Author Fridays Presents...Bonnie Carlson!

Welcome to another edition of Author Fridays!  Sit back, relax and read about this week's featured author, Bonnie Carlson!

 

Bonnie Carlson is currently the author of two books, one in print and the other one on Kindle on Amazon.com.

 

The first book, the one in print is called "Time for Reflection and Healing".  It is based on a true story about a young girl who at a young age came with her mother from Germany to America. Inga not only had to learn a new language, but had to adjust to a new country and leaving her family behind to never see them again.  Her life is filled with loneliness, abandonment, and physical and sexual abuse. This story was created to help the public gain insight of how abuse truly affects the life of the victim, but how it lives as a skeleton in the closet and impacts one's life into their adulthood. This particular young girl lost her virginity and her life at the age of eleven.

 

"I knew this girl personally," Carlson says,  "and I gained such insight of how that abuse even if

it had stopped continues to trail along with bad choices. Her strength to survive

surpassed my ability to understand how that was possible."

"Time For Reflection and Healing" can be found at

www.publishamerica.com

 

Bonnie's second story is called "Macronni Green".  It is a children's story of a young boy

who loved the color green. He was truly addicted to the color green. While his mother

is reading him a bed time story, he in visions what his world would look like if

it was green. As he imagines his life, he problem solves with pros and cons of why it would or would not be a good idea, for everything to be green.

"Working with disabled children for a while," says Bonnie, "I found that most boys liked the color green and so it inspired me to come up with a story about it." The book is available at

www.amazon.com

on their kindle downloads, and she says she has future plans of putting it into print as well.

 

Bonnie Carlson has been writing since she was in her early teens, including writing for a county paper, a few years ago, featuring stories for a couple of years. She has always enjoyed writing, reading and painting.  "I think I came from a time period that was not filled with all the electronic entertainment and had to make my own," she tells me. "I turned to painting and writing instead. It allowed me to exercise my creativity and like my late mother would often tell me that I lived in my own world. In many ways I guess I did.

 

Born in Germany, brought to the States with her mother at the age of five, Bonnie now lives in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota..  She has five children, one stepson and three grandchildren.  She doesn't get to read as much as she would like to, but her interests really vary.  "I really

have gotten into some history stories," she says, "especially if they are personal memories of

the "Good Ole Days".

 

Besides writing, and painting, she is going to school to be a medical assistant.  She will graduate in December.  She tells me that she decided to go in to the medical field, after nursing a son who suffered from Leukemia at an early age.  Also, she truely loves working with people.  Her many experiences with thos people are what give her the ideas for her stories.

 

When I asked Ms. Carlson if she had any advice for someone who wishes to become a published author, she said, "I would tell them that if they have a desire for it, do not let anyone stand in their way.  Keep trying!"

 

For more information about Bonnie and her books, visit her website at

http://creativebonnie.webs.com

 

Thank you for joining me for another edition of Author Fridays!  Come back next week, same time, same place to read about our next featured author, Christian writer, J. Curt Haney!

Author Fridays Presents...Tim Maddox!

Welcome to another edition of Author Fridays!  Sit back, get comfortable and read about this week's featured author, Tim Maddox!

 

Tim Maddox is the author of two works of fiction.  The first, "A Memory of Lessons" tells the story of a young boy in the 1960's and his adventures.  It is published by Publish America

www.publishamerica.com

"The Summer That Hope Lived", published by Author House

www.authorhouse.com

tells the story of a family torn apart by depression and war, and what it will take to bring them back together.

 

At 41-years-old, Tim loves his family, loves being outdoors, enjoys bird watching and thanks God everyday for his wife and children and the abilities given to him.  He enjoys reading, but would rather write.  "My favorite authors," Tim says, "are Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) and Wilson Rawls."

 

In his early 20's, Maddox had a passion for writing.  He wanted to write poetry.  "Unfortunately," he says, "there was a house fire and all my work was lost.  I then lost the desire to write.  Almost twenty years later I had a medical emergency.  While I was in the hospital, the desire came back to me."

