Hello and welcome to InkyBlots, Mr. Furman.

Let’s start with getting to know you a little better. List five things you feel define you as a person.

No “I’m a people person” answers I’m afraid. These are my five shaping stones: Faith, Family, Fidelity, Friendship, and Freedom.

I was fortunate to be born in a country that allowed me to pursue my own path, practice the religion of my choice, raise a family and develop some of the best friends imaginable – not a fair weather one in the bunch. I’ve been in my share of third world countries, and each time my boots hit the ground in the good old USA the same feeling rushes over me: How lucky to be an American.

What inspired the initial idea for Sam’s Quest for the Crimson Crystal and the Sam’s Quest books?

I was dazzled by the real Samantha the day she walked into my fifth grade class. I tried my best to get her attention, but nothing had worked. I decided to spin a fantasy tale with her as the heroine, did the drawings, wrote the story and slipped it on her desk during recess.

I waited in agony as she read it, shoved it inside her desk without acknowledging me, and turned to smile at Johnny, sitting behind her, who had just tugged on her hair. Darn, I wish I’d thought of that! Feeling like a complete dunce I retrieved the story the next recess. Thankfully my embarrassment ended when she moved away at the end of the year.

I had returned home to help pack the essentials my mother would need in the rest home and the original story was found in her things. I’d thought of writing a series of young adult stories that have flawed heroines and heroes that succeed despite their illnesses or handicaps. My sister gave the shove I needed to get started.

Tell us about Sam.

Eleven year old Samantha Mae Costas, called Sam, hates her middle name. She hates her birthmark, she hates her red hair, her freckles, her glasses and she hates her asthma — she had to give up soccer because of it.

Now she sits and practices her piano endlessly. She’s pretty good at it, but she’d rather be out playing with her friends. She doesn’t resemble any of her large Greek clan of dark-haired, dark-eyed relatives. The only Costas physical characteristic Sam can claim is the red, diamond-shaped birthmark on the nape of her neck.

Her parents are archaeologists that spend their summers searching for the Lost City of Atlantis. They drop Sam off at her grandfather’s farm on Mile High Mountain. She goes out for a walk in the woods and discovers a beautiful mirrored pool surrounded by trees.

What she discovers next takes her on a wild adventure she could never have imagined — a prince from another land, the size of her thumb, caught in a spider’s web. When she rescues him, he tells her he’s been sent to bring her back to his world, for only she has the power to save it. As it turns out, her red hair and birthmark are signs that she is the chosen one.

Sam goes with the prince to battle against the evil Zogs and save the Awokian world from destruction. She learns that all the things she hated about herself are the very things that make her a heroine.

What process did you use for creating the Land of Geffen and all the creatures that inhabit it?

When I’m painting, before the first brush stroke on a blank canvas is made, I’ve decided the color palette, composition, etc. and in short, I’ve visualized how the painting should look when it’s finished.

I saw the Land of Geffen before painting it with words, and the same is true for the other lands, worlds and creatures that exist in the Sam’s Quest series. It’s crucial that the creatures inhabiting these worlds must look and act like they belong in their settings.

I imagined that the Land of Geffen was originally a land dominated by two super volcanoes. When one exploded and snuffed itself, the cataclysm split the land in two – leaving one side searing hot from the active volcano, the other a sheet ice that swirled around the dead volcano. There is a sun and moon for each side. They remain fixed while the lands rotate.

It’s a desolate, hostile place of molten rock and jutting metal spires, totally devoid of vegetation. Mechanically, I wanted the two parts to move much like giant gears of a clock and in opposite directions to help with visualizing the separation of the continents and to add reader interest.

The Geffens are cold blooded flying reptilians that require extreme heat to function. To us the Land of Geffen would be hell, to them, heaven. The silver sea that surrounds the land masses is much like liquid metal, though cool, such as the touch of mercury.

Sea serpents turned silver from the sea have struck a symbiotic relationship with the Geffens to keep them safe from the other monstrous creatures that inhabit the depths, in exchange for special kelp that’s provided by the Geffens. The monsters of the mineral flats turn out to be tiny purple frogs with big voices that strike fear in all that hear their nightly “hunting” calls. But as we know, not everything that goes bump in the night is a monster. Suck it up, step forward and face your fears. Sam does.

