The stories get better as you go deeper into this collection. The graphic depictions of sex and violence are just enough to give Dear Readers with active imaginations speculative ammo for tremors and terrors. Run, don’t walk, through these stories. Something always goes awry in the everyday worlds of Jack Rollins. A woman seeking sexual release exacts supernatural revenge on the shady service professional she hired for this purpose. An elderly couple become fungi. The ghost ship’s captain shows a very human sense of integrity. A young man cheating on his boyfriend discovers that not all legendary villains are fiction. A family man finds what appears to be evidence of a serial killer in the garage of their newly acquired home. Oh, and the lost god Mammon trips lightly through many of these tales—don’t turn around; keep running. Jack’s work is unique and his style feels personal, almost as though the characters are sharing too much, which works into a creepy crawly feeling under your skin. The only thing that popped me out of his stories is the common description of any man as tall, strong, and muscular. There are no wimps in Jack’s worlds. Despite that niggle, his work is solid and entertaining. I highly recommend this collection; really, anything by him. He’s so open and frank that his introductions to each story are nearly stories themselves; I thought the first one was the story!
Tag Archives: thrillers
Barbara Taylor Sissel—Novelist
Tell me about your writing process: schedule, environment, strategies, inspirations, etc.
I almost always write first thing. The to-do list, errands, even gardening, which is also a passion, waits until I get pages done. I think routine and persistence are my strategies. Where I write is a gift, a special place. It’s also my potting shed. I designed it, and my son and a few others built it using a lot of salvage. It overlooks my garden and down a kind of meadow. My garden is a big source of inspiration to me, along with reading.
Walk me through your publishing process, from final draft to final product, including who does what when and what marketing you do.
With Lake Union, when I finish a draft, I send it to my editor who does a read-through and then returns it with suggestions. Once I’ve gone through and made changes, I send it to a developmental editor to whom the book has been assigned. We go through anywhere from 2-4 rounds of extensive edits. I think here is where the book is really made, if that makes sense. I both love and hate the process, but I’m always pretty thrilled with the result. Next the draft goes to the copy editors, possibly as many as three different ones, for final polishing. After all their changes are incorporated into the manuscript, the book goes into production.
As for marketing, I have a street team of early reviewers who are kind enough to read and review advance copies of my books. I also have a website and a Facebook author page where I try and post news regularly. I run regular Amazon and Goodreads giveaways of my books and publish a quarterly newsletter too. Marketing doesn’t come easy for me, so compared to other authors, what I do is pretty minimal!
Describe your support system—online and IRL; who are your biggest cheerleaders?
I have a few author friends with whom I chat back and forth, and then there are my street team members, some of whom have been readers of my books since I self published my first one back in 2011. Along with my two sons, who are terrific supporters, these are the folks who keep me going!
In your bio on your website, you share how your background laid the foundation for your writing career. I’m interested in how your life and work intertwine today.
I still draw on my experience of life past and present, and on the experiences of others as well, even total strangers. I’ll find myself listening (sometimes it’s hard not to!), standing in the grocery line or sitting in a restaurant, to others telling stories, talking to each other or to their children. Snippets of conversation can set my imagination off. I’m a total ID TV addict, so crime and how it affects families remains an interest … one I’ve had since I lived on prison grounds. Story is just a huge part of my life … how I work things out or work things through, you know? Writing stories is contemplative and thoughtful for me, which is kind of how my life is, so it’s all sort of this one fluid thing, like a long rippling wave with a little foam at the curl.
What do you love most about your creativity?
Oh, what a wonderful question. That I have it? Is that an answer? It’s what pops into my mind. That it’s a gift I’ve been given, one that’s different every day. One that keeps on surprising me and that leads me to places I’ve never been, or would think to go if it weren’t for that spark of interest, of desire. It’s just a source of fascination to me and a delight.
Connect with Barbara:
Website: http://barbarataylorsissel.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraTaylorSissel?ref=hl
Twitter: https://twitter.com/barbarasissel
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/584581.Barbara_Taylor_Sissel
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/barbarasissel/
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Kelly Simmons—Authoress of Thrillers / Mysteries
I met Kelly in Bloom, the Tall Poppy author collective readers’ page on Facebook. She’s friendly, frank, and a talented writer. Here’s my review of One More Day. T
ake a peek into her magic making, which turns out to be quite pragmatic. I’m so pleased to share her process and work with readers.
Describe your writing process, including schedule, environment, and inspirations material and intangible. What’s in your office? What’s in your head?
Oh, my head is a very dangerous place! Hahaha. I don’t have a physical office; our house is not that big. I tend to take over coffee tables with laptop, books for research, books for blurbing, books to be sent for marketing purposes. I don’t need a room, a view, a special pen, a desk. I can write on a train, at a café, or at someone else’s dining room table. I put in the hours wherever I am, and am not precious about conditions, ever.
Walk me through your publishing process, elaborating upon marketing and what you as the author do to promote your book. What surprised you about the process? What surprised you about your marketing responsibility? Honestly, not much has surprised me, because I work in marketing, and I was part of a vast writers’ community before publication, and I was warned! So all the things that may overwhelm others–build a website, participate in social media, book your own signings, etc.–none of that fazes me. I guess what surprised me though, was the lack of enthusiasm from a lot of bookstores and libraries. In many cases, no one gives a sh—t about your book. 
Doesn’t matter how big your publisher is, how many great reviews you got, or even if you wrote it in their library. If you’re not famous, many people just don’t care. They don’t want to put you on a panel, they don’t want to do an event, they don’t want your bookmarks, they’re like, meh. There are too many writers, traditionally published and self-published, and they are inundated, and they don’t care. That being said, some booksellers are wildly supportive. You have to focus on the positives, yet be prepared for the negatives. And not take any of it personally. The business, and the internet, have created a world where being an author is not that special anymore. Everybody’s an author.
Tell me about your support system online—how you became a Tall Poppy—and IRL, expounding upon the Liars Club and other organizations to which you contribute. Who are your biggest cheerleaders? Well, The Liars Club is an author support and mentoring group. It’s published writers helping the unpublished, and guiding them to resources. We run free monthly networking meetings in I think, at last count, maybe 15 cities across the U.S. We also run a weekly podcast, 
and interview all kinds of people related to the business, which is super fun. And The Tall Poppies are an author marketing collective, and that’s about marketing savvy and selling books in innovative ways. That’s about readers, and adding value. I also have a ton of writer friends from literary magazines, colleges, workshops, and writers’ conferences, who write in lots of different modalities–and I value those friendships dearly. When young writers say to me, what’s the first step? I always say, find community. Writing is lonely, and publishing is tough. You need drinking companions.
I think you are maybe on your third or fourth career; how have previous positions prepared you for the writing life. How does your writing influence your life?
I started out in journalism and swiftly made a switch to advertising, for financial reasons. I still work in advertising, for financial reasons haha, and weirdly, when you get published, there’s a sudden entrée to writing articles and essays, so there’s always a tad of journalism here and there. The deadlines and editing abilities from both advertising and journalism are excellent warm-ups for publishing. You just get on with it. You put your ass in a chair. You slash whole paragraphs and chapters to make something fit a space. You don’t wait for inspiration; it’s due tomorrow!
What do you love most about your creativity? I just enjoy making things. I always have. I liked art projects and high-concept things in school. I like to knit. I like to refinish furniture. My dad went to architecture school and built the house I grew up in; I know I get it from him. It’s satisfying to hold that book in your hand, just like woodworking or anything else. I’m a whittler!
Connect with Kelly: