Archive for December, 2008

Freelancing Basics: How to Get Started Freelancing

Author: Michy

Dec 16

Hi everyone! Ready to talk freelancing today?

There are a few things to consider prior to starting a freelance career – things like whether you want to work full time or part time as a freelancer, whether you want to work from home or contract at client sites, what services you want to provide, etc. These things are important. I actually started my freelancing career offering administrative services, virtual assisting and the like. I later moved to bookkeeping and tax filing, which was actually quite lucrative. After that, I added audio and video transcribing. My goodness, there is a ton of money and work available in the transcription field if you can type fast and don’t mind being chained to a set of headphones all day.

Eventually, I landed an editing gig with one of the freelance bid sites (Elance.com, and yes, I’ll be talking more about bid sites in a future blog). That led me to editing some ebooks for a small publisher, who in turn referred me to a larger publisher, that publisher was impressed with my work, and that lead to another referral… and editing just became my niche. Within a year, I knew that I no longer wanted to do the administrative services, and since I was writing in my spare time on the side, I decided to combine the two, drop the adminsitrative work, and the rest, as they say, is history.

You’ll eventually find your niche too. My niche is editing and writing services for my freelancing career. I am a freelance editor and a freelance writer, and those are really the only things I do anymore. I love doing both of them, and they require different skill sets, so I never get bored. To start with, decide what you’re good at, then decide what you enjoy (not always the same thing: I was excellent at accounting and taxes but hated that line of work).

You might want to start with what you’re good at, while doing what you enjoy on the side, and then slowly balance the two, then phase out the things you don’t enjoy anymore once you’re making money.

Once you’ve decided what you want to do, then you have to set about how you’re going to do it.

It is not as simple as just sitting down and working. Our world is truly a global economy, and I have worked as a contractor for people in Spain, England, Australia, India and more, not to mention people right here in the good old USA. Fortunately, as a freelancer, you don’t need to worry about the laws and taxes in these other locations, but you absolutely need to know about them in yours.

So, according to the government, what do you need to tell them about your business?

TAXES

If you plan to freelance from home, part time, and you hold down a full time job or a part time job elsewhere where you pay taxes, you really don’t have to tell the government much about your freelancing business. However, and this is very important, you absolutely must report all money earned from freelancing on your taxes. If it’s five bucks or 500,000, it must be reported. Now, the amount of money you make, how you make it, and how you are paid become important in how you report it.

I won’t get into the tax code right now, as that is something even tax professionals have trouble understanding, and I’m surely not going to give tax advice either, but the point is that you should know what your tax liabilities and responsibilities are when you start freelancing.

W9, 1099-MISC, IDENTIFYING INFORMATION

Any one business or entity in the US paying you more than 500 (It might be $600 now) in one calendar year is going to be required to send you a 1099-misc for at the end of the year. They will fill out this form by requesting a W9 form from you. Now, some companies don’t require W9s on file, but will ask you for information the same as what is needed for a W9 and by registering for work with them, registering for their website, etc, you are agreeing to the W9 information being used.

This information will include your name, address, mailing address, account number with the company (if necessary), and some type of tax identifying number. This might include an EIN, TIN or social security number. T

Know that as you go about setting up work for your freelancing business, these companies do indeed have a legitimate right to ask for this information, and in fact, they are required to keep it on file for anyone making more than the threshold.

LOCAL, STATE, FEDERAL FREELANCING REGULATIONS

Another thing to consider when starting a freelance business is going to be what the business codes are in your area, state, etc. Federally, you are not required to register your business in any way, and if you are a sole proprietor (meaning YOU are the only one to ‘own’ your business, and most freelancers are sole proprietorships, so there’s really not much to do until it comes time to file taxes at the end of the first year (and perhaps at the quarter the following year if your income is significant).

However, with states and city/municipality codes, some places require that if you operate a business, work from home, you must register that business with your city, state or county. Mostly, this is because of zoning issues and wanting to know if there’s going to be traffic in and out during the day and such. There may be a license or a fee required to start freelancing from home as self employed. You will want to call your local officials to ask those questions before you start making significant money and building your business.

SUPPLIES, SPACE, TIME

Lastly, you want to be sure to set aside an ‘office’ space in your home, however small it may be. I know this might not seem necessary to you, since you’re working from home, you play on the computer all the time, think it’ll all be okay, but truth is, when you start working from home full time, you are really going to want a place that is ‘work’ and a place that is ‘home’. The lines between the two WILL blur, but you’ll want a designated space just for your work items, work files, information, etc, that is separate from your home.

In the beginning, you’ll want to make a schedule and adhere to it. Once you’re in the swing of things, you can break the schedule and do whatever needs done, when it needs done, but in the beginning, especially if you’re transitioning from J-O-B to freelancing from home, the temptation to sleep in, and piddle around the house will be great. Set aside specific times to work, and specific times to play, until you get used to the new routine.

I wrote an article detailing the top five myths and truths about working from home. Give it a read, and you’ll understand exactly why I’m suggesting you make this schedule and adhere to it in the beginning.

Everyone have a good day, and happy freelancing!

Love and stuff,

Michy
=================================================================

Michelle L Devon
  • 1 Comment
  • Filed under: Writing Information

    • To Comma or Not to Comma… Ah, Kill the Comma!

    Author: Michy

    Dec 15

    Somewhere across the oceans from America to Britain, a few commas get lost in the waters. British English grammar and American English grammar really are two different animals. In England, they use far fewer commas than we do over here in the states, and generally, they use less punctuation overall. The reason I bring this up is because what I’m about to write in this blog pertains to American writers writing for an American audience. Comma rules for British audiences (or countries where British language rules are used) are slightly different.

    I know many of you old-school grammarians were taught to put a comma wherever you would put a pause in the reading if someone were speaking the words.

    WRONG!

    When writing poetry and lyrical prose, commas do sometimes represent emotional or emotive pauses in the writing, but for fiction and and non-fiction writing, this is not true. There are rules for when to use the comma and when not to use a comma, and they have little or nothing to do with pauses in speaking.

    I can often tell the age of a person by reading their writing. Anyone over 40 is going to use too many commas if they haven’t kept up with the changing style guides. I know I use far fewer commas now than I used to when I first started writing, but then, as an editor, I keep up with the style guide changes from year to year too.

    One example of the difference between British English and American English where the comma is concerned has to do with introductory prepositional phrases. For example, well, for example is a good example of a prepositional phrase ‘for example’, and introductory simply means that it comes at the beginning of the sentence.

    When a prepositional phrase starts off a sentence, a comma should set off that introductory prepositional phrase.

    Example:

    For me, I prefer red.

    With the whisk, beat the eggs thoroughly.

    On the stairs, you will find a rug.

    Now, one of the reasons for this is what I call the ‘lift out’ phrases. Prepositional phrases aren’t really necessary phrases. While they provide clarification, additional information, a prepositional phrase is rarely needed to make a complete sentence.

    Let’s try removing the prepositional phrases from the examples:

    I prefer red.

    Beat the eggs thoroughly.

    You will find a rug.

    Now, as you can see, these are all complete sentences (you understood in the second one as the subject). The prepositional phrase lifted out definitely gives additional information, and perhaps it’s information that the listener/reader needs to understand, but to make a complete sentence, the phrase is unnecessary.

    In fact, commas are used to set off any ‘unnecessary’ phrases. That is, any phrase that could be lifted out of a sentence and the sentence would still be complete.

    Example:

    There was a time, when I was a child, I could jump from a tree.

    See how ‘when I was a child’ is set off in commas? That’s because it could be lifted out of the sentence and still have a complete sentence:

    There was a time I could jump from a tree.

    The phrase set off in the commas provide additional information, clarification, but it is not necessary to make a complete sentence.

    A very common comma error I see is people who don’t set off any introductory phrase with a comma. I saw this on an article today that used this sentence:

    “First let me tell you…”

    Can you tell where the comma belongs? If you take the word ‘first’ out of there, ‘let me tell you…” is a complete sentence. The ‘unnecessary’ word ‘first’ can be removed, and therefore, it should be set off with a comma.

    Now, the reason I put the word ‘unnecessary’ in quotes is because I don’t want you guys to think that by unnecessary, I mean it should be left out. These filler words ad clarity and character to our writing. When you’re over word count for a submission to a publication, these ‘unnecessary’ words are the very first things you should remove, and then adverbs come after that. It’s not that these words don’t add value or meaning to the sentences; they do, or at least, they can.

    I’m simply stating that these phrases and words aren’t required to make the sentence a grammatically correct complete sentence. There are instances where, while the ‘unnecessary’ word or phrase can be removed to make a complete sentence, the phrase or words are absolutely necessary for clarity.

    Please don’t mistake my use of ‘unnecessary’ to make a complete sentence to mean the words are useless. Oftentimes, they are not!

