[Blog Review] The Mind of a Working Writer

Emmanuel Sigauke teaches English at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento and is one of the Cosumnes River Journal's editors. He is also founder and editor of Munyori Poetry Journal, which publishes poems by established and emerging writers from all over the world.

His own poems and other writings have been published in journals and magazines that include Virtual Writer, Slow Trains Journal, Ibhuku and AfricanWriter.com.

His blogs, Wealth of Ideas, Chisiya Echoes: New Zimbabwe Poetry and Namatsiwangu give an insight into the mind of a working writer.

Chisiya Echoes is the oldest of the three and is a collection of over 370 poems in English that Sigauke has been writing since February 2006. The second blog, Namatsiwangu, was started in November 2006 and is made up of 10 Shona poems.

Wealth of Ideas, which is the focus of this article, is three months old. So far, it has about 20 posts of varying length. The posts focus on Sigauke's observations on African literature and poetry.

One of the things that make Wealth of Ideas interesting is that it shows how a working writer can use the blog as a creative tool, as an aid to writing and creativity.

For example, in one of his posts, Sigauke tells us, "I blog my poetry first, which means I create and publish my work instantaneously".

He emphasizes that the poems he creates in this manner are drafts.

"I am aware that this is some form of drafting. I always transfer the work to a local document for editing. Once the poem sounds polished, I send it to journals," he says.

He points out that one of the effects this has had on his work is that it has allowed him to produce more poetry than he would have done had he not been blogging.

"Look at the blogged pieces as the raw materials for high-quality poetry," he says.

Wealth of Ideas also reveals the link that exists between visual images and poetry.

The blog has a small collection of photographs, one of these is of a bird's nest on a tree in Capitol Park, Sacramento. Sigauke's brief comment about the nest reads and sounds like a poem. It has the rhythm, the rhyme and the effect of a poem.

"The nest is a poem that no words (even these) can build yet. But what bird, under what influence, would build a nest this close to the ground?" he asks.

Another of the things that is engaging about Wealth of Ideas is that Sigauke uses it as a writer's notebook or a journal. This gives the reader the feeling of eavesdropping, the feeling of listening in to a person talking to himself, the feeling of watching a mind brainstorming about literature, books, poetry and life.

You see ideas being formed. You see those ideas giving birth to other ideas and possibilities. You get the feeling you are standing over his shoulders and watching him write and you want to tell him, "This sounds good... What happens next?"

One of the reason why Sigauke's blog entries have this effect is because they are short and packed with concepts, associations and allusions.

For example, in another post he starts off by talking about reading, about how he reads and about the effect that this has on him as a writer. He then talks about John Steinbeck's description of a fog in The Chrysanthemums and the associations he has been able to make between that description and an event in his own life.

"I am taken back to Chipinge or Rusitu valley; I am reminded of the morning fog there, especially on that day when I arrived at Chipinge bus terminus and found out that all the day's buses had already left and the next troupe of buses would not arrive until the next day. I slept at the bus rank in the rain. All night I shivered; all night I shared a talk about life with a vendor from Bulawayo who had slept at this place too many times to worry about a little bit of rain."

If you have been to Zimbabwe or some other parts of Africa, Asia or South America, the scene Sigauke describes will be familiar. You want him to go on. You want to find out how it was for him. You want to find out what happened next.

He does go on in his own inimitable way.

"The fog is what I remember most about the morning of the night the rain pounded me at Chipinge. To the east of the town lie mountain ranges which seem to guard the town from some possible intrusion. On the morning I watched the fog first veiling the ranges, these sleeping lions, then the veil rose to cover the whole valley like the lid Steinbeck describes. It gets better; when the sun arose, the fog vanished, but then some low-lying beastly clouds settled on the peaks of the mountains and spent some hours feasting on the ranges. The longer I looked at the white beasts, the longer the bus delay seemed. I did not leave Chipinge until a day later, after spending another night at the open terminus, soaked on the outside, arid inside. Then from somewhere between insistent night rain and greedy beastly clouds, the self harvested new hope, the beginning of a new journey, already bruised by the grazing clouds."

His account is captivating. It leaves you wanting more. It makes you want to pat Sigauke on the shoulder to get his attention so that you can tell him to go back to it and work on it a little bit more and see if he can't turn it into a short story or a piece of creative non-fiction piece stands on its own.

All this is part of what's positive about Emmanuel Sigauke's blog, Wealth of Ideas.

However, possibly because he sees the blog as a personal platform for ideas he wants to gather and work on later, a personal platform that happens to be accessible to everyone who has access to the internet... possibly because he sees himself as more of a poet than a blogger, Wealth of Ideas doesn't have the polished feel of his poetry blogs, Chisiya Echoes and Namatsiwangu.

The paragraphing could be tweaked up a little bit more.

The blog is also riddled with spelling mistakes and other typographical errors. This is understandable. It's a common pitfall of writing on the huff. But if errors of this nature can't be avoided, you can at least go back to the entries and correct them later. Sigauke does not seem inclined to do that. For example, in a different post he tells us he's been reading Dambudzo Marechera's Symetry of Mind when he meant to say Cemetery of Mind.

The most challenging aspect of the blog is also one which sets it apart from a lot of other blogs that talk about literature and writing: Sigauke's tendency to make very short entries that are densely packed with allusions to a diverse range of concepts. The thing I found particularly challenging about these is that Sigauke does not really define the concepts or adequately relate them to the main topic of each blog entry.

For example, in one of his most recent posts, he writes about Valerie Tagwira's novel, The Uncertainty of Hope. He suggests that there is conflict between the language(s) Tagwira uses in the novel and the message behind the novel. He says this leads to writing that is "a bit journalistic or anthropological."

This is an intriguing observation but it's so raw and undeveloped that a person reading the comment can only respond to it with more questions, questions like, "When a novel is "a bit journalistic" or "anthropological" what does it do? What does it not do? In what way is The Uncertainty of Hope "journalistic" or "anthropological". Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Why?"

Sigauke has promised to answer these and other questions in the book review he's going to write after he finishes reading the novel. I look forward to reading the review with as much interest as I look forward to more of the entries he will make on Wealth of Ideas.

This article was first published by OhmyNews International.

Related article:

[Interview] Rory Kilalea, film-maker, playwright and author, Conversations with Writers, September 21, 2007.

[Interview] Caroline Pitcher

Caroline Pitcher has written over 60 books which range from stories for small children to novels for young adults.

She says she started writing because she’s always loved words and stories, especially those about the natural world and its creatures.

“One of my favorite books was The Tailor of Gloucester, a re-telling by Beatrix Potter of a legend. As soon as I was able, I wrote poems and stories of my own and illustrated them (dreadfully).”

Her mother and her primary and high school teachers encouraged her writing.

After high school, she went on to the University of Warwick where she studied English and European Literature. There, her tutors included Professor George Hunter, Germaine Greer, Gaye Clifford, Bernard Bergonzi and Edward Thompson.

One of them told her that she wrote very well and should become a professional writer.

