Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Cotterill: Playwright turned author offers first novel in romantic fantasy series

Welcome to this week's guest, Rachel Cotterill. She is professionally and perpetually indecisive, splitting her time somewhat haphazardly between writing, computing, linguistics, recipe development, and travel. She's half of the feminist SF book blog Strange Charm and her third novel, Watersmeet, is a romantic and optimistic fantasy published earlier this year.

The Writers’ Lens is about "Bringing fiction into focus." What brings your writing into focus -- the characters, the stories, the love of words? RC: I quite often start from some idea of a setting or scenario, but it's the characters that bring a story to life for me. I started off as a playwright, and a lot of my approach to writing is still very strongly anchored in dialogue: I'll write down snippets of conversations in the very earliest stages of brainstorming, and flesh out the scene later with actions and thoughts and colour.

What inspired your latest book? RC: Watersmeet actually started life as a stage play, which I wrote while I was at university, quite some years ago now! But fantasy isn't hugely a popular genre with theatre types, and the cast was frankly a bit too large, so it wasn't ever staged. I'm glad of that now, as the plot and characters have grown a lot since those days.

When I came back to it last year, I really wanted to have a go at writing a romance, and to write something with a more optimistic slant compared to my previous work. It's slowly evolved into a tentative series outline which stretches to five books so far, plus a number of companion novellas (the first of which, The Falconer, is available for free on all major ebook retailers).
What's your favorite way to interact with fans/readers? RC: I love a decent chatter, whether that's with my readers or for that matter anyone who has a story to share. I'm a huge fan of social media for forming friendships without borders - you can find me on all the major sites, but I'm most active on Twitter and Instagram. 

What’s your favorite writing accessory or reference? RC: Don't take this the wrong way, but I have an amazing book of drugs and poisons. It's designed for clinical diagnosis, and covers everything from overdose symptoms to antidotes and treatments. I picked it up very cheaply in a discount bookstore, and it's done me well over the years. On the slightly more positive side (but not entirely unrelated), I also have a fabulous book of medicinal plants. Generally, my writing reference bookshelf is something that will have to come with me to the ends of the earth!

Describe the best writer you know and something wonderful he or she has written. RC: That's a hard question! There are so many amazing writers out there - I even started a book blog last year to give myself a platform for shouting my favourites from the rooftops (Strange Charm, http://strangecharmbooks.co.uk, if you're interested). One of my recent favourites is Charlotte E. English, who writes beautiful fantasy across a number of sub-genres: her Draykon trilogy is fairly traditional high fantasy, Black Mercury is an excellent steampunk adventure, and the Malykant Mysteries are murders in a secondary world. She writes great female leads, her plots are always compelling, and she has a real way with talking animal companions. So if there's an author I'd like to be more like, she's probably the one!


WATERSMEET: When a stranger tells her she's a mage, Ailith is intrigued but she's also afraid. Magic is heresy, and heresy means death under the Temple Law. Even literacy is suspect in a girl of her background, and her sister's impending wedding only serves as a reminder that she should be focusing on her future. Then a local priest asks her to rescue his son, and she starts to wonder if her talents could be a blessing, after all. 

The Lord Baron of Watersmeet, Leofwin isn't accustomed to welcoming uninvited visitors. A commoner turning up at his gates should be no more than a minor footnote to his day, but something about Ailith catches his attention. Alchemy can be lonely work and an apprentice might be just what he needs. 

As their lessons grow into shared experiments, Leofwin wonders if he might even trust her with his greatest challenge. But Ailith can't forget why she came to the castle. 

