Some time ago, while surfing through blogs and looking at links for artists, writers and other creatives, I came across a link to the website of artist Camille Boggs.  I’m so thankful I decided to check it out because it was definitely a treat!  Camille’s work is simply breathtaking and her ability [...]]]>

Some time ago, while surfing through blogs and looking at links for artists, writers and other creatives, I came across a link to the website of artist Camille Boggs.  I’m so thankful I decided to check it out because it was definitely a treat!  Camille’s work is simply breathtaking and her ability to create such beauty in detail blows my mind.  I’m just tickled that she granted me an interview!  I do hope you’ll head over to her website after reading this feature so you can view her art in a larger scale.

Camille, will you please tell us a little about your work?

I work in hand cut paper.  I developed the technique I use to cut paper over many years as a vinyl sign manufacturer.  I became very adept with an x-acto knife.  I had seen cut paper art before, mainly from China and Mexico, and found that special tools and small scissors were used to create them.  More recently lasers are used, especially for mass production.  I loved the look of the cuts, but wanted more.  I first began layering the cut paper and noticed that if I use a certain thickness of paper, it could hold its own weight after being cut.  Then I added space between the layers and began folding to form 3D shapes (an example of this would be in the upper right corner of Winter Memories).  The drawings of dolls I added to my cut paper layers paved the way for my cut paper marionettes.  I now add fabric, wood, drawing, and origami to some of my pieces.

Who has more power, the marionette or the manipulator?

Throughout history, marionettes have been used to say and perform acts that humans could not due to laws, propriety, and fear.  My marionettes are stronger than I feel.   Each one, though captured by her strings, rules her domain.  Without fear of exposure, embarrassment, or condemnation she tells the story she has been given.  The literal translation of marionette is “little Mary” named for the Virgin Mary puppets used in churches during the Middle Ages.  Just as their namesake, my “little Marys” are chosen by me, their creator, to immaculately conceive an idea that has the potential to change perspectives.

What tools and materials do you use?

I use a #11 x-acto blade for all my cutting, and a large range of archival papers.  Depending on the piece, I will at times use graphite and pastel on wood and beautiful fabrics (ranging from upholstery to silk brocades).  I also use minimal pastel on my marionettes, mainly to give them just a little “life”.  I like playing with the line between over idealized puppet/doll and beautifully imperfect real.  All the details of the eyes, lips, hair…anything with a black outline…is cut paper.  The pastel is the blush, freckles, bruises, eye makeup, etc.  I use needle and thread for the joints.

Do you work (or have you worked) in any other medium?

I have worked in many medium; everything from carved wood to lithography, pulp casting to fresco, ceramics to book binding, digital photography to oil paint.  I have been very lucky to have had opportunities to try many different techniques and products.  I love learning because even if I don’t turn to that medium as a focus medium I may be able to incorporate it into a piece, or perhaps I will see my own medium in a new way.

Were you creative as a child?

Yes, I loved coloring, on everything, and making little models out of whatever I found in the yard.  I had a great many “imaginary” friends.  I really don’t believe in calling my friends “imaginary.” I use “imaginary” so that people understand what I’m speaking about…but to a child, friends are just that…friends. Back on subject…My favorite friend was Pablo.  He was a tiny fisherman about five inches tall and I would build him little boats for his adventures on our pond.  I would often talk to and for Pablo.  I would change my voice and speak as he would to me.  My Mom tells me the first time she heard this I was doing something in the kitchen and she kept hearing me talking to someone, so she peaked in to see that I was alone.  She listened for a while and realized it was Pablo, and she was perfectly supportive of our friendship.  I also had a clan of tiny lions I would play with in the yard…they didn’t like being inside and preferred the wild.

I always loved to look through art history books. I would pour through Janson’s Art History with the same amount of joy and excitement as I did Dr. Seuss.  College level Art History books were kept where my siblings and I could get to them.  We would play make believe together and form elaborate histories for the characters we were playing.

What type of schooling or training have you had?

I graduated top of my class, Summa Cum Laude, from Memphis College of Art May of 2004, I was the poster child for overachiever in school.  In four years I earned a double emphasis (Papermaking/Book Arts and Sculpture) Bachelor of Fine Arts and an Art History Minor with a focus on Renaissance and Baroque.  What I learned most in school was how to pull all nighters, have no life, and always stay focused on that “A+”.

This was my life until I was a junior (2003) studying in Italy.  I lived and studied predominately in Cortona.  I was with the University of Georgia’s Lamar Dodd School of Art study abroad program.  I fell in love with every part of Italian life and culture and truly found who I was.  In many ways, I both became an adult and rediscovered the power of my inner child. As a student in the program I studied painting, ceramics, printmaking, and art history.  The most important lesson Italy taught me was that the journey, experiences, people, and life were more meaningful than  a letter on a piece of paper. I went back to MCA, albeit reluctantly…it seems somehow, mysteriously, my return ticket from Rome disappeared. I thought I was going to stay in Italy forever.  The ticket reappeared and one year later I received my degree and began my journey to seriously find my place in the world.

Your art is so intricate, do you ever mess up and get completely frustrated?  If so, what do you do to turn things around?

