Mike Angley

I just received another wonderful review of my second novel, Child Finder: Resurrection!  Joyce Gilmour, Copy Editor at Editing TLC, provided the following kind words…thanks Joyce!

“Child Finder Resurrection is Colonel Michael Angley’s (USAF retired) sequel to his book Child Finder. We meet the main character, Air Force Special Agent Patrick O’Donnell a year and a half after he left the Top Secret child rescue program when events went horribly awry and his family was endangered.  Mike Angley brings much experience in criminal investigation and counterintelligence to his writing, which makes the storyline so real, but also so fascinating.

Patrick O’Donnell is a psychic and in Child Finder Resurrection, he is called back into the Top Secret community to help the government track down a very sick and twisted child killer. Patrick’s son, Sean, who also has psychic abilities that come into play in a big way, proves to be a source of help to his father.  It is interesting how the author lets the reader see things that the characters don’t see, which makes the reader want to shout “Watch out/Beware!” a number of times during this thriller. The real twist in this story, I believe, is the fact that this murderer is a psychotic genius.  The mind games that go on are ones that you don’t want to read if you are alone late at night! This book can and will send chills down your spine.

Colonel Angley is proving himself to be a fantastic writer of mystery thrillers.  He promises that the last book in the series, Child Finder: Revelation will be “nonstop action and peril.” Readers will want to read all of the books in this series if they find enjoyment in great thrillers.”

I’m pleased to announce that the Military Writers Society of America has named me the Author of the Month for January 2010!  I will take part in an interview about the honor on Bob Calvert’s Talking With Heroes radio program on January 24th at 5:00 pm Pacific, so if you get some time, please listen in!

The announcement of my selection as Author of the Month came in the January 2010 MWSA Newsletter (page 2), and it was in recognition of my most recently released novel, Child Finder: Resurrection.  Please read the review of my book on page 8 of the newsletter.

Today’s guest is novelist Kathleen Cunningham Guler.  She is the author of the multi-award winning Macsen’s Treasure Series.  Drawing on a long background in literature and history as well as her Welsh and Scottish heritage, she has published numerous articles, essays, reviews, short stories and poetry. Kathleen is a member of the Historical Novel Society, the International Arthurian Society and participates in various writing organizations.

She’s written a four-part series of spy thrillers set in fifth century Britain. She’s also just completed a blog tour that coincided with the release of the fourth and final book, A Land Beyond Ravens.

I have to imagine that you must have some research or academic credentials in history to be able to write about such subjects, even if fiction.

KCG:  My background is rooted in history, literature and art, plus a little drama and music.  One of my degrees is actually in Art (the other being Business Admin).  I’ve always loved the interconnectedness of these various disciplines in the humanities.  When I started with one facet, I found branches that carried me into the others.  I probably have enough study under my belt to have earned a couple more degrees.

In the midst of all this, I wrote—journals, short stories, poetry—casual stuff, just for fun.  It was something that always came naturally and helped me keep my sanity.  A long period passed before this became serious—had to earn a living in the meantime—but when I started my first attempt at a novel, I discovered I finally had a place for all that study of history, literature, art and so on.

MA:  That’s a nice eclectic blend of experiences and academics.  So why novels?  Why not write an historical book?

KCG:  I love the novel-length story.  It seems to be how my mind works—I need the space to get inside the characters’ heads and work through their story.  While poetry has a great appeal as well—the brevity and immediacy bring a strong impact to a specific point— my preference is for the longer work.

MA:  When you were not writing, what did you do to earn a living as you noted previously?  Did any of your professional experiences influence your writing?

KCG:  In the past my professional career mostly encompassed corporate/governmental accounting.  Currently my husband and I have four small businesses that keep us busy, plus my writing.  My books are historical spy thrillers set in fifth century Britain, so that’s a wild difference in setting and occupation (!).  Indirectly, some of the inspiration comes from observing human nature in both the office politics of ‘Corporate America’ and the government as well as dealing with the public.  Of course the mindset of fifth century folks was different than twentieth or twenty-first century people, but they are all looking for gain, to achieve their goals by whatever means gets them there, and to seek that thing that makes them feel good.

MA:  Tell us about your novels.

