Bashing Up The Summer

It's really getting hot here. So what better way to beat the heat than with Erin Albert. Hi Erin and welcome to the bash.:-)

01: What is the first story you’ve published. Tell us a little bit about it.

The Prophecy will be my first published novel.  It’s the story of a young woman kidnapped by a group of religious zealots and proclaimed the fulfillment of a long-awaited peace prophecy. 

02: What inspired the story?

The idea for the story literally came out of nowhere while I watched a movie one night. I would say the two main inspirations are Game of Thrones and Arthurian legend. 

03: Do you have a writing process? If so what is it?

When I have an idea, I write the story itself as fast as I can.  My characters demand to have their story told and keep me restless until it’s all been written down.  After that, I go through and agonize over grammar, sentence structure, and word choices.  The longest, hardest part is the editing. 

04: What do you currently have in the works? Give us a small preview.

I am always working on something.  Right now, I am revising the sequel to The Prophecy (working title--The Outlanders).  I wrote the whole trilogy at once, but I made some changes to The Prophecy that now must be filtered down to the other two.  I’m also putting the finishing touches on a speculative fiction short story to enter into a contest.  And finally, I’m in the process of revising a futuristic thriller tentatively called Number 25598.  Like The Prophecy’s sequel, it’s already written, but I’m doing some major rewrites. 

Teaser line from Number 25598: “Her fake human body didn’t look nearly as believable as Ryder’s, but it would have to suffice.” 

05: Who are some of your favorite authors?

Since I write YA, I read a lot of YA.  I enjoy the works of Rick Riordan, Cassandra Clare, Richelle Mead, Mary Waibel, Meradeth Houston, Michelle Pickett, Victoria Schwab, Victoria Scott, CJ Redwine, Carrie Jones, and Bree Despain.

06: Do you have one author in particular who inspired your writing career? Who and why?

I have wanted to be an author since childhood, so I guess my favorite childhood authors influenced me—Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, EB White. 

07: Are your stories based on real events or people?

No, but there is a loose correlation to Arthurian legend. 

08: How much research goes into your work?

Depends on the work.  My unpublished historical fiction novel required three years of research because I wanted the story to be exactly right.

09: Have you ever killed off a character based on someone real? If so why?

Haha!  No.    But I’m not saying I wouldn’t…  ;)

10: If you could visit any period in history, what time would you go to? Why?

I would visit Shakespearean England.  I ADORE Shakespeare.  In this fantasy, I travel back in time and meet him.  We spend all day talking and people-watching together.  My Shakespeare professor in college told me Shakespeare must have been an excellent people watcher because he so accurately understood people’s motivations. 

11: If you could gather any three people in the world, living or dead together, whom would you want to meet and talk with?

Shakespeare (I’m going for a record of how many times I can mention his name—LOL), Val Kilmer (my lifelong crush), and Anne Boleyn. 

12: What do you do for fun when you aren’t busy writing?

I enjoy reading, boxing/kickboxing, watching TV, and running.

13: What is the one thing people believe about writers that upsets you?

That it’s easy.  LOL! 

14: Is there any genre you haven’t written that you’d like to try your hand at?

Historical fiction, middle grade, and chick lit.

15: If you were independently wealthy what is the one place on Earth you’d most like to visit? Why?

Hawaii…beach, waterfalls, and no snakes.  Paradise!!  ;)

16: What is your favorite color?  Blue, like my eyes

17: What is your favorite food?  Nachos

18: What is your favorite movie?  That’s a hard one… Tombstone

19: What is your favorite TV show?  Game of Thrones

20: What is your favorite holiday?  Christmas

The Bash Is Rolling Right Along

Welcome back to the bash. This week I am so excited to have my friend Nancy Bell visiting for the bash. Hi Nancy.:-)

01: What is the first story you’ve published. Tell us a little bit about it.

Way back when I was in public school the local newspaper published a short story of mine and some poetry, but my first “official” published book was Laurel’s Miracle.

02: What inspired the story?

You know, that’s a good question. I started to write Laurel’s Miracle after I had an accident and was bed ridden. I was reading and researching some spiritual things and found myself interested in earth energy lines and ley lines. Somehow, Laurel’s Miracle grew out of that.    

03: Do you have a writing process? If so what is it?

For the most part the books write themselves. Sometimes I almost feel like a guilty ghost writer. I’ll wake up in the night with whole chapters and conversations spinning in my head. Driving across the Canadian prairie from Calgary to Winnipeg is also a great time for things to come together in my mind. The Cypress Hills for some reason always seem to be an area where plot twists become clear. Go figure!  Mostly, I just sit down and let the words come. With Laurel I had to do some planning as she needed to get from one point on the earth energy/ley line to another and I had to figure out how to facilitate that. There is also a riddle she needs to solve so that took some planning as well. Not my usual style at all.

