Runner Up

 

My interview with Anne Greenawalt of WOW regarding my story

Conundrum

https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/2024/04/interview-with-yolanda-renee-fall-2023.html

DRAGONS AND GOLD

     Today I'm honored to have C. Lee McKenzie.

Author of Sign of the Green Dragon

her third Middle Grade novel.

You can read my review HERE!

Welcome Lee!

     1.   How long does it take to research a topic before you write? And for this book? Did you learn something unusual during your research that you can share here?

ANSWER: Each book takes a different length of time. For Sign of the Green Dragon, I’d already done a lot of research into Chinese Dragon lore, and I had a fair background in the early history of the Gold Rush era. I happen to love that period in California history, so I read a lot about it.

I think the tenacity of the Chinese miners is the most unusual thing I stumbled on and used in this story. When white men abandoned a mine because it didn’t have the gold they wanted, the Chinese were “allowed” to take over. They mined what’s called the “tailings” and with long hours of  back-breaking work they pulled out a lot of gold. They suffered a lot of injustice from our system, and were so heavily taxed that many left mining and went to live in San Francisco.

     2.   What resources do you use? In general and for this book? Do you use professionals to verify your facts, such as the police? Is there a good way to approach them? How valuable is their input? Or do you just wing it?

ANSWER: With Dragon, I used my background knowledge of the era and what I’d read about dragon mythology. For other stories, I’ve gone to the police to ask for verification of what I think is true. I’m just wrapping up a young adult story and I wanted to use a lucky charm to save a shooting victim’s life. I needed to be sure 1) a small charm could deflect a bullet sufficiently and 2) I could write that it was a 22 calibre bullet used in the shooting. Two police people have said yes, so I’m going with it.

My first book was about cutting, and I had never known a cutter, so I read a lot, but I was very lucky to sit next to a suicide counselor at a conference. We talked and she offered to read the scenes I wasn’t sure about. She was a great help and my scenes about the cutting and the counseling sessions are as accurate as I can hope to make them. BTY since that book, I’ve met cutters. They’ve read my book, and they say I got it right.

     3.   Did you self-publish or have a publisher? Would you recommend self-publishing and building an audience before approaching a publisher? What's the best way to build an audience before publication?

ANSWER: I’ve done both. I’ve had two publishers. One bought two of my young adult books, and I received $5,000 for my debut novel and $6,000 for the second one. (I’m telling you this because the story of my publishing journey is weird, yet probably not unique) Then I “sold” two more young adult stories to a different publisher, but this time out I didn’t see any up-front cash. They only pay me in royalties.

I self-published my three middle grade novels. Frankly, I never expected to make any money from these books. I wrote them because I needed a break from YA angst and I love to write adventure/fantasy for this age group.

I  have no idea if self-publishing is a route to take and build an audience. In fact, it probably isn’t. A lot of agents don’t like to take on self-published people unless they’ve sold mega books and created a stir. That’s hard to do, but when it happens it’s wonderful. One thing I know for sure, there is no formula for building an audience except: a darned good book and lots of promo. Even if the promo’s good, if the books isn’t, there’s not a ghost of a chance for an audience.

     4.   Does writing provide you a sufficient income to live on? If so, how long did it take before this happened? Is it your goal to be financially successful, or do you write and publish solely for the 'satisfaction of sharing your stories’?

 

ANSWER: No. Pure and simple. I’d have to move to the middle of the Mojave and eat insects if I had to live on what I make writing. I’ve had one career and that has made me financially secure and very happy in many ways. I write stories because I love to do it, and I so appreciate that money isn’t a motivation.

     5.   What's the funniest thing that happened to you on a book tour?

ANSWER: I had to evacuate a hotel in my coat with nothing else on. The fire alarm sounded just as I stepped out of the shower, so I threw on my coat and headed to the fire escape along with hundreds of others. I was in New York on the 20th floor of the Hilton. Do you have any idea how far twenty floors is when you can smell smoke and you’re wearing nothing but your coat?  Oh yes, and my hair was wet. It was February. I remember thinking how much I loved California because having wet hair there in February wouldn't have been such a big deal. It didn’t seem funny at the time, but time has revealed the humor to me.

     6.   What's the next step for you? Television, movies, a new genre? Tell us what the future holds - what can your fans expect?

ANSWER: No new genre yet. I’m always open to TV and movie contracts, but they don’t seem headed my way. However, my next book should be on the way to my lovely agent soon. It’s a young adult and it’s one of the hardest books I’ve ever tackled. I’ll have to write three middle grade stories to recover from this one. 

