#WriterWednesday Interview with Mary Ann Miller

I’d like to welcome Mary Ann Miller to the blog for #WriterWednesday.

A few of my favorite things: Julie Andrews, ice tea with more lemon than tea, gardening.

Things I need to throw out: expired food in the pantry, old frying pans with no non-stick left.

Things I need for writing sessions: reading glasses, view out my window.

Things that hamper my writing: my husband, music with words because I end up humming along with the songs and not writing.

Things I love about writing: putting pen to paper. I’m very old-fashioned that way.

Things I hate about writing: all of the non-writing aspects. I am getting used to doing something with social media every day.

Favorite foods: strawberries, ice cream, fruit.

Food that makes me want to gag: sushi.

Favorite music: 60s and 70s.

Music that drives me crazy: music from another vehicle when my windows are rolled up.

Favorite smells: lilacs in the spring, sawdust, coffee (love the smell, hate the taste).

Something that makes me hold my nose: skunks, water treatment plant.

Something I wish I could do: fly an airplane.

Something I wish I’d never learn to do: housework.

Something I’d love to do: skydiving.

Something I wish I’d never done: slicing my thumb while doing the dishes. Ended having surgery and ten years later, I still can’t feel half of my right thumb.

Something I’d walk a mile for: ice cream.

Something I run screaming from the room: cooking, cleaning the refrigerator.

Favorite genre: mystery, thriller.

Books I wouldn’t buy: sci-fi.

Favorite things to do: watch sports on tv, sit by the pool and read.

Things I’d like to get out of: cooking, dentist.

Things that make me happy: my three baby granddaughters

Things that drive me crazy: mispronouncing words. Especially. It’s not ekspecially.

About Mary Ann:

Mary Ann Miller is a debut author, currently living in Florida with her husband, where she is working on the second novel in the series. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northern Illinois University and earned a paralegal certificate with Roosevelt University. Miller is a member of MWA, ITW, and Sisters in Crime and when not writing, can be found reading poolside or hosting family and friends fleeing the cold winters of the north.

Let’s Be Social:

https://www.instagram.com/maryannmillerauthor/

https://www.facebook.com/authormaryann/

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/148508877-mary-ann-miller

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/mary-ann-miller-3b2a2e74-c2d7-42be-b70d-6a2840a1de34

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-ann-miller-084b56232/

https://www.amazon.com/Bones-Under-Jhonni-Laurent-Mystery-ebook/dp/B09X61VYY8/

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bones-under-the-ice-mary-ann-miller/1141319822?ean=9781608095377

Asking for Blurbs - Tips for Writers

Authors (and publishers) like to have blurbs (recommendation quotes) from other authors. Sometimes, your publisher/publicist will help you acquire them. If they don’t, here are some tips to help you request them.

• Start with writers in your genre. It’s always good to have others in the industry blurb your book. It also helps if they read/write the type of book you do. They understand the conventions and the readers. (I wouldn’t ask a fantasy author to blurb a cozy mystery.)

• Seek out your published writer friends. My writing and critique group friends have been very generous with their time. You may find folks who share an agent or publisher with you who would be willing to trade blurbs.

• Don’t ask the same people to blurb each of the books in your series.

• Look at the book bloggers in your genre. They may be willing to give you a blurb if it’s the type of book that they recommend and read.

• Give those you are requesting to help you as much lead time as possible. Everyone is busy.

• Make it easy for the person. After they agree to send you a quote, send them an ARC (Advance Reader Copy). Also provide a short summary or synopsis of the book.

• Don’t be disappointed if you get a “no” or “not right now.” Again, everyone is busy.

• Think outside of the box. If there is an expert in a field related to your story, he or she may be a good option for an endorsement.

• After your book is published, collect the reviews in a document. Many publishers will ask for “praise for” quotes. These are often included inside of the other books in the series. You can also make graphics of the great ones to use on your social media sites.

• Always thank the person who takes the time to read your work and send you a quote.

Write Books and Cash Checks - Not Quite

When I was younger, I thought a writer was one who created books and cashed checks (and occasionally did a book signing). When the first contracts arrived, I realized, writing is a business, and you need to treat yours that way.

Guard Your Writing Time - Life gets in the way, and you have so many obligations. You need to schedule time for your writing and call it work. If it’s a hobby or entertainment, it’s not valued for what it is. When people ask what you’re doing, the answer is working.

