#WriterWednesday Interview with Ellen Bryon

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I’d like to welcome the fabulous Ellen Byron to the blog for #WriterWednesday. I can’t wait for my copy of BAYOU BOOK THIEF to arrive!

Favorite thing to do when you have free time: needlepoint.

The thing you’ll always move to the bottom of your to do list: Cleaning. Especially weeding through papers, etc., to throw stuff away. But I did just donate seven boxes of books to our library sale, which I’m very proud of myself for doing. Unfortunately, it didn’t make much of a dent in my book stash!

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave: Tea.

Things that distract you from writing: Everything, lol. But especially the internet.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Writing.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Farting around by trading gossip with my writer friends.

Things you will run to the store for at midnight: Nothing, really. Except that when I was pregnant twenty-two years ago, I made my husband go on a run for Abba-Zabba bars. For some reason, I totally craved them. Not before, not since. Weird, huh?

Things you never put on your shopping list: Coffee or cilantro. Blecch.

Favorite snacks: Too many, which is why I’m constantly on a diet. But pretzels, cheese curls, and all things sweet.

Things that make you want to gag: Anything with coffee or cilantro. (See “Things I never put on my shopping list.”) I hate both with a white-hot passion.

Something you’re really good at: Dancing.

Something you’re really bad at: Push-ups.

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: A ballerina.

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: Write mystery novels and actually have them published!

Something you wish you could do: Go en pointe. A big regret that I never made it that far in my ballet studies.

Something you wish you’d never learned to do: Bake. Too many temptations!

Last best thing you ate: sliced turkey with sides of baked potato chips and Trader Joe’s Cheese Crunchies. #whitetrashmeals.

Last thing you regret eating: see above.

Things to say to an author: “I bought copies of your book for everyone in my family! And I have a really big family!”

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “I call cozies ‘cutesies’ because they’re so light-weight.”

Favorite places you’ve been: New Orleans, just about my favorite place, next to my hometown of New York. Plus England and Italy.

Places you never want to go to again: The empty, two-lane Louisiana and Texas roads I traversed in the pitch black of night during our Hurricane Ida evacuation. I had no idea where the hell we were and didn’t see a soul for literally hours. It was terrifying, especially since I knew we were occasionally riding alongside waterways loaded with gators. But during the day, I’m sure the areas we drove through are prettier and less ominous.

Most embarrassing moment: When I was in high school, I played Duke Vincentio in an all-girl production of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. I had to do a quick change for the last scene and the costumer forget to put out my pants. So I had to go out in a white suit jacket and no pants. I was wearing black tights, thank God! But still… embarrassing!

Proudest moment: Watching our daughter graduate college a few weeks ago. The pandemic was brutal on kids, so to see her power through the obstacles it presented and proudly walk with her classmates and receive her diploma generated a lot of tears.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I swore I’d never ride on a motorcycle or in a helicopter. Well, on a European vacation a number of years ago I was supposed to meet my family in Venice but I got trapped in Zermatt, Switzerland by a snowstorm. The only way out was by helicopter. I thought for half a second and then said, “Sign me up!” I’ll never forget flying over the pine trees and snow in the Alps. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life.

Something you chickened out from doing: When I was living in New York, I ran into an actor acquaintance on Broadway one day and he told me that he and some friends were flying to Belize later in the week. He invited me to join them, and I said, “Sure!” Then I chickened out. I still regret that. I’m not a spontaneous person. I wish I was.

The coolest person you’ve ever met: I’ve met a lot of famous people due to my work as an entertainment journalist and then a TV writer. But Shirley MacLaine might be the coolest because she gave me a mantra to use whenever I feel my fear of flying rear its head: “I am having a safe, uneventful journey.” I’ve used this mantra in so many ways ever since then. It really helps me tamp down anxiety.

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: You know what? Like I said, I’ve met a ton of celebrities. And I can’t think of anyone who didn’t look like he or she did in their pictures or videos. Then again, I always met them under professional circumstances, so they had a vested interest in looking good!

The most exciting thing about your writing life: Winning two Agatha’s and three Lefty Awards!!!