 Watersmeet is a romantic fantasy novel, perfect for fans of Maria V. Snyder and Cassandra Rose Clarke

Praise for Watersmeet:

"This was a very enjoyable, well-written read, recommended for fans of quieter, more thoughtful fantasy" -- Pauline at Fantasy Review Barn

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Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Coryell: Researching a contemporary novel with a historical background

By Susan Coryell
Author of new-release 
BENEATH THE STONES

I suspect that every writer must do some sort of research. I have friends in my writers’ group who craft murder mysteries. You’d think that would be something not requiring much in the way of research, right? Wrong! One friend spent days trying to see if a dead body could be stuffed whole into the toilet of a porta-potty. She even went to the PP store and tried it herself. Another writer needed to know how long a body would stay “fresh” in an abandoned deep freezer. And there’s a huge research trail on poisons that are hard to detect in a corpse.

Well, I write cozy mystery/Southern Gothic cross-genre and, let me tell you, I am always up to my ears in research. My Overhome Trilogy is set at fictional Moore Mountain Lake, based on the real lake where I reside in Southern Virginia. For A Red, Red Rose, the first book in the series, I did extensive research on the flooding of several river valleys to create a hydraulic dam. I learned how officials handled removal of the graves buried in its path, as this was important to my plot. Files of newspaper stories on this topic provided vital facts, as the flooding and dam-building progressed over a number of years. In keeping with my theme of Southern opposition to modern ideas because of long-held and hard-felt beliefs, I scoured museums for information on the local effects of the Civil War, attended lectures and queried university professors re slavery practices and slave rituals. My fellow writers actually dragged me (kicking and screaming) to a horse farm and made me ride a horse so that I could provide sensory details about my protagonist’s riding lessons.

For my new release, Beneath the Stones, the second in the series, I spent many hours in the requisite local museum as well as the Museum of the Confederacy, since several characters in Beneath the Stones were Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. I toured a Virginia battlefield, and visited an ancient abode in which folks now live quite comfortably. This 1760’s dwelling became the prototype for the overseer’s cottage on my protag, Ashby Overton’s, Overhome Estate. Then, because Ashby writes for a magazine concerning arts and artists in the area, I toured a local winery (that was fun!), spent a day at a horse farm (also fun!), interviewed the leader of a bluegrass band and attended several concerts (more fun!), took a psychic to lunch and bent her ear on the paranormal sphere, and kept up an email correspondence with an Olympic equestrian. It’s a wonder I ever had time to write the book!

Why do I work so hard to authenticate my history background and contemporary setting? Because I am writing about the very place in which I myself live. Though I call it by a fictional place name, local readers know quickly that the setting is based on the same real place where we live. If I am going to build a following, I have to do my homework. If I know nothing about farms and actually fear horses, I have to make up for my void of knowledge and surplus of unhelpful emotions. Believe me, my readers here would be the first to let me know where I have erred.

Now, I am working on the third book in the series. Because one main character is a large-animal veterinarian—a field about which I know exactly zero—I am reading up on the profession. Never Turn Your Back on an Angus Cow, by Dr. Pol, is both helpful and humorous. I have names of two vets I am going to interview for personal vignettes I can use in the book. I have browsed through about a dozen books on the topic so that I feel comfortable writing about the warp and woof of farm animal vets.

I’ve researched a nearby chapel built by and for slaves which is currently standing but not in use. How to get such a structure on the National Registry of Historic Places, and, thus, preserve it, is an aspect I have to further pursue for purposes of plot.
Another area for research has been truly difficult as there is a dearth of information on the topic. I want to incorporate what actually happened to the freed slaves from the end of the Civil War to the enactment of the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s. 

Though information is scant, what I have learned is both gripping and horrifying. Many Southern states adopted black codes, which allowed police to arrest and fine “vagrant” free black men, forcing them into prison with trumped-up charges and charging exorbitant fines, knowing the poor blacks would be unable to pay. Rich plantation owners and big businesses, many founded in the North, would pay a pittance for work release for these men, treating them horribly and literally working them to death. The term “peonage” has been applied to these practices. There is much more to the story, of course, and I am having one tough time finding information about the practices that virtually re-enslaved the freedmen. How much peonage took place here in Virginia where my novels are set? Were the work gangs employed for building railroads and bridges? Tobacco fields? I need this information to authenticate the situation of my characters, and I am still looking, as we speak.