    Now, I’m not saying this is the ONLY reason commas are used. We’ll talk more in a future blog about other uses for commas, such as lists/listing items, and others.

    For this blog though, take a look through something you’ve written recently and ask yourself, “Can that phrase be removed from the sentence and still have a complete sentence?”

    If the answer is, “Yes!” then you need to set that phrase off with commas.

    Ah, but there’s an exception to this rule – adverbs! Adverbs, typically your LY ending words that describe a verb, modifies HOW a verb is done (runs – quickly, eats – hungrily, etc). Adverbs are not necessary to make a complete sentence, but it would be a rare instance where setting one off in commas is required.

    For example:

    He ate hungrily.

    Does not need to read:

    He ate, hungrily.

    So, have I completely confused the comma issue?

    Just for fun, using this blog post or using a writing of your own, find all the places where a comma set off a phrase, and remove that phrase and rewrite it without the lifted out phrase. You’ll see the writing still make sense without the phrases set off in commas. It might read a bit jerkier than with the commas, but it will still make sense and relay the intent of the writing.

    Questions?

    Love and stuff,
    Michy

  • 3 Comments
  • Filed under: Writing Information

    • Writers Vs. Editors – An Ancient Rivalry

    Author: Michy

    Dec 15

    Many of you know I’m a writer, but there’s a lot of you out there who don’t know I’m an editor. I love editing. It’s a totally different mindset than writing. See, editing is the more analytical part of the ‘creation’ process. Writing is the creative, flowing part and editing is the meticulous detail part.

    There are a lot of good writers who are crappy editors and there are a lot of good editors who are crappy writers. There are precious few who can do both, and do them consistently well.

    Me? Oh, I’m a great writer. I’m a great editor… as long as I’m not editing my stuff. I suck at editing my own work. I mean, okay, grammar and spelling and typos, I’m good at, but when it comes to things like cutting word counts, or increasing them, or when it comes to changing the way I chose to word something to make it clearer to the reader, I get stuck on, “But… but.. but.. the reader should KNOW what I meant!”

    ARGGGGGHHHHHH!

    So today, I told a writer who is entering a contest that I’d take a look at her entry that was over the submission guideline’s word count. Immediately, I was able to cut 28 words from the first page, without changing the meaning of the writing at all.

    Slash and scratch editing. (shudders) A writer’s worst nightmare.

    I’m sure she’s somewhere behind her email cursing right now and grumbling. I still lover her anyway, and she’ll come to appreciate the experience some day when her book gets published and she sees I was actually much nicer (wink) than a publisher would have been. Though I’ll admit, she took it well.

    My first experience with working with an editor other than myself was on the book The Ex Factor. I wrote three short stories that were included in this anthology. Now, the thing is, I was originally hired/contracted to edit the anthology as the lead editor. The ONLY reason I submitted stories was because the publisher had not received enough of one type of story she wanted included in it. So… I offered to write them for her. She bit and the rest is history, so to speak.

    Unfortunately, you can’t edit your own stuff, not for final publication, so that left me editing the stories of the other writers, but the publisher had someone else edit MY stories. Well, I had issues with some of the things the editor did. For example, she started sentences with the word ‘but’, shortening my sentences. I don’t mind the sentences being shortened, but, I’m sorry, I’m old school, and ‘but’ should not start a sentence. It’s a conjunction – conjunction – joins, it joins, two sides of a sentence. It can’t do that if it’s the first word of a sentence!

    So yes, I experience the pain of being edited. Fortunately, if you write well, there shouldn’t be too much that requires editing. Sometimes, editing really is subjective. If your editor ever says, “It just sounds better this way…” and you don’t agree, it should go the writers way.

    I actually have seen publishing deals go south due to editing disagreements.

    Some writers are really married to their writing.

    Some editors wish they were published writers and use other writer’s work to ‘create’ something of their own.

    I dunno… as an editor, I try very hard to keep the author’s tone. I look at a piece and say, “Okay, *I* wouldn’t say it this way, but is it really ‘wrong’?” If it’s not wrong, and it’s just not how *I* would prefer it, I leave it alone.

    If you’re lucky enough to get to choose your editor or you are self publishing and hiring an editor, or if you are hiring an editor pre-submission to make it the best it can be… find an editor who feels the same way I do about editing.

    Don’t ever lose your voice to an editor’s pen.

    However, if you are already accepted for publication…. well, you have to temper your vision with the desire to be published. If you’re in a rivalry with your editor, you have to step back and ask yourself, “Is this a deal breaker? If I don’t get this my way, am I willing to walk away from the publishing deal?”

    If you’re not willing to walk away, let the pen slash and scratch.

    I know, you’ll cringe and it’s going to hurt to see your masterpiece ripped to shreds by an editor… but I promise you the pain only lasts until you hold the printed and bound published copy of the book in your hands.

    When that happens, you’ll forget all the editing pain.

    I’ve got editing on my mind today, since the first ever Accentuate Writers Anthology is currently being compiled and we are about to start the editing process.

    It’s exciting!

    Keep writing!

    Love and stuff,
    Michy
    =================================================================

    Michelle L Devon
  • 1 Comment
  • Filed under: Writing Information

    • Author Interview with Jenny McGill

    Author: Michy

    Dec 15

    In 1973 my husband and I moved from Dallas, Texas to the sleepy fishing village of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It didn’t sleep very long because the world had already discovered the beauty and charm of the place through John Huston’s film, Night of the Iguana, produced in 1964.

    Reporters flocked to Puerto Vallarta to get a glimpse of the hot, scandalous romance of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Many years later, Huston mused about how he had needlessly worried about protecting the innocence of young Sue Lyons while Ava Gardner was chasing brown beach boys through the jungle.

    It was party-time Mexico for several years, although I did find time to teach English in public and private schools. I also taught in Mexican government offices and banks. Finally, I opened a language school where we offered classes in Spanish and English.

    My playtime came to an abrupt halt when I was appointed consular agent by the U. S. Department of State in 1982. I served in that position fourteen years. I mixed and mingled with genuine royalty, statesmen, drug barons, murderers, thieves, drunks, beggars and politicians from both sides of the border.

    I retired in 1996 to what we thought was another sleepy village, Talpa de Allende, which is about a three-hour drive from Puerto Vallarta. A new road from the coast up to our 4,000 feet mountain home brings tourists and natives alike. Talpa is widely known for its shrine to Virgin Mary and we have people from all over Mexico walking to pay homage to the little image throughout the year.

    It’s rare today to find an author who does nothing but write for a living. Do you have a ‘real’ job other than writing, and if so, what is it? What are some other jobs you’ve had in your life?

    Jenny McGill: I’m a so-called retired person, but I’m not retired from the real life. I write for various publications in Mexico and I promote young Mexicans who are struggling with their artistic endeavors.

    What compelled you to write your first book?

    Jenny McGill: I think I wrote it as a catharsis to release some of my negative pent up emotions about some of the grim tragedies I dealt with as a consular agent.

    Have you always wanted to be a writer?

    Jenny McGill: To be truthful, I think I probably was a writer in another life. As a child, I wrote my dreams – when I could remember them. As I grew older, I dabbled in writing, but other jobs and passions devoured my time.

    Tell us a little bit about your book/s.

    Jenny McGill: The developing years of Puerto Vallarta and my work as a consular officer in a not-so-distant-neighboring country is the ‘meat’ of my book, Drama & Diplomacy: In Sultry Puerto Vallarta. The State Department referred to my work as dealing with the four Ds: Detentions, Destitutes, Disappearance and Death. In D&D, I have covered these and added a few choice ones of my own such as, Dope, Dames on my Path and Dirty Old Men. The book is an anecdotal vignette of all these years. It is an eye-opener to people who wonder about the lives of our government employees on foreign soil. I’ve been told it a fun, informative read. Drama & Diplomacy is my first published book and it is a true story, although I have changed some of the characters names.

    Are you currently working on any writing projects our readers should watch for release soon?

    Jenny McGill: I’m working on a manuscript I hope to have published in the late spring of 2009. Its working title is The Woman in the Trunk. It is a historical novel based on fact and it came about because I saw an antique wooden trunk in a rancher friend’s corral. Its lid was open for airing and showed a portrait of a beautiful woman painted on the inside of the lid. I am fortunate to have been able to trace some of the history of this woman to a German miner who came to Mexico in the mid 1880s, made a fortune and left a legacy.

    Have you ever won any writing awards? If so, what?

    Jenny McGill: Never.

    How did you feel the day you held the copy of your first book in your hands?

    Jenny McGill: Wow! I felt ten feet tall! I almost could not touch it, but I knew it was something I had wanted to accomplish and I had done it!

    What type of music, if any, do you listen to while you write?

