What I Should Have Been Doing All Along

I'm not sure I ever intended to be where I was a couple of years ago. I could play the blame game - there was enough to go around but the tough times I was experiencing were largely brought upon myself. But that is not what this blog is about, anyway.

I've overcome a lot in the past couple of years. Some of it I did alone but for my basic surviving and needs I have to thank others, particularly my family. You see, I've been basically homeless for nearly two years - since my eviction. I'd be couch surfing had it not been for family support.

Artists go through period like I've just been through. It's nothing new. It was a strain on my relatives, though. I'm sorry for what I put everyone else through but not for the way things turned out. I am confident that had I continued in the way I was going a little more than two years ago I would be dead by now. I have far too many stories I need to complete to be about dying. So you see, I didn't have a choice then or now.

Along the way I applied for other jobs, but i was not willing to go back into a situation similar to what I was before. You see, once the kids were grown and I was divorced, I really didn't care how much I got paid as long as I could survive on it and continue to write. I have that situation now. It;s not idea but like an situation it;s temporary.

It's hard for people who don't write to comprehend living the way I do. I get that. Most people don't think of what I do as work and, frankly, neither do I. Over the years of working I have learned that it is tedious, stressful and wholly unenjoyable. Although writing can have moments when it is like work in those ways, generally it is a worthwhile experience providing a sense of accomplishment at its end. That has rarely ever happened whenever I worked for someone else.

Also, there's something to be said about writing as therapy. Most writers will tell you we're functionally insane on the best of days. We use the escape time that our creativity afford to gain a sense of balance and for me it is a daily battle. I used to drink too much in an effort to cope with the confluence of pressures surrounding me. Working 70 hours a week - if not more - with feet and back hurting so bad afterwards that I could barely walk or sit up in a chair. Alcohol numbed things at least And it also helped me slip into a creative state of mind for a brief while.

I'm not saying that I write better when half lit but I had some highly creative ideas - provided I was able to set them into words that a sober me could read, revise and edit. I played that game for a while. Yet, all along I knew it was incremental suicide. Every drink I took was killing me.

I struggled a lot between 2002 and 2013, the period I will label as 'between publishers'. I wrote quite a lot of material but never was it good enough for a publisher to pick up. I've always been a writer in search of a good editor, though I could never afford to hire one to transform my raw manuscripts into clean works of literature. So, I think when I checked out - quitting my job to write and being forced to scale back on my living expenses - it was purposeful. It eliminated the pressures and it also forced me to quit drinking. Oddly enough, I wrote Fried Windows (In A Light White Sauce) about a month or so into the sober period of my life. What was different about it was the author's voice I discovered writing it in first person. I had written about the main character, Brent, before but I had never actually tired on his skin to become him and see the world through his eyes.

Since writing Fried Windows I have written a few other new things but mainly I have been revising the older things with fresh sober eyes. Most of what I have written in the past was done in third person, which is fine. I'm just tweaking things, removing redundancies and correcting errors. I am determined to make writing my career, now. This is my life and it's what I should have been doing all along.

We Are Authors, No Competitors

Look, I've been in competition for years, selling all sorts of things from toe nail clippers to complicate computer systems to expensive automobiles. I know the best and worst practices of the sales process. having studied marketing and promotion, I also know the difference between strategy and tactics.

Some of things authors post online in an effort to gain attention of their recently published books cause me to shake my head. You see, as a rule, writers are not great strategic marketers or tactical salespeople. Some are and those tend to be best selling authors. We all aspire to being successful but to do that we must promote and sell effectively even if we have little or no direct experience. The good news is that you don't have to be a professional marketer or salesperson to be a nest selling authors. You only need to be yourself and attract fans.

What most writers do wrong is focus on the book not the author's brand. That is the major disconnect. It is like trying of sell someone a generic brand cf something with which they have no experience. Would you buy a car without knowing the manufacturer's reputation?

Most writers who fail in becoming successful authors approach the marketplace as if it is a dog-eat-dog competitive environment with authors competing against one another for the exact same valued readers. Here's what you need to realize that makes all the difference. You are not in competition with anyone except you.

The key is not your book. That is not as important as your author's brand. Why? Readers could not care less about your book. As its writer, you are the only one who cares about your story until you persuade someone else to try it on as an alternate reality for the span it takes them to read it. Until a eager belies you can entertain them, he or she will not buy your book.

From a reader's perspective they have already heard every possible pitch you are gong to use to promote your book. They are skeptical because they have bought books before and not been satisfied wight he content. This is especially true of indie books where it is more common to find errors and the perceives quality of the work is lower. Let's set aside the fact that many books from major publishers that have spent upwards of two years editing and designing a book have errors in the finished product. It happens. But when it happens to an indie author, it is almost always blamed on self publishing.

