#WriterWednesday with Tricia Copeland

I’d like to welcome Tricia Copeland to the blog for #WriterWednesday.

Favorite thing that you always make time for: running

The thing you’ll always do just about anything to avoid: folding laundry

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave: Diet Coke, chocolate

Things that distract you from writing: noise

The thing you like most about being a writer: talking books and characters with readers

The thing you like least about being a writer: editing

Things you will run to the store for in the middle of the night: did I mention chocolate & Diet Coke?

Things you never put on your shopping list: beets, collard greens, coconut

Your best recipe: Adding extra chocolate chips to brownie mixes

Something that didn’t turn out like you planned when you made it: almost every other dish I cook

Things you always put in your books: happily ever after

Things you never put in your books: graphic sex

Things to say to an author: I loved “x” character

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: will you put me in your book

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: gone snow skiing

Something you chickened out from doing: riding a roller coaster

The best job you ever had: being an author

The worst job you ever had: fast food cashier

The one thing you cook/bake that is better than a restaurant dish: lasagna

The one thing you cooked/baked that turned out to be an epic disaster: quiche

About Tricia:

Tricia Copeland is the critically acclaimed and award-winning author of Kingdom of Embers, To be Fae Queen, Lovelock Ones, and Azreya, Aztec Priestess, and dozens of other titles. She is the host of the Finding the Magic Book Podcast who weaves magical stories about love, courage, and finding your passion.

Tricia Copeland believes in finding magic. She thinks magic infuses every aspect of our lives, whether it is the magic of falling in love, discovering a new passion, seeing a beautiful sunset, or reading a book that transports us to another world. An avid runner and Georgia native, Tricia now lives with her family and four-legged friends in Colorado. Find all her titles including contemporary romance, now penned under Maria Jane, young adult fantasy, and dystopian fiction at www.triciacopeland.com.

 Let’s Be Social:

https://www.facebook.com/TriciaCopelandAuthor/

https://www.instagram.com/authortriciacopeland/

https://twitter.com/tcbrzostowicz

https://www.tiktok.com/@triciacopelandauthor

https://www.youtube.com/@triciacopelandauthor

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Tricia-Copeland/author/B00YHN5Q4G

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14055439.Tricia_Copeland

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tricia-copeland

#WriterWednesday with DonnaRae Menard

I’d like to welcome the fabulous and funny DonnaRae Menard to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Finding the just right place to market.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Let the story build itself and getting it all down.

Things you need for your writing sessions: coffee, chocolate, cats

Things that hamper your writing: The Three C’s – coffee, chocolate, cats.

Words that describe you: Energetic, Over the top, Willing to share.

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Boring. Staid.

Something you’re really good at: Talking to people.

Something you’re really bad at: Remembering I should have boundaries.

Last best thing you ate: Sour pickle, pepperoni, and cheese snacks on Ritz.

Last thing you regret eating: The entire container of Chunky Monkey ice cream ten minutes before I went to bed.

Favorite music or song: The Last Kiss, version by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers.

Music that drives you crazy: Anything that is the same 3 lines over and over again.

The last thing you ordered online: Doll grocery cart.

The last thing you regret buying: 3 months’ worth of the GOLO diet.

Things you’d walk a mile for: The heck of it, good music, a chance to be with my friends.

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: Anything work related that is 45 minutes of 5 minutes’ worth of information.

Things you always put in your books: food, critters, compassion.

Things you never put in your books: Usually real sex. I like the innuendo, the hint that the reader can build in their mind.

Things to say to an author: You can do this. Tell me what you need, let’s see if I have an answer.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: Your idea is trite, your prose repetitive, and your character a joke.

Favorite places you’ve been: Anywhere in the car.

Places you never want to go to again: Up in a four-seater airplane on a sightseeing flight.

Favorite books (or genre): Historical mystery fiction

Books you wouldn’t buy: True crime.