“That meant a lot to me,” she says, in an interview with the English Subject Centre.

After university, Caroline Pitcher worked in places that included a fish factory, an art gallery and as a teacher in an East London primary school.

“I had a variety of jobs after university and wrote whenever I could.”

Her first novel, Diamond (Floris Books, 1988), won the Kathleen Fidler Award in 1985 and was published two years later.

“Now I have between sixty and seventy books published, and various awards and short-listings.”

Other awards she's won include the 1993 Independent Story of the Year Award for Kevin the Blue; the Arts Council Writers' Award for Silkscreen (Heinemann Young Books, 2002) and the East Midlands Arts Award for Cloud Cat (Egmont Books, 2005).

Books which have been short-listed in competitions include Cloud Cat, which was also shortlisted for the Stockton Children's Book Award and was Ottakar's Book of the Month; Ghost in the Glass (Mammoth, 2001), which was short-listed for the Portsmouth Award; Silkscreen, which was also nominated for the Carnegie Medal; The Winter Dragon (Frances Lincoln, 2005), which was nominated for the Greenaway Award; Time of the Lion (Frances Lincoln Childrens Books, 1999), which was nominated for the English Association's 4-11 Award and The Snow Whale (Antique Collectors' Club; New Ed edition, 1999), which was nominated for the Children's Book Award.

She says her immediate concern is to write the story well for herself.

“The second is to engage with my audience, which can be small children through to young adults.

“I worked with children for 12 years in London and often meet them at festivals, writer visits and residencies. I love their fresh, unpredictable responses, and their enthusiasm.”

Her latest novel, The Shaman Boy was published by Egmont Books in July, this year.

“It is 480 pages long and has fantastic illustrations by David Wyatt of the creatures and characters in the `seeing-ball’.

“The story has various sources, such as the conflict in Bosnia, a face full of compassion I have seen in a painting, and an image of a man walking up a hillside wearing a cloak of snow. There is a bakery in the book. Many of my books contain descriptions of food.”

In 11 o’clock Chocolate Cake (Egmont Books, 2002), for example, there are even recipes.

The Shaman Boy tells the story of Luka -- who is blind and who gets through the disasters in his life through the power of his imagination, through friendship and through music -- and his older brother, Jez. The action in the novel takes place in a land that’s being torn open by war.

“The book falls into four parts concerned with the four seasons, four elements and four power animals for Luka’s shape-shifting,” Pitcher explains. “The first part won an East Midlands Arts Award.”

She adds that the story which makes up The Shaman Boy doesn't fall easily into any one genre.

“It has humor, sadness, strong characters, old magic, the superstition of an isolated community, and fear.

“The natural world plays a central part, just as it did when I was a child.”

She reveals that she’s had great feedback from young readers and adults as well as from teachers who’ve read the novel to their classes, some of whom were as young as 7 years old.

“The Shaman Boy pre-occupied me for at least four years.

“Now I am writing more stories for picture books, a young adult bodice-ripper set in eighteenth century Derbyshire, and an adult fairytale.”

She explains that she's working in such diverse genres because she finds the exercise inspiring.

“I don’t like to write the same kind of book over and over again because I like variety.

“This is probably a bad career move in today’s market of series books! However, I keep my head down and write what I want,” Caroline Pitcher says.

This article was first published by OhmyNews International.

[Interview] L. Diane Wolfe

L. Diane Wolfe grew up in Salem, Oregon and traveled around the United States before eventually settling in North Carolina.In addition to being an author, Diane Wolfe is also a professional photographer and a motivational speaker. She conducts regular workshops and seminars on writing, publishing and book promotion.

Her books include The Circle of Friends series of novels for young adults which, so far, is made up of four books: Mike (AuthorHouse, 2007); James (AuthorHouse, 2006); Sarah (AuthorHouse, 2005) and Lori (AuthorHouse, 2004).

In a recent interview, Diane Wolfe spoke about her writing.

How would you describe the writing you are doing?

My current series falls under young adult fiction. Previously, all of my writing had been science fiction... but when I discovered I had a growing teen fan base, I shifted the focus to young adults. I had never intended to write anything in this genre, especially since my first love is science fiction, but I was inspired to write realistic stories that portrayed healthy relationship dynamics. The YA section tends to have rather salacious material, and I wanted to give teen readers something that was positive and uplifting.

My biggest concern is in how teens and their parents perceive the message of my work. I want them to realize that real people do the wrong things sometimes, but all mistakes can be corrected and obstacles overcome with the right attitude.

Who has influenced you the most?

I’ve always been a reader, devouring several books a week. The desire to write sparked inside of me when I read Anne McCaffrey’s The White Dragon. I’d already fallen in love with science fiction, but what I admired most in her book was the richness of character.

Motivational writers such as Og Mandino, Norman Vincent Peale and Gary Chapman influenced the positive focus of my work.

Have your personal experiences influenced your writing?

Most definitely! I learned so much reading books that taught relationship, success and positive mental attitude principles, and I poured a great deal of that into my current series. My own moral standards of faith are very evident in what I write as well.

I feel there is enough out there promoting negative, destructive and deviant behavior already. What the world needs is more hope!

What are the biggest challenges that you face? And, how do you deal with them?

Optimism is a tough sell! The media wants the salacious, controversial news. It’s difficult to promote a series that is secular but moral.

For one, I just continue to hold fast to my resolve and refuse to sell out my standards just to move a few more books. While enticing the teen audience, I try to capture their parent’s attention with the wholesomeness of my series.

Do you write everyday?

I do try to write everyday, but during my peak promotion times, it is difficult.

Some days I will spend several hours on a scene, especially if I am “in the mode”, and other days it’s only twenty minutes.

How long did it take you to write Mike?

Mike follows a character that was very prominent in Book II. Mike is the epitome of stability and despite the temptations of college life, he has maintained his moral standards. Yet beneath the peaceful surface, Mike is consumed with guilt. A former girlfriend’s abortion and the intense love he feels for his roommate’s wife constantly remind Mike of his failures. Unable to forget and full of shame, he refuses to forgive himself. When Danielle enters his life, he realizes he can no longer hide his past.

Book IV took me a little over a year to complete, due to the fact I was heavily touring for Book II at the time, and was published in March of 2007.

Which aspects of the work that you put into the book did you find most difficult?

Several of my books followed characters through college, so accurately presenting each campus experience was a challenge. Research into settings is always the most difficult for me.

Which did you enjoy most?

The character development is the most fun! I have studied personality types in depth, so knowing what personality a character possessed took the guesswork out of their response to situations. Relationship dynamics fascinate me and it’s interesting to place the characters in different situations and watch them respond.

What sets the Mike apart from the other books you have written?

To start with, the entire series was a departure from my science fiction work. Mike probably has a much stronger emphasis on faith that the other books. It has also been the one men have responded to best, which tells me I am portraying a male character accurately.

In what way is it similar?

All of my work is encouraging and positive. I show realistic people responding to situations, adversity and obstacles with the desire to do the right thing.

