#WriterWednesday Interview with Bob Brill

I’d like to welcome Bob Brill to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Things you never want to run out of: cold milk

Things you wish you’d never bought: Chevy Malibu

Hardest thing about being a writer: criticism/rejection

Easiest thing about being a writer: freedom

A few of your favorite things: baseball cards, photographs, books, collectibles

Things you need to throw out: 90-percent of my garage.

Words that describe you: stubborn, self-motivated, determined, energizer bunny, creative, diligent, hardworking, multi-tasker,

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

Something you’re really good at: writing

Something you’re really bad at: art, drawing, painting type of art

Favorite music or song: Come Monday by Jimmy Buffet

Music that drives you crazy: Hotel California

Favorite smell: Vine ripened tomato

Something that makes you hold your nose: canned tuna

Favorite places you’ve been: Italy

Places you never want to go to again: Disneyland

Favorite books (or genre): Books about U.S. Presidents

Books you wouldn’t buy: Graphic horror novels

People you’d like to invite to dinner: Kevin Costner

People you’d cancel dinner on: The Donald

The coolest person you’ve ever met: Nelson Mandella

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: Richard Chamberlain

The nicest thing a reader said to you: I couldn’t put your book down

The craziest thing a reader said to you: I couldn’t put your book down

Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done: Film making

A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it: The first shooting of a Martial Arts comedy short film, which we reshot and it was 100-percent better.

Some real-life story that made it to one of your books: Hitting a home run in Little League

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: They wonder if I created the Lancer character to be what I wanted to be in the 1880’s.

About Bob:

Bob Brill is a well known and multi-award winning journalist with a long career in radio. A major market talent currently as a news anchor/reporter at KNX News Radio in Los Angeles, he is also an author of 13 books. He has written nearly 20 screenplays and Pilots and produced four short films. His full length Documentary “Shaken; The Great Sylmar Earthquake” airs on Amazon Prime and other platforms.

Journalist: Former National Correspondent and L-A Bureau Chief UPI Radio Network, Reporter and Anchorperson for many radio stations. Was a columnist for The Examiner, UPI wire service, and published the successful The Brill Report. Writes the popular weekly column “Baseball in the 1960s.”

Author: Seven books so far in the “Lancer; Hero of the West” series, plus “The Tattoo Murder,” “Fan Letters to a Stripper; A Patti Waggin Tale,” “Al Kabul, Home Grown Terrorist,” “No Barrier; How the Internet Destroyed the World Economy,” “Tales of My Baseball Youth; A Child of the 60’s,. “Beating the Slump; an athletes guide to a better career.” Ten Lancer books are planned.

Podcasts & Videocasts: “Interesting People with Bob Brill,” “Major League Stripper.”

Screenwriter: Written both features and pilots as well as those targeted for screeners. Wide variety from Biopics, westerns, two pandemic related, comedies, drama, sports related including period.

Producer: Documentary “Shaken; The Great Sylmar Earthquake.” It is a one-hour documentary based on the 1971 Sylmar earthquake. Four short films including the western “Sundown,” (multi awards), “The Girl From Sweden,” which has more than 1,000,000 views on YouTube.

Radio: News anchor/reporter KNX News Radio Los Angeles.

General: An icon in the sports trading card and memorabilia industry for decades.

Let’s Be Social:

Websites:

www.bobbrillfilms.com

www.bobbrillbooks.com

www.bobbrill.com

www.baseballinthe1960s.com

AMAZON Author page:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Bob-Brill/author/B00411A3MY?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Bob Brill YouTube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfToqYTs5f3lMhlCdVmJgRw

Bob Brill Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/bobbrillsr

LinkedIN - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-brill-439411288/

Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/interesting-people-with-bob-brill/id1364250714

TikTok: @theebobbrill

“X”: https://twitter.com/BobBrillLA

Blog: www.baseballinthe1960s.com

#WriterWednesday Interview with Mally Becker

I’d like to welcome the fabulous Mally Becker back to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave: A laptop, coffee, scratch paper for notes, and fuzzy socks.