KCG:  The most recent book, released September 30, is A Land Beyond Ravens, the fourth book in the Macsen’s Treasure Series.  Like all the other books in the series, it’s a historical spy thriller set in fifth century Britain.  It continues the story of master spy Marcus ap Iorwerth’s efforts to keep the country free from oppressive Saxon dominance and to aid in the fulfillment of Myrddin Emrys’ (Merlin) prophecy that a great king called Arthur will one day take the crown.  In this, the final installment, Marcus discovers the emerging Christian church is gaining enough power as an independent faction to dangerously shift control of Britain.  At the same time, his beloved wife Claerwen, gifted with second sight, is plagued with strange dreams that connect inexplicable doom to both Arthur and a long lost grail sacred to Britain’s high kings.  But as Marcus struggles to distract the church, he and Myrddin also set up the very doom Claerwen sees.  It seems they accidentally set things in motion that will send a lot of folks off chasing something called a grail…

MA:  That’s an interesting twist …having a spy protagonist in a medieval setting like this.  Of course, spies have been around since forever (world’s second oldest profession?), but you don’t ordinarily read novels about them in this period.  How did you develop his character?

KCG:  Originally I saw Marcus ap Iorwerth as sort of a Dark Age warrior, maybe in the employ of some high ranking nobleman and having a bunch of adventures related to Arthurian legend.   Then I went, “yeesh, that’s awfully hokey.”  Then I hit on the idea that he should be a spy, somebody like James Bond.  Ok, keep going…but he couldn’t be just another Bond character running around in a tunic and carrying a sword.  This was where my background in history began to kick in.  I discovered that Britain was likely composed of around fifty small, petty kingdoms in those days.  I also discovered the bickering, jealous, cliquish and tribal mindset of the rulers (and the people) of those kingdoms prevented them from uniting against the encroachment of dangerous outsiders like the Saxons.  Here was the opportunity to portray a character who desired above all else to set things right to keep Britain free.  Sure I could have given all of Marcus’s traits to a King Arthur figure, but I wanted to write of the period preceding Arthur’s taking of power and have Marcus, as a spy, be instrumental in that rise to power.

MA:  Amazing!  Tell us more about his character.

KCG:  Marcus is an iron-willed, blunt-talking man, tough, courageous and loyal to his ideals and principles.  He has the capability to love very deeply and does care for his wife so much that he tends to be over-protective, which actually sometimes puts her in danger by not telling her everything.  He has a hard time to trust that she can better help herself—and him—if she knows what’s going on.  He also drinks too much, usually out of a deeply buried guilt he won’t even let himself think about.

MA:  Is there a particular nemesis, someone who is a constant thorn – er, sword, in Marcus’ side?

KCG:  The ‘bad guy’ is defined by the ‘situation’ in fifth century Britain rather than any single antagonist.  It’s the fluid, unpredictable dynamics of the many stubborn, irascible minor-ranking kings, clan-lords and even the high king who can’t come to terms with each other and who can’t understand if they don’t unite against the oppressive Saxons, those Saxons will eventually conquer them.  This attitude drives Marcus nuts and is what he works to resolve for nearly three decades.

MA:  You sure have been prolific with your writing…can I assume you have some more projects in mind for the future?

KCG:  Right now I’m re-editing my first novel, Into the Path of Gods.  Now that the fourth book is out, my editor wants to re-release the whole four-book series in electronic format next year.  She feels, and so do I, that my writing style has matured since the first book came out back in 1998.  (Different editor then as well.)  It also needs some corrections in the historical end of it—my research skills have improved, too.  And if sales go well with the new book, they may give me a contract to reissue the whole series in trade paperback!

After this re-edit is done, I have another project I’ll be ready to start: a multi-period historical told through several interconnected stories.  I’ve also wanted to write a novel about Owain Glyndwr, the national hero of Wales, for a long time. Beyond that, I have a whole drawer full of ideas to explore.

MA:  Will we see Marcus or any of his cohorts in your future writings?

KCG:  The Macsen’s Treasure Series will stay at four books.  I’ve been asked numerous times if I will do a fifth installment, but in my mind the story is done.  Conceivably, it’s possible that a descendant of the characters in this series could figure in another book or series set in a later period.  At this time I have no plans for such a series, but…never say never!

MA:  Never indeed!  What do you want readers of your books to walk away with?  I like to inspire with my writing, what about you?

