WELCOME JACK GINESI

JACK GINESI

Jack Ginesi is a collection of atoms roughly configured into human form. In accordance with Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, it is not possible to know, with any degree of accuracy, where he is and what he is doing at any given time (which is a constant source of irritation to his friends and family).

From a more conventional perspective, he lives near Tunbridge Wells in Kent – in fact, he has lived in the South-East of England all his life. He has not travelled extensively, he doesn’t participate in extreme sports (or even moderate ones) and he has never held a high powered job in the corporate world or the foreign office. He has never been a spy, an international gunrunner or a member of a boy band. He does, however, like to write, create artwork (usually depicting wolves or crystal skulls – occasionally both), play the guitar badly and think about things (pictured left) – interestingly he often turns monochrome when thinking hard.

At just 18-years-old Jack started writing about a fictional village in Southern Europe, building up a whole cast of gloriously oddball characters. At the same time he started to record his own experiences and observations on life. Finally, after many years, he drew the two together, transforming what started off as endless anecdotes into his debut novel, the Curious History of Joshua Ramdinkka.

He claims, somewhat predictably, that the Curious History of Joshua Ramdinkka is merely the first in a planned trilogy of books; although, given the amount of time he has spent arsing around on the first one, I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for the second.

Jack is a proponent of the ‘Infinite Monkey’* school of writing.
Connect with Jack at these sites:

Q&A with Jack Ginesi

Do you draw from personal experiences and/or current events?
For the most part, I draw on my own experiences and observations. The book is set in a small European village, which is entirely fictitious.  As the story is primarily allegorical in nature, I wanted to create an insular little world, cut off from external influences – a kind of laboratory where I could explore the psychology and motivations of the inhabitants. This tends to give the story a somewhat surreal edge; although it was nice to hear my father, who grew up in a provincial Italian town, remarking on how reading the book brought back memories of his childhood.

Do you start with the conclusion and plot in reverse or start from the beginning and see where the story line brings you?
As a general rule, I start at the beginning because I tend to see the story unfolding like a movie in my head – I just follow it wherever it takes me. In the case of The Curious History of Joshua Ramdinkka, the book actually started out as several short stories that, over time, merged together. These became the history of the Ramdinkka family and helped to shape the character of the young Joshua.

Your routine when writing?  Any idiosyncrasies?
Generally, I prefer to write in the evening or at night. The basic routine would be; start at around 7:30pm and then aim to write for about 3 or 4 hours. For me, there is definitely something about the night that seems conducive to writing, things just seem more intense and focused – I’m pretty sure that all the deepest philosophical conversations I’ve ever had, have taken place either late at night or in the wee small hours of the morning (and that had nothing to do with alcohol).

I have many idiosyncrasies, but I’m not sure that any of them relate specifically to my writing. I do have a ‘lucky’ green gnome that I got out of a cracker when I was a kid, it sits on the edge of my desk and watches me while I work – but I don’t know if that helps or hinders me.

Is writing your full time job?  If not, may I ask what you do by day?
By day I am a mild mannered reporter for the Daily Plan… no, hang on a second, that’s somebody else, isn’t it? I do have something of a dual life though, I split my time between consultancy work in the corporate world and running a publishing company that creates spiritual and personal development products. I’m very fortunate in that my work is quite flexible, so I can always create more time to write if I want. The problem is, like many authors, I have a love/hate relationship with my books – so the amount of time I actually spend writing tends to depend of whether the book and I are on speaking terms at that particular moment or not.

Who are some of your favorite authors?
My favourite author would have to be the late, great Douglas Adams. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy books just fascinated me when I was younger. I loved the wonderfully wry observations – they were often deceptively simple, but incredibly insightful. And the passion for technology was also something that resonated with me. I am also a fan of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books – I am in awe of anyone who can conjure up such a vast and vibrant, living universe, in such exquisite detail.

What are you reading now?
At the moment, I am actually re-reading Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz. In general, I tend to read more non-fiction than fiction. I have a fascination with anything spiritual, psychological and philosophical and these topics are always at the core of anything I write.

Are you working on your next novel?  Can you tell us a little about it?
The next novel is in the planning stage. I like to think of it as a “parra-equel” to The Curious History of Joshua Ramdinkka. That is to say, it runs in parallel with the events of the first book (there probably is a proper word for that). The story follows Meloko’s life as told through his journal… but with a twist! And for the first time we’ll discover the unseen forces that played a part in Joshua’s downfall. I also have an idea for a third book that will bring things full circle and will reinstate Joshua to his rightful place in the family history. 