The one thing you wish you could do over in your writing life: During my TV writing heyday, my writing partner and I passed on a development deal we should have taken. It could have put us on a different path. Maybe it wouldn’t have, of course. But if a genie granted me three wishes, one would be to go back and take that deal.

What’s the best thing you ever bought online? I impulse-bought a paper bouquet to send as a gift to my mother from an ad I saw on… Instagram, I think? The company is called freshcutpaper.com. Mom has a thing against fresh flowers because they end up dying and making a mess. I thought sturdy paper bouquet would be a great alternative and I was right. I’ve sent at least half a dozen since then. I call them forever flowers because they can last forever. And they’re also affordable. Here’s one I recently sent to a friend who was in the hospital.

 Worst thing I ever bought online: I succumbed to an ad for an adjustable phone stand. It turned out to be pieces of thin, cheap plastic you put together yourself into a stand that was completely useless. A total ripoff that I hated adding to our landfill crisis.

About Ellen:

Ellen’s Cajun Country Mysteries have won two Agatha Awards for Best Contemporary Novel and multiple Lefty Awards for Best Humorous Mystery. Bayou Book Thief will be the first book in her new Vintage Cookbook Mysteries. She also writes the Catering Hall Mystery series under the name Maria DiRico.  

Ellen is an award-winning playwright, and non-award-winning TV writer of comedies like Wings, Just Shoot Me, and Fairly Odd Parents. She has written over two hundred articles for national magazines but considers her most impressive credit working as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart.

An alum of New Orleans’ Tulane University, she blogs with Chicks on the Case, is a lifetime member of the Writers Guild of America, serves on the national board for Mystery Writers of America, and will be the 2023 Left Coast Crime Toastmaster. Please visit her at https://www.ellenbyron.com/

#WriterWednesday Interview with Greg Stout

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I’d like to welcome Greg Stout to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Things you need for your writing sessions:

Complete quiet and no interruptions. I have a very fragile attention span, and if (for instance) the radio is on, before long I’ll be listening to the song lyrics and lose the thread of what I’m doing.

Things that hamper your writing:

Any kind of interruption, unless someone has stopped by to give me money.

Things you love about writing:

Writing dialog. I was in sales and marketing for 27 years and then a teacher for 12, so I think I have a very good ear for how people actually talk.

Things you hate about writing:

Plotting a mystery. I’m good with the beginning and the end, but getting through the “soggy middle” is a chore.

Hardest thing about being a writer:

Well, I would have said selling a manuscript, but that’s all set as everything I have written is under contract. So I guess the next hardest thing is actually selling the books.

Easiest thing about being a writer:

I get to set my own hours.

Things you never want to run out of:

Dark chocolate peanut M&M’s 

Things you wish you’d never bought:

A 1973 Vega and a 1968 Corvair.

Words that describe you:

Quirky

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

Cheap

Favorite foods:

Crayfish etouffee, pan fried lake perch, broiled scallops

Things that make you want to gag: 

Any variety of cheese that I can actually smell. 

Favorite music or song:

Patsy Cline, Dusty Springfield, Ambrosia, the Beach Boys

Music that drives you crazy:

“Old school” country western (like Hank), especially if they guy yodels

Favorite beverage:

Diet Pepsi, hands down. After that, Stella Artois beer
Something that gives you a sour face:

Grapefruit juice

Favorite smell:

Honeysuckle, mimosa blossoms

Something that makes you hold your nose:

Cauliflower or cabbage cooking

Something you wish you could do:

I wish I could play golf well, as it is a game you can play pretty much all your life. Unfortunately, I’m not very good at it, and because I’m not very good, I don’t enjoy playing, so I will never get any better because the only way to get better is to play a lot.

Something you wish you’d never learned to do:

Work on cars, because I'm always getting asked to "take a look" at something on somebody's car.

Something you like to do:

I like to fish in Canada. We keep only what we eat. Everything else goes back into the lake.

Something you wish you’d never done:

There was a job I took because I thought I knew my future boss better than I actually did. Turned out, he was a jerk. I couldn’t wait to get out of there. Fortunately, before I quit, the company got bought out and I got a really good package going out the door. I didn’t get to keep the company car, though.