I am completely human and have learned to accept failure.  I don’t like it, but I accept it.  Oddly enough, most of my big frustrations come from the preliminary/drawing phase or after the paper is cut.  I really don’t screw up the cutting that often and when I do it is small slips of the blade that I have learned to fix with the right application of glue and mending paper.  When a drawing does not turn out the way I want it to look or after I’ve completed multiple layers of cut paper just to put them together and they don’t fit the way I wanted them to…that is when I get completely distraught.  I have a nice long, very adult, hissy fit leading into completely convincing myself that I’m a fool for trying to continue as an artist which leads to depression and by the time I’ve convinced myself I’m going to become a dermatologist, my husband has braved my space, looked at my piece, and gets me working through the problems verbally.  We critique and brainstorm all the time.  Usually after speaking with him and stepping away for a while I can find a way to start over or fix what I thought was complete rubbish.  I really have to remind myself that when I wasn’t doing art, I was miserable, and that I am doing what I am meant to do.  Also, I am ultimately in control of my mood, so I can become happy and confident again as soon as I’m ready to be.

Spending time with friends over a glass of wine and laughter is also a great way to relax.

Which piece was the most challenging for you?  Easiest?

By far the most physically demanding piece I’ve done to date was Phoenix.  She is a 5ft marionette with an 8ft wingspan.  Her base is book board that I hand cut with a blade and everything else is hand cut paper with pastel and some watercolor for her tattoo.  I plan to do more of these large scale installation pieces, but I will be using different tools to cut the dense base in hopes to save my hands and body from the torture of cutting 1/8” book board into shapes by hand.

The easiest, surprisingly, was probably Seraphim or If I could.  Those two both came to me quickly and the images flowed from my hands without a hitch.  They were both very time consuming and I had to work out many problems dealing with multiple appendages, but they were ready to be made the moment they entered my mind.

Where do you get your ideas and inspiration?

Everywhere, Fairy tales, Catholicism, pop up books, other artists, music, friends, and family all inspire my creations.  The most direct influence in every piece is my own life and emotions.  Each creation has come from a story in me, a moment, a time, a feeling I had for something, someone, or some place.  When I was little I always wore my heart on my sleeve.  I was in touch with everyone’s feelings.  If someone was sad, I was sad.  When I got older others started noticing and using this to their advantage, they saw me as gullible and easily manipulated.  Perhaps I was a little gullible but did not like people being unhappy, sad, or hurt.  I thought everyone’s happiness was my personal responsibility.  That’s a lot of responsibility.  I tried to build a wall around my heart and all that did was make me forget who I was.  I have taken my heart back out and placed where it is meant to be…on my sleeve.  That is what has allowed most of my art to be made.  I am older now, and not as gullible.  I no longer believe that everyone’s happiness is my responsibility…but I will still be the one to listen and always have a shoulder if you need it and I will do what I can to let you know someone cares.  That is my inspiration.

On average, how long does it take you to complete a project?

From first thoughts, research, drawings, cutting, to completion…it can take months.  Sometimes, however, a piece is just dying to come out and in a matter of 3 or 4 very long, tiresome days I can have a finished product.

What is your favorite part of the entire process?

It has to be when the marionette is complete.  At that moment she comes to life and the entire story is behind her eyes, in her pose, and on her body.  I create the marionette before any of her environment, often before the environment is even drawn.  I let her tell me the rest of the story.

What is a typical day like for you?

Many of my days have the same elements; they just may not all happen in the same order.  I spend time with my husband, work on any graphic design projects my clients need, work out, and then head to my studio to work on any one of my many projects I have going on at the moment.

Which work of art do you feel the strongest connection to?

I feel an enormous connection to all my pieces, but I do have one that I will never sell.  It was the first piece I finished 18 months after hurricane Katrina.  We lost all our art and art supplies along with everything else and I had no interest in looking at, much less doing art for a little over a year.  One day a clay character came to me, Twitchy.  She reminded me that I still wanted to be an artist. It was what I was born to do.  Months later I finished a mixed media painting titled I was Wearing a Pink Dress.  This piece helped pave the way for my Devotional Series which ultimately led to the marionettes and shadowboxes I am doing today. The piece is about Katrina and the loss of my memories and items but being reminded that I am still here and so is my family.  I was born in New Orleans and my family was blown all over after the storm, but we did not loose anybody.  The figure is obviously not wearing a pink dress, but she is also not me.  The title refers to a photograph that was destroyed of my mother and I in the French Quarter.  I was about three and standing next to one of my “orses,” as I pronounced it (the old horse head shaped horse ties found all over the Quarter) and I was wearing a pink sailor dress.  I titled it that because I wanted to remember, my memory became very bad and this piece was to give me something solid to look at and remember, like a photograph.  There are many small things throughout the painting, each a memory that I don’t want washed away.

Will you tell us about your first sale and what that was like?

I had sold a few pieces in college and such, but I don’t really count any of my sales until after Hurricane Katrina (when my art became what it is now.)  My first sale was actually quite big.  I sold all seven of my Devotional Series to a collector in Birmingham, AL.  She had wanted them for a while but her husband kept telling her they could not afford them, and then one day I received a phone call from him.  He wanted to buy the entire series as a surprise Christmas present for her.  She was completely shocked and so excited…she was crying she was so happy, and that made me happy.  It was an odd mix of happiness and sadness.  I guess it could be like when your child goes off to college… you are proud of them, but will miss having them where you can keep them safe.  It is hard to say goodbye to my pieces, but I know I’m hear to create a work of art to be sold…bottom-line, it is a business.