What will your next book be about?

I will be completing the series with Book V: Heather. Her character is evident in the first two books and I had many requests for her story. She is bold, dominating and a bit overbearing. Her story will explain her selfish nature. It will also show her overcoming this negative personality trait.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

For me, it is the response from fans and readers. They are so encouraged by my series! I wrote The Circle of Friends in hopes of inspiring others to achieve their dreams, and knowing I have made a difference in other’s lives is true success to me.

The work I have done in promoting my series, along with research into starting my own publishing company, has allowed me to become a paid speaker on these subjects as well. It is a delight to be able to pass along the knowledge gained through my experiences to others.

How did you get there?

Hard work and determination helped me acquire those achievements. I have never lost my enthusiasm and persistently pursued my goals without compromising my standards. And if I can do it, then I know other writers can achieve their dreams, too!

This article was first published by OhmyNews International.

[Interview] Steven M. Reilly

Steven M. Reilly is a practicing attorney, a baseball coach and an author.

Since 1976, he has coached Babe Ruth, Senior Babe Ruth and American Legion teams in Connecticut's Lower Naugatuck Valley. He has also spent the last 20 years assisting high school coaches. Schools he has been involved with include Derby High School; Emmett O'Brien Regional Vocational Technical School and Seymour High School.

His book, The Fat Lady Never Sings tells the story of the 1992 Derby Red Raiders and has been described as "a marvelous adaptation from an exciting era... which blends emotion, humor and ultimate success."

In a recent interview, Steve Reilly spoke about his writing.

How have your personal experiences influenced the direction of your writing?

My writing so far has been of a true story that I was fortunate to be a part of. I think even if I decided to write fiction, I would likely use my personal experiences at least as a starting point. I believe it would be hard to avoid unless I decided to write science fiction or a vampire novel. I’ve watched a lot of Star Trek... TNG [The Next Generation], Voyager and Enterprise episodes (probably all of them) but they never motivated me to write a science fiction novel. I’ve never experienced warp nine point five, but baseball is something else.

For example, before writing this interview, I just got back from coaching a fall baseball team in a scrimmage against a neighboring town. The only thing that stopped the game is the fact the sun went down. I think the events of that one scrimmage, without any umpires and the kids calling balls and strikes and making out and safe calls themselves and the personalities of everyone involved is a compelling enough story. But that’s just me. Perhaps no one may want to buy the book about that game, but I would love to tell the story and I’ll bet you’d listen, unless you just flat out hate baseball or stories about teenage kids.

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

I decided only very recently. In my case it was simply the desire to write a memoir concerning a remarkable group of high school athletes which I helped coach back in 1991 in my then home town of Derby, Connecticut.

Derby, is the smallest city in the State of Connecticut. Like the town of Odessa, Texas described in the book Friday Night Lights, high school football was everything in Derby for many years. Up until the 1991 season, Derby had not had a losing season in twenty-eight years. That streak ended on Thanksgiving day 1991. After blowing the streak, the football players, were labeled losers forever.

Three seniors on that football team, including the quarterback, also played on the school’s baseball team. One of the seniors was the Mayor’s son and almost all of the other players on the baseball team played football. The head coach of the baseball team was also an assistant football coach who was also battling his own difficulty.

Their last chance at redemption was playing on the baseball team. Two of the Seniors were pitchers. The smallest school in the league, Derby battled for and made the state tournament and ultimately, as the late North Carolina State basketball coach Jimmy Valvano would say, they “survived and advanced” to a state championship game.

But the game turned into a nightmare after an early lead disintegrated. The team ended up down by two runs with two outs in the last inning. With two runners in scoring position, the quarterback came to the plate and ultimately got a base hit to tie the game and send it into extras.

The excitement continued as each extra inning resulted in Derby scoring and their adversary tying the game. Complicating matters, a pitching limitation rule forced one of the senior pitchers to return to the mound several innings after being removed. In the eleventh inning (the fourth extra inning) another Derby senior fouled off seven pitches in a row with a three-balls two-strikes two-out count until he ultimately drove in the winning runs. In the bottom of the last inning, Derby’s senior pitcher hung on despite barely being able to pitch.

The fifteenth anniversary of that state championship team was coming up and since no one else ever wrote their story, I decided to write it.

Who is your target audience?

My target audience is a rather large one or at least I’d like to think it is. I believe anyone who has been involved in sports, especially youth sports, whether as a parent, coach, athlete or fan understands the pressure high school athletes face to succeed. In many places, high school sports binds communities. Like the basketball team in the town of Milan, Indiana (in the book and movie Hoosiers), Derby’s football team was always the center of attention in Derby. Imagine what the movie Hoosiers would have been like if the final game went into triple overtime or if the stakes of that final game had been ratcheted up.

The challenges our players and coaches faced and how they faced it motivated me to write the story. My experience with the team dictated the genre.

Who would you say has influenced you the most?

As it pertains to writing, no one person stands out in my mind other than my first editor who was gentle enough to encourage me, yet firm enough to make me think about the story I was telling and how I was telling it. Prior to and during my writing of the memoir, I read a ton of books, magazines and web articles about the craft of writing, but it’s not the same as actually writing.

It’s like me as a baseball coach telling you how to throw a curveball or providing you with books and video tapes by baseball gurus. They help, but you still have to go out, take the mound and throw a ton of them in the dirt before any of them resemble a decent pitch. I think writing is the same. You have to keep doing it. To some degree that scares me a bit since I don’t want my first book to be my last, unless of course my book is turned into a movie in which case I’d probably retire to some beach area like Malibu Adjacent and sell ice cream. Hey,“What would that be like?”

What are your main concerns as a writer?

Making sure that what I write is compelling and interesting enough to entertain and inspire.

What would you say are the biggest challenges that you face?

The biggest challenges I face with my writing are simply to get someone to buy it. People will read my book, tell me they love it, but then tell me they got it from somebody else and are passing it on to someone else. I think people love to read books; stories are what life is all about. They just don’t want to pay for them. You know what I’m talking about. Go into any Barnes and Noble or Borders any day of the week and it's like a library with benefits. You can talk all you want and sit and read, at least until the store starts to experiment and slowly pull away the chairs without any music to see how it affects sales.

I’m just as guilty. I went to a Barnes and Noble last night and thumbed through about ten magazines and about ten books, (after checking my book out -- I just can’t help it) but at least I bought two magazines albeit with my wife’s discount card.

I just got back from The Big E, the largest fair in New England. I was one of the featured authors in the Connecticut Author’s and Publisher’s bookstore in the Connecticut Building. I had used a prop which was a gigantic baseball glove made by Academa. I met hundreds of people, many of whom loved baseball, pitched my book, allowed many of them or their kids to have a picture taken with the gigantic glove, talked to them about how Jason Giambi of the Yankees could use it or how the Red Sox catcher could snag Tim Wakefield’s knuckleball easier with it, but... in five hours, only sold four books. To sell those four books was a challenge.

