A: I never want to feel pigeonholed or locked into a specific genre. I feel like I can edit in any domain, though my personal interests are geared more toward mystery and suspense. I’ve edited everything from medical transcripts to standardized educational testing manuals, so I’m comfortable in all realms.

Q: Have you always wanted to be an editor?

A: I can’t say I always wanted to be an editor. I always felt like I could excel as an editor, though, and it was a natural progression from newspaper reporter to newspaper editor to book editor. As a youngster, I wanted to be a professional baseball player. Hell, I still do (chuckles)! But I was limited, physically, and I was told, at the age of 9, to “hit the books.” That advice came from my first orthopaedic surgeon and it proved to be an astute comment that I’ve never forgotten. He was right. I had a congenital hip problem at that tender age and it has resulted in five hip surgeries. I spent the summer of my ninth year in a body cast. And I started reading. It was the proverbial silver lining. I became a prolific reader as a child and I more or less committed myself to reading, writing, and now – editing.

Q: Tell me 3 things about yourself that your followers might not know.

A: Well, that’s a fun topic, Helle. Do I have to limit myself to just 3 (laughing)? And to think I came into this interview thinking that I don’t like talking about myself. Ha! OK, I’ll go with these fun facts:

– I lived on Maui when I was a teenager. In fact, I started high school there. I became enamoured of the tropical, laid-back lifestyle. But my pleasure was short-lived, as my mother insisted that we return to the heart of the US mainland in the dead of winter. It was a long time before I forgave her. My dad hated to leave Maui, too, but you know the old saying: happy wife, happy life.

– As an eighth-grader, I introduced former US president Gerald Ford before he addressed a corporate group in Illinois. The backstory was that I had won an essay contest the corporation sponsored. Part of my reward was to introduce Ford, who was a Michigan congressman at the time. He actually followed me on the dais. I read my essay to the conventioneers. He was extremely congenial and encouraged me to pursue a writing career.

– I once received death threats. You don’t know how mortifying that is until you’re on the receiving end. I was an investigative reporter at a daily newspaper in Illinois and part of that beat was covering criminal trials. The defendant in one trial, who was accused of marital rape, was not particularly fond of my trial stories and he spent a considerable amount of time glaring at me throughout the proceedings. Unfortunately, he was acquitted. I say unfortunately because he was guilty as sin but the jury didn’t buy the concept of marital rape. Anyway, shortly after the trial ended, I started getting death threats in the mail. The newspaper went to great lengths to protect me, and nothing ever came of it – obviously, since I’m still here. Hahahaha. But it was a terrifying period in my life.

Link:

–

Mar 13 2015

Mind’s Eye Author Eden Baylee – @edenbaylee

Eden Baylee

Eden Baylee left a twenty-year banking career to become a full-time writer. She incorporates many of her favorite things into her writing such as: travel; humor; music; poetry; art; and much more.

Stranger at Sunset is her first mystery novel, on the heels of several books of erotic anthologies and short stories. She writes in multiple genres.

An introvert by nature and an extrovert by design, Eden is most comfortable at home with her laptop surrounded by books. She is an online Scrabble junkie and a social media enthusiast, but she really needs to get out more often!

What genre do you write?

Hi Helle, thanks so much for having me on your great blog!

I write in multiple genres. I started with erotica and erotic/romance when I became a full-time writer five years ago. I have also written many short stories that straddle all genres—thriller, romance, and mystery. In 2014, I released a psychological suspense novel called Stranger at Sunset. It will be the first of a trilogy, so I’ll be continuing in this genre.

Have you always wanted to be an author?

I’d have to say no. Many authors say they’ve known all their lives they wanted to write, but that wasn’t the case for me. Informally, I’ve been writing since my mid-teens, but it took a long time before I decided to make it a career. Initially, writing was a way of nurturing my fantasy life and my love of reading.

Over time, it evolved, and now I really love to tell a good story.

Tell me 3 things about yourself that your readers don’t know.