Blurb:

Three plucky sleuths. A crumbling skeleton. A buried treasure.

After six months in a new school, Sam’s finally fitting in. He’s the one kid with enough talent to hit the winning home run and bring the baseball trophy back to Haggarty Elementary. But Sam’s guardian is shipping him off to boarding school before that can happen.

When his teammates, Joey and Roger, hear his bad news, they plot to hide him until the big game. Their secret cave is a perfect place until an earthquake shatters a wall and reveals a wooden chest with a red-eyed dragon carved into its top. Inside, a crumbling skeleton clutches a map with a cryptic note, promising treasure if the finder reveals the truth about an old murder and returns the remains of the victim to China.

Is the note a hoax? Maybe. But what does Sam have to lose? With Joey and Roger, he sets off to track down the clues and hopefully discover treasure. When finally some puzzle pieces start to make sense, they become lost in a labyrinth of underground tunnels, trapped by dangerous thieves and sealed inside an airless tomb.

Sign of the Green Dragon gets a high five for fantasy, fun and some fearsome adventure. If you like intrepid would-be knights on impossible and dangerous quests, you’ll love this story. As one reader says, this book, “has more twists than a dragon’s tail.”

Buy now and jump into the adventure.

*****

C. Lee McKenzie's Amazon Page – Learn about her other books HERE!

Get your copy of Signof the Green Dragon – Amazon!
Smashwords
Kobo
B&N

C. Lee McKenzie's Blog – The Write Game!

C. Lee McKenzie has a background in Linguistics and Inter-Cultural Communication. Her greatest passion is writing for young readers. Sign of the Green Dragon is her third Middle Grade novel. Alligators Overhead and the sequel, The Great Time Lock Disaster were her first two. She has traditionally published four young adult novels: Sliding on the Edge, The Princess of Las Pulgas, Double Negative and Sudden Secrets.

As a native Californian, and after living a lot of different places in the world, Lee landed back in her native state on the edge of a redwood forest. When not writing or blogging Lee is hiking or practicing yoga.

Read more about the talented C Lee McKenzie, HERE!

***

Thank you, Lee!

How about you readers?

Have you experienced your worst nightmare during a book tour?

LINDA KATMARIAN & LAUGHING HAWK

I'm thrilled to introduce Linda Katmarian, author of Dreaming of Laughing Hawk, and a member of the Write, Edit, Publish community.  Meet Linda!

Thanks for the opportunity to share a blog post with your readers. I am a first-time, self-published author. When I finally quit my full time career as a technical writer, I chained myself to my desk and finished my novel, Dreaming of Laughing Hawk. (You can find a brief bio at the end of this article.) Before I get to your interview questions, I would like to invite you and your readers to give my novel a try. I think you will find it a book you can inhabit. As a reader, I want to be able to be able to fully experience a story so as a writer I strive to give that to my readers.  Following is a brief synopsis of DREAMING OF LAUGHING HAWK.

In 1964 Elizabeth Leigh is looking forward to college, escape from her unhappy home, and the fulfillment of her dreams. Adventure. Love. Her place in the sun. On a restless afternoon, she leaves school early and discovers her mother is packing to run off with a lover, abandoning Elizabeth and her stepfather. Worse, she learns her mother has squandered the college money her grandfather left her.

A fortuitous invitation from her cousin Melina to come to Los Angeles rescues her from an uncertain future. In Los Angeles, Elizabeth finds security in the embrace of her aunt’s family and is introduced to the man who soon becomes her fiancé, Collin Greenslade, an ambitious, up-and-coming real estate developer. Life could not be more perfect.

When her cousin’s boyfriend, a civil rights activist, has his Thunderbird vandalized in Mississippi, he enlists his roommate, Mark Laughing Hawk, to tow his car back home. Melina insists that she and Elizabeth should come along for the ride, but what starts as a fun romp across the country becomes a journey of the soul that complicates love and endangers lives.

Q:  You say your goal is to pursue creativity in all its forms, and your blog posts show that to be true. Do you have a favorite art or do you follow whatever muse wherever it may lead? And if given proficiency in any of the arts, which would you chose?

A: Well, I probably feel most comfortable about my skills as a writer, but I also have taken up watercolor painting. They are both very challenging in their own ways. I am first and foremost a writer. I just wish I was a more disciplined writer. I find it very easy to be distracted by painting, gardening, cooking, home remodel projects, and any number of other creative interests.

Q:  What is the most exciting thing to have happened to you because of your creativity and, if fame and success were yours, how would it change you and your plans?