04: What do you currently have in the works? Give us a small preview.

Oh my!  I’m working on a prequel to Laurel’s Miracle called Arabella’s Secret which is the story of Laurel’s Gramma Bella. I started this one long before the vampire series made the name Bella a household word. I’m also working on the third book in the Cornwall Adventures series tentatively called Coming Home. Aisling from Laurel’s Miracle will also have her own story at some point.

Totally off course from this, I’m working on a story about Jack the Ripper taking a totally different tack with it. My goal is not to get the reader to like him but to feel sorry for him on some level. You’ll see what I mean if I ever get it written.  I presented three pages of it last year in a Master’s Class with Jack Whyte and received some very positive feedback so that is encouraging.

05: Who are some of your favorite authors?

Charles de Lint is by far my favorite. He’s a fellow Canadian and he writes urban fantasy with a very celtic flavor. I love his stuff.

Mercedes Lackey is another favorite as well as Maeve Binchy and Anne McCaffrey.

06: Do you have one author in particular who inspired your writing career? Who and why?

Gilean Douglas, another Canadian author and poet, was a long time friend of my grandmother and she encouraged me from a very young age to create and write. She’s gone now, but we enjoyed a long and fruitful friendship. Her works are still in print and well worth a look. 

07: Are your stories based on real events or people?

Not usually. The exception here is Jack the Ripper, but for the most part I just let my characters create themselves and tell me their stories.

08: How much research goes into your work?

Tons! I have more reference books than some libraries (or so my husband says as he hauls yet another book case into the house). The problem is I LOVE research and it’s so easy to get lost in the research following some obscure trail  that it’s hard to find time to write the story.

09: Have you ever killed off a character based on someone real? If so why?

Nope, can’t say as I have, well except for the ladies in the Jack book. They were certainly real and an integral part of the plot and history.

10: If you could visit any period in history, what time would you go to? Why?

Hmmm. I’d love to be alive in early Ireland, really early when all the myths and legends were born. Although I’d prefer to be a man in those times. I’d love to spend some time with Boudicca, she’s one of my all time heroines. It would be wonderful to visit Avalon during the early times when the veils between the worlds was thin and before Christianity obscured some of the mysteries.

11: If you could gather any three people in the world, living or dead together, whom would you want to meet and talk with?

Hmmmm, again.  the Lady of the Lake, Boudicca and Lugh Lamfada 

12: What do you do for fun when you aren’t busy writing?

I garden and play with my horses. I love spending time with my grandchildren. I also study Celtic myths, Irish and Welsh.  I love that poem Pangur Ban. Oh Oh, I’d like to add the monk who penned that poem to the list of people I’d love to talk with above.

13: What is the one thing people believe about writers that upsets you?

That it’s easy to write a book!  Or that writers don’t really work.

14: Is there any genre you haven’t written that you’d like to try your hand at?

I think I’m okay with the genres I dabble in right now.

15: If you were independently wealthy what is the one place on Earth you’d most like to visit? Why?

Not one place really, but all the ancient sacred sites around the world. The stone megaliths that are present on every continent. Somehow I believe in my bones they are all linked, much like our modern communication system spans the globe now. Most of those stones have a very high quartz content which is capable of transmitting communications.

Five Bonus Questions

16: What is your favorite color?  Blue

17: What is your favorite food? Beet soup  or turnips with tons of butter and salt

18: What is your favorite movie? Gone with the Wind

19: What is your favorite TV show?  Doc Martin  - British comedy set in Cornwall

20: What is your favorite holiday?  Beltane  or for a traditional one  Christmas (which is also Winter Solstice celebration)

Summer Bash!

Welcome back to the bash as it really heats up. This week my guest is none other than Leona Pence. Welcome Leona.:-)

Thank you very much, Kat, for having me on your blog today.

01: What is the first story you’ve published. Tell us a little bit about it.

My novel, Hemphill Towers, is my one and only. It is slated to be published in Aug/Sept. of this year. It’s basically a romance with three heroines. Their stories are separate yet entwined. A lot of Birdie’s story takes place in Italy. Here’s a short blurb:

 Stella, Riley, and Birdie – best friends, and co-workers at an advertising agency – all experience a life-changing event one fateful night at a new Italian restaurant.

Riley’s life is turned upside down by a deranged stalker. Trent Peterson, a handsome museum curator, along with her friends, vows to keep her safe.

Art, wine forgery, a stalker, and even the Russian Mafia lead them down paths to romance they might never have ventured on their own.

02: What inspired the story?

