Interview with Kraig Dafoe, author of ‘Search for the Lost Realm’

Kraig Dafoe was born in Potsdam, New York and grew up in Canton. He played high school football and joined the United States Army Reserves at the age of seventeen.

Kraig married at the age of nineteen and moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia where he worked as a Private Security officer for The Christian Broadcasting Network and also attended the Tidewater Community College for business.

After five years as a security officer, he became a Deputy Sheriff for the city of Chesapeake Virginia.

Kraig left the Sheriff’s office after nine years of service and pursued a couple of different business opportunities before he went on to publishing his debut novel.

Kraig is the father of five children and he currently resides in Kansas, raising his youngest son.

His latest book is the fantasy/adventure, Search for the Lost Realm.

Visit his website at www.kraigdafoebooks.com

Would you call yourself a born writer?

I don’t know if I was born a writer but I definitely think this is what I enjoy the most out of everything I’ve done.

What was your inspiration for Search for the Lost Realm?

I was role-playing and really enjoying it. I decided I wanted to make my own stories instead of just playing in someone else’s world so I started to write.

What themes do you like to explore in your writing?

I like to make sure the human factor is present. I’m not sure that is really a theme but character development is important and I focus on that. If someone likes the character, the story tends to take a back seat.

How long did it take you to complete the novel?

If you take into consideration it sat on a shelf for a long time in between the times I actually wrote, fourteen years.

Are you disciplined? Describe a typical writing day.

I’m a little more disciplined now. I don’t necessarily work on my new book everyday but I do think about it and kind of situate things in my head every day. I usually spend two to three days thinking to one day writing.

What did you find most challenging about writing this book?

Motivation. Not knowing if it would ever be published was difficult for me. Typing is easy, thinking is easy, getting motivated is not.

What do you love most about being an author?

The freedom. I can do anything I want on the page. Tell me what other job gives you that freedom.

Did you go with a traditional publisher, small press, or did you self publish? What was the process like and are you happy with your decision?

The process was impossible as far as traditional publishers. Unknown authors have little chance so after being rejected by more than one hundred agents over the years and most publishers not accepting manuscripts without an agent, I self published. I am happy with the decision because now people can enjoy a great story with awesome characters.

Where can we find you on the web?

You can find me all over but a good place to start is www.kraigdafoebooks.com.

 

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Interview with Valerie Stocking, author of THE PROMISED LAND

Valerie Stocking was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, and wrote her first short story when she was five. When she was eight, she won a short story contest in Jack and Jill Magazine. She wrote her first play at the age of ten. In 1966, when she was twelve, she and her mother moved to a small town in Florida where they lived for a year. During this time, Valerie experienced difficulties with the public school system, tried a Seventh Day Adventist school briefly, and then dropped out altogether. It was her experiences during this year that inspired The Promised Land. Later, she would finish high school, graduate from college and earn a Master’s degree in Cinema Studies from NYU.

For nearly 30 years, she wrote and edited in various capacities, including copywriting, newspaper articles, and short stories. She wrote nearly 20 full-length and one act plays over a ten year period, which have been performed throughout the U.S.and Canada. She edited books for audio, abridging over 100 novels in a 6-year period. In 2010, she published her first novel, A Touch of Murder, which is the first of what will become the Samantha Kern mystery series. It was nominated for a Global eBook Award in 2011 for Best Mystery.

Valerie lives inSanta Fe,New Mexicowith her dog and cat, and is working on her next novel.

You can visit her website at www.valeriestocking.com.

About The Promised Land

It’s 1966, just two years after President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law, and twelve-year-old Joy Bradford’s life is changing dramatically. Born and raised in the white suburbs ofConnecticut, Joy is moving toWillets Point,Florida, to live with her mother Jessica because her parents are divorcing. Hoping it really is the Promised Land that her mother describes, she joins in Jessica’s enthusiasm only to find out how horribly wrong that vision is.