From everything I’ve read and learned about writing and publishing, it seems as if the secret is to get the book published in New York but market it in Hollywood. If you can get a celebrity to endorse it, any celebrity, even My Life on the D-list Kathy Griffin, I believe your book will outsell over ninety percent of them out there.

How do you deal with these challenges?

By trying to be doggedly persistent. (Also I’m trying to write an adapted screenplay based on the book.)

Do you write everyday?

In my day job as a solo practicing lawyer, I do quite a bit of writing, just not of the entertaining type. Most of my writing on my first book was done late at night -- about an hour and a half -- sometime after Leno/Letterman (No offense to Conan meant) and longer on weekends/holidays, unless I got interrupted by a great classic on TCM.

It took me about six to seven weeks to write the first draft and then about a year and a half to have it professionally critiqued, edited and proofread. I wanted to finish the book before I turned fifty (another goal of mine that helped me push harder to complete it).

I read everything I could about the publishing field and its inherent delays as well as other options. I decided -- after having it critiqued and edited -- to publish it through iUniverse where, after additional editing and proofreading, it ended up being an Editor’s Choice, Reader’s Choice and Publisher’s Choice Book.

Which aspects of the work that you put into the book did you find most difficult?

The editing process by far. Sometimes it felt as if I was dragging my feet in a desert without a compass or a hat. It sucks the life out of you. Each time I looked at all the red lining, arrows and highlighted areas of a draft, it was just a mirage. The end was never really near. But every once in a while, I’d see a new sentence that I created and think, hey that sounds pretty good.

Early on in the process, whenever I sent a draft, I would hear back, “You need more dialogue. You’ve got to have more dialogue.” I felt like I was listening to Christopher Walken on Saturday Night Live. “More cowbell, Steve, more cowbell!”

During my editing process, James Frey’s memoir A Million Little Pieces got trashed when it was discovered he exaggerated some of the events he wrote about. It forced me to do a lot of thinking and research about what actually transpired back in 1991/1992 so that my book was as accurate as I could possibly make it. I can see where Frey probably got tempted and may have convinced himself he wasn’t doing anything wrong. He might have been hearing a similar voice telling him, "More cowbell Jim... It needs more cowbell."

What did you enjoy most?

Writing the first draft. It made me think about the great kids and coaches that I was fortunate enough to have been associated with. The research for the draft, reading a number of newspapers and examining the ton of photographs my wife took that year of the team brought back many pleasant memories.

What sets the book apart from the other things you have written?

Before my first book, I only wrote in the legal arena trying to be persuasive on the points of law I was arguing in legal briefs; a totally different world of writing.

In what way is it similar?

I guess in both you are trying to get someone to see your point of view. Remember Professor Kingsfield (played by John Housman) in the movie The Paper Chase? (a story about Harvard Law School freshman). Remember his famous quote, “You come here with minds full of mush -- and leave thinking like a lawyer.” I had a old professor once who criticized that statement arguing pretty strenuously that lawyers just think and write like human beings. So in many ways, all of my legal thinking and writing prepared me for the much different publishing world.

What will your next book be about?

I’m beginning to work on a screenplay now for The Fat Lady Never Sings and after finishing that will probably move toward another baseball memoir. I see that another fellow attorney and Myspace friend, John Grisham, is trying his hand at a fictional sports novel, Playing for Pizza... so who knows if I will ever gravitate toward the fiction arena.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

Seeing the smiles on the faces of the characters in my memoir and talking to them about it at book discussions. The wife of one of the characters in the book told me that I am responsible for the fact she needed to get a new door for their house to fit her husband’s head through it.

I guess second to that would be the fact the book was a finalist in Pubinsider.com’s book contest and has achieved almost every award that iUniverse gives.

How did you get there?

Persistence, persistence and more persistence and a lot of help and advice from some very good people.

[Interview] Nicola Beaumont

Nicola Beaumont writes contemporary romance stories as well as regency romance novels.

Her books include a novel, The Resurrection of Lady Somerset (Wild Rose Press, 2007), a novella, The Lighthouse (Wild Rose Press, 2007) and an inspirational short story, "Hyacinths in Winter" (Wild Rose Press, 2007).

In a recent interview, she spoke about her writing.

How would you describe the writing you do most?

Lovely escapist fiction. Romances are a great way to lose oneself for a time in another story, knowing full-well that there will be a warm-fuzzy "happily ever after."

I write specifically for women between the ages of 18 and 70. However, anyone can enjoy a romance, I believe, and since I write "sweet" romances, there's nothing of what some would call "inappropriate" included.

What motivated you to start writing?

My love of reading the genre and a desire to create the same types of stories.

I seriously decided to try my hand at writing after reading some Harlequin romances. I mistakenly thought they would be easy to pen. In my abysmal first attempts, I discovered two things: Romances are not easy to write -- and, I love writing.

Who would you say has influenced you the most?

I'm not easily influenced!

Seriously, I hope that my Christianity is what influences me the most, so that my characters are infused with a high regard for other people, and a love of virtue that helps them conquer whatever conflicts they are dealing with in their created worlds.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

Always, my main concern is writing an interesting sustainable story with complex characters that are both flawed and able to overcome.

The biggest challenge I face in writing is creating believable characters with whom readers will sympathize. Creating contrived situations and dialogue is easy -- making it "feel" real is the challenge.

How do you deal with these challenges?

As I write a scene, I picture it in my mind as if I'm watching it unfold, and I allow the character to grow and change beyond my initial thought for who they should be.

Do you write every day?

I used to write every day. Now, with my other responsibilities, I don't have time to write each day, but I do set goals and deadlines for myself to keep on track.

As far as fiction, I've had two novels published: The Resurrection of Lady Somerset, a traditional regency romance which was published in September 2007 by The Wild Rose Press [and] The Lighthouse, an inspirational novella that was also published in September 2007 by The Wild Rose Press.

I can tell you, I was very excited when I was told both books would be released on the same day! It's a rarity, and one for which I'm very grateful.

I also have an inspirational short story that was published in July 2007 by The Wild Rose Press, entitled "Hyacinths in Winter." It's a story of mistakes and forgiveness.

How long did it take you to write your debut novel?

The Resurrection of Lady Somerset took me a couple of months to write. The most difficult aspect of this book was also the most enjoyable -- I love a challenge -- and that aspect was writing a mute heroine. It's a challenge to create conflict and tension when one of the main characters can't vocalize her own concerns.

Every author has a unique voice, and I think that regardless of genre, that voice comes through in whatever they write. Hopefully, my voice, shines in all my work.

The Resurrection of Lady Somerset was my first Regency. Wanting to write it was the catalyst for me to research and learn about the time period -- a period I now love -- I think as a "first" it will always hold a special place in my heart.

What will your next book be about?

I'm working on a couple of things -- a Christian Regency novella and a traditional regency full-length book.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

My most significant achievement as a writer was finishing my first book. It was an awful specimen that will never see the light of day, but if I hadn't finished it, I wouldn't have gone on to write more, hone my talents, and finally pen something that was actually entertaining.