KCG:  The one thing I’d like readers to take away from my work is that human nature really doesn’t change over the centuries.  No matter what the time, place, culture or technology, human nature will always strive to find happiness, comfort, hope and what feels like normal.  Culture may dictate what constitutes how that happiness is perceived, but like water seeking its own level, human nature seeks what feels good.  I’m always amazed how, in the middle of devastation, be it war or a natural disaster, people will still look for hope and try to make things as normal as possible.  Just shows how resilient we can be.

MA:  Well, that is inspiring in and of itself!  Thanks Kathleen for dropping by the Child Finder Trilogy and spending time with me and my readers.  I encourage everyone to visit Kathleen’s websites to learn more about her and her books:

Blog: http://kathleenguler.blogspot.com/

Website: http://kathleenguler.com/

This is a fun article!  Mary Deal outlines one of the secrets to her success as an author…her ability to compose prose using proper grammar and the right amount of eloquence.  When writing, it’s important to sound credible.  It’s one thing to use poor grammar when you are inside a character’s head or quoting her speech.  After all, a poor, uneducated, person isn’t going to talk uppity.  But the words you use as an author to cement your story together had better follow proper rules of grammar.  Read Mary’s article for her take…and remember, talk uppity, then visit Mary’s website:  Write Any Genre.

Talk Uppity

by Mary Deal

Someone once asked, “I was told to write how I speak in order to make my stories conversational. So why can’t I get them published?”

I took a look at that woman’s writing style and it instantly triggered a memory of my own experience.

The language with which we’re most comfortable doesn’t always produce the best writing style.

I grew up among middle-class everyday folk. Language was one thing that separated groups of people as I had come to know them. When I was young, every once in a while I’d hear someone say, “Oh my! She talks so uppity!”

Hearing such remarks from people that I liked made me wonder what uppity might mean. What I heard when those others spoke was language that seemed too proper, maybe too perfect.

As children, my siblings and I used to imitate at play. We’d throw our hands on our hips and accuse one another, saying, “Oh my! You talk uppity!”

I decided that I didn’t want someone saying anything like that about me. I didn’t want my friends and family to think I put on airs. I continued using the language I grew up with, until I began to write.

Then, every time I looked, my thesaurus kicked out words and phrases that, when spoken, sounded like speech I had heard long ago. Uppity speech. Yet, it all sounded so good when I used those terms and phrases in my stories. I started getting published more. I graduated to using a Chicago Manual of Style. My former language nuances enhance my writing style, but now what I say is more grammatically correct.

What I realized was that the language errors in the ways of my common-folk upbringing kept me using simple language and colloquialisms in my writing. The proper language I had heard from others and shied away from was just that: Proper.

So in order for me to write stories to the best of my ability, I had to learn to write and speak uppity. And guess what. Doing so improved my stories beyond anything that I could beforehand have imagined. And all it really was, and had been all along, was correct grammar usage. So go ahead. Talk uppity.

I am delighted to welcome today’s guest-blogger, author Cynthia Vespia.  Cynthia was drawn to writing at a young age.  After high school she established a successful career as a freelance journalist writing everything from features and fillers, to reviews and human interest stories.

Her first novel, a medieval fiction entitled The Crescent (iUniverse), was published in August 2005.  The novel was unanimously praised as “an engaging, descriptive read” which prompted a sell-out at Borders Bookstore in less than one hour during the first official signing.

A short story, a satirical look at the afterlife titled Death’s Grand Design (Utterpants), was published online shortly thereafter and once again met with reviews that honored her attention to detail and the flow of her prose.

In May of 2006, Theater of Pain (Lulu.com) was released.  This suspense thriller unfolds within the eccentric world of professional wrestling where competitors would do anything to reach the top…even murder.

Most recently, Cynthia has written her darkest novel to date with the release of Demon Hunter (AspenMountainPress.com) the story about a nobody who becomes a somebody in the bloodiest of ways.  Following the tradition of dark fantasy and combining the concept of high-adventure, Demon Hunter examines both the light and dark side of human nature when a man learns he is fated to hunt demons before they corrupt mankind.

You sure have been busy writing!  Has it always been in your blood?

CV:  Well I’ve been writing since I was a kid. It’s always been a favorite pastime of mine. I love the creative process and everything that goes with it…dreaming up worlds, characters, and adventures.  I like to think of my projects as character driven novels full of suspense as well as dark fantasy. Think of them as, “Real life situations that you could find yourself in but hope to God you never do.” In my spare time I enjoy reading, movies that involve strong plot/characters, and keeping active through various forms of martial arts and as an active fitness competitor.