Tough one, considering I’ve bared my soul in numerous interviews and my life is an open book!

1) I just wrote a novella about Hawaii and now I must go there.

2) I appreciate beautiful body art but would never get a tattoo myself.

3) I named my external hard drive “Goddess.”

And maybe you all could tell me a bit about your stories.

My first story “Last Call” was based upon one of your photos, Helle, an uplifting scene of blue sky with a feathery sweep of clouds. I found the picture quite cheerful, but on the day I was writing the story, I was not in a cheerful mood. Given that, I twisted the image in my mind and created an ominous, mysterious tale about a woman who pursues sobriety. What happens to her is quite dark.

In my second story, inspired by Martin David Porter’s photograph, there are many elements in the picture. Unlike your photo that conjured a mood, I picked the one feature of Martin’s photograph that I could build my story around—swans, and that is why the story is called “Swans.” It’s about a young girl and her unique relationship with her parents. The story pays homage to Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Ugly Duckling.”

Many thanks for the interview, Helle!

Links

To stay apprised of Eden’s book-related news, please add your name to her mailing list.

Author Links

Website | Blog | Amazon Author page US | Amazon Author page UK

Mar 2 2015

Mind’s Eye Author Lisette Brodey

Bio

Lisette Brodey was born and raised in Pennsylvania. After high school, she moved to New York City where she attended Pace University and studied drama. After ten years in New York, several of them working in the radio industry, she moved to Los Angeles, where she held various positions at Paramount Studios in Hollywood and CBS Studio Center in Studio City, CA. Back on the East Coast, she worked for many years as a freelance writer, specializing in PR and the entertainment industry. In 2010, she returned permanently to the Los Angeles area.

What genre do you write?

That sounds like an easy question but it’s not. I’ve written in several. Putting labels on books isn’t as simple as it sounds. My first published novel, Crooked Moon, could be considered literary fiction or women’s fiction. Some consider my first-written novel, Squalor, New Mexico, to be Young Adult, as it is a 1970s coming-of-age novel. But many have appropriately classified it as literary fiction, and I agree.

My third novel, Molly Hacker Is Too Picky!, is a romantic comedy that is definitely in the chicklit or women’s fiction genre. Currently I’m writing my sixth novel, which is also book 3 of a Young Adult paranormal series.

My seventh novel is partially written, and it is definitely literary fiction. That’s probably the genre in which I’ll stay. But you never know!

Have you always wanted to be an author?

Ever since I learned how to write, I wanted to, but I wasn’t sure what to write: plays, screenplays, or books. For the past twenty years, I’ve been content to be a novelist.

Tell me 3 things about yourself that your readers don’t know.

I have never and would never write a character that is solely me. Not even close.

I have a very difficult time reading most books written as if they’re happening in present time, e.g. she walks to the door and answers it.

I consider typing the most valuable class I ever took in high school.

Tell me a bit about your stories

“I Wish…,” which was inspired by your sunset photo, is the story of a well-to-do woman who lives in a New York City high rise. She is married to a good man, but having focused solely on her children, she is now lost and lonely as they have lives of their own. Every day, she watches the rush-hour traffic from her window, but she dreams of being back in a vacation spot she visited with her family decades ago and longs for the blissful sunset she remembers so ardently.

“May Twenty-Fourth” is the story of two American sisters, Julie and Carol, who travel to England together. Despite the death of her husband, Julie is a happy person. She has many friends and a positive outlook on life. Carol is happy being miserable. She’s a chronic complainer who rarely appreciates anything in life. Julie takes Carol on a trip to London in hopes of bonding with her sister away from the stresses of home. On a bus ride to see some church ruins, Carol makes a life-changing decision that impacts both sisters profoundly.

Links

Feb 18 2015

Mind’s Eye Author @Maria_Savva

Today I have co-creator and Mind’s Eye series author, Maria Savva on my blog.