How you gain a readers attention depends on how well you communicate one essential thing to the reader. What makes your book different. The answer is as obvious as your nose or anything else about your face. YOU are the only reason someone will want to buy your book.

Unlike other products, books don't really have a set life cycle. Yes, I know the conventional wisdom that has come from traditional publishing, but in this modern age of eBooks those rules no longer apply. A book doesn't need to generate all its sales in thirty or sixty days. Amazon and other eBook sellers do not have a limited number of shelves. Each virtual bookstore continues to add new publications everyday and each new offering has its own shelf. However, you want your book to be noticed, so you need to ensure it is displayed closer to the front of the virtual store. How? You need to establish your authors brand giving readers a reason to come looking for your book. That in turn will increase its likelihood.of your book being displayed near the to front of search engines.

So, how are you not in competition with every other author out there? It's fundamental marketing. You are only in competition with other authors of any specific genre that you may target. If a product is unique enough, it will have no competition. That needs to be your goal in establishing your brand distinction as an author. It will also increase the universal appeal beyond any specific genre categorization The singularity of your book will attract the attention of readers who are always looking for the newest thing. It almost seems silly having to say it again, but the difference between your book and everyone else's book is that you wrote it. Sell the reader on you as a writer and they will buy your book.

Since there cannot be anyone else in the universe exactly like you, you have no specific competition. That's great news. Feel free to promote other authors and their brands because the overall goal is to grow the aggregate market of readers. Give everyone a reason to cuddle up with a new novel, whether eBook or printed page instead of allowing their minds to rot watching the inane drivel of a reality TV show on cable or satellite TV.

You're the only one who can attract your fans. And yes, you may share fans with other authors because readers don't read just one book. They do not follow only one author. The world of opportunity is large enough for every one to prosper and succeed if you first establish your particular brand.

Some Thoughts On The Pricing Of Art

Art is one of the few factors that defines us as human and distinguishes us from the other animals of this world. As far as we know, no other species can create substance from mere thought, a world from a dream, an artifact that will endure beyond our brief spans to entertain and amuse others for generations to come.

I believe everyone is born an artist but at some point in our childhoods we unlearn it, setting it aside for more practical things like settling down, having a family, getting a job to support them and, of course, paying our fair share in taxes – whatever that really means. Practical minded people run things. They may pretend to have culture and appreciate art, citing the evidence of the library they maintain or the pieces of art they collect. But when budgets are cut, the arts suffer first.

It’s little wonder that artists undervalue the worth of their work. You see, artists don’t measure their efforts in time expended as if it were a factor in earning a wage. Art comes from the soul, expressed through the heart. It’s hard to assign a value on such things. However, one thing is certain, art should not be given away.

Since art in general is undervalued in the marketplace - if you don't believe that, watch someone create a painting, a sculpture, a piece of music or a novel - I'm all in favor of artists making a little more money on each piece of art they produce. Having lived around artists for most of my life and having been a musician as well as an author I think I have a fair amount of expertise one the subject of fair pricing. Artists are the last ones paid when a work of art is marketed and distributed, and so, the margin upon which they are paid is thin at best. Those artists who are independent struggle more to get recognition but they can operate on higher margins for lower price points because of the reduced overhead.

When an artist is not well known, having not established a brand, they tend to use low price points to stimulate trial. Some times they will use a free promotion to gain interest from potential buyers. There is a potential flaw in this strategy, that any author’s core audience is attracted to free promotions. Think about it, if you are an artist do you want to always give your stuff away? Those who are attracted to free deals are no one’s core customer. They are fickle and will only response to the word FREE while you the artist will be working for free, giving your stuff away for the rest of your life.

Since my chosen art is writing, I'm paying attention to a couple of current trends in publishing regarding eBook pricing. They appear to be contradictory - going in opposite directions. Yet I understand why one is going down and the other is going up. You see, authors who have established a brand would like to earn a living from selling their art. And Authors without an established brand are shouting out with a low price to gain attention.

With the introduction of eBooks several years ago the concept was that the books could be discounted and sold as essentially software to use on a reading device. Since the up front price of the device was fairly high, the price of the books became the significant selling point - that over time one could accumulate hundreds of books at a considerable savings over buying a physical book. With hard covers running north of $30 and trade paperbacks prices at roughly half that, a $5 eBook was like a pretty good deal.