 

"Honestly I don't know how to explain it," he said, when I asked him how he got his ideas for stories.  "They just come to me.  I believe that people of all ages can enjoy my books.  They are written so that children can comprehend them and adults can relate to them.  My hope is that the readers will get a good feeling from the books.  I also hope that the children will learn some good lessons and the adults will recall good memories."

 

The first thing Tim Maddox would say to any aspiring author would be to, "write from your heart.  Second, find your true style and stick with it.  Third, get the book 'The Elements of Style' by William Strunk & EB White.  The last thing is – if you get stumped don't panic!"

 

Currently, Tim is working on his third book.  He hasn't decided on the title, yet, but he believes the story is coming along nicely.

 

When I asked Tim if there was anything else he would like to share with us, he said, "I am also involved in a great cause to help support our troops called 'Operation Desert Swap'.  I will be 'adopting' a soldier and will send him my book along with letters and care packages during his deployment.  You can check for updates about that and my next book on my website

http://www.timmaddox.com

 

Thank you, Tim for allowing me to interview you and post your article on my blog!  I also have joined Operation Desert Swap and look forward to sending a copy of my book to my soldier. For more information about ODS, go to their website

http://operationdesertswap.webs.com

 

Thank you for joining me for this week's edition of Author Fridays!  Don't forget to come back next Friday, same place, same time to read about our next featured author, Bonnie Carlson!

Author Fridays Presents...Victoria King!

Welcome to this week's edition of Author Fridays! Sit back, get comfortable and read about our featured author, romance writer, Victoria King!

 

Victoria King is the author of two books: "Her Strong Tower" and "Cast the First Stone", both published by publish America.

www.publishamerica.com

 

"I think it's a close tie as to whether I like to read as much as I write," says King.  When I'm not watching romantic movies, I'm writing my own. And when I'm not writing my own, I'm reading romance stories/novels."

 

With favorite authors, like Danielle Steel, Nicholas Sparks, Jillian Hart, Linda Goodnight and Margaret Dailey, along with her enjoyment of many of the Harlequin Inspirational series, it is no wonder that King writes romance.   "I aspire to get to the point where my readers are looking to reading my next book, just like Danielle Steel's fans are waiting to read her next book," she says.  "Writing romance novels is truly a strong passion of mine and I hope to one day do it as my primary avenue for earning a living.  Until then, I will keep plugging away until I make that dream a reality."

 

Victoria king has been reading romance stories ever since she was a pre-teen.  She used to read Harlequin Romance, but due to the high content of bad language and inappropriate scenes, she mostly sticks with the harlequin Inspirational.  As for hobbies, well, you could guess that all of them center around love stories, and you would be correct.  She loves to read, watch, and write romance.  She reads romantic novels to pick up on styles from other writers, she watches romantic movies to memorize nuances of the actors and actresses in order to try and copy their movements in her writing.  When she gets stuck in one of her own scenes, she will watch one of her many romance tapes/videos and see if one of the actors/actresses makes a particular face.  She then tries to describe in words what she just witnessed.  "A bad habit of mine," King tells me, "is to critique romance stories/movies and books.  I look and grade on things like did I 'feel' the love that was supposed to be so 'evident' in the movie.  I critique on whether I felt the plot was credible.  Did what the story try to portray make sense?"

 

"I don't believe I started thinking about writing my own stories until I was in my 20s…about thirty years ago," King says..  "I kept reading so many of them and thought to myself that I could do that.  I don't believe there was a particular thing, other than reading the stories and watching the love stories on television that made me want to write one.  Although, I probably read or saw a badly told story and felt I could do better than that!

 

As is common with authors, Victoria gets her ideas from a variety of sources.  "Sometimes," says she, "they come from something that has actually happened to me and then I start to think "I wander what would have happened if …" reminiscent of "HER STRONG TOWER".   Sometimes my ideas come from instances in my friends' lives, like in "CAST THE FIRST STONE".  Sometimes the ideas come from a song I heard on the radio, like the story soon to be published "A FRIENDLY BET"."