Favorite things to do: Eat, gab, write.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Sit through a self-awareness lecture.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Played spray paint cow bingo in the middle of the night

Something you chickened out from doing: Facing my dad when I knew I was totally wrong. I blamed it on my brother.

The funniest thing to happen to you: I booked a non-refundable flight for a three-day conference, and spent the time couch surfing at a Marriott.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: Having to stand up in front of a woman I didn’t like and apologize for my bad behavior.

The coolest person you’ve ever met: Lyndon Baines Johnson

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: John Travolta.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: When Katie described her bad hallucination, it made me cry.

The craziest thing a reader said to you: Have you ever actually been around pigs?

Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done: I’m a stitcher. I see something I like, go home and make a pattern. I’ve made several wedding gowns and somewhere in the process, I always tweak until I’m happy. Oh, and sometimes forget to ask the bride.

A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it: I volunteered to video a wedding and reception. I got a little tipsy, there was a lot of inappropriate footage.

Some real-life story that made it to one of your books: There are many, many real-life incidents in my books. I have a large family and can usually find someone to help.

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: In the An It’s Never Too Late Series, Katelyn Took is not me.

My favorite book as a child: Beautiful Joe

A book I’ve read more than once: All of JRR Tolkien.

Your favorite movie as a child: The Taming of the Shrew with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton

A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night as a kid (or as an adult): The Blob. I slept on the porch roof for months because it was cold out there and the Blob didn’t like the cold.

About DonnaRae:

DonnaRae Menard began writing in junior high school and has been scribbling since. DonnaRae is a hybrid author with both self-published books and working with Level Best Books Publishing, as well as with Of Metal and Magic Publishing. She is the author of Murder in the Meadow, 1970 cozy mystery series, In the Shadow of Pharoah, historical fiction series, The Waif and The Warlord, and the Detective Carmine Mansuer series. New on her list are Beneath the Fountain, Dropped from the Sky, Murder on the Small Farm, The Morality Issue, and Snuffling Up Bones, Book 1, in The Pig & I Series. She splits her time between Vermont and New Hampshire, has an affinity for odd jobs, rescued cats, and talking about her 450-pound lap pig. Check out her website donnaraemenardbooks.com. Find her on facebook and Blue Sky. Follow QR code to webpage.

Let’s Be Social:

BlueSky: drmenardbooks.blsky.social

Website: donnaraemenardbooks.com

Facebook: DonnaRae Menard

#WriterWednesday with Joel Turner

I’d like to welcome author Joel Turner to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Blank page

Easiest thing about being a writer: Editing

Things you need for your writing sessions: Quiet (negotiable), coffee (non-negotiable)

Things that hamper your writing: Laziness

Words that describe you: Affable, easy-going, obsessive about some things

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Know-it-all

Something you’re really good at: Saying what basketball announcers say before they say it

Something you’re really bad at: Handwriting

Last best thing you ate: Tomato pie

Last thing you regret eating: A hamburger

Favorite music or song: R&B, “Mind over Matter” by Nolan Strong and the Diablos

Music that drives you crazy: “Sweet Caroline,” Neil Diamond in general

The last thing you ordered online: WILDWOOD EXIT bookmarks

The last thing you regret buying: Roomba

Things you’d walk a mile for: Ultimate Italian Hoagie from Carlino’s; a mint-condition 45 of “Village of Love” by Nathaniel Mayer and the Fabulous Twilights on the Fortune Label.

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: “Watching Scotty Grow” by Bobby Goldsboro

Things to say to an author: I bought your book

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: I’ve always wanted to write a book but don’t have the time.