Since then, they have purchased one of my self portraits and continually stay supportive of my art.  I thank them for that.

Do you have any hobbies?

Thank you for asking this question.  I feel too many people believe that art is a hobby and that is all it can ever be.  Art is my career and passion, and yes I do have a hobby.

I love to bake.  I have always loved sweets, but about 3 years ago I started baking and I’m hooked.  Everything from scratch and many are old recipes I grew up on.  I change some around and try new things, but my favorite is chocolate.  I bake lots of brownies and chocolate chip cookies.  My most recent creation was the birthday cake for a dear friend of mine’s 30th.  He loves chocolate, so I was challenged to make a chocolate cake that we would serve with chocolate ice cream.  I made a devil’s food crust with a layer of cream cheese fudge, then a layer of chocolate custard followed by a layer of flourless chocolate cake, then another layer of chocolate custard with a layer of old fashion buttermilk chocolate cake topped with Kaluha and dark chocolate glaze.  It was a hit.  I love sharing my baked goods with people around me including my husband’s coworkers, friends, our hairdresser, and all the people at our favorite coffee house.  It always brings a smile to their face.

Who are some of your favorite artists?

So many, it really depends on the day.  A few examples are; Jean-Jacques Gaudel (painter, sculpture, everthing), Megan Kimber (painter), Marina Bychkova (doll artist), Lesley Reppeteaux (painter), Matthew Reinhart & Robert Sabuda (pop-up book artists), James Christensen (drawer/painter), Charles De Lint (writer), Melissa Etheridge (singer/songwriter), and many from history such as Michelangelo Buonarroti, Leonardo da Vinci, Donatello, Sofonisba Anguissola, Carravagio, Luca Signorelli, and Artemisia Gentileschi…to name a few.  There are just so many talented artists in the world (past and present); it feels wrong to only name 16!  And my husband knows I love his art!

Since your husband is also an artist, do you ever collaborate on projects?

We have collaborated in the past for portraits, children’s book illustration, and charity works, but nothing recently.  Our work is very different as is the way we work, so at times it is difficult to work together.  We are always there for each other with advice, support, and constructive criticism.

Do you have any advice for artists just starting out?

If you are serious about art as your career…then be serious.  Be professional with collectors, galleries, and the public.  I’m not saying not to be you, by all means that is what people will love, but be prepared for the business end of the art world.  Research galleries before you allow your work to be seen in them and do not get sucked into “vanity galleries.”  A vanity gallery will try to charge you to be in their gallery…don’t do it.  Galleries take a commission off of the sale of the piece, which is how it should be done.  Be sure you pick galleries that are worth that often 50% commission.  Do they have a nice overhead/storefront?  Do they advertise?  Is the gallery Director personable and an aggressive seller?

Do not give up.  I had scholarships to college for math and science.  Many were pushing me to get a real career as a chemist or mathematician and quit looking at art schools…art was to be my hobby according to them.  I do not regret my decision.  A wonderful artist friend of mine, Michi Meko, is having a show in Atlanta, GA called “Fear kills Pursuit.”  He is right.  If you are truly going to have a career in art, be prepared not to listen to all the negatives you will hear.  So many people will be lining up to find out what your “real” job is, to let you know that making it as an artist means starving, to tell you it can’t be done.  I’m not saying it’s easy, and it has gotten tougher during these economic times, but if it is your passion and you are prepared to treat it with the same respect and dignity that every doctor, lawyer, teacher, or CEO treats their career…do it and never look back.

Where can we find your work?

I currently have pieces available through Matt Jones Gallery in Birmingham, AL (www.mattjonesgallery.com) and Distinction in Escondido, CA (www.distinctionart.com).

What project will you be working on next?

I always have multiple projects going on at once.  Right now I have three marionettes complete, two of them have their environments drawn, and one set of conjoined twins cut and ready for their joints to be sewn.  My newest form of displaying my marionettes is in found containers.  I think of these as specimens and am very excited of adding these to my family of art as I find more containers.  The first of this type is silens totus illa annus, the translation is “Silent all These Years” from a Tori Amos song.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

If anyone would like to see more of my work, please visit my site www.camillemboggs.com and feel free to contact me on facebook.  I’m always interested in meeting new people.

Camille!  Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful art with us, and your thoughts, ideas and passion behind it!  I’m so happy to have learned more about you and would love to see your work in person some day!  Please keep us posted on any upcoming shows!

~ Pamela

I’m so pleased to bring you today my interview with super cool romance author Melody Lane.  Melody, thank you so much for the interview and for visiting us at Texty Ladies!

Will you please tell us a little about yourself?

I’ve been a registered nurse for many years working in a variety of settings. You name it, I’ve worked [...]]]>

I’m so pleased to bring you today my interview with super cool romance author Melody Lane.  Melody, thank you so much for the interview and for visiting us at Texty Ladies!

Will you please tell us a little about yourself?

I’ve been a registered nurse for many years working in a variety of settings. You name it, I’ve worked it. Although I have a full-time day job, I dream of writing full-time like a lot of other authors. My favorite things to do are going to concerts, listening to rock music, traveling and reading. I live in the beautiful countryside of Michigan, but often wish I lived in a New York City high-rise or brownstone.

Please tell us about your upcoming release, “Rock Me.”

Jenny Page is a Midwestern nurse who has always had trouble with men. When her favorite British rock star fantasy man, with women issues of his own, becomes her patient Jenny knows she’s in for trouble. After he admits harboring a nurse fantasy, the sparks begin to fly. Their sizzling starts before he leaves the hospital to continue his concert tour, and grows into an out-of-control inferno when they meet up in New York City for a weekend of uninhibited passion and unexpected love.  I am happy to say that ROCK ME is available at Ellora’s Cave as an e-book and print book!  http://www.jasmine-jade.com/m-417-melody-lane.aspx

What makes a man sexy?

Every woman defines sexy differently. For me it is a combination of rugged handsomeness, confidence and intelligence. If I had a choice, I’d like tall and fit too! He doesn’t have to be picture perfect, but he had better know how to carry on a conversation. I’d be so disappointed to find out a man I’ve lusted over for years didn’t have a thing between his ears but empty space.

If you could tour with a band right now, which one would it be and why?

I have quite a few favorite bands that I’d love to spend time with. Def Leppard is one of them. I’ve met this band many times over the years. Every one of them is handsome and sexy and talented. A couple of them are very funny. I could kickbox with one, play golf with another, watch movies, discuss the history of music, and drink Guinness. Sounds like a fun summer to me!

When did you first start writing?

I’ve always wanted to write as long as I can remember. After I had an article published in an international nursing magazine, I realized how much I wanted to do it on a regular basis. But I didn’t do anything about it. Time, family, all the reasons everyone gives. After my father died in 2002, I realized that life was short and I was capable. I just needed to put my mind to it. But where was I going to find the time? The answer. I gave up television. Instead of watching television when I got home from work, I started writing. I allowed myself no excuses. ROCK ME is my first erotic romance.

What aspect of writing do you find easy?  Difficult?

Dialogue is the easiest and most enjoyable. I find character development and motivation is the hardest for me to write.

Have you or would you like to write in a different genre?

Paranormal romance. I just finished my first novel and hope to get a contract. It’s called Love On The Prowl. Here is a blurb:

When Dr. Ariel Summers starts her dream job in the newly elected Mayor of New York City’s administration, she has no plans to fall for anyone. But the lust-filled banter and intense physical attraction she has with the Mayor’s security expert, wereleopard Nicholas Savage, does not make things easy. Not all citizens are embracing the Mayor’s agenda for paranormals being out in society and threats are being made. Clues to the identity of their enemies start unraveling once Ariel and Nick stumble upon angry clowns calling themselves the Carnival of Sins. By the time they realize the Mayor is not the only one in need of protection, it might be too late for love.

What do you like to read?

Romance, suspense, mystery, paranormal.

Do you have a writing schedule or word count you try to meet?

After I get home from work and do all the little things I need to do in preparation for the next work day, I let out a breath and sit down in front of my computer. This is the part of my day I most enjoy. I write from around 8 PM until 11 PM during the week. On weekends, I write more if I don’t have plans. Most often Sundays are my longest writing day. Sounds pretty boring, doesn’t it? But don’t get me wrong. I can be fun! If a favorite band of mine is in town or I get an offer for some other form of entertainment, I’m there!

Have you ever considered another career?

Since I’ve been a nurse forever, the only other career I’ve considered is writing. I’m working on that one.

Do you enjoy any hobbies when you’re not writing?

I’m a huge rock music lover and enjoy seeing my favorite bands whenever I can. I long for the front row at every concert and am disappointed if I’m not there. I crush hard on my rock star men. Some of my favorites are who I adapt my characters from. When I write about them, it makes me feel like they’re a little more accessible to me. Of course I don’t really know them, but that’s fine. Reality can’t get in the way of fantasy.

Traveling is another passion of mine and I can never get enough of it. I love to write about the places I have visited. I’ve been to New York City and London, England numerous times and tend to use them as a backdrop for my stories. I love walking around the busy cities and seeing the sites. The theater, museums and multicultural cuisine all appeal to me along with fruity white wines and girly martinis.

What or who inspires you?

Music. It relaxes me. It excites me. It makes me think.

What is the most romantic thing that has ever happened to you?

I’m a big fan of New York City. I once went there with a past love who had planned a dinner in Little Italy. When we got there our table was already set with a red rose and a chilled bottle of Pinot Grigio. I am no longer with him, but continue to go back to that restaurant in Little Italy every time I can. It is called Da Gennaro on Mulberry Street. I enjoy the ambiance of the area and seeing the charismatic manager, Momir. Tell him that Melody sent you!

Will you please tell us about your works in progress?

I’m working on a couple of things at the moment. Besides my recently completed paranormal romance, I have a couple of contemporary erotic novellas I’m trying to finish–one is about a fireman and the other about a NYC actor. I’m also working on an erotic romantic suspense novel.

Any advice for aspiring writers?

The business is difficult, so tenacity is a trait you must have. Don’t give up.

Is there anything else you’d like us to know?

I love hearing from my readers. Feel free to contact me on my website, http://www.melodylanebooks.com or on Facebook.

Thanks Pam!

~*~*~*~

Thank you, Melody!  It’s great getting to know you better.  We look forward to all of your future releases!

 ~*~*~*~

Review of ROCK ME by Brenda Talley at The Romance Studio.