Bio:

Maria Savva works as an administrator at a legal advice centre in London. She studied Law at Middlesex University and The University of Law. She is a solicitor, although not currently practising law. She writes novels and short stories in different genres, including drama, psychological thriller, and family saga. She has published five novels, the most recent of which is Haunted, a crime fiction/psychological thriller. Far Away In Time is her sixth and most recent collection of short stories. She’s also contributed short stories to the BestsellerBound Anthologies (most of which are free to download on Amazon) and she is one of the founders of The Mind’s Eye Series. In addition to writing fiction, Maria is a music blogger for the UK Arts Directory.

What genre do you write?

I write novels and short stories in all sorts of genres and never really stick to one genre within a book or even within a story.

Most of my books and stories have elements of romance, mystery, and the paranormal in them. I also have recurrent themes that tend to run through many of my books and stories, including relationships, dreams, regret, guilt, secrets, and lies.

Have you always wanted to be an author?

I think it’s something I always wanted to do, yes. I’ve always been a bookworm. I started reading when I was very young and have always loved words; I used to do lots of crossword puzzles when I was younger, for example. I asked for a typewriter when I was about seven. My dad got me an old typewriter, the kind where you have to replace the ribbon. I don’t have it anymore, not sure what happened to it… Whenever I watched films that were based on novels, as a child, I’d always say that one day I’d like to write a novel and have it made into a film. That’s always been a dream of mine. I had lots of other interests when I was growing up, though, so writing wasn’t something I concentrated on.

As for always wanting to be an author, I wouldn’t say that has been my sole aim. I started off when I was younger wanting to be an actress, then a teacher, then a make-up artist, then a hairdresser, and I had other dreams like wanting to be a musician or a Wimbledon tennis champion LOL. But I suppose you could say, reading and writing have always been part of my life in some way.

I studied to be a lawyer, which involves lots of reading, and worked as a lawyer for about 15 years. Much of my legal career inspired a lot of my fiction. I met lots of different people. Working in a job like that, you meet people from all walks of life and you get to know a lot about them. It certainly gives you an interesting insight into human nature.

Tell me 3 things about yourself that your readers don’t know.

I think my readers probably know all there is to know about me as I’ve done lots of interviews in the past few years. Anything I haven’t revealed in interviews is probably a secret anyway LOL.

In case people haven’t read my blog/interviews:

I lived in a haunted house from the age of 5 until the age of 9 and this has inspired a lot of the paranormal/ghost elements in my novels and stories.
I had a catheter ablation to cure my SVT (Supraventricular tachycardia) over 4 years ago (I was born with an extra pathway in my heart and wasn’t diagnosed until I was in my late thirties). My heart used to randomly start beating at nearly 250 bpm for sometimes up to 3 hours or more. I’m glad to have put that behind me!
I can’t swim.

– Tell me a bit about your stories.

For “Triptychs” I wrote 2 stories. The first one I wrote is called “Glimmer Siluridae”. It’s a fantasy tale. (I’ve found that the Mind’s Eye Series has been bringing out the fantasy writer in me! In “Perspectives”, I wrote a fairy story.) Glimmer Siluridae is the name of a mermaid who appears in the story. That tale is lighthearted but also deals with the subject of life after death. It was inspired by one of your photos, Helle, the one with the sun reflecting off the water.

The second story I wrote for “Triptychs” took a bit longer to come to me. “Lost in You” is quite an introspective, dark piece of work. The main character is a troubled soul. This is a twisted story about lost love. It nearly made me cry when I first read it over. It’s quite a tragic tale. It was inspired by Martin David Porter’s photo of a harbour.

Links:

~~ ~~

Feb 18 2015

Mind’s Eye Author Marc Nash

Next Mind’s Eye author is Marc Nash.

Bio

Marc Nash has published 4 novels and 4 collections of flash fiction. He also collaborates with artists and programmers to make digital literature. After working in a record store for 19 years, he has been working for a freedom of expression NGO for the last 5 years. He lives in London with his wife and twin sons, whose football team he has managed which caused him more stress than anything to do with literature and writing.