    Jenny McGill: I don’t listen to music while I’m writing. Although not strictly disciplined, I usually write in the wee hours of the morning. Where I live, roosters crow, dogs bark, donkeys bray and children cry as the town wakes up to the day. If the weather is nice, I open the windows to hear the birds singing in the big tree in my back garden.

    What about your family? Do you have children, married, siblings, parents? Has your family been supportive of your writing?

    Jenny McGill: I am married to a wonderful man who supports and encourages my writing. God willing, we will celebrate fifty years of matrimony in April 2009. We have no children. I am the youngest in a family of fifteen. I have one half-sister still living in Mississippi who will soon celebrate her ninety-fifth birthday. I have so many great-great nieces and nephews, I can’t begin to count them; and yes, they are very supportive of my writing.

    The main characters of your stories – do you find that you put a little of yourself into each of them or do you create them to be completely different from you?

    Jenny McGill: The characters in Drama & Diplomacy are real live people. Some of their names have been changed, but they exist/existed. I still socialize with many of them. The characters in the manuscript I am working on now were real live people too. I have to do considerable more research on them, but that is fun also.

    Is there an established writer you admire and emulate in your own writing? Do you have a writing mentor?

    Jenny McGill: I would not dare to compare my writing with any established writer I know, but yes, I have been influenced by some. I like the humor of Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume, the mysteries of Mary Higgins Clark and the early guidance of Allen Drury, Pulitzer Prize winner with his book, Advise and Consent.

    When growing up, did you have a favorite author, book series, or book?

    Jenny McGill: I still remember how I loved Little Women by Louisa Mae Alcott. My favorite non-fiction authors were Catherine Marshall and Norman Vincent Peale. I was hooked on Daphne du Maurier, loved James Michener’s travels and today I wonder if Taylor Caldwell should still be classified as a fiction writer.

    What about now: who is your favorite author and what is your favorite genre to read?

    Jenny McGill: I don’t think I have a special genre. I enjoyed Jean M. Auel’s Clan series. Danielle Steele, Sidney Sheldon and Stephen King are good companions. I read anything that John Grisham or Tom Clancy write. My non-fiction favorites are Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra and Neale Donald Walsch.

    Hey, let’s get morbid. When they write your obituary, what do you hope they will say about your book/s and writing? What do you hope they will say about you?

    Jenny McGill: On my tombstone, which I hope I never have, would be written: “A job well done.”

    Location and life experience can sprinkle their influence in your writing. Tell us about where you grew up and a little about where you live now. If you could live anywhere you want to live, where would that be?

    Jenny McGill: I grew up on a farm in the Deep South. Now I live on a hillside in a small village in Mexico. I was born in red clay country surrounded by pine trees and I’m still in red clay country surrounded by pine trees. I’ve seen the world and lived a good life, but I look forward to many more miles to go.

    Do you have any pets? What are they? Tell us about them.

    Jenny McGill: Pets are a great responsibility I never wanted to accept. Traveling with an animal is difficult and I never wanted to rely on kennels or animal-sitters.

    Bring us into your home and set the scene for us when you are writing. What does it look like? On the couch, laptop, desk? Music? Lighting, handwriting?

    Jenny McGill: Oh, how I love this! You are a welcome guest in my home that sits on the side of a mountain overlooking the valley of our chosen village. You have your guest quarters on the top floor completely furnished with its own quasi-kitchen and private entrance. Come downstairs with me and enjoy my wide open kitchen and terrace that looks out onto the valley surrounded by lush green mountains. At this time of the year, it’s a bit chilly in the early morning, but come have a cup of tea with me as we huddle in our warm ponchos. Shortly, we will start our baking for the holidays.

    Do you watch television? If so, what are your favorite shows? Does television influence of inspire your writing?

    Jenny McGill: Television is available in the village where I live, but we choose not to be connected.

    What about movies? Same as above.

    Jenny McGill: Same as above.

    Focusing on your most recent (or first) book, tell our readers what genre your book is and what popular author you think your writing style in this book is most like.

    Jenny McGill: Drama & Diplomacy, my first and most recent book turned out to be a memoir, although it was never intended to be such. It seems that I have my own unique style, bad or good, and it cannot be compared with others. I enjoy reading and admire many authors. Currently, I belong to a few writers groups and they are extremely versatile. I am one among many and hope to become a major writer.

    How long did it take you to write your most recent (or first) book? When you started writing, did you think it would take that long (or short)?

    Jenny McGill: It took me six months and I dilly-dallied, but I always knew I would finish and publish the book. It was a MUST with me.

    Is there anyone you’d like to specifically acknowledge who has inspired, motivated, encouraged or supported your writing?

    Jenny McGill: Yes, Drama & Diplomacy is dedicated ‘To the man who always knew I would….’ The Editor-in-Chief of www.mexconnect.com who edited the second edition of D & D has always encouraged me in my writing. Sally Conley, a retired literary agent in Puerto Vallarta prodded me when I faltered in the first writing. I appreciate each of them.

    Now, use this space to tell us more about who you. Anything you want your readers to know?

    Drama & Diplomacy: In Sultry Puerto Vallarta by Jenny McGill is available on www.amazon.com.

    I’m new at blogging, but I have a blog spot http://wwwjennymcgill.blogspot.com

    I have a website http://mjmcgill.com, which shows my picture and gives some reviews Drama & Diplomacy has received in Mexico.

    For about two years I have been published monthly by http://www.mexconnect.com which is Mexico’s largest English e-zine.

    Beside my writing, I like to encourage the young Mexicans to express themselves in a positive way through the arts. Be it writing, singing, dancing, playing a musical instrument or whatever it happens to be, do THAT and don’t do drugs.

    The manuscript I have in the oven now will include recipes. I invite all readers to contribute your favorite Mexican or German recipes, especially those with ingredients that might have been found in Mexico in the 1860s. You will be credited with that recipe in my next book.

    Thank you for this interview, Michy. Come sit on my mountainside with me and enjoy a cup of tea.

  • 2 Comments
  • Filed under: Other Junk

    • Author Interview with Jenny McGill

    Author: Michy

    Dec 15

    In 1973 my husband and I moved from Dallas, Texas to the sleepy fishing village of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It didn’t sleep very long because the world had already discovered the beauty and charm of the place through John Huston’s film, Night of the Iguana, produced in 1964.

    Reporters flocked to Puerto Vallarta to get a glimpse of the hot, scandalous romance of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Many years later, Huston mused about how he had needlessly worried about protecting the innocence of young Sue Lyons while Ava Gardner was chasing brown beach boys through the jungle.

    It was party-time Mexico for several years, although I did find time to teach English in public and private schools. I also taught in Mexican government offices and banks. Finally, I opened a language school where we offered classes in Spanish and English.

    My playtime came to an abrupt halt when I was appointed consular agent by the U. S. Department of State in 1982. I served in that position fourteen years. I mixed and mingled with genuine royalty, statesmen, drug barons, murderers, thieves, drunks, beggars and politicians from both sides of the border.

    I retired in 1996 to what we thought was another sleepy village, Talpa de Allende, which is about a three-hour drive from Puerto Vallarta. A new road from the coast up to our 4,000 feet mountain home brings tourists and natives alike. Talpa is widely known for its shrine to Virgin Mary and we have people from all over Mexico walking to pay homage to the little image throughout the year.

    It’s rare today to find an author who does nothing but write for a living. Do you have a ‘real’ job other than writing, and if so, what is it? What are some other jobs you’ve had in your life?

    Jenny McGill: I’m a so-called retired person, but I’m not retired from the real life. I write for various publications in Mexico and I promote young Mexicans who are struggling with their artistic endeavors.

    What compelled you to write your first book?

    Jenny McGill: I think I wrote it as a catharsis to release some of my negative pent up emotions about some of the grim tragedies I dealt with as a consular agent.

    Have you always wanted to be a writer?

    Jenny McGill: To be truthful, I think I probably was a writer in another life. As a child, I wrote my dreams – when I could remember them. As I grew older, I dabbled in writing, but other jobs and passions devoured my time.

    Tell us a little bit about your book/s.

    Jenny McGill: The developing years of Puerto Vallarta and my work as a consular officer in a not-so-distant-neighboring country is the ‘meat’ of my book, Drama & Diplomacy: In Sultry Puerto Vallarta. The State Department referred to my work as dealing with the four Ds: Detentions, Destitutes, Disappearance and Death. In D&D, I have covered these and added a few choice ones of my own such as, Dope, Dames on my Path and Dirty Old Men. The book is an anecdotal vignette of all these years. It is an eye-opener to people who wonder about the lives of our government employees on foreign soil. I’ve been told it a fun, informative read. Drama & Diplomacy is my first published book and it is a true story, although I have changed some of the characters names.

    Are you currently working on any writing projects our readers should watch for release soon?