Regarding authors using publishers, eBooks allowed for slightly higher margins and royalties even at the lower retail price when compared to the much higher production and distribution costs of paper books. So it was a win/win situation all around. But with the grown in eBook popularity over the past few years a paradigm in the publishing business shifted. Many more authors are self-publishing. The stigma usually associated with that label in the past are evaporating as several indie authors have established a brand and following of avid fans for work that is on a par with many of the big five publishers offerings. Those authors are beginning to raise their prices to be on a par with the big publisher's offerings and, guess what, they are selling books because of their supportive fan base. Also the authors are earning high royalties than if they had used a traditional publisher with their characteristically lower royalty percentages in lieu of their high editing, production and distribution costs.

The present situation is of considerable interest to anyone looking to publish a book. Do you and your manuscript off to one of big five and hope to wing he lottery? Do you self publish, forking over the money for a quality editor and quality cover artist as well as serving as your own publicist and book distributor? Do you opt for one of the many small publishers who offer carried levels of service and support, sometimes for a fee, sometimes for a contract again revenues after the sale? Often it comes down to what amount of work after the creation of the manuscript the authors is will to perform in reaching the potential reader. There simply is not right or wrong answer for an author faced with these choices. There are valid reasons for someone going with either one of the alternatives. However, as the publish paradigm has changed so have many of the basic concepts of promoting books.

In the past when the big publishers dominated the marketplace even mores than at present, they would heavily promote a new book at launch and follow through for 30 to sixty days afterwards. The book was launched in major markets with media support and advertising, advance reviews and interviews all targeted on the critical launch date. If the book did not sell well, bookstores would remove it from shelves to make room for the next great thing in the pipeline. For the author this meant that the book that took a one, two or more years to write was a done deal a month or two afterwards. It was relegated to the bargain racks or returned to the publisher for disposal.

With eBooks, the critical shelf space factor is removed. Books now enjoy a much longer window of opportunity for promotion and sale - out to two years and beyond. This means that an author of multiple titles can earn a decent income from the royalties not he sales of his or her books. All the time a fan base is maintained and enlarged as word of mouth generates around an author's work. With multiple promotion periods scheduled through the year, a book can experience a series of peaks or spikes and each time the residual effect may maintain a slightly higher level of sales after the promotion. Each time a new book is released and promoted, the authors existing titles have experience coat tail effects from the new books sales as new readers want to catch up on an authors prior work.

The leveling out of the sales over an extended period may not be reflected int he algorithms used to arrive at best sellers, but the aggregate sales over a two years period for a book may actually exceed those of a book that flashed as a best seller for a month or two. The revenues may be the same and, in the case of the indie or small publisher author the book may continue to generate royalties at a higher daily level than the former best seller.

Specifically with books lower price points signal lower quality to the potential reader. This is not always true, but the major of lower prices books on the market are or lower production quality. The writing may be adequate but the editing and cover design are expenses some authors cannot afford, especially if it is a beginning effort. It is hoped that the Free deal followed by a 99 cent and then a $1.99 price point for a book listed at $2.99 will get the book into a maximum number of hands. As an author you must ask if the time you spend writing your novel worth so little? As a reader, such a low price begs to ask: what is wrong with this book or this author? What have you gained as an author if you have given your book to ten thousand people who probably will not read it?

Three Weeks Out

I know what you're thinking...well, maybe not - not exactly, but I can probably guess. What in the world is a guy like me doing writing a book? Yeah, seriously, right? A lot of people are surprised when I tell them I've been writing for a while now. Then next question is always, do you have anything published?

How is it that someone I know fairly well doesn't know that essential nugget about me? Guess it never came up in conversation before. You see, I do a lot of other things besides writing books. What I do for fun, mostly, in my spare time is write. Family aside, that has been a fairly well kept secret, though. Some of my past co-workers and classmates know about 'the books', and a few have heard pieces of the plots or read some of the material I have written. But, for the most part, the people who read my books tend to be total strangers. And that's okay. I mean, I get it - why people who know me don't read my books. Really, I do.

It's sort of freaky knowing someone personally and then reading his or her book. You hear the voice, you know some of the background, so it is a little bit distracting when you're reading because you're almost always second guessing things, trying to piece together the connections between the person you know and the author you are reading. I don't know, maybe that's why writers have this sort of aloof, hermit reputation, like you can't get to know anyone so well that they won't be able to read a book and become immersed in its fantasy world - or something like that. But I think my stories are engaging enough the draw anyone into them, even those who know me well. Give it a shot.

Some writers might tell you that it doesn't matter whether anyone reads their books as long as they buy them, but that has never made sense to me. If that is truly the case then why write them at all? If the objective were to make money there are many easier ways to do that than writing books. I think a real, honest writer would tell you its the other way around. As long as someone reads the book it doesn't matter as much if anyone actually buys it. The only problem with that is that a writer needs to make a living. And making a living is why aspiring writers have side jobs.

