An Interview with Missy Jane

Q: When did you decide to become a writer?  

A: Maybe ten years ago I actually sat down to write my first novel. At that time I didn't really think about being published, I just had to get the story out of my head. Then in 2008 I attended a readers/writers conference that really changed my perspective from reader to writer. I realized I really could get my work published and finally submitted my first book. That was when I decided I was truly a writer. 

Q: Who has been the biggest influence in your life, so far? 

A: Hmm, that's a tough one. I would have to say as far as just being a writer it would be Judi McCoy. She taught a beginning writers course at the convention I attended in 2008 and was very inspirational to me. Losing her to diabetes last year was very hard.

Q: Tell us a little about your latest/upcoming books. 

A: My most recent release is from Ellora's Cave Publishing and is available as an ebook. It's called Too Hard to Break and is the third in my Love Beyond Barriers Series. It's a contemporary romance about a woman who is learning to live beyond the abusive relationship she had been in for years. Her new hero takes her in and teaches her to be strong again. Also, I was just offered another contract from Ellora's Cave, my eighth with them. It will be for my first "cougar" story. It's also a contemporary but with erotic elements. 

Q: Which is easier, writing the paranormal or the "adult" stuff?

A: Originally when I started writing the paranormal came more naturally to me. But once I started writing the "adult" stuff I find those voices are easier to write. I love writing both. 

Q: Where do you get the inspiration for your stories? 

A: Honestly, I can get inspired by just about anything. Sometimes I'll be listening to the radio and a line of lyrics will spark an idea. Or even everyday situations can inspire me. It's almost too easy sometimes and I have a lot of works in progress.

Q: What do you hear from your readers? 

A: At first I had a lot of questions about my paranormal world. With my first book I realized I didn't answer all of the questions the book brought up. After I took care of that with a prequel, I started getting questions about a possible sequel. It was wonderful knowing my readers wanted more. I still get those questions as well as about what I'm working on next. 

Q: What do you like to read? Do you have a favorite? 

A: I like reading ALL genres of romance, as well as horror, science fiction, fantasy, and historical fiction. I'd have to say horror is probably my favorite with fantasy being a very close second. Paranormal romance is kind of the best of a few genres so I really like that one too.

Q: How important do you think being a reader is to the writing process?

A: I think it's VERY important because how else can you know your audience than to be a part of it? I don't understand the authors who refuse to read the genre they write in either. I can understand the concern of being influenced, but I think there are ways around that if you're careful. When I get an idea that I think might have the slightest similarity to something I've read I'll read that book again. I take plagiarism very seriously but I don't think it's something that would just happen without a conscious choice on the writer's part. I learn a lot from reading even in genres other than what I write.

Q: If you had to grab three things (and ONLY three things) from your house to evacuate due to a zombie invasion, what would they be? 

A: Lol, well assuming all four of my daughters and my husband were able to get out safely on their own, it would be my camera, my flashdrive (with ALL of my writing on it), and my purse. You wouldn't believe half the stuff in my purse. It's my lifeline.

Q: What advice do you offer to someone who wants to write a book?

A: The best advice I was ever given is also the hardest to put into practice on a regular basis. Just WRITE! Ignore the online games and social media, ignore the phone, ignore the self-doubt, just sit your butt down and get it done.

Q: Anything else you would like the readers to know?

A: One of the things that has been in general discussion a lot lately are book reviews. There has been a lot of back and forth over whether they're for readers or writers and whether or not they're good or bad. My opinion is every single review serves a purpose. If I see only stars with no explanation that's okay. If nothing else I'll know someone took the time to read my book and I sincerely appreciate that. So if you have the time (And really how long does clicking on some stars really take?) every writer appreciates a review. If this is something you do already, THANK YOU!

Thank you so much for your time, Missy! We look forward to seeing you at the festival.

Introducing 2013 MCBF Moderator, Missy Jane

Author Missy Jane is a native Texan who lives and plays in Spring. She likes to keep the voices in her head quiet by writing out their stories. She is the multi-published author of paranormal romance and urban fantasy, as well as contemporary and erotic romance. Two of her books that are in print and available here today are Day Shift, about an alternative society run by vampires, and They Call Me Death, a post-apocalyptic tale of shape-shifting humans versus regular humans. Missy is also always online and can be found on Facebook and Twitter when she really should be writing.