 Your novel will be a movie.  Who would you cast?
That is an interesting question. As I said before, I always visualise the story when I’m writing and the characters are now so clearly defined in my mind that they feel like real people, so it’s strange to think of substituting them with actors. I think the role of Joshua would be particularly tricky to cast (as you will appreciate if you’ve read the book) but I think someone like Edward Norton might be a good choice. In terms of the villagers, I can think of plenty of great actors and actresses who could easily grace the streets of Potokini: Jim Broadbent, Alan Rickman, Derek Jacobi, Judi Dench, Brian Blessed… Wow, can we just go ahead and make this thing?

Manuscript/Notes: hand written or keyboard?
The manuscript is always typed. I really couldn’t work without a word processor; I’m constantly changing, tweaking and generally tampering with things. I often make handwritten notes, there is always a pad and pen next to the bed and I have a little 3 inch by 3 inch spiral bound notepad that I usually carry with me. It’s proved invaluable as I often find inspiration strikes when I’m out walking.

Favorite leisure activity/hobby?
I spend around an hour a day meditating…although technically, I guess, that would be classed as an inactivity. Apart from that I love anything where I can be creative: writing, photography, artwork, music, web design – I can easily lose myself for days in a project.

Favorite meal?
Tuna Bolognese with Penne Rigate topped with melted mozzarella made to my own recipe… bellissimo!

ABOUT THE BOOK

“For though we share one planet, we inhabit many worlds.” – Barisko Volloti
Joshua Ramdinkka is having a bad day…that makes 14,768 and counting. It’s not like he asked to take over the running of the celebrated Ramdinkka vineyard but, as the last of his distinguished line, what choice did he have?

The suspicion that great grandfather’s ghost is trying to muscle his way back into the family business isn’t helping matters. Nor is the fact that his alter ego has accidentally killed the village mime. Now it seems the council is just itching to bulldoze his beloved family home. But is Joshua a victim or the architect of his own misfortune? The answer is staring him in the face but, with the Grim Reaper dogging his every step, can he really cheat death and reclaim his life or is he destined to fall foul of a classic cinematic cliché? Set in a bygone world of vineyards and village life, this is a novel about the choices we make and how they make us. It’s about living in the shadow of greatness, the perils of discovering you are God and the realisation that no one else will ever see the world quite the way you do.

The Curious History of Joshua Ramdinkka explores how we create our own reality. It is an intriguing and provocative tale of one man’s history, played out against the backdrop of a small, southern European village – filled with gloriously eccentric characters – and told with a wry, offbeat sense of humour. The book examines the relationship between life and death and raises numerous metaphysical questions, whilst touching on a number of spiritual themes. Whilst fiction, this thought-provoking book invites the reader to examine patterns in their own life. The idea that human experience is a matter of perception, and that all truth is subjective, is a powerful theme.

BOOK DETAILS:

Number of Pages: 346
Publisher: New Generation Publishing
Publication Date: January 29, 2014
ISBN-10: 1910162205
ISBN-13: 978-1910162200

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WELCOME ALINE TEMPLETON

ALINE TEMPLETON

Aline Templeton grew up in the fishing village of Anstruther, in the East Neuk of Fife. She has worked in education and broadcasting and was a Justice of the Peace for ten years. Married, with two grown-up children and three grandchildren, she now lives in a house with a view of Edinburgh Castle. When not writing, she enjoys cooking, choral singing, and traveling the back roads of France.
Connect with Aline at these sites:

Q&A with Aline Templeton

 
Writing and Reading:
Do you draw from personal experiences and/or current events?
Both, I suppose, though only in a general way. I never put people I know in my books, though I might see someone who suggests a character. For instance, I once passed a very old lady standing hunched over, smoking, her face wrinkled as a walnut, very shabby, wearing what looked a man’s old tweed jacket and trousers. But she was wearing a bright purple crocheted hat with a bunch of pink, white and purple flowers on it. I didn’t know anything about her but she made a great character in Lamb to the Slaughter.

I don’t write directly about current events but sometimes a news story prompts an idea. The case of Louise Woodward, the nanny convicted of killing her charge, prompted a ‘what-if’ story that was the starting point for Cradle to Grave.

Do you start with the conclusion and plot in reverse or start from the
beginning and see where the story line brings you?
Somewhere between the two. When I start I usually think I know what the ending will be and I set off towards it. But I could well be wrong – I’m a great believer in letting the story develop. I write because I’m telling myself a story and I want to see what happens. If I knew it all too definitely, I would get bored. In fact, in one of my early books, Past Praying For, I reached the second last chapter and realized I’d got the murderer wrong! I thought, ‘Of course! That’s who did it,’ and went back to change the story to fit – then found that it was all there. It’s amazing what the subconscious can do without you noticing.