Last best thing you ate:

There is a little breakfast-lunch place near where we live. Their Friday fish fry is really good.

Last thing you regret eating:

Chinese food off the real-deal Chinese menu. It was spicy as hell and made me sick for two days.

The last thing you ordered online:

The first three books in the Bosch series by Robert Connelly

The last thing you regret buying:

Cargo pants

Things you always put in your books:

My friends (at least the ones who actually read my books) refer to them as “Stoutisms.” These are terms and phrases I’ve used pretty much all my life, and so I put them into my characters’ mouths, e.g., “You can’t blame a goat for being a goat.”

Things you never put in your books:

Explicit sex. I figure anybody old enough to read my stuff already knows the drill and doesn’t need me to spell the process out.

Things to say to an author:

“I really liked your book. In fact, I bought seven copies to give to my friends.” (This actually happened.)

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

“I noticed a mistake on page 38.” You read the whole book, and that's your take-away?

Favorite places you’ve been:

Belize. The fishing, the food and the tropical breezes are the best. After that, Hawaii, for the same reason.

Places you never want to go to again:

The wound specialist. She was great, but the problem took a solid year plus surgery to heal.

Favorite books (or genre):

PI or police procedural mysteries.

Books you wouldn’t buy:

Anything written by a politician or a business executive.

People you’d like to invite to dinner (living):

Pope Francis.
People you’d cancel dinner on:

Donald Trump. He’d order something expensive and stick me with the check.

Let’s Be Social:

My website is www.gregorystoutauthor.com.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greg.stout.5602/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/958863.Greg_Stout

 About Greg:

Greg Stout is the author of Gideon’s Ghost, a young adult novel set in small-town America in the mid-1960s, and Lost Little Girl, a detective novel set in Nashville, Tennessee. He has also written 22 books on the history of American railroads. His first title, Route of the Eagles, a history of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, was released in 1995. A complete listing of Greg Stout’s published works can be found at www.gregorystoutauthor.com.   

Greg resides with his wife and two cats, Wallace and Gromit, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where he is a member of the Heartland Writers Guild and the Southeast Missouri Writers Guild. His second novel for Beacon Publishing Group, Connor’s War, will be released in July 2022. His second Jackson Gamble mystery for Level Best Books, The Gone Man, is scheduled for release in October 2022.

#WriterWednesday Interview with J. Lynn Else

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I’d like to welcome author, J. Lynn Else, to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

A few of your favorite things: These would definitely include books, loose-leaf tea, Grogu/Baby Yoda, Autumn

Things you need to throw out: My husband’s Dungeons and Dragons movie DVD. Worst. Movie. Ever.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Editing.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Talking to other book nerds like me about my books.

Favorite foods: My mom has this amazing chicken crescent recipe. I’m always so happy when she makes it again!

Things that make you want to gag: Peas. My kids love peas, so they always show off foods they order that are full of peas. “Look, Mom! Delicious.” Bleck.

Favorite music or song: 80s music. My favorite is “Take on Me” by A-ha. Though I’ve currently been asking Alexa to play a lot of “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” by The Darkness.

Music that drives you crazy: Country music. Rap music.

Favorite smell: The inside of a Crumbl Cookie store.

Something that makes you hold your nose: New plastic. Burnt popcorn.

Something you’re really good at: Star Wars trivia

Something you’re really bad at: Any and all other trivia

Something you wish you could do: I wish I could participate in an archeological dig in Egypt!

Something you wish you’d never learned to do: I can’t say there’s anything I wish I hadn’t learned. I’m always open to new things.

Things you’d walk a mile for: A new bookstore.

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: Spiders. Seriously, just torch the place.

Things you always put in your books: Female lead characters.

Things you never put in your books: Steamy bedroom scenes. It’s simply a personal preference, I don’t read spicy books either. If you like spicy books, continue to enjoy! It’s just not an element in my books.

Things to say to an author:

• “I could really relate to <name of character>!”

• “I really loved when <scene in book> happened!”

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

• “<Name of different author> writes better fantasy than you. You should read their books.”