A:  Hmm. A most exciting event due to my creativity? . . . that’s hard to say. Well, I gave birth to two wonderful daughters. That’s certainly creative and it’s exciting to see them be successful in their lives. Self-publishing my novel Dreaming of Laughing Hawk was a creative milestone.  If fame and success were mine, it wouldn’t change anything. I would still be wondering about the next story or idea for a painting.

Q:   Blogging has changed. I even read a blog that asks the question: have authors ruined blogging? What is your opinion of the direction and subject of current blogs? What do you enjoy, in regards to blogs, whether reading or writing one?

A: It seems everybody has a blog these days. We are inundated by so much information in the form of blogs that no one could possibly have the time to read them all. To be a successful blogger you have to offer something unique and useful to the reader but the crowd is so huge that it’s hard to stand out. I try to primarily offer short stories (flash fiction) on my blog. My goal is to entertain. I don’t claim to be a wildly successful blogger, but I try to stick mainly to storytelling. If I want to offer up a recipe or a gardening tip, I tuck that away on my main website:  www.lindakatmarian.com. Storytelling is the focus of my blog, Scheherazade’s Journal. The kind of blogs I follow reflect my eclectic interests in literature and self-publishing, film, cooking, gardening, travel, politics, and watercolor painting. And I’m a lover of all things French—in love with the country, the cuisine, the language and the way of life. If I didn’t live in California, then I would want to live in France.

Q:  If you could visit any time period, would you go back or forward and why?

A:  Lately, I’ve been obsessed with Philippa Gregory’s historical novels of 15th century England. I am happy to inhabit that time period. I have no idea why. (Some unresolved issues from a past life?) There is just something about that historical period that intrigues me—the extreme fragility of life, the difficult challenges of survival. 

Q:  If you were one of the characters in your book, which one would you be and why?

A:  I am all of my characters, good and bad, but I suppose I would prefer to be Hawk. He’s romantic and cynical, courageous, humorous, free-wheeling, dark and dangerous.

Q:  What entices you to buy a book—the cover, the blurb, the writing, or the author?

A:  The writing—a  story that paints a world I can inhabit with believable, fully-developed characters.  I am an impatient reader, more so now than when I was younger. I cannot tolerate boring dialog or implausible plotting—or a lot of typos and clumsy language.

Author Linda Katmarian grew up in the Midwest and graduated with a Master’s Degree in French literature from Illinois State University. She has studied under Sol Stein, prolific author and former owner of Stein & Day publishing company in New York, and Louella Nelson, an experienced romance writer and teacher of fiction writing. In 2012, after a long career as a technical writer, Linda committed herself to writing fiction full time. She lives in Southern California. Dreaming of Laughing Hawk is her debut novel.

Find Linda Here: 

Author page:   http://amazon.com/author/lindakatmarian

Website:  http://www.lindakatmarian.com

Blog:  http://www.scheherazade-thewritinglife.blogspot.com/

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/LindaKatmarian

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorlindakatmarian

Pinterest:  www.pinterest.com/lkatmarian

Buy her Book Here:

Link to ebook: http://www.amazon.com/Dreaming-of-Laughing-Hawk-ebook/dp/B00B2NWZRK/

Link to print book:  http://www.amazon.com/Dreaming-Laughing-Hawk-Linda-Katmarian/dp/0988297205/

If you're curious about where the question on blogging came from - the Ninja Captain, Alex J. Cavanaugh posted the question on a recent blog. Follow the link if you want to get in on the discussion.  Are Authors Killing Blogging?

A SPLATTERED HORROR

TRICK OR TREAT!

 My final victim
Mike Lombardo 
Mike is a writer, independent filmmaker, and FX artist.
His film company is
Reel Splatter Productions.
Mike appeared several times as a guest on my 

Blog Talk Radio Show 

back in the day, and was always a favorite of the listeners.

Therefore he was given the prime slot for his 
Bwahahaha Halloween Interview
Halloween.

Oh, and just in case you're looking for
a little humor and a lot of fun
check out Penny and Patches
over on Gary Pennick's Blog
Klahanie! 
Gary promises something special around 9 EST!

Enjoy!

You're the last person to die in your favorite horror movie, what's the name of the movie and how do you die?

I am Bronson, a crazed Vietnam vet who rules a clan of sadistic homeless people who live in a junkyard. My head is knocked clean off my body by a large co2 tank that has its valve busted off by a young homeless kid I am trying to kill for no apparent reason. The movie is Street Trash.

In a remake of one of the Friday the 13th movies– you play Jason – what would be your method of execution for all your victims?