Your routine when writing? Any idiosyncrasies?
Very boring, I’m afraid. I go to my desk at 9.30 and write until just after 1.00. No coffee break – I just make a mug and take it back to my study. In the afternoon I revise and do all the housekeeping related to emails and posts – and a bit of housework as well!

Is writing your full time job? If not, may I ask what you do by day?
Yes, it has been for many years.

Who are some of your favorite authors?
In crime, Louise Penny, PD James, Andrea Camilleri. In the classics Jane Austen, of course, and Henry James and Emily Bronte; poets Browning, Kipling, TS Eliot, Robert Frost – and dozens of others. Modern fiction; Tracy Chevalier, Elizabeth Jane Howard, Barbara Kingsolver, Jane Smiley

What are you reading now?
Sashenka by Simon Sebag-Montefiori. It’s a compelling, moving and impressively-researched story about Russia under Stalin.

Are you working on your next novel? Can you tell us a little about it?
It’s the next in the DI Marjory Fleming series. It begins with a group of hedonistic young people whose excesses end in tragedy when one dies of a drugs overdose and one leaves a suicide note at the edge of a cliff. But two years later a car is found stranded on a mudflat in the Solway Firth after a high tide and the murdered body found in it is that of the man believed to be dead.

Fun questions:
Your novel will be a movie. Who would you cast?
DI Fleming would have to be an actress with a Scottish accent – there’s nothing I hate more than a fake attempt at one – so that rather limits the field. Emma Thomson is English but she spends a lot of time in Scotland so she would probably do it quite well and she’d make a good Big Marge.

Manuscript/Notes: hand written or keyboard?
Notes hand-written every time. If I’m starting a book, or if I hit a sticky patch, I always seize one of my trusty Bic fine-point pens and write in longhand – I feel it gets me closer to my characters sometimes.

Favorite leisure activity/hobby?
I love to cook – mainly French influenced, I suppose. Cookery books are my favorite indulgent reading.

Favorite meal?
A light, elegant cappuccino soup like artichoke, roasted roe deer venison, a dessert of three or four minute ‘themed’ puddings – like lemon tart, lemon mousse, lemon sorbet and limoncello jelly. You can tell I take a lot of holidays in France!

ABOUT THE BOOK

This moody and arresting thriller is perfect for fans of Tana French.

On a beautiful, eerily quiet May morning, a girl is found brutally bludgeoned to death. When Detective Marjory Fleming arrives, the silence of the scene is broken only by the ringing of the girl’s cell phone. The nearby community is small and close-knit, but the veneer of contented prosperity conceals nasty secrets and deep betrayals. When another corpse is discovered, Fleming quickly realizes she must watch her own back while she searches for the link between the murders. As she uncovers layer upon layer of intrigue and deceit, it becomes apparent that, while the dead can’t tell lies, the living most certainly can.

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BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Crime Fiction
Published by: Witness Impulse, an imprint of HarperCollins
Publication Date: 2/11/2014
Number of Pages: 513
ISBN: 9780062301758

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DISCLAIMER
I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.
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WELCOME ROB WHITE

ROB WHITE

Rob White is a philosopher, storyteller, author, and inspirational speaker. He’s also a pretty funny guy to listen to. Rob inspires folks to look at their lives through the lens of transformational opportunities which leads them back home to their naturally curious and ambitious nature.

From an early age Rob was dissatisfied with his life, and became an imaginist, dreaming of living a grander life than what his environment was offering.  Rob calls it “inspirational dissatisfaction” that took him from a mill town kid destined to work in a local factory, to a teaching career in a major city, to careers as a highly successful real estate developer and restaurateur with holdings in Massachusetts and California. Most recently, he became an essayist and book author. He is the author of 180: A Guide to Achieving “Inner Strength and Outer Freedom” and A Second Chance at Success: Remarkably Simple Ways to Open Your Life to Opportunities and Turn Past Mistakes Into Lasting Confidence, Happiness and Success.

Rob is regularly featured in the Huffington Post and his unique articles are published in dozens of print and online publications. Most recently, Rob has become a National Spokesperson for Hilton Garden Inn and is an adjunct professor at Northeastern University.
Connect with Rob at these sites:

ABOUT THE BOOK

From humble beginnings, Rob White went on to become very successful in the real estate and restaurant business. At the same time that he began enjoying material wealth, he experienced a deepening feeling of inner emptiness. So he sought out world-class gurus to help him understand better how to live a full, rich life. However, he eventually discovered that the most helpful gurus aren’t necessarily bestselling self-help authors, world-famous keynote speakers, or famous workshop leaders — they’re unassuming gurus that everyone encounters on their journey through life. These “everyday” teachers awakened Rob to powerful insights and life lessons that are superb starting points for a new life.