Everyone I know should at least sample Fried Windows (In a Light White Sauce), my next book that is due out three weeks from today. If you do, I'm sure you'll end up reading it the entire book. It's that kind of story. Also, you'll tell everyone you know to read it because that's what people do when they enjoy a story. And I'll continue writing; you'll continue reading and things will work out as i planned when I set out on this adventure several years ago.

Jackson Paul Baer, Author of Literary Suspense and Father

Jackson Paul Baer is an author of literary suspense whose most recent release, The Earth Bleeds Red launched late last October from Pandamoon publishing and is available in both eBook and paperback from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other online book sites. Originally from Woodstock, Ga (north of Atlanta) he’s a huge Braves and Georgia Tech fan. However, he lived in Oregon for the over five years and only recently moved back to North Georgia. Over the past twelve years he had been all over the country. He loves the Trailblazers as well as Oregon State, where he will soon graduate with a B.A. in English in June 2014. He has been married for eleven years and has four beautiful children, ages 4-9.

He graduated from a Bible college in 2003; that’s where he met his wife. He spent seven years as a youth & teaching pastor, but has not been a pastor for the past three years now. “I’m not very religious though you will find spiritual themes within my writing due to it being such a large part of the majority of my life. My characters, much like myself, struggle with faith, doubt, and love as a part of their everyday lives.” The Earth Bleeds Red is by no means a Christian novel, however, with language you’d find in real life, as well as situations not suited for a church service.

Jackson’s favorite author is Joyce Carol Oates and he also loves Junot Diaz and Sherman Alexie, among many others. “Their novels have influenced me the most and I’d like to think my writing style resembles their amazing books. Them by Joyce Carol Oates is the best book I’ve ever read. If you’ve never read it, stop what you’re doing right now and read it. Seriously, do it now.”

Jackson’s latest book is The Earth Bleeds Red:

Scott Miller has everything he’s ever hoped for. He has a successful marriage to Jessie, a stunningly beautiful, creative woman. His seventeen-year-old daughter, Ashley, is both gorgeous and intelligent, and has just been accepted to the University of Notre Dame, where Scott received his PhD. He has a comforting home in the woods, and a fulfilling career as a college professor at Oregon State University in Corvallis. He’s blissful, and at peace, until it all comes shattering down.

Ashley is kidnapped. The scene of the abduction is horrific and bloody, and the police are convinced she couldn’t have survived. They accuse her boyfriend, Brandon, of Ashley’s murder. He declares his innocence, and claims that a masked man who entered his house and overwhelmed them both took Ashley. No one believes Brandon.

Then the bodies of three other missing girls are discovered, all bearing the mark of a known serial killer the FBI has been hunting for years. Evidence mounts. As Special Agent James Duncan tracks the Hail Mary Killer, Scott and Jessie try to move on with their lives. But they can’t shake the feeling that Ashley may still be alive, and that the time for saving their only daughter is quickly running out.

In the best tradition of literature and suspense, Jackson Paul Baer has weaved a heartfelt tale of one family’s struggle to survive after a despicable evil wrenches them apart.

Jackson is current working on a literary psychological thriller titled The Lights Will Never Fade.

He gave me the chance to ask a few questions and learn more about his fascinating life and his writing:

Q: How much research do you do before starting a novel? Does the research help develop the plot or do you use it for all background details?

A: I researched a lot for The Earth Bleeds Red. I went and took pictures in the city of Corvallis, or that I pictured as I was writing the book. I wanted my writing to accurately reflect the city. I also had to do a good deal of research with regards to police procedure, crime scenes, what happens to a person after death etc… With my write-in-progress, I emailed people who live in the town I set the book in to verify the types of trees, flowers, close rivers, and other things like that.

Q: Creative people tend to be spontaneous. In particular, most people think that writers are at least a little crazy. Tell us the most unusual thing you have done in your real life that doesn’t directly relate to writing.

A: I’m a fairly spontaneous person. I travel a lot, playing cards, and have been known to take a road trip on a whim. I don’t do this as much anymore as I’ve gotten older and my kids have gotten bigger, but I’ve driven ten hours before, only an hour or so after deciding to go.

Q: Every writer has that one story that clicked, inspiring him or her to pursue writing as a career. What was the story and what was there about it that made it influential?

A: The story line in “Them,” by Joyce Carol Oates has to be one of the biggest influences on me as a writer. The characters were so flawed and imperfect. I actually heard her speak at Oregon State and after that, I went out and bought that novel. I read it and fell in love with her writing.