Schedule Your Writing Time - Make sure you schedule some time (every day if possible) to write and to do research or marketing tasks. When it’s on the calendar and reserved, I tend to treat it like a scheduled, important event.

Brand Yourself - You are a writer. Make sure you have the tools to network. You need business cards and a website. Your tools should all have the same look and feel as your social media sites. Make sure your headshot is professional and is current.

Build Your Email List - Your email list is your list of contacts. Make sure you take a sign-up sheet to all of your events and put a registration form on your website. If your social media platforms go under or you get banned, you will have no way to contact all of those followers. Spend time cultivating your contact list.

Network - Writing is the solitary part, but you need contacts and the support of others. Join writers’ groups in your genre. Many have networking opportunities, classes, and opportunities to share information with other writers. Build your contacts. You never know when you’ll need an editor, cover designer, publicist, etc. Plus, other writers are awesome sources of advice.

Keep up with the Adminy Tasks - Writing is a business. (I’ve said that before.) Make sure you keep up with the details like filing receipts, tracking mileage and expenditures, and paying taxes.

Know That Your Time is Valuable - You can’t do it all. Figure out what tasks you can afford to hire others to help you to do. And this is a tough one, but you have to learn how to say no to things you just can’t do.

This is a tough business and a tough job, but it’s also so rewarding.

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Deborah Doland Hunt

I’d like to welcome author Deborah Doland Hunt to the blog today for #ThisorThatThursday!

A few of your favorite things: I love puppies, dinosaurs, hiking, and the beach.

Things you need to throw out: Tablecloths and dishes. I have tons but hardly ever use them.

Things you need for your writing sessions: I need my laptop, notebook, pen, and coffee or herbal tea blend.

Things that hamper your writing: I am easily distracted so it could be anything but social media and texting.

Things you love about writing: I love sharing my books and passion for writing.

Things you hate about writing: I am somewhat impatient, so the waiting is the hardest part; waiting for an acceptance or rejection and then the time it takes for your book to be published.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Not being able to find a publisher who loves your story as much as you do.

Easiest thing about being a writer: I have tons of ideas so never really experience writer's block.

Things you never want to run out of: I never want to run out of ideas for new stories.

Things you wish you’d never bought: My porcelain collector dolls.

Favorite foods: I love shrimp and scallops and oranges.

Things that make you want to gag: I would have to say cottage cheese

Favorite music or song: I am very eclectic and like most types of music.

Music that drives you crazy: Although there are a few songs that I like in these genres I am not a big fan of the Blues or Heavy Metal.

Favorite beverage: I love my own blend of herbal teas.

Something that gives you a sour face: I would have to say lemon juice but I love the aroma and lemon that has been added to teas and other food.

Favorite smell: I love the smell of lavender and lilacs.

Something that makes you hold your nose: Fertilizer

Last best thing you ate: Swordfish

Last thing you regret eating: Way too many starburst fruit chews during a stressful time.

Favorite books (or genre): I love children’s books and mysteries.

Books you wouldn’t buy: I wouldn’t buy historical romance

Favorite things to do: Walking along the surf on Montauk.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Although I would love to go up in a hot air balloon, I know I would be petrified to actually do it.

Best thing you’ve ever done: Having children is the best thing I have ever done.

Biggest mistake: One of my biggest mistakes was signing book contracts without legal advice.

The coolest person you’ve ever met: Henry Winkler

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: Kelly Ripa is actually much smaller in person than she looks on television.

About Deborah:

 Bio Deborah Hunt is a writer and nursing professor and dean who lives in New York. She considers herself an eclectic writer as she writes in multiple genres. She has published several nursing books, award winning children’s books, and a self-care book. She writes every day and loves attending book events to share her books, journey as a writer, and passion for writing. She loves the beach, puppies, dinosaurs, mysteries, and books. She enjoys painting, gardening, hiking, and cooking and hopes to own a farm one day filled with rescue dogs, chickens, and baby goats. Her personal quote is

"May you always have a book to read and a story to hold in your heart." ~D. D. Hunt

 Let’s Be Social:

https://www.amazon.com/No-Dinosaurs-Allowed-Deborah-Hunt/dp/1956851518/ref=monarch_sideshee

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/no-dinosaurs-allowed-deborah-dolan-hunt/1139908708

https://twitter.com/debdoll25

https://www.facebook.com/deborah.ann.37

Instagram: Deborah Hunt Author

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Teresa Trent

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

I’d like to welcome the fabulous Teresa Trent to the blog today for #ThisorThatThursday!