Things that distract you from writing: Good weather, good music, or an empty coffee cup.

The coolest thing you’ve bought online:

A rowboat-sized sailboat. It was delivered to our house in a box—unassembled.

The thing you wished you’d never bought:

After my husband finished building that small boat-in-a-box in the cellar, we discovered it was too wide too take outside through the basement door.

Favorite snacks: Anything chocolate.

Things that make you want to gag: Calamari.

Something you’re really good at: Baking.

Something you’re really bad at: Softball.

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: A dancer with the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall.

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: Write mysteries! My Revolutionary War mysteries are available wherever books are sold, and I’m at work on a new story.

Last best thing you ate: Shrimp with green sauce and yellow rice from the Portuguese restaurant where my husband and I had our first date.

Last thing you regret eating: The (entire) giant chocolate cookie a friend brought me.

Things to say to an author: “I couldn’t go to sleep ‘til I finished your book.”

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “I don’t read fiction. I don’t see the point. I mean, it’s not real, right?”

Favorite places you’ve been: Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, New Mexico, Paris, Lake Placid, N.Y.

Places you never want to go to again: Middle school.

Favorite things to do: Kayak with my husband. Go to Mets games with the whole family. Visit wineries with friends.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: There are books in every room in our house, and I’ve promised to get rid of some. Well, a few. Maybe three. Just not today. Not tomorrow, either.

The funniest thing to happen to you: Being chased up the street by a wild turkey. (Don’t judge. They’re tall and mean!) It was so ridiculous that I burst out laughing as I sprinted away.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: Being chased by a wild turkey.

Best piece of advice you received from another writer: Most writers don’t make a ton of money. If you don’t find writing fun, don’t torture yourself. Find another line of work.

Something you would tell a younger you about your writing: Making up stories is even more fun than you imagine, and it’ll lead to some of the best adventures of your life. Enjoy the ride!

Recommendations for curing writer’s block: Writer’s block is my subconscious sending up a warning flag, forcing me to stop when I’ve written myself into a corner but don’t yet realize it. I go for a walk or to a movie, then brainstorm alternatives to find an alternative approach to the scene that’s giving me trouble.

Things you do to avoid writing: I’ve gotten more disciplined with time, but housekeeping chores are a great way to avoid writing.

About Mally:

Mally Becker is a two-time Agatha Award-nominated author of the Revolutionary War Mysteries, which include The Turncoat's Widow, The Counterfeit Wife, and The Paris Mistress. My stories feature Becca Parcell and Daniel Alloway—George Washington's two least likely spies—as they search for traitors in revolutionary-era Morristown, New York City,  Philadelphia, and Paris. I've woven fictionalized versions of real events and people into each story. I hope you enjoy Becca's and Daniel's adventures as much as I liked writing them.

​I was an attorney and volunteer advocate for foster children before becoming a full-time writer. When I'm not writing, you can find me at The Writers Circle Workshops, where I teach mystery writing, on Guns, Knives & Lipstick, the crime fiction Podcast I co-host with three fabulous female mystery writers, or online at the Historical Novel Society, where I interview other authors. I live with my husband in Somerset County, New Jersey, not too far from Morristown, where my first book is set. 

Let’s Be Social:

Website

Facebook

Instagram

#WriterWednesday Interview with Teresa Trent

I’d like to welcome Teresa Trent to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Favorite thing to do when you have free time: I love to sew apparel. I have a list of YouTube ladies who sew and I get my inspiration from them. When people find out I sew they almost always say sewing is no longer a way to save money over buying garments in a store. That’s when I tell them that I don’t sew to save money. I sew because I’m a creative person and it’s fun!

The thing you’ll always move to the bottom of your to do list: It used to be going to the dentist, but now I would say tax-related paperwork.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Writing a book and self-publishing it.