Q: Creativity comes in many ways – for example, painting, photography, sculpture, music and theater. What other things do you do or have you done that are examples of using your imagination or other artistic talents?

A: I’ve actually written a handful of songs and even recorded four or five of them several years back. It was more for fun than trying to make a career out of it, but I do enjoy music. I play guitar and bass and songwriting is really where I got my start in writing.

Q: When writing I’m sure you hit snags where characters aren’t behaving or the plot just isn’t working. When that happens to me I play video solitaire. What do you do?

A: I usually take a break and read. I think that any good writer is an avid reader, as time allows. With work, school, and a family, my time for reading has been limited. I am almost done with school and will be able to devote regular time to reading and writing again. I miss them dearly.

Q: There is usually someone in a writer’s past that is to credit or to blame. In your life, who was that, when and what happened?

A: I had a professor at Oregon State who spoke to me. He was real and down to earth. To be honest, it started at the community college I went to prior, but this professor’s class was the first actual writing class that I took. I began to write short stories for the class and realized how much I loved creating this world that wouldn’t otherwise exist.

Check out Jackson Paul Baer online at:

http://jacksonpaulbaer.com

www.facebook.com/JacksonPaulBaer

https://twitter.com/JacksonPaulBaer

And Jackson's Previous writing:

Florida Country Noir Author Steph Post Talks about A Tree Born Crooked - by Elgon Williams

There are some interviews you look forward to and this was one. Steph Post lives down the road from me, so the speak, in the Sunshine State. She was born here but won a prestigious creative writing scholarship and went off to North Carolina for the Bachelors from Davidson College and her Masters from UNC Wilmington. Her full time gig is teaching at a performing arts school in Tampa.  She is a fascinating, talented writer whose novel A Tree Born Crooked is due out in November 2014.

Synopsis: Thirty-six year old James Hart, with a tough-as-nails exterior and an aching emptiness inside, does not want to go home. Upon hearing of the death of his father, however, James decides to bite the bullet and return to Crystal Springs, Florida, a collapsed rural town running on the fumes of the occasional interstate tourists passing through.  It is a place where dreams are born to die. Here, James discovers that he is too late for Orville’s funeral, but just in time to rescue his younger brother, Rabbit, from the deadly consequences of his petty crime life and, in the process, discover that he can’t escape the grips of his family, and might not even want to.

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Steph was kind enough to answer a few questions. So let's get to know the up and coming literary star.

Q: Imagine for a moment that you’re a famous, bestselling author. They’re making a movie out of your last book. What do you do next to top that you’re already achieved?

A: I would LOVE to have a television show made out of a novel of mine. I write cinematically already, so I don’t think this would be too far-fetched one day. But I think that television dramas are the new movies. The writing on shows such as Justified, Sherlock and True Detective is amazing! I think that this would be even more exciting than a film.

Q: Creativity comes in many ways – for example, painting, photography, sculpture, music and theater. What other things do you do or have you done that are examples of using your imagination or other artistic talents?

A: Before writing took up all of my time I used to paint. I loved painting because there was no pressure- it was just fun; I never had any ambitions about becoming a professional visual artist. I still miss it and hope that at some point I will have enough free time to get back to it.

Q: Many writers say that being creative becomes an integral part of their daily lives and part of their routine. How do you balance your responsibilities to others around your need to create?

A: Fortunately my husband and friends understand my writing obsession. When I get really focused I can spend ten or more hours at a time working on “the book” and everyone around me has learned to deal with it, I suppose. I only write, though, on the weekends or holidays. So during the week, I’m concerned with work, but it also gives me a chance to relax and have a somewhat “normal” day.

Q: Let’s talk about when you were a kid. In school were you a troublemaker, an instigator or the teacher’s pet? Explain.

A: I think I was pretty difficult to put in a box. I was very independent, but loved learning. I definitely spoke my mind a lot and this got me into trouble at times. For better or worse, I think I tend to transcend labels. 

Q: Where do you see yourself at this moment in your life had you never decided to write a book?

A I imagine that I would have just finished up earning my Ph.D. Two years ago I was seriously considering doctoral programs, but then realized that I couldn’t do EVERYTHING all at once (even though I sometimes think I can). I made the decision to walk down the creative, instead of purely academic, path and I’m glad that I did.

