Katie Rose Guest Pryal elicits emotional responses not expected from non-fiction, especially a business guide to freelancing in the academic world. As she takes Dear Reader through her journey from “always the outsider” academic positions to the freedom of working for herself, she lays out the pitfalls she learned the hard way, and the joys of discovering a viable pathway through this gig economy. She’s frank and honest in this guidebook, that although marketed toward a specific niche, offers practical advice for anyone becoming their own company, with useful suggestions such as setting reasonable pay for your services and being your best advocate. Pryal digs deep into herself to empower her readers. As a novelist, academic author, and essayist, she’s a literary Renaissance woman. Learn more about her and her work on her website katieroseguestpryal.com. I was fortunate to receive this wonderfully written book of Katie’s own story from the author for an honest review.
On the night Cassie Hanwell received the Austin Fire Department’s
Valor Award—the youngest and first female—for saving children
from a sinking school bus, the unexpected presenter takes her back to
the night that formed her opinion of love and family. Her award night
again changes her life drastically, returning her reluctantly to
family and more than one potential disaster. Center’s skills draw
readers into the lives of her complex and deeply flawed characters,
causing at least this reviewer to gasp out loud multiple times at
wondrous and astonishing events. She brings tears with realistic
emotional turmoil and unforeseen joy. Fans of Ann Garvin, Camille
Pagan, and Liane Moriarty will appreciate Center’s writing style,
sense of humor, and credible, relatable characters. I was fortunate
to receive a digital copy from the publisher through NetGalley.
Today I’m a ghost sister of a girl destined to become a
taxidermist. Yesterday I was a fox spirit assisting a Chinese girl
left behind by her mother. Previously, I’ve been the autistic son
of a robot, the little sister kidnapped in 16th century
Huguenot France, a child turned into a devil elf by an evil santa,
and a baby born blue in Appalachia, Kentucky, amongst others. Always
the sidekick, never the main character. If only I could get out of
this Kindle.
Caitlin
Cording wants to live in a world where love letters are always
handwritten, ice cream vans come round in the winter, and watching
funny cat videos online every day is a legal requirement.
From
the foot-swelling world of retail, to the back-aching world of call
centres, Caitlin has worked a variety of jobs. She began her writing
carer by posting her work on Wattpad under a pseudonym. Now having
had a number of short stories published within anthologies and
literary magazines, as well as securing a first place within an
international competition, she is working on her debut novel for
young adults.
Describe
your writing process: schedule, environment, inspirations, etc.
I
write the first two drafts of anything in my voice, then I channel
the character whose POV it is, and rewrite it using their voice (far
more interesting.) My debut novel is written from the POV of a
15-year-old pickpocket/graffiti artist from south London and, boy am
I having fun with it!
In
terms of environment, I began writing at a time when my commute to
work and back took a total of four hours each day. I’d sit in bus
stops in December with trembling hands and numb fingers, jabbing out
flash fictions on my Smartphone. Nowadays, I prefer to write indoors
(usually while sitting on my sofa sipping coffee.)
As
far as inspiration goes, I’m afraid my answer is cliché: books,
music and art. There’s just something about appreciating another
artist’s work that makes my creative juices spit and sizzle!
At
the moment I’m focusing on my debut novel, so I’ve been a tad
neglectful on the marketing front lately, but usually I book blog on
Instagram and shout about my new publications on my Facebook page. I
also have an email list and make a point of mentioning my
publications to everyone I meet, and by mention I mean, I snatch
their phone from them, bring up the links and force them to read out
loud! 🤣
In
terms of submissions, I always make a point of reading the
magazine/anthology to determine whether my style/stories are a good
fit for the publication. I also double-check the guidelines, find out
the name of the editor-in-chief to address the submission to, oh, and
make sure I personalize every cover letter.
Talk
about your support system online and IRL, especially your biggest
cheerleaders.
Oh
wow, there are so many!
