Colorful Bugs: An interview with children's author Laura Yirak

Today I'm talking with children's author Laura Yirak about her eBook on colors for young children, Ladybug Pink.

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1) Tell us about your book.

Ladybug Pink is the sequel to my popular Ladybug Blue eBook which covered the primary colors. This sequel covers more colors: purple, pink, orange and brown. Basically there's a problem outside and she fixes it by swapping shell colors.

2) What is the best age group for this book?

It’s for little ones learning basic colors, so about eighteen months and up.

3) What drew you to creating young children's eBooks?

I have a two year old and I use these books for him. I wanted to keep them simple and fun.

4) Due to the extensive use of illustrations, your books may better viewed on certain readers. What formats are they available for and is there a particular reader (or readers) you'd recommend?


I’d recommend them for full color devices that support eBooks. I am putting some of the books into print. Crosby the Crab will be available soon.

5) Please tell us about some of your other children's eBooks?

Crosby the Crab: Crosby was just another crab living on a tropical beach when a mysterious object washed ashore and sent him on a quest for adventure!

Bumble Babees: The Bumble Babees are up for the day. They go to school, come home and play! We have the mama bee, two brothers and one sister. Watch out for the one in the sunglasses--a fun tale about our daily lives symbolized by bees

Three Wee Peas: This is a 1-2-3 counting book.

6) What future projects are you working on?

The sequel to Three Wee Peas is in the works due out in a month. The theme is a visit to the farm and learning about the different animals and their sounds. I’ll have another few books out over the fall and winter that I’m writing now. It’s a good lineup.

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Thanks, Laura.

If you'd like to read more from Laura, please visit her blog at  http://dreamsofdiamondsauthor.blogspot.com/ .

Ladybug Pink can be purchased at Amazon.

Summer Speculative E-Book Giveaway Contest

Over at my friend Cindy Borgne's blog, there is a giveaway for various eBooks. The books in question vary in genre (mostly science fiction, urban fantasy, et cetera) and type, so there is something there for almost everybody.

The giveaway itself is pretty painless. You just have to leave a comment on the post and mention which two books you're interested in.

The contest link is http://dreamersperch.blogspot.com/2012/07/enter-summer-speculative-e-book.html.

Good luck.

Secrets and love: An interview with historical romance author M.K. McClintock

Today I'm talking again with western historical romance author M.K. McClintock about another book in her Montana Gallagher series, Gallagher's Hope. We discussed the first book in the series, Gallagher's Pride, in March.

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1) Tell us about Gallagher's Hope.


The blurb can do a better job of that than I can.

She sought a new beginning.
He sought what he didn't know was missing.
Together they would discover hope in unlikely places.
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Isabelle Rousseau must escape New Orleans and the memory of her family's tragic loss. With her younger brother in tow, she accepts a position as the new schoolteacher in Briarwood, Montana. Desperate to keep what's left of her family together, Isabelle joins her life with a stranger only to discover that trust and hope go hand in hand.

Gabriel Gallagher lived each day as it came believing he had everything he could possibly want . . . until a determined woman and her brother arrive with a little luggage and a lot of secrets. It will take a drastic choice to protect her and give them both hope for the future.

2) Tell us a bit about your heroine.

Apparently I enjoy writing heroines who have to go through a lot of tragedy and turmoil in order to become who I know they can be. Isabelle is no different. In the beginning she’s just a well-bred woman from the city who has to find the strength to care for her brother on her own. Once she arrives in Montana, she goes through a lot and shows us that she is strong, capable, loving, and able to endure whatever is thrown her way. It takes her a little time to reach that point, but she doesn’t disappoint. I’d also say she’s gentler than the other women in the series.

3) Tell us a bit about your hero.

Gabriel Gallagher. I have a soft spot for this one, though that tends to be true of whichever hero I’m writing at the time. Gabriel is similar to his brother Ethan from Gallagher’s Pride—they’re both strong, chivalrous, devoted to family, loyal, hard-working. In the first book, Gabriel was a bit more laid back. In Gallagher’s Hope, you still see that side of him, but he shows us his darker, human side.