    Jenny McGill: I’m working on a manuscript I hope to have published in the late spring of 2009. Its working title is The Woman in the Trunk. It is a historical novel based on fact and it came about because I saw an antique wooden trunk in a rancher friend’s corral. Its lid was open for airing and showed a portrait of a beautiful woman painted on the inside of the lid. I am fortunate to have been able to trace some of the history of this woman to a German miner who came to Mexico in the mid 1880s, made a fortune and left a legacy.

    Have you ever won any writing awards? If so, what?

    Jenny McGill: Never.

    How did you feel the day you held the copy of your first book in your hands?

    Jenny McGill: Wow! I felt ten feet tall! I almost could not touch it, but I knew it was something I had wanted to accomplish and I had done it!

    What type of music, if any, do you listen to while you write?

    Jenny McGill: I don’t listen to music while I’m writing. Although not strictly disciplined, I usually write in the wee hours of the morning. Where I live, roosters crow, dogs bark, donkeys bray and children cry as the town wakes up to the day. If the weather is nice, I open the windows to hear the birds singing in the big tree in my back garden.

    What about your family? Do you have children, married, siblings, parents? Has your family been supportive of your writing?

    Jenny McGill: I am married to a wonderful man who supports and encourages my writing. God willing, we will celebrate fifty years of matrimony in April 2009. We have no children. I am the youngest in a family of fifteen. I have one half-sister still living in Mississippi who will soon celebrate her ninety-fifth birthday. I have so many great-great nieces and nephews, I can’t begin to count them; and yes, they are very supportive of my writing.

    The main characters of your stories – do you find that you put a little of yourself into each of them or
    do
    you create them to be completely different from you?

    Jenny McGill: The characters in Drama & Diplomacy are real live people. Some of their names have been changed, but they exist/existed. I still socialize with many of them. The characters in the manuscript I am working on now were real live people too. I have to do considerable more research on them, but that is fun also.

    Is there an established writer you admire and emulate in your own writing? Do you have a writing mentor?

    Jenny McGill: I would not dare to compare my writing with any established writer I know, but yes, I have been influenced by some. I like the humor of Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume, the mysteries of Mary Higgins Clark and the early guidance of Allen Drury, Pulitzer Prize winner with his book, Advise and Consent.

    When growing up, did you have a favorite author, book series, or book?

    Jenny McGill: I still remember how I loved Little Women by Louisa Mae Alcott. My favorite non-fiction authors were Catherine Marshall and Norman Vincent Peale. I was hooked on Daphne du Maurier, loved James Michener’s travels and today I wonder if Taylor Caldwell should still be classified as a fiction writer.

    What about now: who is your favorite author and what is your favorite genre to read?

    Jenny McGill: I don’t think I have a special genre. I enjoyed Jean M. Auel’s Clan series. Danielle Steele, Sidney Sheldon and Stephen King are good companions. I read anything that John Grisham or Tom Clancy write. My non-fiction favorites are Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra and Neale Donald Walsch.

    Hey, let’s get morbid. When they write your obituary, what do you hope they will say about your book/s and writing? What do you hope they will say about you?

    Jenny McGill: On my tombstone, which I hope I never have, would be written: “A job well done.”

    Location and life experience can sprinkle their influence in your writing. Tell us about where you grew up and a little about where you live now. If you could live anywhere you want to live, where would that be?

    Jenny McGill: I grew up on a farm in the Deep South. Now I live on a hillside in a small village in Mexico. I was born in red clay country surrounded by pine trees and I’m still in red clay country surrounded by pine trees. I’ve seen the world and lived a good life, but I look forward to many more miles to go.

    Do you have any pets? What are they? Tell us about them.

    Jenny McGill: Pets are a great responsibility I never wanted to accept. Traveling with an animal is difficult and I never wanted to rely on kennels or animal-sitters.

    Bring us into your home and set the scene for us when you are writing. What does it look like? On the couch, laptop, desk? Music? Lighting, handwriting?

    Jenny McGill: Oh, how I love this! You are a welcome guest in my home that sits on the side of a mountain overlooking the valley of our chosen village. You have your guest quarters on the top floor completely furnished with its own quasi-kitchen and private entrance. Come downstairs with me and enjoy my wide open kitchen and terrace that looks out onto the valley surrounded by lush green mountains. At this time of the year, it’s a bit chilly in the early morning, but come have a cup of tea with me as we huddle in our warm ponchos. Shortly, we will start our baking for the holidays.

    Do you watch television? If so, what are your favorite shows? Does television influence of inspire your writing?

    Jenny McGill: Television is available in the village where I live, but we choose not to be connected.

    What about movies? Same as above.

    Jenny McGill: Same as above.

    Focusing on your most recent (or first) book, tell our readers what genre your book is and what popular author you think your writing style in this book is most like.

    Jenny McGill: Drama & Diplomacy, my first and most recent book turned out to be a memoir, although it was never intended to be such. It seems that I have my own unique style, bad or good, and it cannot be compared with others. I enjoy reading and admire many authors. Currently, I belong to a few writers groups and they are extremely versatile. I am one among many and hope to become a major writer.

    How long did it take you to write your most recent (or first) book? When you started writing, did you think it would take that long (or short)?

    Jenny McGill: It took me six months and I dilly-dallied, but I always knew I would finish and publish the book. It was a MUST with me.

    Is there anyone you’d like to specifically acknowledge who has inspired, motivated, encouraged or supported your writing?

    Jenny McGill: Yes, Drama & Diplomacy is dedicated ‘To the man who always knew I would….’ The Editor-in-Chief of www.mexconnect.com who edited the second edition of D & D has always encouraged me in my writing. Sally Conley, a retired literary agent in Puerto Vallarta prodded me when I faltered in the first writing. I appreciate each of them.

    Now, use this space to tell us more about who you. Anything you want your readers to know?

    Drama & Diplomacy: In Sultry Puerto Vallarta by Jenny McGill is available

    on www.amazon.com.

    I’m new at blogging, but I have a blog spot http://wwwjennymcgill.blogspot.com

    I have a website http://mjmcgill.com, which shows my picture and gives some reviews Drama & Diplomacy has received in Mexico.

    For about two years I have been published monthly by http://www.mexconnect.com which is Mexico’s largest English e-zine.

    Beside my writing, I like to encourage the young Mexicans to express themselves in a positive way through the arts. Be it writing, singing, dancing, playing a musical instrument or whatever it happens to be, do THAT and don’t do drugs.

    The manuscript I have in the oven now will include recipes. I invite all readers to contribute your favorite Mexican or German recipes, especially those with ingredients that might have been found in Mexico in the 1860s. You will be credited with that recipe in my next book.

    Thank you for this interview, Michy. Come sit on my mountainside with me and enjoy a cup of tea.

  • 2 Comments
  • Filed under: Writing Information

    • Is Writing Your Career or Your Hobby?

    Author: Michy

    Dec 14

    I spent an hour on IM with someone earlier this week, and then that person just IMed me again a few minutes ago, and we had a nice chat about writing. See, he wants to be a writer. He has published one book through a small, very small, and very new independent POD publisher and has been very unhappy with the results. Now, he’s piddling around with writing his next novel.

    I know a lot of people who love to write. They have a dream of becoming a professional author, having a ton of book, hitting the best sellers lists and being ‘famous’ and rich.

    These people consider these dreams unreachable, unattainable. They’re just dreams.

    They are only dreams. People on my forum joke about becoming rich and famous as a writer, and then they take it back with a quip like, “Yeah, right!” or “I wish!”

    But the reality is, you CAN become rich and famous as a writer and hit the best sellers list.

    You can.

    How?

    It’s simply: Treat your writing like it’s your job, not your hobby!

    Do you think Tiger Woods made it famous and rich as a golfer by going out to the links only on Saturday morning and drinking a few beers and playing a round of golf?

    Do you think Michael Phelps became an Olympic swimming star by going to the local city pool and splashing around with friends on the weekends?

    No, these people were passionate about the love and they worked at it tirelessly. Practice, practice, practice. Practicing was part of the ‘job’, and they just had to do it, and they competed and failed, and competed and won, and slowly moved up the ranks to break out of the herd as ‘the best’.

    The CEO of a fortune 500 company didn’t land that job right out of college either. He got an entry level job and moved his way up the ladder.

    So why do people who love to write think that they are going to be rich and famous and successful without doing the work?

    So tell me a story about how Rowling was broke and single and raising kids and she hit super stardom right out of the gate. Uh, no she didn’t. And better yet, do you really think it’s easy for her? I recall seeing an interview with her about how when writing the last book of the Harry Potter series, she was literally locked into a hotel room by her publisher and not allowed to leave or have any distractions at all so she could meet her deadline – no kids, no family, no friends, no phone calls, no internet… nothing but complete immersion into her craft.