I
love my real life writers group, especially our monthly open mic
nights! I’m also a big fan of the Fiction Writing, Writers Helping
Writers, and Inner Circle Writers Facebook
Groups—they’re
the platforms through which I’ve met some of my greatest beta
readers.
I’ve
been lucky enough to converse with many best-selling authors online
too, but I have to say, author of On a Scale of One to Ten,Ceylan Scott gave me a massive boost of confidence when she gave
me a fantastic review of my short story, “The Art of Deception.”
But
most of all, I’d say my biggest cheerleaders are my readers,
particularly the ones who regularly reviewed my earliest work on
Wattpad. They are the people who gave me belief in myself to persue
this career.
How
does life influence your writing and vice versa?
I
suffered a lot of abuse as a child/teenager; I was in foster care and
have spent time in psychiatric wards. I now volunteer at a homeless
shelter and work with young people in foster care. All that stuff has
shaped who I am as a writer. I like to get down and dirty, expose
taboos, and be bold when talking about the nitty, gritty subjects.
A movie producer / author and a journalist collaborated to find
uplifting stories of real life kindnesses, the author inspired by the
journalist’s Good Sam story about a stranger buying a van for a
single mom. The tales of compassion and giving are divided into
thematic chapters: Kindness at Any Age, Finding Purpose Through
Kindness, Connecting to Others Through Kindness, Unique Ways of
Showing Kindness, and Kindness Movements. The Good Sams come in all
ages, from children to seniors, answer requests or volunteer where
needs are seen, and give from their hearts with no expectations,
building unexpected relationships, businesses, and movements. From a
9-year-old inventor to a 100-year-old seamstress, from an interior
designer to a farmer, from a veteran to a veterinarian, from bikers
to a college student, individuals give back to their community. It’s
a definite must-read book of heartwarming humanity. Those seeking the
goodness in people will find it here. I was fortunate to receive this
wonderful book of true-life stories of compassion in a giveaway.
Every evening, Eule slipped gently from the hologram of herself at the entrance to the library, through the thick walls that spoke of multitudes of events, to her beloved books. First to the classics for which her heart had burned from their beginnings. Then on to the newest, soaring through the stacks, absorbing the latest tales from modernity. If any human ever, in her centuries of guarding the library entrance, thought to ask of her what was inside, she could have told them exactly, but that would take centuries.
Brian Paone was born and raised in the
Salem, Massachusetts area. Brian has, thus far, published five
novels: Dreams Are Unfinished
Thoughts—a memoir about
being friends with a drug-addicted rock star; Welcome
to Parkview—a macabre
cerebral-horror novel; Yours
Truly, 2095—a time-travel
romance novel (which was suggested for a Hugo Award, though it did
not make the finalists); and Moonlight
City Drive Part 1 & 2—a
supernatural crime-noir detective trilogy (with Part 3 coming in
2021).
Brian currently
lives in Monterey, CA with his wife—a US Naval Officer—and their
four children. He is a retired police officer and worked in law
enforcement for sixteen years from 2002 – 2018.
Tell me about your writing process: schedule, environment,
inspirations, etc.
I’ve published 4 novels, and my typical day during the writing of each book was totally different from each other.
When I was writing my first book, Dreams Are Unfinished Thoughts,
I was in the middle of moving from MA to GA, changing police
departments, and recording an album with my band, Transpose. So, a
typical day would be: getting everything done first for the move,
switching jobs, the recording studio, and whatever time was left at
night: working on the book. We also didn’t have any kids yet.
With my second novel, Welcome to Parkview,
my wife had been deployed to Djibouti and I was working full time at
the police department in GA, and we had 2 kids now. So, I was alone
without my wife, with 2 toddlers, and working full time. My day would
be: getting the kids to day-care, go work fighting crime for 8 hours,
picking the kids up and doing whatever household chores I had to do
(laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping etc.), feeding the kids dinner and
putting them to bed around 6:30, then I would work out for an hour, and
then I would work on Welcome to Parkview after I showered until whenever I passed out at my laptop.
