#WriterWednesday Interview with H. M. Gooden

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I’d like to welcome H. M. Gooden to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

A few of your favorite things: I’m going through a little bit of a sticker and planner phase. I’m pretty sure it’s a procrastination technique, but it’s so pretty I can’t stop!

Things you need to throw out: I need to get rid of the things I keep saying “oh, but it’s too good to throw away, but not good enough to donate”. Clearly, if I don’t think it’s good enough to donate, it should go in the garbage, but…

Hardest thing about being a writer: The hardest thing about being a writer is finding the time to write. Between work, kids, health, life, etc., I feel I could get so much more done if I was able to be sequestered in a monastery away from all distractions.

Easiest thing about being a writer: The ideas. I have way more ideas than time, and I find opportunities everywhere.

Something you’re good at: Does procrastination count as a skill set? I amaze myself sometimes how could I am at procrastination. Then there are other times I’m remarkably good getting a multitude of things done all at once. This is a skill I call “procrastitasking”. In fact, there’s a high probability I’m doing it right now!

Something you’re bad at: Extremely bad at realistically estimating time a project will take, and/or the time available to complete it in. Most of the time I have found as an adult I build in extra time buffers as a result, but even then, it can be tight!

The last thing you ordered online: I think I ordered another pair of leggings from Amazon. The Satina brand ones are seriously comfortable, and less than 20$ Canadian, which is huge. I wear them pretty much anytime I’m not in scrubs or trying to make sure my jeans still fit.

The last thing you regret buying: I don’t regret the product, but I hate when I buy something online and I think I’ve paid for shipping already, then I get dinged with a second shipping charge before they’ll deliver it. The product I bought was a gorgeous writing box, but the shipping ended up being the same as the cost of the box itself, which was disappointing. Still love the box though, so that is good.

Things you’d walk a mile for: I’m from rural Manitoba, so you must walk at least a mile to go anywhere unless you have a car or are riding your bike, and then it’s way over a mile.

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: About 75% of the noises that my children emit. I know nature wants me to let them do things themselves, but why must they make so much noise? If I had a mute button my homelife would be perfect!

Things you always put in your books: All my books, both fiction and non-fiction, have elements of magic. I can’t help it—the world is so amazing and mysterious; I still haven’t found another way to explain most of what happens without falling back on the elements of fantasy.

Things you never put in your books: That is so tough! I don’t know the answer to this. I wouldn’t deliberately create a hero/heroine that was a terrible human, but otherwise I think anything is on the table.

Favorite places you’ve been: I love travelling, but haven’t had a chance to go anywhere since having children. The places I’ve really loved were Scotland and Wales, but I have a very, very long travel list.

Places you never want to go to again: Oh, another toughie! I’m not keen on going back to terrible places in my past but wouldn’t want to make someone who loved a place upset when I call their favorite corner of the world terrible. I don’t really have anywhere I hate, but I’m not big on anywhere crowded in general.

Favorite books (or genre): I love anything and everything with magic. Paranormal Romance, Fantasy, Sci-fi- any genre with characters I can get behind.

Books you wouldn’t buy: I’m really not into military books of any kind- fictional or non-fiction. I did read many throughout my education, but they were always too painful to read. That much death and destruction is not my idea of entertainment, and I see plenty of death every day, so I’m looking for more love and light in my relaxing material.

Favorite things to do: I love to read, write, spend time in nature and snuggle my 4 cats and dog. And of course, spend time with family.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Do Brussel sprouts count? I have and would eat grasshoppers over those.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I have to go with trying out being a trapeze artist- I nearly died! (I mean I didn’t, but nearly had a heart attack trying to jump.)

Something you chickened out from doing: scuba diving. Still not sure if I couldn’t do it because of my ears, or because the feeling of claustrophobia I experienced in the bottom of the cage was very unexpected.

Do You Invest in Your Writing Career?

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You as an author are your brand, and you need to treat your writing as a business. Here are some ideas of ways you can invest in your learning and your craft.

  • Do you have a professional membership in a writing organization? Many like Sisters in Crime have local chapters. These groups can help you with training, programs, ideas, and writing opportunities. Mine are invaluable. I cherish the friends and the networking opportunities they afford. My first traditionally published work was a short story in a Sisters in Crime anthology.