Her characters were great in dealing with each other as well as the conflicts which occurred. The sexual scenes were hot and explicit. They did not, however, take away from the great storyline written here. It is definitely a book that readers will love, regardless of favorite genres. I loved this book and highly recommend it. Overall Rating: five hearts.  Sensuality Rating:  explicit.

***********************************************************************************

Poetry Play Thursday will return next week with a unique twist. ?!?!?! 

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I will be posting a different poem each day in April near the top of our sidebar.  Please feel free to post any thoughts you’d like to share about it in our comments.

Poets.org has great information about this April celebration and some fun ideas on what you can do to take part.  I love their idea for Poem In Your Pocket Day, and you might want to consider joining their Free Verse Project.  The prize is pretty darn awesome! 

Today, we have American Title V finalist, Marie-Claude Bourque with us.

She’s had quite a ride the last few months-not much sleep and her life has been hectic. I think I’ll not give her bio in the intro, as I usually do, because Marie-Claude’s is a little [...]]]>

Today, we have American Title V finalist, Marie-Claude Bourque with us.

She’s had quite a ride the last few months-not much sleep and her life has been hectic. I think I’ll not give her bio in the intro, as I usually do, because Marie-Claude’s is a little different. I met her because she’s a member of the Greater Seattle Chapter RWA as am I, and we’ve conversed on several occasions. She’s very bright, talented, and fun. So let’s begin.

JR: Tell us about what makes Marie-Claude so unique-that means tell us your life story in a couple hundred words or fewer, and don’t forget the French/English part.

MCB: Hi Jacquie, it’s so nice to be here at Texty Ladies today. Thanks for inviting me!

About me, well, I am a French Canadian, former physicist, oceanographer, translator and fitness professional, a mother of two and avid knitter who’s now living in the Pacific Northwest and I like to write paranormal romance and urban fantasy. Keli Gwyn did nice full interview at Romance Writers on the Journey blog.

JR: What is your history with writing contests? Why did you choose to enter the American Title V?

MCB: I entered ANCIENT WHISPERS in over 15 RWA contests in the last year. I got a wide range of scores from 40% to full scores. I never finaled in any but got quite a lot of interesting and useful feedback, yet it’s that same entry that got me into the American Title contest.

I chose to enter American Title on a whim because I had just prepped my first 3 chapters for a contest and when I saw the call for entry and saw that it was free, I just decided to give it a shot. It was a huge shock for me when Leah Hultenschmidt at Dorchester emailed me to ask for a full.

I think my writing is still pretty rough, this is my first manuscript. So it is not polished enough to pass the judging criterion of RWA contests, but perhaps an editor views these entries differently if they see something they can work with and fix. All in all, I think a lot of luck was involved, the right story, at the right time, to the right editor.

JR: Give us an overview of your social networking. What social networks did you participate in before you entered ATV, and which ones are you on now? Time frame?

MCB: I joined MySpace and Facebook at about the same time as when I entered American Title. I thought that since it was going to an editor, I should have a website just in case the Google me. Then my writing partner convinced me to also join MySpace. I joined Facebook when I found out that all my French friends from Quebec where on it. I am on Twitter as well, but I don’t really use it.

So I have been on social network for about 10 months.

JR: Do you think social networks have helped you? If so, which ones have helped the most?

MCB: Yes definitely they have helped me. I have received a lot of support and also found future readers from social networks. Both MySpace and Facebook have been really helpful and I think it’s because I consider my “social network friends” as my friends, plain and simple. I am not close to every single one of them of course since I have maybe 5000 of them now, but I share common interests with all of them and I have made some true and very special friendships since meeting people online.

I don’t look at social networks as a place to promote but as a place to find like-minded people. And I am very interested in what other people have to share and teach me.

JR: I’m aware that your immediate focus is on the contest, as it should be, but what’s next of Marie-Claude? Do you have a follow up for Ancient Whispers? If so, is it a sequel? Single title?

MCB: I have just completed another single title paranormal story, called Gothic Warrior, about a medieval knight fighting demons in the Catacombs of Paris. And I am planning an urban fantasy/steampunk story which should hopefully be an ongoing series where a mystic Witch faces a world adventurer on an “earth that could have been” ravaged by extreme climate. I hope to use more of my scientist background in that series and have fun with the whole magic vs. science debate.

And yes, Ancient Whispers is the start of a series which is based on the reunion of tragic lovers of old legends and poems. I have premises for at least 8 or more stories, if I shall ever be so lucky. But 4 characters of Ancient Whispers have their own stories all planned out. I have started the sequel, Ancient Confessions, already.

JR: What do your children think of their mom being in the ATV? Have you taught them all myspace and facebook yet?

My children think it is wonderful that I am writing and in such a big contest. With each round, they are always very philosophical, saying that even if I don’t make it, I should still continue writing. I know that if I don’t win, they will have the right worlds for me. Even at only 7 and 9, they are quite wise.

But no, they don’t know about social networks. I don’t even let them near a computer! I want them to have fun with stick and stones outside and develop their imagination first. When they are ready, they will pick up all the internet stuff really quickly, I am certain of it.

JR: Tell us about your blend of meteorology, magic, and mysticism.

MCB: That is such a difficult question to answer! I am a trained scientist and was raised by scientists. There was not mysticism in my household when I grew up. But I started to be interested in Zen Buddhism and the concept of mindfulness and how we are all interconnected with what is all around us.