You can Find Steph Post on social media at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Steph-Post/153516208138065?ref=hl

Twitter: Stephpostauthor

Blog: www.stephpostauthor.blogspot.com

Autism Advocate Chrissy Lessey On Her Upcoming Paranormal Books - by Elgon Williams

Recently, I had the chance to fire a few questions at Pandamoon Publishing author Chrissy Lessey. Her latest novel, Crystal Coast: The Coven, will be released April 30, 2014. In the course of our conversation we learn there is a prequel due out shortly before that, just to whet your appetite and get ready for what sounds like a great story about magic, witches and the history of a small costal town in North Carolina.

Here’s a brief synopsis:

Photographer Stevie Lewis knows nothing of the magic that is prevalent in her small town. As a newly single mom, she is focused on raising her five year-old autistic son, Charlie, and running a business she shares with her best friend, Lexi. Stevie has no knowledge of her family’s 300-year-old magical legacy or the long-held secrets that haunt her hometown until Vanessa, a dark witch, returns to retrieve a powerful amulet reputed to be in Blackbeard’s recently recovered treasure.

While in town, Vanessa also plans to exact revenge on the coven responsible for rendering her mother powerless and locking her away in a mental institution. Determined to shake the coven to its core, Vanessa targets young Charlie as her first victim. When Charlie’s life is threatened, it unlocks Stevie’s dormant power and she discovers that she is a genetic witch capable of reducing the laws of physics to mere suggestions.

With help from the clandestine coven led by her own mother and a few eccentric octogenarians, Stevie works to master her newly acquired magical talent. Complicating matters further, her high school crush returns to town and she finds herself torn between beginning a new relationship with him and reuniting with her ex-husband.

Time is running short for Stevie and Charlie. Will she have enough skill to take on Vanessa and save her son and her newly found coven? Or will the dark witch Vanessa finally crush the hated coven and rise to power?

The Interview:

Q: Let’s talk about when you were a kid. In school were you a troublemaker, an instigator or the teacher’s pet? Explain.

A: My mother would tell you that I had multiple personalities as a child. At school, my grades were excellent and my behavior (almost always) was beyond reproach. I was definitely the teacher’s pet more often than not. However, at home, I was a serious troublemaker. My poor mother would read those glowing reports from my teachers and say, “They must have you mixed up with someone else.”

Q: How much research do you do before starting a novel? Does the research help develop the plot or do you use it for all background details?

A: I did a lot of research for my last novel. It’s my favorite part of the writing process and it tends to shape my stories in unexpected ways. When I started working on The Coven, I knew that I wanted to include some information about Blackbeard. I didn’t originally intend for the pirate to have much of a role in the backstory. But by the time I completed my research, I realized that I had quite a story line centered around him. This resulted in The Secret Keepers, a short story prequel to The Coven, which will soon be released as an e-book by Pandamoon Publishing in April.

Q: Where do you see yourself at this moment in your life had you never decided to write a book?

A: I am happiest when I’m writing. So, I suspect most things would be pretty much the same, except I’d be a whole lot grumpier.

Q: When writing, I’m sure you hit snags where characters aren’t behaving or the plot just isn’t working. When that happens to me I play video solitaire. What do you do?

A: It depends on the seriousness of the snag. For relatively minor issues, I play a few rounds of Candy Crush. If I’ve got a whopper of a problem, I start organizing stuff. When I hit a major snag while plotting The Coven’s sequel, I organized every single closet in my house plus most of the cabinets. I’m glad I got the plot worked out when I did because I came dangerously close to cleaning out the garage.

Q: When friends, family and even people you barely know at work or wherever else find out you are publishing a book, they expect a gratis copy. It could be a touchy situation. How do handle it?

A: The fact is, my publisher pays for the production of my novel and they own the finished product. I don’t have a huge stockpile of books at my disposal. I would literally have to purchase them in order to give them away. That’s not a good business model at all. I do appreciate everyone’s enthusiasm and I suspect that most people are not aware of the logistics within the publishing industry, so I keep my answer short: I don’t have copies to give away.

About Chrissy Lessey

Chrissy Lessey is an autism advocate, a coffee junkie, and an avid reader. Her writing career began nearly fifteen years ago when she penned a weekly humorous advice column for a local newspaper. Since then, she has discovered the joyous torture that is fiction writing. Her debut novel, The Coven, marks the beginning of the Crystal Coast Trilogy. She is currently working on the next installment in the series as well as other projects.

Media Links

www.ChrissyLessey.com

www.Facebook.com/chrissylessey

www.Twitter.com/spectrumhope

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7406955.Chrissy_Lessey

Michelle Bellon Balances A Busy Life With Writing Novels

What amazes me is how creativity affects different people in similar ways. Even though it may seem to manifest in strange and unusual ways, for writers, at least, it’s been my experience that we’re a lot more alike in our uniqueness than different. One of the many things that is a similarly is the obsessive compulsion to tell stories. Another is the way a story will insist on being told despite how busy we are at doing other things.

