiet, wine, and special moments. He is a very private person; he finds it cheaper. Welcome to author C.C. Hogan. Thanks so much for taking the time to fill out 27 Questions so readers can better get to know you and your work!1. What got you started writing to begin with? I find it very hard to pin point a time where I moved from not wanting to write to feeling I had to. I think I was probably very young. When I was older I moved into the media industry where words are the axis around which all ideas revolve. I have always been more creative than analytical so anything that moves ideas from my brain to someone else’s is very attractive. I find I get less headaches of frustration with words, so that is what I end up doing most. I am a little worried that it is becoming an addiction! 2. What was the first thing you wrote? I was trying to work this out the other day. Some years ago I made a conscious effort to chuck out all my school books which my parents had insisted needed to be kept for some unexplained posterity. Sadly, for you, this means that out went anything written when I was very young. It is probably a good thing, however. The earliest works I can remember, without the now discarded supporting evidence, tend to be poems. I love writing poetry, but I am not sure I am very good at it. It also can make me cry which is damned embarrassing! 3. What inspires you? This is an easy one: quiet moments. I come from an industry where the off switch is surgically removed from you as an apprentice; distancing myself from that world has allowed me to reinstall this vital human component and I can now find the time to sit, wonder and let what passes by inspire me in anyway it sees fit. If I were to try and find something in particular that inspires me, I think it would be what I call “natural comedy,” the ability for something to make you smile whoever you are and whatever circumstances one is in, however tragic. Seeing someone with a deadly serious face, trip very slightly and break into a tiny smile, can make my day very special. 4. Do you “people watch” for your writing? Oh, very much so, and so do my characters. People watching is something we all do all the time, it is a very important part of human communication. It is one of the problems with modern communications in that we remove some of the vital senses from our experiences with others like touch, smell, taste, and so end up with a very incomplete picture with our brains desperately trying to fill in the gaps from our library of experiences. Smell, the main character in The Stink, writes all his songs by watching others. He doesn’t try and second guess them or pretend he really knows them, he just watches and makes up a story. It can create the most beautiful moments too; lying next to someone in a park, making up stories of those you both can see, is probably one of the most romantic and sensory moments you can experience. 5. Who are you favorite authors? I struggle with this one often as I have the most terrible memory for names. However, a few authors I love, even though I rarely have time to read them: Charles Dickens, mostly for his wondrous character names, Peter Carey, for his strange and almost cartoon like characters, and Umberto Eco for just being too damned clever. 6. What is your favorite book? 21st Century Blues by Steve Walker. It is probably not the best book in the world, but it made me laugh in all the right places. 7. What genre do you most like to read? I think I end up with Fantasy rather too much. I am not sure why, but maybe because it sometimes offers a simpler view of a world, a simpler life. Let’s face it, when Tolkien invented Hobbiton, he described a village where he wanted to live. 8. What genre do you write? Is this reflective of what you read? At the moment I admit to two Genres. The Stink is set in London in the 1970s and is a young adult book about a young band. Dirt, on the other hand, is a huge, sprawling fantasy set on a world called Dirt. But really, everything is fantasy – even if I set a story around where I live at the moment, it would still be my interpretation of it, and that is going to be fantastical simply because it is not reality. 9. What genre do you have a difficult time with that you wish you could write? I fancy the idea of writing a mystery of some sort. I rather like Sherlock Holmes kind of stories, but I have yet to come up with a strong idea that doesn’t collapse in an illogical heap. “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever is left should probably be chucked in the trash!” 10. What kind of research do you do or have you done for your story? The Stink has a slight autobiographical streak running through it in that it is set in my own teen era, so the research consisted of sitting in the corner, getting drunk, and remembering me and my friends. I did phone a few people I haven’t heard from for forty years and quiz them. That was scary. Dirt has been quite different. Although a fantasy, I wanted to make the world feel real. Like many other fantasies it is set in a medieval kind of environment, just with dragons attached. I was very keen that there was no cheating so that when I needed people to get from A to B nice and quick, there was no convenient wizard that could make up for the lack of a jumbo jet with a wave of a wand. So, I have spent time reading up about how fast people can travel in a wagon, about infantry speeds and supplies, about coping with weather, lighting fires and all the other things that can trip people up in a real world without technology. My notes for the books are now novel sized in their own right. Note taking and research have not only become vital for the books, but fun too! 11. Do you have any writing rituals like eating chocolate or lighting incense? I like this question! Roald Dahl, famously, had his little shed with his favorite armchair where he wrote all his books. Environment is incredibly important and getting that right is what rituals are all about. I have yet to get that perfect and part of trying to become an author is about eventually earning enough money to find my perfect tiny cottage where I can be as ritualistic as I need and write every hour of the day. Part of that is accompaniments, like chocolate and incense. For me it is the espresso coffee machine that sits by my desk and the queue of cheap wine waiting to be consumed. Incense is good too! 12. Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what kind? I do sometimes, but since I am also a musician, this can create a conflict of interests. I also speak out loud when I am writing, especially writing dialogue, and that can be a problem if the music is vocal heavy. I do like the atmosphere created by music, however, and will chose artists like John Martyn, JJ Cale and Ry Cooder to jolly me along. Such creative gentlemen! Oh, very partial to Melissa Etheridge too. She has a challenging streak to her words that wake me up. 13. Introduce us to your current book. Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome onto the stage, The Stink! (Please stand up and cheer.) London in 1976 was an interesting place. Industrial strife was building, the National Front was spewing out their vile messages, our parents were finding homophobic comedians funny and the economy was in a really bad place. So what happened? Well, the sun came out and refused to go away for the entire summer. It was the longest, hottest summer on record and if you were sixteen and had just finished your O-Levels, you were in Nirvana! Smell, Aroma, Haze, Stench and Fart are five friends putting together a band and trying to get their first gig. They are young, crazy, silly and innocent and determined to have fun. Getting mixed up with a group of murderous tramps, lugging generators around to power rehearsals, facing racism, anti-Semitism and homophobia was not exactly on their to-do lists, but when you are 16, creative and adventurous, anything can happen. And then there is that falling in love thing! The Stink is nothing if it is not a comedy, but it is also about real people and if you laugh with them most of the time, don’t be surprised if suddenly you are crying with them. They are the teens we all were or wanted to be, living at a time that was fun, occasionally creative and totally lacking in mobile phones! Read loads more at http://thestinkbooks.com 14. How long did it take you to write it? I started writing it several years ago and struggled with the first fifty thousand words. But then last year I kicked myself hard and got down to it properly and finished the first draft in five weeks, loving every moment of it. 15. Which character(s) of yours do you most relate to? The five heroes are all people I remember from my own teenage years, but the two I am closest to are Smell and Aroma. Smell is not really me, apart from the writing songs bit, but I understand him and his confusion about the world. I want to sit down and tell him that he will work it out one day and it will be cool. Aroma is simply my first girlfriend and I love her like crazy. 16. Who is your favorite character in this story? I am very fond of Frank, the old Jamaican who gives Smell a job and helps the band out when it all goes wrong. He is a warm and strong man who accepts young people as they are and does not judge too quickly. Parents in the 21st century have different relationships to their kids than back in the Seventies. They listen to similar music, went to similar schools and had the same teen angst. Back in the seventies that wasn’t so, and the gulf between the young generation and the older generation was huge. Characters like Frank who could bridge the gap were rare and are fondly remembered. 17. Which character is the best role model for readers? Ooh, I am not sure. All my characters have faults so I would not recommend role model status for any of them completely. Perhaps Smell is the one I would like for others to follow just a little. He is incredibly creative and just a touch anarchic inside. In one scene, he sees a young boy playing with his food in a burger bar and being told off by his mother. The boy is looking at a tomato thinking that it is staring at him. As the friends leave the restaurant, Smell whispers in the boy’s ear, “Yeah, I thought it was staring too.” The boy then gives the tomato a vicious stab. When one of the other members of the band asks what that was about, Smell replies, “Someone had his creativity trodden on. I was just giving it a bit of first aid.” I like that Smell would take the time to think about that sort of thing. 18. How did you decide on your cover? This was purely financial – I didn’t have any money. So, I drew my own using photoshop. It probably is far from the best cover, but I hope it is at least distinctive. 