Unfortunately for Joy, the move does nothing to change her mother’s emotional and mental instability, resulting in a continuation of the physical and verbal abuse she is all too used to receiving. Her new school is years behind her old one, the kids dress and act differently, and on just the second day, Joy has a run-in with her geography teacher. Things are going from bad to worse until Clay Dooley, a mixed-race boy from that same geography class, offers his friendship. The two become close, sending shockwaves that dovetail with a growing sense of tension and unease in the community as a whole. Clay’s father Clytus, a well-educated black man, attempts to open his own clothing store in the white section of downtown Willets Point. This causes Jessica’s new lawyer cum boyfriend and leader of the local Klan chapter, Bill McKendrick, to join with other white citizens in using great force to block Clytus’ dreams. Tempers flare and emotions run high when Clytus refuses the Klan’s subsequent demand that he and his family move out of the white neighborhood they live in, setting off an explosive confrontation that will change them all forever.

An absorbing and suspenseful coming of age story set against the tumultuous backdrop of racial tensions in mid-1960’s America, Stocking’s blend of historical fact and fiction is as relevant today as it was during the explosive Civil Rights era. Probing the human psyche for the deep-seated fears that fuel the fires of racism and bigotry, she expertly builds characters who feel their very lives are at stake by the changing times. Full of insight and intensity, The Promised Land is a spellbinding journey you won’t want to miss.

Interview:                                                                                      

Why don’t you begin by telling us a little about yourself?

Sure.  I was born inWaterbury,Connecticutand moved with my mother to a little town on the Gulf coast ofFloridawhen I was 12. I began writing stories when I was 5, and wrote my first play at 10.  Most of the jobs I’ve had have involved writing in some form or another.  I worked as an editor for audio books for 6 years, then I started writing plays in 1999.  I shifted from plays to novels about 6 years ago.

Were you an avid reader as a child? What type of books did you enjoy reading?

I began reading when I was 2, and was quite precocious.  I read Nancy Drew when I was 6, Dostoevsky when I was 10, and Dickens when I was 12.  I loved reading anything and everything.

Tell us a bit about your latest book, and what inspired you to write such a story.

My book takes place in a fictitious town onFlorida’s west coast in 1966-67.  It is about a 12-year-old girl’s forbidden friendship with a biracial boy from her junior high.  Her mother takes up with the leader of the local Klan chapter, and there are explosive results.  I was inspired to write this story by living part of it.  While “The Promised Land” tells the story of racial strife during this time, it is also about the failure of the public school system to accommodate gifted students then, as well as adolescent alcoholism and drug addiction.

From the moment you conceived the idea for the story, to the published book, how long did it take?

I got the idea for this book in a nebulous sort of way a number of years ago, so I can’t really answer that.  But from the time I made the determination to write it, to the time it was released, took about 3 ½ years.  Publishing was the shortest part; that was 5 months. The rest was writing and rewriting, waiting for the editor’s comments, and rewriting again.

Describe your working environment.

I have an office in my house, but it is on the north side and is chilly in the winter, and also quite dark.  So I write in my dining room, at that table.  I face a window with a view of my wooden fence, so I don’t get distracted by that.  I do get tons of sunlight streaming in, and it is bright and airy. I love working there.

As a writer, what scares you the most?

What used to scare me most is that I’d dry up and have nothing left to write.  Now what scares me most is dying before I have time to get it all down!

Do you have any unusual writing quirks?

I write with a tall glass of homemade lemonade (water, ice, lemons and stevia) and a cup of hot herbal tea beside my computer.  I also mutter to myself constantly as I write.

How was your experience in looking for a publisher? What words of advice would you offer those novice authors who are in search of one?

I went the indie route, and self-published through CreateSpace.  That suits me fine!  I have no desire or interest in being published by a traditional publisher.  I like doing things for myself.  I like having a say in the design of the book and the way it is promoted.  No one’s pressuring me to churn something else out in four months. No editor is coming back at me, telling me to change my story or my characters in a way that would make it not my story anymore.  I highly recommend this method.  It doesn’t have to cost a lot, and your royalties are much higher than they would be with a NY publisher.

Do you have a website/blog where readers may learn more about you and your work?

Yes indeed!  You can go to http://www.valeriestocking.com and read about me, my plays and my books.  I have a blog that comes out twice a week: Mondays is a potpourri of ‘60’s memories, the writing/publishing/marketing process, and paranormal phenomena. On Thursdays I publish a serialized mystery called “Color Me Dead.”  You can find the blog here: http://www.valeriestocking.com/blog/.

Do you have another book on the works? Would you like to tell readers about your current or future projects?