  • Do you have a professional headshot? Selfies and candids are fun, but you need a professional photo for print media and the web. Selfies don’t have enough dpi (dots per inch) resolution, and if you try to enlarge it, it looks fuzzy. Invest in a professional photo. It’s one of the first things I spent money on.

  • Do you invest in your training or learning? Professional organizations often have programs or learning opportunities. Check out online programs, YouTube videos, your local library, and your local colleges. Many offer low-cost or even free courses on a variety of topics that can help you on your writing journey. Don’t forget blogs and online magazines. There are tons of articles out there with good advice.

  • Is your computer secure? Your writing is valuable. There is nothing that will make a writer cry faster than losing part or all of a manuscript. Make sure you back up your files.

    • You need to make sure you upload patches and updates when they come out. These fix vulnerabilities in your applications or operating system. The longer you wait, the longer you’re vulnerable.

    • Make sure you have anti-virus software on your computer and make sure it’s up to date.

  • Do you have a brand?

    • A logo for you and your books are nice. You can use it on your website and your socials.

    • Your platform (website and social media sites) should have the same look and feel (e.g., colors, fonts, etc.). My first work was published in an anthology with a red and black cover, so I did all my graphics in those colors. A publicist told me later that it really didn’t reflect my writing style. She told me to use pastels since I write cozy and funny mysteries.

    • Make sure that your readers can identify your sites. A professional photo and a logo go a long way to help with this. If your photo is a flower, readers often don’t realize it’s your author page.

    • Make sure that your site, your biographies, and book lists are updated regularly. People don’t visit outdated or inactive sites.

    • This sounds like Captain Obvious, but it’s true sometimes. Make sure visitors to your website and socials know you are an author. Your banners, posts, graphics should all promote your books and services.

What else would you add to my list?

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with J. M. Donellan

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I’d like to welcome J. M. Donellan to the blog today for #ThisorThatThursday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Writing.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Writing.

Favorite foods: The tears of my enemies.

Things that make you want to gag: Dagwood dogs. They are satan’s snackfood.

Favorite music or song: My all-time favourite song is Unfinished Sympathy by Massive Attack. I still remember the moment when I first heard it on the radio and everything just froze. I couldn’t believe music like that existed, it sounded like it was from the past and the future at the same time. It was soul, electronic, hip-hop, orchestral. There’s entire worlds in that song. Speaking of music, I made a playlist for Rumors of Her Death because I’m a huge music nerd, you can check that out here.

Music that drives you crazy: If you play Nu-Metal anywhere in my immediate vicinity we are going to have a serious problem.

Something you’re really good at: Being wrong.

Something you’re really bad at: Admitting when I’m wrong.

Things you always put in your books: Dark humour and Nina Simone references.

Things you never put in your books: I’m very aware that this could offend a lot of people in the crime and mystery writing community, but I personally have no interest in writing about hero cops. In TV writing they sometimes call it ‘copaganda’, I think that if you’re going to talk about police you need to be addressing the systemic problems of police violence and corruption. I’d like to see more stories about activists and outsiders trying to redress the wrongs of an unjust system rather than celebrating the people who enforce it.

Things to say to an author: “I bought ten copies of your book, wrote reviews about how much I loved it, had the title tattooed on my arm as a conversation starter, requested it at my local library, and I named by firstborn after your central protagonist.”

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “I only read books written by reality TV stars.”

Favorite places you’ve been: I’ve been fortunate enough to travel extensively, and Ladakh, Havana, Luang Prabang, Quito are all up there for me. However, I lived in Lisbon for a short time while I was working on Killing Adonis and I fell completely in love with it. I shared a little apartment with a cat named Pinga and drank too much wine and sat on the rooftop reading and watching the sun set over the city. I had a recently broken heart and my first major publishing contract and it was a very strange and liminal time. My wife and I went back there for a wedding a few years back and the city felt like an old friend.

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

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I went on a New Year’s eve white water rafting trip in northern Laos that the guide assured my friend and I was ‘beginner level.’ We both had some experience with rafting, were nevertheless knocked out of the boat and into the freezing rapids about half a dozen times. Nothing like scrambling for your raft while your legs are going numb and a cascade of water is trying to smash you into a rock. Good times. We very carefully packed a bottle of champagne that miraculously survived and drank it in our little jungle hut that night. Still the best champagne I’ve ever had, I think the adrenaline really lifted the flavour.