4) What themes underlie the plot of this book?

The usual themes found in both romances and westerns. You see a lot more of the typical western-revenge theme in this one. You’ll also see characters facing inner darkness and overcoming that, faith vs. doubt, love and sacrifice—a lot going on here.

5) Is anything in particular you enjoyed in this book vs. Gallagher's Pride? Was it easier or harder to write this second book in the series?


I can’t say I enjoyed anything more about writing this one better than I did writing the first book. I certainly enjoyed returning to the family and seeing characters from the first book get their own story. I have a fondness for Gabriel, so I was thrilled to write his unique story, but I love the Gallagher family, so it’s difficult to like one more than the other.

Both! It was easier because I already knew most of the characters and so writing them came easily. It was more difficult because I was editing the 2nd edition of Gallagher’s Pride while finishing up Gallagher’s Hope.

6) You've previously noted that you've already planned this series out to the fifth book. The changing leads gives you some flexibility with this, but I'm curious if you ended up changing anything in Gallagher's Hope after completing Gallagher's Pride?

And I still have five books planned, though the fifth book is now completely different than what I originally planned. I did change some of Gallagher’s Hope after completing the 2nd edition of Gallagher’s Pride. The story I mapped out is the same, but the character’s journeys have certainly changed. In addition to new characters, I changed, or should I say added, a major scene. I’m thrilled with the changes.

7) Any overlap with the characters of Gallagher's Pride?

Definitely! Almost all of the characters from the first book have carried over into the second with the Gallagher family of course being at the center. I have introduced a few new characters and I’m excited about how they’ve so easily entered the story.

8) When can we expect the third in the series to be published?

I’d like to say exactly six months, but I won’t be rushing the book. I’m taking the month of August off from writing to help balance out my schedule and then I’ll be back full-force in September. Gallagher’s Choice should be released in the first half of 2013.

Trailer:

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M.K. is also doing a giveaway for three signed paperbacks via this link or you can leave a comment here to be entered:  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks, M.K.

If you would like to read more from M.K., please check her out at:

Website: http://www.mkmcclintock.com

Official Blog: http://mkmcclintock.blogspot.com
Goodreads Profile: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5438837.M_K_McClintock

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/mkmcclintock
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/MK-McClintock/454576274571336
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/MKMcClintockMT or @MKMcClintockMT
Kindlegraph: http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/MKMcClintockMT

Gallagher's Hope can be purchased in physical and eBook form at Amazon.

How people relate to each other: An interview with anthology writer Justin Bog

Today I'm talking with Justin Bog about his collection of literary psychological short stories, Sandcastle and Other Stories.

1) Tell us about your collection.

First of all, thank you very much for letting me sit down for this cool Q&A. Nice digs. To answer your first question, Sandcastle and Other Stories, began as noodlings, tiny little flash fiction tales, and lengthened with character, the inner workings of each person on the page, scene settings, and motivation, and the actions the characters decided to take. When they were ready I published them on my A Writer's Life blog (www.justinbog.com) over the past year and a half. There are other stories and unused novel sections there today, but these ten tales formed a tight collection of literary, psychological, and suspense stories. The collection has since found the interest of a Washington State publisher, Green Darner Press, and the print version, as well as the other eBook formats beyond Amazon's, will be available in November. I am thrilled to know the writing life dream continues. One review came in recently, and what was so fantastic was that the reviewer related to me how she gave the book to the head of the English Department, a colleague of hers at the nearby University in Fairbanks, Alaska, and he is going to use the book as part of a lecture series on books that are helping to dispel the stigma surrounding self-publishing. 

2) What inspired this collection?

People inspired Sandcastle and Other Stories. How people relate to one another. What happens when someone doesn't tell anyone he or she has a secret that drives any reaction? I tried to capture those moments in short form. Each tale begins with an impulse, a setting, a scene, almost in the middle of the action, and then the characters reveal something, and lead the reader down a path. My mind tends to run to dark places, and my characters sometimes visit these places as well.