I have a completed draft of “Seen of the Crime” the sequel to my first novel, “A Touch of Murder,” which introduced private detective Samantha Kern.  I need to give that one more major overhaul before I send it to an editor.  Next up will be a ghost story.  I’ve been researching the paranormal for some time and am quite fascinated by it.  After that, probably another mystery or the sequel to “The Promised Land.” Then I have an idea for a stand-alone, about a perfect murder.  After that, a quirky romance, told through social media. And after that…

 

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Voice in the Dark Ezine is out!

Hi all,

I’d like to announce Voice in the Dark Ezine’s new home at http://voice-in-the-dark.com

For the past 3 years the ezine had been sent to subscribers via email, but since it kept growing and growing, we decided that perhaps it should have its own website.

I’m still relatively new at web design so I’d love your feedback.

We welcome articles, reviews, guest columns, etc.

Thanks!

In this issue…

Interviews
Interview with Children’s Author Donna McDine, author of The Golden Pathway
Interview with Judith Graves, author of Under My Skin
Articles
“FTC Regulations and What They Mean to You–the Reviewer,” by Mayra Calvani
“Secrets for Your Success: Goal Setting Tips for Writers,” by Suzanne Lieurance, the Working Writer’s Coach
Columns
The Writer’s Corner, by Anne K. Edwards
The Writing Life, by Irene Roth
Whodunit, by Billie Williams
Seedlings, Aaron Lazar
Short Fiction
“It Happened in Kansas,” by Anne K. Edwards
“A Ming and a Prayer,” by Lad Moore
Book Reviews
Shattered, by Kathi Baron
The Golden Pathway, by Donna McDine
Eat the Cookies, Buy the Shoes, by Joyce Meyer
Resources

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Interview with Cody McFadyen, author of The Face of Death

A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Cody McFadyen is the author of the international bestsellers Shadow Man and The Face of Death. A third book, The Darker Side, is coming out this October. In this in-depth, candid interview, McFadyen talks about his books, inspiration, his writing habits, the difficult aspects of writing, negative criticism, and his experience in finding an agent, among other things.

Thanks for this interview, Cody. Why don’t you begin by telling us a little about yourself?

I was born in Fort Worth, Texas in February of 1968. My Mom and Dad were both 20 years old and as poor as you’d expect 20 year olds to be. I grew up reading, largely because we were too poor to do anything else, and with the dictate to choose my own life. The ‘choose’ part took a while longer than it should, but here I am.

When did you decide you wanted to become an author?

I’ve wanted to write since I was ten. I didn’t really start writing until I was thirty-five.

Were you an avid reader as a child? What type of books did you enjoy reading?

Very much an avid reader. I read across the spectrum. My mother would let me read anything as long as I could prove comprehension. She didn’t censor my choices. I grew up reading everything from the Lord of the Rings to Mark Twain to Mad Magazine to Michener. If a book really gripped me, I’d lock myself away and read all weekend and after school. I read Shogun by James Clavell, for example, over a weekend, and enjoyed it so much I read it again the next weekend. My Grandfather had a bound collection of classics in literature and Philosophy, and one summer when I was visiting them I read the Iliad and The Odyssey over a two week period, followed right after by Heinlein’s Time Enough For Love.

Tell us a bit about your latest book, and what inspired you to write such a story.

I’ll tell you about two – The Face of Death, which just came out in paperback, and The Darker Side, which is due out in Hardback 1 October.

The Face of Death: The idea of the book is simple. What if a serial killer, instead of killing many victims of the same physical type, left his primary victim alive? What if he followed her throughout her life, killing anyone and everyone that she ever loved? And what if no one believed her when she told them this was happening?

The Darker Side: A woman who is not what she seems is murdered on a plane at 30,000 feet. She leads Smoky Barrett (The FBI heroine of my series) to a monster who is obsessed with secrets. Not the itty-bitty secrets, but the deep, dark ones, the kind we’d rather die than reveal. He finds out your secret, and then he kills you for it, and then he reveals it to the world.

Inspiration comes from someplace, but I’m not sure of the source. What’s imagination? Mental illness or focused thinking? Maybe, in my genre, focused thinking about the mental illness of others?

How would you describe your creative process while writing this book? Was it stream-of-consciousness writing, or did you first write an outline?

The Face of Death was much more stream-of-consciousness. Pick up the laptop and let fly. For The Darker Side, I sketched out the general idea before writing.

Did your book require a lot of research?

