Action is the foundational key to all success.

– Pablo Picasso

Meet S.P. Brown

The Write Way Café welcomes S.P. Brown, an academic, author, and creative soul, shares his process, his inspiration, and his vision.

When did you first have the thought you'd like to write a book? 
I assume you mean fiction since that’s what I’m being interviewed for. I have several college textbooks published. It’s an interesting story. Way back in the very early 90s I attended the same church in Oxford Mississippi as John Grisham. I never personally met him and very soon with the publication of The Firm he experienced a true meteoric rise, almost overnight. Well, a friend of mine at the same church had the crazy idea that we could do that. Easy, no problem. “Anyone can write a great novel, right?” Well, fast forward to 2005 and, bored with my academic work, I sat down with a tablet and began knocking out story ideas. The answer to that query my friend and I had was, no. It takes some real talent to achieve what Grisham had done. But I needed a challenge, and getting published in fiction turned out to be more of a challenge than I had originally expected. For one, in the 15 years since Grisham had started, the industry had changed and many, MANY more people were writing and publishing. It was very difficult breaking in, even with good work and even with an indie publisher. But it’s been fun.

What was your path to getting Veiled Memory written and published? What type of research did you do? 
A germ of an idea. I knew what I wanted to accomplish with the trilogy (the second is half done). I also had to learn the craft, so in the early years I did a LOT of exploring with this story and it went through several iterations. I’ve never taken a creative writing course, but I read widely in fiction across many genres. I also read LOTS of books on writing and started reading novels with an eye on the writing, the craft. I also read lots of authors’ blogs on writing. Everything helped. I write paranormal thrillers with strong elements of fantasy and sci-fic (Veiled Memory especially) so I also had to do some research in astronomy. One subplot in Veiled Memory is that the moon’s orbit is declining (that discovery serves as the very first scene of the novel set in the prologue). Yet I seek to ground my stories well in the real world, so what consequences will there be? How could the elliptical orbit change? I’ve even interviewed astronomers on that. I wrote some of the story from Ithaca, NY, its setting, but other places I had to research closely and remotely. The book went through several changes. It started as an adult novel (the way it is now), but fairly early on I changed it to a middle grade fantasy. I even “won” literary representation with it (the Ethan Ellenburg Agency in NY City). Now that was exciting. On my way, right? Wrong. My agent literally fell apart, a personal meltdown, and the book went nowhere. The agency and I had a mutual parting. I decided then to do it alone. I knew it was a good book, publishable, marketable. So I switched it back to its original form as an adult novel and morphed some of the characters. I spent years trying to gain representation for it in its current form but couldn’t pull that trick off again, so decided to go the indie route. I didn’t want to self-publish. To me that isn’t publishing. I know there are lots of people doing quite well that way, but it isn’t for me. My bias.

Where did the idea for Veiled Memory come from?
Harry Potter, actually. I have always been fascinated by J.K.’s underworld of witches and wizard’s but she never delves into their origin. I wanted to do something new, a new mythology with a deep backstory that explains the origins of my own fictional covert group. So, Rowling and the world of HP were my inspirations, but, of course, my trilogy, The Stonehenge Chronicles, is absolutely very, very different. I abhor copy cats, so this is a way different story, but the inspiration was in HP, which I really love. Also, my goal was to create a mythology of Stonehenge. So, by the end of the trilogy we’ll know why and how it got made, what it was used for, and the origins of my covert community. I won’t say here what I call them. As you read their backstory comes to light.

Why did you pick the setting you did? 
I wanted a strong connection to NY City, but with the backstory of my main character running to start a new life, I wanted an interesting area of the U.S. with a certain quality in proximity to NY City. I knew it would be centered in a university setting, so Ithaca and Cornell were perfect. Plus I knew the area. I have a brother who lives in upstate NY and I actually wrote some of this book from Ithaca. Ithaca is simply interesting.

Are your main characters completely imaginary or do they have some basis in real people? Do they reflect aspects of yourself? 
My MC, Madeline Alleyn, is an academic historian. Both my wife and I are academics and my wife is a historian. Other than that, no, no real connection.

Did you face any blocks while writing the book, and if so, how did you handle them? 
I have never had a writing block, but I do give my stories time to percolate. Nothing comes superfast. And I edit a lot as I write, so plot and character have a chance to jell that way.