An Interview with Jim Schmidt

Q: When did you decide to become a writer?

A: Well, I think it must always have been itching to come out!  I remember as a kid, 7 or 8, growing up in Joplin, Missouri, that I wrote a poem about Independence Day.  My mom drove us down to the Joplin Globe newspaper offices and I think she tried to get them to print it.  I'm not sure they did.  In 8th grade I remember writing a short story about a class that went on a ski trip.  It started with the teacher asking for everyone to turn in their money...they go on the trip...terrible things happen...they survive...most of them anyway...the story ends back at school a year later with the teacher asking everyone to turn in their ski trip money...(see what I did there? oooooooooooh!).  And that was probably the last story I wrote...for twenty years.  In the mid-1990s, I got bit by the "Civil War buff" bug during a business trip to Virginia.  I read everything I could, including some of the (many) magazines on the stand at the bookstores.  Something inside me said "I can do that."  I didn't know where or how to start; fortunately I had a good mentor who knew the process, encouraged me, and whom I trusted to review my work.  My first magazine article was published in 1999, I think.  They even paid me! It's been fun ever since and I've always had something in the works.  After getting several articles published, I started working on my first book as the next step.  It was published in 2008.

Q: Who has been the biggest influence in your life, so far?

A: That's easy: Terry and De Schmidt. Because, parents.  And good ones, too.

Q: Tell us a little about your books.

A: I am the sole author, editor, or contributor to five books on the Civil War.  Each one is special in their own way to me.  My first, "Lincoln's Labels: America's Best Known Brands and the Civil War" (Edinborough Press, 2008), is about companies that we all know today that also played an important part in the Civil War (Brooks Brothers, Tiffany & Co., duPont, American Express, and many more) and how the war affected or even "made" them.  It's special because it was my first and I learned a lot about the process and myself.  My second, "Years of Change and Suffering: Modern Perspectives on Civil War Medicine" (Edinborough Press, 2009) is a collection of invited expert essays that I co-edited with a good friend and collaborator; we both also contributed chapters.  I'm really proud of it because there is some exceptional scholarship - and good writing - in the book.  It was a special challenge soliciting contribution, managing deadlines, editing, etc...kind of like a movie director! We're also proud that all the royalties from the book have been donated to historic preservation efforts.  My next book, "Notre Dame and the Civil War: Marching Onward to Victory" (The History Press, 2010), is about the epic story of the university in the war: the dozens of students and alumni who served as soldiers in the Union army; priests who served as chaplains; sisters who served as nurses; and the important effect the war had on campus.  It's been my most successful by far, and is now in its third printing.  My latest book is "Galveston and the Civil War: An Island City in the Maelstrom" (The History Press, 2012), which describes the story of the island in the war, including slavery, secession, the blockade, the New Year's Day 1863 Battle of Galveston, the effect of the war on civilians, and finally the surrender of Galveston and emancipation of its slaves.  This book has been so much fun because of the great stories I have heard from people that have read the book about their ancestors.  Late in 2012, Routledge published "Civil War America: A Social and Cultural History"; co-editor and professor Zoe Trodd extended me an invitation to contribute a chapter on "Civilian Medicine."

Q: You obviously love history, where do you get the inspiration for you stories?

A: Even though I have only been writing the past 10-15 years, I've loved history since I was a kid, either from my own reading or from family stories.  When I became interested in Civil War history, my initial attention was drawn naturally to the great battles and such, but I quickly became interested in either special subjects - medicine, for example, which fits well with my day job as a biotech scientist - or to the home front, which inspired my interest in the companies covered in Lincoln's Labels.  I'm a firm believer in "bottom-up" history, and so I delight in reading accounts written by the common soldier or - especially - by civilians, especially letters which have an intimacy and immediacy that cane be very inspiring.  I also love to "mine" footnotes and endnotes in books that I read; often authors of scholarly works will only give a brief mention or reference to a letter or diary, just enough to support their thesis.  For me, though, those are "voices" that need to be heard for their own sake.  I have my own collection of 19th-century correspondence and love visiting archives to see material myself.  Period newspapers are also excellent inspiration. 

Q: How long do you spend researching your book topics before actually beginning to write?

