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This is me and motivational/self-help author Crystal Dwyer at the Barnes and Noble in MaCarthur Center Mall in Norfolk, Virginia.
Lucky us---we get to have Jim Bernheimer author of the new and fantastic paranormal novel, "Dead Eye: Pennies for the Ferryman"in for a "quicky". What? Heyyyy get your minds out of the gutter. I didn't mean THAT! What I meant is that Jim consented to do a brief Q&A for us...most people don't have the time to read really long and in depth interviews, plus he's hard at work on his next Dead Eye novel and we sure don't want to keep him from that.
Jim has also graciously agreed to donate one copy of his novel to be given away in our contest (unfortunately this contest is only open to those that reside in the contiguous states of the USA), The winner of a signed copy of his book will be announced on November 1st. the drawing will take place on Halloween Evening. Appropriate for a book of this caliber wouldn't you say?
Without further boring intro - here is 5 minutes with Jim Bernheimer:
For the record I'd love your stats---age, marital status, what part of the country do you live etc.
I just turned forty. (Fortunately, I have no intention of acting my age.) I’m married to the lovely and patient Kim and we have two daughters (Laura – age 7 and Marissa – age 1). We live in Chesapeake, Virginia.
I understand that this weekend you will be doing a signing. Was it everything you hoped it would be? What was it like?
Did you get writers cramp? Would you like to do any more signings?
I had my first “in store” signing at the Barnes and Noble in the MacArthur Center Mall in Norfolk, Virginia on Saturday. It was nice. The attached photo is me and the other author they were able to bring in at the last minute. Her name is Crystal Dwyer and she’s a self-help/motivational speaker. I also got to meet Crystal’s boyfriend, Mark Victor Hansen, the co-founder of the Chicken Soup for the Soul franchise. I managed to get a picture with him the next day at the Books in the Park event.
I haven’t done many signings, but I’ll say this – I like the in store signings better than the conventions and large “events.” They have a more intimate feeling where you don’t feel like you’re one of the seagulls from Finding Nemo going “Mine! Mine! Mine!” as the customers go by at a large scale event.
On the other hand, I did get to meet Mr. Hansen (very gracious man) and sat with a group of writers in my genre at Books in the Park. Though few books were actually sold, I spent a few hours chatting with Nebula Award winner Catherine Asaro, fiction author/ghost hunter Pamela Kinney, and fantasy author Shannon Avery. A lot of the “business side” of writing is networking among peers and learning the so-called tricks of the trade.
So, I was far more productive at the in store signing, but I learned several things at the event that I need to be doing if I want to climb up the next rung on the ladder. I’ll gladly do as many signings and events as my wife will allow and my limited budget will support. Currently, my next one is on Halloween at the Barnes and Noble on the campus of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. I’m really looking forward to that one!
As a writer, are there any organizations that help to fight illiteracy that you support?
Not really. Being such a relative newcomer, I haven’t ventured into the more altruistic side of writing. I’ve given away a few copies here and there, one to a NJ marine on his way to Iraq and similar things. My wife just had an uncle pass from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and I’d like to think that if I ever get “big” enough, research against that horrible condition would be a cause I’d champion.
If you had a choice what kind of writer would you rather be---the kind that wins all kinds of awards but has very little fan following, or a commercial success with tons of avid fans? Why?
I’ll take the fans every time. I get a kick out hearing that people are reading me. I like meeting people. Awards are nice, and I’ll take them if I can get them. At the signing on Saturday, a young woman and her mother bought Dead Eye and when I was signing it, I asked what her name was. She said Kayleigh and I mentioned that in the YA Fantasy novel I’ve almost completed (Spirals of Destiny Book One: Rider), the heroine is named Kayleigh. She gave me her email address and I sent her the first two chapters that I had included as a preview in my self-published collection Horror, Humor, and Heroes. I got a reply from her the next day thanking me and telling me that she read both Dead Eye and the preview in a single day and thoroughly enjoyed both.
When did you first know that writing was going to be the love of your life? Do your Family and friends support your writing? How do you keep them at bay when the muse strikes you, in other words how do you manage to get enough privacy to write?
I got the writing bug about four years ago. I don’t really hide from the fact that I came out of the fan fiction world. I use it as practice to work on my storytelling ability and learn what works and what doesn’t before I apply it to my original ideas. It was how I became comfortable with writing in the first person point of view and even experimented with an entire fanfic written in second person. That helped me write a second person short story that was accepted for Gryphonwood’s 2008 anthology about an immortal swamp creature that was cursed by his ancient and long-since departed gods. That established the relationship with David Wood, my eventual publisher of Dead Eye.
After a time, I just couldn’t find the stories I wanted to read. So, I set out to write them. I am hoping to follow in the footsteps of a famous cousin. I don’t know her all that well and have only met her once in my adult life, but I’m second cousin to Nora Roberts. I went to the family reunion two years ago and she was kind and offered encouragement (though she politely declined my request for a jacket quote – sigh).