Something you chickened out from doing: Seeing a scary movie in a theater. I hate “jump-scares.” When I went to see The Shining, years ago, someone in the seat in front of me asked me to quit screaming.

The most exciting thing about your writing life: There have been many wonderful things. I was over the moon when my late agent, Dawn Dowdle agreed to represent me. I had only self-published, so it felt like I was becoming one of the cool kids. Then getting the opportunity to work with traditional publishers, which was not always easy, but always rewarding. Then, getting the chance to share my writing and have people actually like it. I will always be Sally Fields at the Oscars. “You really like me? Really?”

The one thing you wish you could do over in your writing life: I wish I would have waited to self-publish my first book, A Dash of Murder. It was full of grammatical errors and even though I had it professionally edited, the first reviews are still up on Amazon.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: I had a reader tell me she wanted to live in the small towns I create in my books. I understood completely, because there are days I live there, too!

The craziest thing a reader said to you: Is that me in your book? Am I that character?

Best piece of advice you received from another writer: Your book is your product that you are trying to sell. Along with making it creative, make it buyable. That means no buggy books. The story should flow, the grammar is correct, and it should have a clear-cut resolution in the end.

Something you would tell a younger you about your writing: Have confidence in your abilities and do not compare yourself to anyone else. No one has the life-experiences you have, and you do not have theirs. Your story is worth telling.

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: I wanted to be an actress. I went to New York City to visit a friend when I was 19. She was trying to get hired on Broadway. The minute I saw all the sacrifices she was making, I changed my mind. I went into teaching.

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: Write a book! I wanted to write when I was younger but got busy with teaching school and raising children. When I decided to make time in my life for writing, I never dreamed I’d still be at it over a decade later. It’s been a wonderful journey so far!

About Teresa:

Teresa Trent is the author of the Swinging Sixties Mystery Series published by Level Best Books featuring The Twist and Shout Murder (2022), If I Had a Hammer (2023), and Listen, Do You Want to Know a Secret (2024). She has been writing and publishing mysteries since 2011 starting with the Pecan Bayou Mystery Series and followed by the Piney Woods Mystery Series. When Teresa isn't writing novels and short stories, she spends her time creating narrated excerpts on her podcast, Books to the Ceiling, where she gets to use all that community theater experience from her teens and twenties along with a little audio editing she learned from her daughter. Teresa is a former English teacher, but also spent many years teaching music to preschoolers working with children of all abilities. Teresa makes her home in Texas with her husband and son.

Let’s Be Social:

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

Twitter/X:  https://twitter.com/ttrent_cozymys 

Blog:  https://teresatrent.blog/  Books to the Ceiling

Website:  http://teresatrent.com 

Goodreads: 

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5219581.Teresa_Trent 

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

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/teresa-trent 

Everyone has a secret, and in 1964, Dot Morgan's new job at KDUD Radio is filled with them. Her boss, Holden Ramsey, is a terrible flirt, but he's also engaged to a beautiful socialite. When Dot finds out he's hiding involvements with other women, the hidden facts lead to a grisly murder. Can Dot figure out who is murdering the women in Holden's life before she finds herself next on the hit parade?   

Amazon Link    https://www.amazon.com/Listen-You-Want-Know-Secret-ebook/dp/B0CQ192VZ1/

#WriterWednesday Interview with Bill Hemmig

I’d like to welcome author Bill Hemmig to the blog for #WriterWedneday.

A few of your favorite things: oysters on the half shell, red wine, popcorn, cats.

Things you need to throw out: amaryllises that have given up blooming (not to be thrown out—to be given to a friend who has family in Florida, where they’ll be planted outdoors and thrive); blazers I don’t like anymore (to clothing drive); ground spices that have been around for years (compost pile).