I read alot. One of my favorite authors of all times is Dean Koontz. When I was in high school I picked up a copy of his novel Intensity and I became so enraptured by the story that I decided that was what I wanted to do. My inspiration was to have my novels touch and entertain my readers the same way Koontz had done for me.

MA:  Your professional life, even before writing novels, involved writing.  Tell us about that, and any cross-influences you experienced with the different writing styles.

CV:  I’ve used my writing capabilities to enhance my career (freelance journalist; editorial director; head copywriter) but not the other way around. My characters invariably always have a touch of myself in them but they also are a mash-up of people I’ve met throughout this journey called life. I don’t necessarily do it by choice. Little idioms in my subconscious that stand out in one way or another from a particular person will weave their way into a character’s attributes. I just go with it.

MA:  What about your current project?  Tell us about Demon Hunter.

CV:  There have been many solitary novels about werewolves, vampires, demons, and dragons in the past. My novel Demon Hunter: The Chosen One presents all of them in a dark and bone chilling adventure. It is the first in a trilogy.

Costa Calabrese has just uncovered the truth about his past. Some truths should never be revealed. When you learn you’re the son of the world’s foremost and feared hunter of demons, life’s rules inevitably change.  As his lineage is uncovered he must stay one step ahead of the demons who are intent on the destruction of his famed family. With the aide of companions he meets along the way, Costa will travel the great expanse of the land walking in his famed father’s footsteps and taking up the role his blood line now demands of him…whether he wants to or not. He is a killer of killers, laying waste to the scourge of evil that threatens the existence of mankind. He is the chosen one. He is the Demon Hunter.

MA:  You mentioned a trilogy…what will the next two books be about?

CV:  Demon Hunter was always meant to be a trilogy of terror. The second installment Demon Hunter: Seek & Destroy came out around last Thanksgiving, and it reunites our heroes on another epic journey that starts on the high seas and ends in the pit of Hell!  There is also a romance brewing in DH2.  At the moment I’m currently writing the third and final installment of the DH series and I’ll let you in on a little secret, it is going to be something completely unexpected.

MA:  That’s cool.  Now, Costa sounds like an interesting character.  Is he one of these extraordinary protagonists, almost superhuman?  Or is he more down-to-earth?

CV:  Costa is something of an “everyman” that is faced with difficult choices and responsibilities. His life is essentially turned upside down in the blink of an eye. In the beginning he’s very unsure of himself, he feels as though he has no real purpose to life and longs for something better. I believe each and every one of us has felt that way at one time or another. You may wish for something to change and then when you wind up getting your wish you find out things are just as hard, if not harder than they were before. For Costa finding out he has special attributes that stem from a lineage of hunters takes him by surprise. He finds he has to face down changes in himself that he may or may not be ready for.

MA:  He sounds like an amazing hero.  In addition to his demon-hunting lineage, does he have any special gifts or powers?

CV:  Though at first he’s unaware of his particular strengths, Costa has the gift of foresight…a pretelling of certain events, almost premonitions in nature. Throughout the novel he will learn to draw upon many different strengths such as courage, perseverance, and intuition to help him through difficult challenges. It’s also nice to have your protag invested with some physical skills that make him a lethal weapon as well!  As far as weaknesses it goes back to his early days where he felt unworthy and unsure of himself. That lack of self confidence is addressed throughout the story until Costa is able to overcome it.

MA:  Now I suppose with your story’s premise, there’s all kinds of bad guys – er, bad entities, right?

CV:  Demons run rampant throughout Demon Hunter…hey it’s in the very title after all!  But it’s not just the grotesque spawn of the underworld that threaten our heroes, it’s also the demons in their own minds they have to contend with. There are past mistakes to be reconciled and future worries that plague them in their journey.  But along the way they must face foes of admirable power such as Lord LeCarde…a twisted, soulless vampire leader determined to wipe out Costa’s entire family line and anyone else who crosses his path.

MA:  I guess you probably don’t have any real-life experiences you draw from to form the characters and plotlines in Demon Hunter, or do you (please say no, please say no)?

CV:  I do tend to draw from real-life when I’m writing. For Demon Hunter: The Chosen One I used the challenges and changes I faced during my five years as a fitness competitor.  Competing helped me to understand facets of myself that I may not have uncovered otherwise. I used these learning experiences for Costa’s own journey from a simple farm hand into the new hunter of demons.