Things you need for your writing sessions: I need a quiet room. I might put on music, but when I’m really into it, it’s just me and all those people in my head.

Things that hamper your writing: If I’m stressed out over something new in my life, I have a hard time writing. For example, my son being in the hospital. I couldn’t write at all until we knew he was going to be okay, then I couldn’t stop writing. I guess I had bottled up on my writing urges.

Things you love about writing: I love to create characters, situations, ideal worlds. I love to write an outline and work my way through it.

Things you hate about writing: Hands down—editing. One of the methods I use for writing is dictation, especially when I’m on a roll. Unfortunately, dictation stinks when it comes to punctuation and using the right word.

Hardest thing about being a writer: For me it’s going through draft after draft after draft. By the end of the process, you really don’t want to read that book again.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Getting to play with storylines and of course, I love the flexibility of my work hours.

Things you never want to run out of: I’m weird. Chocolate, licorice, cottage cheese, coffee/tea.

Things you wish you’d never bought: The latest diet program I fell for on Facebook.

Favorite foods: Pizza, Lasagna, Tiger Roll, Chicken Lo Mein

Things that make you want to gag: Brussel Sprouts, Okra

Favorite music or song: I love New Age piano music. Think George Winston or Kevin Kern. It gives me a calm base to go about my day.

Music that drives you crazy: Heavy metal and rap. I gave birth with rap music playing in the birthing suite once. I don’t know put it on the tv but I distinctly remember someone saying to me “Push” and my reply was “Turn it off!”

Favorite smell: Roast beef cooking in the oven.

Something that makes you hold your nose: I went to college in Greeley, Colorado. The school was upwind of the stockyards. Nothing like rushing to class holding your nose.

Things you always put in your books: A moment between characters that makes me cry.

Things you never put in your books: The “F” word.

Things to say to an author: Where can I leave a review?

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: You know, I have a great idea for a book. You can write it for me and then I’ll collect the royalties! Okay?

Things that make you happy: Time with my family, reading, singing with my daughter, watching streaming tv with my husband.

Things that drive you crazy: People on the phone in traffic who don’t go when the light turns green. I’m in Houston and boy, howdy. It happens daily.

About Teresa:

Teresa Trent is the author of over 15 books. She started writing cozy mysteries with the Pecan Bayou and Piney Woods Mystery Series. She sets her stories in different geographical areas of Texas and The Swinging Sixties historical series is set just north of Dallas, starting in 1962. You might think with so many books set in the Lone Star state, she was born there, but no. She has lived all over the world, thanks to her father's career in the army. After living in Texas for twenty-five years, she's finally put down roots.

Teresa is a hybrid author, self-publishing early in her career, which led her to traditional publishing with Level Best Books and Camel Press. She is the author of several short stories that have appeared in a host of anthologies. Teresa publishes the blog and podcast, Books to the Ceiling at https://teresatrent.blog where she loves to read the book excerpts of other writers and share in the writing community.

Teresa is a member of Sisters in Crime and lives in Houston, Texas with her husband and son.

Let’s Be Social:

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

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/ttrent_cozymys

BLOG: https://teresatrent.blog/

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

#WriterWednesday with Author Michelle Bennington

I’d like to welcome author Michelle Bennington to the blog this week for #WriterWednesday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Revision, marketing, and social media.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Coming up with ideas and the first draft.

Favorite foods: (this is a list that could on forever) Fresh baked scone, bacon, chocolate truffles, anything with caramel, my mom’s fried chicken, cold watermelon on a hot summer day, my grandma’s fried apple pies and homemade apple butter, apple pie, and spice cake.

Things that make you want to gag: I like a lot of ethnic and sea foods, but sea urchin and sashimi are two things I’ll never eat again. Oysters in any form, hominy, and okra. Chocolate above 70% dark.

Favorite music or song: (This is a list that could on forever, too). I like a wide range of pop, rock, hip hop, blues, some rap, wide array of international music, country, some punk, bluegrass, metal, classical, and religious hymns. My tastes are really eclectic. I think above all these is Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. One of the most beautiful pieces ever written. And I love anything played on the cello.

Music that drives you crazy: anything that I feel lacks artistry, meaning, or soul.

Favorite beverage: coffee, Earl Grey tea, Ale-8 (a Kentucky citrus-ginger soda), chai.