I chatted often with two online friends and shared a lot of laughter with them. Just for fun,   we projected ourselves back in age as career women, each described a love interest, and I was to turn the ideas into a type of spoof story. But the words just kept flowing, plot twists came in my dreams, and before long, I had written a novel.

03: Do you have a writing process? If so what is it?

No, I just sit in front of my computer and type what pops into my head. I do scrawl notes to myself to keep descriptions of my characters handy.

04: What do you currently have in the works? Give us a small preview.

I am writing a sequel to Hemphill Towers. Here is a short excerpt:

Since slapping the smirk off the duty nurse’s face wasn’t an option, Amy gathered the bath necessities and walked down a short hall to their notorious patient’s room. The door stood ajar showing that (Spoiler name) was not in bed as expected. No ventilator noises met her ears. There he sat in a reclining chair partially facing a window that allowed him a view of the vast parking lot. A grunt emanated from his lips as recognition flickered in his eyes.  Amy stood, mouth agape, at the changes wrought in three short months. Lackluster blond hair curled around the collar of his healthcare-issued brown shirt. Those piercing eyes told her the grimace on his face was intended as a smile.

Unbelievable! A miracle must have happened here. He isn’t even restrained. No feeding tube or vent. Now, he is beginning to look the part of a sociopath.

05: Who are some of your favorite authors?

Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and a gazillion more. I’ve read a lot of new authors lately who are very good writers.

 06:Do you have one author in particular who inspired your writing career? Who and why?

I’d say Emily Loring, from my youth, introduced me to sweet romance stories. And then Barbara Cartland with her wonderful Regency romances. I envy people who can write historical romance.

07: Are your stories based on real events or people?

My story was not based on real people, but I did twist names of family and friends for my characters. They all had a big laugh at recognizing their names. Also, my daughter’s experience found its way into my book. A company doctor testified on her behalf and it helped her win a lawsuit against the company.

08: How much research goes into your work?

Since my book started as a joke, research never entered my mind until I had written quite a bit. When one of my early readers asked a question about the type of grapes used in the wine, I knew I had a lot of research to do. Not only grapes and wine, but art museums, ad agencies, and the Russian Mafia. I have an online friend living in Rome, Italy who works at the American Embassy there. She read installments as I wrote them and made sure what I wrote about Italy was correct.

09: Have you ever killed off a character based on someone real? If so why?

No, not yet.

10: If you could visit any period in history, what time would you go to? Why?

The romantic in me would like to take a peek at the regency balls that took place in early England. I’d like to be invited to such an event just to see the aristocratic catches of the season, and all the debutants in their beautiful gowns trying to snare them.

11: If you could gather any three people in the world, living or dead together, whom would you want to meet and talk with?

I assume you mean outside my family. I think Abe Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, and…hummm…I wouldn’t mind spending a day with Mysti Parker. I can only imagine a chat between the four of us. Both Lincoln and Reagan were intelligent, humorous men. It would be a pleasure to talk with them.

12: What do you do for fun when you aren’t busy writing?

I am a voracious reader. When my eyes don’t bother me, I read a novel in a day’s time using the Kindle app on my computer. I also love to play online pool. I’m good at it. I joined an online pool league and play when I get a chance.

Three times a year, I mentor one of eight classrooms in an online writing course called F2K.(Fiction for 2000) Each session lasts seven weeks. I love what I do there. It keeps my mind active and lets me meet writers from all over the world.

13: What is the one thing people believe about writers that upsets you?

That publishing an ebook doesn’t really count. I hear quite often: Ebook? I’ll wait until your real book comes out.

14: Is there any genre you haven’t written that you’d like to try your hand at?

Yes, I’d like to try Romantic Fantasy.
I did write a short fantasy that I use as a lesson example in F2K.

15: If you were independently wealthy what is the one place on Earth you’d most like to visit? Why?

Ireland, because my mother’s ancestors were from there. The hereditary Neuromuscular disease called CMT, that I have, was traced back to our Irish roots. I’d recognize a distant relative by the symptoms they show.

Five Bonus Questions

These five questions are quick get to know you questions and are optional.

16: What is your favorite color? Blue

17: What is your favorite food? Fried chicken

18: What is your favorite movie? The Song Catcher with Aiden Quinn

19: What is your favorite TV show? White Collar and NCIS (Tie for fave)

20: What is your favorite holiday? Mother’s Day…I hear from all four of my kids and most of my grands.

Bio: Leona Pence is a lifelong resident of Illinois. She didn’t start writing until after the death of her husband of forty-four years. She can usually be found in front of her computer reading, writing, chatting, or playing online pool.

Hemphill Towers will be published by MuseItUp Publishing in Aug./Sept.

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