She’s drawn by the Crimson Crystal, the object of her quest, and she must brave the wasteland, reach the ice rim of the dormant volcano and descend to the Land of Seven Waterfalls, a tropical paradise that exists on the volcano’s floor.

What is it about writing for the young adult market that draws you? Are there any difficulties that are specific to writing for this market?

Personally, the young adult genre is a time machine that allows me to be a kid again, and to see the world from a kid’s pristine, open perspective. I thoroughly enjoy writing stories about less than perfect kids who continue to churn away and overcome seemingly impossible odds. I want the characters to be positive beacons for other kids.

What are the difficulties?

To steer around this genre’s inherent land mines I follow the KISS Principle: Keep it simple stupid. I put my thesaurus and two-bit words on the shelf, keep the sentence structures simpler and the vocabulary less complex than in an adult novel.

With few exceptions most preteens don’t read on the same level as adults. But if I do my job right they don’t have to, and I don’t dumb down my writing to keep them interested. Flowery prose doesn’t cut it with kids, so why show off and make the book difficult for them to read? I try always to keep my audience in mind.

Book two, The Royal Trident, is coming out soon, correct? Could you tell us a little about that book?

We find in her newest challenge that her experiences in book one have changed her. She’s now very different than her friends in New York, and she’s not sure how to cope with this. Sam is also learning to deal with the horrific loss of her parents. She has to give up everything she’s ever known, and live with grandpa on Mile High Mountain. Sam is called back into action by Prince Buznor, called Buzz, the Awokian she befriended in the first adventure.

In searching for Buzz she outwits the intimidating Telegu the Red Dragon with a riddle, securing his loyalty to her in the future. Once she finds Buzz, who was wounded during a surprise attack, he tells her of the greatest evil force ever to face the World of Bergeron.

She must use the power of the Crimson Crystal to defeat the evil-doer, a being as powerful as she, to save the Originators, who are the people of Bergeron. At the conclusion Sam realizes she’s found the lost civilization her parents had searched for, and she struggles with the decision to remain or return to her world.

What are your dreams for your writing? Where do you see yourself in five years both as a writer and as a person?

As a pragmatist, I’ve never thought I’d make a ton of money writing. My goal remains the same as the day I started, to make enough money to break even. So far so good – I’m in the black! I try to improve my story telling each day, and I suspect I’ll be doing so until I hang it up.

Where I’ll be as a person? I’m comfortable in my own skin, and I don’t think I’ll embark on a soul finding mission soon. Probably, I won’t be a great deal different in five years than I am now.

What is the most valuable piece of advice you have been given/learned in your life as a writer?

Listen to your editor! Don’t rely on family members or friends to tell you the truth about something you’ve written. I’d labored long and hard on the great American novel and I was certain, based on the feedback that I’d received that is was wonderful. In fact, it was junk – didn’t think so at the time and I considered putting a “hit” on the editor. She was right, it was junk. Great door stop, though.

Is there anything else you would like to share with the readers here?

Be a serious writer, but don’t be too serious! If it ain’t fun, then find something else that is – time has a way of rushing by. Take advantage of each day.

Thank you very much for coming by this blog. I wish you great successes with the Sam’s Quest Trilogy.

Hello and welcome to another author interview. Today I’ll be posting an interview with the author of South Beach Chicas Catch Their Man and Sins of the Flesh amongst other titles. Caridad Pineiro. I hope you enjoy this very down-to-earth and straightforward interview.

Hello and welcome to InkyBlots. Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m Caridad Pineiro and I’m a writer, mom, wife and attorney. My seventeenth novel, SOUTH BEACH CHICAS CATCH THEIR MAN is currently available from Simon & Schuster’s Downtown Press.

Your love of writing began in the fifth grade. Would you mind telling us a little about that?

Our teacher, Miss Kreschenko, walked into class and announced that we would have to write a 20 page book that would be placed in a class lending library. The book wouldn’t get a grade, but you had to do it for her to pass you for the year. I went home, grabbed a pen and paper and started writing. A few weeks before it was due, my mom typed my book. It was 120 pages long and was quite a hit in the class lending library.

How did you get into the realm of writing romances?

Well, that book I wrote in the fifth grade was definitely a romance. I guess that what I found myself reading more often than not was romances. Even classics such as Wuthering Heights are basically romances. When I went to work, I ran across the novel SHANNA and read it. I loved it and began to devour every romance I could get my hands on. I realized then that what I was writing was romance and I’ve been writing romance ever since.

Was there a specific point you truly began to think of yourself as a romance writer?

I think that right after reading SHANNA I realized I was a romance writer. Shortly thereafter, I attended a romance writing conference or two and then returned to writing for the purpose of getting published in the romance genre.

What kind of reactions did/do you get when you introduce yourself as a romance writer?

The reaction ranges from disbelief to denigration to pleasant surprise. The latter usually comes from people who are sick of lawyers who write legal thrillers! It can be a difficult thing to say at times because unfortunately the romance genre is looked down upon by some people.

You also write – more specifically – paranormal romance? How did that come about?

I write romantic suspense, paranormals and women’s fiction. I had been writing contemporary romances when a character and story came to me that I couldn’t refuse. The story was dark. The character tormented. I decided she needed a little bit more upheaval in her life and introduced her to a too-sexy man who would turn out to be a vampire. That novel was DARKNESS CALLS which spawned the successful THE CALLING series, now from Silhouette Nocturne. We’ll be doing books 8, 9 and 10 in 2008 and 2009 and although it’s a series, the stories in each book stand alone.

You’re currently on tour for your book “South Beach Chicas Catch Their Man”. Can you tell us a little about the book and what inspired it?

With all the angst and darkness of THE CALLING, I wanted to take a break and write a story about everyday women dealing with everyday life issues. I considered what changes I had undergone in my life and decided to write a book about what happens when friends marry, leaving their single friends to wonder if they will soon lose their friendship. That resulted in SEX AND THE SOUTH BEACH CHICAS (Sep. 2006, Downtown Press).

During the course of that book, I struggled with controlling one of the characters and her mother – Sylvia and Virginia. I knew they deserved their own book and luckily my editors felt the same way. SOUTH BEACH CHICAS CATCH THEIR MAN was born. This book considers the challenges modern women face in handling relationships with their friends, mothers, fathers and lovers. It also features a romance about Virginia who is not only Sylvia’s mom, but a sexy and successful fortysomething. I’m really happy that I got to explore older women and their relationships in a positive way.

Are any of the South Beach Chicas friends of yours or you yourself?

I always tell people that I’m Tori. Ever responsible and always the foundation for the people around her. I think all the other women represent a mix of people I’ve met and/or some of my own experiences in life. For example, Juli is a woman who doesn’t see herself as attractive and yet her friends do and help her to see her real self and embrace it. So many women can identify with that and I think that is part of the success of the SOUTH BEACH CHICAS books – that women identify with these strong and successful women.

I find all of the authors I interview have a lot in their lives that seems to make writing a near impossibility sometimes. How did you and how do you have time to write?

I still have a full-time job and family, so I fit in my writing when it won’t interfere with those things. I write on the commute to and from work and on the weekends, I’ll get up really early and put in 3 or 4 hours before the family is up. If I have a deadline, I may write at night, but that’s very tiring after working a full day.

What are you currently working on?

I am working on the proposal for the next CHICAS book, as well as some romantic suspense and paranormal stories. I’m also writing the next three books in THE CALLING.

Are there any authors who inspired/inspire you in your writing?

I love J.D. Robb. I had already created Diana Reyes when I was introduced to Eve Dallas and if these were real life women, I think they would so totally understand one another. I think the Bronte sisters, Emily and Charlotte, inspired me with their romances as did Taylor Caldwell. I read these books and learned from them about romance.

Any non-authors?

Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy and Chris Carter, the creator of The X-Files. I just love their talent and creativity. I think these are two of the best shows that have ever been on television.

Do you have a muse? If so, who or what is it?

I can’t say that I have a muse. When I’m stuck, I’ll watch a movie or television. I’m a very visual person and rely on visual cues to help me create.

Do you have any guilty pleasures when it comes to writing?

Taking trips to research locales and legends is my guilty pleasure. It is work to do it, but I so love historical things and travel, that it’s tough for me to consider it work.

What are your dreams for your writing?

I would love to be able to write full time. Maybe one day do 2 or 3 series books a year and a single title or two. That would be the ultimate joy for me.

Do you have any advice for writers trying to break into the women’s fiction market?

Never give up. Publishing is a tough world that is oftentimes filled with rejection. Use the rejections to improve your writing and keep on writing and submitting your work. It’s kind of like the lottery: You’ve got to be in it to win it.

Do you have any advice for writers in general?

Writing is both a craft and a business. You need to learn both in order to be in publishing for the long haul.

Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you so much for letting me chat with you! I truly appreciate your time and consideration. If anyone wants to know more or write to me, they can visit either Caridad.com or TheCallingVampireNovels.com

Hello everyone! Today I have an interview for you. Joy Collins, the author of the powerful novel Second Chance is my guest. Please join me in welcoming her to InkyBlots.

Hello and thank you for stopping at InkyBlots, Ms. Collins. Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

I am a nurse “by day”. I trained at Bellevue Hospital in NYC back when they still did that [now nurses are trained in colleges]. I’ve worked in just about every aspect of nursing in and out of hospitals but now I run my own legal nurse consulting business at home. It’s a great life. I get to stay home with my fur-babies and I can set my own schedule so it I can write to my heart’s content. I’ve been married to the love of my life for twenty-six years and we live in AZ now. Both of us come from back east but we love living in the desert.

What brought you into the world of writing? When did you start?

I think, like most writers, I started writing as a little kid. I remember writing stories and even making my own little books as far back as grade school. I worked on the school paper and yearbook in high school. While still in high school, I wrote an episode for Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, a television show popular at the time.

Even though I was only seventeen, I managed to obtain an agent from Samuel French, Inc. and my script made it all the way to Hollywood. That rejection letter is still one of my most prized possessions. I had always planned on being a writer but then life got in the way. I put it aside for many years. When I reached mid-life, I think I realized that I really didn’t have all the time left I wanted and it was now or never. So, I started publishing articles and then got busy with my book.

You recently published your first novel Second Chance. Could you tell us a bit about the book?

Second Chance is the story of six months in the life of Sara, a second wife and stepmother. Sara and her husband Paul live in Arizona. Her husband has a daughter by his first wife who lives in New Hampshire. The daughter is somewhat estranged from him. When it’s time for her to attend college, Paul decides it would be great if she moved in with him and Sara and attend the local university.

At the same time, Sara’s mother who lives across the country with her sister in New York is becoming more senile and needs placement in a nursing home. Sara’s parents were divorced when she was a teenager and Sara was told that her father had died soon after that.

But in the course of placing her mother, she finds out this was a lie. How she resolves her feelings about this while also dealing with her husband’s ex trying to win him back when their daughter has a serious accident is the crux of the story.

What inspired you to write Second Chance? Where did the idea begin?

I am also a stepmother and second wife. While my own story is nothing like that portrayed in the book, I did explore my own feelings about being a second wife and stepmother when writing about Sara. I also know many women who are in the same boat. Some of them have suffered some horrendous times because of parental alienation.

The actual story started as a game of “what if” one day. What if a child was successfully alienated from her father and she found out. How would she feel? What would she do? How would that shape who she is? I think many people would assume I started out with Sara’s story as a stepmother but I really started with her story as a daughter who lost her father. But I don’t want to say any more. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot.

Your book deals with things like second marriages and issues facing baby boomers. Did you go into this book with the intention of talking about these things?

Well, at first my goal was to deal with parental alienation. But then my focus grew. Being a Baby Boomer has shaped who I am. It had to. And my heroine was a Boomer so her issues are relevant to many women today.

I needed Sara’s mother to be unreachable to facilitate the plot so I gave her Alzheimer’s and that allowed me to also explore the concept of caring for older parents, something that Sara and her sister are struggling with. In fact, I have written about that topic in my non-fiction articles and I’m actually giving a talk about that next month. I think it’s an important one for women of my generation.

What character do you relate to the most and why?

Of course, I relate to Sara the most. The book is written from her point of view. It gave me a chance to interject my feelings on lots of things. But I also had fun with the Judy character. She’s a fun girl, very carefree, someone that Sara wishes she could be more like.

What is your favourite part of the book?

Hmmm…that’s a tough one. I think while they were difficult to write because of the emotion in them, the interactions with Mona [the ex] were the most fun to write just because she was such an over the top evil character. She was like the every-ex-wife. All the bad traits rolled into one. I like writing dialogue and the Mona parts were very dialogue driven.

Are there any authors who have inspired you in your writing?

Oh, there are many but I think the one who has influenced me the most is Jane Heller. I love her characters. I would also have to say Janet Evanovich and J. D. Robb, too.

What are you working on now?

I’m about halfway through my next book. It’s called No Other Choice and is about a woman who is getting divorced and through the manipulation of her aunt meets up with her ex-lover. He dumped her many years ago and she now learns why. The story explores the newfound relationship and if they are going to get back together. The other plot that runs through it deals with insurance fraud and attempted murder. It’s a bigger plot that my first one and going a little slower because of that but I like it a lot.

What are your dreams for your writing?

I want to be able to reach many readers with my books so of course I’d love to make the N Y Times best seller list. I don’t know if that will happen but I love writing fiction and that’s where I want to put my energy.

My passion is writing about my generation and the many things that affect us – family, health, spirituality (my third book deals with that) – what affects us all, really. But told from the viewpoint of people my age – over 40! Whether I write fiction or non-fiction – that is going to be my focus.

When you’re not writing novels, you’re also the health editor at Women Etcetera! How do you find time to write?

Sometimes, I wonder! Well, I’m an early riser so I compartmentalize my day. I find that I’m most productive in the early morning so I do my writing then. Fiction first, then any non-fiction that’s due. Then, in the afternoon, I devote my time to my business. As I mentioned before, I’m a legal nurse consultant, so I spend my afternoons reviewing and writing up cases. It makes for a full and very fun day. But it takes discipline. I think sometimes, people imagine writers sitting in cafes, drinking lattes, and writing. I tried that. I got nothing done. :>)

Do you have any advice for writers?

Never stop writing. It sounds trite, but it’s true. If you are meant to write – and I think all writers feel that way – then write. If your goal is to be published then pursue that non-stop. Don’t give up. Do something toward that goal EVERY day. I’m a true believer in the theory behind The Secret. Visualize your goal but take the next step and take action to achieve it. Learn everything about your craft and keep plugging away. Believe it and it will happen.

Thank you very much for your time.

Thank you. I enjoyed talking with you.

***

You can read more about Joy, her books and more on her website JoyCollins.com

Hello and welcome to InkyBlots Mr. Eva!

Please call me Barry, though I write under the name of Storyheart.

Tell us a bit about you – where you’ve been, how you got here, where you’re going.

Well I was born and raised in Barnet, Hertfordshire in England, which is just outside London. I moved to the USA in 2000 after meeting my now wife on the Internet. We now live in Connecticut with our two young children Victoria and Andrew. As for we’re I am going, if I knew that it would safe a lot of time and worry. Where ever it is, I’ll make the most of it, and try and bring a little happiness and laughter to that location.

Tell us about Across the Pond and how it went from idea to published book.

I have always been a creator of things, poems then songs, then some children short plays, these developed into my short romance stories, and now into this my first novel. I would add though I don’t really count myself as a writer I am no literary genius. What I can do though is tell a story that people feel part of, I am story teller.

They say write about what you know and obviously moving myself across the pond I have had first hand experience of the sort of issues one runs into.

To go from writing short stories to a novel I basically had to re-teach myself to write. Instead of short dash down in 45mins stuff I had to learn to build characters and flesh out a plot.

I went through a roller coaster of emotions trying to get the novel published with many knock backs until in the end I almost gave up. Then a year later I decided to do POD (print on demand) with Xlibris. They had the book through the whole process from editing to the final printing in two months.

What is the one thing you like the most and the one thing you dislike the most about Fred Squire?

Dislike? How can I dislike my hero, the white Knight of the story? (*grin* ) Basically there is a lot of me in Fred and when I wrote the book I became Fred. So I can’t really dislike the bloke can I?

How did you become a writer?

As I have said already I always have been creating something or other poems, song children stories, my short romance stuff and lately some song parodies.

A lot of people go on about being writers to be honest I have never called myself that, I am not brilliant literary genius. My spelling for instance is terrible; all I can say is thank goodness for spell check. I just call myself a story teller.

What would you say is the most difficult thing about being a writer?

In writing a novel? Trying to make the story so that people will want to turn the page, a hook at the end of each chapter like an old movie serial making people want to see next weeks episode, I want to make people want to read on.

If you could pick any author to collaborate with, who would it be?

Well I’ve been told in several interviews that I am the new Judy Blume, I think we have the same sense if humor so writing with her would be fun. Perhaps a duet of writing, with me writing from the male side, and her from the female?

Do you have any interesting writing habits/quirks?

With two young children and a full time job I can’t set up any sort of regular schedule however I do mentally churn over story lines and ideas while driving to and from work, and like to have some musical background while trying to compose.

What is the most valuable piece of advice you have been given/learned in your life as a writer?

Listen and learn, have faith in your self, and be proud of what you create.

When you’re not writing, what are you doing?

How much time do you have? My normal everyday job is in IT so obviously that takes up a lot of my time.

I have always been into sport playing rugby for 35 year and before heading to the US running several London marathons all in fancy dress. These days it’s mainly an armchair sportsman, though I do play Co-ed softball.

I also love singing; to this end I am the DJ at two local karaoke shows, always trying to have fun. I used to have a couple of shows on local public access TV either narrating my stories or with the karaoke recordings, but these days I just do not have the time.

Is there anything else you would like to share with the readers here?

Please, check out the reviews about the book at Amazon and other places, I hate the pigeon holing of a book into ages etc. I am so lucky that people from 10 to 80 have enjoyed the book. To me that one fact, that is being “enjoyed” by such a wide age range means more than any award etc.

You can find the book at all the online book stores, it is called “Across the Pond” and written by me “Storyheart” or else check out http://across-t-pond.com or email me at acrossthepond@mail.com

Thank you very much for coming by this blog. I wish you great successes with Across the Pond.

Thank you so much for inviting me; it has been a great pleasure.

Hello and welcome to InkyBlots Ms. Abdullah! Tell us a bit about you – where you’ve been, how you got here, where you’re going.

Thanks for having me on your blog. I am a Pakistani-American author based in Austin, Texas. My creative work focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of Pakistani women and their unconventional choices in life. I have been writing on and off since 1993.

My new novel Saffron Dreams explores the tragedy of 9/11 from the perspective of a Muslim widow. I received a grant from Hobson Foundation for that body of work. My 2005 debut book, Beyond the Cayenne Wall is a collection of stories about Pakistani women struggling to find their individualities despite the barriers imposed by society. The collection won the Norumbega Jury Prize for Outstanding Fiction and the DIY Festival Award, among other accolades.

Tell us about Saffron Dreams and how it went from idea to published book.

Saffron Dreams explores the tragedy of 9/11 from the perspective of a Muslim widow. In the novel, I have attempted to capture how ordinary Muslims were affected by the tragedy of 2001—the silent majority who lead very normal lives and are law-abiding citizens of this land. They are the ones we never hear about because their lives are too ordinary to be the subject of the nightly news. Saffron Dreams is the story of basic human desire to be accepted in society, no matter what your background, ethnicity, or race.

The issues that I explore in the novel are universal––racism, discrimination, bias, muddled or forced identities––those are all common issues that drive the value and worth of an individual in a society. The tragedy of 9/11 was a great shock to the American psyche.

Some of that anger was directed towards those who shared the race and religion of the terrorists, especially those who publicly exhibited symbols of their faith such as veils, beards, even their own names. With Saffron Dreams, my intent is to convey that most Muslims lead their lives guided by the general principles of goodness and peace. Modern History Press acquired the book last year and it got published in February 2009.

Could you tell us briefly about Arissa?

The protagonist of the novel, Arissa Illahi, is a veil-wearing Muslim artist and writer in New York. Pregnant and alone after the tragedy of 9/11, she discovers the unfinished manuscript of her husband and decides to finish it as a tribute to him. Her unborn son and her husband’s legacy provide a renewed sense of hope to Arissa as she struggles to put the pieces of her life back together.

Having a child with disability compounds her fear of discrimination and forces her to make some tough choices as we find out in the novel. On the other hand, having a special needs child provides Arissa the necessary distraction from the biggest loss of her life and she finds out that her son fulfills her completely.

What kind of research did you do for writing Saffron Dreams?

There were many different pieces of the novel that required extensive research. The time and place where the tragedy unfolded, how it manifested, what were the dynamics of the situation, etc. Often it felt like feeling in the dark for one more piece to finish the puzzle.

It’s amazing to watch a story unfold; it sometimes surprises even the author. The character of the protagonist’s son who was born with a rare disability required methodical research too. It involved interviewing parents of such children and really getting to know their daily struggles.

How did you become a writer?

I think it was never a goal of mine but the hope of many around me. Growing up, my parents performed the role of gentle guides, nudging us in the direction we were inclined toward and then stepped back and watched us grow. I wasn’t judged when amongst siblings with successful career paths such as doctors, MBAs, and valedictorian nurses, I proclaimed my decision of being a designer.

With that, writing became a cherished hobby. While in Pakistan, I started freelancing as a writer for the local magazines and newspapers and kept on going. I was published in many publications including Women’s Own, Dawn, She, Fashion Collection, etc. Along the way I discovered that storytelling was a good strength of mine and I started focusing on fiction more.

What would you say is the most difficult thing about being a writer?

Editing and marketing your own work. If you accept those two elements as part of the whole package, you would be a happier author.

Do you have any interesting writing habits/quirks?

I write whenever I can, wherever I can. I am totally undisciplined as a writer except when I am on a deadline. Because my days are so packed, I write when I get time. Most of Saffron Dreams was written during the night.

What is the most valuable piece of advice you have been given/learned in your life as a writer?

That it is never personal. When I pull together a manuscript, I test it with a group of readers and ask them to be brutally honest in their analysis. It helps me as a writer to perfect my work. Ask any published author and they will tell you how discouraging the publishing world is. The rejection rate is close to 94% by some standards.

Despite that, there were over 170,000 books published in the US alone last year. My advice to an aspiring writer is this, enter this field if you are not afraid of rejection and can take criticism well. Write with humble goals in mind and don’t make fame your first and foremost objective. Finally, work hard to finesse your work and make persistence your friend.

What are you working on now?

Actually there are two books that I am currently considering. One is a novel about the street children of Pakistan, a book that Arissa is shown working on in Saffron Dreams and another is a young adult novel about an Indian teen torn between her passion for dancing and keeping the family business alive.

When you’re not writing, what are you doing?

Oh, lots. I am a full time designer for an education nonprofit in Austin. I freelance as a designer and I have a beautiful 5-year-old daughter who keeps me pretty busy. Finally, I volunteer for various nonprofits. I find it hard to turn down opportunities that involve service of some sort.

Is there anything else you would like to share with the readers here?

You can find a wealth of information on my website at www.shailaabdullah.com including a reading guide, excerpt, reviews, and buying information. For those with comments and questions, I can be reached at shailaabdullah@gmail.com.

*If you mention InkyBlots when you write to me, you will receive a free e-book called A Taste of Saffron, containing recipes of dishes mentioned in Saffron Dreams. Readers who sign up for updates on my website will get a free excerpt of my 2005 book, Beyond the Cayenne Wall.*

Thank you very much for coming by this blog. I wish you great successes with Saffron Dreams.

Thanks for having me on InkyBlots.

When I thought about the ‘grand opening’ of InkyBlots and who I would feature as my first interview guest, it only seemed right to interview the woman who got me started with online publicity and book promotions.

Dorothy Thompson

Hello Dorothy! Thank you so much for taking the time to virtually sit down to do this interview with me.

It’s a pleasure. Thank you for having me!

Could you briefly introduce yourself?

Sure, I’m CEO/Founder of Pump Up Your Book Promotion, an innovative public relations agency specializing in online book promotion.

You have been running a successful virtual book tour company – Pump Up Your Book Promotion – for many years now. How did you first get started with promoting authors?

My beginnings as an online book promoter began when I became frustrated with offline booksignings and I turned to the Internet to see if I could figure out a way to bring attention to my book, Romancing the Soul. It wasn’t that I hated booksignings altogether, but I knew there were ways I could promote my book on the Internet that would reap more benefits for me.

One way in which I did this was through an experiment involving free ebooks and key search words. I wanted to see if I could take a product that you couldn’t even find in bookstores and have it rise to the top of the search engines, thus making a product once considered inferior to book buyers become a much more viable selling product.

My experiment lasted 24 hours and during that time, both three ebooks I tried on separate occasions rose to number one in the search engines. Why is this important? More and more people are turning to the search engines for information. In their searches, they are finding what they want in three page searches. If your information is not within those first three pages and preferably on the first page, your Internet surfer is going to go where the information they are looking for does show up.

This can work for anyone and you don’t have to be a SEO expert for it to happen. But what did happen was I got the attention of an author who wanted me to do the same thing for her book. I told her I wasn’t a publicist, but she insisted, so began my new career as an online book promoter.

That’s when it dawned on me to start my business, Pump Up Your Book Promotion, to help other authors promote their books online.

Did you ever envision that you would be where you are today?

Wow…great question. Did I think it would ever grow to be what it is today. You know, I think I did. It wasn’t one of those ‘OMG’ I started out with this idea, then it mushroomed into this bigger idea, but I really think I did envision this. I saw a need and I filled it.