The only way to learn how to write is to write -- and listen to constructive criticism.

This article was first published on OhmyNews International.

[Interview] Kate Rigby

In addition to writing novels, Kate Rigby has also had several short stories published in various publications including several in Skrev's magazine for experimental fiction, Texts' Bones.

Her novels include Fall of The Flamingo Circus (Allison & Busby 1990); Seaview Terrace (Skrev 2003); Sucka! (Skrev 2004); Break Point (Skrev 2006) and Thalidomide Kid (Bewrite 2007).

In a recent interview, she spoke about her writing.

How would you describe the writing that you are doing?

[I write] contemporary literary fiction, mainly [for] adults, although as I sometimes have teenaged or child protagonists, I like to think there's crossover appeal too.

I've often be told that my writing doesn't easily fit into one genre.

Do you write everyday?

I try and write as often as possible, but my personal circumstances and health are making it difficult at present to write as much as I used to. I'm hoping this will change in the next few months or so.

When I'm working on a novel, say, I try and jot down notes or phrases as cues for the next session, so that I can pick up the flow where I left off. I try and end a session at an inspiring point so it's easier to pick up the thread next time!

What is your latest book about? How did you chose a publisher for the book?

My latest book is about a boy called Daryl affected by the Thalidomide tragedy (he has no arms) and the way he copes with his disability through humor (he calls himself 'Thalidomide Kid'). At the heart of the story is the burgeoning romance between Daryl and the deputy head's daughter, Celia, and the pains and prejudice they face in a 70s school setting.

It took me two or three years to write it, and when I submitted it to Bewrite [Books] they accepted it for publication. It was published in 2007. My sister designed the cover, and my brother worked on the graphics side so it was a joint family effort. This is one of the things I liked about Bewrite. They also offer more opportunities for writers to get published while still being selective.

I was a bit cautious at first because there are some Print on Demand publishers who should be avoided but the Bewrite team were very happy to go through any queries/concerns I had and I am very pleased with the professionalism and production shown by the team. Some people might find it a disadvantage not appearing in book shops, or not having the heavy marketing that often comes with a new release but Bewrite's books can be ordered from most book shops, and they're also one of the few publishers at the forefront of the new technology, publishing all books in an electronic format too.

Which aspects of the work that you put into the book did you find most difficult?

I did find it a challenge writing about a disability about which I have no direct personal experience, and was a bit worried about what the reaction might be. But part of being a writer is getting under the skin of a character who may be a different gender, age, sexuality or dis/ability to yourself.

Which did you enjoy most?

The way Daryl's jaunty character and upbeat attitude to life took over the momentum of the book.

What sets Thalidomide Kid apart from the other things you have written?

I think there's a stronger plot line in this novel than some of my others. A lot of my work tends to be character-driven.

In what way is it similar?

That's difficult because I do try and make each piece of work different from what went before, but I think the retro setting and the teenaged protagonist with some problem to overcome is a common theme.

What will your next book be about?

That's still under wraps until it's completed, but suffice to say it has another teenager at its heart with a very unusual upbringing! I've also drawn on my psychology background for parts of the story.

What are your main concerns as a writer? And, how do you deal with them?

The decline in independent publishers, book sales and fiction reading as a leisure activity concern me. Nowadays your work has to be commercially viable and fit easily into a market.

Fifteen or twenty years ago it was much easier to get a book published and to find an agent. Now you are lucky if they reply at all. This is in part due to more and more writers chasing fewer traditional outlets. These challenges face all writers, but the internet has opened up new and different opportunities for writers.

I think it's important to hang on to the positives and keep having self-belief. There are such things as positive rejections when editors take the trouble to give you constructive feedback rather than a standard letter. Support from other writers is also essential for beating off demoralization and isolation.

What would you say are the biggest challenges that you face?

For me personally I'd say getting to grips with technology and overcoming my natural technophobia is one of my biggest challenges! The other is having the right conditions and a quiet place to write which has been very difficult in the last few years.

How do you deal with these challenges?

Not very well! Technologically I'm probably several years behind most people -- I don't have state-of the-art equipment, more like state of the ark. But making money from writing (in order to upgrade my Mac) is another challenge that all but the most successful writers face.

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

I never consciously decided to be a writer, although I always enjoyed writing stories as a child. When I was eighteen or nineteen I decided to write a novel as I had something I wanted to write. My mother had written at least one novel, and so it didn't seem a daunting thing to do. She was a member of a writing group so I used to pick her brains for tips and techniques!

Who would you say has influenced you the most?

There's no one person, but a few of the authors who've inspired me include Paul Magrs, Jane Gardam, Ali Smith, Daithidh MacEochaidh, Mo Foster, Nick Hornby and Helen Dunmore.

How have your personal experiences influenced the direction of your writing?

They say write about what you know and I think this is also true for me to some extent, but a lot of writing is about the power if the imagination and imagining possibilities which may not be directly from your own experience.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

I think there's nothing like getting your book accepted for publication for the first time and seeing it in the shops.

How did you get there?

I suppose it comes down to that well-worn adage: 10 per cent inspiration and 90 per cent perspiration.

Tell us a little bit more about the five books you’ve published.

Fall of The Flamingo Circus (Allison & Busby 1990) is told in diary form and is about a troubled but feisty young girl growing up in the punk era. (Also published in American Hardback 1990).

Seaview Terrace (Skrev 2003) takes place in a seaside resort one sizzling summer and is about the fragile relationships between neighbours, and the passions and prejudices that arise when so many disparate personalities live in close quarters.

Sucka! (Skrev 2004) is about a life long and mutually-dependent friendship between two men, beginning in Liverpool in the sixties when they are children: one recently bereaved and looking for a substitute brother, and the other a trouble maker from a violent background but looking to improve himself.

Break Point (Skrev 2006) is not only about an obsession with Wimbledon but the game of tennis itself becomes a metaphor for the other matches taking place at old Gwen's house, where carers fall like seeds, and only those with the deadliest return of serve may survive to the final.

Thalidomide Kid (Bewrite 2007) is (hopefully) a life-affirming tale about coping with disability and the passage of childhood into puberty in a 1970s school culture.

This article was first published on OhmyNews International.

[Interview] Glen H. Stassen

Peace activist and award-winning author, Glen H. Stassen is the Smedes Professor of Christian Ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena.

His books include Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context, which he co-authored with David Gushee (InterVarsity, 2003) and went on to win the Christianity Today Award for Best Book of 2004 in Theology or Ethics.

Other awards he has received include the 1983 Peace and Justice Award from The Peace and Justice Commission of the Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville as well as the 1991 Clarence Jordan Peace and Justice Award from the Long Run Baptist Association of Louisville.

In a recent interview, Professor Glen Stassen -- who is also the author of Living the Sermon on the Mount (Jossey Bass: July, 2006) and Just Peacemaking: Transforming Initiatives for Justice and Peace (Westminster/John Knox, 1992) -- spoke about his writing.

How and when did you decide to become a writer?

When I saw that the world needs correction, especially in its ethics of peace and war.

I began as a nuclear physicist, saw the growing threat of nuclear weapons, decided we didn't need better bombs but better ethics so the bombs would not explode us all. So I switched to becoming a Christian ethicist, specializing in peacemaking.

I [now] write on ethics and peacemaking, and also on method in ethics -- how to do Christian ethics in a way that is helpful to real people.

I write some books and articles for people, [for the general reader] and others for scholars. Mostly Christian ethics, with special interest in peacemaking, and in how to think well, ethically.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

To connect with people's real concerns. Logic and vision are easy; expressing them in a way that grabs people is work.

What would you say are the biggest challenges that you face?

My own limitations. How to find the words? How to find the time? How to become just halfway efficient? Way too much to do for a person of minimum efficiency and lack of fluency. What's the word for this thought?

How do you deal with these challenges?

I work on humility and patience and hope.

Who would you say has influenced you the most?

John Howard Yoder, James Wm. McClendon, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Daniel Day Williams.

How have your personal experiences influenced the direction of your writing?

I began as a nuclear physicist and therefore could not look away from seeing the growing danger personally; many practice denial and prefer not to notice.

I co-led and organized the Duke University civil rights organization when I was a student, and then the Louisville-Jefferson County ecumenical civil rights organization, and Martin Luther King Jr. and the whole civil rights movement shaped me significantly.

Before that, American Friends Service Committee work in the struggle with poverty in Philadelphia shaped my basic sensitivities and loyalties markedly. My work leading the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign's work with the European Peace Movement leaders that got rid of all medium-range nuclear missiles, which was key to ending the Cold War peacefully, gave great encouragement that we citizens, when linked together in groups, can make a huge difference. So did participation in the civil rights movement.

Do you write everyday?

No; I do research and write paragraphs as I get ideas; and then put it together in a long-lasting burst of concentration when I put other tasks aside.

How do you research your books?

I've worked inter-disciplinarily, in international relations theory as well as in Christian ethics, so as to be able to do ethics with critical awareness of changes in international relations.

What would you say your latest book is about?

Peace Action: Past, Present, and Future learns from the fifty years of SANE, Freeze, and Peace Action for how to organize effectively, describes Peace Action's current strategies, and describes our unifying vision for correcting the disastrous unilateralism of present policies with our program of Real Security Through International Cooperation and Human Rights.

It took only about half a year [to write the book] because of the enthusiasm of our authors and the delightful efficiency of Lawrence Wittner, my co-editor.

We chose [to publish the book through] Paradigm Publishers because we were impressed with the quality of the books they have been publishing, the fit of these books with Peace Action, and Paradigm's ability to get books into popular bookstores. Paradigm has been great in all dimensions of cooperation.

Which aspects of the work that you put into the book did you find most difficult?

No problems, because everyone was so cooperative and responsible; great people to work with

Which aspects of the work that went into the book did you enjoy most?

Sharing with these great folks.

What sets the book apart from the other things you have written?

It's such a cooperative effort. All the authors have extensive experience in real organizing.

In what way is it similar?

I'm always thinking of ethics not as abstractions, but as guidance for concrete practices that can make a difference.

What will your next book be about?

How to find solid ground in our postmodern time of contending ideologies, dialoging religions, and rapid social change; and from that solid basis how to form an ethics of peace and war grounded on the rock.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

Developing the new paradigm in Christian ethics, "just peacemaking theory." Writing the award-winning textbook in Christian ethics, Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context (InterVarsity Press); discovering the transforming-initiatives structure and meaning of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and its help for the ethics of peacemaking, and publishing it as Living the Sermon on the Mount (Jossey- Bass).

This interview was first published by OhmyNews International.

[Interview_1] David Hough

David Hough was born in Cornwall and grew up in the Georgian City of Bath. He now lives with his wife in Dorset, on the south coast of England.His novels include Scent of Spring (Robert Hale, 1989) and Ride Upon the Storm (Robert Hale, 1990) which he wrote under the name Tracy Davis and which are also available in large print from Ulverscroft publishers. In addition to these, Hough has published A Tangle of Roots (BeWrite Books, 2004); The Vanson Curse (BeWrite Books, 2006) and King’s Priory (BeWrite Books, 2007).

Three more books, The Gamekeeper; The Gallows on Warlock Hill and The Washington Incident are due to be released shortly.

In a recent interview, David Hough spoke about his writing.

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

At age forty I had a heart attack and my future prospects in my day job (I was an air traffic controller) became limited. As soon as I was able, I went out to buy an electric typewriter and signed on for a correspondence course in creative writing.

That was twenty two years ago.

The majority of my stories are historical romance with grit. The Vanson Curse was the first of these. The grit is important, probably more than the romance. Although I began by writing light stories, I do not wish to be known as a fluffy romance writer. So I include romantic elements in my books, but I tarnish them with hard realities. I also enjoy writing two-period stories such as King’s Priory.

Who is your target audience?

Male and female readers who enjoy a rattling good yarn with a dose of hard grit.

I write the sort of story I enjoy reading. I love historical novels but I also enjoy well-written novels that have stories-within-stories. Think Nevil Shute and A Town Like Alice or Requiem For A Wren. Each novel had a second story embedded into the main story and narrated by a character in the main story.

I used that technique when writing King’s Priory. The main story is set in the twenty-first century and the embedded story is set during the Second World War.

Who would you say has influenced you the most?

Daphne du Maurier and Nevil Shute. Du Maurier because she wrote so amazingly well and Shute because he wrote the kind of book I enjoy reading.

How have your personal experiences influenced the direction of your writing?

Being on the wrong side of sixty, I have had the pleasure of meeting a lot of people, with countless different personalities. When I create a new character, I think about the people I have known and imagine how they would behave in the situations I have created. Sometimes that leads to my characters doing the right thing… and sometimes the wrong thing. But that’s life.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

I would like my readers to see my characters as real people. I go out of my way to make them human with human failings and frailties. I have never created a character who was anything near perfect because I have never met such a person in real life.

What would you say are the biggest challenges that you face?

Getting recognition. Like so many other writers, I have been rejected by virtually every major publisher and agent, but I have faith in my writing.

How do you deal with these challenges?

I decided to tackle the problem by working my way up from a small start. I approached a small press, BeWrite Books, who pulled me from the slush pile and published my first real gritty novel, A Tangle of Roots. I will always be grateful to them for that. They allocated me a marvelous editor called Carole Spencer who probably taught me more about writing than any other single person. With her guidance I went on to write the book that will probably always remain my favorite, King’s Priory.

When Carole left BeWrite she invited me to submit a manuscript to her new company in Canada, Lachesis Publishing. That story will be published in North America as The Gamekeeper. In the meantime I am slowly building up a stock of good reviews and recognition from the people who read my stories.

Do you write everyday?

I aim to write every day, unless circumstances prohibit. After waking, I usually lie for half an hour turning over in my mind my current project. I then get up, make a cup of tea, and sit at my computer, typing while my thoughts are fresh. This is often when my mind is at its best.

