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Author Julie Whitley

Secrets of the Home Wood series

My last blog interview for 2017!

12/30/2017

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Dear Readers, please help me welcome author Jorja Grael to my blog couch!

Tell us about yourself, Jorja? What do you like to do when you’re not a writer? I am never not a writer! I do lots of other things, like photography and gardening, but in my head I’m always writing. I have a full time job, because writing doesn’t pay the mortgage, and a husband, who loves me in spite of all the craziness I bring into his life. I’m pretty much a free spirit with a variety of interests, and do whatever catches my attention at the moment. A lot of this ends up in my books. My heroine in The Rental, for example, is a photographer, and my first book, To Tame a Rogue Heart, is set in the 17th century, one of my favorite times in history to read about. 


What inspires you to write? I really have no idea if I’m “inspired” to write. Mostly, it’s the age old question “What if…?” I remember how my current work in progress began. I was looking out the window at my garden and thinking it was nearly time to start spring plowing. My garden is the site where an old barn used to be, and it just popped into my head: what if the plowing turned up a human skull? I know, that’s really weird, but it turned into the current book, so it can’t be too bad, right? Music does inspire me. I can’t remember how many times I’ve had to pull over and make a note of an idea because a song on the radio triggered it.


I love to hear what inspires other authors. Tell me about your journey as a writer. When did you start and how do you keep the creative juices flowing? I started writing in seventh grade. I don’t even remember what the class was now, but we had to write a short play. After that, I was hooked. I spent a good bit of class time writing stories instead of studying. Until recently, I just wrote when the muse took me, but lately I’ve been setting daily goals and tracking my word count and progress. That seems to be helping me stay focused.


Can you give us the elevator pitch for your book? In the mid-sixteen hundred’s, women were expected to behave a certain way, but Morgan O’Neill never did what was expected of her. She ran away from an arranged marriage, fell in love with a buccaneer captain, and, when fate forced her hand, took to the high seas on a mission of vengeance. In a world where strength is everything, Morgan has the strength to take what is hers, regardless of what stands in her way.


Do you have a favourite character in your story? Who is most like you? I don’t really have a favorite character, although Morgan has been with me the longest. It took years to get her story out. I believe any author can see themselves in all their characters, to some degree. Morgan is who I would like to be, if I could get away with it! Well, certain aspects of her anyway.


Who would you like to see play your characters in a movie? I am not really a fan of film adaptations of books, so I’ve never really thought much about it. If a film was made of my books, I think I’d rather see a new actor play my characters, not someone I already associate with something else.


Do you have a favourite time of day and place to write? Do you have a routine? As I said, I have a full time job, so mostly I write in the mornings before work. My day starts at four-thirty a.m. Yes, I know, that’s barbaric, but I have to be at work by seven! The routine is get coffee, play solitaire through the first cup (I can’t write a coherent sentence without coffee), then write for about an hour. I usually write some when I get home, too, but my brain seems to work better early in the morning.


What do you do to market your book? I have major problems with the marketing part of being an author. I am on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, I have a blog, I hand out business cards to anyone who will take them. I do have some marketing plans for the new book, which I hope to release in February or March, but they’re incomplete right now.


Who are your three top author crushes? Who would you most like to meet? I wouldn’t call them crushes, but I’m a huge fan of Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and Diana Gabaldon.


What are your future plans for writing? The new book, The Sound of Winter, will be out within the next few months. It is the first in a four-part series called Seasons. I also have a sequel of sorts for To Tame a Rogue Heart on the back burner. It’s a “we’ll see” sort of thing, but I’m hopeful.


What words of wisdom would you share with aspiring authors? Grow thick skin. Read, read, read, and write, write, write!  


Thanks so much, for chatting with me, today, Jorja! Dear Readers please check out Jorja Grael’s links. 
https://www.amazon.com/Jorja-Grael/e/B009ZTUEUS
Twitter@jorjagrael
Facebook@Jorja Grael author     
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BooksGoSocial Author to Author Blog Tour

12/29/2017

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The Long Road to Publication – by Anna Belle Rose


Years and years ago, actually decades ago, I was a stay-at-home mom for a bit, with my then youngest child who would not fall asleep at nap time. Over time, I realized that while he wouldn’t sleep, he would sit in his crib for a bit each afternoon, listening to Yanni at the Acropolis, looking at story books, and I could sit and write. And write I did. I wrote and wrote and wrote over many months. By then, my youngest was talking, and he somehow understood that Mommy was writing a book, and he kept nagging me to keep going. And I did.