That led me to Paganism and a strong connection to how the wheel of the year turns, to the concepts of male and female balanced energies in life and also to women’s mysteries in all our stages in life, such as maiden, mother, crone. That last concept is strongly featured in Ancient Whispers. My story is a love story, but also a young woman’s journey of self-discovery.

I do like to explore both concept of scientific rigor and magic or the unexplained. I think it is fascinating. That is why I want to write about it. I know it is a daring thing to do, but I am up to the challenge!

JR: Where can we find you on the web?

MCB: I love new friends, so please add me!

Marie-Claude’s Website
Marie-Claude on Facebook
Marie-Claude on Myspace
Marie-Claude on LiveJournal
Wordpress Group Blog (great resources for newbie writers)

JR: We appreciate you taking the time to be here with us today, Marie-Claude. What’s next? How can we read your work and vote for you?

MCB: Thank you so much for having me, Jacquie. It’s been a pleasure. You can read a sample of a love scene from Ancient Whispers and also vote for the book at the Romantic Times website:

http://www.romantictimes.com/news_amtitle3.php

Thank you, Marie-Claude! Best of luck to you in the American Title V Contest!

If you want to win a bunch of cool goodies, there are two fabulous contests right now:

Night Owl Romance Web Hunt

and

Infinite Worlds of Fantasy Authors Spring Contest

Have a Magical Monday.

Jacquie
Down Home Ever Lovin’ Mule Blues (See the Book Video featuring Justin Saragueta)
Jacquie Rogers *** Myspace *** Twitter *** Facebook
Faery Special Romances *** Book Video
Royalties go to Children’s Tumor Foundation, ending Neurofibromatosis through Research

Hi everyone! Today I’m posting the interview I did with Freya’s Bower publisher, Marci Baun. Enjoy!

Thanks so much for doing the interview, Marci, and welcome to Textyladies!

~Jane

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JJ: Are you a writer as well as a publisher?

MB: Yes, although I don’t have a lot of time to write. I have three pseudonyms: Rosa Orrore for [...]]]>

Hi everyone! Today I’m posting the interview I did with Freya’s Bower publisher, Marci Baun. Enjoy!

Thanks so much for doing the interview, Marci, and welcome to Textyladies!

~Jane

******

JJ: Are you a writer as well as a publisher?

MB: Yes, although I don’t have a lot of time to write. I have three pseudonyms: Rosa Orrore for horror, Kit Wylde, and Alyce Brown. I have a few books on Freya’s Bower by Kit and Alyce and a free story as well as a story in Weirdly by Rosa.

JJ: What kind of attitude within the industry does FB receive, as an ePub? Have you seen much of a change in the way the publishing world reacts to ePublishing?

MB: Honestly, I haven’t had any issues with attitude, at least amongst other ePublishers. I have had a newspapers interested in interviews until they discovered I was an ePub. (shrug) As the popularity of ebooks grows, that will change. Education and patience will change this…I hope. And with the big NYC pubs jumping on the bandwagon, there’s no doubt it will change.

JJ: How do you think eBooks will compare to print books in the future?

MB: I don’t think print books will ever go away, but I do think, especially as the younger generations come up, eBooks will become more dominant than print. That won’t be for a number of years, though, and probably won’t happen until we have an ereader that’s affordable.

JJ: What are some important things you’ve learned about the publishing industry, especially ePublishing, since you became publisher of Freya’s Bower?

MB: How wonderful the Internet community really is. I have made some lifelong friends as a result of becoming a publisher. These are people I never would have met without this experience.

JJ: What are your goals for the company in the next five years?

MB: Big plans. (grin) Dominating the industry. (grin) No, but certainly a force to be reckoned with and where when people think of romance and erotica, they think of Freya’s Bower.

JJ: What can Freya’s Bower authors do to make the process, from submitting to release, easier for everyone involved?

MB: For submitting, follow the submission guidelines. If your editor tells you to submit to them, do it, but format it properly. Make sure you’ve filled out your cover art form and send it to the proper email address. Most importantly, communicate with your editor, let her/him know where you are at and what is happening. Set revision date goals and do your best to stick to them. Make sure these dates are viable for your editor too. If you have any problems meeting the date, let your editor know. Also, have a blurb ready

JJ: Are there any genres you’d like to see more of? YA, for instance?

MB: Well, no YA at Freya’s Bower as we publish erotica, but I would love to see more historicals. I love historicals. (grin) I would love to see paranormal historicals, although there’s a rumor that those aren’t popular anymore. (raised eyebrow at that comment)

At EPICon, I was on a publisherÕs panel. This very question came up. All of us laughed and agreed: if you want a bestseller, write an interracial romance (of any genre). Now, if you want to blow it out of the roof, it should be M/M or mŽnage shapeshifter interracial erotica/romance. Yeah, really. These are really hot right now.

JJ: Do you have any advice for authors thinking of submitting to Freya’s Bower?

MB: Read our guidelines and at least a few of our books so you know what we are looking for and what to expect. Also, know your craft. We edit to NY standards of old, so if you are signed, be prepared.

JJ: What would you like people to know about Freya’s Bower?

MB: While our submissions are closed until May 1, 2009, keep us in mind for future submissions. We are always looking for good material. Oh, yes, come by and see what we have to offer. We have everything from sweet romance to erotica that will set your clothes on fire. (grin)

JJ: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

MB: Just a big thank you for having me here today.