Things you need for your writing sessions: a dedicated space; a legal pad (color of paper irrelevant); Uni-Ball pens (black fine point); a handy means to do quick internet research; music inside my head.

Things that hamper your writing: music outside my head; constant typos; multi-tasking.

Things you love about writing: first drafts; research; public readings; that aha moment when I realize where I’m going next.

Things you hate about writing: persnickety revisions; self-promotion; researching places to submit to.

Favorite foods: salt and pepper grilled chicken wings; roasted okra; fried calamari; wienerschnitzel; BLTs.

Things that make you want to gag: out of season tomatoes.

Favorite music or song: Renaissance polyphony; Bach, Beethoven and Brahms; Mahler; Joni Mitchell.

Music that drives you crazy: much but not all Country; most Philip Glass.

Something you wish you could do: sew (my parents both operated sewing machines for a living, and probably for that reason I never learned how).

Something you wish you’d never learned to do: make candles (I almost burned the house down when I was about twelve years old).

Last best thing you ate: a spectacular lobster mac and cheese.

Last thing you regret eating: that expired mayonnaise in the fridge.

Things you’d walk a mile for: a great meal (and I have, literally).

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: physical therapy, the most boring activity on earth.

Things you always put in your books: cars; children; golden sections.

Things you never put in your books: motorcycles; infants; fictitious song lyrics.

Favorite places you’ve been: Venice (Italy, not CA); Vita Sackville-West’s Sissinghurst; Granada; Rincon, Puerto Rico.

Places you never want to go to again: Dallas (sorry, Dallas); Anaheim, CA; the Key West Airport.

Favorite books (or genre): Orlando, Mrs. Dalloway (both Virginia Woolf); The Magic Mountain (Thomas Mann); The Bridge of San Luis Rey (Thornton Wilder); Mastering the Art of French Cooking (Julia Child, et al.).

Books you wouldn’t buy: A thousand apologies, but the Harry Potter books have no appeal for me.

Best thing you’ve ever done: Made myself chief caregiver for my ex when he way dying.

Biggest mistake: See my response to “Something you wish you’d never learned to do.”

About Bill:

Bill Hemmig is the author of Americana: Stories and Brethren Hollow, both published by Read Furiously. His short stories appear in Read Furiously’s Life in the Garden State anthologies, The World Takes and Stay Salty.  He has had stories published in the journals The Madison Review, Philadelphia Stories, Pink Disco, BarBar, and Children, Churches and Daddies (cc&d), and he is a three-time finalist in the New Millennium Writing Awards. He is a native of Reading, PA and now lives in Bucks County.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: https://www.bucksarts.org/bill-hemmig/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bill.hemmig/

Twitter: @Bill Hemmig 

Instagram: @Bill Hemmig 

#WriterWednesday Interview with Katherine Hayes

I’d like to welcome Katherine Hayes to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Things you never want to run out of: I never want to run out of friends and family members to love, engage with, and do life with.

Things you wish you’d never bought: I wish I’d never bought black licorice. I thought I would like it because of the delightful smell, but I wouldn’t say I like the taste.

The hardest thing about being a writer is that it’s challenging to make a living strictly from writing. It’s also hard to balance the business and marketing of being a writer.

Easiest thing about being a writer: The easiest thing about being a writer is being able to write all the stories, ideas, and worlds I’ve created in my mind.

Things you need for your writing sessions: I need candles, delicious snacks, the fitting soundtrack, caffeine, my fur babies, and my laptop. But I’ll settle for my notebook and pen if these things aren't available.

Things that hamper your writing: I’m hampered by clutter, an untidy space, and too many outside distractions.

A few of your favorite things: I love God, my husband, my children, my grandson, short lines, lattes, spicy food, and gatherings at my home with uplifting music, good food, and laughter. I adore animals, children, and traveling with friends and family.

Things you need to throw out: I despise clutter but desperately need to clean my junk drawers where I shove too many random things.