Favorite places you’ve been: Ravello, Islay, Barbados

Places you never want to go to again: Disneyworld

Favorite books (or genre): Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon, At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O’Brien, How late it was, how late by James Kelman, High Rise by J. G. Ballard, God’s Pocket by Pete Dexter

Books you wouldn’t buy: Romance, Romantasy

Favorite things to do: Play golf, listen to R&B, dinner out with my wife

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Square dancing

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Getting an MBA

Something you chickened out from doing: Getting an MFA

The funniest thing to happen to you: Being exorcised by a Catholic priest in preparation for becoming a god-parent.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: Calling my god-daughter by her sister’s name

The coolest person you’ve ever met: Dave Davies of The Kinks

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: World B. Free – he’d put on a few pounds since his playing days.

Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done: Explaining to a roomful of bankers in Milan how bad their credit metrics were.

A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it: Spending the summer of my sophomore year in college in Berkeley, CA, with promise of a job that fell apart when I got there. I ended up working in the Del Monte cannery under an assumed name.

Some real-life story that made it to one of your books: A friend crashing a car and walking away from it, because the title had not been transferred to him.

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: Having a girlfriend from Quebec

The first 8-track, record, cassette, or CD you ever bought: The Yardbirds Greatest Hits

A type of music that’s not your cup of tea: Modern Country

My favorite book as a child: A Pass and a Prayer by Claire Bee

A book I’ve read more than once: Exterminator! By William S. Burroughs

Your favorite movie as a child: The Beast from the 20000 Fathoms

A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night as a kid (or as an adult): Vertigo

About Joel:

Joel E. Turner has combined his writing work with a career as a consultant in business analytics to banks in the US and Europe. His fiction has appeared in many US and UK journals. He also writes about Soul Music, film, and books at joeleturnerauthor.com. His new novel, WILDWOOD EXIT, a Jersey Shore noir tale, draws on his extensive work experience at some of the finer dining establishments at the Jersey Shore. He knows how to operate a Frialator.

Mr. Turner splits his time between Philadelphia and White Cloud, Michigan.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: http://joeleturnerauthor.com

Twitter: @JoelETurner1

Bluesky: @joeleturner.bsky.social

Instagram: @bzturner

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joeleturner2

#WriterWednesday with Alison McBain

I’d like to welcome writer Alison McBain to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Favorite thing that you always make time for: I might be elbows-deep in a project, but I will always make time for my kids.

The thing you’ll always do just about anything to avoid: I’m a terrible procrastinator, so I will always avoid the most urgent thing I HAVE to do because the world will explode if I don’t. But I’m very productive at doing all the stuff that’s NOT urgent, LOL.

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave: The fuel that keeps my writing going is silence, hot chocolate, and tea. Not necessarily in that order.

Things that distract you from writing: Loud, constant noises are somewhat distracting when I’m writing. A neighbor mowing their lawn, a siren going off down the street, or even the buzzing of a fly stuck at the window—argh. It’s why I have a monster tub of earplugs for when I really need to shut the world out.

The thing you like most about being a writer: I love sitting down and being able to tell stories every day. It’s seriously my dream career come to life. And there’s no better high than when you open an email to find an acceptance waiting for you.

The thing you like least about being a writer: I’d love to just write constantly and do nothing else—no editing, marketing, networking, etc. But that’s the necessary evil of writing as a profession—it’s a business, so there’s a lot more to it than just putting words on a page.

Things you will run to the store for in the middle of the night: I have a terrible sweet tooth, so if I’m out of candy, cookies, ice cream, you name it—there might be a midnight trip to the store in my future.

Things you never put on your shopping list: Broccoli is the bane of the world—that stuff ain’t ever coming near me. *shudder*

Something you’re really good at: Aside from writing, my lifelong hobby has been folding origami. If you ever meet me in person, just ask me and I’ll make you something cool.

Something you never learned how to do: This might be a cliché, but I’ve never learned how to change the oil in my car. Perhaps I will someday, but I’m not really interested in doing it when it’s so much easier just to take it to my local mechanic.

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: I’ve always wanted to be a writer, ever since I was four years old. What a great gig—telling stories all day.