Thank you, Marci!

Freya’s Bower

****

I also want to remind everybody that my contest is still going on to promote my own book with Freya’s Bower. Click here to read the rules, see the prizes, and enter the contest.

~Jane

Today, we at Texty Ladies have the privilege to visit with a premier talent, John Klawitter, a writer, director, and producer. You name it, he’s done it, from writing the Nestle’s Chocolate jingle, to making movie trailers for Disney, to writing

Today, we at Texty Ladies have the privilege to visit with a premier talent, John Klawitter, a writer, director, and producer. You name it, he’s done it, from writing the Nestle’s Chocolate jingle, to making movie trailers for Disney, to writing Headslap with football great Deacon Jones.

More recently, two of his books won 2009 EPPIE Awards: one for Hollywood Havoc: The Trouble With Fat Boy, and a second for Tinsel Wilderness a collection of professional “lessons.”

Welcome to Magical Monday, John Klawitter, and congratulations!

JR: You are well known for your work at Warner and Disney, but before that, you were in advertising by day and novelist at night. How did you manage to balance the day job and family with writing on spec?

JK: Jacquie, I didn’t recognize it at the time, but the secret is a combination of three things: You have to be fanatical about your writing, you have to have patience, and it is critical to have a mate who doesn’t get jealous of the muse. When, in the early 1970’s I was in Detroit working by day as a producer/director on Ford for Grey Advertising, and by night on In the Interest of National Security (one of the first of my many unpublished early novels), I didn’t see anything unusual in what I was about And, most significantly, neither did my wife Lynn.

JR: Crazyhead is set in Vietnam, your old stomping grounds. Tell us about the process of writing this book, both the emotional journey, and how you ply your craft (plotter, fly into the mist, etc., how you approach revisions, and anything else you’d like to add).

JK: Crazyhead is an example of a novel that was published for what I consider all the wrong reasons. The years before Crazyhead was published (in 1990) were difficult times for me. I’d written and rewritten In the Interest of National Security a dozen times. It had grown to 1,200 single-spaced pages, but I wasn’t saying the things the agents and literary editors wanted to hear. I heard it all: Real writers don’t join the army. Nobody who went to Vietnam of their own volition has anything worth while to say about it. But, you see, Hemingway had his war, and Crane and Heller had theirs. I was determined to go to see it, to experience the full heat of the mad god Mars. And having done that, I couldn’t just blat out the anti-war crap the East Of The Hudson Literary Mob was looking for. I talk about how Crazyhead finally came to be in Tinsel Wilderness, a collection of essays on things remembered from my past.

I had a friend who gave me step-by-step instructions, and I followed them and bingo, I get a call from an editor at Ballantine, then a division of Random House. “Mister Klawitter,” the guy says, “We want to buy your book.”

My friend told me five or six things, and I don’t recall them all off the top of my head. The most important, I think, he advised I cut In the Interest of National Security down to four or five novels, and the first one I (re)write should be about the most shocking incident I knew from Vietnam. Well, I knew one particularly revolting mess, and I involved my protagonist, Mad Denny Haller, in that, and Random House/ Ballantine/ Ivy Books bought it.

JR: When you adapted Crazyhead to a screenplay, how hard was that? Do you think it’s easier to adapt your own work, or harder? Did you receive lots of advice that you did or didn’t take? Are you happy with how it turned out?

JK: I’ve done a lot of adapting, screenplay to novel, and novel to screenplay. Once you know both formats, it’s equally easy to go either way. I adapted KM Briggs Hobberdy Dick to screenplay for a Japanese film company, and that was fun. The head of the company met me at the Century Plaza with his concubine, a gorgeous woman, as interpreter. He pretended he didn’t speak a word of English, and after we’d come to an agreement, said “Thank you very much. Now let’s go to dinner.” I’ve heard others tell me of similar experiences, so maybe thats a common practice. In Hollywood, though it’s hard on the spirit, you can make a decent living adapting books that never make it to the silver screen.

About taking advice, if you’re talking about working with others to adapt a novel to screenplay, it is critical that you listen to everybody. If the guy paying the bills suggests something I don’t agree with, I disagree once, strongly but in a quiet voice and with my reasons. If he still insists, I do it his way. When I adapt my own novels to screenplays, I don’t listen to anybody unless they’ve paid money up front. It’s not much different than when you’re working with an opinionated agent or a strong-minded editor. If I’ve turned in my manuscript and they say change this or that and we’ll take another look, I politely decline. But I have to admit it depends on the situation. When I wrote Headslap, Prometheus Books supplied us with a very good senior editor, but he was proactive in that he started to get his shots in from the very first page. Well, the advance wasn’t much, maybe $1,500, and I’d (foolishly) put 5 years into Headslap. The editor learned he was going to have to fight me on every page over things that really didn’t matter that much, and he backed off.

But maybe I’m drifting a bit here. You asked whether I liked the final screenplay adaptation I wrote of Crazyhead. With screenplays, you never pass judgment, not even on your own work, until you see the final product up on the screen. Crazyhead has been optioned a number of times, but even though it’s considered something of a cult classic, it’s more about the human tragedy of war from both sides of the conflict, the clash of ideals and cultures, simple and complex misunderstandings, absurd miscalculations, idealistic crazyness, the ridiculous, foolish, wasteful and mad things war and different ways of thinking bring about. FFC and other filmmakers have been successful in selling their versions of the meaning of Vietnam. Some day there may be room for other, less simplistic versions, but so far I haven’t seen it.