Words that describe you: Vibrant, eclectic, artistic, hospitable, and vivacious.

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Procrastinator (especially if something is important to me) and sometimes tardy. Ugh!

Favorite foods: I love Jamaican food, especially curry chicken, curried shrimp, jerk pork, and ackee and saltfish. I also love authentic Korean, Italian, and Mexican.

Things that make you want to gag: Mean people, untidiness, rhubarb, and liver make me want to gag.

Something you’re really good at: I’m good at painting (as in pictures), cooking, teaching, and mentoring.

Something you’re really bad at math and laundry. Thankfully, my husband is my accountant and prefers doing the laundry in exchange for great meals and a clean house.

Favorite music or song: My favorite types of music are reggae, jazz, classical piano, gospel, contemporary worship, and Afro-beats. My favorite song is Don’t Worry About A Thing” by Bob Marley.

Music that drives you crazy: Heavy metal and most country music.

Favorite smells: Lavender, jasmine, and the farm. The farm is nostalgic for me, as my grandparents lived on one.

Something that makes you hold your nose: locker rooms and bad breath.

Last best thing you ate: Ackee and saltfish with johnny cakes.

Last thing you regret eating: Bad sushi.

Things you always put in your books: Hope and hidden references to things and people only a few close friends and family members would know about.

Things you never put in your books: Hopelessness.

The funniest thing to happen to you: When I was still a school principal, I brought Tony, my then fiancé (now husband), to our annual Christmas party. When I returned from a visit to the bathroom, Tony had the group of teachers he was surrounded by in stitches. I soon found out he jokingly told everyone we’d met while I was in a bookstore in the self-help section, reading a book, “How to Get a Man.” The staff believed him.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: I tripped while on a treadmill in a crowded gym. It happened so fast that I grabbed onto the bottom sides of the equipment, where my clothing got tangled. I mooned the entire gym.

About Katherine:

Author, speaker, educational consultant, and editor–Katherine Hutchinson-Hayes, Ed. D. has had her hand in leadership for many years. She loves speaking to groups and delivering messages with a quick wit and real-life stories. Katherine is a freelance writer/content editor, a content editor/writing coach for Iron Stream Media, and a sensitivity reader for Sensitivity Between the Lines. She is a review board member and contributor to Inkspirations (an online magazine for Christian writers), and her writing has been published in Guideposts. Her work in art/writing is distinguished by awards, including the New York Mayor’s Contribution to the Arts, Outstanding Resident Artist of Arizona, and the Foundations Awards at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writer’s Conference (2016, 2019, 2021). She is a member of Word Weavers International and serves as an online chapter president and mentor. She belongs to FWA (Florida Writers Association), ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers), CWoC (Crime Writers of Color), AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association), and AASA (American Association of School Administrators). She serves on the board of the nonprofit organization Submersion 14 and is an art instructor for the nonprofit organization Light for the Future. Katherine hosts the podcast Murder, Mystery & Mayhem Laced with Morality. She has authored a Christian Bible study for women and is currently working on the sequel to her first general market thriller novel.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: https://www.drkatherinehayes.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/khutch0767

Personal Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/katherine.hutchinsonhayes

Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authordrkatherinehayes/

Books:   https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Little-Black-Dress-Women/dp/1365056163  

LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-katherine-hutchinson-hayes-3b5a3254/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.kathy.hayes/

Podcast (Apple): https://podcastsconnect.apple.com/my-podcasts/show/murder-mysterymayhem-laced-with-morality/ade5f5bb-6cbf-4722-a421-9874b24fa49d

Podcast (Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/show/4zWmZckdnPsYG9CUAKkv1p

#WriterWednesday Interview with Mark Morton

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

A few of your favorite things: I love amber: the warmth of its translucent color, the way it forms over eons from tree resin, the bits of leaves and even tiny insects that it often contains. When my wife and I got married, I gave her a piece of amber I found as a child on the grain farm where I grew up; I had a jeweler drill a hole into it and made it into a necklace for her. If I could only take one thing from our house, that would be it!