Each book tends to require a certain amount of research. I build my books around the villains, and they each have their ‘niche’, which is to say, their obsession. I have to understand that obsession as much as they do, as does the hero.

What was your goal when writing this book?

My goal is to entertain and to move. To make the reader feel as though he or she has experienced something, and not passively. I want immersion and involvement, and for the reader to feel a little bit shook up by the end. When portraying violence, I don’t want to glamorize it by sugar-coating it. Nothing I’ve ever written is as violent as reality.

Who is your target audience?

Thriller readers, both men and women.

What will the reader learn after reading your book?

To quote the heroine of my books:
"However bad things may become, evil men only triumph in the most important ways when we let them."

What type of writer are you—the one who experiences before writing, like Hemingway, or the one who mostly daydreams and fantasizes?

Mostly the one who daydreams or fantasizes. But there is some experience there as well. Heh – not in the ‘killing people’ arena, but I think every writer, as he or she creates characters, draws on people from his or her own life. We observe as we live and that will find its way into books, intentionally or not.

Agatha Christie got her best ideas while eating green apples in the bathtub. Steven Spielberg says he gets his best ideas while driving on the highway. When do you get your best ideas and why do you think this is?

I get my best ideas in my own home, while reading or watching TV or staring at the ceiling. I can write anywhere, but I like to write at home the best, and I always prefer to start a book at home. I think it is because starting a book is such an uncertain act for me, I need the comfort and support and stability of ‘home’.

Do you get along with your muse? What do you do to placate her when she refuses to inspire you?

My muse and I mostly get along fine. She’s rarely uncooperative, but when she is, I just write anyway until she’s ready to get on board again. Inspiration/perspiration, for me, is a true proverb when it comes to writing.

From the moment you conceived the idea for the story, to the published book, how long did it take?

Writing a book generally takes me about 3 months. I spend quite a bit of time letting the idea percolate around, letting it settle into me. Once I begin writing, I write every day without exception, rain or shine or on the road, till the book is done.

Describe your working environment.

I write in my office mostly, which is its own environment. I have music, I have a TV, and I have pictures on the walls of ocean scenes. I have an easy chair that I write in. So I put on some music, or turn on the TV and then I sit down, lean back and write on my laptop.

What type of scenes give you the most trouble to write?

The connective tissue of the book. In other words, scenes of transition, movement from one place to the next. They’re necessary, but not always that exciting to write.

Do you write non-stop until you have a first draft, or do you edit as you move along?

I will generally write half of a novel, then I go back and revise up to that point. Why? Because I’m usually convinced, half-way in, that the book is crap. I have to go back and fix it before I can go on with the rest. I then write the last half, and revise that. Then I return to the beginning and re-edit it all again.

They say authors have immensely fragile egos… How would you handle negative criticism or a negative review?

I think that’s a mis-statement… I think anyone who creates something, who puts something out there that is a part of them, is vulnerable to criticism, whether they’re a painter, a singer, an actor, or a writer. Having said that, I do think you have to develop an acceptance of the basic truth: not everyone is going to like what you create, and many are going to hate it. And that’s okay. I really don’t mind if someone doesn’t like a book I write. That’s what subjectivity and opinion is all about. I do have a problem with someone being too snarky or acerbic, or when someone proclaims themselves as the guardian of ‘what is good’. The old ‘brutally honest’ trick, wherein honesty is used as an excuse to be cruel.

As a writer, what scares you the most?
The next book.

When writing, what themes do you feel passionate about?

Love. Surviving and overcoming suffering. The truth that most things don’t come easy. Exploration of morality in all its forms. I also feel strongly that underdoing violence can be as damaging as overdoing it, and that I need to work in each book to find the right balance between them both.

Are you a disciplined writer?

Yes. When I am writing, I write every day, and I try and set a word goal and meet it. When I don’t, I feel guilty and like I’m loafing.

How do you divide your time between taking care of a home and children, and writing? Do you plan your writing sessions in advance?

I generally write in the morning (which answers the next question), and try and finish up by lunch time. Then I deal with correspondence and the other aspects of writing. However… I can get obsessed when I’m writing, particularly towards the end of a book, and can become a bit inaccessible to my family at those times. I find it hard to get the book out of my mind in those instances, and will be thinking about it at dinner, or even while out with the family.

When it comes to writing, are you an early bird, or a night owl?

I used to be a terrible night owl. I’ve changed my ways, and now I write in the morning, mostly.