A: It's been different for each project.  The Lincoln's Labels and Notre Dame books grew out of research and article writing I had been doing for 5 or 6 years, so I had quite a bit of material accumulated.  For the Galveston project, I basically started from scratch (although I was of course familiar with the basic aspects of the island's war story), but I also had a word count limit, which kept my research from getting to far afield, an lasted about a year.  I think the actual writing for each book was 12-18 months.  I'm a terrible procrastinator, so it helps me to be a dedicated outliner, to do some writing while I research, to break the research and writing into defined sections, and to remember that this is supposed to be enjoyable.  I have many "vertical files" started on a number of projects I can write in some time - 19th century quack medicines, Spiritualism, phrenology, crime, and more.  Even when a book is done and published, my interest in the subject continues.
 
Q: What do you like to read? Do you have a favorite?

A: For someone who has been firmly entrenched as a nonfiction writer, my reading tastes have changed dramatically in just the past couple of years.  My reading until then was 90-100% nonfiction, usually background reading for whatever book project I might be in, as well as new works that appealed to me.  In the past few years though more than half of my reading has been fiction.  I specially enjoy literary fiction, thrillers, and mysteries set in mid- to late-19th Century America or England.  My absolute favorite is Louis Bayard, whose "Mr. Timothy" and "The Pale Blue Eye" are easily two of my favorites of all time.  Also: Matthew Pearl, David Liss, Lyndsay Faye, Will Thomas, Stephen Gallagher, and others.  At the same time, I'm making my way through Dickens.  I love interviewing authors as well, and have featured several on my blog (http://civilwarmed.blogspot.com). Writers that I admire for their genius in narrative nonfiction include David McCullough, Stephen Sears, and Tony Horwitz, and many others.

Q:  How important do you think being a reader is to the writing process?

A: SO IMPORTANT!  In my earlier answer about the twenty year drought in writing between an 8th grade short story and my first article is an important clue: I wasn't reading, either, apart from assigned reading in high school and college.  My immediate increase in reading after becoming interested in Civil War history not only gave me the courage to try and write myself, it gave me models to emulate (especially McCullough and Sears) as I tried to find my own voice, such as it is.  The same is happening as my fiction reading has increased substantially: it's inspired me to at least want to try and write historical fiction, although I still worry that I don;t have the imagination to craft a story or the courage to send it out, but that is my goal for 2013.  Writers like Louis Bayard make my mind and heart soar; I just admire storytellers so much.

Q: If you had to grab three things (and ONLY three things) from your house to evacuate due to a zombie invasion, what would they be? (Our standard question, we HAVE to ask! LOL)

A: 1) My Kindle Fire - it has my music, Bible, and Spider Solitaire...oh, and books, including all of Dickens; 2) The charger for my Fire; 3) A 12-pack of toilet paper; 2 for me and the rest to trade.  That should keep me, I think.  Sorry, someone is knocking at the door (opens door). Yes? "Grrrrr...Me need brain...errrrr...me need toilet paper...Grrrrrrr" Okay, what do you have to trad...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Q: What advice do you offer to someone who wants to write non-fiction?

A: The good news is that there are so many avenues in which to have your work published; it's never been easier, I think, as long as you know the process and follow some simple rules.  As for advice...First, decide what your goals are. Second, write about things that you are passionate about. Third, first write shorter articles rather than books; it helps you build a platform of readers and contacts and - more important - it develops a discipline in keeping your stories focused. Fourth, do it: don't read about writing...write! Fifth: find a person or persons you can trust to give you honest feedback. Sixth - to borrow from the carpenter trade: "Measure twice, cut once." That is, don't be in a hurry to send your work out without checking it for quality in grammar, punctuation, etc.

Q: Anything else you would like the readers to know?

A: The only thing I like as much as writing myself is seeing other people achieve their goals.  I'm giving a writing/publishing workshop at the South Branch library on Saturday, January 26, 2013.  I hope it will be the first of many opportunities to give back great advice that I received myself.  You can also keep up with my other writing and research projects by visiting the blog address above.
Thank you Tabatha!!!!!!

Thank you so much for your time, Jim! We look forward to seeing you at the festival!

Introducing 2013 MCBF Moderator, Jim Schmidt

Jim Schmidt is a bio-analytical chemist by training and profession. He attended Benedictine College (Atchison, KS), received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Central Oklahoma, and pursued graduate work in environmental science at the University of Oklahoma. Jim has worked in a number of private, government, and industrial laboratories for the past twenty five years, and is currently employed as a research scientist with a biotechnology firm in The Woodlands, Texas.