Things you need to throw out: Nothing! Our house is full of “artifacts”: little wooden boxes, curious stones we’ve found, vintage items like a rotary phone, a sewing machine from 1910 that belonged to my grandmother, antique coins, pocket watches, carvings—all of them embody a memory, and I couldn’t let any of them go. (However, we do, I guess, have a lot of half-chewed dog toys I could cull!)

Things you need for your writing sessions: A bit of ambient hubbub—I can’t write if it’s too quiet. Our dog Myah curled up behind my head on the top of my armchair. A glass of my home-made ginger beer.

Things that hamper your writing: Fatigue from lack of sleep; interruptions; worrying about existential threats like climate change, the possibility of new pandemics, the escalation and continuance of wars and conflicts.

Things you love about writing: I love how characters organically “emerge” as I’m writing—it’s as if they reveal themselves to me in a way I could never have intentionally imagined, like pulling treasure up from the bottom of a deep lake.

Things you hate about writing: I can’t think of a single thing—I enjoy all aspects of the writing process—even realizing that I need to rewrite a section of a manuscript is something I appreciate. Writing is a privilege that most people in the world don’t have—so who am I to complain about any part of it!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Finding time is of course always a challenge, as I so far have not been able to persuade an 18th-century patron to pay my bills. Also, as I grow older, my memory is not what it used to be: holding many plot elements in my head at the same time has become more challenging.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Thanks to tools like ChatGPT, finding peculiar facts and needed answers to obscure questions has become much easier! But at the same time, I have a genuine fear of where AI will take us as a species (see existential threats, above!).

Things you never want to run out of: Wonder; love; dogs.

Things you wish you’d never bought: A pound of steamed mussels still in their shells—one of them must have been off… it didn’t end well!

Favorite music or song: So many songs by Alison Goldfrapp (e.g., Black Cherry), John Prine (e.g., Angel from Montgomery), and The Tragically Hip (e.g. Ahead by a Century). That latter group is perhaps Canada’s “national rock band.”

Music that drives you crazy: Avant garde jazz—I just can’t enjoy anything that goes beep bop squawk.

Something you’re really good at: Mental compartmentalization.

Something you’re really bad at: Recognizing faces (I have prosopagnosia: face blindness—it’s harmless except that it often results in embarrassing mix ups and also makes it harder to follow movies).

Something you wish you could do: Forget certain memories—and not necessarily bad ones. Sometimes a good memory can remain so vivid that it becomes hard to assimilate into the past.

Something you wish you’d never learned to do: Troubleshoot other people’s computers.

Something you like to do: Watch educational YouTube series: Smarter Every Day, Vsauce, Veritasium, Philosophy Tube, ContraPoints, Up and Atom. Also, short films on YouTube channels such as Dust and Omeleto.

Something you wish you’d never done: Eaten an entire large cinnamon bun while completing these questions.

Favorite place you’ve been: Manitoulin Island—the largest freshwater island in the world. My wife’s mom has a cabin there. No electricity, no plumbing, but it has a river right behind it with salmon in it and the shore of Lake Huron is just a four-minute walk away. A remote and magical place.

Places you never want to go to again: Houston, Texas (see steamed mussels, above!).

Favorite books: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel; Handling the Undead by John Ajvide Lindqvist; The Road and Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy; the complete set of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Books you wouldn’t buy: Cooking with Spam. The Collected Blondie and Dagwood. Intelligent Design for Dummies. Curious George and the Electric Fence. Bigger and Better Boners (not what one might think!).

Best thing you’ve ever done: Adopting our four kids.

Biggest mistake: Not taking my mom up on her offer to pay for music lessons when I was ten. (Wait, did I get the answers to these two questions mixed up?)

