Make-Believe Mondays with Alisha Rai

Today on Make-Believe Mondays my guest is Alisha Rai.

Alisha, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you’re working on now.

Alisha: I’m always juggling two or three works at the same time, but I’m really trying to concentrate on Rana’s (Devi’s sister, from Glutton for Pleasure) right now. Otherwise it’s too tempting to try to avoid it every time I hit a roadblock. I plotted all three sister’s books out at the same time, so theoretically, the next two should be easy to write. Unfortunately, Rana is a troublesome wench, so its been a bit rough. Stay tuned, though. I’m determined to give her a story that’s worthy of her.

Debra: And determination is certainly one thing every author needs. I juggle more than one manuscript also and it took me a while to realize that was one reason for it. (Well it can't be writers block or procrastination if we are still writing, right?) LOL Sometimes truth hurts. Especially when it comes to writing practices. So tempting when getting stumped on one manuscript and being determined to keep writing. Which can be a good thing if you don't let it side track you and you make sure to return to the first one. ;-)

Is there a point when your characters begin to come alive and you can see and hear them?

Alisha: Absolutely. I’ve learned that the best cure for writer’s block, for me, is just to mark off at least an hour and start writing something, anything. About twenty minutes in, the characters start becoming real and I get lost in the story and their lives.

Debra: Exactly. Even if you can only begin by writing...I am so frustrated with this story right now. It doesn't matter what the thing is, the physical act of writing breaks that block, at least for me.

As a child did any particular book or author pull you into their imaginary world?

Alisha: Oh gosh, I don’t know if I could pick a single book. As a child, I devoured every printed thing I could get my hands on, including cereal boxes and pamphlets from solicitors. Madeline L’Engle is still a comfort read for me, though. I think A Wrinkle in Time was the first book I read where I was just as caught up in the sweet romance as I was in the story. Ooooh, and I had a massive crush on Meg’s twin brothers, who had their own novel, Many Waters. I know, I know, I’m a bit of a dork J.

Debra: Oh no, such labels don't apply to those of us who imagine. I think imagination erases all dorkiness. ;-) We should all allow our imaginations to play a bit more. Life should be fun! LOL

Alisha, thanks for joining me here on Make-Believe Mondays to celebrate imagination, creation and dreams and to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Visit Alisha Rai at
www.alisharai.com
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Debra's News/Debra is watching:

I'm here at the RT Convention in sunny Orlando.

ere are the panels and other events I am scheduled for at the convention. If you're attending, be sure to come up and say hello! I love meeting new people.

Sun. April 19th: 5:00 meet & greet dinner
Mon. April 20th: 2:00 - 3:00 Characterization with Diana Groe and Pat Simmons
Tue. April 21st: 11:00 - 12:00 Submitting with Jade Lee
2:15 - 3:00 Query & Synopsis
3:15 - 4:00 Rejection with Aleka Nakis, Susan Yarina, Kathy Love
Wed. April 22nd: 10:30 - 11:30 Resurrecting the Muse with Gerri Russell
3:30 - 4:30 Samhain Soireee Bookseller party
Sat. April 25th: 11:00 - 2:00 Book Fair (where I'll be signing my first novel, A Desperate Journey)

There are plenty of other events I'm planning to attend, but these are the places you're certain to find me.

I'll be out of town April 15th through April 27th, but Make-Believe Mondays will continue.

Keep watching my website www.debraparmley.com for photos and video from the book launch and for pictures from the RT convention in Orlando.

Make-Believe Mondays with Patricia Snodgrass

Today on Make-Believe Mondays, my guest is Patricia Snodgrass.

Patricia, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you’re working on now.

Patricia: The story I’m currently working on is entitled “Love Fiercely.” It is set in the distant future aboard a spaceport and focuses on the lives of the medical examiners and their families who reside on the port. Not only is there a medical mystery to solve, there’s a mystery of the heart to solve too. Jerrod’s humanoid finacee Kitra is undergoing changes that he cannot begin to understand. That’s all I’ll say for now.

Debra: I like the title. That's something we all should do, when we find that special someone. Love fiercely and with the whole heart.

Ray Bradbury said, “We are cups, constantly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.” How do you keep your creative cup filled?