19. What do you hope people discover while reading your story? This will depend on the audience. For people my age, in their fifties, I hope they will rediscover the world of their youth; a world where the teenager came into their own, but had yet to be ensnared by modern communications. When we left our front door, our parents had no way of tracking us down, had no computer to spy on and we could be as private as we liked. That was true freedom. For young people now, I hope they will discover that despite the lack of mobiles and the internet, us oldies were exactly like them. We struggled with love, with parents, with life and with friends and we fell in love/hate on a minute by minute basis. We were the original teens and the world the teen has now is our gift to them. 20. Have you written anything else? Tell us about it/them. The big book is Dirt which I am currently proofreading and working on the artwork for the first three books. It is immense and I have just finished writing book 5 plus a short story and a novella with another 7 in the pipeline. Dirt is a world of humans and dragons, but possibly not a world that many dragon lovers have encountered before. Like many fantasy dragons, my lot speak and have opinions, but it struck me that an intelligent dragon if she were real would be less than happy living in a damp cave. So dragons on my world have a culture, have opinions, have politics, sex-lives, families, villages and the rest. They are just rather bigger and can fly. The first three books tell the story of Johnson Farthing, a poor cart-pusher in a small coastal town, whose sister is kidnapped by slavers. What starts out as a simple chase across a continent slowly evolves into a huge political saga as Johnson and the girl he loves, try and transform their world from one of autocratic and tyrannical leaders to one where the ordinary person has a say in their own lives. The world is complicated, multi layered, detailed and as real as I can make it. The characters love and hate, laugh and cry, are heroes and are silly, and all, humans and dragons, have needs, fears, pain and sorrow. But despite the world encompassing story, the politics and the wars, ultimately this is a story about friendship and family and the need to find somewhere to call home. Like The Stink, it will have its own website where I will be putting up maps, background histories and much more over time. http://aworldcalleddirt.com/ 21. Do you experience writers block, how do you deal with it? I am not a believer in writers block in that I think it is rather a vague term to cover lots of other problems and not something to be dealt with in itself. The real problems can be anything from not feeling well to messing up the plot or creating a useless character. If you are suffering from “Writers Block,” maybe rather than trying to find some mad trick, try and work out what the problem really is. Loads more about this here: http://cchogan.com/i-dont-have-writers-block/ 22. What do you not like about writing? Quick and easy – my terrible spelling and occasional blindness to words. I am not dyslexic, but sometimes I think I am close and I get frustrated. Word processing has been my savior! 23. Are you working on anything now? I think “Dirt” is going to be my full time project for the next couple of years, but I also want to squeeze in a sequel to The Stink which will be set 2 years later when they are 18 and go on the road. It will definitely be naughtier and a lot less innocent. I also have a couple of other comedy ideas up my sleeve. 24. How do you market your work? At the moment it is down to social media since I am broke. So, wonderful ideas like this 27 questions is perfect for me! 25. What would you say to readers? READ MY BOOKS! Too subtle? One of the biggest kicks I get out of writing my books is reading them back which I do out loud, often standing up to get a bit of a performance going. I am a great believer that people are basically funny and even a psychopath will giggle at something silly. I try and get that into my books and my characters, so if you find that my characters are not “terribly dark” all the time, maybe it is because what they really are is real people; even my dragons. 26. What would you say to writers aspiring or otherwise? Aspire! I have written a million words over the last year and even if I only sell one book (which would be very depressing), I have really enjoyed the process of writing. The trick is to keep writing, even if it is rubbish. Make loads of silly notes, try not to make the process academic, and remember that in the end you are a story teller. You are the person sitting in that old tavern, telling a story to a group of people while drinking big pots of frothy beer. Make your audience laugh, cry, think, dream and, most importantly, want to spend time with you and your characters. Some authors love to talk about the “loneliness” of writing, the pain of being an author and so on. Well, load of self-indulgent rubbish, basically. How can one be lonely if you are spending time with such wonderful people like Smell or Aroma, or dragons in my Dirt books like Fren-Eirol and Mab-Onin? Get your pencil out, open your laptop, or however you are going to write, create your characters and fall in love with them. It is a complete joy! 27. Where can one purchase your book(s)? The Stink is available through Amazon at the moment in both Kindle and Paperback. Here is a link: http://getbook.at/the-stink-kindle Links Blog: http://cchogan.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/Its_CCHogan Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/cc-hogan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cchoganauthor Dirt: http://aworldcalleddirt.com/ The Stink: http://thestinkbooks.com/ Audio of The Stink, Chapter 1: https://youtu.be/gHpARYuWd_g The Stink Trailer: https://youtu.be/njIVj1ewwk8 |
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