What have been surprises you've encountered while writing the book and after?
Inevitably, for me, the characters start writing the book on their own. I know that is a cliché, but it’s true for me. The thing does gather steam and often goes in unexpected places as I let the story percolate through the writing process. I don’t have the full story when I start. I have the ending and that’s it. I work on the beginning A LOT. Once written, I edit many, many, MANY times, even as the writing is ongoing. Then I get people to read it. I smooth out inconsistencies, etc. No surprises, really, just hard work.

What did you learn? For instance, what did you learn about yourself, your process, the writing world; about psychokinetic powers, ancient stones, and Celtic history?
I’ve tried to explain the writing process in my earlier responses. Basically, the story writes itself. I once tried to do what Grisham does, writing a short paragraph on each proposed chapter before even beginning the book. For me, that is an impossible task. I have to begin the book. The rest is discovery, seat-of-pants writing. The rest you mention is all wrapped up in research and bits that is just made up by me. But I try to write grounded stuff. Veiled Memory is very grounded to the real world. Well, except, you know, for all the telekinesis and telepathy. The ancient stones idea is all wrapped around this extensive backstory. Also, I belong to a Celtic group where I live (Brown is Scottish), so I’m making connections there. I make some other connections; you’ll have to read the book to discover these. Can’t give too much away!

Tell us about your writing space and how or why it works for you. 
I literally write everywhere. I have a home office, but believe it or not I also write in front of the TV in the den. Distractions. I love them. I write while I run and remember the stuff and when I get back I furiously jot everything down, even dialogue oftentimes. I write at work. Shhhh, don’t tell anyone. If something is bubbling to get out, I let it out in snippets of time even there.

What are some of your favorite books and why? 
Harry Potter series for the seriously deep plot. His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman for the seriously excellent writing (the man is brilliant). All the detective stuff by Michael Connelly. All the spy stuff by Vince Flynn. Grisham’s legal thrillers. Jim Butcher’s wizard detective series – The Dresden Files. JRR Tolkien’s famous sword and sorcery stuff for his fantastically deep mythology.

What are you working on now? 
Book Two of The Stonehenge Chronicles. It’ll be called The Ruby Ring. It’s the sequel to Veiled Memory.

Would you like to try your hand at writing a different genre? Which one and why?
My writing is mixed genre as it is. My first novel published last year, The Legacy, is a political thriller with ghosts and sorcery and terrorism in it. I call it a paranormal thriller. The current one, Veiled Memory, is a contemporary fantasy with a strong sci-fi element. The one being released August 4 this year, Fallen Wizard, is a middle grade fantasy. I also have a children’s chapter book I’m trying to find a published for right now, The Captain of Tally Ho, is an animal adventure story with a paranormal twist. So, as you can tell I am not confining myself to one narrow genre.

If you were not a writer, what would your dream job be? 
Wow, hard question. Maybe a country doctor in an idyllic setting where folks counted on me. A time in America long since passed, I’m afraid.

What aspect of writing gives you the most trouble? 
Definitely the opening. It has to do so many things and must be as good as your craft can make it to draw the reader. 

     When Celtic historian, Dr. Madeline Alleyn, abandoned her husband, it was to protect him and her unborn triplet daughters. Now, nearly eighteen years later, her 17 year-old girls are smart, normal, but something has never been right with Madeline. There are compulsions she doesn’t understand and secrets she’s intent on keeping from her daughters, secrets her dead father never fully divulged, secrets her mysterious mother took to the grave giving her birth.

      Now, the people Madeline is hiding from have discovered a way to unite the clans. They seek her mother’s archeological find, ten stone tablets with a story to tell of the existence of the Community, the secret origin of Stonehenge, and of quantum sorcery. But the secret community is divided, and the most dangerous among them think the time is ripe for showing themselves to an unsuspecting humanity. They must conquer. The prophecy of Tarkus demands it.

      Madeline is desperate to keep her children hidden. She knows the prophecy from the night her husband revealed his true nature to her. But time is running out. Will she be able to find her mother’s hidden artifacts before her enemies discover that her children are the key to world conquest?