– What genre do you write?

I don’t really write genre

– Have you always wanted to be an author?

I wanted to be a bass player in a band, but that didn’t really pan out! I wrote stage plays until my twins came along when I started to write prose instead as I couldn’t hang out at theatres night after night any more

– Tell me 3 things about yourself that your readers don’t know.

I didn’t start reading books myself until I was 15 and I have hardly read any Classics

I was ready to drop out of university but started writing plays and having them performed by the students, so I decided to hang in there

My biggest regret is that I studied Latin and not German. I would love to be able to write something in English and German

Tell me a bit about your stories

“Water Fugue In C Minor” is a stream of consciousness piece that cuts across the sedate and idyllic tone suggested by the photo. It is increasingly fuelled by paranoia and rage and the way it is constructed in terms of the character’s thoughts build and counterpoint like a fugue, while also playing on the meaning of the word fugue as a state in which there is a loss of memory or awareness.

“Cloud Animals” seems to be an innocent pastoral scene for two boys as they are growing up, but when they reach adulthood they take very different turns and nothing remains shared.

Links

Feb 18 2015

Mind’s Eye Author Julie Elizabeth Powell @starjewelz

My next author in The Mind’s Eye series is Julie Elizabeth Powell.

Bio

I cannot ignore my dreams, so many of them, with names and places and ideas that spark my imagination and compel me to write; to create stories, whether fantasy or horror, or mystery or psychological thriller or murder or even humour and adventure. So, my garden is sown, flourishing, with all manner of growth, and still the dreams come.

Julie Elizabeth Powell, my soul lingering within my imagination; maybe you’ll join me?

What genre do you write?

I write in a variety of genres /mix genres, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery adventure, humour, crime thriller, murder mystery, psychological thriller and non-fiction and poetry. I write for adults and children.

Have you always wanted to be an author /poet /photographer?

Writing has always been part of me, and have written many stories throughout but it wasn’t until the tragic event that overtook my third child that I stopped throwing them away, feeling the words had to settle and grow until a novel sprang tall enough to flower. Gone was the result. Since then – and the fact of being able to self-publish – sixteen other titles are now available. I also enjoy photography and, sometimes doodle with poetry.

Tell me three things about yourself that your readers don’t know.

I readily acknowledge that I think I’m an alien because I don’t fit into what others deem ‘normal’.
Rules are not my watchword, while censorship curtails thinking.
Formulas for writing are boring. I like to experiment, challenge and try new ways with words. And I never know where my writing will take me…allowing the characters or ideas or spark to take me where they wish. The imagination will always be the last frontier.

°
My stories /poems /photographs

If we are sticking to Triptychs, then the two photographs given to me were of a fairground at night and reflections on the water. The first sparked a story called #666; it’s a dark and gritty tale. The latter compelled a fantasy /science fiction story relating to stars, which I called, Beyond The Eyes.

As for the rest of my writing, Gone was my first completed and kept novel. This is quoted from Gone – About the Book –

When only two and a half years old, her daughter’s heart stopped and she died. Unfortunately, doctors resuscitated too long and too late and brought back into this world a severely brain-damaged child, who was wiped clean of her memories and anything that had made her Samantha.

Samantha’s life (and that of her mother) became a nightmarish one of pain and suffering for seventeen years until she died for the second time at the age of nineteen.

One question haunted the author throughout those terrible years: Where had her daughter gone?

Gone is one answer to the question.

This story is about a mother who finds herself inexplicably taken into a mysterious world, where the impossible meets the undeniable.

The fantasy sees her struggle against insanity and fear, encounter extraordinary characters and grapple with the awakening of a dream.

Slings & Arrows is a non-fictional account of that time. It is brutally honest.

I think Gone and Slings & Arrows would help others – I really hope so. These titles are also available as an omnibus edition.