 

So what will readers get out of reading books by an author who doesn't necessarily enjoy those spicy love stories?  Well, to quote this author, "Well…I don't like to toot my own horn, but from what my readers have said…they like my stories because the characters seem like real people.  My stories have a lot of details that seemingly make the story come alive.  Some readers have even said that the  first scene in CAST THE FIRST STONE was so vivid that they could literally envision my one character actually walking down the aisle of the church in the beginning of her wedding.  I think another facet of my stories that make them so special is that there isn't any profanity in them, not any sex scenes, etc.  They're just clean, well told stories that make you keep wanting to turn the page to find out what happens next.  If the readers read closely, they may even get a glimpse into me personally, because all my stories have a teensy bit of me scattered throughout."  I don't know about the rest of you readers out there, but this alone makes me want to pick up one of Victoria's books, just to see what she is talking about.

 

As is purely evident in this article, Victoria King is one who works hard at being an author of romance.  When I asked her if she had any advice for aspiring writers, here is what she said.

 

"My best advice would be to spend a lot of time reading the type of stories they like to write.  Spend some time honing your craft.  Harlequin Romance site has a lot of good writing tips that are good to follow.  Then do some research on the various publishing/agent sites to learn what specific publishers/agents are looking for.  Never give up on your dream of becoming a published author, if it's truly what you wish for!" (SO TRUE)

 

"Shannon, I would like to thank you for affording me the opportunity to put my thoughts out here in this interview.  You're the first person to officially interview me…so I feel really special!"

 

You are so welcome, Victoria, and thank you for your time and your advice.  I know of so many writers who do not like to read the type of books that they write, and they could well-afford to study their craft as thoroughly as it seems you do.

 

For more information about Victoria and her books, visit her website

http://freewebs.com/vking

From what I can tell at a glance, it is filled with lots of interesting stuff.

 

Thank you everyone once again for joining me today for this edition of Author Fridays!  It has truly been a pleasure.  Come back next week, same time, same place to read about the next featured author, Tim Maddox.

Author Fridays Presents...Laura Ann Ford!

Welcome to another edition of Author Fridays! Sit back, get comfortable and
read about this week's featured author, Laura Ann Ford

Laura Ann Ford is the author of a Western novel entitled "McCullen"
published by Publish America.
www.publishamerica.com

A resident of Harrisonburg, Virginia, Laura lives with her husband and two
sons, ages ten and two. An animal lover, she has taken in many abandoned
dogs over the years. "I love them almost as much as I love my kids," she
says. At present, she says she has quite a few dogs, but Dusty is her baby.
She also has a cat named Kiki whom she found wondering in front of her house
when he was just a kitten. The thought of leaving any of them to fend for
themselves leaves her heart-broken, and she and her family are well-known
for taking them in.

Although she loves to read.Dean Koontz and Stephen King are her favorite
authors.Ford says she would rather write, instead. She freely admits that
some find her taste in books strange, seeing as how her novel is a Western
and not the horror that she likes to read.

Many things can inspire a writer, and in this instance it was her dogs that
first inspired Ford to write. Every day, she would write letters to her
grandma. Over time, those letters evolved into poetry and short stories.
She never really expected to have a book published, but after a dream about
a female gunfighter, she wrote down everything she could remember about that
dream, and suddenly, "McCullen" was born! "After reading it to my grandma,"
Laura says, "she kept telling me to get it published, so I gave it a try."

"Ideas for stories usually just pop into my head," she tells me. "Most
times, a song on the radio will inspire me. Lately I've been inspired to
write poetry about my cousin who passed away in March. She was one of the
most wonderful people I will ever know. Her death changed a lot of people's
lives, including mine."

Ford believes "McCullen" to be unique in that it is not just a Western, but
also has a touch of romance, religion, and a supernatural twist.
Throughout the book, McCullen, the main character is in love with two men
and can't choose who she wants to be with. She has several visions in the
story; she actually predicts what is going to happen. "I think it is an
exciting story with lots of twists and turns," says Ford.