Favorite places you’ve been: Disney World; Napa Valley, CA; Door County, WI

Places you never want to go to again: Waterloo, IA

Favorite books (or genre): Fantasy! I recently read Daughter of the Moon Goddess, and it’s my favorite read of 2022 thus far.

Books you wouldn’t buy: Romance.

Favorite things to do: Reading in my hammock. Girl’s Nights Out at our favorite breweries/wineries.

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

About J. Lynn Else:

J. LYNN ELSE is an award-winning author from Minnesota who’s self-published two historical fiction novels set in ancient Egypt, “The Forgotten: Aten’s Last Queen (2013),” which was named an Indie Editor’s Choice book for 2016 by the Historical Novel Society, and “The Forgotten: Heir of the Heretic (2016)” as well as a sci fi novella “Strangely Constructed Souls (2018).” Through Inklings Publishing, she’s authored an Arthurian-influenced, female-driven fantasy trilogy, “Descendants of Avalon” (2018), “Lost Daughters of Avalon” (2019), and “Destiny of Avalon” (2021).” Her short story “The Girl from the Haunted Woods,” won 2nd place in the “Journey into the Fantastical” Anthology contest. In 2021, she became the Indie Reviews Editor for the Historical Novel Society. She believes in unicorns and practicing random acts of awesome.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: http://www.teasippinnerdymom.com (that’s “tea-sippin’ nerdy mom”)

Facebook: www.facebook.com/teasippinnerdymom

 Twitter: https://twitter.com/JLynnElseAuthor

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

 Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7275724.J_Lynn_Else

 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jlynnelse_author

#WriterWednesday Interview with Lorie Lewis Ham & Give-away

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I’d like to welcome author, editor, publisher, and podcaster, Lorie Lewis Ham to the blog for #WriterWednesday.

A few of your favorite things: Pepsi, animals, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Things you need to throw out: I need to giveaway some of the books I know I won’t ever read again but it’s so hard!

Things you love about writing: I love creating a story and characters.

Things you hate about writing: Editing!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Getting the word out to readers.
Easiest thing about being a writer: The first draft!

Things you never want to run out of: Pepsi

Things you wish you’d never bought: A house! I would much rather rent and have all the repairs be someone else’s problem lol.

Favorite music or song: Frank Sinatra

Music that drives you crazy: The loud hip hop and rap that our neighbor plays in the middle of the day (mostly because it’s so loud and I can’t enjoy sitting outside to read)

Favorite beverage: Tie between Pepsi and coffee
Something that gives you a sour face: Strong lemonade

Favorite smell: Coffee
Something that makes you hold your nose: Flowers because they make me sneeze

Something you wish you could do: Write for TV

Something you wish you’d never learned to do: That one is tough. There are moments I wish I didn’t know how to drive  car and that we had public transportation where we live instead.

Things you always put in your books: animals
Things you never put in your books: torture or death of an animal

Favorite places you’ve been: Santa Cruz, CA and London
Places you never want to go to again: Needles, CA

Favorite books (or genre): mystery and urban fantasy
Books you wouldn’t buy: Romance (I am fine with it being in the other genres just doesn’t interest me by itself)

The coolest person you’ve ever met: Patrick Stewart.

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: Sir Ian McKellen-he was wearing skinny jeans and seemed so tiny in person.

Merlin

About Lorie:

Lorie Lewis Ham lives in Reedley, California and has been writing ever since she was a child. Her first song and poem were published when she was 13, and she has gone on to publish many articles, short stories, and poems throughout the years, as well as write for a local newspaper, and publish 6 mystery novels. For the past 11 years, Lorie has been the editor-in-chief and publisher of Kings River Life Magazine, and she produces Mysteryrat’s Maze Podcast where you can now hear an excerpt of her new book One of Us. You can learn more about Lorie and the new book on her website mysteryrat.com and find her on Twitter @mysteryrat and Facebook. Another way to keep up with Lorie’s writing is to subscribe to her newsletter, which you can do on her website. 