Do you have an agent? How was your experience in searching for one?

I have a great agent, Liza Dawson. Searching for an agent was the biggest part of getting published, for me. I tell people that it took me about three months to write my first book, about three years to find an agent, and then six weeks for my agent to sell the book. Finding the agent was definitely the hardest part.

Do you have any unusual writing quirks?

Sometimes I write with the music or TV blaring. As in, really loud.

What is your opinion about critique groups? What words of advice would you offer a novice writer who is joining one? Do you think the wrong critique group can ‘crush’ a fledgling writer?

I personally can’t be in a critique group. I’m too superstitious about my writing. I’m afraid if I did that it would, as you say, ‘crush’ my writing. I really can’t say it wouldn’t work for others, but I don’t know… I’m leery of anyone who says they’re an expert on the subject of writing. I might go to a critique group run by Hemingway, but beyond that, I’d be suspicious.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? What seems to work for unleashing your creativity?

Oh sure. Everyone gets writer’s block. My solution is to step away for a bit. Go watch a movie, work in the yard, hit the gym. Take your mind off the writing and refuel.

Technically speaking, what do you have to struggle the most when writing? How do you tackle it?

Finishing what I start. Seriously. It sounds inane, but the first failure in writing, as in anything, is follow-through. Writing is a perilous activity for me, fraught with self-doubts and uncertainty. I’m always sure, half-way in, that a book is worthless. When I hit those moments, I just keep on writing and hope for the best. The fact of writing eventually pushes through those doubts. Besides, revision is where the book gets good anyway.

How was your experience in looking for a publisher? What words of advice would you offer those novice authors who are in search of one?

I was lucky to have a lot of interest from various publishers in my first novel. My advice is to get yourself a good agent. This is a great industry filled with great people that love books, but you need an agent that is in there fighting for you.

What type of book promotion seems to work the best for you?

Still finding out…

Who are your favorite authors?

This changes every time I get asked this question… I’m currently going through a Tess Gerritsen and Karin Slaughter phase. I just finished reading John Connolly, who is amazing. Meg Gardiner is great. I am working my way through the books of some authors I was on panels with or met recently, and two of note have been Tim Maleeny and Kathryn Fox. Good stuff.

What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

Always use the active voice versus the passive. Avoid adverbs wherever possible.

Do you have a website/blog where readers may learn more about you and your work?

www.codymcfadyen.com.

Do you have another book on the works? Would you like to tell readers about your current or future projects?

I’m currently working on the 4th installment of my series featuring FBI agent Smoky Barrett.

As an author, what is your greatest reward?

Hearing from a satisfied reader. That sounds trite on the surface, but it is the truth: most of us write to be read. I’m satisfied that I’m not writing the next great American novel. I want to entertain people within my genre. So when I hear that someone couldn’t put the book down or wept on the subway or couldn’t sleep with the lights off because of one of my books, I really am tickled pink. I grew up loving reading, and loving that experience myself. To be able to deliver it to others is an honor.

Anything else you’d like to say about yourself or your work?

Read my books!

Thanks, Cody, and good luck with your books!

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On the Spotlight: Billie A. Williams, author of Small Town Secrets

Welcome to The Dark Phantom Review! It’s nice to have you here.

Why don’t you start by telling us a bit about your book, and what inspired you to write such a story?

Hi Mayra,

Thank you for inviting me to share your blog space and your readers. Part of the reason for my writing Small Town Secrets is the dynamics of small towns where I have lived. Each one is different, yet the same. Everyone knows everyone so when anything happens to one person it affects the mesh of the whole town.

Sometimes, someone’s past comes back to haunt them. Sometimes the gossip mongers dredge the sludge to come up with something to try to ruin, or at least make life miserable, for someone they have a grudge against for whatever reason. I had some composite characters running around in my head from all the places I’ve lived – plus a set of twins who I promised to put into one of my novels. As luck would have it one day NaNoWriMo [National Novel Writing Month] came along and I needed a story to write – so I began to put these characters on the page—Small Town Secrets is the result. I think the story was writing itself in my mind much longer than just that brief month of frantic writing though.

How would you describe your creative process while writing this novel? Was it stream-of-consciousness writing, or did you first write an outline? How long did it take you to write it?