When I asked Mrs. Ford if she had any advice for anyone who wants to become
published, she replied, "My advice to someone who wants to become a
published author is to have patience. Good things won't happen overnight.
It takes a lot of work to make a book that's worthy of publication.
Research prospective publishers and agents BEFORE submitting anything to
them. If you get a rejection, don't give up! That's the main thing, keep
trying."

"So, Laura, is there anything else that you would like to share?"

"I have been asked if I am planning to write anymore books. The answer to
this is yes. I am currently writing a sequel to McCullen and there is
another book planned after that. I'd like to thank everyone who has
encouraged me to follow my dreams."

Thank you for joining me for another edition of Author Fridays. Be sure to
come back next Friday, same time same place to read about next week's
featured author, romance writer, Victoria King!

Author Fridays Presents...Arlington Nuetzel!

Welcome to another edition of Author Fridays! Sit back, relax and read about
this week's featured author, Arlington Nuetzel

Arlington Nuetzel is the author of three books: "The Low January Sun",
published by iUniverse,
www.iuniverse.com
and "2027, New Madrid, Missouri" and "Murder in March Commons" both
published by Publish America
www.publishamerica.com

A retired laser engineer, Nuetzel has attempted careers as a rock star, a
horse trainer, a dog breeder, an airline pilot and a ski instructor. "I
failed at almost all of them," he says, "so, a leisurely life of writing has
great appeal."

He loves reading, travel, horses and music, especially the blues, and yes,
he reads and writes interchangeably. "I have the incredible benefit of being
married to a novelist who edits my work," he tells me. "I return the favor.
It is a heavenly relationship. We love each other's work. In fact, that is
what drew us together in the first place."

When it comes to favorite authors, Nuetzel asks, "Who doesn't love Kurt
Vonnegut? Ellmore Leonard is a hoot, But my inspiration is and was John D.
MacDonald. I haven't ripped him off but his characters have walked into my
writing because they are contemporaries of my own characters and they all
get along."

Nuetzel says he did not realize he wanted to be a writer until his journal
was full of junk, and he received a check from Madison (WI) Magazine. He
says he had to cut a thousand words before they would accept the piece, and
they actually paid him to do that.

A machine tools salesman in his twenties gave him a lot of time on the road,
and often, he would pull into a shopping mall parking lot, just to make
notes in a spiral steno book. Those notes became the inspiration for his
first short stories on a mechanical Olivetti on the bar in his rathskeller.
He has been writing ever since. "I wanted to make a mark with a longer
story, and I wrote my first novel a few years ago," says Nuetzel. Now, he
works on one a year.

When I asked Arlington Nuetzel how he gets his ideas for stories, he
replied, "It's a great shock. Time stands still. The story finds you. My
characters write their own dialogue and advance the plot for me. It is
amazing. I don't have to do anything but type. I'm first an educator.
People will be entertained by my books at the beach, pool or on the plane,
but they will also find out about useless stuff like where the Bootheel of
Missouri came from or why airplanes fly or how a lens actually works."

Every author has their own advice to give to those who wish to become
published, but I think Nuetzel's advice is some of the best I've heard. He
says, and I quote, "Find your own voice. Write stuff, get an editor, then
self publish. Promote yourself relentlessly as your own brand. Don't push
the book or books, promote yourself as an author. First, though, edit like
there is no tomorrow. Then edit some more. You must have a professional
editor do the same. Don't release your work until it is pure. Remember, if
you edit yourself, you will read your own errors as correct. I'd like to
advise new writers to, first, know that you can do it. Be a writer. Network
and share your failures and also the stuff that works. Be a mentor. Above
all, pay attention in restaurants and at Wal-Mart. There are stories
everywhere. Write some short stories. They are the black and white film that
cleans out your camera and your tenth story will become a novel. Just keep
writing and good luck."