This book recaps twenty one of Rob’s awakening moments in inspirational, warm, and entertaining stories. You’ll read about a grade school student who, with one simple question, helped Rob gain a deeper understanding of the true meaning of life. You’ll meet a Maasai mother who demonstrated that we’re much more than we dare to imagine. And you’ll meet a former peanut vendor who turned medical wisdom on its head by simply deciding that he wasn’t going to die.

And Then I Met Margaret demonstrates that life is always supporting you by sending the right and perfect person to help you learn what you next need to know in order to grow. Rob wrote this book to alert you to the many unexpected teachers who can help shatter the myths that keep you from you experiencing life to the fullest and achieving your dreams and goals.

After reading And Then I Met Margaret, you’ll never see the world the same way. You may even recognize an unexpected guru or two as you travel the journey of your life

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Non-Fiction
Published by: Mind Adventure Press
Publication Date: Jan 14th, 2014
Number of Pages: 2296
ISBN:978-0980229967

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WELCOME FLORENCE STRANG & SUSAN GONZALEZ

Florence Strang, B.A., B.Ed., M.Ed., is a Registered Psychologist with more than twenty years of experience in the fields of Education and Psychology.   Through her counseling practice, she has taught people to use the power of positive thinking to heal their troubled minds.   After being diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer, Florence began to blog “The Perks of Having Cancer”, as a way to help her stay positive through difficult cancer treatments.  Little did she know when she began this blog, that she would be helping thousands of others to find hope and inspiration.  Florence’s story of battling cancer with an unwavering faith and an unbeatable positive attitude is told in Woman’s World Magazine (April, 2012), and Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Positive (©2012.)

Florence lives in scenic Lewin’s Cove, Newfoundland, with her daughter, Kaitlyn, and sons, Donovan and Ben.

Susan Gonzalez, R.N., BSN, earned her nursing degree in New York in 1986 and has been helping people “get well” ever since.  But no matter where her nursing career path led her, it was empowering patients with knowledge that she loved the most.

Diagnosed with cancer in 2005, Susan had a unique perspective on the disease, being a nurse in the patient’s role.  (something nurses are terrible at, by the way) She took that knowledge and her passion for finding natural cures to fight disease and started writing a blog for those who wanted to make simple changes for healthy living with an emphasis on avoiding cancer.   With 100 Perks of Having Cancer plus 100 Health Tips for Surviving It, Susan hopes to reach many more people with the message that making small lifestyle changes can lead to achieving optimum health and happiness.

Susan currently lives in Atlanta with her husband and two daughters

Connect with Florence and Susan at these sites:

On January 20th, Susan and Florence were interviewed on “Because Hope Matters Radio”.  To listen to the broadcast, click HERE.

ABOUT THE BOOK

How often do you hear the words “healthy”, “happy” and “cancer” mentioned in the same sentence? That is precisely what gives 100 Perks of Having Cancer (Plus 100 Health Tips for Surviving It) its unique character. Its authors not only “talk the talk” of living a healthy lifestyle with a positive attitude on the cancer journey, they also continue to “walk the walk”.

Florence’s perks, which are a combination of inspirational and humorous anecdotes, have made her audiences laugh and cry. Susan’s tips are sought after because of their educational content with a witty twist. Together they provide a valuable resource which will inspire and motivate their readers, while keeping them smiling.

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BOOK DETAILS:

Paperback: 500 pages
Publisher: Basic Health Publications; 1st edition
Publication Date: August 2, 2013
ISBN-10: 1591203562
ISBN-13: 978-1591203568

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WELCOME TILIA KLEBENOV JACOBS

TILIA KLEBENOV JACOBS

Tilia Klebenov Jacobs holds a BA from Oberlin College, where she double-majored in Religion and English with a concentration in Creative Writing. Following an interregnum as an outdoor educator with the Fairfax County Park Authority in Virginia, she earned a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School and a Secondary School Teaching Certification from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Tilia has taught middle school, high school, and college, and has won numerous awards for her fiction and nonfiction writing. She is a judge in the Soul-Making Keats Literary Competition, and she teaches writing in two prisons in Massachusetts. Tilia lives near Boston with her husband, two children, and two standard poodles.
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Guest Post

Without Burt Lancaster, Wrong Place, Wrong Time would not exist.