Recently I got the chance to ask some question of Michelle Bellon, author of Rogue Alliance and several other books. She’s always a busy lady but she finds the time to help others; it’s in her nature. She’s a nurse, a mother and a wife – not necessarily in that order – but also she loves writing and respects the process and others who write as well. Personally, I wonder about people like her, having no idea how she juggles all the spinning plates of her life on those spindly, wobbly poles and still find the time to write. That is, until I think about all the things that every author I know does to feed the compulsion – if not obsession – to write stories. It goes toward proving my point, though, that a story needs to be told and it will always find a way of getting onto paper or into a digital file on some writer’s computer. I guess as writers all we need to be is receptive to that creative impulse and capture the idea.

Michelle’s most recent novel, Rogue Alliance, the first of a series. It is a genre stretching tale that held my interest from start to finish and turned me into a fan.

Trying to escape a horrific past, Shyla has immersed herself in life as a tough cop in the bustle of LA. When the case of a lifetime takes her back to her hometown of Redding, she is thrown into a world of organized crime, deceit, and bitter reminders of her childhood.

As Shyla’s path crosses that of Brennan, a troubled sidekick to the ringleader she’s intent on taking down, she discovers he has a past even darker than hers and she is forced to re-evaluate everything she believes about herself, her job, and what she knows about right and wrong.

Can she face the demons of her upbringing and learn to trust again? Her life will depend on it.

Q: You wake up only to realize you don’t remember your name or what you’re doing in Des Moines, Iowa. What’s the story?

A: I’m terrible with geography. Is Iowa cold? I don’t like cold. Can we make this story start in Hawaii? I want to live there…in a hut…and live off shellfish…getting down with nature. But I don’t want to go all Tom Hanks in Cast Away, that’s a bit much. Did I answer the question correctly?

Q: Yes, it's cold there. I think I like the setting for your story better than mine. Anyway, let’s talk about when you were a kid. In school were you a troublemaker, an instigator or the teacher’s pet? Explain

A: Oh, I believe I was all of those at one time or another. In second grade I had the best teacher ever, Mrs. Rogers, and I was surely teacher’s pet. I loved learning, craved it.

I found myself causing a bit of trouble in fifth and sixth grades but that was only because I have a cousin that had special needs and I wound up in a few too many fights defending him. I became known as a fighter about that time.

Then somewhere along the lines, around seventh grade or so, I just kind of got confused. Hormones kicked in and my brain cells ceased to function properly. I look back and it seems as if I were walking around in a fog all the time. I remember wandering around school, just kind of bumping around going, “What’s going on? Where am I supposed to be?”

That lack of brainpower only increased throughout the beginning of high school when I became absolutely boy crazy. Fortunately, I still managed to get decent grades. I was always friendly to everyone but maintained friendships with only a few close girl friends. I’ve always been careful about choosing friends. It’s sacred to me. It’s for life. My best friends are girls I’ve known my entire life. They’ve got my back, and I’ve got theirs. Forever.

Q: The next one is a fantasy type question: Imagine for a moment that you’re a famous, bestselling author. They’re making a movie out of your last book. What do you do next to top that you’re already achieved?

A: That is a huge accomplishment and one that many of us dream of achieving. I would be over the moon with excitement if one of my books made it to the big screen.

My next goal would be to write my next book. That’s it. I just want to keep making stories. It feels amazing to create something: a story, characters, another reality - that would have otherwise never existed.

Q: Many writers say that being creative becomes an integral part of their daily lives and part of their routine. How do you balance your responsibilities to others around your need to create?

A: This is something I constantly struggle with. My family, my husband and children, are my first priority. Then there’s the responsibility of maintaining our home and fulfilling the needs of my day job as a registered nurse. My creative side, which for me is writing, comes at the end of all that, though I feel it is important.

There is another component here. After I became a published author, I learned that there is a huge responsibility to market your work. Once you dig into that and learn what it takes to promote your finished product, you find yourself consumed with that aspect of the industry and the actual writing takes a huge back seat.

Right now I’m at a huge turning point, where I’ve let all of that get out of balance to the point that I’m no longer writing. I just don’t have the time and then when I do find a small chunk of time and sit down at the laptop, I have nothing to give, because all of my creative energies have been leeched out by the marketing aspect of writing. It can be very destructive if you let it. And I did let it.

But I recently decided to re-prioritize and get back to what I love - writing. Here’s why - I’ve learned that there are things that feed you and things that starve you. Marketing and promoting, if let get out of balance, will starve you, creatively. When you write and tap into that creative energy where things come to life, it feeds you. I’m determined to get back to that. Writers must write.