Something you chickened out from doing: Answering this question.

The coolest person you’ve ever met: I generally think that our societal obsession with celebrity is borderline pathological. I don’t really care about fame, but I do admire talent. That said, I once interviewed the Coathangers, a punk band from Atlanta, and they just oozed cool. It emanated from them like ectoplasm.

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: I did a supernova Comic con event with Jack Gleeson aka Joffrey once and I was like “did someone bring their kid to this event or did he just sneak backstage?” Then I realised he probably made more money that month than I’ll make my entire life. Cool. Cool cool cool cool I’m fine with it.

Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done: This is cheating because it’s (partially) still writing, but I collaborated with a choreographer, sound designer and dancers to create a series of dance/poetry collaborations that we performed as part of the World Science Festival and other events. Had my poetry fact checked by scientists, that was a novel experience.

A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it: During the worst of the pandemic I worked on a story-based video game I was really proud of. Taught myself some basic coding, worked with some cool people. We were getting ready for the beta release when the company crashed. That’s the tech world for you, I guess.

#WriterWednesday Interview with Gretchen McCullough

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I’d like to welcome Gretchen McCullough to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Things you never want to run out of: During Ramadan, we are afraid we will run of booze! It is not sold during the entire month in Cairo.

Things you wish you’d never bought: I bought a used car in Tuscaloosa, Alabama because it was cheap. I should have spent more money because I almost replaced all the parts in one year! I sold it for five hundred bucks before I left Tuscaloosa.

A few of your favorite things: I love my mother’s paintings, my bathing suit and my tennis racquet.

Things you need to throw out: I have too many suitcases! Every time I go to Texas, I bring back another suitcase. I have suitcases under my bed, in my wardrobes and stacked against the wall. I even have the trunks I bought to Cairo in 2000!

Things you need for your writing sessions: I need big stretches of time when I am working on a novel. My desk faces the trees outside. This sense of openness helps me create.

Things that hamper your writing: Our cat Pepe who starts howling! He is hungry, wants to be petted or wants his litter box cleaned.

Hardest thing about being a writer: It’s tough having a manuscript rejected.

Easiest thing about being a writer: It’s great to have the freedom to create a world.

Words that describe you: I can be funny, clumsy, but also well-organized.

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: I am a worrier. Sometimes, I call it too straight and could be described as tactless.

Favorite foods: I love raw oysters with cumin, olive oil and lemon. Nothing like it if they are fresh.

Things that make you want to gag: I can even eat liver, but I draw the line at brains.

Favorite beverage: I enjoy a Heineken beer on a hot day.

Something that gives you a sour face: I will never drink Gin or Tequila again after a few bad experiences in my twenties.

Favorite smell: I love the smell of jasmine blossoms.

Something that makes you hold your nose: When the drain is blocked and water backs up in our small bathroom, it smells like a sewer.

The last thing you ordered online: An E-book on Amazon by James McBride, Good Lord Bird. A wonderful novel!

The last thing you regret buying: I regret not trying on a swimsuit at Target before I bought it.

Favorite places you’ve been: I love Izmir, Turkey. There is nothing more glorious than sitting all afternoon by the sea eating fried calamari.

Places you never want to go to again: I didn’t enjoy living in Tokyo. I felt closed in.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I went to a isolated part of Syria on a Fulbright without knowing much Arabic.

Something you chickened out from doing: I never want to scuba-dive. I don’t want a mask over my face.

Some real-life story that made it to one of your books: There was a murder next to my parents’ second home in Ingram, Texas.

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: I wasn’t dragged off to a mental asylum in Cairo.

About Gretchen:

Gretchen McCullough was raised in Harlingen Texas. After graduating from Brown University in 1984, she taught in Egypt, Turkey and Japan. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Alabama and was awarded a teaching Fulbright to Syria from 1997-1999.

Her stories, essays and reviews have appeared in The Barcelona Review, Archipelago, National Public Radio, Story South, Guernica, The Common, The Millions, and the LA Review of Books. Translations in English and Arabic have been published in: Nizwa, Banipal, Brooklyn Rail in Translation, World Literature Today and Washington Square Review with Mohamed Metwalli. Her bi-lingual book of short stories in English and Arabic, Three Stories from Cairo, translated with Mohamed Metwalli was published in July 2011 by AFAQ Publishing House, Cairo. A collection of short stories about expatriate life in Cairo, Shahrazad’s Tooth, was also published by AFAQ in 2013. Most recently, her translation with Mohamed Metwalli of his poetry collection, A Song by the Aegean Sea was published by Laertes Press, 2022.

Currently, she is on the faculty at the American University in Cairo.

Let’s Be Social:

Website

Facebook


It's Fall Y'all!

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You all know that I’m a beach girl. I grew up in Virginia Beach, and Labor Day was always bittersweet. It was the end of the season. The tourists headed home, and many of the businesses boarded up until May. And the temperatures dropped. For me, it meant time to go back to school and schedules. Fall always meant the end.

We live in Central Virginia now, and fall has become one of my favorite seasons. I love boots, comfy sweaters, and fluffy socks. And don’t forget the bonfires, caramel apples, and trips to the pumpkin patch. There are so many seasonal traditions that I look forward to. I love the show that the leaves put on each autumn. The cooler temperatures and football season are the highlights.

I also love to go to the apple orchards in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The mountains are gorgeous this season. Apple-picking is so much fun. Plus, they have apple cider, fresh honey, apple cider doughnuts, and did I mention the caramel apples? And don’t forget the amazing fall speciality drinks.

Fall also has some amazing holidays — Halloween and Thanksgiving roll right into Christmas and New Years.

And I’m soooo looking forward to my new Jules Keene Glamping mystery, Christmas Lights and Cat Fights. It drops October 17.

What are your favorite fall events?

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Allison Brook/Marilyn Levinson

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I’d like the welcome the fabulous Allison Brook/Marilyn Levinson back to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday.

Favorite thing to do when you have free time:

Shop online; read; do a Sudoku puzzle

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

Straightening up the area around my computer; going through my closet to remove clothes I haven't worn in a very long time.

Hardest thing about being a writer:

Sitting down to write each day

Easiest thing about being a writer:

Getting up from writing for the day. Doing an author takeover and chatting with readers

Things you will run to the store for at midnight: ice cream

Things you never put on your shopping list: soda, fake whipped cream

Favorite snacks: Chocolate bark, pistachio nuts

Things that make you want to gag: marshmallows, oreo cookies

Something you’re really good at: knitting, cooking, writing, speaking to a group

Something you’re really bad at: using a sewing machine; drawing

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: a ballerina or an author

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: being a somewhat successful author

Last best thing you ate: dark chocolate

Last thing you regret eating: too much dark chocolate

Favorite places you’ve been: England, South of France, Machu Picchu, Mexico

Places you never want to go to again: Caribbean

Favorite things to do: reading, yoga, dining out, watching films and British shows

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: being an officer of an organization, cleaning, straightening up my papers and things

Recommendations for curing writer’s block: Go back a few pages before writer's block set in and see where you strayed from your story; take a break from writing.

Things you do to avoid writing: read emails, shop online, make phone calls.

About Allison:

A former Spanish teacher, Marilyn Levinson writes mysteries, romantic suspense, and novels for young readers.

As Allison Brook, Marilyn writes the Haunted Library mystery series, which has received many accolades. Death Overdue, the first book in ther series,was an Agatha nomination for Best Contemporary Novel, a Library Journal "Pick of the Month" and on Goodreads' list of the 200 "Most Popular Books Published in October 2017.

The Devil's Pawn, is a horror-suspense YA that will give you chills but leave you smiling when you've read the last page. Her Golden Age of Mystery Book Club mysteries have received many wonderful reviews. Murder a la Christie, the first in the series, was a King Rivers Life Magazine's "Best of 2014" and on Book Town's 2014 Summer Mystery Reading List. Professor Lexie Driscoll leads discussions about Christie novels as she solves the murders of various members of her book club. In the sequel, Murder the Tey Way, Lexie and the book club talk about Josephine Tey's mysteries as she investigates murders and unravels secrets.

Untreed Reads has brought out new e-editions of Marilyn's Twin Lakes mysteries: A Murderer Among Us, awarded a Suspense Magazine Best Indie and on Book Town's Summer Reading List. The sequel, Murder in the Air, was on Book Town's Fall Reading List. Both books will soon be available as audiobooks. Uncial Press e-publishes her ghost mystery, Giving Up the Ghost, and her romantic suspense, Dangerous Relations. Most of Marilyn's mysteries take place on Long Island, where she lives.