Jim has had a life-long interest in history, with special interests in the Civil War and 19th-century medicine and science; his historical writing credits include more than sixty articles for numerous publications including North & South, Civil War News, Chemical Heritage, Learning Through History, and Antique Bottle & Glass magazines, and many others.  He has also given lectures on history to groups throughout the country.

Jim is the author, editor, or contributor to five books, including Lincoln's Labels: America's Best Known Brands and the Civil War (sole author, 2008); Years of Change and Suffering: Modern Perspectives on Civil War Medicine (editor and contributor, 2009); Notre Dame in the Civil War: Marching Onward to Victory (sole author, 2010); Galveston and the Civil War: An Island City in the Maelstrom (sole author, 2012); and Civil War America: A Social and Cultural History (contributor, 2012).

Jim also enjoys seeing other people achieve their goals of seeing their writing get published and offers writing workshops and other coaching.

Jim’s wife is an elementary teacher in the Conroe Independent School District and his sons are graduates of Oak Ridge High School.  His daughter, a graduate of Texas Tech, was married last summer and she and her husband live in Lubbock, TX.

CICADA Giveaway!

Another special giveaway!!

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An Interview with Belle Whittington

Belle Whittington, author of Cicada, will be moderating our "Magic, Dragons and Mermaids, Oh My!" panel at the festival.


Q: When did you decide to become a writer?

A: My first recollection of wanting to be a writer was when I was in the second grade, and our teacher, Mrs. Rambin, would have us lay our heads on our desks after lunch while she read us stories full of magic and imagination. Those stories she read to us stayed with me for days, and I couldn’t imagine anything better than being able to create such places of magic by writing.

Q: Who has been the biggest influence in your life, so far?

A: My parents were and are the biggest influence in my life.  I am who I am because of them.  I learned the art of daydreaming from my father and the love of good stories from my mother.

Q: Where did the idea for Cicada come from?

A: There’s not any one thing that inspired me to write Cicada. I find inspiration in everything around me, and there are a lot of cumulative memories of inspiration from over the years that all culminated in this YA Paranormal Sci-Fi trilogy.

Growing up in Nacogdoches, the oldest town in Texas, afforded me summers full of adventure with my friends.  I call on those adventures and memories a great deal for my YA stories.  Cicada has a lot of the energy of those childhood adventures spun throughout.  One of them is something that actually happened to me when I was thirteen years old.  I was on one of my adventures in the woods with my dog, Dusty.  We made our way through the woods to a neighboring pasture and crawled through the barbed wire fence. 

When we got to the top of one of the rolling hills in the grassy field, I realized I was standing in the middle of a giant circle imprinted in the pasture grass.  No one had ever told me about crop circles at that time in my life, so I just thought it was an odd occurrence that there was a strange circle in the tall grass.   Now that circle is forever memorialized in a YA novel, Cicada!

Like most authors, I love listening to great music while writing.  There are so many talented musicians that inspire me while daydreaming and writing my stories.  I thought I'd share my inspiration play lists with your lovely readers. :-)
•    Cicada inspiration playlist
•    Firefly inspiration playlist
•    No. 3 inspiration playlist

Another thing I think readers might like to know is that I have a favorite song that fits the mood for each one of the books in the trilogy. Want to hear the unofficial theme song to each book? Here goes!
•    Cicada: The Resistance
•    Firefly: Cosmic Love
•    Third (title unreleased): Electric Feel

There’s even a song for Everett
And as an extra bonus, here’s a song for a very important character readers will meet in Firefly. His name is Ash. And I think readers will love to hate to love him. Here’s a song just for him …
Many of Horror: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAh--lH0H3U&list=PL0BECD8CB9CA444C8&index=1&feature=plpp_video

I hope everyone will enjoy listening to the play lists while reading the books! And I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts on the play lists. :) And it must not go without saying many thanks to the awesome musicians whose songs have given me so much inspiration.  Thank you for sharing your magic.

Q: Is there one character that really sticks out as your favorite in Cicada?