Let’s start with the basics.  I am mad for Burt Lancaster, whether I am drooling over him in his early roles (so manly and heroic!) or sighing at the depth and grace of his later performances (Field of Dreams, anyone?).  So perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised when he helped me write my first novel.

It all started with The Flame and the Arrow, a jolly, Robin Hood-esque movie starring Burt Lancaster as Dardo, a hunky guy in tights who kidnaps a woman in order to rescue his son, who is being held by Count Ulrich, the evil Hessian overlord.  (Film buffs will not be surprised to know that the hostage is played by Virginia Mayo, a lovely blond who is reliably in peril by the second reel of any movie she appears in.)

Part of what makes this movie so much fun is that Mayo’s character, Anne of Hesse, is never afraid of Dardo.  He is unquestionably bigger and stronger than she; but she stands up to him at every encounter, and during the course of her durance vile she never stops trying to get away.  Reluctantly, Dardo finds himself respecting her, and the film ends on a kiss and a fade-out.

Alas, however, the movie is very much a product of its times, and although Anne refuses to be cowed by Dardo, she also never effectively fights back.  The kidnapping scene is particularly egregious in this regard:  removing her from her bedroom presents all the mechanical and logistical challenges of hoisting a sack of potatoes.  Watching the movie (repeatedly), I wanted her to hit him!  Hard!  Even if she  lost, I wanted her to fight.

Which got me thinking.

What if she did fight back?  And actually knew how to?

What if she didn’t fall in love with him?

What if instead she were married, and loved her husband very deeply?

What if she had a couple of kids?  And were fortysomething instead of twentyish?

What if she were Jewish?  Popular culture only knows two kinds of Jews:  Woody Allen-style neurotics and Holocaust victims.  Neither of these lives in my neighborhood.

What if this happened in real life?  I’d have a thriller with a happily married fortyish Jewish mother of two young children at its heart, that’s what. I know a lot of women like that  in real life, but I don’t see them in fiction.

So I named my heroine Tsara, and set to work.

The next piece of business was Burt’s character, Dardo the mountain man, an antihero morally superior to Count Ulrich, the ostensible keeper of law and order in the wilds of Lombardy.  In Wrong Place, Wrong Time, Dardo morphed into Mike, a former Marine with a criminal record.  Mike is a bruised soul, a man’s man who will risk all to do what’s right.

Mike is a good guy.  But he’s not always a nice guy.

Mike and Tsara have a lot in common, much more than their movie counterparts.  Both are fighters.  Both are parents of young children who are about the same age.  Most important, they share an unwavering moral compass.  These are not people who take ethical shortcuts.

And yet, they are on opposite sides of the law.  That creates a tension between them that fuels the book even as Mike and Tsara bond through joining forces against a mortal enemy.  This tension is the rocket fuel for the book—any scene with Tsara and Mike in it is my favorite, because even when they’re on the same side, they are enemies with a common goal.

And that was the font of my inspiration.  I started with The Flame and the Arrow with its jolly, irreverent tone, and ended up with a high-stakes thriller.

Thank you, thank you, Burt.  I owe you so much.

ABOUT THE BOOK

When Tsara Adelman leaves her husband and two young children for a weekend to visit her estranged uncle, she little dreams he is holding several local children captive on his lavish estate. Mike Westbrook, father of one of the boys, kidnaps her to trade her life for the children’s. Soon Tsara and Mike are fleeing through New Hampshire’s mountain wilderness pursued by two rogue cops with murder on their minds.

BOOK DETAILS:

Number of Pages: 406 pages
Publisher: Linden Tree Press; 2 edition
Publication Date: October 1, 2013
ISBN-10: 0989860116
ISBN-13: 978-0989860116

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DISCLAIMER
I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.
ADDENDUM
I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affiliate. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

WELCOME YAEL LEVY

YAEL LEVY

A freelance illustrator and journalist, Yael Levy has been published in numerous venues, including The Jerusalem Post during her three-year stay in Israel just east of the bustling capital city of Tel Aviv.

She holds a degree in Illustration from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. But it’s the questioning journalist inside her that has launched a new career in writing literature. Her debut novelBrooklyn Love (Sept. 17, 2012, Crimson Romance) hones in on Levy’s interest in the underlying thoughts and expressions of the Orthodox Jewish culture. She followed up with the quirky rom-com Starstruck (Feb. 25, 2013), and later with a paranormal romance called Touchdown (Dec. 9, 2013).