With my third novel, Yours Truly. 2095,
the Navy had sent us to Japan for the next 4 years. I had to take a
leave of absence at the police department, and we moved the family
there. I did not get a job right away, as my wife wanted me to be the
stay at home parent during our time in Japan (I did eventually become a
Criminal Justice professor for the college on base, but that’s
irrelevant to the book.) We moved in November 2011 and by January 2012 I
was itching to write. For the first time, I had the TIME to write, and
not having to worry about a new job, moving, or wiping poopy diapers.
So, in February 2012, I started my outline, and writing the book was my
full-time job for a while. We sent our 2 kids to Japanese Kindergarten
(called a Yochien in Japan) and they were gone Monday through
Friday from 9:00 to 4:00. I would bring them to the bus stop, wave
goodbye, go back up into our apartment, and write until the bus brought
them back. It was the first time I could write without distractions, and
the first time I was writing not being dead-tired at night after
putting in a full day.
Moonlight City Drive (2017, my 4th novel) was the first book where I had a legit writing office. When we moved from Japan to North Carolina, one of the stipulations my wife had on finding a new house was that it would have a writing office for me. One with doors. And a writing desk. And I could decorate it any way I wanted. So that novel was written, for the first time, in a closed-off environment from the distractions of the outside world (and that includes the kids, TV, and normal household noise.) Moonlight City Drive 2 (2019) and my WIP (release schedule Jan 2020) were/are being written here in Monterey, CA where we live now. I have a writing office, but it does not have doors that can keep the outside word, well, outside. So, it’s been slightly more daunting to write while we’ve been here. We are moving to Virginia in April, and it appears I should have a proper writing office again there (a room with doors, halleluiah). So what I have learned is that I can certainly write in a space that is not segregated from the rest of the house, but I am far more productive when I have a written office where there is a piece of glass or a slab of wood separating me from the real world.
Walk me through your publishing process from “final” draft to
final product, including who does what when, and marketing that you
do as the author.
Every author must find what works for them, so this is less a “how
to” answer and more of a “what I do” answer. I start with a
super loose outline. My outline may only plot points A, D, G etc
because I like to pants points B, C, E, F, H etc. After some
semblance of an outline is finished, I write only 2 drafts. First
draft is off the cuff, using the outline as a road map. Second draft
is my polishing and rewrite any scenes that aren’t working. Then it
goes to my editor, Denise Barker. What I receive back is the 3rd
and final draft. Then Kari Holloway starts formatting it for
publishing, while Amy Hunter and/or Kyle Lechner work on the book
cover and any chapter heading illustrations that will be included.
After it’s published, I will run some pretty hefty ads on Facebook
(targeting very specific audiences) and Amazon.
Talk
about your support system online and IRL, especially your biggest
cheerleaders.
The
Facebook group that I founded in 2016, Fiction Writing, even though
is 90k+ members now, we still have a “small community” feel, and
I’d like to think we are ALL in each other’s corners. However, my
wife is my #1 fan but my biggest critic.
How
does life influence your writing and vice versa, including founding
and maintaining a publishing company and a Facebook writers group?
I
would say music influences my writing more than life. Writing is my
escape, and even though I write about very human things, I tend to
completely remove myself from real life when I write. My publishing
company, Scout Media, has been around since 2013, and we were told by
many people that we were going to fail and wouldn’t survive. Funny
because almost everyone who said that have closed their doors and no
longer exist as presses. I run the company the same way I treat my
family: respectful, nurturing, and wanting the best for all parties
involved.
What
do you love most about your creativity?I love being able to take a few lines of lyric from a favorite song and watch an entire rt or chapter of a novel grow from it.
I love being able to take a few lines of lyric from a favorite song and watch an entire short story or chapter of a novel grow from it.
Author
Extra: I know you’re reticent to discuss it, but we’d all like to
hear about your DeLorean! You’re the only person I know who owns
one, and I followed her progress on the way to her new home. Plus, as
a Gen X, I love that movie and MJF.