When I meet a natural pause, I have my breakfast and get dressed. I then think about the next piece of prose and go back to the computer only when I am ready to start typing. I never sit in front of my computer wondering what to write, I consider that wasted time. If I cannot find the right words, I switch off the PC and go for a walk or do something around the house. By the time I get back to the computer, the words will be ready and waiting inside my head.

A point will arise -- and I can never predict when it will occur -- when I instinctively know that I have exhausted my creative ability for that day. I then shut up the PC and leave it until the next morning. I will not force myself to continue writing because I know from experience that it will result in turgid prose which I will have to throw away the next morning.

What is your latest book about?

Lanyon’s Maid is a departure from my previous style. I think of it as Upstairs Downstairs meets Tipping the Velvet. It took around nine months to write. I have only just completed the manuscript and it is not yet with a publisher.

I would like to think about this one for a while before offering it for publication. Lanyon’s Maid is new to my style in that it has a challenging female aspect which I have never before tackled. I once had an agent who read only the first line or two before throwing a manuscript back at me with the words, “This scene opens in a female viewpoint. What makes you think you can write from a female viewpoint?”

My answer was that any writer who aims to take his job seriously must be able to write in any viewpoint pertinent to the story he or she wishes to tell. And that applies in both directions, male or female.

The agent wasn’t convinced but I persevered. And I set myself a major task with this story.

What advantages and/or disadvantages has this presented?

Lanyon’s Maid is set in Victorian times -- an age where female homosexuality was not supposed to exist. But it did.

My biggest challenge was research, discovering exactly how people thought and behaved at that time. I did not want to get too deep into the sort of biological detail described by Sarah Waters, but I wanted the emotions to feel right. The internet helped, as did my local library. The very fact of having to do so much research was not in itself a problem because all my books have needed considerable research.

Which aspects of the work that you put into Lanyon’s Maid did you find most difficult?

I constantly hear of writers complaining about the difficulties they face. I don’t think of anything connected with my stories as being difficult. Sometimes I need to think through aspects of the manuscript to make sure they work, but why should that be a difficulty?

I take pleasure in writing and the day it becomes difficult I’ll give up.

So, although Lanyon’s Maid was a challenging book to write, I don’t think of it as being difficult.

Which did you enjoy most?

I write for pleasure. Even if I started making big money, I would still write for pleasure. I see it as a creative art in which I bring into being people, scenes and actions that would never have seen the light of day, except that I created them.

While on that subject, I’d like to add a rider. That act of creation demands enormous responsibility. Other people are going to read what I write and be affected by it. My words could influence someone else’s life. I must ensure that I write them with sincerity.

What sets the book apart from the other things you have written?

Lanyon’s Maid has a lesbian element.

I didn’t set out to write such a book but as I planned through the plot it became increasingly obvious to me that this was how the story would have to develop. Even in those planning stages, the characters were beginning to take control.

So, I did my research and started writing the story the way it wanted to go.

I hope that my characters will appear both genuine and sympathetic to readers.

In what way is it similar?

Lanyon’s Maid is a Cornish historical story. It follows in the wake of my two previous Cornish stories (The Vanson Curse and The Gamekeeper) as well as the work of Winston Graham, Daphne du Maurier, Gloria Cook and E. V. Thompson.

What will your next book be about?

I want to write a sequel to Lanyon’s Maid, but to give it a different feel and different theme. I plan to take the story forward thirty years to the next generation. The locations (South Cornwall) will remain but the thrust of the story will be different and will center around a young village police constable. The working title will be Lanyon’s Law.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

Publication of my book, King’s Priory.

I had been trying for some years to continually improve my writing and I think I reached the point of personal satisfaction with this book. It has been awarded five stars on the Amazon.com website by two reviewers which pleases me enormously. That is not to say I thought there was anything wrong with my previous books, but with this one I succeeded in saying something that is important to me. To tell what that is would be to spoil the story for the reader. So I won’t.

How did you get there?

Persistence. When I mix with other writers I hear many tales of woe about inability to complete a novel or rejection when it is completed. I can offer no shoulder to cry on, just a piece of advice: writing demands far more than just hard work. It demands a level of persistence necessary in few other jobs.

This article was first published on OhmyNews International.

Related article:

David Hough [Interview_2], Conversations with Writers, April 11, 2010

[Interview] Tim Nickels

Tim Nickels has been writing for over twenty years. His short stories have been appearing in British fantasy magazines and anthologies that include , Neonlit: The Time Out Book of New Writing (Vol. 1), Extended Play, Scheherazade, Midnight Street, The Third Alternative and many others.

His first collection of short stories, The English Soil Society, was published by Elastic Press in 2005.

Tim Nickels spoke about his writing and his concerns as a writer.

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer? And, who would you say has influenced you the most?

I expect a number of your interviewees might re-phrase the question to: "When did writing decide it wanted you?" My first story was a ten page novel called "Timehunt" and concerned the exploits of Cap'n Badun, a golden hearted space pirate. My wonderful primary headmaster not only typed it out and made the whole thing into a book -- but also left spaces so I could draw the pictures.

My primary influences have not always been literary. I love Powell and Pressburger, for instance -- those magic, almost stolen, moments that they manage to slip into their work. I love the way Kubrick and Lynch light their films. I like the artist Thomas Hart Benton even though people tell me he's a bit unfashionable. I enjoy Edward Keinholz, the installationist -- he had quite an effect during my art school years. And sometimes I might be sitting in a dentist's waiting room and just hear a snatch of conversation and I'm away and running, pen in hand.

Literary influences (but I look upon them more as inspirers): Ballard, Aldiss, David I. Masson, Keith Roberts, Margery Allingham -- essentially geniuses of the Old School. I'm pretty bad at keeping up with the trends.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

To keep the reader reading. Or to make the reader go out and write a story of their own.

But ultimately it's a desperately selfish activity. A good writer friend of mine tells me he writes to impress his fourteen year-old self.

How have your personal experiences influenced the direction of your writing?

I've always divided the critics: some consider me irretrievably obscure -- while kinder souls think I might be On To Something.

After attending art school, my life has mostly been spent as a hotelier -- but for the last five years I've turned the throttle down and now work as a paper conservator and part-time undertaker.

I ran a hotel with my parents for many years and the practical influence of that on my writing was that all my stories were about 600 words long. My free time came in little chunks. But the mind works wonderfully well if it's being pushed hard: I wrote a conceptually complex piece about a far future humanity entirely in my head while mixing martinis for hotel guests at three in the morning.

What would you say are the biggest challenges that you face?

Knowing what you want to say but not being able to say it. That's an admission, isn't it! It's retaining that purity of the initial vision. I've been lucky to have been published for twenty years -- but it's still a bit of a struggle.

On more practical matters, my biggest challenge is probably the real world fighting for my time. It's so easy to discover tasks that you should be doing.

How do you deal with these challenges?