    Do you have that kind of dedication to your craft?

    Are you a writer or is writing just your hobby?

    If you want to succeed as a writer, if you want to quit your day job and write for a living, if you want to be famous, well-known, loved, and read by millions, are you willing to do what it takes to make that happen?

    Mercedes Lackey, a noted science fiction/ fantasy author, says, “I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can’t `not’ write, and as a result I have no social life!”

    I know this feeling. I live this, daily. Do you?

    There is nothing wrong with not wanting to move mountains with your writing. There’s nothing wrong with just wanting to publish a few books and not really caring if anyone but your friends and family and maybe a few others read them. There’s nothing wrong with self publishing and building up your own little readership of loyal fans. Great things can come from all these choices.

    But if you truly want to make money, good money, real money… if you want on that best sellers list… if you want to be famous for your writing…

    You’re going to have to write… write… and write.

    You’re going to have to give yourself over to the passion and let it burn you, and burn brightly in you. You’re going to have to practice, practice and practice. You’re going to have to move past the rejections. You’re going to have to set ego aside and learn from every ‘no’ you receive until you get that elusive YES!

    You’re going to have to compete and lose. You’re going to have to submit, submit, submit, write, write, write, submit, submit, submit, and then write some more, lather, rinse and repeat.

    I was watching an episode of The Starter Wife, not really watching it, but it was on in the background, and one of the guys on the show is a novelist. He had to leave early one morning to ‘get to work’. Getting to work was spending eight full hours sitting at his desk writing and tweaking his most recent novel in progress.

    Eight hours of writing in a stretch. Hey, if it’s your career, your job, don’t you spend about eight hours at your desk working? Why then would you think writing means you can spend only an hour a day tapping out work and still make a living at it?

    Writers write. Good writers write more. The best writers give themselves over to it.

    So… do you want to be a writer, or is writing just a hobby?

    Either way’s okay. But you need to really sit down and have a talk with yourself and decide if you’re willing to do what it takes to be successful. And if you’re not, that’s okay too. Doesn’t mean you have to give up writing completely. It just means you need to be realistic about what your writing expectations are.

    I am a writer.

    It’s not what I do; It’s who I am.

    Love and stuff,
    Michy

    PS: I actually wrote this blog post for myself. From me, to me. If you get some benefit out of it, awesome!
    =================================================================

    Michelle L Devon
  • 3 Comments
  • Filed under: Writing Information

    • Author Interview with Steven Verrier

    Author: Michy

    Dec 11

    I’ve been writing seriously since I was a teenager … first songs, and then I got hooked on prose while attending university … thanks in part to one of the greatest teachers I ever had, Prof. Frank Ledwell of the University of Prince Edward Island, Canada, who mentored innumerable young writers during his distinguished career there. After completing undergraduate studies in Canada, I spent many years living and working overseas, particularly in Japan. Somewhere along the way I earned graduate degrees at Columbia and the University of Iowa, and I continued to write … getting some short plays published, along with articles and a nonfiction book titled RAISING A CHILD TO BE BILINGUAL AND BICULTURAL, based on my and my Japanese wife’s experience raising our children to be fluent in both parents’ native languages and cultures.

    More recently I’ve been concentrating on fiction, and my first novel, TOUGH LOVE, TENDER HEART, was released by Saga Books earlier this year. A second novel, PLAN B, will be published by Saga Books in 2009.

    It’s rare today to find an author who does nothing but write for a living. Do you have a ‘real’ job other than writing, and if so, what is it? What are some other jobs you’ve had in your life?

    Steven Verrier: What job haven’t I done? Overseas, I worked mainly as an ESL teacher and college instructor. I’ve done a little of this and a little of that. I’ve been an editor, a laborer, a fundraiser … you name it. Currently I’m working as a high school English teacher.

    Have you always wanted to be a writer?

    Steven Verrier: Pretty much … at least since I was a teenager. I’d say it was less a case of wanting to be a writer than discovering I was a writer and had better follow through.

    Tell us a little bit about your book/s.

    Steven Verrier: TOUGH LOVE, TENDER HEART, though not my first published book, is my first published novel. It’s the story of Don Fisher, a middle-aged misfit—just about everything has gone wrong in his life—who finally meets the sort of woman he’s given up on ever meeting. This happens while he’s on vacation in Venezuela. The woman, Ana, is Colombian, working as a waitress in Caracas, and while the two don’t exactly have a storybook romance, a child is conceived during Don’s vacation. He doesn’t learn this until he’s back in the States, but from that point on his energy is directed toward marrying Ana and bringing her to live in the US. Little does he realize the obstacles US Immigration is about to put in his path. As the back cover of the book says, “TOUGH LOVE, TENDER HEART is a stirring, fast-flowing depiction of love trying to take root in an impossible situation, and a tale of unsurpassed relevance to our cross-cultural and post-9/11 age.” I’ve worked very hard to try to make the book live up to that.

    Are you currently working on any writing projects our readers should watch for release soon?

    Steven Verrier: PLAN B is a story about a teenager who’s—pardon the language—screwed by the public education system but doesn’t take being screwed lying down. Saga Books will release this second novel of mine in 2009.

    What type of music, if any, do you listen to while you write?

    Steven Verrier: My favorite is country music, though I write in silence. The good songs out of Nashville—unfortunately, not the majority of songs on country radio—are the best-crafted music around. I’m talking about songs like “Friends in Low Places” and “Bless the Broken Road.” I’m a huge fan of real craftsmanship. I write songs, too, and you can listen to a few of them on my myspace page (accessible through stevenverrier.com).

    What one thing are you the most proud of in your life?

    Steven Verrier: For sure, my children. It’s a messed up world out there, but my four sons are on their way to making a positive contribution.

    Location and life experience can sprinkle their influence in your writing. Tell us about where you grew up and a little about where you live now.

    Steven Verrier: I was born in Michigan and raised in a small Canadian town. I hold US and Canadian nationalities, and maintain a footing in Japan as well, as my wife and two of my sons were born there. Currently I’m living in San Antonio. I’ve lived here and there … in New York, Tokyo, Mexico, Toronto, Vancouver, and other places … and prefer to have one foot in the city and another in the country. Tokyo and New York are particularly special places, and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to find myself living in one or both of those cities again.

    Bring us into your home and set the scene for us when you are writing. What does it look like? On the couch, laptop, desk? Music? Lighting, handwriting?

    Steven Verrier: Out of necessity, I write wherever I can. With small children climbing over me and a million other activities going on when I try to write at home, I often carry my things to whichever part of the house seems the most writer-friendly at that moment. And I write out every first draft in longhand.

    Do you watch television? If so, what are your favorite shows? Does television influence of inspire your writing?

    Steven Verrier: It comes down to craftsmanship. If a program is well-crafted and has compelling characters—shows like “Seinfeld,” “Cheers,” and “Hill Street Blues” come to mind—it can influence my work. For sheer entertainment I like the Chef Ramsay cooking shows. And I loved the concept of “American Inventor.” I wonder what happened to that show.

    What is your main goal or purpose you would like to see accomplished by your writing?

    Steven Verrier: My aim is to establish a significant career … to entertain, challenge, and inspire readers. I hope to hook up with a larger publisher down the road, and I’d love to see some of my stories put to film.

    Have you ever had a character take over a story and move it in a different direction than you had originally intended? How did you handle it?

    Steven Verrier: This happens all the time. Once a character has a mind of his own the writer has two choices: let the character go or prepare to engage in a battle of wills. The most compelling characters, I’m sure, are those who lead their writers along, and not vice versa. Watching your characters develop is a lot like raising your kids, and you don’t want to turn things sour by holding on too tight.

    It’s said that the editing process of publishing a novel with a publisher is can be grueling and often more difficult than actually writing the story. Do you think this is true for you? How did you feel about editing your masterpiece?

    Steven Verrier: This was a bit of a strain. Along the way my manuscript came back with a lot of “corrections” I didn’t see as improvements at all, so much of my final proofing just consisted of putting certain passages back in their original form. I use an economical style, and I’d already done enough editing—cutting out a lot of pages—that I thought pretty much every word that remained was the best one.

    Now, use this space to tell us more about who you. Anything you want your readers to know?

    I’ll be around for the long haul trying to carve out a significant writing career. I appreciate every little step along the way, and I appreciate every little bit of support I get. For information about TOUGH LOVE, TENDER HEART or about Steven Verrier, visit stevenverrier.com, and drop me a line telling me what you think about this book!

    Thanks so much for this opportunity to introduce myself and my work.