Amazon        Black Opal Books       Smashwords
 

About S.P.:  Born on August 30, 1953 in Plaquemine, Louisiana, to a painter (Joseph Harry) and a homemaker (Vivian), Stanley P. Brown as a child always had heroes. These were mostly in the form of his big brother, Harry, and those populating the pages of Marvel Comics. Realizing he didn’t have the right stuff to be a superhero himself, he concentrated on academics at Louisiana State University and The University of Southern Mississippi (where he earned his doctorate in Exercise Physiology). He went from there to his first academic post at The University of Mississippi. Others followed, as did many, many scientific publications and several textbooks. But the call of storytelling remained strong in him and he answered that call. The Legacy, his debut novel, is the result of that. Other novels (Veiled Memory and Fallen Wizard) are following in short order, with sequels planned for the three fictional worlds he has created.

Website        Facebook        Twitter

Tuesday Special: The Poe Consequence with Keith Steinbaum

Keith Steinbaum

www.keithsteinbaum.com

In a section of Los Angeles near Dodger Stadium, two rival gangs rule the streets. For the Alvarado Street Diablos, it’s been a year since the murder of one of their closest members at the hands of their sworn enemy, the North Rampart Lobos. A drive-by killing in his honor is planned, but things go wrong and an innocent bystander is the victim. Several hours later the one who pulled the trigger suffers a horrifying death, caused by something never before seen in its uniqueness. Many more such cases follow, but all of them involving only these two gangs among the hundreds throughout the city. And each death occurs at the same time of day. The exact same time of day.

What can these two enemies do to survive against an unstoppable power intent on their mutual destruction? How is a gang-hating young boy’s attempt to save the life of a gang member tied into preventing a loved one’s soul from eternal damnation? What does a mysterious psychic’s prophecy conveyed earlier in New Orleans have to do with all of this?

Exploring both the darkness and hope that define our emotions, The Poe Consequence integrates social and ethnic divisions through acts of fate and supernatural horror for the reader to observe and imagine.

Audiobook links:    Audible.com         Amazon.com        i-Tunes

About Keith:
After several years devoted to poetry, followed by about a decade and a few minor achievements as a professional song lyricist, I eventually developed a strong desire to write a novel, culminating in the completion of The Poe Consequence, a modern day supernatural thriller/human drama. I’m quite grateful for some acknowledgments that it’s received. In its first year after being published, the book was awarded Supernatural Thriller of the Year by Books-and-Authors.net, an online literary website. In 2015, Kirkus Reviews selected it as one of its top Indie books of the year, and in 2017 it received a Finalist placing in the international Book Excellence Awards competition.

My forthcoming second novel, published by Black Opal Books, is entitled, You Say Goodbye. It’s a whodunit murder mystery featuring The Beatles, a one-hit wonder ex-rock star, and a little girl with cancer who's a big fan of the L.A. Lakers. The child's character was inspired by the life, and unfortunate death, of Alexandra Scott from the Alex's Lemonade foundation.

Although I pay the bills through a long career in the landscape industry, in my heart I’ve always considered myself a creative writer first and foremost. As I’ve often replied when asked about my license plate that reads, Do Write, I make my living through landscape, but my loving through writing. 
 

Facebook     Goodreads.com        Twitter 

Here are my personal website links: 

KeithSteinbaum.com 
ThePoeConsequence.com

 

I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear.

– Rosa Parks

From Paperback to e-book with Maris Soule

The Write Way Café welcomes Maris Soule, who shares her fascinating story-making process.

From Paperback to e-book. Easy, right?

Back in 1992, I was writing for Silhouette Romance, and two things triggered a story idea. (1) I heard about Munchausen by Proxy, a mental illness where a parent, usually a mother, makes up fake symptoms or causes real illnesses so she can keep taking her child to the doctor. Hmm, I wondered, how would that affect the child as an adult? And, (2) I loved reading Gary Larson’s single-panel cartoon The Far Side. The cartoons were funny yet thought provoking. Hmm, again. What if my hero was a cartoonist?

I decided the story would feature Greg Lyons, an artist who published a very popular cartoon featuring a savvy lion, Leo, who gave advice and made people laugh. And, of course, Greg had been raised by a mother who suffered from Munchausen by Proxy. Now, what if the death of his mother turned him against all doctors and his cartoons became so vitriolic, newspapers no longer wanted to publish them, and it was suggested he take a break? And, what if during a walk across the U.S., he broke his ankle and ended up having to stay in the home/office of a physically scarred, but wonderful country doctor, Amy Fraser?

Lyon’s Pride was published in 1993. It came out as a paperback and in large print and did fairly well, even though I didn’t like the cover.