For Small Town Secrets as with all of my work so far — I start out with in depth character sketches. By the time I have the sketches done for the main characters the plot is strong and has an end goal. I do the character sketches before the NaNoWriMo so I will have access to all the pertinent information I need about my characters and where they live so all I need to do is write toward the story-worth-telling-goal. Then, on November 1 I begin and literally write like the wind of a Northern Wisconsin blizzard. I wrote over 54,000 words of this story in that month. Then I took a long deep breath and went back to the chapters that needed expansion or other work and did that. So in the end I had an 80,000 plus word novel to submit. It probably took me three months to write – and edit a couple times (I am my own worst enemy when it comes to edits – I read what I thought I wrote not what is actually on the page. So normally I will let a novel rest before I check it one more time and submit it.) When it finally comes back with edits from my editor, I *see * those errors I missed even if they aren’t all caught by the first editor.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? What seems to work for unleashing your creativity?

I honestly must say I don’t allow writer’s block. I’m not sure if it’s because I always have several projects going at once, or if I should attribute that to writing my morning pages every single day. It’s to the point that after my husband leaves for work in the morning I sit down with a notebook, and immediately begin to write. Even if I need to get ready to go to work that 15 minutes to ½ hour that it takes to get those pages down seems to serve my muse for the day. If I am hung up on one project I move on to a different one. Sometimes that will be non-fiction, or it could be an article, or a poem. Maybe it is the routine and I must admit that my writing routine is pretty strict. I never thought it was, but I think I missed something, because even if there is snow to shovel (and I love doing that) or garden weeding (I love that too) I write those pages and try to do one chapter at least of my current WIP fiction project before I allow myself to move from my writing table. Aren’t you glad I’m not your mentor, coach or mother? {smile}

How was your experience in looking for a publisher? What words of advice would you offer those novice authors who are in search of one?

Every time I tell this story I thank my lucky stars because I fell into a perfect situation. A friend told me her cousin had received a contract from Wings ePress, Inc. and loved them; perhaps I should check them out. They were a fairly knew publisher. I did. I submitted my first manuscript and they accepted it. I have published nine books with them since and have two more under contract. They, of course, are not the only publisher I have. I had to try several other publishers just to prove to myself this was not a fluke and I really could write.

I think the single best piece of advice I can give a new writer is – don’t ever give up your dream. Keep submitting until you get that yes! There is room in any publishing house for that story that tugs at an editor — the right time, the right place, the right editor. I believe it’s all in the timing providing you have a story-worth-telling and you tell it well.
So never quit reading other writers to learn the craft. Take classes, read books on writing and your turn will come. I just know it!

What type of book promotion seems to work the best for you?

I’m an introvert so I don’t really get out there and promote like I know I should. I’ve resorted to post card mailing (which works well), online chats, finding reviewers to review my books, stuffing every piece of outgoing mail with a business card that tells about a book, complete with ISBN and my contact information – I get these and postcards free from Vista Print, the only charge is postage and that’s nominal.

I use pens and pocket planner calendars that I get from National Pen for very reasonable prices.

I hold contests and try not to make the prizes my books – if people think they are going to win a book they will not as readily buy one. OR if I give a book away I will offer to give them any book of their choice if they purchase the book and then win a copy —so that they can have their pick of my books, that encourage them to buy first.

If I give a book I use one I’ve made like a cook book tied to my book specifically. I did this for Bed and Breakfast Murders – at the end of the cook book I give information about preparing for a blizzard and how to stay safe, since the characters in Bed and Breakfast Murders were trapped with a killer in their midst in a bed and breakfast by a blizzard. I have done it again for Small Town Secrets since the protagonist owns the Golden Kettle Café her recipes are in the cookbook. Everyone who comments on your blog will get a download copy of The Golden Kettle Café Cook Book that Chaneeta Morgan (the protagonist) and I have complied for Small Town Secrets. [As long as we have an email address where we can reach them.]

Those are some of the ways I market and promote. I make up bookmarks to leave with a tip at a restaurant, or the local library—they love to have give aways for their customers. This winter I took a stack of pocket planner calendars to the library along with some pens for them to give to their patrons.