3) Are there particular themes that unify the collection?

That's a good question, since I didn't write them as a whole, as linked tales. Afterwards it's a bit easier to say that there are themes of inner strife and dark psychology running throughout the tales. How people overcome hardship, or fall backwards into an unknown future. These are family dramas with no easy answers given, as in real life. People always want closure, but often, even in fiction, that is not a reachable or natural state since time keeps marching on, and after closure, there is what can be a beginning.

4) Do you experiment with style between the stories?

I tried to get into the minds of a varied group of characters. In the first tale, The Virtue of Minding Your Own Business, I chose the first person point of view, that of an elderly gardener dealing with a huge part of his past, as if a chunk has been stolen from him, and he can never find it again. For the second story, Sandcastle, the action and characters called out for a more journalistic third person point of view. This reporting adds to what has been called the most shocking of the ten tales, a story some have even said crosses an ethical line. Mothers of Twins, the third story, pops right back into the point of view of a new mother of twin boys. It was a challenge, since I'm a guy, to make her story as natural and believable as possible. I have no problem with men writing as women, or women writing as men, children, teens, as long as it's honest and the story places me in that world. The 4th story, When the Ship Sinks, goes 90 degrees in a different direction right into the mind of a divorced man who cannot have children told to get out of the office, the stress of being newly single is ruining the work atmosphere, and he decides to go on a singles' cruise, where he witnesses a bizarre set of circumstances. I then went back to the third person point of view for the only fantastical tale, really more in the realm of magical realism, Poseidon Eyes. Here the reader is looking over the shoulder of a young girl who catches the fancy of an ancient god, and he begins to toy with her. Cats In Trees continues the third person point of view, and this is the shortest of the stories, but a lot of secrets are told, how each member of this family relates to one another. The 7th tale, Typecast, is told in the first person point of view and in the head of a typecast television and B-movie film actor. He is fairly balanced, but what is revealed is how unhinged most of the others are who surround him, how they make assumptions about him based on his appearance. Under the Third Story Window and On the Back Staircase are written in the third person point of view and are also two of the more harrowing of tales. These two stories have a nice raw quality to the settings, and the action stems naturally from the scene. The last story, Train Crash, I ended once again with the first person point of view, and back in the head of a down-on-his-luck gentleman, maybe not as old as the gardener from the first tale, but just as wounded. He sees everyone around him as someone who is about to witness a train crash or worse.

5) Do you have a favorite among the collection?

I am fond of every single story in this book, but I do have my own favorites. I loveSandcastle because it really works. The ending is earned naturally, and every word from the beginning to the end is important. Poseidon Eyes began as a fanciful tale about a young woman who was trying to cash a check at a bank, and how she wasn't seeing the people around her as anything near human, and the idea came into being when she accepted this as the status quo. I loved her inner strength, and how she changed during the story's timeline. 

6) What advantages do you feel the short form provides over longer form works?

I don't really think of one form having an advantage over the other because of length. There are classic short stories and classic novels. I love reading them all. The kindle has been a great invention and is bringing back short fiction or "singles" to a much wider audience. Very few people bought short fiction collections in traditional bookstores. The novel is king there. But for eFiction, a group of stories can find more people. Stories are easier to read for those with shorter attention spans. I love reading both novels and short stories.

7) Are there any authors who have influenced you?

Yes, Alexandre Dumas wrote one of my favorite books of all time, The Count of Monte Cristo, which I could read again and still marvel at how great it is. I love Shirley Jackson's short stories and novels. Rachel Ingalls is an undiscovered writer in our country who writes dark tales of wonder. I also loved the writing of John Irving, Margaret Atwood, Raymond Carver, and Stephen King. I like economic prose that gets to the point, or uncovers something dreadful and makes me think.

8) Can you tell us about any of your other work?