Lorie has been married to Larry for 30 years and they have 2 grown children—Jayce and Joseph Ham. She currently has 5 cats (Merlin, Sam, Dean, Sidney, and Willow), 4 dogs (Lestat, Huey, Xander, and Phoebe), a pet dwarf rabbit (Sherlock), and pet rat named Yuki. For many years, she worked in pet rat rescue, and has had many pet rats of her own over the years.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: https://www.mysteryrat.com/

Twitter: @mysteryrat https://twitter.com/mysteryrat

Facebook: I mostly use the Kings River Life Mystery Facebook Group to share about my books https://www.facebook.com/groups/krlmysterygroup

Instagram I share with KRL @krlmagazine https://www.instagram.com/krlmagazine/

 Lorie Lewis Ham is giving away an ebook of her latest, One of Us. If you’d like to enter for a chance to win, please leave a comment, and Lori will choose a winner on May 25.  



#WriterWednesdayInterview with Darrell Newton

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I’d like to welcome author Darrell Newton to the blog this week for #WriterWednesday!

Things you love about writing:

I can share the voices in my head with other people. Yes, these characters take on a life of their own.

Things you never want to run out of:

Time, but I know that day is coming. Time makes the best things in life precious. Oh, and caffeine. I never want to run out of caffeine, but that day too may come. :)

Something you’re really good at:

Analyzing problems and finding solutions. I’m an engineer by trade and nature.

Something you’re really bad at:

Underwater judo. I’m incredibly slow underwater. Is that true for you too?

The last thing you regret buying:

A heavy duty one-hundred-foot hose. It only lasted one use. I pulled on it after screwing it onto the faucet and it snapped off. It happened again after I bought the replacement.

Things you always put in your books:

A conflict that matches the character’s personality or history, a conflict with no easy answer.

Things you never put in your books:

Erotica. Sorry, that’s for my wife.

People you’d like to invite to dinner (living):

Dr. Jordan Peterson. With his clinical and teaching experience, the conversation could easily go past my bedtime.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done:

Bought a house at an auction. The closer we got to the final bid, the more it felt like an out-of-the-body experience.

The funniest thing to happen to you:

This is one of those you’ll-look-back-at-it-and-laugh moments. We raise chickens, and one year we had a problem with predators. No matter how many traps we put out, we couldn’t catch the predator. Late one night, we heard frantic squawking from one of the chicken pens. Man, I was going to get this thing. Everyone in our house got up to catch it. I ran full tilt down the stairs and out through the big garage door. The next thing I knew, I was flat on my back with a welt across my forehead. In the darkness, I didn’t see the garage door was not rolled up all the way.

The coolest person you’ve ever met:

He may not be the coolest person, but this may be the best person-I-met story. I applied for a job while going to college in California. After a phone interview, I was asked to come to this residence in the Hollywood hills. After I was let through a security gate, the guy who hired me told me I was working for Marlon Brando … at his house. So, now I can say I got through college working for the Godfather.

About Darrell:

Born in Simi Valley, California, Darrell Newton attended twelve different schools until he finally got it right and graduated from a high school on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The Cypriots soon realized it was in their national interest to ship Darrell back to the United States. He meandered through college until the administration bribed him to leave with two apparently contradictory degrees: Theology and Electrical Engineering. He is currently working as an electrical engineer, robotics programmer, landlord, part-time farmer, and father of seven. Sometimes he even writes a thing or two.

Darrell is the author of historical science fiction short stories and novels based on questions like:              

What would you do with a stone that heals anything?    
If you could look like anyone, who would it be?
What happens when time travelers lose their tools?

Let’s Be Social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Darrell-Newtons-Author-Page-159769627457243

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5102847.Darrell_Newton

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NewtonSciFi


#WriterWednesday Interview with David M. Kelly

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I’d like to welcome author David M. Kelly to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

A few of your favorite things: my Corvette, my collection of tatty but loved sci-fi paperbacks.

Things you need to throw out: cables, old computers and assorted other electronic devices.

Things you love about writing: The creative freedom. If I have a pen and paper, I can work.

Things you hate about writing: I'm not keen on editing, and terrible at marketing

Favorite foods: Fish and chips, bacon, British bangers

Things that make you want to gag: Bananas, cabbage, cauliflower

Favorite music or song: Sixties soul – Sam Cooke, Otis Redding.

Music that drives you crazy: Country!