Ha!
Yep, it’s been a lifelong dream of mine, and after about 15 years
of serious and hardcore searching, I found one for sale in Michigan,
within my price range. The day will live in infamy. It was January
31, 2019. My wife had come home from work and was brushing her teeth,
getting ready for bed. I explained I had found a DeLorean for sale in
MI, and her reply was that if I had enough money in my book royalty
account to pay for it, then make the call in the morning. And I did.
So, for all of you out there who have your sights set on a lifelong
dream, just know that little ol’ me was able to pay CASH for a 1981
DeLorean with only 17,500 miles on it, 100% from book royalty money
from the previous 2 years of sales.
Sylvie, Sam, and Jules are summoned, along with their boss Vincent,
to a meeting in a remote office still under construction, with no
explanation, and no knowledge of who the summoner might be. Following
directions, they ride the elevator up, but it stops and the display
gives clues to the summoner and instructions in riddle format to
escape the elevator. The anonymous summoner has no idea the volatile
emotions these four feel for each other. Goldin starts the story off
a bit slowly, but builds tension quickly with integrated flashbacks
in this scathing take on how corporate Wall Street destroys people.
Filling in Dear Reader on their backgrounds invokes sympathy for
these unlikable characters, and the end is a gasping surprise. Fans
of Liane Moriarty will appreciate this story. I was fortunate to
receive a copy from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley.
Jack
Rollins was born and raised among the twisting cobbled streets and
lanes, ruined forts and rolling moors of rural Northumberland,
England in 1980. He is the author of the horror novel The Cabinet
of Doctor Blessing, the novella The Séance and a range of
short , dark fiction tales. Jack lives in Newcastle, England.
Tell
me about your writing process: schedule, environment, inspirations,
magick spells, etc.
I
have no hard and fast rules when it comes to writing. I’m not one
of those 1,000 words a day writers. I wish I was, but life gets in
the way. I have bills to pay and my writing won’t yet cover them,
and I have children, who wait for nobody and nothing. I think, in
fact, hearing some writers talk about their daily word counts
actually puts me off writing in some ways—as though I needed to
wait until I was in a position to hit that target before I could
consider myself a ‘proper writer.’ The truth is, that perfect set
of circumstances may never land for me.
So I
write whenever and wherever I can. Lately I have been feeling really
inspired and energized, and working in my shop enables me plenty of
time between customers, to plan, plot, prepare, and ultimately piece
together my current work-in-progress. And yes, it can be annoying if
I get on a roll and have to stop because a delivery of new stock has
to be checked and merchandised, but I have to get on with it and come
back to the story because by the time my working day has finished,
you can guarantee I’ll be sprawled across my couch, not in any fit
state to write another word.
Walk
me through your publishing process from “final” draft to final
product, including who does what when, and marketing strategies.
I
have a few trusted individuals, who are writers, to whom I send my
work. One of these writers has known me almost twenty years as I sit
here. He knows my style, knows how I say what I want to say, and he
especially can help me get to the core of what I’m looking to bring
out for the reader.
Once
it looks as though we can’t thrash anything more out of the book,
then it’s time to put it together. In the case of physical copies
of the book, I have learned a great deal over the years about
typesetting and formatting a novel properly to ensure a quality
product—well laid out and comfortable on the eyes—is produced.
The story could be the best thing ever written, but if the
typesetting is awful, then who will take the time to read it?
In
terms of marketing, I’ve enjoyed some online book launch parties. I
found them effective ways of engaging with some readers, but right
now, my aim is to be more prolific. I need more stories out there
now. I need to reward the loyalty of the readers who have stayed with
me, and if I’m able to do that, then hopefully, new readers will
join the fold.
I’m
not foolish enough to believe it’s some Field of Dreams’
“Write it and they will come” situation. But right now at this
stage of my career, with the lengthy break I’ve had between
finished projects, I feel the important thing is to look after the
readers I’ve already gained. They are, after all, looking out for
me.
Talk
about your support system online and IRL; who are your biggest
cheerleaders?
In
real life, I know I have the support of my brothers and parents. They
like to know that I’m being creative even if what I write doesn’t
always appeal to them.
And
I need to be honest here, Lael. I haven’t needed a lot of support
with the creativity because up until recently, I’ve been fighting
battles that completely took me away from my writing. So when I
decided enough was enough, and I needed to get back to my old self
now that life is settling down again, the first thing I did was write
a blog post, almost a letter of apology to the readers who had
enjoyed what I’d written previously. And the response I got from
that post, in terms of comments, Facebook messages, text messages and
all the rest of it, was really uplifting in one sense, and a kick in
the balls in another. Uplifting because it was great to know that
people are out there rooting for me, and will still get excited when
I produce the next piece of work. A kick in the balls because I knew
I had to live up to them. That, as a writer, if I do nothing to
entertain these loyal readers, then I don’t deserve to have them in
my corner. All of that reinforced the positive changes I had made in
my life, and I resolved to make creativity a major part of my life
once more. Those readers, some of them are individuals I’ve met, or
exchanged messages and emails with over time, and that means
something to me. My creative output is what connects me to them and
because I want to keep that connection to these people who are
important to me, I’d better create something to refresh and
strengthen our bond.
Beyond
that, there is one particular writer in the horror field, and I don’t
know if I should name him here. He’s carved out a reputation and
persona as one who just doesn’t give a fiddler’s fuck about
anything, a bit of a Monster, a bit of a Sick Bastard. But what I
came to know about him is, he really is a very caring person, he just
doesn’t make a big show of doing it publicly. In my darkest times,
periodically I’d get a message from him like, “You said this
on Facebook, but I can tell something’s not right.” And I didn’t
know how the hell he could read the situation, given I had only met
him twice at that time he first called it. But he got it and it turns
out he can spot your dark thoughts from 500 miles away, because he’s
had them all. All of them and more. And deeper, and for longer. And
so every now and then we drop each other a message or a quick call,
and I just hope some of those times I give him even one percent of
the courage and support he gives me.
What
brought you to horror, and how does life influence your writing and
vice versa?
As a
teenager, when I discovered that I wanted to write fiction, it wasn’t
necessarily horror that I wanted to write. I knocked out childish
Tarantino-influenced gangster stories and a couple of futuristic
tales that did really have their roots in horror. There were just
stories and characters swimming around in my head; one of those
stories is in fact being reconstructed in my current work-in
-progress, and it wasn’t until I read some James Herbert novels
that I realized what I was writing would sit in the horror section at
W. H. Smith’s. Now I suppose we would think of that particular
story more as urban fantasy, but it opened my mind to the fact that
the horror genre was vast and has many alleys and corners with a
million different types of story scattered throughout.
The
horror that I try to capture for my readers is a deep feeling of
unease. I remember my ex-partner’s mother reading Doctor
Blessing’s Curse (the first part of The Cabinet of Doctor
Blessing) and she said she had to put it down. There was nothing
gory in there to offend her—not really, anyway. But what she
described to me as being her issue was something else entirely.
Doctor Blessing’s reaction to the creature he discovers, his almost
paternal protection of it, made the most profound impression on her
and left her really quite unnerved. Job done then. That’s a real
reaction, triggered by something completely fictional and weird. So I
think to take those fantastical elements, and handle them with real
emotion, can elicit the best response from a reader. I’m not so
much frightened by things in life, but I can find myself with a deep
sense of unease about this situation, that person, this area, that
mindset, or whatever. And we’re all built with very similar
instincts hardwired into our bodies, aren’t we? The old
fight-or-flight survival instinct. So if I can pluck the strings that
set my nerves off just right, there’s a fair to good chance it
could get a reaction from you.
Then
on the other hand, there is one fun way that my fiction has
influenced my life. I opened a business with one of my brothers a few
years ago, selling geek merch and comics and all that. We called the
business Carsun’s Bazaar, which is the name of the main
character’s geek merch and headshop in my current work-in-progress.
Carsun’s Bazaar in real life is almost entirely gone now, but I can
see a way to bring some part of it back, yet that’s something for
the future.
What
do you love most about your creativity?
I
have a vivid and active imagination, and that creative nature comes
in handy, especially as I have two young sons. When we break out the
action figures and play together, we get to play out these
blockbuster plots that would put those DC movies to shame. If we’re
drawing or painting, I can help set a little idea off that the boys
can run away with and make their own. And then, for myself,
creativity is I suppose an emotional outlet. Right now, the outlet
feels great; I’m processing the vast changes I’ve undergone in my
life over the past year or so, and now I get to hopefully take all
the emotional experience and redirect it into something satisfying
that will hopefully entertain others. Problem is, the pendulum swings
both ways and the creative, productive heights never last as long as
I would love for them to… and then comes the sickening feeling as I
hit the apex and feel all that potential energy shift right before I
swing in the opposite direction…
Amy
Impellizzeri is a reformed corporate litigator, former start-up
executive, and award-winning author of fiction and non-fiction. Amy’s
novels have won accolades including INDIEFAB
Book of the Year Awards, National Indie Excellence Awards, and she
has made the Finalist list for the STAR Award for Published Women’s
Fiction. Amy’s fourth novel, Why
We Lie, released
March 5, 2019, and has been featured in Publisher’s Weekly and
lauded by early reviewers as “timely” and “thought-provoking.”
She is a past President of the Women’s Fiction Writer’s
Association, a 2018 Writer-In-Residence at Ms.-JD.org, and a
frequently invited speaker at legal conferences and writing workshops
across the country.
Tell
me about your writing process: schedule, environment, inspirations,
etc.
My
writing process is, in a word, fluid. I spend as much time thinking
about my current work in progress as I do writing. I try to write
every day and as deadlines approach, I try to write 5,000-7,500 words
per week. But mostly, I try to live with my characters and my scenes
so that the words on the page will be organic and cohesive. At least
that’s the goal!
My
inspirations come from everywhere. I like to imagine the story behind
every news article I read and person I meet. I am also a big people
watcher! I love to observe interactions around me and imagine what
came before and what comes next.
Walk
me through your publishing process from “final” draft to final
product, including who does what when, and marketing that you do as
the author.
My
“final” draft is usually the result of several years of drafting,
workshopping, and editing by a developmental editor, a few trusted
beta readers, and agent input.
After
my publisher reads, we go through a few more rounds of edits,
including copy edits, and then we start submitting for trade reviews
and early blogger / reviewer reads.
The
head of my publishing house, Nancy Cleary, of Wyatt-MacKenzie, is
extremely hands-on when it comes to early / industry marketing, and
has taught me so much about how to get my books into the hands of
early and enthusiastic readers. The more buzz you can generate as
your pub day approaches, the better!
Talk
about your support system online and IRL, especially your biggest
cheerleaders and about being a Tall Poppy.
Transitioning
from litigator to novelist, the sisterhood of support I’ve received
from fellow writers has been invaluable. I assure you there were no
Tall Poppy lawyers! Seriously, though, without the Tall Poppy
sisterhood, I’d still be traveling in the dark in this industry. So
much is shrouded in secrecy and is just simply unknown. The
generosity and shared experience among the Tall Poppies is amazing.
How
does life influence your writing and vice versa?
For
me, there is tremendous synergy between real life and the stories I
tell. My books usually explore questions I’m grappling with in real
life. The writing helps me answer those questions and usually leads
to many more!
What
do you love most about your creativity?
Well,
like all writers, it’s a multi-layered thing. Not always accessible
and beloved! But I love the writing process, and the creation of a
full story from only an idea still excites me. I’d write even if no
one was reading, but I’m grateful that my stories have found
enthusiastic readers so far!