I would force them to sit through the horrid 2009 remake of Friday The 13th and let them realize that everything they loved as a child is being raped and rehashed again and again ad nauseum until they finally give in and stab out their own eyes with a screwdriver (which I may or may not provide).

In a remake of Halloween, you are one of the victims – describe the scene and your grizzly death.

Since it’s the remake, it would be a Rob Zombie movie so…We open with a series of flashy, annoyingly hyperactive cuts of old Halloween costumes in a shop. An ironic pop song is blaring as I am stalked through the dark aisles of the store by an ex WWF wrestler turned Michael Myers, utilizing famous and overused shots from every classic horror film in the last 30 years. I hide behind a row of costumes, thinking I’m safe. I listen and hear nothing, as I step out of my hiding place, the audience groans as Michael Myers appears behind me and they turn off the movie grumbling about how all horror flicks are the same.

In the Walking Dead, you and another character have survived the zombies, so far. You're on the move, but the individual with you is a wimpy scaredy cat, but oh so hot, still they keep drawing attention to you and your position and it's almost certain they will get you killed. What do you do - leave them for the zombies and save yourself? Or take pity on them, because their hotness makes up for their stupidity, and teach them not to be a wimp? Or do you have another solution.

I would flay them. What is left of their corpse can be used to distract the zombies, and their pelt can not only keep me warm but also help me satisfy any carnal urges this terrible new post apocalyptic world gives me.

You're headed to a Masquerade party as your favorite horror character and at midnight, you are transformed into your character until sunrise. Who is this character and how many victims would you claim by sunrise?

I am Henry, a sociopathic serial killer. I would only kill a few people, chosen entirely at random and utilizing completely different methods of execution and disposal to trick the authorities into believing the deaths were at the hands of several different people. Just before sunrise I would kill my pseudo love interest who also happens to be the one thing left that could possibly redeem my wretched soul. She confesses her love to me. I respond by leaving her dismembered carcass in a suitcase on the side of the interstate.

Share with us your scariest ghost story – or nightmare – or tell us what scares you the most and why.

I have a fear of murky water that is higher than knee deep. The idea of something lurking just beneath the surface of the water and not being able to see it is absolutely terrifying to me. Sea monsters are the coolest monsters.

Share with us your favorite Halloween experience, costume, and candy.

My favorite Halloween experience was in 2006. I did a huge Christmas set up outside of my house complete with stockings filled with still dripping severed legs and human skin ornaments dangling from barbed wire strands strung with Christmas lights. I sat in front of the house dressed as zombie Santa and sang Christmas songs to the children as they approached and asked them what they wanted for Christmas. The parents did not find this nearly as entertaining as I did and I got more than one irate family complaining about it. I also had several parents later tell me that their child is now afraid of Santa. This pleased me greatly as the idea of an omnipotent, voyeuristic being that breaks into your house one night a year to give children candy and toys scares the hell out of me. For some reason there is a strange recurrent theme of home invasion in modern holiday tradition.

The best candy is of course eyeball gum, let’s be serious here, everyone knows that.

Mike Lombardo is an independent filmmaker/FX artist. He also hates everything, except for stuff that rules of course. His film company, Reel Splatter Productions, aims to “put the laughter back in slaughter” and specializes in splatter/comedy. You should check them out at www.ReelSplatter.com and buy a copy of their DVD compilation of short films, “Suburban Holocaust: Reel Splatter volume 1” seriously, that would be awesome! 


His newest short, “The Stall” is scheduled for release this Halloween and is the tale of a young pizza shop employee who finds himself trapped in a bathroom stall during the Lovecraftian apocalypse.

When he is not splattering things with fake blood or making people’s pizzas at his day job, he occasionally writes short stories. You can find his absolutely disgusting horror/erotica story “Appetites” in Strange Sex published by StrangeHouse Books (www.StrangeHouseBooks.com) and his snarky and very nihilistic McDonald’s zombie apocalypse story, “Play Place” in Zombie! Zombie! Brain Bang! Also by Strangehouse Books. His latest story, “I’m Dreaming of a White Doomsday” will be appearing in the Christmas anthology, A Very StrangeHouse Christmas, published by you guessed it, StrangeHouse Books.  

REEL SPLATTER PRODUCTIONS

MIKE LOMBARDO FACEBOOK

The STALL is now up and live! http://youtu.be/sZDu8m4mUk

 ***** ***** *****

Mike is offering a CD of Suburban Holocaust and a copy of the poster art for The Stall in a giveaway. All you have to do is leave a comment and you'll be entered in the drawing, just be sure to leave contact information, like an email address!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!