Favorite beverage: Coffee or Sleeman’s Original beer

Something that gives you a sour face: Gin

Something you’re really good at: Expert level sarcasm

Something you’re really bad at: Remembering people’s names

Things you always put in your books: Some humor – generally of the cynical variety, and mostly plausible science

Things you never put in your books: Long, rambling descriptions that go on for pages.

Things to say to an author: I loved your book. By the way, I'm a Hollywood producer and want to turn it into a movie!

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: Writing's not a proper job though, is it?

Favorite places you’ve been: Lake Superior Provincial Park

Places you never want to go to again: Istanbul

People you’d like to invite to dinner (living): Neil deGrasse Tyson, Robert Downey Jr, Dr. Mae Jemison, Avery Brooks

People you’d cancel dinner on: Elon Musk, George Lucas, and a long list of others!

Best thing you’ve ever done: Move to Canada

Biggest mistake: Not starting to write sooner

The funniest thing to happen to you: Ending up at the wrong wedding in Istanbul.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: Ending up at the wrong wedding in Istanbul.

About David:

David M. Kelly writes fast-paced, near-future sci-fi thrillers with engaging characters, cynical humor, and (usually!) plausible science. He is the author of the Joe Ballen series, Logan’s World series, and the Hyperia Jones series. Originally from Yorkshire, England, David emigrated to Canada in 2005 and settled in Northern Ontario where he was able to transition from the world of IT into life as a full-time writer. David is a rabid science news follower and especially passionate about astronomy and physics.  Never short of an opinion, he writes about science and technology on his blog. You can find him at davidmkelly.com.

Let’s Be Social:

AMAZON PAGE

https://www.amazon.com/David-M-Kelly/e/B00PQXCCHU/

FACEBOOK

https://www.facebook.com/DavidMKellySF

GOODREADS

www.goodreads.com/DavidMKelly

INSTAGRAM

https://www.instagram.com/david_kelly_sf/

LINKED IN

https://ca.linkedin.com/in/davidkelly2008

REDDIT

https://www.reddit.com/u/David_M_Kelly

TWITTER

http://twitter.com/David_Kelly_SF

YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPAYerclATlzkCphAbAF79g

#WriterWednesday Interview with Meg Hafdahl

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I’d like to welcome Meg Hafdahl to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

A few of your favorite things: I love horror movies, pugs, and mimosas.

Things you need to throw out: I probably should get rid of some books I’ll never read, and some clothes I’ll never wear!

Things you need for your writing sessions: As a mom I really value peace and quiet when I write. Not that it happens very often! I also need some sort of coffee, tea, something to sip on.

Things that hamper your writing: Anxiety about other life stuff can get in the way of my creativity, so I try to get myself in a good headspace first. Also, as I mentioned, kids can ruin it too!

Things you love about writing: I mean I get to create worlds and characters while expressing myself. It’s the best job in the world.

Things you hate about writing: Editing. Let’s be honest, after a few times going over the same novel with a fine toothed comb I want to gouge my eyes out!!

Hardest thing about being a writer: No matter how much success I’ve had, I meet with rejection. It’s just the nature of the beast. Still sucks though!

Easiest thing about being a writer: When the flow is there and you are fully invested. Time stands still. Words that describe you: Funny, assertive, thoughtful.

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Ha! I am definitely anxious, hot-headed, and can be a little selfish…yikes that all sounds bad!

Favorite foods: I want anything bread: garlic bread, popovers, croissants, dinner rolls. Oh, and the ultimate is a warm biscuit with butter.

Things that make you want to gag: I’ve never liked mushrooms. And the older I get I’m less interested in fast food. Also, I like pizza but not as much as everyone else seems to.

Favorite books (or genre): I can’t so no to horror, thriller, mystery books. I also have a soft spot for some historical fiction.

Books you wouldn’t buy: You won’t see me reading a political thriller, anything about espionage or the drug cartel. Snooze.

Favorite things to do: I love spending time with my friends and family of course, whether eating drinking, playing board games. Travel is a big part of my life and I read as much as I can.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: You’re not going to convince me to ride in a helicopter, sit in one of those closed areas where birds or butterflies crawl on your head, or skydive.