Patricia: I love Ray Bradbury and he has been an influence in my writing since I was young. How I keep my creative cup filled is not difficult. I love to learn new things, which I think is vital in a craft such as writing. I am always seeking new venues for my writing, trying new genres, experimenting with grammar (as much as the editors will allow, ha!) and language. When I find those times when my creative cup seems empty, I find other things to do, such as paint, crochet, do beadwork and gardening. Taking long walks with the dog and enjoying fresh air and sunshine. And of course there’s the need for the odd road trip, which I’m currently craving.

Debra: Oh, I'm craving a road trip too, but it's soon to be satisfied by flying to Orlando on Wed. :-)
There is something about travel, or simply moving along when seems to feed the writing.

Is there a point when your characters begin to come alive and you can see and hear them?

Patricia: Yes, that’s when I know I’m really in the zone when it comes to my writing. When I feel as if I’m sitting back and simply dictating what the characters are doing, seeing, feeling, etc, that’s when I know the story is going to be good. I love it when this happens. I’m never sure if a story is coming together well if I have to drag it along myself. It’s so much easier when the characters come forward and tell their own stories. My niece who has a degree in psychology told me once that I wasn’t normal. I laughed and said, define normal.

Debra: Oh, who wants to be normal anyway? I think all writers have a touch of eccentricity and I think we ought to embrace that part of ourselves and just be. My writer friends are eccentric, fascinating people, and I love them just the way they are. Besides, it's our differences that make people interesting. And I know just what you mean about trying to drag a story along by yourself. It never goes well for me when I do that.

Some very famous authors have played with language, creating words for people or places that no one has ever heard of. Have you ever played with words in that way and if so how?

Patricia: Yes, I love playing with language. I sometimes collect languages the way some people collect butterflies or rocks. And sometimes I make up my own words. For example, I sometimes use the nonsense word ‘hucked’ to describe someone sobbing so hard they start hiccupping. Sometimes, my characters come from different cultures and have different languages. One character I wrote about was Cherokee, and she spoke the language. Today, when I was writing about an Afghani war veteran, she spoke in the Afghani language of Pashto. I didn’t even know Afghan had so many languages.

Debra: Hucked is a good word. Playing with language can be so much fun. Now you've made me curious about Pashto.

Patricia, thank you for joining us here on this Make-believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Visit Patricia at
patriciasnodgrass.bravehost.com
bluedelirium.blogspot.com
redroom/member/bayougoddess

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Debra's News/Debra is watching:

This Wed. I'm flying to Orlando to spend some time with my dear friend Marie before the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention begins.

Here are the panels and other events I am scheduled for at the convention. If you're attending, be sure to come up and say hello! I love meeting new people.

Sun. April 19th: 5:00 meet & greet dinner
Mon. April 20th: 2:00 - 3:00 Characterization with Diana Groe and Pat Simmons
Tue. April 21st: 11:00 - 12:00 Submitting with Jade Lee
2:15 - 3:00 Query & Synopsis
3:15 - 4:00 Rejection with Aleka Nakis, Susan Yarina, Kathy Love
Wed. April 22nd: 10:30 - 11:30 Resurrecting the Muse with Gerri Russell
3:30 - 4:30 Samhain Soireee Bookseller party
Sat. April 25th: 11:00 - 2:00 Book Fair (where I'll be signing my first novel, A Desperate Journey)

There are plenty of other events I'm planning to attend, but these are the places you're certain to find me.

I'll be out of town April 15th through April 27th, but Make-Believe Mondays will continue.

Keep watching my website www.debraparmley.com for photos and video from the book launch and for pictures from the RT convention in Orlando.

Make-Believe Mondays With Donica Covey

Today on Make-Believe Mondays, my guest is Donica Covey.

Donica, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you’re working on now.

Donica: I have two projects in the works right now. The first one is Hunting Mickey, the next book in my romantic suspense series Gateway Guardians. This series centers on a team of DEA agents based in St. Louis and chronicles their battle in the war on drugs, specifically targeting the evil drug lord Ramiro Gonzalo Sancho Rivera.

The second project is Ember’s Flame, book three in my Elemental Desires series. This series spotlights each of the four Duile sisters. Amazing, talented ladies who just happen to be witches. Out of sheer boredom, they come up with a challenge: A contest to win the love of a mortal man. Being they are witches of the elements, their mortal must deal with their specific element. The first two sisters Maryna and Storm (water and air element respectively) have already been released. Now I just have to complete Ember and Tara’s tales.