JR: How did you apply your storytelling abilities to Deacon Jones’ biography? Or did you? Please explain the process of co-writing a biography.

JK: A few notions about writing with Deacon Jones. First, the process: I would meet with Deacon for hours at a time, several times a week. He would talk and I would write longhand on yellow notepads. That night or the next day I would transcribe the notes, making sense out of my scribbles. I didn’t use a tape recorder because I found that inhibited his delivery. Initially, I agreed to write an “As Told To” biography, you know, “BY DEACON JONES, as told to John Klawitter.” I actually wrote that, but the publisher’s reaction was very negative.

I found out that Deacon’s verbal and storytelling skills were enormous, but so much of it depended on overtones that readers were missing everything. Deacon would say “I’m gonna KILL that quarterback,” say it with fervor and humor and intensity, and it would just lie there flat on the page.

That’s when I got in real trouble. I vowed I would make it work, and to do that I had to make it a real biography, and that took hundreds of interviews, thousands of hours research, and an additional four and a half years. My reward? “Headslap, by John Klawitter and Deacon Jones.” After Headslap was published, I went back and culled many of Deacon’s sayings from my notes and edited them into The Book of Deacon (Seven Locks Press). Deacon comes from a heritage of black oral history that extends back to the old country, and his sayings reflect that…however, neither Headslap, nor The Book of Deacon actually does him justice as a storyteller. I’d like to go back and adapt both of them into audio books. But Deacon’s a busy guy, and I don’t know whether he could put up with the process…or even if he could. Like I said, my opinion has been that he freezes a bit on mike. You have to direct him, to take him to another place in his own personna, and that takes time.

JR: You have a series with Matt “ Hollywood ” Havoc. Tell us a little about your leading man and his trials and tribulations. What inspired you to write this series?

JK: Matt Havoc, the protagonist of the Hollywood Havoc series, is a guy very much like 99% of the professionals in Hollywood, the professional men and women you never see at the EMMY awards or the Oscars. If you’re lucky, their name blinks on the screen or crawls up bottom to top so fast you can’t read it. Being an average, ordinary producer in Hollywood is a lot of rejection, pain, attention to details, eating crap (from prima donnas and press), late nights, weeks away from home, hurried affairs, breakup, heartache, divorce, new affairs, and so on. Matt Havoc represents to me the indomitable spirit and humor of many of those who survive as Hollywood professionals.

The running story line is that Matt accidentally incurs the wrath of a terrorist intent on blowing up Los Angeles. Matt himself is a low-budget producer with aspirations of being a serious writer. His experiences are all hit-and-run, dodging the cops to steal a free location shot, haggling with cast and crew to get the best deals, and so on…so he is a slippery fellow, and so far has been able to survive the attempts his deadly enemy has made to kill him. Additionally, because he works for a very tricky boss, head of an indy film company that produces cheapo movies and manages to turn a profit, Matt knows a lot about hiding money and shifting it around.

JR: We’d like to know about your latest release. Do you have a book video? Excerpt?

JK: Double Dragon has published my last five or six books, and they put up excerpts of each one for easy viewing. I guess the best way to see any of this is by going to my website. If you click on any cover on the home page, it takes you to the Double Dragon site.

I also read my work “as told by the author,” and free excerpts of these audio books are available at audible.com. Just go there and type “John Klawitter” in the Search Box and it takes you to my books.

I’m currently doing a ‘book video’ as part of a pilot series I’m developing for Twisted Tails, the great series of short story anthologies J. Richard Jacobs is putting out for Double Dragon. (So far he’s done three, with #4 due out in March, and #5 this coming autumn.) The trailer is something special, unique visuals by Deron Douglas cut to song lyrics, music by Steve Zuckerman, a driving, appropriately wierd song for a television series I look on as the new Twilight Zone.

JR: What is your writing philosophy?

JK: I write from personal experiences, whether it’s about war, sports or Hollywood. If I write about an explosion, I’ve been near enough to feel the vibrations. Any closer, and I wouldn’t be here to tell the tale. When I write of personal relationships, that too. Beyond that, well, the story’s the thing.

Thank you John for taking the time for us today, and we’re looking forward to picking your brain for several workshops in the future. You’re always welcome at Texty Ladies.

Congratulations, once again, for two EPPIE wins!

Readers, you’re welcome to visit John’s website or facebook page. To learn more about John, take a look at an in-depth interview with him as he talks about his Disney and Warner Bros. days.

John and I wish you a Happy Magical Monday!

Upcoming events:

March 11: I’ll be posting an article about food on the cattle trail. Learn all about sourdough! That’s on Unusual Historicals.

March 16:I’m still working on getting the songwriter interview from Justin Saragueta (he’s busy these days, which is good!)

March 23: Interview with Marie-Claude Bourque, author of Ancient Whispers, an American Title V finalist.

Jacquie

Down Home Ever Lovin’ Mule Blues (See the Book Video featuring Justin Saragueta)

Jacquie Rogers *** Myspace *** Twitter *** Facebook

Faery Special Romances *** Book Video
Royalties go to Children’s Tumor Foundation,
ending Neurofibromatosis through Research