Something that gives you a sour face: black coffee. I have to have a little cream. Buttermilk. Plain Kefir.

Favorite smell: honeysuckle on a warm summer night, cooking bacon, brewing coffee, sandalwood, lavender.

Something that makes you hold your nose: the smell of gasoline, diesel, mildew, car exhaust, mold, cigarette smoke.

Something you’re really good at: Though I’m pretty good at cooking and baking in general, I’m best at making scones and bourbon balls and other holiday treats.

Something you’re really bad at: math

Something you like to do: Dance. I’m a member of a Middle Eastern dance troupe and I teach Bollywood dance. Play board and card games with my friends. It’s one of the most special things I do all year.

Something you wish you’d never done: Procrastinating on writing that first novel and launching my writing career. But I felt like there was so much I didn’t know and didn’t know how to find out. It’s been a journey for sure.

Favorite places you’ve been: Scotland

Places you never want to go to again: I can’t say there’s no place I’d want to revisit because even the rough, unsavory, or “bad” places were a learning experience that taught me something very valuable about life, the world, and myself. However, there have been some rough hotels/motels/B&Bs I’m happy to never step foot in again.

Favorite books (or genre): (another list that could go on forever). I like a wide variety of genres and books but tend to stay around mystery, historical fiction, biography, non-fiction history, poetry, thrillers, true crime. Occasionally, I’ll stray into horror, fantasy, romance, or paranormal.

Books you wouldn’t buy: YA, Sci-fi, erotica, children’s, most fantasy, most paranormal, most horror, most poetry, sports-based fiction and non-fiction.

Favorite things to do: Try new things, go to new places. I like to dance, travel, do historical tours, have afternoon tea, read in a bubble bath, go to the beach or lake, hang out with friends.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: taxes, deal with an insurance issue or technological / appliance issues.

Things that make you happy: My family, my dog (Maple), writing, reading, traveling (as long as I’m not driving), dancing, art, crafts.

Things that drive you crazy: Traffic. Computers. Spam. Noisy neighbors. People who lack intellectual curiosity or intellectual humility. Laziness.

About Michelle:

Born and raised in the beautiful Bluegrass state of Kentucky, Michelle Bennington developed a passion for books early on that has since progressed into a mild hoarding situation and an ever-growing to-read pile. She delights in transporting readers into worlds of mystery, both contemporary and historical.

In rare moments of spare time, she can be found engaging in a wide array of arts and crafts, reading, dance, traveling, and attending tours involving ghosts, historical homes, or distilleries.

Find out more about her series at www.michellebennington.com

The Small-Batch Mysteries: set in contemporary Kentucky, in the bourbon community (Level Best Books).

The Hazardous Hoarder Mysteries: set in contemporary Kentucky, featuring amateur hoarder-turned-sleuth, Birdie Harper.

The Widows & Shadows series: a historical mystery series set in late Georgian England to release October 2023 (Level Best Books).

A Sampling of Sleuths: Discover A New Binge-Worthy Mystery Series Anthology to release June 20, 2023 (Thalia Press).

Michelle loves talking about books, reading, writing, and history so y’all stop by for a visit anytime!

Let’s Be Social:

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michelle.bennington.author/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/?ref=nav_home

Some Valuable Advice I Learned over the Years

I am so grateful for all the encouragement and support my writerly friends have shared with me through the years. It’s been invaluable on this writing journey. Here are some of the ideas that resonated.

• Not every reader is going to buy, read, or like your book. Your book is competing with millions of books for attention. You need to target your book marketing toward people who read your genre.

• The good news is that readers read and buy more than one book a year (month, week…). Other writers aren’t your competition.

• You will not be everyone’s cup of tea. There will be bad or not-so-good reviews. Learn what you can from them and move on.

• You need to be social on social media. It takes time to build fans, followers, and readers. Don’t be that “buy my book” author all the time.

• Your email/newsletter list is valuable. You own it. It takes care and feeding to grow it. (If your social media platforms shut down, you’d have no way of contacting your followers.)

• Writing is more than creating books and cashing royalty checks. It’s work, and it’s a business. If you’re serious about your writing, you need to treat it like a business.

#WriterWednesday Interview with B. J. Bowen

I’d like to welcome author B. J. Bowen to the blog today for #WriterWednesday!

Things you need for your writing sessions: My computer. I can’t imagine how it is possible to create (my mind goes faster than longhand) or revise without one!