Debra: St. Louis is an interesting city to visit and has a rich history. I'm surprised there aren't more books set there. And your witches sound intriguing.

Ray Bradbury said, “We are cups, constantly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.” How do you keep your creative cup filled?

Donica: I have to sometimes force myself to ignore logical boundaries and let my imagination take flight or else the characters get constipated and no amount of muse-lax breaks up the flow.

Debra: Yes, sometimes imagination needs to carry a Nerf baseball bat to whack logic on the side of the head a little so we can write. ;-)

Is there a point when your characters begin to come alive and you can see and hear them?

Donica: From the moment of conception. For me the characters are alive. They sit beside me, talk to me, annoy me, and cajole me. It’s when they stop talking and disappear that I have a huge problem.

Debra: Oh...yes. It's never good when they go quiet.

Some very famous authors have played with language, creating words for people or places that no one has ever heard of. Have you ever played with words in that way and if so how?

Donica: I love to play with words. In my fantasy novel Dragon’s Angel I took words from Old English and used them to name different tribes of the inhabitants from the world of Grogan. For example…I chose to name one of my tribes the Brimborions. I just love the word Brimborion—kind of catchy, yes? The word Brimborion means a thing without value or use. But my tribe is far from the definition. They are hardworking, loyal and honest.

Debra: Oh, I like that word too. It's so much fun to play with words.

For some writers, dreams play a role in creating fiction. Has this been true for you?

Donica: Definitely.

Debra: Have you ever dreamed a scene or an image that later wound up in one of your books?

Donica: Almost every book has one or more such scenes.

Debra: As a child, did any particular book or author pull you into their imaginary world?

Donica: Of course! L. Frank Baum. J.R.R Tolkien, CS Lewis, Lewis Carroll, Edgar Allen Poe. All are my favorites.

Debra: If there were no categories for books, no reader expectations to meet, and you could create the wildest work of imagination that you could think of what kind of story would that be?

Donica: I do have one work that is in sort of a limbo because of the graphic content. It’s suspenseful, horrifying, nerve-wrenching and heartrending. But because of the graphic content due to the evil nature of one of the characters it’s been rejected. So…this book would be the one to shoot the moon with.

Debra: Sounds like it's way outside the usual parameters.

Is there anything else you would like to add about the role of imagination, and dreams in creating fiction? Any other message for our readers?

Donica: Just my thanks for spending their time with me today and I hope they’ll pop into my website, www.donicacovey.com or my blog, donicacovey.blogspot.com and say hello. Or they can friend me on Face Book, Donica-Covey on Facebook I also have a YouTube channel for my book trailers: Donica Covey on UTube

Debra: Donica, thank you for joining us here on this Make-believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Donica: Thank you for having me!

Debra: You're quite welcome. It's been a pleasure.

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Debra's News/Debra is Watching:

The book launch last Thursday was wonderful! One of the greatest days of my life and one I will always remember.

Today is the day I promised to announce the winner of my book launch celebration contest - the prize, a candle in the shape of a wing, which you can see on the previous blog post.

I've been waiting for my husband to come home to draw from the names. So we now have a winner!

The winner goes by the screen name: lastnerve. Congratulations and may your dreams take flight as mine has!

Please email me at debra@debraparmley.com with your address so I can send it out this week before I head to Orlando for the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention.

I will be in Orlando from April 15th to the 27th. If you are attending, come up and say hello! I love meeting new friends.

www.debraparmley.com
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And here is a message from my AT2 sister, Theresa Myers.

Hi,

Can you please let your blog readers know?

I promised that I wasn’t fooling around! Today I’d like to announce the two winners for my month long blog tour contest. If you commented on one of the blogs I was at, like Vampire Wire, Patricia’s Vampire Notes, the Harlequin Paranormal Romance Blog, or Make Believe Mondays, you were entered to win.

The two winners are: Kim Giardna who’ll be getting both a $20 gift certificate to Wicked Wines Online (where she can indulge in either red Vampire Vodka or other Vampire Winery offerings) and a copy of Salvation of the Damned.

MelJPrincess, you’ve won those snazzy customizable chrome fangs and a copy of Salvation of the Damned.

Congratulations to you both!

Theresa Meyers
President, Blue Moon Communications
bluemooncomm@aol.com