What do you find most difficult about promoting authors in a virtual world?

The only difficulty I see in promoting authors in a virtual world is getting to those readers and book buyers out there who are unfamiliar with the Internet and aren’t comfortable using their credit card to make their purchases. But it just takes time for people to realize if they use a “safe” website such as Amazon, they have nothing to worry about.

Virtual tours are becoming more in demand and have been for a while now. What makes Pump Up different to other virtual tour companies out there?

Got an hour? Haha. On the average, we have about twenty authors a month on virtual book tour and people who are signing up are telling me they are finding us in searches (there’s the SEO working) and they like our prices.

When I first started out, there were only two companies – one stopped doing them and the other charged more. Now there are a lot more companies out there but (not knocking anyone down) I feel we do more for the author.

We now have a full staff and myself handling everything and it goes smoother. We’re just set up different from everyone else – the authors get not one but two tour pages and most of our blogs are syndicated into USA Today, Chicago Times, etc., and that doesn’t include just the online version but also includes the paper version, too.

One of our packages includes a book trailer if you need that and I believe the last time I looked only one other company offered that and that was recently. We’re a very people-friendly company who go the full nine and half yards for all our authors.

Do you have a fond memory related to author promoting that you would like to share?

You mean a woohoo moment? Whenever an author makes USA Today. ;o)

What is your advice to authors who would like to start promoting virtually but don’t know where to start?

For beginners, take my advice and take to the Internet and do some Google searching to find out anything you want to know. Study the craft; learn by your successors. Get the word out about your book, no matter if it’s on the front of USA Today or one of the smaller blogs because it’s a combination of all those efforts that makes a difference in sales.

If you want to know if something works, find out who has already done it and ask them. Don’t go into it blind. Believe in your book; cash in on the book’s platform and use that as your platform to become an expert in your field. Be different. Be unique.

I have an author coming up who was discouraged because she couldn’t find a traditional publisher and went self-published. So, she had a funeral for her book. Hi-larious.

I just had someone contact me about a tour a little while ago. She had written a memoir about spousal abuse. Yawn? Too many out there? Not when you focus in on something in the book that makes people stand up and take notice.

I took notice after watching her video. Had I not seen the video, it might have sounded like all those million other books out there that are about the same thing. Believe me, you’ll take notice. You gotta give people that wow factor.

What are your dreams for Pump Up?

Pump Up has fulfilled every dream I ever had for it. I can’t imagine where it will lead in the future but I can only wish it will remain firm to its belief that all authors deserve their day to shine and that no matter how big or small that star, it will shine just as bright as all the rest no matter where they came from.

Is there anything you would like to add?

I would like to take this chance to thank you, Jaime, for this very thought-provoking interview and to tell all authors that all they have to remember is that if it was easy to become a bestselling author, everyone would be one. It takes work and if you’re willing to go the full nine and a half yards, you’ll succeed in anything you set your mind to do.

Thank you so much for your time and for this interview. Best wishes and success to you in the future.

Thank you!

***
Dorothy Thompson is CEO/Founder of Pump Up Your Book Promotion with eight years experience in online marketing. What began as an experiment after self-publishing her promotional e-book A Complete Guide to Promoting & Selling Your Self-Published eBook and 101 Internet Radio Shows to Promote Your Books turned into her thriving new career as an online book marketer.

She is also the author of the children’s book, No More Gooseberry Pie, the relationship anthology, Romancing the Soul, and the paranormal comedy novel The Search for the Million $$$ Ghost which is under the consideration of a playwriter in New York.

Dorothy has written hundreds of online marketing articles and has been quoted in the celebrity tabloid, OK! She has also appeared on dozens of radio shows including Lifetime Radio, Single Talk, and Achieve Radio with Fran Silverman. Dorothy runs several blogs including her marketing blog, Book Marketing Buzz, The Writer’s Life and Beyond the Books which are syndicated into USA Today, Chicago Times, Washington Post and other national magazines.

Dorothy resides on the beautiful island of Chincoteague, Virginia. Her offline interests include traveling, biking and sitting at the end of her dock and watching the sun go down. You can email her here.

Connect with Dorothy at Facebook at www.facebook.com/thewriterslife.
Connect with Dorothy at Twitter at www.twitter.com/thewriterslife.