Another essential promotion is a web site and a blog. Both of these are becoming increasingly more important. On your website, be sure to have a page of freebies – things that your visitor can grab while they are there. A recipe, a small report, or article, a e-book download. I have a number of freebies on my website that may give you some ideas for your own. I have one small e-book that tells how to write a book report aimed at the kids. I have a 17 step book for designing your own website on the free Yahoo Geocities. I make these booklets using PDF995 a simple to use program similar to Adobe Acrobat only its free – you can pick it up at www.PDF995.com . I use this same program to format my books that I want to print at lulu.com it makes the conversion so simple. And you can add a link to your website so that the person can download the PDF file instantly.

I am currently working on a Marketing and Promotion book if anyone has any questions I’ll try to answer them or steer them to a couple good tools such as Janet Elaine Smith’s Promo Paks (now out in print format from Star Publish) or Carolyn Howard Johnson’s Frugal Book Promoter ,another book from Star Publish.
If you have some marketing hints you’d like to share I will try to use them in my book and if I do, I will give you space for a signature line to advertise your books, website, blog etc.

What is your favorite book of all time? Why?

I struggle with this question constantly. I have so many favorites – I remember reading The Diary of Anne Frank when I was about ten or eleven…I recently bought that book again because it has hung in my mind all these years. Is it my favorite? Not the only favorite for sure. My frame of mind, what I’m working on in my own writing has much to do with what I want to read at the moment and thus what comes to mind as my favorite, for the moment.

So many writers have such unique talent that sparks things in me, I read Jude Devereaux and Francis Hodgson Burnett for the pure joy of their words, the beautiful way they create a vision in my mind.

I read Stephen King or J. Gayle Kretschmer for characterization.

I read Janet Elaine Smith for the simple joy of her fun loving and endearing characters. Ron Berry gives me humor, Joyce Anthony gives me depth and spirituality, Barbara Williamson-Wood and Tony Hillerman give me Native American spirituality. Barbara Kingsolver and John Steinbeck give me people and the nuances of class and life among them. Dean Koontz, John Grisham, James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell, Mary Higgins Clark, Nevada Barr, they all sit on my shelves because they are a great read to get me in the right frame of tone, or mood for what I’m trying to write. If you’ve never read Nathalie Goldberg I encourage you to do so immediately – start with her Writing Down the Bones and you’ll read everything she’s ever written, she’s amazing.

Do you have a website/blog where readers may learn more about you and your work?

I certainly do Mayra. My website is www.billiewilliams.com ( a free serialized novel is available there under the bookclub tab http://billiewilliams.com/BOOKCLUB.html )or http://www.pensinmotion.com (a free 5 week writing course is available at Pens in Motion) I have two blogs http://printedwords.blogspot.com (all about writing) and http://onewomansgarden.blogspot.com (organic gardening articles)

Do you have another novel on the works? Would you like to tell readers about your current or future projects.

I am working on the book that is currently being serialized at my bookclub http://billiewilliams.com/BOOKCLUB.html a chapter a week until the novel is finished, the title is The Capricorn Goat ~~ January Flannel. It is another mystery/suspense January Flannel the protagonist is another of my accidental sleuths who solves crimes with wit, wisdom and chutzpah. I began this project this year at NaNoWriMo got over 55,000 words done then and it will continue until I finish I believe about 80,000 to 100,000 words this time. She is embroiled in a plot that is murder by poison, her friend Echo owns a catering business and someone has poisoned a pair of her clients and made it look like it was her. She is to cater a New Years Eve party and an avenging lover is determined it will be her last before she is put in prison. Can January stop this from happening, especially now that someone tried to put her out of commission by running her down with his car?

I am also working on another book in the writing series I have out this one is Mystery, Muse and Manuscript about writing the mystery. (the three former books Writing Wide, Exercises in Creative Writing and Characters in Search of an Author are available from Filbert Publishing at http://www.filbertpublishing.com) the third is Spice up Your Writing! Write to Entice, and is available from http://www.lulu.com/content/1349866

I also have another couple novels in the works. Tracker, a mystery suspense about a young woman who raises and trains blood hounds for search and rescue teams. Her life may depend on how well she has managed to train a young pup in the methods and means to find her. And a new, for me, Romance that is a romantic suspense – titled Skye’s the Limit set on the Isle of Skye with a Scottish background. So I have plenty to keep my muse stimulated for the time being. I have so many stories I want to get to. Time to knuckle down and just ‘do it’!

Thanks for stopping by! It was a pleasure to have you here!

Thank you so much Mayra for allowing me to visit and share your space, your time and your engaging questions with your readers.

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