Things that make you happy: Well there are so many things; laughing with my best friend Kelly, date night with my husband Luke, writing a sentence that is just *chef’s kiss* perfection.

Things that drive you crazy: Complainers and negativity. We all have bad days, we all have tough situations, and its okay to wallow in that sadness or grief for a time. But some people operate on a constant negative vibe and I can sense them a mile away!

Best thing you’ve ever done: Being a mom of course. I have two unique, clever, and loving boys.

Biggest mistake: Probably not believing in myself early on in my career. I squandered several amazing opportunities in college because I didn’t believe in my writing abilities. There were people telling me I had the talent and I wouldn’t listen.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: Any time I get praise or just earnest excitement from readers it warms my heart. I’ve had honest connections made where a character resonated and I think that’s the best sort of compliment you can get.

The craziest thing a reader said to you: Probably the craziest is being compared to authors. I’ve had the wonderful luck of being compared to Stephen King, Blake Crouch, Bentley Little, and that’s just nuts. It usually leaves me speechless!!

About Meg:

Bram Stoker nominated author Meg Hafdahl is the creator of numerous stories and books. Her fiction has appeared in anthologies such as Eve’s Requiem: Tales of Women, Mystery and Horror and Eclectically Criminal. Her work has been produced for audio by The Wicked Library and The Lift, and she is the author of three popular short story collections including Twisted Reveries: Thirteen Tales of the Macabre. Meg is also the author of the three novels; The Darkest Hunger, Daughters of Darkness and Her Dark Inheritance called “an intricate tale of betrayal, murder, and small town intrigue” by Horror Addicts and “every bit as page turning as any King novel” by RW Magazine. Meg, also the co-host of the podcast Horror Rewind and co-author of The Science of Monsters, The Science of Women in Horror, The Science of Stephen King, and The Science of Serial Killers, lives in the snowy bluffs of Minnesota. 

Let’s Be Social:

Website: http://Meghafdahl.com  

Website: http://Horrorrewind.com  

@MegHafdahl on Instagram and Twitter 

Meg Hafdahl; Horror Author on Facebook 

#WriterWednesday Interview with Ramon Del Villar

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I’d like to welcome Ramon Del Villar to the blog for #WriterWednesday.

A few of your favorite things: Fast cars, no, I will be specific, Porsches. Cigars, not the expensive ones, but the tasty long Cusano M1. My four grand-puppies, Coco, Misty, Arya and Merlin.

Things you need to throw out: Fax machines, wait, no, I need them in my law office. All non-Keurig coffee makers.

Things you need for your writing sessions: My computer, my computer, my computer and my computer.

Things that hamper your writing: Having to work as an attorney.

Things you love about writing: The freedom to create as much as I want or as am able to.

Things you hate about writing: Because I insist on being positive that anything that my character does as an attorney is possible and legitimate, having to research to find out if it is really possible and legitimate.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Getting people to read my novels.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Writing my novels when I’m inspired.

Things you never want to run out of: My Cusano cigars. Money. Food for my grand-puppies. Paper for my printer.

Things you wish you’d never bought: I cannot think of anything, but I regret leasing my BMW M-Roadster, because I had to return it when BMW refused to finance the purchase after the three-year lease.

Words that describe you: Persevering. Obstinate. Insecure. Hard-Working.

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Obstinate. Insecure.

Something you’re really good at: Driving a car. Interpreting from and to English/Spanish. Translating from and to English/Spanish. Litigating a case I am really interested in.

Something you’re really bad at: Almost everything else.

Things you’d walk a mile for: My daily exercise routine. For anything else, I rather drive.

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: When my family has the air-conditioning full blast.

Things to say to an author: Write whatever you enjoy doing even if you suspect you might not be able to do as well as you wish.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: Nobody is going to read your crap.

Favorite places you’ve been: Paris. London. Rome. Nurburgring. Brussels.

Places you never want to go to again: I cannot think of any.

Most embarrassing moment: Forgetting how to say “kidney” in English at my very first deposition as an interpreter.

Proudest moment: Being asked by my favorite Federal Judge to be his interpreter in all his cases.

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

Biggest mistake: Not marrying her sooner.