There's no easy answer for the first part of the last question -- although I'll never walk away from a blank page before I've achieved a breakthrough, even if it's in an unexpected direction. And when the real world battles for my attention, I just think of the places I take myself when I'm typing away: those mad 48 hour writing marathons fuelled only by toast and Rose's lime marmalade. Bob Shaw once said, perfectly: It's hard to write -- but it's good to have written.

What is your latest book about?

Actually, it's a novelette of around 15,000 words called "fight Music". I suppose one might describe it as a school story of sorts, set as it is in a girls' musical conservatoire -- except the pupils collect shrapnel from the latest air raid during breaktime. And some of the older girls are undergoing a curious metamorphosis in the school swimming pool to help the war effort .

How long did it take you to write the novelette?

I wrote the final two hundred words last December. And the remaining 14,800 this last April.

It appeared in a great Gary Couzens-edited anthology from Elastic Press called Extended Play in November 2006. I'm in the company of some super authors who have written longer-than-usual stories taking their cue from all facets of music.

Which aspects of the work that you put into the story did you find most difficult?

I broke quite a few rules with it (the story effectively begins with a massive info dump) but primarily the old one about writing what you know. The story's a first person narrative told from the point of view of a fifteen year-old schoolgirl musical genius. I, on the other hand, am a forty-six-year old bloke who failed spectacularly in his musical education. Also the story might be described (pretension alert!) as rather high concept: music takes you into the Great Somewhere Else -- and I wanted my story to have the same effect. It was an exhausting high wire act. Thank goodness for toast and lime
marmalade.

Which did you enjoy most?

Stories were submitted anonymously and this brought a great sense of freedom. I fondly fancy that Gary really thought the story had been written by a fifteen year-old shrapnel-gathering schoolgirl.

What sets the novelette apart from the other things you have written?

I usually take five years to write a story, ever the fine-tuner that I am. "fight Music" was written very quickly -- perhaps because I'd just finished writing the pantomime for our local group. Panto writing is very much a headlong sleeves-rolled-up experience.

In what way is it similar?

I think I've retained my widescreen visual sense in this story. Also an almost throwaway weirdness, burying a tiny oddity within a paragraph dealing with the apparently everyday.

What will your next book be about?

I've been working on a long story that may very well become a book one day. It deals with the infiltration of mermaids into the British film industry during the 1930s. Of course, no one notices -- until it's too late ...

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

I was pondering this question and how to answer it when my brother texted this evening to say how much he enjoyed a story in my "Soil Society" collection. We don't communicate a great deal so, odd and small as it may sound, this would figure quite highly among my writerly achievements.

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[Interview] Sally H. Taylor

Sally H. Taylor made her debut as a children's author and illustrator with the publication of The Magic in You (Outskirts Press, 2007), a 40-page book which aims to teach children and adults, alike, that we need to forgive and love ourselves if we are to live healthy, fulfilled lives.In a recent interview, she spoke about her writing.

What are your main concerns as a writer?

I have developed a lot of ideas for children’s stories over the years. They are still in my head. With the pressures of a full time job and such, it’s hard to find the quiet time to craft a story that comes together well. However, I am working on that one.

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

After a hard road of recovering from an abusive marriage, I found that my writing and my art work was not only an aid to my healing process, but a way of reaching past myself and offering hope to other wounded hearts.

An abusive relationship can damage your soul so severely that you begin to second guess everything you do. You can’t bear to make a mistake, because it is a painful reminder of what you really think about yourself, a big mistake. There was so much negativity in my life I actually believed that I deserved the abuse. I think I always knew what I needed to do, but wasn’t strong enough to do it. Through the care and kindness of others I found value and purpose again. My experiences have taught me that a heart of chivalry is created by learning from your mistakes, instead of wallowing in them. That’s the message!

At present most of my writing is geared to preschoolers, which offers a means of incorporating my illustrating talents. The agent who was marketing my pen & ink and watercolors, always told me that I had a knack for integrating rhythm and movement into my work and suggested I try to illustrate and write children’s books.

What would you say are the biggest challenges that you face?

If we don’t guard ourselves against negativity it can find a way to get the best of us. The biggest challenge in writing for me is just keeping focused through all of the smaller ones. The biggest challenge in my life is still accepting myself just as I am, with all of my flaws and failures.

How do you deal with these challenges?

Keeping focused on my writing is just reminding myself that we all have a story worth telling. Dealing with my failures comes in knowing that I have a Creator who loves me in spite of myself!

Who would you say has influenced you the most?

As a child I spent many summers with my Aunt who always encouraged my creativity. She was an extremely gifted and talented person.

Do you write every day?

I wish I had the time to write every day, but I don’t. Most of the time I have to schedule my writing time on my calendar along with so many other things that I either want to or need to accomplish.

I have written several [books], but The Magic in You (Outskirts Press, 2007) is my first published book. The book is about a little flower who gets pushed from her comfort zone. Although her circumstances are less than ideal, she learns that she has the power to influence other living creatures around her through kindness, love and, most of all, forgiveness.

How long did it take you to write this book?

I actually started it over 15 years ago and got frustrated because I could not find a publisher. Last year I took it out of the basement and started to read it again, and thought, "Boy ,this story seems kind of shallow.” I think that was because 15 years ago I was probably that shallow. Because I’ve grown since then I was able to make some changes to the illustrations and the story line.

How did you choose a publisher for The Magic in You?

Looking for a publisher can be a gruesome experience and I have learned that just because you are rejected doesn’t mean your book is not good. It just means that your work does not fit into the theme that particular publishers are marketing. So I tried several self publishing companies and decided to go with Outskirts Press. They were very helpful and flexible enough to help me publish my book the way I wanted it to look.

The first book was a learning process. I decided to prepare the print ready file myself because I did not want to send out my original illustrations. Outskirts Press was very helpful and gave us step by step instructions to create the file. My husband (that’s my second husband of whom I’ve been married to for 18 years) was a tremendous help as well. I am not really a technical person, so he created the PDF file for me.

Mostly, I enjoyed creating the illustrations. If you were around you would have heard my snickers as I was creating the scenes. Some of them are quite comical.

What sets The Magic in You apart from the other things you have written?

In many ways the book is my biography. The healing process of this damaged little flower is not just her story, but it’s my story too.

In what way is it similar?

I have tried to set a theme of a heart of chivalry to my writing, and I think this fits right in.

What will you next book be about?

I am working on my next book now. The name of the book is The Most Valuable Treasure. It is about a small village of people who go out of their way to care for each other. They also go out of their way to avoid one rickety old house on the outskirts of the village. Rumors of witches and goblins have kept the villagers at a distance for years. As the story unfolds, however, the villagers learn that things are not always as they appear, and perhaps they could have been a little more gracious than they thought themselves to be.

What do you think is your most significant achievement as a writer?

When I see adults break down in tears as they read The Magic in You, I know my message of forgiveness and grace has touched their hearts. That’s the real achievement!

How did you get there?

A lifetime of learning to love myself.

This article was first published by OhmyNews International.