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Showing posts from May, 2008

[Interview] Charles Derber

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Charles Derber is a professor of Sociology at Boston College, a private university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, in the United States. So far, he has written and published 12 books, among them, The Wilding of America (Worth Publishers, 2006); Hidden Power (Berrett-Koehler, 2005); People Before Profit (Picador, 2003) and Corporate Nation (St. Martin's Griffin, 2000). In this interview, Charles Derber talks about the factors which compel him to write. When did you decide you wanted to be a writer? I was trying to get tenure at a major university. That required a book. I also found writing something like a meditation. It calmed me and centered me. I also found it a way to think and communicate about issues that I was passionate about. My first book took five years and I started in the early 1970s. It’s called The Pursuit of Attention and it’s about who talks and who listens in ordinary conversation -- and focuses on how people subtly shift the topic of conversation

[Interview] Beth Fehlbaum

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Beth Fehlbaum is a teacher and an author. Her debut novel, Courage in Patience tells the story of a teenage girl's first foray into recovery from sexual abuse. In this interview, Fehlbaum talks about the factors which compelled her to start writing. How would you describe your writing? All of the writing I do has truth as its foundation. I don't buy into sugarcoating. I won't do it. Currently I'm working on the sequel to Courage in Patience . It's called Hope in Patience , and it continues Ashley's story. I want to explore where Ashley goes from the realization she has at the end of Courage in Patience and how she continues her road to recovery. I also want to deal with the fall-out from the censorship controversy that takes place in Courage in Patience, and continue to address the problem of homophobia. Hope in Patience will have an openly gay character. When did you start writing? I have always written, ever since I can remember. But in te

[Interview] Tony Robles

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Tony Robles is a U.S. Navy submarine veteran, a retired federal agent and an author. His debut children's book Joey Gonzalez, Great American challenges racism and prejudice. In this interview, Tony Robles speaks about what motivated him to write the book. When did you start writing? I’ve been scribbling all my life but nothing serious or with such passion as I have in my children’s book, Joey Gonzalez, Great American . What happened to me was one of those success stories you read or hear about once in a while. I had no plan to be a published writer or even to do any serious writing. Then I discovered World Ahead Publishing and their line of conservative children’s books. I realized I had a story inside me that could make a whopper of a conservative children’s book, on an issue so controversial that getting it published would be the longest of long shots. But here was a publishing house that I thought would have the courage and the vision to publish such a story. I wrot

[Interview] Emilio Corsetti

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Emilio Corsetti is a professional pilot and an author. He lives with his wife in Lake St. Louis, Missouri. His work has appeared in publications that include the Chicago Tribune , Multimedia Producer and Professional Pilot magazine. In this interview, Emilio Corsetti talks about his writing. What is your latest book about? 35 Miles From Shore tells the true story of a 1970 airliner that ditched in the Caribbean Sea and the efforts to rescue those who survived. I spent a year-and-a-half researching the book and another year-and-a-half writing. I spent an additional year or so rewriting. The book was independently published by Odyssey Publishing and was released April 2008. I had an offer from a European publisher, but I ultimately felt that they were asking for too much and offering too little. Had I gone with this publisher, the title would have received almost no promotion and would have been relegated to the backlist almost from the first day. The route I chose of p

[Interview] Mick Drake

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Mick Drake was born in the West Midlands and grew up in Sutton Coldfield. After leaving school he followed a career in retailing before gaining a degree in fine art. Finding it impossible to make a living as a budding artist, he returned to retailing, managing supermarkets for several years before leaving to set up a conservation scheme in Wolverhampton and joining local government. After he gained a degree in management studies, he and his family moved to Lincolnshire where he works in Economic Regeneration encouraging the development of businesses in the county. Currently, he is working on a sequel to his first published novel, All`s Well At Wellwithoute (Authorhouse, 2006). In this interview, Mick Drake talks about his writing. When did you decide you wanted to be a writer? I wrote my first novel when I was in my twenties whilst I was unemployed for a year. I was unable to get it published but writing has been at the back of my mind since then. An illness five years a

[Interview] David S. Grant

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David S. Grant lives and works in New York City. His books include Corporate Porn , written in 2005, and published by Silverthought Press in 2006. His double novel Bleach/Blackout will be published through Offense Mechanisms, and imprint of Silverthought Press in 2008. Two more books are also due to be published in 2008 through Brown Paper Publishing. These are the novel, The Last Breakfast , and short story collection Emotionless Souls . In this interview, David Grant talks about his writing. When did you start writing? To some degree I’ve been writing since I was in elementary school, short stories, and essays for the most part. I started taking fiction seriously in the late nineties when I was in my twenties. This is when I wrote my first novella Suicide Squeeze , my novel Bleach followed shortly after that. Corporate Porn was published in 2005 by Silverthought Press . My current book, a collection of short stories titled Emotionless Souls was just published by Br

[Interview] Susan Alvis

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Susan Alvis is a Tennessee native. She has several books out with various publishers. Writing under her own name as well as two pen names, she is an author covering several genres with numerous titles in fiction and non-fiction. Her books include the novel, Friends Unlikely (Amira Press, 2007) and the non-fiction titles, How to Buy Real Estate Without a Down Payment in Any Market (Atlantic Publishing, 2006); The Complete Guide to Purchasing a Condo, Townhouse or Apartment (Atlantic Publishing, 2007); How to Become a Million Dollar Real Estate Agent in Your First Year (Atlantic Publishing, 2007) and How to Creatively Finance Your Real Estate Investments and Build Your Personal Fortune (Atlantic Publishing, 2007). In this interview, Susan Alvis talks about her writing. When did you decide you wanted to be a writer? All of my life, I’ve heard, “You can’t change who you are.” So to answer your question, I didn’t decide. Somewhere along the way, it was already decided. As a