At a recent signing I was asked, “Does writing get easier the more you do it?” I answered the question with a resounding, “Heavens no!  Every subsequent book I write becomes more difficult because my standards climb higher with every publication.” And so, I will persevere until I know enough to base my fiction on fact. In the meantime, I’ll concentrate on ways to craft the plot and flesh out the characters. Hard work? Yes, but it’s what we writers all do. At least, for now, I do not have to worry about stuffing a body into anything.

Thanks to T. W. Fendley for asking me to participate on her informative and fun blog “The Writers Lens,” a great vehicle for writers who want to connect with other writers and readers.

About Susan Coryell
A career educator, Susan has taught students from 7th grade through college-level. She earned a BA degree in English from Carson-Newman College and a Masters from George Mason University. She is listed in several different volumes of Who’s Who in Education and Who’s Who in Teaching.  Susan belongs to Author’s Guild, Virginia Writers, and Lake Writers. She loves to talk with budding writers at schools, writers’ conferences and workshops. Her young adult anti-bully novel EAGLEBAIT is in its third edition for print and e-book, updated with cyber-bullying. EAGLEBAIT won the NY Public Library's "Books for the Teen Age," and the International Reading Association's "Young Adult Choice."

A RED, RED ROSE, first in a cozy mystery/Southern Gothic series, won a literary award with the Library of Virginia. BENEATH THE STONES, the sequel, was released in April of 2015.

The author has long been interested in concerns about culture and society in the South, where hard-felt, long-held feelings battle with modern ideas. The ghosts slipped in, to her surprise.

When not writing, Susan enjoys boating, kayaking, golf and yoga. She and her husband, Ned, love to travel, especially when any of their seven grandchildren are involved.

Where you can find her books:

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Sunday, May 31, 2015

Guild presents “What the heck is Twitter good for?” on June 6

At the St. Louis Writers Guild’s June 6 workshop on social media, Sarah Coziahr will answer the question so many writers have: "What the heck is Twitter good for?" It will be held from 10 a.m. to noon at the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 S. Geyer Road, in Kirkwood. Free for Guild members; $5 for nonmembers.

Sarah is an experienced marketer who works with and connects small businesses to online marketing tools and strategies to help them socialize and market their businesses online. She is the Vice President for Operations of RESPONSE! Targeted Marketing, a marketing agency specializing in small businesses. In addition, Sarah is a Constant Contact local expert for St. Louis.

In her talk--What the heck is Twitter good for, and how do I get all this social media stuff done anyhow?!?!—Sarah will address:

1. What are the basics of Twitter?
2. How can I use Twitter to gain a large following?
3. #whatisahashtag - What is a hashtag?
4. How can I make the most of my social media?
5. What are timesaving tools that will cut my time drastically?
6. How can I do enough without losing my day to social media??

Learn more about the St. Louis Writers Guild at www.stlwritersguild.org.



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Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Claire Fullerton: Language flavors everything in writing, just as it does in life

Welcome to this week's guest, CLAIRE FULLERTON. Claire is the author of Dancing to an Irish Reel (Literary Fiction) and A Portal in Time, (Paranormal Mystery), both from Vinspire Publishing.  

 She is an award-winning essayist, a contributor to magazines, a five-time contributor to the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book series, and a former newspaper columnist. Claire grew up in Memphis, TN, and now lives in Malibu, CA, with her husband, two German shepherds and one black cat. 

 Currently, she is writing her third novel.
https://www.facebook.com/clairefullertonauthor?ref=hl
http://www.clairefullerton.com/



The Writers’ Lens is about "Bringing fiction into focus." What brings your writing into focus-- the characters, the stories, the love of words? The use of fluid, beautiful language brings my writing into focus. This informs every description, every scene, and every character. I believe language flavors everything in writing, just as it does in life: it's not what you say, it's how you say it! Language reveals a writer's personality and can be wielded like brush strokes on a canvas. Language can strike an emotional chord; it can dive deep and expand a reader's experience. A well chosen word placed appropriately defines a reader's experience, hopefully with soul-reaching poignancy. 