    More:
    http://virtualbooktoursforauthors.blogspot.com/2008/11/tough-love-tender-heart-virtual-blog.html

  • 2 Comments
  • Filed under: Other Junk

    • Author Interview with Steven Verrier

    Author: Michy

    Dec 10

    I’ve been writing seriously since I was a teenager … first songs, and then I got hooked on prose while attending university … thanks in part to one of the greatest teachers I ever had, Prof. Frank Ledwell of the University of Prince Edward Island, Canada, who mentored innumerable young writers during his distinguished career there. After completing undergraduate studies in Canada, I spent many years living and working overseas, particularly in Japan. Somewhere along the way I earned graduate degrees at Columbia and the University of Iowa, and I continued to write … getting some short plays published, along with articles and a nonfiction book titled RAISING A CHILD TO BE BILINGUAL AND BICULTURAL, based on my and my Japanese wife’s experience raising our children to be fluent in both parents’ native languages and cultures.

    More recently I’ve been concentrating on fiction, and my first novel, TOUGH LOVE, TENDER HEART, was released by Saga Books earlier this year. A second novel, PLAN B, will be published by Saga Books in 2009.

    It’s rare today to find an author who does nothing but write for a living. Do you have a ‘real’ job other than writing, and if so, what is it? What are some other jobs you’ve had in your life?

    Steven Verrier: What job haven’t I done? Overseas, I worked mainly as an ESL teacher and college instructor. I’ve done a little of this and a little of that. I’ve been an editor, a laborer, a fundraiser … you name it. Currently I’m working as a high school English teacher.

    Have you always wanted to be a writer?

    Steven Verrier: Pretty much … at least since I was a teenager. I’d say it was less a case of wanting to be a writer than discovering I was a writer and had better follow through.

    Tell us a little bit about your book/s.

    Steven Verrier: TOUGH LOVE, TENDER HEART, though not my first published book, is my first published novel. It’s the story of Don Fisher, a middle-aged misfit—just about everything has gone wrong in his life—who finally meets the sort of woman he’s given up on ever meeting. This happens while he’s on vacation in Venezuela. The woman, Ana, is Colombian, working as a waitress in Caracas, and while the two don’t exactly have a storybook romance, a child is conceived during Don’s vacation. He doesn’t learn this until he’s back in the States, but from that point on his energy is directed toward marrying Ana and bringing her to live in the US. Little does he realize the obstacles US Immigration is about to put in his path. As the back cover of the book says, “TOUGH LOVE, TENDER HEART is a stirring, fast-flowing depiction of love trying to take root in an impossible situation, and a tale of unsurpassed relevance to our cross-cultural and post-9/11 age.” I’ve worked very hard to try to make the book live up to that.

    Are you currently working on any writing projects our readers should watch for release soon?

    Steven Verrier: PLAN B is a story about a teenager who’s—pardon the language—screwed by the public education system but doesn’t take being screwed lying down. Saga Books will release this second novel of mine in 2009.

    What type of music, if any, do you listen to while you write?

    Steven Verrier: My favorite is country music, though I write in silence. The good songs out of Nashville—unfortunately, not the majority of songs on country radio—are the best-crafted music around. I’m talking about songs like “Friends in Low Places” and “Bless the Broken Road.” I’m a huge fan of real craftsmanship. I write songs, too, and you can listen to a few of them on my myspace page (accessible through stevenverrier.com).

    What one thing are you the most proud of in your life?

    Steven Verrier: For sure, my children. It’s a messed up world out there, but my four sons are on their way to making a positive contribution.

    Location and life experience can sprinkle their influence in your writing. Tell us about where you grew up and a little about where you live now.

    Steven Verrier: I was born in Michigan and raised in a small Canadian town. I hold US and Canadian nationalities, and maintain a footing in Japan as well, as my wife and two of my sons were born there. Currently I’m living in San Antonio. I’ve lived here and there … in New York, Tokyo, Mexico, Toronto, Vancouver, and other places … and prefer to have one foot in the city and another in the country. Tokyo and New York are particularly special places, and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to find myself living in one or both of those cities again.

    Bring us into your home and set the scene for us when you are writing. What does it look like? On the couch, laptop, desk? Music? Lighting, handwriting?

    Steven Verrier: Out of necessity, I write wherever I can. With small children climbing over me and a million other activities going on when I try to write at home, I often carry my things to whichever part of the house seems the most writer-friendly at that moment. And I write out every first draft in longhand.

    Do you watch television? If so, what are your favorite shows? Does television influence of inspire your writing?

    Steven Verrier: It comes down to craftsmanship. If a program is well-crafted and has compelling characters—shows li
    ke
    “Seinfeld,” “Cheers,” and “Hill Street Blues” come to mind—it can influence my work. For sheer entertainment I like the Chef Ramsay cooking shows. And I loved the concept of “American Inventor.” I wonder what happened to that show.

    What is your main goal or purpose you would like to see accomplished by your writing?

    Steven Verrier: My aim is to establish a significant career … to entertain, challenge, and inspire readers. I hope to hook up with a larger publisher down the road, and I’d love to see some of my stories put to film.

    Have you ever had a character take over a story and move it in a different direction than you had originally intended? How did you handle it?

    Steven Verrier: This happens all the time. Once a character has a mind of his own the writer has two choices: let the character go or prepare to engage in a battle of wills. The most compelling characters, I’m sure, are those who lead their writers along, and not vice versa. Watching your characters develop is a lot like raising your kids, and you don’t want to turn things sour by holding on too tight.

    It’s said that the editing process of publishing a novel with a publisher is can be grueling and often more difficult than actually writing the story. Do you think this is true for you? How did you feel about editing your masterpiece?

    Steven Verrier: This was a bit of a strain. Along the way my manuscript came back with a lot of “corrections” I didn’t see as improvements at all, so much of my final proofing just consisted of putting certain passages back in their original form. I use an economical style, and I’d already done enough editing—cutting out a lot of pages—that I thought pretty much every word that remained was the best one.

    Now, use this space to tell us more about who you. Anything you want your readers to know?

    I’ll be around for the long haul trying to carve out a significant writing career. I appreciate every little step along the way, and I appreciate every little bit of support I get. For information about TOUGH LOVE, TENDER HEART or about Steven Verrier, visit stevenverrier.com, and drop me a line telling me what you think about this book!

    Thanks so much for this opportunity to introduce myself and my work.

    More:
    http://virtualbooktoursforauthors.blogspot.com/2008/11/tough-love-tender-heart-virtual-blog.html

  • 2 Comments
  • Filed under: Writing Information

    • Author Interview with Dianne Ascroft

    Author: Michy

    Dec 10

    Dianne Ascroft Mini Biography:


    I’m a Canadian writer, living in Britain. I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. Growing up there I loved the hustle and bustle of city life and was very involved in several historical societies and music organisations. I earned a B.A. in History at the University of Windsor, Canada in 1984. When I turned 30 I decided to try something different. So, later that year, I moved to Britain; I’ve lived in Scotland and Northern Ireland since moving here in 1990.


    Although writing isn’t my primary occupation, I love it and spend as much time as possible indulging my passion. I’ve been freelance writing since 2002. Most of my writing focuses on history, arts/music and human interest stories. My articles have been printed in Canadian and Irish newspapers and magazines including the Toronto Star, Mississauga News, Derry Journal, Banbridge Leader and Ireland’s Own magazine.


    I’ve contributed material to an Irish local history book, The Brookeborough Story: Aghalun in Aghavea and the Fermanagh Authors Association’s second collection A Fermanagh Miscellany 2. Hitler and Mars Bars is my first novel.


    Since I left Toronto I’ve been continuously downsizing. I moved from Toronto, a city with a population of 3 million people to Belfast, a city of half a million to a small town in Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of 18,000. Now I live in the country, on a small farm, with my husband and several pets.


    Curiosity about the past has inspired my love of history and genealogy as well as spurring me to write historical fiction. Music is also an important part of my life. I especially enjoy folk, Celtic, Americana and bluegrass. I play the bagpipes and am learning to play guitar. Quilting, hiking and traveling number among my hobbies. I’m a member of the Historical Novel Society and the Fermanagh Authors Association.

    Author Interview with Dianne Ascroft:


    It’s rare today to find an author who does nothing but write for a living. Do you have a ‘real’ job other than writing, and if so, what is it? What are some other jobs you’ve had in your life?

    Dianne Ascroft: Like most writers, my favorite pastime has never been my primary occupation. I’ve always held a day job and written in my spare time. For several years now I’ve been employed on temporary clerical contracts – at a local newspaper and then at a local government office.


    In Canada, after I graduated from university, my jobs focused on the information management field – a library clerk in a corporate library and an archives clerk in the public sector.


    When I moved to Britain, in 1990, I landed every booklover’s dream job – an assistant in a bookshop. I’ve also worked as a call centre operator for BT, Britain’s largest telephone company, reporting and testing telephone line faults; a care assistant at a nursing home and an Avon representative.