MA:  (lets out a sigh of relief) Okay, I guess those are not so bad to draw from…was worried you may have had an actual demon encounter.  So what’s in your writing future?

CV:  I plan to continue to write until I can do it no longer!  I’ve got quite a collection of ideas swarming around in my head.  I’m also focusing on rewriting the screenplay for my novel The Crescent.  I’m looking to get the film in production within the next year.  Interested parties should visit project page at: http://cynthiavespia.com/Book_Titles/Crescent/Crescent_Movie/crescent_movie.html

MA:  Well, you earned that plug!  I want to thank you for stopping by to visit with me today.  If anyone out there can help Cynthia with her screenplay project, please be sure to check out her link, above.  In the meantime, I invite all my readers to check out Cynthia at her website, as well as her publisher’s site:

www.CynthiaVespia.com and www.AspenMountainPress.com, respectively.

The New York Journal of Books gave my debut novel, Child Finder, an amazing review!  I invite you all to check it out, and here’s a little excerpt to tease you to the full review:

“Topical, intriguing, and suspenseful—all apt descriptions for Michael Angley’s Child Finder.  His debut novel in the mystery trilogy about the perennial horror of child abductions could almost be included in the science fiction genre as well, since he deftly draws both the reader and protagonist into the world of the paranormal.”

My personal thanks goes out to reviewer John Wills for his kind words and wonderful comments.

Author Mary Deal weighs in on an important topic…repetition in writing and how it can turn off readers.  In her article, she uses an example where description can be repetitive and potentially offensive to a reader.  I would like to add the same holds true for dialogue.  I’m sure everyone reading this post has had the experience of being in a group setting and participating in a conversation.  Fine so far, right?  But then a new person walks in the room and asks, “What’s up guys?”  Isn’t it frustrating and boring when people feel compelled to rehash the entire conversation?  The same thing holds true in writing.  Sometimes in my stories I have scenes where a character joins a conversation late, but I always find a way to “brief him up” without having to bore the reader with the same dialogue.  I may have my protagonist excuse himself to take a phone call, leaving the room after saying, “Why don’t you guys bring Woody up to speed on the operation while I take this call.”  Done!  Read Mary’s article for her insights, and be sure to visit her website for even more writing tips: Write Any Genre.

Repetition Offends Your Reader

by Mary Deal

When descriptive words are used repetitively in writing, it makes the reader wonder why they have to be told something they’ve already learned earlier in the story. Repetition can kill your reader’s interest.

On Page 2 of my new novel, River Bones, the reader learns that Sara, the protagonist, is blonde when the real estate salesman describes her to someone else:

“Some middle-aged blonde woman—a real looker out of Puerto Rico—just bought that damnable eyesore down along the river.”

On Page 9 I say,

“The breeze whipped her hair across her face and wrapped it around her neck.”

I had originally written that sentence like this:

“The breeze whipped her long blonde hair across her face and wrapped it around her neck.”

Because I mentioned Sara’s hair color on Page 2, no need exists to mention the color again anywhere else in the book, with rare exceptions, of course.

Notice, too, her hair length was not mentioned on Page 2, but on Page 9 if her hair is long enough to whip across her face and around her neck, no need exists for the word “long” to describe it. Surely from reading that one corrected sentence, a reader knows Sara’s hair is not cropped off at the nape of her neck.

The word “long” was not needed due to the description of how the hair reacted in the wind.

To further prove the point, read the sentence from Page 2 with the correct sentence from Page 9. Then go back and read the sentence from Page 2 with the incorrect sentence from Page 9.

Analyze your sentences for superfluous words. Cut ruthlessly, or improve the action in your sentence to show what you mean. Your readers will love you for it.

I am pleased, once again, to announce the monthly book giveaway winner.  For December, it is Jenny Rose!  If her name is familiar, it’s because she won the November book contest, as well.  Congratulations, Jenny.

Folks — if you subscribe to my newsletter, you are eligible to win a book, but you have to leave comments on my posts.  The most-prolific-newsletter-subscribing-commenter in any given month gets a book…signed…personalized if you like!

More details about the program can be found here:  Mike Angley’s Monthly Book Contest

I had the opportunity to appear as a guest on the Coffee with a Canine website, a unique blog that features people and their dogs, with an emphasis on special occasions where the pets join their owners as they enjoy a cup of hot coffee.