(She’s supposed to have scars on her face. The artist evidently didn’t like scars.)

Years ago I’d gotten the rights back for the book, so in 2016 I decided I wanted to give that story a new life and put it out as an e-book. I’d written the story on a computer, so I should have the file on a disc (or a zip drive). Right?

Wrong. From 1993 to 2016, we’d moved twice. I have no idea what happened to that file. That meant I either had to scan the paperback copy I had or retype the story. Scanning by hand would have taken me forever and even then I would have to go through it to catch scanning errors. Hiring to have it done would have cost money. Why spend money if I could retype it?

Actually, I’m glad I typed it myself. As I went along, I realized how much things have changed since 1993. No cell phones back then. Even how doctors treat broken ankles has changed. I had to decide whether to up-date the story to present time or keep it set in the early ‘90s. I finally decided I would have to make too many changes if I set it in 2016 or later, so I decided to set the date to 1993. Nevertheless, as I retyped the story, I did make a few changes. Just a few.

It took me a lot longer to transcribe the story than I’d expected. Almost a year. And I wasn’t sure what I wanted for a cover.

The cover. I guess I am drawn to men who have long hair. So far I have 3 e-book covers with long-haired men. I wanted Greg’s hair to look like a lion’s mane. I needed Amy to be positioned so her scars wouldn’t show. My cover artist, Florence Price, and I looked at hundreds of images of couples, most only remotely meeting my criteria. Finally we decided to forget the couple angle and concentrate on finding a “Greg.” More looking at images. Hours of staring at long-haired men in various poses. (My husband was starting to get suspicious.) I don’t know how many hours Florence spent trying to find just the right image. I gave up after a week. Meanwhile, Florence had come up with the layout for the rest of the cover. We just needed that head shot. And finally, we thought we had it. I took a print of the mockup to a friend. She said the image looked like Jesus. “Is it a religious book?” she asked. Oops, not the impression I wanted. Back to the drawing board.

This month I finally published Lyon’s Pride as an e-book. I really like this story. Poor Greg can’t tell Amy he’s the cartoonist who’s been drawing and publishing these tirades against doctors, not while he’s confined to her house. And, to make matters worse, he’s starting to like this woman, even if she is a doctor. In fact, he’s starting to think not all doctors are terrible. But what is she going to do when she finds out who he is?

This is the cover we finally decided to use. I kind of like this guy. I just hope no one mistakes him as Jesus.

Lyon’s Pride is available on Amazon and on several other sites.

Amazon       Barnes & Noble

For more information about Maris Soule, visit http://marissoule.com or LIKE me at Facebook/MarisSouleAuthor, or follow me on Twitter (@marisSouthHaven), or Friend me on LinkedIn, or visit my Pinterest Page.

Tuesday Special: All of Me by Rose Grey

Rose Grey

www.rosegreybooks.com

Two blue eyes. One toothless grin. And Jock Durrell’s heart is gone, gone, gone.


Jock is having a lousy week. Learning he is a father has been a shock but it’s the lack of sleep that’s killing him. The kid is five weeks old and cries all night, every night. He needs childcare. Yesterday. He’s hoping for Mary Poppins.


Charlotte Aubin is good at getting hired. Staying hired is more of a challenge, especially since she knows nothing about babies. But most worrisome is Jock himself. He’s kind. She hates that in a man - it’s so much more deceitful than open hostility. Falling for the baby may be unavoidable. But falling for Jock would just be stupid. No man can be trusted, especially when it comes to love.


But Charlotte’s past follows her, endangering everyone she holds dear. Will she flee to safety? Or risk it all for the man who has stolen her heart?


Amazon: Coming Soon!

Barnes and Noble       Apple iBook       Kobo

Goodreads: Coming Soon!

Rose’s idea of an emergency is realizing a long weekend is coming and the library is closing in an hour. She loves finding cool seashells, knitting sweaters which start out right but inevitably turn out too large, and petting stray dogs. She lives in Rhode Island with her husband and suffers from the sin of boundless pride when it comes to her four grown children. 

Rose’s books include All Of Me, and Waiting For You, the first two books in the Durrell Brothers Trilogy. In addition, she has just published an ebook for young children, Isaac and the Slow Oven. Rose’s novels may be found at online retailers and on her website, http://rosegreybooks.com.

There is no telling how many miles you will have to run while chasing a dream.

– Unknown