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: I think I must have imposter syndrome because I never thought I’d ever get to the point that I could be a fulltime freelance writer and editor. It’s so cool!

Things to say to an author: “Your writing is so inspiring that I want to be an author when I grow up!”

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “On a scale of one to ten, I give your last book a zero.”

Favorite things to do: I’ll quote Julia Child here: “People who love to eat are always the best people.” I don’t know if that’s true, but I do love to eat!

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Eating bugs is actually one of the things that I’d run through a fire to avoid. Just the thought of it… ugh.

The coolest person you’ve ever met: I only really fangirl over authors, so I’m going to have to say the coolest writer I ever met was Ray Bradbury. He’s long been one of my writing heroes, and so it was awesome to talk to him when I was just starting out as a writer. Very inspiring.

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: I lived in New York City a couple of decades ago, and you see a lot of celebrities all the time there. The one celebrity I saw walking down the street who looked MUCH different without tons of makeup and fancy clothes was Cameron Diaz. I didn’t even recognize her at first (my boyfriend at the time did).

The best job you ever had: Being a writer is amazing! I get to wake up every day and do what I LOVE.

The worst job you ever had: Working as a server in a restaurant is a nonstop sh*tshow. Long hours, low pay, customers who hit on you constantly when they’re not complaining about something that you can’t do anything about (such as prices being too expensive, drinks arriving too slowly, etc.). While my previous experience as a server has been great fodder for my writing, I would probably gouge out my eye before going back to a job like that.

The one thing you cook/bake that is better than a restaurant dish: I’m a whiz when it comes to desserts, but I have to say I’m a pie whisperer at heart. The crust I make is *chef’s kiss.*

The one thing you cooked/baked that turned out to be an epic disaster: I have to say that I don’t think I’ve ever had a good experience cooking with canned sardines. They stink up the kitchen and are just not edible, no matter how much I try to disguise them in a dish.

About Alison:

Alison McBain’s human-created novels are the recipients of over 13 awards, including the Foreword INDIES. Her latest novella Dual took home 3rd place in the 3-Day Novel Contest. When not writing for herself, she’s a ghostwriter who has penned over two dozen books for clients, as well as an award-winning editor who has worked with both celebrity and NY Times-bestselling authors. In 2024, she pursued a project called “Author Versus AI,” where she wrote a book a week, using NO AI at all (34 books total). When not writing, Ms. McBain is the associate editor for the magazine ScribesMICRO and draws all over the walls of her house with the enthusiastic help of her kids. She lives in Alberta, Canada.

Let’s Be Social: 

Author Versus AI website: http://www.authorversusai.com/contact.html

Author website: https://www.alisonmcbain.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alison.mcbain.9

Twitter: https://x.com/AlisonMcBain

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alisonamcbain/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-mcbain-0a026a266/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm9PMu4p4urp_un0oy1vroQ

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@1authorversusai

Medium: https://medium.com/@amcbain

#WriterWednesday Interview with S. A. Schneider

I’d like to welcome S. A. Schneider to the blog today for #Writer
Wednesday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Writing.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Writing.

Things you need for your writing sessions: My computer and Scrivener. Want to get into dictation, but I keep dragging my feet.

Things that hamper your writing: Life. Too often I have to get to the real world work and my writing ends up taking a backseat.

Something you’re really good at: Ideas, especially involving tech.

Something you’re really bad at: I love games, but it’s a running joke at how much I lose.

Favorite music or song: I have many, many, but lately it’s been “Can’t stop the Feeling” from Timberlake, totally not what I normally listen to.

Music that drives you crazy: Actually not much other than Opera, which is mentioned later.

Things you always put in your books: Easter eggs for parents, like all the adult jokes in Looney Tunes cartoons.

Things you never put in your books: swearing and other teen/adult situations. Did have Samaul’s dad be a drunk, but never explicitly showed him drinking.