I finished a longer novella titled The Conversationalist for an upcoming anthology of suspense stories called Encounters, which will be an original eBook. Each of the stories accepted had to deal with a stalker. Fun to write. It would've fit well as a final story in Sandcastle and Other Stories. At the end of Sandcastle I included the first chapter of my novel, a psychological family drama, Wake Me Up, and this book is ready to go. I also will finish editing the first draft of a new psychological horror/contagion novel, The Shut-Ins, for next year. I'm halfway done with that process. I'm in the middle of a longer suspense story about a tennis coach down on his luck who invites something bad to oversee his team, called The Volunteer. After that I have ideas for two more stories. They're getting darker as I hit the keyboard more each day.

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If you'd like to see more from Justin, please check out his blog, www.justinbog.com.

Sandcastle and Other Stories is available for purchase at Amazon.

God Save The King: An interview with historical fiction author Laura Purcell

1) Tell us about your work in progress.

I’m working on a series of books about the Hanoverian monarchs – that’s George I through to William IV – and the amazing women in their lives. My aim when I set out was to become a Philippa Gregory for the Jane Austen era. That’s a pretty high goal!

I’m currently preparing the first of the novels, God Save the King, for publication in September 2012. The story charts the progress of George III’s famed madness,showing how it affected his family. My focus is on his wife, Queen Charlotte, who had to cope with an unstable husband and a large brood of children. She was an incredible person with so much strength.

I also follow Charlotte’s courageous daughters, who were practically entombed in Windsor Castle. All six try to escape, but I concentrate on Royal and Sophia.Royal was a gauche Princess who never quite fitted her role. The world saw Sophia as a reclusive invalid, but rebellion was brewing behind her sick room door…

2) Tell us about some of the challenges involved.

I had to work hard to represent each character fairly. I was painfully aware that I was writing about real people who had to be treated with respect. It was just asdifficult to show the bad parts of the characters I loved as the good parts of those I detested!

Other than that, my main challenge was ruthless self-editing. I was fascinated by George III’s family and a bit in love with each of them. I wanted to include every detail, but I had to make sure I didn’t overburden the reader. I also had to simplify the family dynamics. Some of the Princesses’ many brothers had to be removed from the mix. When your heroine has fifteen children, life starts to get complicated…

3) Tell us a little about yourself?

As I’m sure you have guessed, I’m a bit of a history nut. I belong to a Medieval re-enactment group and Tudor dancing society, so you might see me around the country doing a pavane in full costume!

I live in Colchester, Britain’s oldest recorded town, with my husband and nine guinea pigs. Yes, nine. We’re big animal lovers.

I adore reading, obviously. The house is full of bookshelves with all genres stacked up. One day I’d like to have my very own library room.

Oh, and I drink lots of coffee. I mean a lot.

4) What is your next work?

I’m researching and planning A Forbidden Crown, about George IV and his bigamous marriages to Queen Caroline and Maria Fitzherbert. I can’t wait to start writing! They are all vivid characters who survived a turbulent period in English history.

George was the ultimate playboy, but he certainly met his match in his two wives. Maria was a confident, driven woman who knew her worth. She certainly wasn’t going to let George mess her around if she could help it. As for Caroline, she went on to become one of the most notorious – although forgotten – Queens in history. She was a free spirit, wild and mischievous. No wonder George was afraid of her influence rubbing off on their young daughter, Charlotte.

Charlotte herself is one of my favourite historical figures of all time. I hope by the end of A Forbidden Crown, you’ll come to love her as much as I do!

5) Who do you read?

I try to read as many authors as possible, because I feel it helps my artistic development. I like to absorb many voices, finding out what works and what doesn’t. My favourites at the moment are Kate Morton, Philippa Gregory and Sarah Waters. I also like to read classics when I get the chance; anything from Shakespeare to Fitzgerald.

6) Where should we look for your work?

I will keep you regularly updated about the progress of God Save the King on my website, laurapurcell.com. You can also get a sneak peek at the opening of the book here. I hope to publish on 8 September 2012, which is George III and Queen Charlotte’s wedding anniversary. The book will be available through Kindle on Amazon and other select distributors. Watch this space!