    What compelled you to write your first book?

    Dianne Ascroft: Hitler and Mars Bars is my first novel. Before I began the book, I thought about writing fiction but I procrastinated for ages. I didn’t begin until I found a story that I wanted to tell. It was hearing the tale of a German man’s unusual childhood that finally compelled me to put pen to paper. This man had been part of the Red Cross initiative, Operation Shamrock, which helped German children recuperate from the terrible conditions in Germany after World War II. He was brought to Ireland and fostered by an Irish family. His life story opened up a new aspect of German and Irish history for me – one that has been overlooked in history books. I was very curious about this piece of history, delved into it and then had to write about what I’d discovered.

    Tell us a little about your book. What is its title and briefly let us know what it’s about.

    Dianne Ascroft: Hitler and Mars Bars is the story of a German boy growing up in war-torn Germany and post war rural Ireland. Set against the backdrop of Operation Shamrock, a little known Irish Red Cross project which helped German children after World War II, my novel explores a previously hidden slice of Irish and German history.


    Erich, growing up in Germany’s embattled Ruhr area during World War II, knows only war and deprivation. His mother disappears after a heavy bombing raid, leaving him responsible for his younger brother, Hans. After the war the Red Cross initiative, Operation Shamrock, transports the boys to Ireland, along with hundreds of other children, to recuperate from the devastating conditions in their homeland. During the next few years Erich moves around Ireland through a string of foster families. He experiences the best and worst of Irish life, enduring indifference and brutality and sometimes finding love and acceptance. Plucky and resilient, Erich confronts every challenge he meets and never loses hope. The novel follows Erich’s life until he leaves school at fourteen.

    Have you ever won any writing awards? If so, what?

    Dianne Ascroft: Hitler and Mars Bars was the overall winner in Ireland’s Own magazine and Trafford Publishing’s Book Deal Contest in 2004. I submitted the synopsis and one sample chapter. I was delighted when I won as the prize was a free publishing package.


    My short story, The Contest, was shortlisted and read on air for Belfast Downtown Radio’s Annual Short Story contest in 1998.

    How did you feel the day you held the copy of your first book in your hands?

    Dianne Ascroft: Amazement and disbelief are the first words that come to mind. After spending such a long time working on it, I could scarcely believe it really was finished. There was also a tinge of sadness too as my mother died a couple months before I completed the final edit so she never saw the finished book.

    Who is your favorite author and what is your favorite genre to read?

    Dianne Ascroft: I don’t think I can pin it down to just one author! I enjoy contemporary and historical fiction. I think the characters have to move me – that’s what inspires me to read a book. Writers who capture the humanity of their characters definitely have the greatest impact on me. Some of these authors and books include Maeve Binchy’s Light A Penny Candle, Adriana Trigiani’s Big Stone Gap, Jodi Picoult’s Plain Truth and Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. These authors create believable characters who I would like to meet in real life.

    Location and life experience can sprinkle their influence in your writing. Tell us about where you grew up and a little about where you live now. If you could live anywhere you want to live, where would that be?

    Dianne Ascroft: As I was growing up I never imagined I would live anywhere else – or anywhere so different from where I was. I lived in a quiet suburb, close to a huge wooded park, when I was growing up in Toronto, one of Canada’s major cities. So I had peace and tranquillity as well as all the advantages of city life right outside my door.


    I moved to Britain in 1990 and I’ve been downsizing ever since. I lived in small cities and towns until five years ago we moved to a farm about 100 miles from Belfast, the nearest major city. The farm is wonderful. I have a view of fields and rolling hills from my front window and keep pets that wouldn’t be allowed in a city garden.

    I love where I live but I also enjoy a city’s liveliness and its almost endless choice of activities. So my ideal location would be in the country within easy reach of a large city.

    Bring us into your home and set the scene for us when you are writing. What does it look like?

    Dianne Ascroft: My ‘office’ is the spare bedroom. The computer is set up on the desk in one corner of the room and there is an old sofa against the opposite wall – I write at the computer and stretch out on the sofa to edit a paper copy. I type faster than I can handwrite (and much more legibly…) so it’s easier to get my ideas onto the computer screen than to handwrite. I play classic rock and folk ballads, turned down low on a cd player. I can’t concentrate if the music is above a murmur; I would just hum along. The window is beside the sofa and there’s a lovely view of rolling hills and fields. Hares, pheasants and foxes sometimes wander past. It’s just as well that I can’t see the view from my chair at the computer, without leaning over and craning my neck, or I would never be able to concentrate. I save the view for the moments when I get up, stretch and take a break. There’s a photo of my working space on my website at www.geocities.com/dianne_ascroft/excerpts.

    Tell our readers what genre your book is and what popular author you think your writing style in this book is most like.

    Dianne Ascroft: Hitler and Mars Bars is an historical fiction. I think my style is similar to John Boyne’s in The Boy In The Striped Pajamas. Although his style, unlike mine, is stripped bare of any embellishment, I think my style is still a simple one that conveys a child’s perception of events.

    How long did it take you to write your book? When you started writing, did you think it would take that long?

    Dianne Ascroft: I spent 3 years working on it. Researching the period occupied the first year then I began writing and editing. I finished the first draft in a few months but then I spent quite a while honing it until I was satisfied. That combined process took longer than I expected. Initially I thought I would have completed the book in just over a year. But writing while juggling the rest of my life slowed me down a bit.

    Is there any one particular book that when you read it, you thought to yourself, “Man, I wish I’d written that one!”?

    Dianne Ascroft: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. It’s an enthralling story with so much detail. I totally lost myself in it. Tolkien brings his mythical characters to life and I found myself caring what happened to them.

    Many authors have said that naming their characters is a difficult process, almost like choosing a name for their own child. How did you select the names of some of your lead characters in your book?

    Dianne Ascroft: Since my novel is an historical fiction the names had to be suitable for the era. I chose names from a list of common German boys’ names in the 1940s for my main character, Erich, and his brother, Hans. Lists of Irish first names, for the same period, provided names for the rest of the characters. I scanned the lists and chose names I liked – or ones I didn’t like for villainous characters.

    Is there any lesson or moral you hope your story might reveal to those who read it?

    Dianne Ascroft: I didn’t set out to convey a lesson or moral but I think the book is inspiring. Erich’s triumphs offer the reader reassurance that no matter what hardships we endure the human spirit can overcome them without losing our hopes and dreams.

    Do you have any book signings, tours or special events planned to promote your book that readers might be interested in attending?

    Dianne Ascroft: The only personal appearances I have currently planned are at the Donegal Book Fair in Donegal, Ireland on November 30 and at the Fermanagh Authors Association Book Sale in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland in December (date to be confirmed). Details will be listed on my website at www.geocities.com/dianne_ascroft.

    Readers can follow my Virtual Book Tour until December 24. Full tour details are on my blog, Ascroft, eh?, at www.dianneascroft.wordpress.com.


    Tell us a bit more about you and your book. Anything else you’d like your readers to know?


    Everything readers might like to know about Hitler and Mars Bars- news, excerpts, reviews – is on my website at www.geocities.com/dianne_ascroft. They can also stop by my blog, Ascroft, eh? at www.dianneascroft.wordpress.com to learn more about me and my thoughts on writing (and anything else that occurs to me!).


    Readers will also find me on MySpace, Bebo and Goodreads.com.


    Hitler and Mars Bars is stocked in bookshops in Ireland and can be ordered online from Trafford Publishing (www.trafford.com/07-1955), Amazon and other internet bookshops.

    Signed copies can be ordered from my website.

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  • Filed under: Other Junk

    • Author Interview with Dianne Ascroft

    Author: Michy

    Dec 10

    Dianne Ascroft Mini Biography:


    I’m a Canadian writer, living in Britain. I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. Growing up there I loved the hustle and bustle of city life and was very involved in several historical societies and music organisations. I earned a B.A. in History at the University of Windsor, Canada in 1984. When I turned 30 I decided to try something different. So, later that year, I moved to Britain; I’ve lived in Scotland and Northern Ireland since moving here in 1990.


    Although writing isn’t my primary occupation, I love it and spend as much time as possible indulging my passion. I’ve been freelance writing since 2002. Most of my writing focuses on history, arts/music and human interest stories. My articles have been printed in Canadian and Irish newspapers and magazines including the Toronto Star, Mississauga News, Derry Journal, Banbridge Leader and Ireland’s Own magazine.


    I’ve contributed material to an Irish local history book, The Brookeborough Story: Aghalun in Aghavea and the Fermanagh Authors Association’s second collection A Fermanagh Miscellany 2. Hitler and Mars Bars is my first novel.


    Since I left Toronto I’ve been continuously downsizing. I moved from Toronto, a city with a population of 3 million people to Belfast, a city of half a million to a small town in Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of 18,000. Now I live in the country, on a small farm, with my husband and several pets.