Favorite places you’ve been: Top of a mountain in New Mexico

Places you never want to go to again: The freeway around Washington, DC. No matter day of week or time of day, it’s slow, bumper to bumper traffic.

Favorite books (or genre): I love the Dragonlance series and Stephen King books, I have almost every Star Wars book printed, both old Canon and new.

Books you wouldn’t buy: I’m not big on thrillers. My mother gives me all her David Baldacci books after she’s read them. I say thanks and quietly give them away.

The coolest person you’ve ever met: I’ve met several cool celebrities, but the best interaction was with Dean Haglund who played Langely in the X-Files. It’s a story.

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: Don’t have one that I’ve met.

The first 8-track, record, cassette, or CD you ever bought: I don’t remember the cassette, but my first 4 CDs were: Van Halen 1, Lost Boys soundtrack, Led Zeppelin 4, and Look What the Cat Dragged in by Poison

A type of music that’s not your cup of tea: Opera. I had to listen to it for music history and mostly fell asleep.

My favorite book as a child: Dragonlance series, particularly Dragons of Autum Twilight.

A book I’ve read more than once: the above Dragonlance series and Stephen King’s The Shining

Your favorite movie as a child: Star Wars and still some of my favorites, including all the new shows

A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night as a kid (or as an adult): Wasn’t a show or movie – but the book Amityville Horror. Realized I was home alone and reading it on the couch with the lamp shining on me. I was basically in a pool of light and everything else was pitch black.

About Stephen:

S.A. Schneider has a wolf, so of course he writes middle grade fantasy, wouldn’t you? Since his Lego and action figure days, he’s crafted worlds and stories within those worlds. This pursuit continues into his middle grade fantasies.

He doesn’t stop with inspiring kids to write linear stories. Oh no, no. S.A. shows kids how storytelling in video games work and how they can learn to write those. He wants others to join him and delve into creating fantastical worlds.

Enjoy the Adventure!

Let’s Be Social:

Website: https://sa-schneider.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SASchneiderAuth

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/S.A.-Schneider/author/B07CG6FKG4

#WriterWednesday with Edward Willett

Edward Willet is my guest today for #WriterWednesday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Finding the uninterrupted time to write.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Typing fast.

Things you need for your writing sessions: My laptop and some place to sit.

Things that hamper your writing: People talking around me. Chatter is fine, but if I can make out individual conversations, I have to put on headphones.

A few of your favorite things: Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.

Things you need to throw out: Brown paper packages tied up with string.

Something you’re really good at: Singing.

Something you’re really bad at: Dancing.

Favorite smell: Bacon.

Something that makes you hold your nose: Rotting grain (I worked as a college student in a grain elevator.)

Things you always put in your books: Whenever possible, some sort of nod to Saskatchewan.

Things you never put in your books: Preachiness.

Things to say to an author: I couldn’t put it down.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: Books are boring, why do you write them?

Favorite books (or genre): Science fiction and fantasy.

Books you wouldn’t buy: Political screeds.

Favorite things to do: Read, write, sing, eat.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Yard work.

Best thing you’ve ever done: Marrying my wife.

Biggest mistake: Not finding and marrying her sooner.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Skydiving.

Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done: Performed in musical theatre.

A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it: Starting a publishing company.

About Edward:

Edward Willett is the author of more than sixty books of science fiction, fantasy, and nonfiction for readers of all ages. Marseguro (DAW Books) won the Aurora Award (honouring Canadian science fiction and fantasy) for Best Long-Form Work in English; his young adult fantasy Spirit Singer won a Saskatchewan Book Award. Several other of his books have been shortlisted for those and other awards.

Ed's most recent novel is the far-future humorous outer-space adventure The Tangled Stars (DAW Books). His nonfiction runs the gamut from science books to biographies to history. He hosts Aurora Award-winning podcast The Worldshapers (theworldshapers.com), in which he talks to other authors about their latest books, and has Kickstarted five Shapers of Worlds anthologies featuring guests of the podcast, with Shapers of Worlds Volume V being the latest and last.