Q: Every writer has that one story that clicked, inspiring him or her to pursue writing as a career. What was the story and what was there about it that made it influential?

A: As for any one book that I read and it inspired me to write, there’s not just a single story. They all did. I simply love to read. I love to jump inside of other people’s fictional lives and fall in love with characters. It’s so magical.

What inspired me to actually write my own book was the desire to tell my own stories and entertain an audience of my own. The moment that it all clicked into place was when I began to write my first novel, Embracing You, Embracing Me. It’s a coming of age young adult novel that deals with young love, tragedy, and self-realization. Though fiction, it’s loosely based on my own experiences and dedicated to someone special in my life that passed at much too young of an age. Readers respond strongly to that story and that moves me. My intention is for everyone who reads it to remember that we must tell the ones we love that we love them today. You never know if you’ll have tomorrow. It’s a bit of a tear-jerker, or so I’ve heard.

Q: Creativity comes in many ways – for example, painting, photography, sculpture, music and theater. What other things do you do or have you done that are examples of using your imagination or other artistic talents?

A: Actually, I don’t consider myself creative. Before I started writing I honestly believed that I was lacking a creative gene. I can’t paint. Every picture I take is blurry and off center. I can’t act and I don’t like to speak in front of crowds. I’m logical and detail oriented with strong OCD tendencies. Those traits often kill creativity.

It still surprises me that I have been able to write novels. Sometimes I pick up one of my books and stare it, thinking, “Holy crap! I wrote this!”

Even then, I don’t feel creative because it doesn’t feel like I’m the creator of these stories. When a book idea comes to me it’s not because I sit and brainstorm. The storyline and characters often just pop into my head, like a little gift from the universe, or sometimes I’ll dream them. At that point, it’s up to me to simply write it down and fill in all the details.

Q: Where do you see yourself at this moment in your life had you never decided to write a book?

A: I’d be doing mostly the same things; working as a nurse, taking care of my children, loving on my husband. But I’d still be convinced that I lacked any fraction of creativity, and that’s a sad thought. Writing opened up a whole new world for me with possibilities that I would have never imagined before. Most importantly, it’s taught me a lot about myself and what I can accomplish through hard work, dedication, perseverance, and passion. I had no idea that I had all of this inside of me.

Q: Family and relationships are important in peoples’ lives and so, it is little surprise that there are relationships between characters in books. How closely do the interactions in your books mirror your real life?

A: Very closely. For me, the crux of every story is the character arc, their internal and external struggle as they learn to overcome whatever difficult journey I’ve put them on. In each book I write, though most are radically different than my real life, I definitely incorporate my own life lessons and relationship trials into the fictional story I’m writing at the time. By forcing my characters to face their personal demons and reconcile challenging relationship dynamics, I’m essentially creating an outlet for self-realization, self-healing. My character learns and evolves, therefore so do I. It’s very cathartic.

Q: When writing I’m sure you hit snags where characters aren’t behaving or the plot just isn’t working. When that happens to be I play video solitaire. What do you do?

Omg! That is exactly what I do! When I get stuck, I stop what I’m doing, minimize my screen, and pull up solitaire. I like to play Free Cell. I have a 99% winning average. Is that a talent?

Q: It may be. I never mastered Free Cell.  Okay here’s a touch one: When friends, family and even people you barely know at work find out you are publishing a book they expect a gratis copy. It could be a touchy situation. How do handle it?

A: Oh, man, this is a touchy subject. I can’t even begin to tell you how many people ask, and even expect, a free book. And I’ve given out far too many. I just have the hardest time telling them no.

However, I’ve reached a point where, when asked this question, I have to kindly evade the part where I offer a free book. I have to start respecting my work by making a decision to earn something for my hard work. I feel that it’s so sad that the industry has “evolved” to a point where talented, hard-working authors are giving away their books for free. It baffles me when I hear a reader say that they only buy books if they are 99 cents or free. It makes me want to ask them if they’d like to work on a project for a year or more, pour their heart and soul into it, accept a hundred rejections before they finally find an outlet to showcase their work and then at the end of the day, they get a check for 99 cents? Yeah, somehow I don’t think they’d be down with that.

Michelle has published other books, look for theses covers online at Amazon.com

 

Michelle Bellon lives in the Pacific Northwest with her four beautiful children. She earned her Associates Degree in Nursing and fills her moments of free time with her love for writing. She writes in multiple genres, including, YA, romance suspense, women's fiction, and general fiction.

Find Michelle Bellon Online:

http://www.michellebellon.com/

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