A native New Yorker, Levy currently writes for The Times of Israel about her experiences as a Jewish mother now living in Atlanta. She is also studying for a Masters in Law at Emory University.
Connect with Yael at these sites:

ABOUT THE BOOK

New York socialite Goldie Fischer seems to have it all: wealth, beauty, and a fiancé to die for. Until she’s murdered on her wedding night by a jealous witch and instantaneously loses everything. Angry and seeking revenge, Goldie becomes a dybbuk– her soul possesses the body of Southern football hero Clay Harper and she refuses to join the light until the wrongs are rectified.

Only Clay has issues of his own and doesn’t take kindly to a petulant New Yorker in his head, interfering in his already messed up life. When Goldie promises to leave if Clay helps her break up the wedding between her fiancé and the witch who killed her, Clay reluctantly agrees. Only neither of them are prepared for the chain of events that follow.

Through the journey of two disparate people on a quest to make things right, Touchdown is a funny yet heartbreaking look about what it takes to truly know another soul and what it means to love.

BOOK DETAILS:

Number of Pages: 216 pages
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Publication Date: December 9, 2013
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
ASIN: B00GM304P0

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I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.
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WELCOME MARGARET BARNES

MARGARET BARNES

Margaret Barnes is a retired barrister who splits her time between Notting Hill in London and Exton in Devon. During her career Barnes represented many defendants in high-profile cases including the death of fashion designer Ossie Clark, who was murdered by his lover Diego Cogolato in a drug induced psychotic state of paranoia. Barnes also represented Janet Griffiths who abducted a baby from St Thomas’s hospital. Retirement moved Barnes to study for an MA in Creative Writing course at Exeter University, where she was encouraged to write crime novels. Barnes is also a member of a local writing group which has published a book of short stories called Rammblings, inspired by items in the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter. She also organises a regular literary supper book club which invites a writer to speak about their work; past guests have included Philip Hensher and Frances Fyfield.
Connect with Ms. Barnes at these sites:

Q&A with Margaret Barnes

Do you draw from personal experience and /or current events?
Personal experience plays a big part in my writing. Writers are often told to write what they know about and as I was a criminal defence barrister for many years, I was almost compelled to write about the English Criminal Justice system.  On the other hand there is so much on television and in the newspapers about issues involving the criminal law, that I also can incorporate current events into my writing. Crucial Evidence concerns the question of mistaken identity and the second Cassie Hardman novel will look at the issue of self defence when a shop owner kills a thief. That’s very topical.

Do you start with the conclusion and plot in reverse or start from the beginning and see where the story leads you?
I start with the plot which follows the course of a trial, so that comes first. Then I weave the secondary story line around the first. Having said that, sometimes the characters’ reactions to the trial surprise me, and the story goes off at a tangent.

Your routine when writing? Any idiosyncrasies?
When I was working I was usually in court during the day and did paperwork in the evening and I’ve retained that work pattern. However as I never had fixed routine, I can work virtually anytime and anywhere.

Is writing your full time job? If not, may I ask what you do by day?
I’m retired now and so finally I have the opportunity to write, something I had very little time for when I was working as a barrister.

Who are some of your favorite authors?
It tends to change and I love whoever I’m reading at the moment, but more of that later. I was impressed by and wanted to write a novel like those of Scott Turrow or an early John Grisham and of the UK writers who write about the English Legal system I like Frances Fyfield, who was a solicitor.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading a novel by the journalist and biographer Andrew Wilson called ‘The Lying Tongue.’ It’s a gripping mystery story with an unreliable narrator who wants to write a novel. He gets a job in Venice as a PA to an elderly writer who having written a hugely successful first novel never writes again. The narrator decided he will write a biography of his employer and his research takes him into a very dark place. I will say no more as I don’t want to deny others the pleasure of reading and following this macabre narrator.

Are you working on your next novel? Can you tell us a little bit about it?
Crucial Evidence is the first of three novels charting the career of barrister Cassie Hardman from successful junior into silk. A little like the Martha Costello character in the TV programme Silk. In the second novel she is being stalked by a stranger while she fights to establish the innocence of a shop keeper charged with the murder of a young man who stole from the shop.

Your novel will be a movie. Who would you cast?
That’s really difficult. I think Laura Carmichael, who plays Lady Edith in Downton Abbey would be a good Cassie. She would have to be able to do a soft Lancashire accent. Detective Constable Alex Seymour is a glamorous woman in her mid thirties and perhaps Maxine Peake could play the cop instead of the lawyer.