In 2018, Ed founded Shadowpaw Press, which publishes an eclectic list of books ranging from children's books to literary fiction to young adult novels to science fiction and fantasy.

In addition to being a writer, Ed is a professional actor and singer. He lives in Regina, Saskatchewan, with his wife, Margaret Anne Hodges, P. Eng., a past president of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan. They have one daughter, Alice, and a black Siberian cat, Shadowpaw.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: http://edwardwillett.com

Shadowpaw Press Website: http://shadowpawpress.com

Facebook: @edward.willett, @shadowpawpress

X: @ewillett, @shadowpawpress

Instagram: @edwardwillettauthor, @shadowpawpress

Bluesky: @edwardwillett.bsky.social

YouTube: @edwardwillett

#WriterWednesday with Allison Brook

I would like to welcome my friend, the fabulous Allison Brook/Marilyn Levinson, to the blog for #WriterWednesday.

Favorite thing that you always make time for: Doing Sudoku puzzles

The thing you’ll always do just about anything to avoid: Clearing off my desk beside my computer (I'm still avoiding it.)

The thing you like most about being a writer: Holding a copy of my latest book in my hand, amazed that I managed to get it done.

The thing you like least about being a writer: Sitting down to write each day. That first minute is difficult for me, but I'm fine once I get started.

Things you will run to the store for in the middle of the night: Aldi's triple chocolate gelato, sushami and sushi, chocolate chip brioche

Things you never put on your shopping list: Celery, cereal, white bread, salami

The coolest thing you’ve bought online: four adorable cat pillow covers

Something that didn’t look at all like it did online: A sofa cover

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave: Quiet, my computer working properly, finding documents I need to refer to easily and quickly

Things that distract you from writing: Music, phone calls, cats demanding attention

Something you’re really good at: Knitting

Something you never learned how to do: Sew curtains

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: Be a ballerina

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: Speaking comfortably and easily about my writing life on podcasts and interviews

Things you always put in your books: My characters' relationships. Very often: a ghost, a dog or a cat

Things you never put in your books: Anything bad happening to a child or an animal

Things to say to an author: I loved your last book. When is the next one in the series coming out?

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: I have a great idea that I think you should put in your next book.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: I'd give this book a six if I could.

The craziest thing a reader said to you: Where you have an idea for a story, where do you put it?

The one thing you cook/bake that is better than a restaurant dish: My salmon dish

The one thing you cooked/baked that turned out to be an epic disaster: Roasting a goose. So much fat!

About Allison:

A former Spanish teacher, Marilyn writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and novels for kids.

​As Allison Brook, Marilyn writes the popular Haunted Library series. DEATH OVERDUE, the first book in the series, was an Agatha nomination for Best Contemporary Novel, a Library Journal "Pick of the Month," and on Goodreads' list of the "200 Most Popular Books Published in October, 2017." BOOKED ON MURDER, the eighth and final book in the series, was released on August 6, 2024.

​Many of Marilyn's books are in the process of being republished. Among them, THE DEVIL'S PAWN, a horror-suspense YA novel that will give you chills but leave you smiling when you've read the last page, has just been released. Her "Children's Choice" middle grade novel, RUFUS AND MAGIC RUN AMOK, has been republished. The sequel, RUFUS AND THE WITCH'S DRUDGE, came out in March, 2024, and will be followed by two more books in the series.

Let’s Be Social:

Website

#WriterWednesday with Mark Everglade

I’d like to welcome Mark Everglade to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Understanding your audience’s needs. With my first novel, Hemispheres, for instance, half the people said the plot was too fast, while the other half said it was a bit slow. Different age groups I think are looking for something different in terms of pacing.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Coming up with ideas! A simple issue of Scientific American immediately generates thousands of plots to an avid sci-fi writer. I enjoy writing books about rotating tidal-locked planets, where half the planet is always dark, and playing with their ecology and how changing the physical planet changes the people. We call this study human ecology in sociology. You can see this at play in my cyberpunk novel Inertia, which won best sci-fi novel from a small publisher.