To learn more about Arlington Nuetzel and his books, please visit him at
http://www.freewebs.com/nuetzel
http://www.myspace.com/nuetzel
http://www.facebook.com/nuetzel
http://www.twitter.com/nuetzel
And, be on the look-out for his techno-thriller and a collection of short
stories due out this fall!

Thank you for joining me for this week's edition of Author Fridays. Be sure
to come back next Friday, same place same time to read about next week's
featured author, Laura Ann Ford!

My New Book, Now Available!

Imagine yourself on a wagon train, headed for California to pan for gold.
Now imagine your parents are taller than everyone else, and so are you. Now,
imagine that the animals can talk. Take a trip with Paw and Maw Bump and
their six children as they head West on the California Trail. And, just when
you think you know how the story will end, something extraordinary happens!

GOLD! A Tall Tale by Shannon Nicole Wells is now available for purchase!
Published by AG Press, this juvenile fiction is ten pages and costs $7.35
plus shipping and handling if purchased online. You buy a copy for yourself,
please go to
http://agpressma.books.officelive.com/ShannonNicoleWells.aspx

Author Fridays Presents...Dave and Lillian Brummet!

Welcome to another edition of Author Fridays! Sit back, relax and read about
this week's featured authors, Dave and Lillian Brummet

Dave and Lillian Brummet, a husband and wife writing team presently have
published three books in a variety of formats and have used several
different publishers over the years.

The first book, "Trash Talk" based on a column that Lillian wrote between
1999 and 2007. The book covers the 4-R's of waste management and the proper
order for them, with a focus on the 3rd R: Reuse. They also discuss other
green issues that can be impacted by the individual from organics and water
conservation to energy consumption. The purpose of the book is to inspire
readers, empowering them to feel more positive in life and leave a lasting
legacy.
www.brummet.ca/trashtalk.html
This book is currently published in soft cover and hard cover via
www.publishamerica.com
However, they have plans of releasing this book as an e-book through
www.booklocker.com
in the upcoming near future.

The second book that they have produced is "Towards Understanding"
www.brummet.ca/towards.html
which has just recently been revised to include 5 more poems and a few other
updates and released as an e-book through
www.booklocker.com
The original edition is still available through
www.publishamerica.com
in paperback and hardcover formats. This book depicts a true story of a
young pre-teen female growing up on her own after surviving a broken home
life and abuse from her stepfathers. Witness the journey of recovery and the
dawning of becoming aware of a purpose in life, and finding understanding of
the value of life.

"Purple Snowflake Marketing How To Make Your Book Stand Out in a Crowd" is
their most recent release. It is a reference guide for self-marketing
authors who want to be noticed in a snowstorm of writes without spending a
fortune. They offer nineteen chapters filled with step-by-step information
guiding the reader to create a unique marketing plan for each piece they
produce. Following this they offer twenty-six appendices, and resources in
the chapters, that list more than nine hundred opportunities for book
promotion. This e-book was originally released in June 2007, and since then
has made the recommended reading lists of over a dozen writing courses. The
revised and fully updated revision was released in June 2009 through
www.booklocker.com

Lillian Brummet loves to garden. It is a huge passion of her's. She has a
great love for pristine nature, and she adores animals, especially dogs!
(she smiles) "I do love to read... I am a voracious reader, reading when I
am stirring a pot on the stove, when I'm getting ready for bed or brushing
my teeth ...or when I am eating meals or during the commercials of a
favorite TV program. In the past, especially when I was able to do more book
reviewing projects, I read as many as 457 books per year. Now a lot of those
books might have been children's books for very young people and so are
not that large, but that really is a true number. Now, I read as time
allows, and probably consume as many as two novels a week. (She laughs) It
seems funny to look at that and realize that I consider that a greatly
reduced amount of reading!"