What inspired your latest book? I once lived on the western coast of Ireland. At the time, I was single and, like many Irish-Americans, I felt the genetic tug of my ancestral home. I didn't want to just visit Ireland, I wanted to know what it felt like to live as a local, to belong to the environment and live amongst the people as one of them. I lived outside of Galway in a rural area known as Inverin, which is in Ireland's Gaeltech, which refers to the region where Irish is spoken as a first language. It was a pivotal year in my life where everything was new and life enhancing. The character of the people fascinated me: their ties to their history, their love of traditional music, their tribe-like mentality. Ireland is an old culture, steeped in tradition, which the Irish hold sacred. To me, the Irish people seemed earthy, authentic, non-flashy, and unimpressed by the trappings of life, such as what someone does for a living, or any status symbols that Americans seem impressed by. Living in Ireland was an eye-opening experience, and I wanted to write about the way I found the culture in order to tell everyone! So, I took the premise of an American who moves to rural Ireland and meets a famous Irish musician who is emblematic of the Irish culture. The inherent culture clash between the two characters gave me the opportunity to showcase the nuances of Ireland from a fish-out-of-water's perspective! 

What do you think readers will like about your book? I've been told repeatedly that Dancing to an Irish Reel makes the reader feel as if they've lived in Ireland, which was my aim. Further, because the book is literary fiction, it is devoid of the confines of genre. Because it is written in first-person narrative, it offers the lens of the narrator's insight. I wanted the reader to know the narrator, to feel as if they were listening to her story over a cup of tea in front of a soothing fire. And because the story involves the uncertainty of new found attraction between the narrator and the Irish lad, I employed the narrator's thoughts as she tries to decipher the confusing veiled messages that seem to arise for most everyone in new love: the way we act one way to preserve appearances, yet feel another. I can think of few people who haven't been through the excitement, hope, fears and doubts that are involved in new love. I wanted to point out that the road to love is rarely a straight path!  Dancing to an Irish Reel is an honest look at  the complexities of human nature as we try to connect, and because the reader is privy to the narrator's inner monologue as she navigates Ireland's social nuances in a land so breathtakingly beautiful that it is its own story, the book offers a specific frame of reference that will take the reader through an enjoyable experience. 

Would you share a bit about your next project? Yes, thank you for asking! I am well into my third novel, which is a Southern family saga, set in Memphis, which sits on the Mississippi River in a region known as the Delta. It is a story of cause and effect; the sins of the father, so to speak. If you were to take To Kill a Mockingbird  and mix it with The Prince of Tides, you'd have a feel for this book, whose themes touch on a search for place, a search for identity, a search for meaning, and ultimately, a search for God. 

What's your favorite way to interact with fans/readers? Any way they choose to contact me! I love to hear a readers thoughts, the way one of my books has impressed them. Any interaction with a reader is a gift!

DANCING TO AN IRISH REEL: Twenty five year old Hailey Crossan takes a trip to Ireland during a sabbatical from her job in the LA record business. While there, she’s offered a job too good to turn down, so she stays.
Although Hailey works in Galway, she lives in the countryside of Connemara, a rural area famous for its Irish traditional music.  When Hailey meets local musician, Liam Hennessey, a confusing relationship begins, which Hailey thinks is the result of differing cultures, for Liam is married to the music, and so unbalanced at the prospect of love, he won't come closer nor completely go away.
And so begins the dance of attraction that Hailey struggles to decipher. Thankfully, a handful of vibrant local friends come to her aid, and Hailey learns to love a land and its people, both with more charm than she ever imagined.

Vinspire Publishing; Available now in Print and E-Books at all online book retailers!
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