About Mark:

Mark Morton, author of The Headmasters and Cupboard Love: A Dictionary of Culinary Curiosities (nominated for a Julia Child Award), is also the author of three other nonfiction titles, The End: Closing Words for a Millennium (winner of the Alexander Isbister Award for nonfiction); The Lover’s Tongue: A Merry Romp Through the Language of Love and Sex (republished in the UK as Dirty Words), and Cooking with Shakespeare. He’s also written more than 50 columns for Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture (University of California Press) and has written and broadcast more than a hundred columns about language and culture for Canada’s national radio, CBC Radio One. Mark has a PhD in sixteenth-century literature from the University of Toronto and has taught at several universities in France and Canada.

Let’s Be Social:

• Website: www.markmorton.ca

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.morton.author

• X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/NotromKram

• Publisher’s website: https://shadowpawpress.com/

#WriterWednesday Interview with S. Atzeni

It’s the middle of February here in North America, and my guest today, S. Atzeni, is going to mix it up and bring us a taste of summer. Welcome to the blog!

A few of your favorite summer traditions: My favorite summer tradition is summer reading. I look forward to it every year by building my reading list and carving out time in my schedule. Since I was a kid, we’ve always gone to the library to get our summer reading books, so I like to keep that tradition alive and visit my local library for each book.

Something summer-related that you’ll never do again: I hate the beach (I know - an unpopular opinion!). I like the boardwalk and the arcade - I just don’t see a point in sitting on the beach or swimming in the ocean. It’s pretty to look at, but not something I seek out during the summer months.

Favorite summer beverage: An iced cappuccino - it’s refreshing and I love the cold foam on top!

A drink that gives you a pickle face: Anything too sugary! It doesn’t help in the Jersey heat.

Your favorite thing to get from the ice cream truck: Vanilla and chocolate ice cream in a dixie cup. Bonus points if there’s a wooden spoon included.

Some dessert that you wish you’d never bought: I used to get those ice cream pops that looked like cartoon characters - when I was a kid, I would always get the Ninja Turtle. They didn’t taste particularly good, but who wouldn’t want ice cream in the shape of a Ninja Turtle?

Best summer vacation ever: We went to Europe one summer and it was fun traveling across the continent. Plus you learn so many new things about yourself when you travel. One thing I learned is how bad my Polish is (I’m still learning!)

Somewhere where you don’t ever want to return: On that tiny plane that took us from England to Poland - I could feel my teeth rattle the entire time we were in the air!

Most favorite place to write/edit in the summer: I have a spot in my local library that I’ve been using for years. Nothing is more satisfying than being in an air-conditioned library writing away when it’s really hot outside. Plus it’s so quiet that I get a lot of work done.

The worst place to try to write in the summer because of all the distractions: My house because the air conditioners in the windows create a buzz that’s really distracting. Plus my cats like to jump all over my laptop - in any season - and it’s hard to get work done.

Favorite thing to do on a summer evening: Sit outside and enjoy the summer evening. It’s so quiet at night, but also not with the crickets chirping and people outside. There’s a balance to the noise that I find really peaceful.

Least favorite thing about summer: The days that are so hot, you feel like you’re going to melt, Wicked Witch of the West-style. New Jersey summers can be really humid, which ruins the fun part of the summer weather.

Favorite place to visit in Virginia: The Torpedo Factory in Alexandria. Also, I LOVE Old Town Books on Royal Street!

Somewhere you’ve visited way too much. Been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt: No where! I love going back to old places - you can always find something new!

The thing you like most about being a writer: My absolute favorite part is holding your book when it’s all complete. Nothing about the process is very easy, but the finish line is always nice. All the hard work is worth it.

The thing you like least about being a writer: The hardest part is finding the time to write. There’s so much that fills the day and I can never find that “sweet spot” amount of time to write when I need to. It takes a lot of planning.