    Curiosity about the past has inspired my love of history and genealogy as well as spurring me to write historical fiction. Music is also an important part of my life. I especially enjoy folk, Celtic, Americana and bluegrass. I play the bagpipes and am learning to play guitar. Quilting, hiking and traveling number among my hobbies. I’m a member of the Historical Novel Society and the Fermanagh Authors Association.

    Author Interview with Dianne Ascroft:


    It’s rare today to find an author who does nothing but write for a living. Do you have a ‘real’ job other than writing, and if so, what is it? What are some other jobs you’ve had in your life?


    Dianne Ascroft: Like most writers, my favorite pastime has never been my primary occupation. I’ve always held a day job and written in my spare time. For several years now I’ve been employed on temporary clerical contracts – at a local newspaper and then at a local government office.


    In Canada, after I graduated from university, my jobs focused on the information management field – a library clerk in a corporate library and an archives clerk in the public sector.


    When I moved to Britain, in 1990, I landed every booklover’s dream job – an assistant in a bookshop. I’ve also worked as a call centre operator for BT, Britain’s largest telephone company, reporting and testing telephone line faults; a care assistant at a nursing home and an Avon representative.

    What compelled you to write your first book?

    Dianne Ascroft: Hitler and Mars Bars is my first novel. Before I began the book, I thought about writing fiction but I procrastinated for ages. I didn’t begin until I found a story that I wanted to tell. It was hearing the tale of a German man’s unusual childhood that finally compelled me to put pen to paper. This man had been part of the Red Cross initiative, Operation Shamrock, which helped German children recuperate from the terrible conditions in Germany after World War II. He was brought to Ireland and fostered by an Irish family. His life story opened up a new aspect of German and Irish history for me – one that has been overlooked in history books. I was very curious about this piece of history, delved into it and then had to write about what I’d discovered.

    Tell us a little about your book. What is its title and briefly let us know what it’s about.

    Dianne Ascroft: Hitler and Mars Bars is the story of a German boy growing up in war-torn Germany and post war rural Ireland. Set against the backdrop of Operation Shamrock, a little known Irish Red Cross project which helped German children after World War II, my novel explores a previously hidden slice of Irish and German history.


    Erich, growing up in Germany’s embattled Ruhr area during World War II, knows only war and deprivation. His mother disappears after a heavy bombing raid, leaving him responsible for his younger brother, Hans. After the war the Red Cross initiative, Operation Shamrock, transports the boys to Ireland, along with hundreds of other children, to recuperate from the devastating conditions in their homeland. During the next few years Erich moves around Ireland through a string of foster families. He experiences the best and worst of Irish life, enduring indifference and brutality and sometim

    es finding love and acceptance. Plucky and resilient, Erich confronts every challenge he meets and never loses hope. The novel follows Erich’s life until he leaves school at fourteen.

    Have you ever won any writing awards? If so, what?

    Dianne Ascroft: Hitler and Mars Bars was the overall winner in Ireland’s Own magazine and Trafford Publishing’s Book Deal Contest in 2004. I submitted the synopsis and one sample chapter. I was delighted when I won as the prize was a free publishing package.


    My short story, The Contest, was shortlisted and read on air for Belfast Downtown Radio’s Annual Short Story contest in 1998.

    How did you feel the day you held the copy of your first book in your hands?

    Dianne Ascroft: Amazement and disbelief are the first words that come to mind. After spending such a long time working on it, I could scarcely believe it really was finished. There was also a tinge of sadness too as my mother died a couple months before I completed the final edit so she never saw the finished book.

    Who is your favorite author and what is your favorite genre to read?

    Dianne Ascroft: I don’t think I can pin it down to just one author! I enjoy contemporary and historical fiction. I think the characters have to move me – that’s what inspires me to read a book. Writers who capture the humanity of their characters definitely have the greatest impact on me. Some of these authors and books include Maeve Binchy’s Light A Penny Candle, Adriana Trigiani’s Big Stone Gap, Jodi Picoult’s Plain Truth and Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. These authors create believable characters who I would like to meet in real life.

    Location and life experience can sprinkle their influence in your writing. Tell us about where you grew up and a little about where you live now. If you could live anywhere you want to live, where would that be?

    Dianne Ascroft: As I was growing up I never imagined I would live anywhere else – or anywhere so different from where I was. I lived in a quiet suburb, close to a huge wooded park, when I was growing up in Toronto, one of Canada’s major c

    ities. So I had peace and tranquillity as well as all the advantages of city life right outside my door.


    I moved to Britain in 1990 and I’ve been downsizing ever since. I lived in small cities and towns until five years ago we moved to a farm about 100 miles from Belfast, the nearest major city. The farm is wonderful. I have a view of fields and rolling hills from my front window and keep pets that wouldn’t be allowed in a city garden.

    I love where I live but I also enjoy a city’s liveliness and its almost endless choice of activities. So my ideal location would be in the country within easy reach of a large city.

    Bring us into your home and set the scene for us when you are writing. What does it look like?

    Dianne Ascroft: My ‘office’ is the spare bedroom. The computer is set up on the desk in one corner of the room and there is an old sofa against the opposite wall – I write at the computer and stretch out on the sofa to edit a paper copy. I type faster than I can handwrite (and much more legibly…) so it’s easier to get my ideas onto the computer screen than to handwrite. I play classic rock and folk ballads, turned down low on a cd player. I can’t concentrate if the music is above a murmur; I would just hum along. The window is beside the sofa and there’s a lovely view of rolling hills and fields. Hares, pheasants and foxes sometimes wander past. It’s just as well that I can’t see the view from my chair at the computer, without leaning over and craning my neck, or I would never be able to concentrate. I save the view for the moments when I get up, stretch and take a break. There’s a photo of my working space on my website at www.geocities.com/dianne_ascroft/excerpts.

    Tell our readers what genre your book is and what popular author you think your writing style in this book is most like.

    Dianne Ascroft: Hitler and Mars Bars is an historical fiction. I think my style is similar to John Boyne’s in The Boy In The Striped Pajamas. Although his style, unlike mine, is stripped bare of any embellishment, I think my style is still a simple one that conveys a child’s perception of events.

    How long did it take you to write your book? When you started writing, did you think it would take that long?

    Dianne Ascroft: I spent 3 years working on it. Researching the period occupied the first year then I began writing and editing. I finished the first draft in a few months but then I spent quite a while honing it until I was satisfied. That combined process took longer than I expected. Initially I thought I would have completed the book in just over a year. But writing while juggling the rest of my life slowed me down a bit.

    Is t

    here any one particular book that when you read it, you thought to yourself, “Man, I wish I’d written that one!”?

    Dianne Ascroft: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. It’s an enthralling story with so much detail. I totally lost myself in it. Tolkien brings his mythical characters to life and I found myself caring what happened to them.

    Many authors have said that naming their characters is a difficult process, almost like choosing a name for their own child. How did you select the names of some of your lead characters in your book?

    Dianne Ascroft: Since my novel is an historical fiction the names had to be suitable for the era. I chose names from a list of common German boys’ names in the 1940s for my main character, Erich, and his brother, Hans. Lists of Irish first names, for the same period, provided names for the rest of the characters. I scanned the lists and chose names I liked – or ones I didn’t like for villainous characters.

    Is there any lesson or moral you hope your story might reveal to those who read it?

    Dianne Ascroft: I didn’t set out to convey a lesson or moral but I think the book is inspiring. Erich’s triumphs offer the reader reassurance that no matter what hardships we endure the human spirit can overcome them without losing our hopes and dreams.

    Do you have any book signings, tours or special events planned to promote your book that readers might be interested in attending?

    Dianne Ascroft: The only personal appearances I have currently planned are at the Donegal Book Fair in Donegal, Ireland on November 30 and at the Fermanagh Authors Association Book Sale in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland in December (date to be confirmed). Details will be listed on my website at www.geocities.com/dianne_ascroft.

    Readers can follow my Virtual Book Tour until December 24. Full tour details are on my blog, Ascroft, eh?, at www.dianneascroft.wordpress.com.


    Tell us a bit more about you and your book. Anything else you’d like your readers to know?


    Everything readers might like to know about Hitler and Mars Bars- news, excerpts, reviews – is on my website at www.geocities.com/dianne_ascroft. They can also stop by my blog, Ascroft, eh? at www.dianneascroft.wordpress.com to learn more about me and my thoughts on writing (and anything else that occurs to me!).


    Readers will also find me on MySpace, Bebo and Goodreads.com.


    Hitler and Mars Bars is stocked in bookshops in Ireland and can be ordered online from Trafford Publishing (www.trafford.com/07-1955), Amazon and other internet bookshops.

    Signed copies can be ordered from my website.

  • 0 Comments
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