Manuscript?Note: hand written or keyboard?
Notes by hand and manuscript on the computer. I always wrote jury speeches out in full and by hand, even though other documents I prepared on the computer. I think it was because the address to the jury was to be spoken and everything else was to be read. Writers are advised to always read their work out to check for grammatical mistakes, but there is something about the slowness of reading aloud that enables one to think about the effect of the words, and I think writing by hand does the same thing.

Favorite leisure activity/hobby
I love the theatre and when we are in London we try to get to at least one production. In the country I enjoy walking and as we have a Springer Spaniel so we take him out every day –it’s good exercise for me as well.

Favorite meal
Virtually anything that’s cook by somebody else.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Retired successful barrister offers chilling but revealing insight into the English Criminal Justice System in fast-paced courtroom drama. ” Lenny Barker is standing trial for the murder of a call girl. Unfortunately, his own barrister, Cassie Hardman, believes he is guilty. That is until the weekend before the trial, when Cassie discovers there may be a witness who can provide a compelling alibi for Barker, testifying that he was, in fact, somewhere else at the time of the murder. Ambitious but cautious, Cassie is reluctant to do anything that might jeopardise the case or, more importantly, her career; no barrister in their right mind would go chasing after a key witness. Cassie’s overriding sense of justice stands firm, and she begins an almost forensic search for the missing witness, a man known only as ‘Hinds’. Cassie’s search for Hinds leads her to a seedy night club where she is unceremoniously arrested during a police drugs raid. Facing the prospect of major professional embarrassment, Cassie calls in a favour from DC Alex Seymour, a recent social acquaintance from a friend’s dinner party. Cassie learns that DC Seymour is also on the hunt for Hinds, and the two women form an unconventional alliance to track him down. But things don’t run smoothly and the trial hangs on a knife’s edge. With both women putting their lives, and their careers, at risk, will they get their hands onto the crucial evidence that is needed to give Lenny Barker the fair trial he deserves?

BOOK DETAILS:

Publisher: New Generation Publishing
Publication Date: January 14, 2014
Number of Pages: 352 pages
ISBN-10: 1910162396
ISBN-13: 978-1910162392

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WELCOME CHRISTOPHER MEEKS

CHRISTOPHER MEEKS

Christopher Meeks was born in Minnesota, earned degrees from the University of Denver and USC, and has lived in Los Angeles since 1977. He’s teaches English and creative writing at Santa Monica College, and has taught creative writing at CalArts, UCLA Extension, Art Center College of Design, and USC. His fiction has appeared often in Rosebud magazine as well as other literary journals, and his books have won several awards. His short works have been collected into two volumes, “The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea” and “Months and Seasons,” the latter which appeared on the long list for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. He’s had three plays produced, and “Who Lives?: A Drama” is published. His focus is now on longer fiction. His first novel is “The Brightest Moon of the Century,” and his second, “Love At Absolute Zero.”
Connect with Chris at these sites:

Q&A with Christopher Meeks

Do you draw from personal experiences and/or current events?
Truth springs from the personal. Other people’s stories that I’ve loved have felt naked and truthful, and their points thundered home. Perhaps I first saw that as a teenager reading the poetry of Richard Brautigan and then Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five. Even though both authors used humor, I felt their truths. As I writer, I needed to be the same. My short fiction was always based on personal experiences, and I aimed for emotional truth.

My first two novels, The Brightest Moon of the Century and Love at Absolute Zero revolved around situations I’d been in. One example is when I did everything I could to take my junior year abroad in Denmark to live with my Danish girlfriend. When I arrived, she was living with another guy. It seemed funny years later—just not at the time.

Once I ran out of major events in my life, I thought of things that could happen. Blood Drama is a “What if?” It came from my correcting student papers daily at a Starbucks in the lobby of a bank. The elegant and comfortable setting enveloped me, but then I thought, “This bank could be robbed. What if I were taken hostage?”

Do you start with the conclusion and plot in reverse or start from the beginning and see where the story line brings you?
In writing short fiction, I never know where a story is going, but if I go off course, I’ve only lost ten or twenty pages at the most. A novel is different. You don’t want to write 300 pages of a novel and say, “Whoops. I took a wrong turn on page twenty,” and then throw out 280 pages. A novel takes planning.

What’s great is that thinking is far faster than writing. I see scenes in my mind in fast motion.

I start at the beginning but quickly consider what the arc of the story might be. Where will it go? Then I spend a lot of time considering all the possible steps. The great thing about this approach is an outline may be as little as a few pages. Once I have something down on paper in terms of structure, I can push things and consider other possibilities.