Things you need for your writing sessions: Complete quiet, unless it’s music like Boards of Canada, Pineapple Thief, or The Knife to set the mood.

Things that hamper your writing: Interruptions. When you write, you suspend disbelief so that your readers will do the same. Getting pulled out of the zone ruins the immersion and the worlds you’re building in your head.

Words that describe you: Conscientious, kind, compassionate, intellectual, creative

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Arrogant, judgmental, uptight, intellectual elitism

Favorite music or song: Every genre has its place to coordinate with our vast emotional experiences, but I do tend towards progressive metal and electronica. Sometimes you need intricacy, and sometimes simplicity to set you in that trance where you can experience flow.

Music that drives you crazy: Being from Maryland, I’ll say Country Music, except Alison Krauss, who sings like an angel.

Things you always put in your books: Elements from social science conflict theory that show the differences between the haves and the have nots, the rich and poor, and how it impacts one anothers’ lives. Also, corrupt corporations and governments that profit off the people at their expense. I like taking hackers and scientists from many walks of life and putting them against corrupt regimes, with plenty of cybernetic augmentations to arm them.

Things you never put in your books: Misogyny, unless it’s to show a particular antagonist’s point of view.

Things to say to an author: Anything specific that provides feedback to help them improve in a non-critical way. Such as, “I loved it when X character was motivated to do Y event, but I did feel it could have been foreshadowed better.” Authors find it hard to hear criticism because we put so much of ourselves, so intimately, into the text, but we do want to improve and hear honest, specific, and actionable feedback.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: Generic feedback, “Oh you write so well, I loved the book, because the story was like good and the characters like were good.” None of that helps an author know what you connected with in order to improve their next novel.

Favorite books (or genre): Dystopian books with social elements, such as We, 1984, Brave New World, and Neuromancer.

Books you wouldn’t buy: Any romance novel written past 1920.

Best thing you’ve ever done: Never giving up on those who are different, who maybe aren’t neurotypical, but can learn to coexist in a socially complex world and offer their own unique, beautiful perspectives on life.

Biggest mistake: Not telling the truth enough when I was young and lacking empathy for how others perceived me; putting my own interests and arts ahead of the needs of others.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: People have compared my work to Margaret Atwood, although not nearly at her level of mastery of course. But since I love 19th century literature, the best compliment from a reader was, “I enjoyed your unique perspective in "Misaligned"...The story has such a powerful clarity to it that reminds me of Kafka or even the tales of writers like Poe or Nathaniel Hawthorne.”

The craziest thing a reader said to you: One reader remarked that my story “Glitch Goddess” was a “Nice union of cyberpunk and Lovecraft.” To combine both things into a sort of cybergoth perspective made me say I had tapped into something really weird and different than what other authors were writing. You can get the story free by signing up for my mailing list at the bottom of my website, http://www.markeverglade.com

Some real-life story that made it to one of your books: In Hemispheres, one of my characters is named Aurthur, which sounds like author. That’s because his speaking style is most like mine, in the sense that he is overly poetic, even at inappropriate times, which sometimes gets on others’ nerves when there’s actions that need to be done and he’s waning philosophically about it all.

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: None of the sexual scenes are based on real life; and I dislike it when people inquire as such.

About Mark:

Mark Everglade has spent his life studying social conflict. He runs the website www.markeverglade.com where he reviews cyberpunk media and interviews the greats. His short stories have been featured beside legendary authors like Cory Doctorow, Cat Rambo, and Walter Jon Williams. He currently runs a company dedicated to bringing dystopian fiction to a new generation, working with many of the top authors in the industry. He resides in Florida.

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Website: www.markeverglade.com