Fast forward many years, and I’d keep opening the word file of that first novel, print it out, edit and revise, and eventually send it out to a few agents. Rejections would come in, and I’d put it away for a while, then that same son would poke at me again, and the process would start all over again. During this same time, I also started several other novels, and kept working on them in the same way. All of them were contemporary romances, heavily linked to life in Vermont, and all have gloriously happy endings – I mean, who doesn’t love a happily ever after?


Finally, late in 2016, I decided I needed to either get serious about writing, or give it up for good. So I pulled those two complete novels out again, and hired incredible professional editors to go at them. Then I started submitting them to a few agents, and a couple publishing houses that didn’t require representation by agents. And on June 13th, a publishing contract arrived on the novel I wrote first, The Phone Call. And on July 13th, a contract arrived for my second, That One Small Omission. And joy of joys, on December 4th, a contract was offered on my third, More Than I Can Say.


On October 11, 2017, That One Small Omission was published in e-book and print versions, and on December 12th, The Phone Call will be published. The joy and excitement I feel each time I look at my mantle and see my first published novel is an emotion that I think only other authors can understand!


Amazon link to That One Small Omission: https://tinyurl.com/yb5bc2ux
Amazon link to my author’s page: https://tinyurl.com/y8uzgxeh

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BooksGoSocial Authors for Authors Blog Tour

12/29/2017

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Earth to Centauri - Alien Hunt


The year is 2118. The First Journey from Earth into interstellar space has been successful, but the explosive secret carried aboard Voyager 1 will have grave consequences. 


As Captain Anara and her crew returns to Earth aboard their faster than light spaceship Antariskh, civil war breaks out on the world they have just left behind. A cryptic message warns her of the dispatch of mercenaries to Earth. Their mission - unknown but deadly. She may have just days to prevent unimaginable carnage on Earth and stop the outbreak of interstellar war.


Her crew and the National Investigation Agency or NIA, engage in the greatest undercover search for the mercenaries in the streets of the megacity. As they race against time to uncover the plot, a traitor is unmasked and Anara herself comes under suspicion. She must use every ounce of her resourcefulness to protect 30 million people and one unique innocent life.


Immerse yourself in an edge of the seat thriller on a realistic future Earth and geek out on the technology just a few decades away from today.


Releasing in December 2017




Read the prequel Earth to Centauri - The FIrst Journey https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071RYBF3D

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Welcome to author Kevin McAllion.

12/6/2017

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I'm pleased to chat with Kevin McAllion today!
Hi Julie,

Tell us about yourself, Kevin. What do you like to do when you’re not a writer? 
I’m a journalist from Dundee, Scotland, who now lives and works in Glasgow. I’ve been working as a sports journalist since the age of 19, which is now sadly 20 years ago. When I’m not working or writing, I’m usually listening to music, watching or playing football, or updating my website rhesuspark.com, which is perhaps the world’s only spoof monkey park.
 
 What inspires you to write?
I mostly write to amuse myself, creating situations and characters that make me laugh. I also want to leave a piece of me that future generations of my family can see. One of my writing projects is a diary of things my daughter has done for every year since her birth. She will have no memory of these precious moments so I want to make sure they are recorded so she can look back at pictures and read the story behind them as well. I’ve kept it going for the first four years and hope to have a record right up until she turns 18.


  What a lovely idea for your daughter! Tell me about your journey as a writer. When did you start and how do you keep the creative juices flowing? 
I’ve been writing most my life but that has mainly been journalism. It all began with a school newspaper day that got me gripped when I was about 12 or 13. That led to me studying journalism at university then I started working for newspapers while I was still studying. It began with writing lower league match reports for the Sunday Mail and that led to a staff job as a sports reporter with the same paper. I then evolved into a sub-editor and production journalist, which is my current role. In terms of creative writing, I dabbled in poetry for a while before starting my first novel Moristoun in 2012. It was finally published two years later.  


 Give us the elevator pitch for your book.
Moristoun is an island Scottish people are sent to in the afterlife when they have died by suicide. Buchan, a lawyer who has been trapped there for over 200 years, finds out he can move to a higher realm if he helps to stop modern-day Scots from killing themselves. He is tasked with saving McSorely and brings him back to Moristoun to work as his assistant in a bid to boost his self-esteem. McSorely slowly starts to discover the reality of Moristoun and things take a dark turn when he falls for Gail, the daughter of the landlord at the Tortured Soul pub. Gail is the only other mortal in Moristoun, having been brought there by Buchan as a baby when her mum died, and her fate becomes linked to McSorely.
 
 Do you have a favourite character in your story? Who is most like you?
My favourite character is Buchan. He is the most intelligent and suave of all the people on Moristoun, having read every book at the library. He was great fun to write as he is always coming up with insightful quotes and wins any battle of wits. I’d like to say I’m the most like him, but I’d be lying. I resemble McSorely more and share a lot of his character flaws. If my life had been as tough as his, I’d probably be in the same bind.


 Who would you like to see play your characters in a movie?
Peter Capaldi would make a great Buchan while I’d like to see Ewan McGregor as McSorely. Gail is a lot harder to cast as I don’t know many Scottish actresses who are 17-18. Give it to an unknown actress and pray she doesn’t make an arse of it like Sophia Coppola in the Godfather III


  
 
 Do you have a favourite time of day and place to write? Do you have a routine? 
When I was writing Moristoun, I woke up at 7am every morning and spent the first hour or two writing. This was the only way I could find the discipline to write the book and keep the ideas flowing. If I write at night I find too many things to distract me and due to work commitments I can’t do it every day. Since the birth of my daughter, I’ve had to stop the 7am writing shifts and that’s had a big impact on my output. I need to get back into the habit of writing every day.
 
Children are good at rearranging schedules! What do you do to market your book?
It’s mostly done on Twitter and Facebook, although I have held a couple of signings in book shops. One was a disaster and the other went quite well. Just after Moristoun was released, I contacted a lot of book bloggers to see if they would be interested in writing a review and this proved quite successful. I recently made a trailer for the book, having been annoyed by the poor quality of the one made by my publisher. This has been another good way to market the book as people now prefer videos to reading. In addition to that, I’ve joined a few groups on Facebook. The group Books Go Social has been a great way of meeting fellow writers and sourcing more reviews. I attempted to get book groups interested in looking at Moristoun and giving me feedback and was thrilled when a group from a university in Glasgow agreed to take part. But it didn’t end well. After giving them 22 free copies, I waited for months and months for them to get back in contact with me. I emailed the student who had organised everything and sent messages on social media but got no reply. Even when I got in touch with the university they just fobbed me off, saying there was nothing they could do as it wasn’t an official group. An expensive mistake.
 
 Who are you three top author crushes? Who would you most like to meet?
My three favourites are Victor Serge, Gunter Grass and Roddy Doyle, although I’d like to stress there is no sexual attraction as the word ‘crush’ can be interpreted a couple of ways. I’d most like to meet Gabriel Garcia Marquez, as I read his autobiography and it was fascinating, but I’d need a time machine now as he’s passed to the other side. 
  
 What are your future plans for writing?
Just to get back into the habit as I’ve written nothing of note for the last five years. I’ve started three or four books since Moristoun but given up after a few chapters. The most interesting revolved around a man turning up at a small town in Scotland and proclaiming himself the Second Coming. When I first came up with the idea, it opened up a world of possibilities so I’d like to get properly into the writing of that book. 


What words of wisdom would you share with aspiring authors?
Try to write something truly original. Don’t just copy someone else’s style as you won’t be able to do it as well. Find your own voice and passion. Also make sure you spend as much time editing the book as you do writing it. Be harsh on yourself and cut out anything that doesn’t need to be there.
 
 
Thanks dear readers, please check out these links for Moristoun
Website:
http://moristoun.com/
Amazon.co.uk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=moristoun&tag=mh0a9-21&index=aps&hvadid=8864195614
Amazon.com:
https://www.amazon.com/Moristoun-Kevin-McAllion/dp/1784552844
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Moristoun
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Moristoun/
YouTube trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BguzcBFh8M
 ​

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    About Julie

    An avid reader who became a jotter of stories and poems that led to a life long dream of writing a novel. Loving the journey.

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