My dog Brynn is a two-year-old American Beagle…full of energy, mischief, and love.  She’s a great pet, and has had some hijinks under her belt already (you have to read the story about her encounter with a rather large buck).

Please visit Coffee with a Canine and check out the great story of my dog, Brynn!

MA:  First things first…HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!  Please help me welcome my special guest today, paranormal suspense writer, Julie Achterhoff!  Julie has lived all over the United States.  She is the mother of five, one still at home.  Julie started writing when she was very young, and kept a few teachers up at night with her horror stories!  Attending college later in life, she took every writing class offered. Quantum Earth is her debut novel.

Now, you told me an interesting story about how your children came into the world.  Please tell my readers.

JA:  I was a stay-at-home mom to five great kids for most of my life.  I was also a homebirth midwife. I delivered babies at home.  Both of these endeavors were extremely gratifying. Then I turned to writing.

MA:  I have three kids – a handful!  Five have to be a lot of work.  I’m surprised you even have time to write!  So why novels?  With such a large family, do your own children have “bit roles” as characters in your stories?

JA:  I guess I chose novels because I love to write about all the crazy thoughts that run through my head.  I also love to read, and thought it would be just the creative outlet I needed as my children grew up and moved out of the house.  So far my writing doesn’t have many kids or births in it.  I think some of my characters are based on parts of different people I’ve interacted with through the years.

MA:  Please tell us about your first story.

JA:  My debut novel is called Quantum Earth, and it is about a ragtag team of metaphysical scientists interested in what is happening up to the events of the ending of the Mayan calendar on December 21st, 2012.  They formulate a theory that perhaps it is human thought that is creating the increasingly devastating storms, earthquakes, tsunamis, etcetera.  The genre is paranormal suspense.

MA:  That sure has been a hot topic lately.  There was that movie about the Mayan prophecy a couple months back, 2012.  So who ends up being the hero or heroine in the story?

JA:   Well, I was interested in the whole 2012 scenario and began to have dreams about it.  From there I started taking some notes and formulating a plan for the novel.  My protagonist is a strong, but slightly confused character in the story.  He is softened by the main female lead character.  They work very well together and re-think things a lot as things change; which they do at every turn.  Of course they are also lovers, so there are some fiery scenes within these pages.  At first it’s a secret, but they finally let the world know they love each other.  The hero is a real down to earth guy who tries to do the right thing.  The problem is that the right thing becomes less and less clear as the story unfolds, especially around some of the convoluted corners.

MA:  A doomsday love story!  Now that’s a touching angle to an otherwise frightening story premise.  Other than the world ending – which is bad enough – is there a special antagonist in the book?

JA:  My “bad guy” had to, of course, have childhood issues.  He was an outcast until he stumbled into the occult.  He becomes very powerful because of an unlikely negative spirit that has latched onto him.  This spirit will stop at nothing to get the team to do his bidding and keep the Earth just the way it is so it can reincarnate to unleash its terrible vengeance.

MA:  And what comes after you finish off the world?  Any future writing plans?

JA:  My second effort, called Deadly Lucidity, is in the editing phase with my publisher right now.  It should be out within the next couple of months.  I really love the storyline in this novel because it’s about actual dreams I’ve had.  I keep a dream journal, and definitely have some wild ones.  The book is about a woman who has learned to lucid dream, which means she is completely aware during her dreams as if she were really awake.  Only it seems she begins to get stuck in one particular dream that keeps coming up.  She meets a man who is a ranger who tries to help her.  There is also a very nasty, beastly man who is on her tail.  Whatever she does she can’t seem to escape.  Luckily, she runs into a few people who unwittingly or not are able to point her in the direction of a great castle where she is told she has a chance of breaking the spell.  The problem is we don’t know exactly what’s really going on until the very end.  My next book will be about a magician-turned private detective.  It is as yet untitled.  But I’ve written down several notes and am pretty excited about it.

MA:  With such fantastic story ideas, it sure sounds like you enjoy writing a lot.

JA:  Writing is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.  I would do it for free if that were the case.  In fact, it almost is the case.  It’s tough competition out there and no matter how much publicizing you do, it’s never enough.  For instance, I still don’t have any reviews on amazon.com even though I’ve done everything I could to get my book in the public eye.

MA:  Well, I want to thank you for guest-blogging with me today, and my very best to you as you pursue your writing dreams.  You can learn more about Julie at her blog: http://earthwalkr.wordpress.com/