Category: Interviews

Some writers are descriptive in their style, writing more in a flavor of purple prose with relaxed writing, detailing each thing, while others are more literary, their prose so beautifully written that it nearly sings on the page. Author Victoria Howard describes her style as basic, “. . .giving enough description for the reader to know where they are, writing enough action to keep the story moving, but not enough to overwhelm the reader. I’ve learned to trim the fat, which is in keeping with romantic suspense.”

For her, the seed of inspiration may be found in something she read in a magazine, saw on TV or overheard in a conversation in a coffee shop. “I’ll think about it for a while, expanding the basic premise, perhaps researching some aspect on the internet, developing characters, choosing my setting etc, before finally committing myself to working on the manuscript,” she says. Continue reading “Meet the Author: Victoria Howard”

Author Hugh Ashton was born in the UK and graduated from the University of Cambridge. He worked at a wide variety of jobs before settling into his current field in information technology. A long-standing interest in Japan led him to emigrate to that country in 1988, where he has remained ever since.

His book, “Red Wheels Turning,” an alternate history novel, is a prequel to “Beneath Gray Skies.” He released it late summer 2011. The book is mainly set in Russia in 1915-6, and on and under the Baltic Sea (yes,  there’s a submarine involved). In the book’s alternate timeline, the American Civil War never took place, but the Confederate States of America and United States of America remain separate nations. This has an affect on the way the Great European War (World War 1, without the Americans) was fought. Hugh says this is ancillary to the plot of “Red Wheels Turning,” but plays a part nonetheless. Continue reading “Meet the Author: Hugh Ashton”

Author Dean Lappi says his writing style can be broken down in two ways. First, he says writes directly, with few extra words in a sentence. “I don’t know if this is good or bad, but it comes from a personal preference of mine to not have to write a scene that takes 500 words when I could do it just as well in 300 words.”

Second, he writes with a style that he says leans toward the disturbing and strange. “I’ve always written this way. In college when I took poetry, fiction, and playwriting courses, I tended to write pieces from an angle that [made] people slightly uncomfortable,” he says. Let’s hope that comment didn’t come from his geography professor. Continue reading “Meet the Author: Dean Lappi”

Poet Kimberly  LaRocca  writes many of her poems from personal experiences.  “I also write poems relating to what I see or read. I can overhear a conversation and one word may stand out and it then turns into a poem. I can write 5-10 poems in one sitting or jot down a word and come back to it a month later and create a poem.”

She has notebooks all around her house containing a few words or a few sentences. “I’m constantly revising what I write and something has to flow a certain way for me to consider it ready for others to read it,” she says.

She finds inspiration everywhere. She may be moved by something she reads or hears, or while watching television or even a movie. “I read quite a bit and I try to read whatever genre I tend to be writing at any particular time. So, if I’m attempting to write poetry I try to read poetry. I usually alternate reading 2-3 books at a time.” Continue reading “Meet the Author: Kimberly LaRocca”