Her books for young readers include No Boys Allowed, Rufus and Magic Run Amok, which was awarded a "Children's Choice." Getting Back to Normal & And Don't Bring Jeremy.

Marilyn loves traveling, reading, knitting, doing Sudoku, and visiting with her grandchildren, Olivia and Jack, on FaceTime. She is co-founder and past president of the Long Island chapter of Sisters in Crime.

Let’s Be Social:

Website

#WriterWednesday Interview with Catherine McCarthy

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I’d like to welcome author Catherine McCarthy to the blog for #WriterWendesday!

Things you never want to run out of:

Mascara, moisturizer, and good old British tea!

Things you wish you’d never bought:

Several lipsticks that make me resemble a corpse.

Hardest thing about being a writer:

Promoting one’s work is without doubt the hardest thing about being a writer.

Easiest thing about being a writer:

Revision and editing. Not everyone enjoys this aspect, but I love it.

Words that describe you:

Dark sense of humour, empathetic, nature lover

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

At times pedantic, but also prone to time wasting

Favorite smell:

Woodsmoke

Something that makes you hold your nose:

Barbecued meat

Things you always put in your books:

Birds, especially robins and crows

Things you never put in your books:

Gratuitous violence

Favorite places you’ve been:

A secret chapel, hidden in a French gorge. Simply magical!

Places you never want to go to again:

Alcúdia, Majorca and most cities

Favorite books (or genre):

Magical realism and anything gothic

Books you wouldn’t buy:

Hard sci-fi or steamy romance

Favorite things to do:

Walk the Welsh coast path and visit ancient monuments

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

Holiday on a cruise ship

The nicest thing a reader said to you:

When reviewing my recently published Gothic novel, A Moonlit Path of Madness, a reader said: "...her writing would shine on plain paper bound with twine. She is that good."

I couldn’t wish for more.

The craziest thing a reader said to you:

Though my work can be said to fall under the umbrella of ‘horror,’ I don’t see myself as a horror writer in the sense of violence or gore, nor do I advertise myself as such. I’m more concerned with providing a sense of creeping dread. So when one reviewer referred to my short story collection, Mists and Megaliths, as "About as scary as finding a fly in your orange juice" it really made me smile.

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

A few years back, I taught myself to sew. Since then, I’ve made everything from dresses to handbags.

A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it:

I recently attempted to make a jumpsuit. The trouser part ended up huge, while the top half was tiny, as in several inches too small. Such a waste!

About Catherine:

Catherine McCarthy weaves dark tales on an ancient loom from her farmhouse in West Wales.

Her published novellas and novels include Immortelle, Mosaic, A Moonlit Path of Madness, and The Wolf and the Favour. Her short fiction has been published in various anthologies and magazines, including those by Black Spot Books, Nosetouch Press, and Dark Matter Ink.

In 2020 she won the Aberystwyth University Prize for her short fiction.

Time away from the loom is spent hiking the Welsh coast path or huddled in an ancient graveyard reading Dylan Thomas or Poe.

Let’s Be Social:

Find her at https://www.catherine-mccarthy-author.com/

or at https://twitter.com/serialsemantic

My Writing Resources

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When I started writing, I bought or read every book about writing and every reference book I could get my hands on. Then I realized that I was spending all of my time reading about writing instead of actually doing it. I went through my shelf and donated a lot of the books to the Friends of the Library, but there are some that are invaluable resources. Today’s post is about one of those.

I’d like to thank Jackie Layton and Christine Romeril for their recommendation of A is for Arsenic by Kathryn Harkup. (I know it was last spring at Malice, but my “to be read” pile is huge. And that’s a whole other blog post.)

If you love Agatha Christie or British mysteries, you need to check it out. This is a detailed reference on the poisons that Christie was familiar with. In the book, Harkup discusses the fourteen poisons that Christie, who served as a pharmacy technician during the war, used in her novels.

I love how the author provides the scientific explanation for each, real cases, and then Christie’s use in her mysteries. It is a fascinating read, and I learned so much about Christie and her meticulous research.

This is well written and entertaining for Christie fans, even if you’re not interested in the molecular makeup or the scientific details. I found it all fascinating, and this one is going in my collection of must-keeps.

What are some of the resources in your library that other writers should know about?