Plenty changes when I write, but an outline is not etched in copper. My outline changes as I write. When I take an interesting left turn, I return to the outline, imagining how this new event might change things down the line. If the change isn’t good, I don’t need to keep pursing it. If I like the new event, I change the outline so that I know where I’m now going.

Your routine when writing? Any idiosyncrasies?
My idiosyncrasies have changed. Do you know the short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut? In a future world, everyone is equal. To make that happen, really great dancers have to dance with lead weights attached so that they lumber like regular people; smart people have a little beep go off in their heads about every twenty seconds. The beep makes them forget their train of thought. Now I feel I’m in that world. My cellphone will vibrate or ring, and it instantly knocks off my train of thought. In fact, it’s ringing now…

I’m back. Where was I? Oh, right. My routine now is to NOT look at email the first thing in the morning, to NOT answer the phone necessarily when it rings. Staying focused is a challenge today for most people. It is for me. It takes focus to write. Now, late night and early morning are my best times. I usually aim for the latter.

Is writing your full time job? If not, may I ask what you do by day?
I have a wonderful balance in my life. I teach creative writing and English, which helps force me to read. Each semester, I always teach new stories or books. I feel challenged and refreshed teaching new things. In my creative writing classes, I also offer new exercises in my continual search to find what inspires. The students’ writing and our discussions feed me.

In turn, as I write new stories, I can relate some of my challenges to their challenges. An interesting thing is my students are almost always nineteen or early twenties, while I keep aging. Yet, I get to stay current with our culture through my students. I couldn’t do that always holed up at home. Also, my teaching schedule makes me be efficient with my writing time.

Who are some of your favorite authors?
Margaret Atwood, Kurt Vonnegut, Tim O’Brien, Lorrie Moore, Raymond Carver, Mark Haskell Smith, Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, and, since last year, Stephen King. I always eschewed King’s novels as I don’t like horror, but then I read 11/22/63 and Joyland—great stuff.

What are you reading now?
Pete Townsend’s biography, Who I Am. I never liked memoirs until a friend recommended Patti Smith’s Just Kids, and now I’m hooked. I taught Smith’s book last semester along with David Sedaris’s Me Talk Pretty One Day.

Are you working on your next novel? Can you tell us a little about it?
I just finished my next novel, A Death in Vegas. It’s about a man who sells beneficial bugs such as ladybugs to organic gardeners, and when he wakes up one morning in his hotel at a convention, he finds a naked dead young woman in his room. He’s in trouble—and his wife isn’t happy either.

I’m about to start my third collection of short stories, which follows The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea and Months and Seasons.

Your novel will be a movie. Who would you cast?
Scarlett Johansen. She should be in every one of my novels. Anyone from the cast of American Hustle should, too. Man, that film offers stunning acting.

Manuscript/Notes: hand written or keyboard?
Ask my ghostwriter. Actually, I was once a ghostwriter. Keyboards.

Favorite leisure activity/hobby?
Drinking hard and shooting guns. (No. That’s my answer after my telephone rang again.)

I like skiing, watching mesmerizing movies, and taking and printing photographs. This was always a question for Playboy Playmates. I’m glad to see we’re all equal now.

Favorite meal?
If you haven’t learned it yet, as you age, your metabolism gets more efficient. At fifteen, I could drink chocolate malts and eat Oreos and never gain weight. I was incredibly thin. Now if I breathe the smell of baked beans, I gain a pound. Gaining weight is so much easier than losing weight, so I try to stay away from favorite foods all in one spot. Thus, favorite meals are more to be dreamed about than eaten.

I love a great steak, such as the filet mignon that Café Beaujolais makes with blue cheese. I love artichokes with hollandaise sauce. I soar with a great French Onion soup or Thai Tom Kah soup, the one with coconut milk.

ABOUT THE BOOK

“Blood Drama is wildly entertaining with fast-paced dialogue and plot twists caroming like a steel ball in a pinball machine.” -Linda Hitchcock, BookTrib

In the crossover thriller BLOOD DRAMA, graduate student Ian Nash, after losing his girlfriend, gets dropped from a Ph.D. program in theatre. When he stops at a local coffee shop in the lobby of a bank to apply for a job, the proverbial organic matter hits the fan. A gang of four robs the bank, and things get bloody. Ian is taken hostage by the robbers when the police show up. Now he has to save his life.

READ AN EXCERPT

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Thriller/Suspense
Published by: White Whisker Books
Publication Date: June 1, 2013
Number of Pages: 240
ISBN: 9780983632962
NOTE: Graphic Violence

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