A: This is actually a really good question to which I have an odd answer.  I related to all of my characters equally, actually.  I feel that each one of them has a small part of me in them, and I have a connection with each one of them.  For instance, when they hurt, I draw upon some memory of a time when I was under emotional stress or heartbroken.  When they are in love, I remember a time when I was thoroughly smitten with someone.  So, I’m sorry I cannot be more specific with my answer.

Q: How hard was it to write the sequel, Firefly?

A: While I enjoyed writing Firefly, I have to admit that it was a lot more difficult to write it than Cicada.  Firefly is much longer than Cicada and not only do the characters grow and become more complex, but there are also two knew characters readers will meet.  Both of them are dangerous, and one of them is extremely … well … he’s just plain hot! 
One of my biggest wishes is that when book bloggers read Firefly, they’ll discover that I did, indeed, take their comments and suggestions to heart while writing this book.  In other words, this book’s for those awesome bloggers and reviewers I’ve gotten to know over the past year-and-a-half.  I hope y’all won’t be disappointed! :)

Q: The cover is GORGEOUS!  Who designed it?

A: Thank you!  I’m quite smitten with it, too!  The same person who designed the cover of Cicada designed this cover.  And that person is my daughter LB Whittington.

Q: What do you hear from your readers?

A: Well, Firefly hasn’t been reviewed yet.  It has only been read by my beta readers and my editor.  Of course, I read half of it to my mother, so she knows a little of what the story is about.  When Firefly releases, it will be a complete surprise to everyone!

Q: Tell us about your experience on the road to indie-publishing.

A: I’ve always been indie-minded and a do-it-yourselfer, and I’ve always thought that if others could do it, I could, too! When the ability to indie publish my own books became a truly viable option, and Amazon made it easy and available, I jumped at the chance! I haven’t looked back, and I haven’t regretted it!
What have I learned about indie publishing during this past wild and wonderful year since I released Cicada? The most amazing and important thing is that I’ve met so many fabulous book bloggers and reviewers…people with whom I hope to remain in contact forever! Also, I’ve gotten to know readers who’ve reached out to me after reading Cicada. I wouldn’t trade that for the world.
For authors interested in indie publishing, I’d like to share a few things I’ve learned over the past year-and-a-half:
•    Hire a professional editor before you publish. I hired Novel Proofreading for Cicada, and I’m very glad that I did. I heard about Novel Proofreading on JA Konrath’s blog.  For Firefly, I hired Editorch and found the service to be terrific, too.
•    Hire someone to design your book cover. This is more important that one might think, because people really do judge a book by its cover. My daughter designed the covers for both Cicada and Firefly. Of course, if you are a Graphic Artist or are proficient in PhotoShop then give it a shot yourself!
•    Hire someone to create a book trailer for you, or if you are proficient enough create one yourself. Readers love book trailers! They are fun! My daughter created mine.
•    Hire a book designer. This is different than a person who designs your book cover. A book designer makes your manuscript look good in print and e-book form. Readers are very verbal when it comes to the appearance of the book they’ve purchased, and they want one that looks professional. I hired 52Novels, and I’m glad I did. They did an excellent job designing Cicada and Firefly, and they were a pleasure with which to work. I learned about 52Novels on JA Konrath’s blog. What else does a book designer do? They convert your designed manuscript into various types of files so that it can be uploaded to various websites for publication.
•    After you’ve accomplished those things, then it’s time to publish your book and get to work networking with all those lovely bloggers out there! That’s the really fun part!


Q: If you had to grab three things (and ONLY three things) from your house to evacuate due to a zombie invasion, what would they be?
•    Matches to start a fire.  Isn’t that how you can kill zombies?
•    Can of hairspray to create a torch with the matches
•    My cell phone

Q: What advice do you offer to someone who wants to write a book?

The best advice I have to give for aspiring authors is to read, read, read across the genres.  One never knows from where inspiration may come!  Then write, write, write like there’s no tomorrow!  Get the words out onto the page.  Don’t edit until you are done!  Then hire a good editor!

Keeping up with the Smiths - Giveaway!!

This week we are Keeping Up with the Smiths!  Giving away a signed copy of Cynthia Leitich Smith’s DIABOLICAL and her hubby, Greg Leitich Smith’s CHRONAL ENGINE!  One set of entries per person.  US only.  Winner will be notified Friday, January 18^th.  Enter today!!

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