Things that hamper your writing: Emails! Facebook! Computer glitches!

Things you love about writing: I can keep editing until I’m happy with what I’ve written.

Things you hate about writing: Marketing! Self-promotion! Ughh!!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Coming up with fresh ideas.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Once you’ve had an idea, writing a scene, especially one with characters you love.

Things you never want to run out of: toilet paper, ideas, direction

Things you wish you’d never bought: CDs I only like one song on; clothes that are cute, but the wrong color; another book!

Words that describe you: tenacious, friendly, soothing

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

Favorite music or song: Any Bach, Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings

Music that drives you crazy: rap

Favorite smell: Lilies of the Valley—my grandmother used to have that perfume.

Something that makes you hold your nose: the smell of bad animal shelters—urine, feces, & pain

Something you wish you could do: Technology

Something you wish you’d never learned to do: Shhhhh! Grant writing—everybody wants a grant writer, but what if you fail and a deserving program goes without funds? It’s never happened to me, but it’s nerve-racking and stressful.

Something you like to do: Writing.

Something you wish you’d never done: Gone to the amusement park with my (at the time) seven-year-old daughter. I got nauseated from the whirling around and around rides, and the roller coaster was scary!

The last thing you ordered online: A book! What else?

The last thing you regret buying: ANOTHER book. It wasn’t very good, and it was expensive.

Things you always put in your books: The symphony.

Things you never put in your books: Violence (sounds odd for a murder mystery, but it’s true), and dead dogs/cats/other animals.

Things to say to an author: “I loved your book. It made me laugh. I posted reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes & Noble.”

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “Why did that character act this way or that? I would have…”

Favorite places you’ve been: Utah Grand Canyon/Best Friends Animal Shelter, Costa Rica

Places you never want to go to again: A big city.

Favorite books (or genre): Cozies, women’s fiction

Books you wouldn’t buy: Horror novels, books where the dog dies

People you’d like to invite to dinner (living): Marianne Williamson, Jane Goodall, Margaret Atwood

People you’d cancel dinner on: They’re all politicians, and even thinking of them makes me angry.

Favorite things to do: Lunch with a friend

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Fighting with the computer.

Things that make you happy: Beautiful colors, beautiful landscapes, my daughter, my dogs, not necessarily in that order.

Things that drive you crazy: Crowds, people who ignore the facts because their mind’s already made up.

Best thing you’ve ever done: Give birth to my daughter.

Biggest mistake: Expect people in my life to make me happy.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Hot air balloon ride.

Something you chickened out from doing: Attending a séance.

The funniest thing to happen to you: In 8th grade I measured myself for a dressmaking pattern. My mother was surprised that the measurements were so large, and insisted she had a 24-inch waist. She took the tape measure to show me. As I recall, she started at 32, then began pulling the tape measure on the way to 24. At around 26.5, the tape measure broke! (Maybe you had to be there).

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: My daughter and I were visiting a wild mustang shelter. We were given a bus tour of the horse area. I asked what that thing hanging down between the horse’s legs was. In my defense, he was a small colt, it was HUGE, and I’m a city girl. As I recall, the tour guide’s answer was, “That’s the way we tell if it’s a boy or a girl.”

The coolest person you’ve ever met: a minister who accepted everyone, wasn’t afraid to play like a kid, and spoke eloquently.

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: I’ve never met a celebrity in person.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: “I’m sad the book had to end. I loved the characters.”

The craziest thing a reader said to you: “I wouldn’t have spent my money the way that character did.”

About B. J.:

Barbara (B. J.) Bowen is a freelance writer. She was a finalist and Honorable Mention in the 2018 Focus: Eddy Awards for her article, “Letting Go with Grace,” published in Unity Magazine. Ms. Bowen is also an accomplished professional oboist who played with the Colorado Springs Symphony for nineteen years.

Drawing on her quirky fellow musicians and orchestral experiences, she created the mystery series, "Musical Murders.” The first is "Music is Murder" (Release date, 6-9-21). The second is "Ballistics at the Ballet" (Release date 9-14-2022) The third is "Fireworks on the Fourth" (Release date 5-8-2023).

She is a member of Sisters in Crime, lives in Colorado with two canine friends, and has a stock of musical puns and a song for any occasion.

Let’s Be Social:

www.barbarabowenauthor.com

www.bookbub.com/authors/b-j-bowen

www.facebook.com/barbarabowenauthor