The Avalon Trilogy (#1 The Star Realm, #2 Invasion #3 Secrets Of The Ice) is an epic fantasy adventure that was inspired by the world I’d created in Gone. It was too delicious to waste. I never expected the story to be so big, but I consider it’s turned out well. Each book is available separately or as an omnibus edition (although the OE is only as an eBook because it’s too large for print). It’s for ages about 12+ tween /YA or those young at heart).

Of Sound Mind (fantasy) explores the issue of sanity /insanity, while Lost Shadows is a psychological thriller /fantasy that deals with memory. I have always been fascinated about how and why the mind works, and like to write stories that, I hope, make readers think.

Misadventures Of Fatwoman is a humorous fictional story about what it is like to be fat…it tackles very real and sad issues around this subject but is also funny (in my opinion, although it has been said to be too British and probably offensive). Why the truth is offensive, I don’t know, but fat is fat! I understand how fat people think because, yep, that’s me. I think readers would understand the feelings concerned and it may help, and allow fat people to value who they are, regardless. Maybe instead of ‘fat’ many other ‘differences’ could be inserted, as the same kind of thinking and emotions are involved, I believe.

Knowing Jack is a mystery adventure set in the Lake District in England, a place I loved as a child. The story takes place at Christmas time and involves Jack who has special gifts. It is meant for 12+ /tween /YA but I love these kinds of stories. It was sparked by my son’s amazing intuition.

Dirty Business and A Murderer’s Heart are crime thrillers /murder mysteries. Each have a psychological element, although the former is perhaps more direct and chilling, while the latter really searches into the motives behind why people kill – those emotions that lead, rather than cold-blooded for gain.

13 is a horror. It’s different in many ways, not least that none of the characters have names. This story is more about motives and the consequences of such.

Figments, Expressions, Three Into One and Christmas Past are short stories – the first two are collections of shorts and poems, while the second two are one-off complete shorts. The ideas came in dreams, as do many of my stories.

Weird: A Henry Ian Darling Oddity Missive One is a recent addition. This time it was the name I dreamt. I knew it was going to be an odd story. It’s about an unusual character with a paranormal life. This is missive one, missive two is already being written and is far longer. I don’t know where it’s going and what will happen, but it feels like it will be a series.

Links to my books /me:

Website: http://freewebs.com/julizpow

Thank you to anyone who reads my work. And thank you, Helle, for taking the time to do this.

Feb 18 2015

Mind’s Eye Author Michael Radcliffe.

As you all might know, I’m lucky to be included in making the books in The Mind’s Eye Series. We have just put up our third book up for pre-order, and I think it’s time you get to know the amazing authors and photographer.

The first to stop by my blog is J. Michael Radcliffe

What genre do you write?

Fantasy

Have you always wanted to be a writer?

Yes, from a fairly early age I wanted to write – I think it was just after I read J.R.R. Tolkein’s ‘The Hobbit’

Tell me 3 things about you that readers don’t know:

In my day job, I am a Compliance Officer for a local community bank – I spend hours reading and interpreting government regulations (and yes, it is just as fun as it sounds!) 🙂

I have a paralyzing fear of spiders

#1 on my bucket list is to visit England, Scotland, and Ireland, visiting as many castles as possible. I also want to have my photo taken in front of Radcliffe Tower in Manchester.

I have self-published four novels and seven short stories, all of which are set in the same world. My preferred medium is the short story – I enjoy trying to develop characters and plot within a short word-count. I also tend to write the end of the book first – in all of my full length stories, I have started by writing the last chapter.

Links:

Feb 16 2015

TRIPTYCHS Cover Reveal (Mind’s Eye series book 3)

I’m so happy to be part of the Mind’s Eye series again.

I’m lucky to be amongst such talented authors, poets and photographer.

I provided pictures for the other authors and poets,and poems inspired by pictures by Martin David Porter.I was also lucky to provide pictures for the cover, which Jason McIntyre worked his magic on and created this awesome work of art.