My wife is supportive of my writing, but she does occasionally have to rein me in. My friends think it’s pretty interesting that I’m a writer “on the side.” I stay up late at night and do my writing for the privacy I need.
Do you have a "day" job?
Yes. I’m a network administrator at a naval shipyard during the day.
If you were to be forced into a vacation and the only entertainment you could have are books, what books would you bring with you?
I’ll combine this with my answer to the next question. My favorite all-time book is Starship Troopers. My favorite trilogy is a fairly obscure one called EagleHeart by C.T. Westcott (the first book is called Silver Wings and Leather Jackets if anyone is interested). After that, I guess it really depends on how long the vacation is. I like intelligent fiction where the author takes the time to “sell” me the world. It’s a lesson I try to emulate in my writing – the more realism you can inject into your story, the less the reader is forced to suspend their disbelief. That makes it easier for the reader to immerse themselves in your story. That’s the hallmark of a good fantasy/sci-fi/horror writer. I like military fiction, be it futuristic, ancient, fantasy, or something in between. I occasionally read horror, but not too often. Anyone who knows me from my fanfics knows that I truly enjoyed the first four Harry Potter books, but felt that the author started losing her connection with the story in book five.
Who are some of your favorite authors? Favorite genres?
Answered above.
Would you ever consider writing paranormal romance?
Well, I write the paranormal. Dead Eye, in general, is pretty light on the romance, but at one point Mike is amused at the two ghosts that have “found” each other in the afterlife. So, I guess there’s a little element of that in Dead Eye. As for Mike Ross ever having a relationship with a ghost, or a Skinwalker possessing a human, I don’t see it happening at this juncture, but nothing is set in stone. Right now the working title in my head for the sequel to Dead Eye: Pennies for the Ferryman is Dead Eye 2: The Skinwalker Conspiracy. It will cover Mike’s journey south and west in search of answers to several important questions left over from the first book. For those who enjoyed the historical fiction aspect and the characterizations of the ghosts represented in Dead Eye, I’ve got three words that should pique your interest in the sequel – Lee Harvey Oswald.
Dead Eye 2 is slated for late spring/early summer of 2010.
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 30 September 2009 20:29 )
Cathy Holton
Written by Dianne
Friday, 11 September 2009 23:00
I'm so happy to have been able to corner Cathy Holton---author of the new and fabulous book "Beach Trip" which hit the shelves on May 12th. She's a wonderful and funny lady and I'm so happy to have gotten to know her while I was waiting for here books for review.
OH! And before I forget, there is a great review of her book and even a handy link to it on the right hand side of this page. We try to make it easy so you all have more time to indulge yourselves in the wonderful world of books!
So have fun with :
5 Minutes With an Author ---- Cathy Holton
1)What's the worst thing that's ever happened to you as a writer? What's the most embarrassing thing and why?
Oh, there are so many – do I have to choose just one?Probably the worst thing I did was to wait twenty years to start submitting my work because I was so afraid of rejection.
The most embarrassing?Well, recently I spoke to a writer’s group.I thought they would enjoy the section of Beach Trip where Mel, a novelist, attends a writer’s conference and winds up getting drunk with a poet named Evan.The whole scene is satirical; it pretty much pokes fun at everybody; novelists, bibliophiles, non-fiction writers, poets.It describes the poets’ table at the conference as being like “the outcast table from high school, the place where all the visionaries and suicides sat, the kids who wore black and read Nietzsche during free period.”Which I thought was kind of funny.But as I’m reading, I’m noticing the faces of two of the poets I’d been introduced to earlier at the meeting.And I can see they’re not amused.Half-way through the reading they stood up and walked out.And I felt really bad and embarrassed because I’ve never had poets walk out on me before.When I got home I told my husband and he said, “%@#& them if they can’t take a joke.”Which is kind of a typical male response but made me feel better anyway.
And now when we want to crack each other up we talk about The Night the Poets Walked Out in really serious tones.
2)What the best thing that's ever happened to you as a writer?
Getting published.Walking into an out of town bookstore and hearing someone ask the clerk for my book and having her respond, “Oh, you’ll love that book.It’s really good.”
3)How long did it take you to make your first sale?
Are we counting the twenty years of practice writing before I submitted anything?Because if we are, then it’s twenty years and three weeks after landing my agent.And if we’re not, then it’s three weeks after landing my agent.
4)What is your top three favorite genres?
Literary fiction; historical literary fiction; comedic fiction (is there such a genre?)
5.)Is there anything (genre or topic) you would secretly like to write but don't?
There is nothing I want to write that I don’t plan to write.
6) Would you ever consider writing erotica
Except for erotica.Sex scenes make me laugh.
7) Do you have a home office and if so, just how the heck do you keep people out of there when you are writing?