The thing that you will most remember about your writing life: I hope what I remember most are all of the different stories that I am privileged to write and the authors I’m privileged to work with as an editor. As an author-publisher, you get to have all of these great experiences and work with an extraordinary community. It’s a joy that I carry with me every day.

Something in your writing life that you wish you could do over: I try not to have any regrets, but one would be that I should have started sooner sharing my work. For many years, I was embarrassed or felt like I wasn’t ready to call myself a writer. Imposter syndrome is real - but I wish I ignored it and started sooner.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Once upon a time, I braved Nitro at Six Flags. I went on it twice. It was terrifying, but it makes a good fun fact.

Something you chickened out from doing: Going on a rollercoaster after the age of 35. Now it’s terrifying in a different way!

The funniest thing to happen to you: I broke my ankle once at a BBQ while trying to sing like Shania Twain.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: I broke my ankle once at a BBQ while trying to sing like Shania Twain. I feel like there’s a story here.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: “Your book made me laugh” - that is the greatest compliment and it makes me feel as though I’m doing something right.

The craziest thing a reader said to you: “It’s interesting that your play is a metaphor for God” - to this day, I have no idea where they got that out of a play about a diner, but thanks to that person for thinking I’m smart enough to pull that off.

About S. Atzeni:

S. Atzeni (she/they) is a multi-genre, award-winning writer of prose, comics, and academic scholarship. They are the co-author of The MOTHER Principle graphic novel series and The Legend of Dave Bradley and the upcoming W(h)ine and Cheese in the One 'n Done series. S. Atzeni holds a B.A. in Professional Writing and Journalism and a Master of Arts in English from The College of New Jersey.

When not being an adjunct professor and academic of ethnography, sequential art studies, and trauma theory, S. Atzeni is the co-founder of Read Furiously Publishing, its editorial director and its head of acquisitions. Through Read Furiously, S. Atzeni is proud to publish great books, be a part of an amazing independent literary community, and participate in literary activism.

Let’s Be Social:

http://Smatzeni.com

http://Readfuriously.com

instagram.com/smatzeni

https://www.facebook.com/ReadFuriously

#WriterWednesdayInterview with Sue Minix

I’d like to welcome the fabulous Sue Minix back to the blog to talk about some of her favorite (and not so favorite) things for #WriterWedneday!

Favorite thing to do when you have free time:

I love to read and watch movies.

The thing you’ll always move to the bottom of your to do list:

I hate to clean the house!

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

Coffee or tea depending on the time of day and my dog by my side.

Things that distract you from writing:

Whichever TV series I’m binge-watching.

Hardest thing about being a writer:

Getting the words on the screen.

Easiest thing about being a writer:

Making up the story.

Favorite snacks:

Chocolate, ice cream, and cookies.

Things that make you want to gag:

Rare steak.

Something you’re really good at:

Procrastinating!

Something you’re really bad at:

Writing on a schedule.

Favorite things to do:

Read, watch TV, watch movies, go hiking with my dog.

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

Clean the house, go to a party, make a video starring me.

The most exciting thing about your writing life:

Seeing my books in a bookstore.

The one thing you wish you could do over in your writing life:

I wouldn’t quit writing every time someone didn’t fawn over my work.

The nicest thing a reader said to you:

I love this series! I can’t wait for the next book to come out.

The craziest thing a reader said to you:

You’re pigeonholing women by calling the librarian character’s dress a “librarian frock.”

Best piece of advice you received from another writer:

Your dialogue is stilted. Try to make it more natural.

Something you would tell a younger you about your writing:

Don’t quit!!!

Recommendations for curing writer’s block:

Read books in your genre. They can trigger ideas you can use in your own work.

Things you do to avoid writing:

Read and watch TV.

About Sue:

Sue is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and the Crime Writer's Association. When she isn't writing, you can find her reading, watching old movies, or hiking the New Mexico desert with her furry best friend.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: www.sueminixauthor.com

Facebook, Instagram, Threads: sueminixauthor.com