Looking back," Lillian says, "now nearing 40, I can see all kinds of signs
from when I was very young right up to the point I decided to pursue writing
as a career that implied writing might be for me. As a very young child I
would write deep, emotional short stories ? such as one about a very old,
lonely widowed woman who dressed in bright, gaudy clothing to ease her
emotional pain and brighten her day. I wrote that story when I was 7 or so
and it brought my teacher to tears. I couldn't understand her reaction at
the time and was kind of scared that my writing could invoke emotions. At
the same time I was awfully proud to have my work read to the whole class
and sent to other english teachers in the school. That was really cool and
I'll never forget that. But I kind of clung to the pen ? it helped me
survive a tumultuous youth, being on my own at under 14 years old and having
to survive the big-bad-world. Even
winning a few literary awards didn't spark the idea of pursuing writing as a
career ? it was after a really bad vehicle accident that the idea came to my
mind. The accident was a catalist for me to follow my passion ? to make a
difference in the world, to give reason to the fact I live and breathe
today, to find purpose and value in life."

There are two places Lillian looks when deciding on a project: 1) what
inspires her or interests her on a deep level, and 2) what she already knows
or has a desire to learn about. The marketability of the project is
determined by doing enough research and evaluation of the genre so that she
knows what is missing out there, What information or angle can she provide
that people reading this material are not receiving elsewhere?

"So, what makes your books so special? What will readers get out of reading
them?" I asked, Mrs. Brummet.

She answers, "That is a very good question and is the very question that
should be used to scrutinize each piece a writer produces. What is it about
this piece that makes it so special, so unique? Often there are several
angles that are unique. For instance, "Trash Talk" was written to counteract
several issues facing today's society ? reduced finances, fewer resources,
stressed environment and emotional baggage from apathy to being overwhelmed
and depressed. The book is written in such a way as to provide real tools to
deal with these issues while educating the readers about their power to
impact the health of this planet. "Towards Understanding" was written to
reveal the journey and wide array of emotions a victim of violence, abuse
and neglect will undergo as they learn about themselves and come toward some
form of understanding their personal value and purpose in life. I tried to
share the raw emotions while providing a postive guide for both the care
giver and the individual going through similar issues. The poetry will
appeal to anyone who loves nature and introspective, conscious thought and
contemplation about the real issues in life ? and society itself. "Purple
Snowflake Marketing" provides resources authors can click on and access
opportunities immediately ? which is fairly unique in its genre. It offers
up-to-date information on every step of a marketing guide, and then offers
information on how to organize the office, manage contacts, how to do follow
ups and deal with family members and friends. These are all the points that
we felt were so lacking in other marketing books. We also aim in all our
work to keep the voice fresh, postive, uplifting and leave the reader with a
?can-do? attitude.

If someone wishes to become a published author, Lillian suggests, "Write a
few articles and get some immediate experience with your local print
publications and try to get a few online publications to take a chance on
you before going straight into book writing. You'll want to have at least a
few things to show publishers to prove that you have been in print before.
Do a lot of research about
the publisher and your genre in particular. Know the business side of things
well, be very organized, always follow up with your contacts and keep good
records.

"So, Lillian, is there anything else that you would like to share with us?"

"I'd love to invite your readers to drop by my blog:
http://consciousdiscussions.blogspot.com
where they can find eco-news, writer's resources, fun and green family or
youth activities and all kinds of stuff ? including weekly prize draws where
people can enter to win things like books, or magnetic fridge note pads, or
posters, or herbal tinctures... there is something new each week and all the
prizes have to do with conscious living. Also, if your readers have time,
I'd encourage them to drop by
my radio show where I've interviewed dozens of professionals from a wide
array of experiences in the world of writing ? from publicists and
publishers, agents and book reviewers, coaches and educators, and leaders of
writers organizations. I'm sure your readers will find this a wealth of
information ? and it is all free:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/consciousdiscussions
If your readers want to contact me, find excerpts of my books or want to
find out how to help us raise funds for charity by purchasing a copy of our
books, they can go to:
www.brummet.ca
this is our main site and it has links to, and examples of, most everything
we do."

Thank you for joining me once again for another edition of Author Fridays.
Please come back again next week and read about Arlington Nuetzel, our next
week's featured author!