I write in a corner of my bedroom in front of a fireplace and a long wall of bookshelves.Now that the children are grown the only one who bothers me is the dog and, like my husband, he can pretty much stand in the doorway and sense whether I’m having a good day or a bad day, and he reacts accordingly.
8) Is there a genre that you wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole?
Did we mention erotica?
9) What's a good beach read?
I like books that make me think, novels that capture my attention so completely that four hours pass and I don’t even realize it.I’m drowsy and relaxed but I can’t make myself stop reading.
10) What is a perfect day?
Ten pages that don’t need to be rewritten the following day. It never happens.
11) If you could live in any country, where would you live?
I’ve always been kind of partial to Ireland for some reason.
12) How many books do your own?
Too many.I can’t seem to get rid of any of them.I grow attached to them, even the bad ones.
Marshall Karp
Written by Dianne
Friday, 11 September 2009 22:59
An Interview With Marshall Karp Author of recently released "Flipping Out"
Lucky us---we get to have Marshall in for a "quicky". What? Heyyyy get your minds out of the gutter. I didn'y mean THAT! What I meant is that Marshall consented to do a brief Q&A for us...most people don't have the time to read really long and in depth interviews, plus he's hard at work on book 4 and we sure don't want to keep him from that.
Thank you to those that contributed questions when I had my moment of "OMG I'm really going to talk to a famous person" meltdown!
Without further boring intro here is 5 minutes with Marshall and me:
1) Do you have a home office and if so, just how the heck do you keep people out of there when you are writing?
My home office is a large converted sunporch on the second floor of my house in upstate New York. A bank of windows looks out onto the woods, and the view changes from season to season. I’m pretty confident that even if I only knew three vowels and ten consonants, I’d still be up there writing.As for keeping people out, that’s easy.The only one who knows where I am is my wife and she works in New York City.We see each other on weekends.We like to think that we have something between us that few married couples have.A hundred miles of New York State Thruway.
2) Should your books become movies, who do you see playing Lomax and Biggs? And would you consent to doing cameos in them? Would you even try to get some of your other writer pals cameos or bit parts
I have often played the casting game, and I always wind up in the same place.There is one actor who I think could play either Lomax or Biggs.One actor who could be the sensitive, easy going, affable guy from LA or the wisecracking, sharp-tongued guy from the Bronx.Robert Downey, Jr.As for having me and my friends as extras, I did that when I shot Just Looking, but I wouldn’t do it again.I think the movie comes out better when the writers don’t try to act and the actors don’t try to write.
3) You are on a forced vacation on a deserted island for 2 weeks ---what 7 books would you take with you? Why these?
Seven?I’m not taking seven. I am a lip-moving, knuckle-dragging, head-nodding, painfully slow reader.Since it’s a vacation and I know I’m coming back, I’d pick up one book at the airport — whatever looked good, and bring along a copy of Roget’s International Thesaurus — 6th edition, because I know I’d be writing.And for those of you who read voraciously, and would love to take 20 books with you, I just heard something interesting.Most airlines charge you for overweight luggage, so the more books you bring, the more you’ll have to cough up.So what do you do if you love to read and you’re not ready for a Kindle?Pack your books with your golf clubs.There are no weight restrictions on golf bags.Sure it looks suspicious when you’re going to Aspen for Christmas, but I can’t solve all your problems.What do I look like, a travel agent?
4) What 7 Movie DVD's would you take with you? Why these?
Diehard, Air Force One, Speed, Twelve Angry Men, The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3, The Great Escape, and Dirty Harry.Why those seven?Because even when he’s on vacation, a man needs a good cry.
5) How do you feel about your style being compared to a woman author, Janet Evanovich?
The fact that Janet Evanovich is a female author is not the issue.She’s funny.Whenever I’m compared to her, they don’t say “Karp writes like a girl.”They say “Karp is funny like Evanovich.”I love hearing that.It gives me hot flashes.
6) Do you use Beta readers and do they really help?
Stephen King in his brilliant book “On Writing” suggests that writers should have a minimal amount of people they trust to read works in progress and give notes.I agree.Most people aren’t trained to give the kind of constructive feedback that can help you in the rewriting process.I have two or three people whom I rely on for honest overall feedback, without the detailed critique.But I don’t work with Beta Readers. I work with a professional editor.
7) Other than writing---what would your dream job be?
Homicide detective.Really.
8) Could you ever be persuaded to write erotica under a pseudonym and have it published? If I dared you would you???
My wife once dared me to write a piece of erotica.In fact, she bet that I couldn’t.What does that say about the marriage?Anyway, I did, and it knocked her socks off.In fact, it was so damn good, she assumed I had one of my women writer friends write it for me.I really did write it.But to this day my wife doesn’t believe me.And no, I wouldn’t write erotica under my name or any other name. I can write things that make people laugh.Some women actually find that kind of sexy.
Interviews 
